An Unexpected Ally
Rudhra walked through the streets of Avantaveera after training with Yodhika, earlier than usual. It was the fifteenth day since they had hatched their plan to save the Amirthyas.
He glanced to his right.
Mr. Raghav from Building C was buying meat from the town’s only meat vendor, Mr. Veda. The two exchanged no words beyond the transaction. Rudhra realized he must have seen Raghav almost every day—yet they had never spoken a single sentence to each other.
Raghav collected the parcel and walked back to his family—his wife, Shwetha, and their children, Mini and Anu. As soon as he reached them, his face softened into a smile, and he began chatting animatedly.
Rudhra looked away and continued toward his apartment, his gaze fixed on the ground.
He climbed the steps slowly, his thoughts growing heavier with every step—thoughts of finding an ally, of the Pranvars’ overwhelming power, of how little time remained. His face dulled as desperation settled deeper into his chest.
Reaching his door, he slipped the key from his pocket and raised his hand to unlock it.
A dull thud sounded from inside.
Rudhra froze.
It wasn’t time for his parents to return from their shop.
Slowly, carefully, he twisted the doorknob without making a sound.
Unlocked.
His grip tightened.
He turned the knob fully and pushed the door open in one swift motion.
The living-cum-dining room was empty.
He stepped inside, moving quietly, scanning the room. As he reached the kitchen entrance near the dining table, a man wearing a black T-shirt and pants—his face smeared with black paint—suddenly burst out and sprinted toward the front door.
Rudhra reacted instantly.
He kicked the chair beside him.
It flew across the room and struck the man’s head with a sharp crack.
The intruder collapsed to the floor.
Rudhra drew his sword in a single motion and lunged forward, the blade stopping inches from the man’s throat.
“Don’t move,” Rudhra said, his voice low and threatening.
The man slapped the blade aside and kicked toward Rudhra’s chest.
Rudhra caught his foot mid-air, twisted it upward, and drove his knee into the back of the man’s thigh, forcing him down into a folded position. He pressed his weight down hard.
The man screamed in agony.
“What are you doing here?” Rudhra demanded. “Speak. Now.”
“Nothing, man,” the intruder gasped, struggling beneath Rudhra’s knee. “I was just passing by.”
“Were you stealing from us?” Rudhra asked.
The man didn’t answer.
Rudhra leaned closer, studying his face.
“You,” he said slowly. “You’re Ranjan. Building B. Apartment 15C.”
Ranjan suddenly clenched both fists and slammed them into Rudhra’s knee from either side.
Pain shot through Rudhra’s leg.
He staggered back with a cry.
Ranjan tore himself free and scrambled to his feet.
Before he could take a step, Rudhra swung the handle of his sword hard into the back of Ranjan’s head.
The man crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
Ranjan slowly opened his eyes. He was tied to a chair. Across from him, Rudhra sat calmly, watching.
He struggled vigorously. “Untie me, bastard!” he yelled.
“Keep your voice down, or I will tell everybody why I had to tie you down,” Rudhra said firmly.
Ranjan breathed heavily, slowly staying still.
“Good. Now, tell me—why were you in our home?” Rudhra asked.
The man kept quiet.
“If you don’t have an answer, I will inform the Warden, and you will be handed over to the Pranvars,” Rudhra warned.
Ranjan glared at him, his expression sad. “Yes… I was robbing you,” he admitted.
Rudhra looked down thoughtfully. “Your father was a sweet-shop owner in the mall until a few years ago, right?”
“How do you know that?” Ranjan asked, startled.
“It’s my job. I work under Sabo, the military trainer.”
Ranjan studied him. “My father served a sweet box to a Pranvar noble. He didn’t like it. He made my father close the shop two years ago. The Pranvar government wouldn’t allow him to open another shop. And…” He hesitated. “Our family has been stealing from other apartments to survive ever since.”
Rudhra’s face went pale with shock.
“Why is this not known to anyone?” he asked.
“The Warden knows. Everybody we stole from complained to him. But since we don’t talk with each other in the Amirthya clan, it’s not common knowledge,” Ranjan explained.
Rudhra stared at him for a moment. “Do you really like stealing?”
