38.1 Promoted to Glory

Ashwant Veer and I shook hands.

It's been over a day and a half since our escape from the great disastrous war of Uttarameer. We had immediately started for Dakshinpur with best of intentions but the plan had to be altered seeing how Hardik had been affected as well and it tended to take regular breaks from flying. To carry the load of five of us with frazzled nerves and the heavy casket must have been daunting. As an addition to our stress and irritability, Hardik kept wandering off to someplace else quite a few times within a day. An impatient Pruthvi had yelled at the poor thing. The constant process of adjustment and taking turns to guard the precious dead body had burned us all down. Later, as soon as we neared the vaguely familiar locality of a well know medieval castle, Pruthvi and Leena had suggested waiting for Ashwant Veer in a nearby traditional country inn of Madhyakshetra.

"Ashwant told me tons of time that they sell the best coffee," said Leena "And if I don't have it in my stream right now, I might wander off as Hardik did."

Coffee, oh yeah, that was what I craved for. I could hang out with my friends drinking a strong decoction coffee all day long.

The place was a few streets away from the Panchayat. Celina and Tyrell had trudged in a daze, looking down at the ground and shielding their faces using the hood of their jackets. All the way during the journey, seeking a fair chance, they had discussed and whispered to each other in private. And on being asked the answer had always been- "Nothing." What a relief that must be, entering an almost empty inn and no one to recognize them.

"Thanks for sending our Constellia," I said to Ashwant Veer who had come in about an hour later. "Sometimes we forget they exist."

"They are dead," Ashwant said and noticing me frowning like fury, he quickly added, "Not the Constellia, dink. Naag reported this morning. He told me that the situation in Almourah's territory is not so serious as it was and is likely to get better. The point is not even a single beast is alive. Although, half the province is completely destroyed and flooded out. But hey, what more can I expect from the five of you. Especially you. Didn't I say you're a ticking time bomb?"

I sniggered, rubbing my nape. "Little rascals for the Samagraha of the generation, huh? Good luck working with us for the rest of your life."

"But here's the thing," he added, his smile slowly disappearing, "Seems like there are quite a few beasts who have stayed back. They were spotted just yesterday in Paschimgarh."

My mouth slightly dropped. "Oh, so..."

"There's nothing to worry about," he said, softening his tone, "When knights figured out that they were dying, rumors already have passed that these beasts are not as harmful. They are not a threat to the citizens anymore and knights have been given direct orders to encounter kill them."

"Perfect," I said, relieved.

"Also, after we deal with Panchayat today, just a heads up, the High King wants to have a private meeting you. Only you."

"Er...today?" I asked, and looked aside at my friends who were shifting places to sit in a more secluded area away from the eyes of the few customers present in the inn. I briefly wondered if they were ready for the big meet. Okay, if I was ready for the big meet.

He gave a friendly pat on my shoulder. "Don't you worry. High King is way over the moon that the task has been successfully completed. He definitely seems to be in our favour. Buckle up to face whatever happens today. And oh yeah, nothing about Bhupathi, alright? High King wants to save it for later. It's going to be about the war, Tyrell, and Celina only. Make sure they are prepared. So, see you in Panchayat right at eleven. Until then, suit yourself. Everything's on me."

"Right." I nodded my thanks.

Ashwant turned around to leave but then stopped dead before getting bumped into Celina, who was walking towards us staring at the large fish tank placed at the corner of the inn. There was a sudden blast of illusion on her cheekbones as she looked up at him. "Hey Ashwant," she said, her voice thin and husky.

Tyrell's eyes bulged so much that they looked like billiard balls. Everyone in the town knew that she once had a thing for the older guy, although she had been in denial. So there had been a bit of a history with no future whatsoever.

"It's good to see you again, Hanslay," Ashwant said, gracefully, "you'll stick around with us from now on, won't you?"

"I'm so sticking around," she said, then blinked her eyes and softly scoffed to bring her originality back. "Ashwant listen, I'm sorry about Doctor...."

"Well, his death has been avenged," Ashwant said, and looked around, eyeing pointedly at the five of us. There was mild distaste in his tone, which told that he might still be grieving. "I have no idea who did it, and I don't even want to know. Legally or illegally, justice has been served. So, let's move on with our lives, alright?"

Celina smiled faintly, the feeling of guilt was heavy on her. "I wanted you to know that..."

I gasped inwardly. Lucky, that I was standing behind Ashwant. I glared at her and slowly shook my head making sure that she understood my intention. Don't ruin this, for heaven's sake.

Celine cleared her throat. "...it's going to be fun working with you."

