As Kali began gulping down her food, Shiva turned towards Ganesh. The Neelkanth’s elder son was staring into the forest, his eyes moist. Ganesh had not touched the food in front of him. Shiva could see he was praying under his breath, his hands clasped tightly, repeating a chant in rapid succession.

‘Ganesh,’ said Shiva. ‘Eat.’

Ganesh was pulled back from his trance. ‘I’m not hungry, baba.’

‘Ganesh!’ said Shiva firmly. ‘We may have to engage in battle the moment we reach Devagiri. I will require all of you to be strong. And for that you need to eat. So if you love your mother and want to protect her, keep yourself strong. Eat.’

Ganesh nodded and looked at his banana-leaf plate. He had to eat.

Shiva turned towards Veerbhadra, who had already finished and was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth that Krittika had handed to him.

‘Bhadra, order the heralds to make an announcement,’ said Shiva. ‘We’ll leave in ten minutes.’

‘Yes, Shiva,’ said Veerbhadra and rose up immediately.

Shiva pushed his empty banana-leaf plate aside and walked away. He reached the wooden drum where the water was stored, scooped some water out with his hands and gargled.

A chill ran up his spine again. He looked up at the sky, towards the north, about to make a prayer to the Holy Lake. Then he shook his head. It wasn’t required.

‘He’ll not hurt her. He cannot hurt her. If there’s one person in this world that that fool loves, it is my Sati. He’ll not hurt her.’

‘You are behaving like traitors!’ shouted Vraka.

Brigadier Vraka had been ordered by Parvateshwar to mobilise the army quickly and leave for Devagiri. Parvateshwar hadn’t told them anything about why they were required in the Meluhan capital and the general himself had rushed out earlier with Maharishi Bhrigu. It had taken Vraka two days to get his soldiers boarded onto ships and begin their journey up the Indus. However, they had been waylaid at Mohan Jo Daro by a non-violent protest.

The governor of the city remained loyal to the emperor, but his people worshipped the Neelkanth. When they heard that their army was sailing up the Indus to battle with the Neelkanth, they decided to rebel. Almost the entire population of Mohan Jo Daro had marched out of the city, boarded their boats and anchored all across the river. The line of boats extended across the massive breadth of the Indus and covered nearly a kilometre in length. It was impossible for Vraka to ram his ships through such an effective blockade.

‘We will be traitors to Emperor Daksha,’ said the leader of the protestors, ‘but we will not be traitors to the Neelkanth!’

Vraka drew his sword. ‘I will kill you all if you don’t move,’ he warned.