Ranjan looked up immediately. “No! We don’t like it. B… but we had no other choice to survive.”
“How old are you?” Rudhra asked.
“Forty-five,” Ranjan replied.
“Do you hate the Pranvars?” Rudhra pressed.
Ranjan looked at him for a while before answering, “I… I don’t care for them.”
Rudhra’s eyes hardened.
“Okay… I hate them,” Ranjan added after a pause. “For some idiotic reason, they destroyed our lives.”
Rudhra lowered his gaze, thinking.
“Why didn’t you hand me over to the Warden at the beginning?” Ranjan asked curiously.
“Because I did not want to hand over another Amirthya to the Pranvars,” Rudhra replied.
Ranjan’s expression flickered with confusion. “You… don’t like Pranvars either?”
Rudhra said nothing, rising from his seat. He walked toward Ranjan.
“What are you doing?” Ranjan asked, fear creeping into his voice.
Rudhra untied him.
“Are… you letting me go?” Ranjan asked, incredulous.
“Yes. Leave now. And stop stealing.”
Ranjan slowly stood, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had cut into his skin. Then he smirked. “You’re not so smart, are you?”
Rudhra glared at him. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Ranjan shook his head, annoyed, and started toward the door.
“Do you know how to fight?” Rudhra called after him.
Ranjan turned, unsure how to respond. “I can manage… a bit. My family trains every morning.”
“Other than you, your family includes your father, Daithya, your mother, Leela, and your sister, Poonam, right?” Rudhra asked calmly.
Ranjan frowned. “Why do you want to know all this?”
Rudhra didn’t answer.
Ranjan left, his expression a mix of frustration and curiosity.
“So, the first ally you could find is a family of robbers?” Yodhika asked, her voice edged with sarcasm as her trident sliced across Rudhra’s thigh.
“They had to steal to survive,” Rudhra replied, kicking a chunk of broken floor toward her. “Anyway, I haven’t told them anything yet. I thought I’d tell you first—and then decide.”
Yodhika released a small energy wave from her core. The floor fragment shattered mid-air, and the force hurled Rudhra several feet backward.
“But this is the closest I’ve come to any Amirthya outside my family,” he continued, landing on his feet, panting. “I think I need to proceed further with this.”
“If you’re sure,” Yodhika said, breathing hard, “then proceed.”
Rudhra smiled.
He lunged sideways just as Yodhika unleashed a larger energy wave from her core. The blast skimmed past him by a hair’s breadth.
Yodhika smirked.
Rudhra charged immediately.
She slammed an energy wave downward and loosened her body completely. The force propelled her straight into the air. Rudhra jumped after her, but his eyes flicked toward the floor for a split second—and he missed.
Yodhika slowed mid-air at nearly thirty feet above.
Rudhra ran below, scanning frantically for her.
From above, Yodhika hurled her trident downward, amplifying its speed with another energy wave.
Rudhra realized her position too late.
The trident pierced straight through his cheek from above. His body slammed into the ground, sliding across the floor with the weapon pinned through his chest.
Yodhika descended and landed on his body, using it as a cushion. Gripping the embedded trident, she pulled it free.
Rudhra’s abdomen exploded outward.
Yodhika stepped off his body and shook her legs one by one, flicking blood from her shoes.
Rudhra’s regeneration was slower this time.
He sat up, then stood, shaking his body to fling off the remaining blood.
“You really made a mess this time,” he said.
“It was necessary,” Yodhika replied. “You’re improving. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used that tactic.”
Rudhra nodded, then closed his eyes. “Okay. Now for our ritual.”
“I want more,” Yodhika said, standing a few steps away.
Rudhra opened his eyes, confused. “What do you mean?”
She walked toward him. “Let’s meet tomorrow evening. Not here. Somewhere outside.”
“What for?” he asked.
Yodhika sighed, exhaustion finally surfacing. “I’ll show you when we meet. Come to the jungle—the place where I told you about my clan. Tomorrow. Seven PM.”
She smiled.
“O… okay,” Rudhra said, still staring at her, confusion written across his face.
(To be continued)
Karun G Nath 
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