A white flash raced over his head. Steel clashed, and a loud boom happened behind him, followed by the cracking of logs. Karnan spun. The tree lay in two halves, and the assassin stood in the middle. His shadow cloak was back, protecting him from the flames, leaving only his face uncovered.
A man donning a captain's garb faced him. His spear aimed at the black clad man. White prana covered his torso and legs. Prana-armour, a high-level art only used by the ranks of nayaka and above. It smelled of burnt resins, and embers from the fallen tree rose like golden fireflies that smouldered the air itself. People shouted and screamed from the alley leading away from the area. Karnan felt colour returning to his face; the commotion would bring the guards, and right then, he'd be happy to be arrested over being killed.
He turned back to Shri and put an ear to her chest. Her heart still beat, although weak, it still beat. Blood gushed out of the darts piercing her side. Guilt and shame made him want to curse himself. She bled because he was weak. Too weak.
"The chameleon of the misty halls. Never expected you here," the captain said. His voice carried no emotion, cold like the depths of an iceberg. Karnan knew who it was. The chill he had felt the moment he passed overhead had announced him. His spear tip drizzled with specks of ice, and tendrils of fog slithered upwards like serpents.
The assassin snarled like a beast, "Why do you stop me, wolf-guard. I only come for the boy."
The captain shrugged. "Which boy? The one you seek died in the tomb yesterday. This one is different. Moreover, my mistress has taken a liking to him. So, scram before I freeze your very soul."
"Then you court death, be sure to enjoy your afterlife!" The assassin dove straight at the captain. The tip of his long knife pinged against the spear's tip. Captain let go of his weapon and spun. His left wrist now held a sharp icicle, aimed for the killer's chest. The assassin swirled and back-kicked, shattering the ice blade with his heel. Both twisted at equal speeds. Exchanging places and weapons.
Karnan gawked at them. This was what an actual battle between masters looked like. Both continued their deathly dance. The glint of their blades was like an artist's brush strokes. Soon, they reclaimed their weapons. The captain retreated with a jump and thrust his spear into the earth. Ice shards sprouted from the ground in a line at the assassin. He cartwheeled over to the right half of the burning tree. Steam hissed on his side and behind him, a building froze.
Only one of the assassin's shoulders sprouted black darts. He was running short of prana. That meant he'd do everything in his power to kill Karnan during the fight itself. Like he had predicted, the darts came at him. Karnan was prepared, though. He pulled one of the cemetery's gates shut. The nails clanged against the thick metal sheet of the swinging gate before reaching him.
He stood and sprinted towards the fight. He was the target. So, it would be better to stay far from Shri. The killer's eyes widened on seeing him. Captain lunged from his side. With a roar, the killer intercepted his spear. Sparks flew, and both men parted ways for a breath to clash again. The place had turned into an inferno of fire and ice. Eyes burning from the smoke, Karnan ducked under flaming branches. He wanted the assassin to chase after him. The captain was there to save Shri, and with him and the killer out of the way. Shri's life wouldn't be in danger anymore.
The man in black shrieked as the captain's spear stabbed his abdomen. Karnan stopped in his tracks. Was he defeated? The assassin's shoulders sagged, and his arms dropped to the sides. His head lolled backwards as his frame slid the spear's length and fell over a smouldering log. The wood shattered, and his body went up in flames.
Relief spread inside him. His breathing returned to normal, and so did his pacing heart.
The captain turned to him, and his face went ablaze with alarm. "Behind you!" he yelled. A black serrated knife rested on his throat. It moved.
In that moment, Karnan heard a guttural howl, the captain shouting at Shri and the cackles of the assassin all at once. Shri rammed into them. The assassin's laughter faded into a scream. Shri dragged the assassin by his shoulder. He flailed his arms and stabbed her on the side.
Shri let go of him. She whined with pain, but still limped towards the man. The captain jumped in before she could attack. Both his fists were covered in crystalline ice. He punched. Ice shattered against steel. The captain threw punch after punch. The assassin had no choice but to ward off his attacks using the flat of his knife. The captain was pushing him into the large stone walls of the cemetery.
His back struck the wall. He panicked. Captain's ice-gloved fist hit his stomach, while his other arm uppercutted his chin. Then, with a roar, he brought his knee to his chest. With a loud thud, cracks appeared on the stone, spreading out from the assassin's body. But the man wasn't down yet. Black prana cloaked him with blinding speed.
"No, you don't", the captain shouted and thrust an ice blade. The shadow disintegrated into small beads. The ice struck the broken stone wall. Shards were flung as the blade broke. The black beads merged into the soil.
Without wasting another breath, the captain picked Shri. He threw Karnan a disdainful look before vaulting over the rampart.
