Sarwat Chadda - Ash Mistry and the City of Death

“Ha! Servant? I doubt anyone could command you. You are terror made flesh, Parvati.”

She smiles, a rare thing, then looks down the slope. “Why this particular village?”

“Their landlord defies me. He refuses to pay tribute and so must be punished.”

“Shall I send a detachment to raid the stores?” She points towards the row of round huts some distance away. “They will be full of grain this time of year.”

“No. Burn them. The message will be clear. Defy me and you will be annihilated.”

“And the captives?”

“What captives?” Ashoka draws his own sword. “I want no survivors.”

“Slaves could be sold, my lord.”

Ashoka stands up in his stirrups and turns to his warriors. “Listen to me,” he shouts. He sweeps the blade down towards the village. “You are my jackals. We feed on blood and the dead. No survivors. Kill them all!”

Howls fill the night. Then the line of horsemen descends the slope, drawing their weapons, and suddenly the night is filled with the thunder of hooves and battle cries. The moon shines on swords and spears and axes, each one sharp and notched with heavy use. Chariots – light wicker contraptions drawn by pairs of steeds – rattle and bounce over the uneven, rocky terrain. A driver weaves his team through a gap between two sandstone boulders as his passenger nocks an arrow. The cavalry formation fragments as each man races his companion, eager to be the first to kill. Ashoka whips his horse and it froths at the bit, neighing with savage delight. He grins and his heart soars, a passion too primitive for words, so he merely howls as the wind rushes in his ears.

The village stirs. Men stumble from their doors, bewildered and still half asleep. A dog races up to him, but is crushed under the hooves of his horse. The steed vaults over the low defensive wall and Ashoka catches the open-mouthed shock of a villager’s face before he drives the tip of his sword into it. He twists his wrist and the sword tears free. He does not even turn to look back.

Women run out, clutching screaming children and babies in their arms. They flee into the darkness. They will not escape. With a nod, three of his horsemen break off in pursuit.

He sees Parvati leap from her steed as it takes a spear in its chest. She turns in the air and her sword flashes. A head leaps off a pair of shoulders, trailing a ribbon of blood. She has not yet touched the ground. Her eyes burn with demonic light. Men fall beneath her blade like wheat beneath a reaper’s scythe. She does what she does best: end men’s lives.

Ashoka drops from his horse and sweeps his weapon across a man’s throat without pause. He rams his shield into the face of another as he charges into the melee.

A hammer slams into his wrist knocking his sword away. He spins and sees a huge, oak-chested man wielding a heavy wooden mattock. The man is covered in minor cuts, but swings the hammer with bone-shattering power. A soldier runs to Ashoka’s defence, then collapses as a single blow flattens his skull.

Ashoka discards his shield and leaps at the villager. Both fall and scrabble in the blood-soaked dust. He digs his fingers into the man’s neck, squeezing—

“Ash!”

Ash squeezes the throat of his enemy as other soldiers grab his arms to try and haul him back. The big, fat villager’s face turns red and his eyes bulge.

“Ash!” a girl screamed as she hung on to his arm. She wept and screamed again. Is she the man’s daughter? She is nothing. She is—

“Lucky?”

Ash dropped his grip and his dad gasped. There was a bruise over his cheek and he lay there, coughing and clutching his ribs. Had Ash punched him?

“Oh God, Dad, I’m so sorry.”

His mum switched on the light. Ash’s bedroom was wrecked. His books had been thrown everywhere, the chair legs were snapped, and there was a fist-sized hole in the cupboard door.

Had he done that in his sleep? Ash stumbled back on to his bed. “I’m so sorry.”

But no one listened. Mum was kneeling with Lucky beside Dad as his father struggled to breathe. Purple finger marks surrounded his neck.

Ash stared at his family and met Lucky’s gaze. She stared back at him with horror and disgust. Her eyes were red with tears, but her face was hard and pale. All she could do was shake her head.

He couldn’t bear to look. Instead he covered his face with his hands and sank down with a groan. What was happening to him?

“ sh?” His mum tapped his door. “There’s a friend to see you.”

“I don’t want to see anyone.”

“Ash, I think—”

“I said I don’t want to see anyone!”

The door opened. He didn’t need to turn to know exactly who it was. Ash remained where he was, looking at the wall, in the dark, his back to the door. “I especially don’t want to see you, Parvati.”

The light came on. Ash slowly swivelled round.

Parvati closed the door, sat down on the corner of his unmade bed and, taking off her glasses, looked around.

“Is that dent meant to be in the door?” she asked.

The worst of the damage had been fixed or tidied away. Ash had straightened up the shelves and, with his dad, repaired the broken table and replaced the chair. He’d talked to his parents about it and they’d put it down to the trauma of Gemma’s death. His dad now wore a cravat to hide the bruises.

“What do you want?” Ash snapped.

“To see how you’re doing. We’ve not spoken since that night your friend died.”

“Since you let her die, you mean.”

When Parvati didn’t respond, Ash peered at her. She’d changed. Her hair was a mess – dried out, brittle and knotted – and her skin, usually smooth and clear, bore lines and a sickly yellow tinge.

“You’re ill,” Ash said. “I didn’t know demons got ill.”

She smiled weakly. “Everyone gets ill.”

“And what’s happened to your eyes? The whites have completely gone.” The green filled her entire socket, utterly serpentine. The pupils dilated in the semi-darkness to huge black discs.

“My demon heritage grows stronger as I age. The eyes are just the beginning. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I’m human at all.”

“I’m sure I don’t care.” Ash stood up and walked to the door. “Well, you’ve seen me. You can go.”

“Ash…”

“She’s dead because of you,” he said ever so quietly. It had to be quiet because if he let out what was really inside, he’d tear down the house. “You could have saved her.”

“You think Jackie would have let her go?” Parvati looked up at him. “She would have killed her whatever we did.”

“Why? Because rakshasas have no honour? Because they can’t be trusted?” He opened the door for her. “You should know.”

Parvati stood up. “What’s the point? You’re just a foolish boy. You have no idea what’s at stake. You think some mortal girl’s important in this? Grow up, Ash.”

Ash grabbed Parvati round her throat and slammed her against the wall. His fist went back, tightened so his knuckles were white and shaking with rage.

Parvati gazed back at him without emotion. But her fangs were fully extended, each one coated with her fatal venom. This close, her large, serpentine eyes dominated her face and the curving green scales shimmered. “You want to kill me, Ash? Is that it?”

Kill the rakshasa. Wasn’t that his duty? Wasn’t that his reason for existing?