The Silver Anklet (13 page)

Don't look up, go away … go away
, prayed Tara.

Zarku walked away from the tree, talking softly to himself, the stick in his hand slashing at the bushes. Tara exhaled.

The sound was less distinct now, almost as if he was doing it half-heartedly. Kali stood motionless. He retraced his steps. The sounds returned. He paused very briefly and walked away in another direction. Each time he moved away, her heart soared. When he returned, it sank like a stone. What was he playing at?

The answer almost jolted her off the branch.

He knew where they were. He knew
exactly
where they were hiding.

Zarku stood at the foot of the tree staring at the fallen tree trunk. His gaze travelled upward, one agonizing inch at a time. Tara knew with complete certainty that the game was over. She rested her head against the branch, dizzy with panic.

They had lost.

— ten —
Reprieve

“
Oh Didi, I've found you, I've found you!” said Zarku. He hopped on the spot, clapping his hands and for a brief and unreal moment it felt like she and Suraj were back home in Morni. “Come on, Didi …” he said, continuing to speak like Suraj. “Show yourself.”

Tara pressed her lips together and had to use every ounce of discipline to keep from instinctively answering her brother.

Zarku spoke again, this time in his own voice. “I've waited a lifetime to play this game and this is the best you can do? Five of you and this silly hiding place is all you could come up with? A dimwit could have found you. Shame!”

Zarku screamed some more, his voice getting shriller with each word. Tara expected him to storm up the tree and throw them down to the waiting jaws of the hyenas. She could almost feel their teeth sink into her flesh. The branch seemed to rock and sway under her.

Tara clung tighter. She had failed her friends. Would they ever forgive her?

“Come down right now!” said Zarku. His tone was as sharp as broken glass.

No one moved.

“Now, Tara,” said Zarku. “If I have to come up, well … let's not even think about how much angrier I will be.”

Tara slid off the branch.

“What are you doing?” said Ananth. “Stay here, he's only bluffing.”

“I assure you I'm not,” said Zarku. “All of you better come down, too. I'm not very big on patience.”

Tara was the first one to reach Zarku. She stomped down the fallen tree trunk, hoping it would give way and crash down on his head. But even this time it held.

Silently, sullenly, the others followed. Kabir came last, lurching and weaving, but made it down safely. No one looked at Tara and she was glad. She couldn't bear to see their accusing looks or worse, their disappointment.

They stood at the foot of the tree facing Zarku, Kali, and the hyenas that hung around like a stench in the air.

They'd lost. And now they would have to do exactly as he said. She took a deep shuddering breath.
Lost, lost,
lost
echoed inside her head.

“So, I win,” said Zarku. “I WIN.” He was smiling broadly. “What should I do with the lot of you? To see the hyenas tear you apart would be great fun for me! Or maybe I should …”

“Let us go,” said Raani. “
Please
?”

“What?” said Zarku. He frowned at Raani. “Why?”

“So that, er … because,” said Raani. She glanced at the others, her eyes pleading for help.

“So you can have one more night of fun,” said Tara, suddenly. “Surely you'd like that?'

“My, my,” said Zarku. “Such concern for my pleasures is touching.”

“No!” said Kali. “Finish them now and then we deal with Tara. You've waited so long to carry out your plan and get back to your former glory. Why prolong it?”

Tara shot Kali the dirtiest look she could muster. How easy it was for her to talk of taking innocent lives, of killing. She was just as evil as Zarku. The thought of them working together made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Tara had difficulty killing a
cockroach
because it meant taking something she could never return.

“Kali's right, you know,” said Zarku. He turned toward Tara. “I can't wait to put my plan into action; it means endless glory and power for me, forever.”

“And end the game so soon?” said Tara. “You said you've waited years to play it. Why not give us one more night? We'll do a better job of hiding this time. Really.”

“You were always the clever one, Tara. Your idea has merit. Why stop the game when it's just begun? All right, you've convinced me, one more night!”

The knot in Tara's stomach loosened slightly. She'd just bought them all some more time. This time she'd think of a much better place. She had to. This time he would never,
ever
find them.

“I'll be off now,” said Zarku. “But I'll be back tomorrow night. See that you don't disappoint me! You won't be so lucky again.”

He snapped his fingers and the hyenas came trotting up to him like obedient dogs. One of them had a half-eaten rabbit hanging from his mouth. The other two hyenas lunged at it and dismembered it before their eyes. Horrified, Tara watched each hyena triumphantly chew a body part. The crunch of bone echoed in the still night and Tara wanted to clap her hands over her ears to block out the sound. But she held them rigidly at her sides; she would not show Zarku how much this affected her.

“You picked the hiding place, Tara. Didn't you? When she did not reply he looked at her steadily for a moment. “Better luck tomorrow. You're going to need it.”

After Zarku strolled away, no one spoke for a moment.

Then they all faced her and she saw what she had been dreading all along.

“You said the hiding spot was
perfect
,” Raani screamed. “Miss Know-it-all, he'll-never-find-us-in-a-million-years! You almost got us killed!”

“I'm sorry. I thought so, too,” said Tara. “I just can't believe he found us. I just can't.” Her voice was so soft that it was barely above a whisper.

“Well, you better believe it,” said Kabir. He wiped his forehead with a shaky hand. “But at least he let us go. Good thinking, both of you.”

“The cat-and-mouse game has begun again,” said Vayu with a deep sigh. “I have a feeling he'll keep doing this till he is bored and
then
he'll kill us.”

