Mrithyunjay assented to Narasimha's words, "Yes, you're right."

All three of them raced ahead. They silenced all the guards they encountered. They had to traverse just a few hundred feet to the fag end of the dungeon. The cool and damp air chilled them to their bones. Their hands instinctively sought comfort in each other's. Their teeth chattered as they navigated their way across the dungeon.

Mrithyunjay grabbed a burning torch fixed to the wall and started walking. The visibility was extremely poor. He held up the torch to show them the path. The passage narrowed down. It wouldn't accommodate more than a single person at a time. Narasimha and Vinayak automatically fell back behind Mrithyunjay in a single file.

Mrithyunjay adjusted the black mask they had rifled from the dead guards over his face. Narasimha and Vinayak also wore their masks. All their senses were fixated on the massive doors of the dungeon that lay right ahead. The blood coursed through their veins. The general commotion and uproar within the palace increased manifold.

Mrithyunjay's breath hitched momentarily in his throat. He paused and inserted the key in its groove. It gyrated, clicked and trailed the dark and congested corners of the key hole leaving the door slightly ajar. All three of them heaved and pushed the unwieldy, towering frames of iron.

Mrithyunjay's companions had taken care of the soldiers outside. Their bodies were sprawled across the entrance one on top of the other in a zigzag pattern. Mrithyunjay motioned to his men to hide the bodies in the bushes. The entire group huddled together in relief.

Mrithyunjay cautioned them, "Come on, men. It's still too early to celebrate. We are within the fortress. A lot can go wrong even now."

The men broke up and started walking. Their eyes had a grim determination. Their faces were set and resolute. There wasn't the slightest hint of smile on their lips.

There was a sheltered walkway from the dungeon. It led to a pavilion in the garden. The path from the pavilion towards the main palace was unsheltered after this point. The ground was initially soft and slushy before it turned gravelly.

The gravel path led to a narrow tunnel-like structure. The gradient of the slope ascended upwards. Narasimha tugged Mrithyunjay's arm, "Which way are we going?"

Lights blinked from the edge of the tunnel. Once they were clear of the tunnel, Mrithyunjay took out a rough, hand-drawn map from his waistcoat and explained their plan to Narasimha, "We will reach the North East Dome from here. After that, we take this passage that leads to the ramparts. We descend from there using ropes and swim the moat surrounding the fortress. Our horses are waiting here for us."

Narasimha shook his head, "It will be very risky. This section of the palace is heavily guarded."

"I know but the others options are even more so. It is a very short stretch. We'll be in the open after that", Mrithyunjay said.

The gongs went off from the dungeons. The alarm had been raised. The lights in the palace blazed to life. Troops of soldiers started running in the direction of the dungeon. The vigilance and patrolling teams started combing every corner of the palace. The ramparts were teeming with soldiers and guards.

Narasimha pulled Mrithyunjay and his men along with him towards the palace granary. They hid behind the humongous bales of rice and wheat. The dust rose up and settled around them. Mrithyunjay appraised the dark room and said, "We are temporarily safe here for now. But we can't remain here forever."

Narasimha closed his eyes with his palm and furrowed his brows trying hard to think, "The whole palace is awake and agog. Half of us would be dead by the time we make it to the ramparts. The rest would be shot down before we swim across the moat. In the circumstances, getting to those horses is literally impossible. We have to rethink our plan."

Mrithyunjay agreed, "True. Are you thinking of something else?"

Narasimha ran towards the right and unbarred a big window within the granary. The branches of a huge tree lay adjacent to it. He pointed towards those branches and said, "Beyond this tree, there is a sprawling marsh that extends a couple of miles. It ends near the old section of the palace overlooking a minor tributary. Boats are always tied on its banks. There is a small fishing colony there. We will ferry across from there."

The plan appeared feasible. They climbed on top of the branch one by one to avoid putting excessive weight and pressure on it. Their legs clamped around the tree trunk as they slid down and landed on the ground.

Narasimha led the way because he was familiar with all the paths around the palace. He extended his hand for Mrithyunjay to catch, "Bhava, this marsh is tricky. Please don't let go of my hand and don't place a foot anywhere else except where I place mine."

Mrithyunjay rolled his eyes but did not say anything. He let Narasimha have his own way. All their clothes were bespattered with mud. The wet soil clung and pulled them down every time they raised their legs to take a step. A gross and vile odor emanated from the marsh. Everyone instinctively closed their nostrils with the sleeves of their upper garments.

Progress across the marsh was painfully slow. They panted and paused when they came up short of breath. The earliest rays of dawn fell upon their eyes as they neared the end of the marsh. Narasimha pointed towards a point where the soil color changed slightly, "The marsh ends there. Beyond that, lies the old section of the palace. We won't go in. We will merely bypass it and make our way to the banks of the tributary."

There was tremendous relief in everyone's eyes. There was no sign of life or movement. Everything lay in eerie stillness except their feet pounding the ground as they raced towards the bank of the tributary. The broken and crumbling walls of the old section of the palace gazed upon the running figures like a ghostly apparition.

The boats were tied near the banks just as Narasimha had said. From where they stood, the lights twinkled from the huts of the fishermen. The smoke rose up in spirals mingling with the early morning mist. Mrithyunjay left behind a bag of gold coins where the boats earlier stood.

He contemplated, "This must be enough recompense for taking away their livelihood without even asking them."

