Chapter 36 The Yaksha
Chandra hadn’t needed the warning Veer had given her. One look into his transformed red-rimmed eyes and she read her death. This beast, or whatever it was that took over Veer’s body, wanted her dead. She took off running and her sudden flight was an impetus for the creature to give her chase.
Twigs snapped underfoot, leaves slapped their wide palms into Chandra’s face, momentarily blinding her, but she had Veer’s machete out and cleared most of the big obstacles in her path.
She looked behind and was dismayed to realize that although she lost sight of Veer, she had left him a wide trail of destroyed foliage to follow her. Hunt her.
It was a terrifying word to even contemplate, but that’s what was happening. The look in his eyes just before she took off had told her he wouldn’t rest until he had her in his claws.
She couldn’t see him now, but she heard him distantly. The roars and guttural growls like that of a hungry beast.
She sheathed her machete and veered off the self-created path and tried to think of a way they could come out of this disaster alive.
She crouched low and went through the undergrowth trying not to make too much noise, hoping her plain brown clothes would help camouflage better in the shadows created by the massive treetops.
She kept a steady lookout for him as she reached a hoary old neem tree, whose height was unrivaled by the other trees, and began climbing it for a better vantage point, using her short knife to prevent track marks.
The forest darkened further as the sun went westering. The sounds from Veer’s rampage had lessened considerably in the past hour. Maybe he was tiring, thought Chandrasena with hope, but she couldn’t discount the possibility that the beast was probably just waiting to out-exhaust her.
Fortunately, she was able to climb from one tree to another, as if traveling on an uneven, treacherous green highway. Sturdy vines provided enough leverage to cross any gaps that came during her journey.
But then a patch of pale night-blooming flowers sprung alive, narrowly missing her face, instead feasting on a passing gnat, heralding the arrival of night with all its new challenges. It made her aware of other immediate problems, shelter, foremost among them.
During her daytime journey, she had managed to avoid any hostile animals. Emphasis on hostile.
She had come across the odd black leopard-jaguar napping in the branches of the tree, but they just stared at her with interest and didn’t do anything to impede her progress.
From her experience with wild animals in the woods of Amaravathi, she knew predators rarely tolerated the presence of another straying into their territory.
After seeing the lack of animals when they had initially woken up in the Dandakaranya, she now couldn’t seem to take a step without coming across these odd creatures that seemed to be a weird mix of many animal species. It was beyond puzzling.
She almost got the sense that Veer wasn’t supposed to see the animals, and now that he wasn’t with her, the spell had been lifted.
But who knew what these animals were like—if they really were animals? She couldn’t forget the human cry made by the rabbit when Veer had squelched it under his foot, the one and only time she had looked back when she was running from him.
Nor could she unsee the human arm separated from the torso that lay in the middle of a wide path of destruction made by Veer’s bold course through the forest. No, they definitely were not animals. They were…something she had no name for.
She stopped for a minute on the branches of a sturdy saman tree and weighed her options. Unlike the weird animals, the vegetation appeared normal. She didn’t dare eat anything, but that had to change as well. She was hungry and thirsty from her sprint.
Water wasn’t a problem; she saw many minor brooks and even a shallow pool that served as a watering spot for several animals. It was the not knowing that made her anxious—whether anything in this place was worth eating or drinking without falling susceptible to whatever ailment afflicted Veer.
Tiredness sapped the strength from her muscles, pooling in her feet that had only a brief rest since the day started. It was the adrenaline rush of immediate danger that propelled her, but now she was coming down from it and was aware of the numerous aches and pains.
It was fortunate she had her weapons, but it was a cold comfort to know that even they wouldn’t be of much help should she engage in combat with Veer.
Their earlier sparring sessions, for which she was thankful now, taught her a few tricks but also told her how much he had been holding back. In terms of brute strength and hand combat, she had no hope of matching Veer, much less the beast he had become.
She had never felt so helpless. The day had only gotten worse from the time they found themselves separated from their friends, in the middle of the magical heart of Dandakaranya.
She still had no idea of what made Veer turn…rabid. It probably had something to do with his ring, but she didn’t know the specifics.
What should she do now? She couldn’t leave him to get help—she had no idea which way was out of the forest—and no way to call for help. The hopelessness of her situation slumped her shoulders even more.
“O’ blessed Mother, please show me a way. I have run out of options,” whispered Chandra, praying to her favorite goddess.
She wasn’t expecting an answer of any sort, so when the voice came, she was so dumbfounded that she almost unseated herself.
“Praying to the goddess won’t do you any good this time, Princess,” said a whispery voice, like the dry crackle of twigs.