“But if we can avoid being captured till dawn, he'll let us go and the game ends,” said Raani. “He will keep his word, won't he? He seems to like rules.”

Despite her earlier hopes, Tara felt, deep down, that would never happen. From the expressions on everyone's face she knew the others had doubts, too.

“I'm really sorry,” Tara repeated. “I only wanted to help. But I have a better plan for tonight.”

No one answered her. Surely they would give her another chance? They glanced at her and then looked away. Though no one came out and said it, she knew they all were unanimous in their decision. They didn't want her to pick the next hiding spot.

Ananth finally spoke. “You can't help, Tara. And that's final. The four of us will decide.”

“But why?” said Tara. “I said I was sorry. Can't you forgive one little mistake? Haven't any of you made mistakes before? And none of us have died so it's no big deal … right? Right?”

Ananth glanced at the others. “You figure it out,” he said.

He was just jealous … they all were. This was Zarku they were dealing with and she'd had the most experience of anyone in the group. Except now he was in her brother's body and all she had to do was pretend that they were playing their favourite game back home and … NO! She couldn't do that.

Tara wrapped her arms around herself as the realization hit. Zarku knew everything about her — the way she thought, the places she'd look for — through Suraj! In this game of cat-and-mouse, he had chosen very well. She could not help them and they all knew it, had figured it out before she did.

The moon played its own little game of hide-and-seek, its silvery light brightening and waning as dark clouds sailed past its gaunt face.

“We should get some rest,” said Ananth. “Zarku is not coming back till tomorrow night.”

Tara did not say another word. She had been so sure of herself, so confident, and had almost gotten everyone killed. What was she going to do now?

They settled down under a tree. A storm was brewing. The heat intensified and so did the clouds of mosquitoes. Tara noticed nothing. Though she took deep breaths, something huge and heavy sat on her chest. She just couldn't get enough air. Her friends were in danger because of her, from an evil monster who had possessed her brother. Her head reeled.

Show me the right way, Lord Ganesh
, she prayed.
If
we defeat and kill Zarku, we'll kill Suraj, too. But if he
regains his strength, he and Kali will destroy us all just
like before. We have to stop him and I have to be strong
enough for it.

One thought brought a small measure of relief; she had her friends with her this time. This time she wasn't alone. Together they would think of a better hiding place.

The polite argument that had started a while ago, between thunder and lightning, was now a full-fledged fight. A sudden clap reverberated through the forest and the deluge started. Within seconds they were drenched in cool rain. Tara stood with her face turned toward the sky, letting the water wash away the sweat, the dirt, and the worry. But it couldn't reach the fear that lay curled deep within her, its claws sheathed for now, but always watching, waiting.

As suddenly as the rain had started, it stopped. A cool breeze filtered through the trees and Tara lay down with the others on the wet forest floor. The
drip, drip,
drip
of the raindrops soothed the ache in her heart until she fell asleep.

— eleven —
An Unknown Voice

T
he cooing of a koel woke Tara. Sunlight dripped from shiny green leaves and pooled on the forest floor, making the world around them sparkle. Sleep fled and panic returned. How long had they been
resting
? They should have been far, far away from here by now. She looked up at the tree they had hidden in the night before. It swayed gently, painting the sky a bright blue with its branches. It had seemed like such a perfect spot at the time. Where would they hide tonight?

“Wake up, Ananth,” said Tara, shaking him roughly.

“We've overslept!”

Ananth jerked awake. “What happened? Is he back?”

“Calm down,” said Tara. She sat cross-legged in front of him. “He's not here yet, but in a few hours he will be. One of us should have kept watch and we should have moved out of here a long time ago. If he catches us tonight, we're dead.”

“I know, Tara,” said Ananth. “But we all needed the rest. I'm sure we'll make good time once we get started.”

“If and when we get started and that had better happen right now,” said Tara. “Everyone, wake up,” she called out. “It's late, we have to get away from here now.
Wake up
.”

Kabir moaned and they hurried to his side. The grey pallor of his face worried Tara. She touched his forehead and jerked her hand away, shocked. It was scorching.

“Kabir, wake up.” asked Tara. She shook him gently. Kabir's eyes flew open.

“
Don't
, don't do that,” he said. “I hurt all over.” His eyes were sunken into deep dark hollows. He licked his cracked lips and squinted up at them.

“How do you feel?” asked Ananth.

“Terrible,” said Kabir. “My back is on fire. Can someone pour some water and put it out?” He smiled weakly, but neither Tara nor Ananth smiled back.

“Will you be able to keep up?”asked Tara. “We have to start right away.”

Kabir sat up. The effort showed on his face. “I don't know if I can.” His face was greyer than a moment ago.

Tara paced in front of Kabir, stopping to look at him every few seconds. “This is very bad.”

“It is,” said Raani. “If only we'd found a better hiding place last night, we'd be free by now.”

Tara glared at her and Raani shut up.

“There aren't any good hiding places here,” said Tara. “We have to get away, search someplace else. And in case none of you have noticed, it's almost midday … we'd better hurry.”

“That means we still have half a day to plan,” said Ananth. “With Kabir in this state we won't be able to get very far, so this time we have to choose wisely.

Any ideas?”

“Yes,” said Tara. “I was thinking that —”

“No!” they said in unsion.

Tara stared at them in dismay and remembered, she couldn't help, not this time.

“You can't suggest a place,” said Ananth. “Please, Tara. Don't look at me this way. You know why.”

Tara nodded. She wanted to help so desperately and this other place she had in mind might even work!