‘Come to kill me finally, Acharya?’ Karna asked softly.

‘Maybe. Last I heard, you were at a wedding and got an innocent boy killed. How did you end up here?’

‘Long story.’

‘Should have killed yourself when I told you to, boy.’

‘Just do it, Acharya. I am ready.’ Karna lifted his chin, baring his throat. ‘I’ve been ready a long time.’

Parshuram’s eyes narrowed to furious slits in their pink sockets. His dried lips slid back in a vicious smile. The sinews in his neck grew taut as he picked up his axe, preparing to slash through the outstretched neck with one mighty blow. Karna’s breath hissed out of his throat, his neck tingling in anticipation of the much-awaited release. At last. But Acharya Parshuram’s arm did not move.

‘I stand for justice, Karna. Something I could never teach you. And now I see why. You will die by my hand, but when the true you rises to threaten the realm. Not before. It will be Justice,’ he uttered ominously as if his words made sense to Karna.

The Acharya scratched his matted beard and looked at Karna’s half-plucked skin-armour. ‘I see I trained you well to keep your true nature hidden. I thought skinning you alive would bring it out, yet it remains caged.’

The memory of it pierced Karna as painfully as Dimvak’s rod had done. ‘I am no longer that beast.’

‘Prophecy does not lie, Highmaster. Sooner or later, you will let go and lay your hand upon the World of Man, to darken it. But I will be there, waiting. For I am the Champion of Dawn. I stand in your way. It has been so foretold. But rest for now. I promise to make your death as painless as possible. It is the least I can do for a former apprentice. Come, children.’

Masha and the other girl retreated into the shadows.

‘Until we meet again…Son of Darkness.’

And then he was gone, like the last trails of mist on a gust of wind. Dying embers were all that remained on the brazier. And in the rising blackness of night, a chained animal growled.

TO BE CONTINUED IN

DANCE OF SHADOWS

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the splitting of the Union, and resurrection of an ancient foe, the future of the realm hangs perilously in the balance. From the ancient fortress of Hastinapur, to the forbidding shores of Kalinga, chaos reigns. But questions blow in the wind, unanswered.

Did Parshuram and his apprentice fail in the task cast upon them by the Seven? Why is Karna imprisoned by Jhestal in Magadh? And why is Mati risking her life to help the Princess of Balkh uncover age-old secrets? While fires rage in Mathura, these questions plunge the Magadhan Empire into a maelstrom of blood and ruin.