Prithvi almost dropped her teer-kaman. ‘No!’ She reached into her cloth bag and shoved more arrows into her quiver.

Only half the Souls assembled there had ever faced a kirtimukha before. Aarti, Payal, Dhara, Jagrav and Savitri were not part of the group that had ventured to the Dronagiri woods to rescue Prithvi. Idhika recalled how that kirtimukha had easily overpowered five Souls and an acharya. Can our months of training give us a chance this time?

Idhika started shouting instructions. They had little time.

‘How many do you think they are?’ Prithvi asked her.

Idhika could see the pack of kirtimukhas stampeding down the snowy mountain, heading towards the trench, towards them. ‘Not enough time,’ she told them. ‘Remember what Acharya Ashwini told us. We cannot reason with these barbaric beasts.’

Prithvi began chanting a mantra and fired an arrow that shot up into the air towards the kirtimukhas. It eventually descended between the running herd of monsters—blowing up like a bomb and pushing two bodies off the ridges of the mountain. However, the other kirtimukhas barely noticed what seemed like a minor loss to them.

‘What do we do?’ Savitri asked.

‘Run? Hide?’ Aarti questioned.

‘We cannot possibly take on so many of them. Quickly!’ Idhika looked at them all. ‘We have to invoke Agni. That is our only hope.’

‘What?’ Aarti asked.

‘Aranyani taught me. Just listen!’ Idhika snapped. ‘First, we have to draw a Swastika on the earth around the fire.’ She rushed to grab a loose stick from the tinder and started to mark out lines in the snow. ‘And to complete the invocation, four of us will have to Atmayog around the fire to attack them, in the form of any companions we can find. The remaining six of us will face the beasts with our weapons. We need to decide who the four Atmayogis are now so they can search for companions as soon as possible. Hurry!’

The marauding contingent of kirtimukhas was getting closer and closer, only moments away from besieging the trench. No one, not even Aarti, questioned the Eka’s instructions.

‘Who are the four Atmayogis, then?’ Aarti asked and instantly stepped away from the fire. Payal and Dhara, on the other hand, sat down right beside it, ready to Atmayog.

‘We need two more,’ Idhika said. Everyone knew that sitting in Atmayog was the graver of the two options. ‘The archers need to decide quickly among themselves!’

Prithvi looked at her brother. ‘Ujal, why don’t you fight? I’ll sit.’

Ujal wouldn’t ever let that happen. He would always feel responsible for her. ‘No! Let me sit. Don’t worry. I’ll find myself a strong companion. Plus, between the two of us, you’re the better archer. We need you to protect those of us in Atmayog.’

Everyone looked at Prithvi. Her brother was choosing to put himself in danger. He would be sitting in a deep state of meditation, unable to react to whatever went on around him. Prithvi knew she couldn’t take the time to argue and convince him; she had to act fast. ‘Okay,’ she said reluctantly, taking out the Nagsutra from her finger. ‘Put this on. It’s the only way I’m letting you do this.’