Narasimha held his brother-in-law in his adulatory gaze. Mrithyunjay shied away from the youngster's apparent hero worship. He averted his eyes and cleared his throat, "Untie the boats. Fast."

Mrithyunjay's companions had already settled in their boats. They held the upraised oars in their hands ready to set out. Narasimha also proceeded to untie a boat. He pushed it against the current of the river before jumping in. He cleared and dusted beside him making room for Mrithyunjay to sit.

Mrithyunjay's cheeks broke into a soft, dimpled smile. A slight burning sensation erupted near his right arm. He pressed and massaged his fingers against the blue mark on his arm. He shut his eyes to still the excruciating pain that shot through.

A gruff, crusty, battle-ridden and icy hand grabbed Mrithyunjay and swirled him around. It was the king of Mahishmati himself. He stood alone blocking Mrithyunjay's path. Both of them jumped apart as though stung by a wasp at the very touch.

Subahu's legs gave way. His breathing plummeted. A terrible weight crushed him from within. His eyelids were closing. It took all of his self-control to keep them open. The nearby sounds refused to register in his ears. His legs stiffened and became numb like a hard piece of log.

Narasimha and Vinayak glanced at each other, horrified. The color evaded their cheeks. They stared at Mrithyunjay, and then at Maharaj Subahu.

Narasimha yelled, "Come on, Bhava. Let's go."

Mrithyunjay's eyes burned with hatred. His father's face floated up in his consciousness. Clutching his throbbing arm, he jumped on top of Subahu. Both of them battled and rolled over each other in the mud. It looked like two hungry locks of flame getting entangled with each other.

Narasimha cried, "No!"

His cry brought Mrithyunjay to his senses. He relaxed his hold over Subahu. Narasimha ran towards Mrithyunjay and entreated him. He shook him, "You cannot put everything on stake."

Mrithyunjay was about to get up when Subahu tightened his grip over him. His hands smothered Mrithyunjay who lay on top of him. He wouldn't let him go. He crushed Mrithyunjay in his grasp. His ribs cracked and he screamed, "Ah..."

Narasimha pleaded Subahu, "Just let my Bhava go. Just let whatever relationships I have remaining remain. I don't want this kingdom. I will never contest your power. Just let me live with my sister and my family. What would you get by hounding us?

"I don't care, Narasimha. It is my kingdom. Who are you to give it to me? I will hound you and your people. It gives me pleasure seeing them holler in pain. It gives me satisfaction seeing you kiss the ground and wallow before me like this. I want to snatch everything from you just the way everything was snatched from me."

The words roused Mrithyunjay's anger like molten lava. He shattered Subahu's arms that had pinned him down. He retorted in a low and menacing voice, "In your dreams, Subahu."

Subahu foamed at his mouth. The drool dripped from the sides as he bragged, "Your wife thought she would pit herself against me? I sent her three ships; ghost ships loaded with dead people. Her people. Even the baby in her womb will shudder at my name."

Mrithyunjay throttled Subahu who continued to rave and rant. The blood vessels in Mrithyunjay's right hand congealed. It felt as though that arm had come apart on its own. Subahu's eyes turned repeatedly towards the old section of the palace. A few hundred guards were running towards them. He relaxed and let up, "Now I can die in peace. I will take all of you with me. See."

Subahu pointed towards his soldiers. His smile chilled Mrithyunjay and Narasimha to their bones. He had been holding them back till his soldiers could come for them. The words with which he infuriated them were all a means to this end.

Subahu pulled Narasimha down and whispered in his ear, "Your sister will become a widow. Her child will be fatherless. She will curse your existence to the end of her days just like my mother cursed mine."

Narasimha gaped aghast at the adult shipwreck of a childhood spent unloved, unwanted and neglected. The poison had seeped into the finest fiber of his being. The toxicity he exhuded spared none in its wake. He deemed himself wronged. And for all the countless wrongs and assumed hurts, he could annihilate the whole world around him. It wrenched Narasimha's heart to see the man whose finger he held and took his first steps fall down to this level of maniac depravity and debasement.

The fishermen in the colony came running to the spot. They glanced at Narasimha and at the running soldiers and sprang in between them, "Go away, Prince. We will hold them back."

Subahu broke into spasms that took over his entire body. Mrithyunjay and Narasimha jumped into the boat and rowed away. Narasimha's mind was in shambles at what he had witnessed and heard. He looked at the writhing body on the shore and the fishermen getting mercilessly slashed by the soldiers. Tears glazed beneath his eyeballs.

Mrithyunjay patted Narasimha's shoulder with his right hand. Narasimha looked into his eyes, "How is your right arm feeling now, Bhava?"

"Must have pulled a nerve. It feels better already. I am able to move it without much discomfort."

Narasimha did not say anything in reply. He continued rowing the boat taking care of the oars on Mrithyunjay's side as well.

Author's Note:
Dear friends and readers, I am going to use all of you as the bouncing ball for sounding my doubts about this chapter. I am not very sure if the chapter actually evoked the emotions I wanted it to convey. I don't know on which side of the spectrum the happenings landed-: the dramatic or the melodramatic. Did the chapter convey Subahu's primeval emotions of anger and vengeance? Or was his villainy over the top? Was this what you were expecting out of the chapter? Based on your feedback, I will let the chapter remain as it is or rework it a bit so that it reads and comes across in a better fashion.