‘And you don’t stop them?’ Shishupal asked Eklavvya, shocked at such wanton vulgarity.

‘Stop a Valka woman from mating?’ Eklavvya snorted, almost choking on the meat. Taur laughed too, each chortle like rumbling thunder. ‘Shishupal is funny.’

Shishupal didn’t know what was funny. As their Lord, he thought of marching up to the eager Chedi soldiers and giving them an earful, but decided against the notion. The War is about to begin again after the Armistice. They might be dead in a year for all I know. And you are no longer their Commander, remember?

‘Shall we go inside, Shishupal? Maybe your brother is in one of the tents. Best to wait. Come, come.’

Shishupal saw no point in resisting. He followed Eklavvya and Taur as if in a trance. Clansmen were gathered around the huge red carcass of the sambar, suspended over a roaring fire, skewered on a spit. Blood and grease dripped into the flames as two Valkas turned the meat.

‘You are not eating a single morsel till I ride you, Eklavvya!’ Her hair fell down in a wild cascade to her shoulders. Like Eklavvya, she wore braids bound with crow and bone fetishes. A throwing axe was pushed into the belt that encircled her waist. A coarse robe covered her left shoulder but did nothing to hide her lithe form.

‘Eklavvya despises the night and all the demonic urges it brings in women. Oh, Spirits take me...’

‘The Spirits can take you after I am done with you,’ the woman laughed. She turned towards Shishupal. ‘You have large hands. I could ride you after I am done with him. Or together. Eklavvya cannot handle me alone.’

Eklavvya turned almost pleading eyes towards him. ‘Would Shishupal like to join?’

Shishupal turned a shade of hibiscus, feeling like Surajmukhi, whose legs Kalyavan had been trying to spread apart. What is happening? Suddenly, the roar of warning voices turned them around. A bleary-eyed youth had tottered into the camp, only to be greeted by spears.

The boy could not have made a timelier entry, thought Shishupal, blessing his stars. ‘Eklavvya, that is my squire,’ he said quickly. ‘I would be remiss if some harm were to befall him.’

Eklavvya gave a whistle and the guards let Mayasur through. ‘You have a Rakshasa for a pet?’ Eklavvya asked, crinkling his nose. ‘Mind your throat when you sleep.’

Mayasur walked unsteadily towards them. Seeing Eklavvya, he swallowed whatever he had been about to say. Even Shishupal’s questioning eyes did not elicit an answer from him. Eklavvya looked on amused. Shishupal went up to him and grabbed his shoulders.

‘Ap...apol...apologies, my Lord. Lord Dantavakra has been found,’ Mayasur muttered. ‘Lady Rasha requests you to hurry.’

‘Where?’

‘Uhm…lying in a ditch behind the tavern…’ He cast a nervous glance around the camp. ‘The tavern from where he set out to complete his task.’