The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter XIV: Honor among thieves

Kali rushed towards the men and swung his deadly boomerang so swiftly, that the men had no idea what hit them. Within three minutes, he managed to knock out five of them unconscious on the ground. The elder Thug looked at him with anger and fear, there was one of his men still standing but the Princess gave him a high kick to his face and knocked him down too. The elder Thug looked at them in surprise while Kali approached him with a killer look on his face.

“Father!” he said kneeling down “I apologize for my behavior but I cannot let you hurt these people,”

“Fool! Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten who we are? How strong and powerful we are? You dare to stand up against me and protect them- them? Look at that white man, he steals from us, look at this woman who helps him, these are traitors, we have to protect our country!”



“It maybe so but Kali has sworn not to hurt the Princess or her friends and what Kali says, he does!” he replied.

“And what about your oath to our clan? These men you took down, they are your brothers, have you forgotten it all?” cried the elder Thug.

“I haven’t forgotten anything Father,” he replied standing up, “which is why I have spared their lives even though mercy isn’t our code,”

“How dare you!” said the elder and drew his sword. He pushed him aside and raised his sword at the Princess.

Kali grabbed his sword from behind with his right hand- red blood came flowing down his wrists. The Elder Thug turned around and looked at him in surprise.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to hurt women?” said Kali

“Oh my son! Look at what you made me do!” the elder cried in astonishment.

Kali let go off his sword and the elder thug stepped back. This was the first time that Kali had dared to stop him and he knew it was of no use to try to stop him. He had raised him since he was a kid and trained him to be a ruthless killer. All these years he had never questioned his father’s decision but the moment he stopped his sword his heart broke, it was almost like him grabbing his throat.

“Your highness, you may pass, these men won’t pursue you,” said Kali.

The Princess looked at Carey and Ram Babu and asked them to get on the carriage. Since the driver fled the scene, she chose to drive the car herself but then she had a better idea. She stepped down from the car and looked at Kali-

“Why don’t you accompany us? We might need some security and you know how to fight,” she spoke to him in his regional dialect.

Kali looked at her not knowing what to say.

“Well what do you say?” she asked again.

“Yes, of course, your wish is my command!” he replied.

“Drive this carriage, take us to the river port!” she ordered.

Kali got up on the driver seat and turned towards the elder thug and saw his pale face looking at him with anger and pain. He wrapped his bleeding hand with a piece of cloth and then rode the carriage off towards the port leaving behind a trail of dust. The elder thug looked at him with sadness and despair-

“And I thought, I had created a killer!”

“Gosh! I thought this is it, we’re going to die, phew!” said Carey.

“I told you already, you have nothing to fear, we shall reach the port soon, I hope we can find a boat,” she said.

Sometime later, they reached the port, fortunately, they found the perfect boat waiting for them. Judging by their looks, the owner of the boat refused to take them, thinking that they were some kind of renegades or fugitives but when Carey offered him three of his gold coins, he happily gave them his boat and walked away. It was a fairly large boat that required two men to row- one each on the opposite end. It also had an ample resting place- a tent with a metallic roof and wood that held it all together. A large sail was attached to the middle of the boat, which when unfurled would help the boat to speed up when the winds are strong. Inside the tent were some buckets and a hurricane lamp; the Princess thought it prudent to store their luggage and supplies carefully inside.

It was 4.00 in the evening when they set sail on the river, Kali and Ram Babu took the responsibility of rowing the boat, while the other two rested for a while. Carey sat on the edge of the boat and looked at the shores, he noticed someone on the shore looking at him- it was the same Aghora that had taunted him earlier, this time he sat on a high platform and stared at him, smiling and waving.

“What a peculiar fellow,” remarked Carey.

He watched the waves and began to think of his journey and he wondered what new surprises are waiting for him in Champaran. He heard what the Elder thug had said to the princess earlier, Kali was interested in her and a little streak of jealousy crossed his heart. He realized that he had feelings for the Princess and the best way to impress her was to accomplish the mission. But will she ever accept a foreigner like her?

As the boat exited the city limits, Carey heard a strange ringing in his ear and some dizziness. The further they went, the worse his condition became. The Princess and the valet were on the opposite side of the boat and he couldn’t find the strength to call them. So he sat down on the deck and closed his eyes, strange visions started to appear, he saw kings and soldiers, fierce battles and bloodshed and finally he saw a shiny metallic orb that emanated bright white light. His heart rate increased and his head got heavy, the Princess saw this and ran towards him. She splashed some water on his face which made him feel better. After which he didn’t feel like talking anymore and went inside the tent and rested on the planks. The vision were getting worse, they started as nightmares but now he was starting to daydream. He closed his eyes and tried to distract his mind until he fell asleep…

The Princess thought that he had some kind of medical disorder which made him hallucinate and collapse while Ram Babu thought that he was under the possession of evil spirits even though he never dared to speak about it in front of his master knowing full well that Carey wouldn’t subscribe to such nonsense. But none of them knew that there were bigger forces at play, forces that would overpower the known laws of men and completely obliterate their current understanding of the world…

The night seemed long, the river was calm and the shores disappeared on either side as the clouds darkened the usual starry skies. The Princess knew a thing or two about boats and she was worried that without the assistance of the stars, they would be lost. Kali reassured her that he would keep rowing forward until they reached their destination; according to him, the river had only two directions, back and forth and as long as they kept moving straight ahead they wouldn’t lose their way. She however decided to trust the man even though her instincts told her otherwise.

Carey woke up an hour later feeling a bit lightheaded, he got out of the shed and saw the thick darkness everywhere.

“Where are we?” he asked the Princess, who was sitting outside the shed with the lamp by her side.

“We must be three hours off the city limits- here- I brought some bread and there’s a jug of fresh water,” she said offering him some dry bread rolled in a piece of newspaper.

“Thank you, ugh! This journey is killing my back- can I ask you something, your highness?” he said taking the loaf of bread.

“Ask!” she said staring at the distance.

“This man, this Thug that you have so graciously brought along, well, can he be trusted?” he asked politely.

“He has proven his loyalty twice, you saw how he chose to protect our lives and betray his brethren, what’s not to trust?” she said assuring him.

“Well, I don’t know Princess, he seems quite odd,”

“Odd?” she smiled, “You are odd Mr. Carey, with your books and researching, the way you completely lose it when you are hunting clues, haha! I never saw someone so invested in his studies and why do you keep hallucinating and falling down everywhere?” she replied playfully.

“Well, it is a bit odd if you put it like that, hey, remember what that fierce old thug said to you about Kali? He said that he’s infatuated with you,” he replied and the Princess broke out into a laughter.

“Oh! Mr. Carey, You seem jealous!” she said.

“Well I am most certainly not, it is merely out of curiosity that I ask- you are a strong independent woman, you know what’s best for you,” he replied trying to cover up his feelings.

“Don’t worry Mr. Carey, until I find Shamballa and retrieve the secret to immortality and save my kingdom, I am not interested in anything else, my heart, mind and my body are dedicated to the cause, I see nothing else, and besides my father has already promised you my hand, remember?” she replied playfully and went inside the shed to rest.

Carey couldn’t believe his ears. His hunger and pain disappeared, it seemed that the Princess was showing some reciprocation after all. Or maybe she was simply flirting with him? Whatever it was, he felt relieved and a new sense of determination revived his aching heart. He resolved to see through the mission at any costs…he hummed a merry tune and took a deep breath, the journey ahead was going to be interesting in her company.