from his kurta and handed it to her, holding out his right hand. “Go on. We don’t have a rakhi, but this thread will do just fine.”
Tara took the thread and, with shaking hands, tied the flimsy cotton thread to Ananth’s wrist, completing an age-old ceremony of love between brother and sister. Then he went back to preparing the meal.
“So, why did you run away?” he asked as he began skinning and cleaning the hare near the mouth of the cave.
Tara sighed deeply. “To find my mother and my grandfather.”
“And you say they’ll be at the Devi Temple?”
Tara shrugged.
“That’s what I need to find out. I know he is still alive.”
“We will find him,” said Ananth. “We need him back.”
Ananth washed the hare with the water out of the animal skin and took it to the fire. He smeared the hare with the red tandoori masala mixed with salt, then skewered it from head to tail using a stout branch and laid it on the rocks.
“And your mother?” asked Ananth.
“She was special, too.”
“How so?”
“She could see into the future,” said Tara.
“Really?” said Ananth, sitting back on his haunches and gaping at her. “What did she see?”
“Many things, but not all of it was good.”
“Oh! Is that why ...,” asked Ananth, and his voice trailed away.
“Can we not talk about it right now?” snapped Tara. “Please?” she said, noting the hurt expression on Ananth’s face. “Since she left, our life has turned upside down.”
“Sorry,” said Ananth, staring into the flames. “But if you get it off your chest, you may feel better.”
A wonderful fragrance of roast hare was starting to fill the cave. Occasionally, the fire hissed and crackled as a globule of fat from the meat dropped into the red-hot embers.
“As soon as Mother and Grandfather disappeared, Father remarried Kali. I’m sure Zarku had something to do with Father remarrying even though we did not see him before Diwali night. Father allowed her to ill-treat us without a word in our defence. After I heard Kali plot with Zarku to kill us, we had to escape. And then I lost Suraj, my baby brother who I was responsible for. I let him die. What an unlucky person I am. I lose the ones that I love the most. Watch out, Ananth, or you’ll be next.”
Tara buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“That is enough, Tara. Not a single word more,” said Ananth sternly. “What’s happened with your mother and brother is not your fault. You did the best you could. Look at me. I have lost both my parents. Am I not unluckier than you?”
Tara reached out and held his hand tightly.
“I am so glad I have you, Ananth. It hurts so much to go on living without my family. I wish I could die so we could all be together. I feel as much an orphan as you do. But,” she said, squeezing his hand, “I have you, my brother, and we’ll be all right together.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow. Now, eat this delicious hare I’ve cooked. You can’t let it go to waste.”
Surprisingly, Tara found that she was hungry. She gnawed at the meat, feeling spent yet light-hearted. After a couple of bites, Tara stopped eating and sniffed.
“Ananth, is this meat fresh?”
“Of course, silly! You saw me kill it in front of you. Why do you ask?”
“Then why does it smell rotten?” asked Tara, sniffing it all over. “I hope it does not have some kind of bone disease.”
A large shadow, then two, then three, fell across the wall of the cave. Tara and Ananth both looked up in horror.
Tara screamed.
CHAPTER 11 THE VETALAS
Three large men with translucent green skin stood blocking the entrance. A foul smell emanating from them permeated every corner of the cave, making Tara nauseous. The men bared their broken, yellow teeth and grunted.
The Vetalas, thought Tara. He’s sent them to kill us.
“What do you want?” asked Tara in a shaky voice.
Up close, they were so ugly that it almost hurt to keep eye contact. Each of the men had a deep gash on his forehead. Their eyes were black, as if having seen some terrible sight, the whites had dissolved completely.
The men grunted and advanced, one large, backward-turned foot at a time. They converged on Tara and Ananth, blocking escape.
Ananth inched backward and grabbed a burning twig from the fire. He scooped it up and threw it into the face of the nearest Vetala. The man swept it aside without any effort and continued advancing.
“Listen to me,” pleaded Tara. “We have not harmed you in any way. Please spare us.”
No reaction. Grunting, the Vetalas advanced.
Ananth launched himself at the nearest Vetala and started clawing at his face, while Tara flung whatever she could at them: pots, rocks, shoes, burning twigs. One of the twigs landed on the clothes of the Vetala closest to her and he lit up like a torch. He rolled on the ground, screaming in agony. His companions ignored him. The burning Vetala grunted and shrieked so loudly that Tara’s ears were ringing. The fire engulfed him rapidly, and within moments he was a charred lump of sickly smelling flesh.
That left two. Enraged, the remaining Vetalas lunged at Tara and Ananth.
“Ananth, help,” croaked Tara as rough hands closed tightly around her throat.
But Ananth had his hands full trying to prevent the other Vetala from getting a grip around his own neck. Tara kicked weakly as the cave started to go black.
Suddenly, Ananth twisted out of the grip of the Vetala he had been grappling with and made a dash for the entrance of the cave, which was unguarded.
He’s running away, thought Tara as she gasped for breath. He’s leaving me with these monsters.
Panic hammered at her chest. She was all alone!
“Ananth!” she started to yell, but no sound came out as she fought for breath. The green monster followed Ananth outside. Someone yelled, there was scuffling, and then silence. A sweat-soaked Ananth came dashing back into the cave as Tara still struggled with her attacker.
With a running leap, Ananth jumped onto the Vetala’s back, clawing at his eyes.
“Aaaargh,” the Vetala yelled. It reached back and slashed at Ananth’s exposed face with long and dirty fingernails.
“Tara, the fire,”