She searched frantically for the person, but all she saw were tightly furled leaves of the saman tree, some solitary dragonflies flitting about, and a bunch of beetles.
A skinny green frog in superb camouflage hung to the moss-covered branch by its pads.
She thought it appeared almost normal when it caught a fly, and then she spotted its forked tongue and sharp teeth.
“Hello?” she said cautiously, in case her mind was playing tricks on her. “Is anyone here?”
“Do you want me to yell, Princess? Wouldn’t want to grab the attention of the beast chasing you.”
“Are you…here?” she asked, squinting at her surroundings.
“Of course.”
“Where? Oh…are you invisible, perhaps?”
“Humans,” said the voice, and this time it contained a touch of amused disgust. “Can’t see the forest for the trees, I swear. So limited. Look to your left, no, not that left…your other left. I am visible on the tree trunk.”
“Where? All I see is…a tree trunk.”
“Yes, that’s right, I am the tree trunk. Look.” A sigh came like leaves whispering. “Lean back a little and try to see me.”
Chandra did as he asked and suddenly, she could make out the face formed by the grooves of the wood on the trunk. A craggy face with deep grooves on the cheeks, thick eyebrows, and a long beard. A dry twig rose from the middle of his forehead.
Chandra watched, amazed as the “face” moved on the trunk, occupying a different part of the tree. This time a clutch of twigs and leaves shaped themselves to form a face.
“Who are you?”
“I am Makhadeva, the guardian of this forest.”
Chandra wondered if it was impolite to ask what kind of being he was, but the guardian seemed to have read her mind.
“I’m a yaksha. I’m an amorphous being capable of assuming any shape.”
She had heard of the yakshas. They were supernatural beings tasked with the protection of natural treasures. They were neither needlessly benevolent nor particularly malevolent.
“Fear not, Princess. I could never harm you,” said the voice, noting her trepidation.
“How do you know who I am?” she asked.
“I know about everything that steps into my domain.” His voice was odd, since it wasn’t exactly coming out of a human throat and it carried the distinct sound of dry twigs rubbing together, but she was able to understand him perfectly.
“Can you help me? My husband seems to have been afflicted by some sort of ailment.”
“It’s not an ailment. He’s like that because of a curse,” came his patient explanation.
“A curse! But why? And…could you help him?” asked Chandra feeling more and more helpless. But at least she was getting some answers.
“Why would I do that, Princess, when I was the one who cursed him?”
She stared at the being, struck dumb for several moments. “You cursed him?! Why?”
His voice dipped. “Every living thing in this forest is sacred, and under my protection. So when he killed a being here, the curse came into effect.”
“But he didn’t know that. Please, it was a mistake. Change him back,” she pleaded.
“That is, unfortunately, not in my hands, Princess.”
“Then tell me, how can we break the curse?”
The face shifted to a different position in another tree branch, and it took a moment for Chandra to find it again.
“Why do you even want to, Princess?” came his reflective voice. “I know all about the history between you two. Has he ever shown you mercy that you ought to care for him now?”
“That doesn’t matter. This isn’t the time to go over the past. If you know everything, then you must know why we are here and what we are trying to do.”
“Yes. I know about the Meru. And I think it’s a bad idea.”
“Bad idea,” said Chandra incredulously.
“Natural disasters are meant to run their course. They exist for a reason. Trying to stop nature was one of the reasons the danavas had disappeared.”
“That was different. There are lives at stake here.”
“How was it any different, Princess?” came the stubborn argument. “The danavas were a strong race and trying to get rid of the checks and balances that existed in nature was the reason for their demise. Is the race of man superior and arrogant enough to think they can do better?”
A distant roar of an animal interrupted their conversation, causing Chandra to glance fearfully toward the sound. She imagined she saw a flock of birds take to flight, but the trees grew too thick together to make out any details. She, however, had no doubt as to who the cause of the roar was.
“I’m not here to argue the finer ethical points behind trying to prevent Meru’s eruption. I beg you to help me save my husband.”
“No. Your husband is gone. The thing you see is nothing but an empty vessel without conscience, the essence that makes them ‘human.’”
Chandra was taken aback. The thing that made them human? So, what was Veer now? More importantly, how to recover what was lost?
She tried to appeal to him again. “But the way he is now, he is killing anything that crosses his path. How is that going to help? If you are a guardian, shouldn’t the safety of everything living in the forest be your responsibility?”
“What dies is always reborn, Princess,” he said enigmatically.
“So why are you here if you don’t want to help?” she asked, exasperated and annoyed in equal measure. “Just to enjoy my despair?”
“I came to offer you a place to stay the night. If you wish to take my help.”