The Weeping Stars

The Decoy

Indra, Biju and Raghu silently peeked out of the water surface. It took some time to adjust their eyes to the darkness. The two bulky silhouettes of Rudra's guards were just visible along the wall. The whole room seemed to be cast in an eerie shadow cast by Rudra's torch, that was illuminating Isha. It seemed Isha was just coming around. Her head lopped helplessly to the side, while Rudra had a fistful of her hair in his hands. It seemed he was alternately slapping and sprinkling water on her face. Even from a distance, the swelling and blood on her face was visible.

Biju sprang into action. He went ahead slinetly for a bit, and then started splashing noisily to the spot. The three men snapped up attention, and hastily pointed their weapon at the disturbance. Biju reached the shore and hauled up his load. The small mound of gold and diamonds glittered crazily in the torch light. No one spoke.

Biju broke the silence. He started wailing at the top of his voice.

'Please don't kill me. Please. I am just a nobody. Please don't kill me.'

Rudra's men grabbed him by the hands and hauled him up.

Rudra slapped him hard.

'Shut up. Who are you? Where did you find these'?he indicated the treasure.

'My lord, I found a chamber underneath the water. It's full of gold and diamonds.'

'What are you doing here?'

Biju looked pointedly at the two body guards, and dropped his voice dramatically. Rudra leaned in to listen intently.

'Indra babu had started excavating this site for some time now. Only a few of us villagers were involved, for digging and lifting. I did not even know there was a treasure here, until someone dropped a bit while carrying it up. But they were going to keep all the gold for themselves. So, today, Indra babu left in a hurry and the tower was deserted. So I decided to go looking to secure a little bit for myself. ' He paused and rushed on, 'but babu what I have here is nothing compared to what I have left behind'

Rudra was sceptical. The story did not sound credible. Indra is famed to surround himself with only trustworthy people. But greed is a strange thing. He should know. But something does not add up.

Rudra indicated Isha.

'What is she doing here?'

Biju gulped. He cast a cautious glance at Isha. She was still dazed and looking around in the darkness vaguely. He only hoped she did not blow his cover.

He leaned in and again whispered in a hushed voice.

'She is a prisoner here. Some guy who brought her in said that, she know too much. Of what I don't know. So, I kept her with me. She is so pretty.' He added the last bit with a sly smile.

Rudra digested this silently. Also he did not like the look Biju gave Isha. He was not done with her yet, so he was not prepared to share, at least not yet. He jerked her upright and hissed into her face,

'Who is this?'

Isha's vision was blurry. She could barely make out anything in the dark. The man he indicated was so much covered in mud, he could be anyone. But for a moment she thought it could be Biju. Hope and fear battled in her mind, and fear won. She shook her head and said,

'I don't know'

Rudra gave her another rough shake.

'He says he knows you. Tell me how he knows you?'

Isha looked at Biju. She knew she had to think fast. But the pain in her tummy was making her groggy. She settled on the half truth.

'I don't know his name, but he works here', she wispered out unsteadily.

That seemed to satisfy Rudra.

'We need to get the treasure out quickly, if we want to avoid detection,' Biju urged.

Rudra was undecided. But a treasure was not something he was willing to let go, especially since Indra seemed to want it so badly.

He turned to Biju.

'I don't trust you. Lead the way, up any funny business, and we will kill you. Remember, we are armed. How long do we need to swim under water?'

'Not long Babu, maybe 1 to 2 minutes'

He instructed one of his guards to watch Isha, while he and the other guard followed Biju under water.

Indra silently moved forward. The noise the departing trio made was enough to cover his approach. The guard had just turned to Isha when Indra sprang on him. In a blink, he put his arm around his neck, and with his other hand grabber his right hand. Before the guard had time to grab his weapon, Raghu hag knocked him out. The wasted no time to ie him up. It was only, when they were done, did he turn to Isha.

In the faint torch light, Isha looked like ship wrecked survivor, beated and broken. He extended an arm, but she shrank back. She was trembling, one eye swollen shut, with a tiny trickle of blood dripping down her chin.

Indra could barely contain his anger. He took off his head gear and leaned closer.

'SweetheaRt, it's me'.

His voice had an magical effect on Isha. She finally allowed her tears to fall. She leaped into his arms, and cried her heart out. Indra heaved a breath, and made a silent promise.

'I'll never let her out of my sight again'