Karnan chased after the man. He jumped over the roofs on his right. Smoke billowed over the numerous houses to his left. They had come far from that site. But the fire had grown massive, and the quiet block that was rife with the laughter of children was now a charred and lifeless place. He feared for the children. But, going back wasn't safe. Not for a few days at least. Moreover, they weren't orphans and must have escaped with their parents.
Oh heavens, let what I think be what it is. Those children had no claim in this quarrel. Keep them safe.
The captain jumped across him. He turned left to follow. After going straight for a few minutes, the man landed with Shri in his arms. A deserted alley cut right perpendicularly. He entered it. They stood in the workers' district. The thirteenth hour was still an hour away. So, the small establishments looked empty. The captain stopped near a rusty door. It was tiny, just like the building it guarded. Calling it a building wouldn't do any justice towards the absurdity of its construction.
It looked assembled, not built. Five square blocks were stacked over each other in a descending order of size. The top one seemed no larger than a closet. Each block was painted in a different colour. Blue, black, green, haze and pink.
"I come in peace," the captain announced.
Movement sounded from inside, like someone dragging something heavy. It reached the door. Karnan heard heavy breaths, as if a giant fumed on the other side.
A gruff, grinding voice spoke, "Blast your peace. Scram before I crush your head meself."
The captain rolled his eyes and sighed. "She is with me. Injured, dying."
No sooner had he finished, the door banged open. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Karnan's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. The visage before him was like nothing he had seen before. He had read about them, known that they were rare. But seeing one was on another level altogether.
The Vanar, half ape, half man, stretched his huge arms and took Shri. She looked like a kitten in his hands. "Come in and shut the door. Are you followed?"
"No," grunted the captain.
The Vanar nodded. One of his legs was missing below the waist, replaced by a metal prosthetic that looked heavy, uncomfortable and archaic. Why didn't he use the new prana-powered ones?
A whine from Shri broke his musing. Karnan rushed over to her side and gently opened her mouth to place his wrist inside it. Prana left his body with breathless speed. He relaxed his muscles and began inhaling deeply.
She had been laid over a counter. Behind which were bottles of ale, madira, and wines arranged haphazardly on a shabby shelf fixed to the wall. Six tables were packed closer than they should be to his immediate right. A dingy doorway lay across him, with even dingier stairs leading upstairs. The makeshift tavern smelled of rat piss and leftover food and lacked windows; he felt suffocated.
"What happened?" the Vanar asked distressfully.
"This one was chosen for her. Once she woke, Misty Halls attacked."
"Chosen!" The Vanar's eyes enlarged on hearing the word. He spun his neck at him like an owl. "Chosen! after so many years. Chosen!"
"Three thousand is not 'so many', Vanu. Historians call it an age. And you were to be surprised at the Misty halls part," the captain said with a chug from one of the bottles. When did he get that?
"Oh! Misty halls!' the Vanar repeated with the same shock as before.
The captain took one more chug and said, "You are late. Stop forcing the reaction. Looks ridiculous."
Vanu's face turned blank. Being a vanar, he had humanoid features with the finer details of an ape. He was huge enough not to fit properly under the ten-foot-high ceiling. His eyes were like men but the rest of his face resembled a monkey's. His skin was that of a human, but was covered with fuzzy golden hair. Though he differed from what he had read about vanars in one aspect. The ancient beings were known to be passionate to a fault. But this vanar was as emotive as a lamppost. He feigned, but badly.
"Fine," he said and went behind the counter. "What do you want?" he asked plainly.
"Shelter for them. For a few days at least," said the captain.
"No."
"I will pay."
"No."
Silence hung like a fishing net. The time bells dinged loudly twelve times, accompanied by a feeble, low ring. It was half past the twelfth hour.
Vanu's ears quirked. With one swoop, he snatched the half-finished bottle from the captain. "Four jots for the wine and a pale for letting you in," he shoved an empty palm at the captain. "Payment."
Grumbling something, the man searched his pocket. Coins jingled as he took out a bunch of them before laying them over the counter. "Here it is with advance for their stay."
Vanu took a good look at the scattered pieces of currency. They were coins, true, but just not theirs. Karnan grimaced, recalling the lesson in geography when Master Sha had them memorise the excruciating details of all countries and their respective coins.
Vanu raised his head, "This will not work. I need four jots and one pale. Four silvers and one bronze," he said, gesturing the digits with his fingers.
In reply, the captain shrugged. "This is all I have."
Vanu shook his head. "No, no. This is bad. My guests shall be arriving, and I need to clean. You all stay upstairs today. Tomorrow, you will have to give me my money. Including the fees for today's stay."
The captain shrugged again before pointing at the bottle in Vanu's hand, "I want the wine."
"No."
"I will pay."
"No."