"Hope so," he said, "Hanslay, it's a big day at Panchayat today. So whatever happens, whatever is asked, just nod. Everything will be for the best." She stood incomprehensive and stared with empty eyes. Ashwant didn't prolong the conversation, and before she could ask, he walked past her gazing at Tyrell. "We are yet to get even, Kissler. Time to take responsibility for your actions. See you at Panchayat."

"Oh well," Tyrell mumbled, awkwardly. The small smile that he had managed to pull got lost with Ashawant's forewarning.

They've come a long way since Tyrell was first brought to the academy with the privilege of being the first Samagraha this country had chosen. They were friends before he met each one of us. It was obvious to have an extra sense of edginess between them. Perhaps it wasn't going to end for Tyrell even after he walked away scot-free today.

Ashwant had a quick talk with the owner of the inn, paid well for all of us before he disappeared.

"What was that?" Celina asked, her voice sounded more than just confused.

I shrugged. "Just do as he told you to do."

Leena beckoned asking her to follow to the barista. She walked looking back at me having that quizzical expression. I wasn't worried though. A clever Celina could easily figure things out.

"Come on, cheer up," Pruthvi said, giving Tyrell a gentle slap on his shoulder. "He's our friend. You should know that he's just playing a joke on you."

"It isn't a joke that he was Doctor's son before he became our friend," Tyrell said, having his head hung down.

"Don't be a sissy," Pruthvi huffed. "You were monkeying around in Uttarameer, what happened now?"

"He's just a little sweaty 'cause people might still recognize him as Rahu Kerenza," I said, finally setting down facing the both of them. "Ain't I right, Tyrell?"

"This face has brought a lot of trouble as much as joy," he said flipping the menu card and pretended to go through it. "And it's time to declare that Rahu's dead as his nincompoop father."

For the next few hours we had a quiet peaceful breakfast and chatted amiably about the variety of subjects that didn't include words like Almourah, Jyran or Shashi. Staying in seclusion and preparing ourselves for the trial in the Panchayat was absolutely necessary to regain our composure. We were half dead with tiredness and so dozed off in pleasant slumber in turns. Later, I woke up to the sound of the entry door chime.

The inn was now jam-packed with people of Madhyakshetra, with buzzes and whirs reflecting the happy voices of freedom. I rubbed my eyes, feeling muzzy. My friends were already awake-girls standing behind the aquarium where the tons of goldfish swam back and forth, and guys sitting in front of me were having another round of coffee.

Pruthvi was almost done filling Tyrell up with details about Archit's murder and Leena's satanic acts. Tyrell's expressions frequently verged from concern to pity.

"Archit's dead but the case is still on," Pruthvi said, "they are only waiting for Hayden to arrive to give their final verdict.  There will be an episode in the Panchayat that might be a clash of two opposed members from the same clan. One is dead while the other is nuts."

Bhupathi Garg's murder case, that's right. It was jarring to recall the day it had happened. Being guilty and not guilty at the same time felt nothing short to standing nowhere in the middle of the desert. I closed my eyes once again and went over every single detail I had learned in recent times. I better use my upcoming personal meet with High King today.

Tyrell sat straight up in his chair. He seemed to be struggling a bit to contain himself, torrents of emotions wanting to burst forth. But of all the questions he could have asked, he found this to be the safest one - "What's the name of the kid?"

Pruthvi removed his glasses, that was slightly broken at the edges and wiped his eyes. He let out a short, shuddering breath. "Not sure yet," he said looking at Leena who started performing tricks with water. "Excuse me."

Saddened, he got up and walked towards her without once taking his eyes off her. Leena was bending the water and tactfully making shapes of fish with it. The employers and other customers surrounding them clapped watching her little show.

When two got involved in their private talk, Celina came by. "It's time," she said grimly, placing a hand on Tyrell's shoulder.

The water clock showed half-past ten and Tyrell got triggered by slight apprehension.

"Ready?" I asked when he caught my eye.

Tyrell gulped the last of his coffee and licked his bottom lip. He shrugged, muttering, "If you say so. This guilt...man, I don't know if I'll ever be able to get over it."

I smiled. "You have to come clean, Tyrell. And you know showing yourself out into the world and protesting your innocence will only work. Come on, let's get this over with."

"I'm not sure why you're not worried, Hayden," he asked, in a low voice and skin on his forehead wrinkled. Celina looked at him concerned. "I may have been a victim myself. Everyone knew dark magic has made me do stuff- as in killing thousands of people, destroy the sites like an amphitheater, maybe a few of the members from Ashwant's clan died because of me. But I don't think Panchayat and all those families who grieved the loss of their loved once will understand the language of dark magic, will they?"

"Didn't you hear what Ashwant specifically mentioned?" I asked. "High King is on our side. That means Doctor had already established that things were out your hands. Isn't that why he gave Celina the permission to go with him?"

