Tara Trilogy Three E-Book Set by Mahtab Narsimhan

Author:Mahtab Narsimhan [Narsimhan, Mahtab]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stardust Stories

A soft groan woke her the next morning. A white-faced Raani was curled up into a tight ball. Tara immediately went to her.

“Don’t,” screamed Raani the moment Tara touched her leg.

The scream woke everyone. Ananth jumped to his feet, his bow and arrow in hand. Kabir sat up weakly, brandishing his knife. Vayu lumbered to his feet, blinking in the bright sunlight.

“My leg,” gasped Raani. “I’m dying!”

“Let me take a look, Raani,” said Tara. “See how bad it is. Try to bear it, okay?”

The look did nothing to assuage her fears. Raani’s calf was swollen and puffy. Some areas had a purplish tinge. The infection was spreading really quickly and if she did not get to a village soon, she might even lose her leg. There was no way Raani would be able to walk with this wound, let alone run. Their chances of escaping were less than zero and Zarku knew it.

“How bad is it?” asked Raani. Her eyes searched Tara’s face.

“The wounds are infected,” said Tara, trying to keep her voice light and her expression calm. “Pain is the only thing you’ll have to worry about. But you won’t be dying today.”

Raani did not smile.

“Can you do anything right now?” said Ananth. He crouched next to Tara.

“I can put a salve on it, the same one I used for Kabir,” said Tara. “I still have some of the herbs left.”

“Then hurry. We can move out immediately,” said Ananth. “I’ll take a look around in the meantime.”

Tara found some flat rocks and quickly ground up the remaining ritha and tulsi leaves she had saved. Vayu rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. He looked exhausted. They all did. They hadn’t eaten for two days and were at the end of their strength. She had been so confident that they’d be able to save the children. Now Suraj was almost lost to them and two of their group were badly injured. What chance did they have of saving themselves let alone Suraj, or Sadia, who was still captive? And if they failed, Zarku would be back to haunt the villagers.

Ananth burst into the clearing. “We have a chance of escaping — a very good chance!”

“Really?” asked Kabir.

Ananth nodded. “I was exploring the area and found a machan. I climbed up to take a look and I saw the river! The river!” He almost yelled out the last two words. “It’s not too far, maybe a few hours’ walk, depending on our speed. But we’ll definitely make it there by nightfall. We have to!”

“That means … that means —” said Raani. A tear slipped down her cheek and she dashed it away.

“That means, we make it to the river, we find a boat and escape. Prabala will know how to defeat Zarku and save Suraj,” said Ananth. “And we don’t have to worry about hiding again tonight. In fact, if we’re lucky, we won’t have to face Zarku again on our own.”

Tara stared at him. They actually had a chance! They did! Vayu rushed to Ananth, picked him up and did a small dance.

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