"I...you gotta understand what I'm trying to say here," he said, seriously. "I know you're are going to take care of everything, you have this dream of seeing all of us together as one team but... you and I both know what is what."

Celina dropped her eyes and stared at her wringing hands. "I'm dangerous. Insane. Cold-blooded..."

"Dangerous, of course," I said. "But you are a Samagraha first and no one can take that privilege away from you."

"Hayden, this is not going to be easy as you think it is."

"Except for the five of us and Vrishabha, and perhaps Jyran rotting in hell, no one knows about you have been doing in the past year. There's just no evidence. Celina, trust me. You are safe."

Tyrell's forehead smoothed. "You're not getting it, Hayden."

"Then explain it to me," I asked, having a sneaking suspicion. "What exactly is bothering you? And don't say it's nothing 'cause I know something is going on. Talk to me."

Celina swallowed, pushing her purple fringe away from her eyes. "You want us to come clean. And there is only one way for it to actually happen. Hayden, we've decided to surrender."

"No!" I said, my voice at once turned gravelly undertone. Sparks flew out of my hands and they were slightly alarmed by my sudden outburst. They are so going to spoil this for everyone. "You know it's not over with Almourah's death, don't you?" I asked, glaring at her.

"Yes, but..."

"Celina, I'm putting my foot down. I forbid you to do anything as such."

"I'm not saying..."

"You belong to Rawat," I whispered loudly, "And Rawat is mine. Just like how Sharad is under King Aghasthya's power. It was his word that got Leena and Pruthvi off the hook, otherwise, they would have been behind bars right now. And don't forget, Pruthvi doesn't even belong to his dynasty." I leaned forward, spoke as though revealing a secret which it wasn't. "A word of a member of the high clan is regarded as Gospel statement in this country. They are allowed to play favorites. So just relax and let King Aghasthya do his thing. Stop feeling guilty, both of you. Whatever happened wasn't your fault but...just nobody's fault."

A smile broke across Tyrell's face. "Since when have you started treating yourself as one of them?"

"When it comes down to the matters of protecting my friends," I said leaning back, " I become one of them. "

"Talk about hypocrisy."

"That is how this country works. We gotta drift along. And it will work this way until it's really really clean. In the sense, until our generation starts taking over the country....politically."

Celina beamed. "Are you saying that you are accepting the throne?"

"All I am saying, the moment we enter the gates of the Panchayat, you'll be showered with abso-freakin'-lutely motherload of questions. Samagraha belongs to the lowest of the lower class of the Shreni System, so according to them, we are nothing but a rotten piece of crap. They eventually will let you go- I promise- but only after giving you third-degree torture."

Tyrell grimaced. "This is not helping."

"It will if you use our demeaned status in Panchayat as tactfully as you can. Tyrell, listen. Celina is safe. But you aren't 'cause you ain't from Dakshinpur and your King is not our friend. Panchayat will be riding down on your back today. They might not even believe that Rahu Kerenza debacle is over and done with. So here's a tip - you got to lead things up to the way that they have nothing else to ask and are forced to never speak of this evil Rahu again."

"Are you asking me to lie?"

"No. Hide," I replied, "And hiding ain't lying. That's something we gotta learn from Doctor. Answer to the point, and give a precise answer. Maintain pleasant and direct eye contact. The time to keep your emotions bottled up is actually today in the Panchayat. The more confidence you exert, the more nervous they'll get. And if things go downhill, where you think there's no way out...then feel free to point your finger at me."

"No!" Celina shrieked.

Tyrell threw himself back, looking disgruntled. "This is not a candy you're asking us to toss right at yah!"

"Come on. Like it or not, you are still a Kerenza by blood. Manipulation got to be your forte. But only in a case where you feel stuck, trust me on this, just throw all your accusations at me. Pruthvi and Leena have given their acceptance to blindly believe in me, and now I urge both of you to listen up. They want politics, so fair enough, let it be in their way. And I'd love to take advantage of the clan I belong to."

Tyrell shook his head. "Hayden, it's wrong."

"To hell with it. Tyrell, we suffered a lot. This country suffered a lot. We have been sucked into dark magic and politics in even epic proportions. It has been extremely difficult to fight back and come this far. I accept-mistakes have been made. Crimes have been committed. But if we all go to jail, everything will be back to square one. Citizens will have to bear the brunts of the kings like Bhupathi Garg. And eventually, Paramarashtra will go back to be the garbage of a country. Can't let it happen. Can't repeat history."

"So..."

"So...," I drawled, and smiled, placing my hands over their nervous palms. "We have to have each other's back. Let's protect this country by protecting ourselves first. Forget the past, and think of what's ahead of us. After we are done with all the drama in the Panchayat, once we go back home, I want you two to start off your life afresh. Promise me that."    

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