(Book 4) Hayden Mackay and The Fest of Vrindahina

1.2 Twenty Five Years Ago

Yodhin pulled the lever up. The metal gates of the underground prison hidden deep inside the lush green bushes, built for the extremely menacing culprits, slid open without making any noise.

The two knights were standing at the rear side of the palace, to the extreme left corner, where absolutely none was allowed to pass through. Yet, just to make sure, Yodhin turned his head at all directions to check if they weren't falling into anyone's eyes. No one should see him there standing with his apprentice. It was after all the matter of his pride.

The elder knight helped his younger companion to step down the last thread of the staircase. It took several seconds for their eyes to get adjusted with the darkness. And then on watching closely they noticed a single lantern burning at the end of the only lane, mounted high up on the wall.

Surprisingly, the prison wasn't silent as they have been expecting. Besides Garg's hard breath, there was a steady chain tapping sound eerily echoing throughout the prison. Yodhin knew very well from which one of the six cells it was coming from. He gestured Garg to follow him silently till they reached the one specific cell.

Standing still at where they were supposed to, Yodhin gaped through the cell bars. His heart filling with so much hatred towards only prisoner there.

It was the five feet extremely stout, forty plus year old man. With hairy absolutely filthy oval shaped face, his long and bushy beard wet and shining with crimson liquid dripping out of his tongue-less mouth, Shashi Thribhuvan was seated down on the stoned floor cross legged. His bare but hairy chest rising and falling faintly. Black loin covering from his waist down was torn as a result of the immense thrashings he had received from King Harsh and Yodhin. His hands and legs were tied with a double weighted metal needled balls and chains. He was surrounded by as many as tough chains could tie him up, making it impossible for him to move from where he was sitting.

Yodhin looked down at his enemy's palm tapping his chained feet and muttered, "Didn't I tell you Garg, he cannot perform his dark stunts anymore?  Look at him, being all worthless, carrying a prestigious name- Thribhuvan. What a waste! May his soul never rest in peace."

Shashi at once stopped tapping his feet. The heavy chains chinked, bumping onto one another as he lifted his head up, to watch Yodhin with his hollow glacial blue dangerous eyes. His lips parted slightly, his teeth dripped in blood clearly visible. He tried to utter something out loud, but not having a tongue didn't help him well and obviously Yodhin couldn't decipher a word.   

"Do you understand a word he is saying?" Yodhin amusingly asked Garg.

 And Garg did answer.

"He said -As you wish!"

Yodhin frowned and snapped a look at Garg who was containing a twisted smile on his face.

He looked back at the place where Shashi was sitting but he was momentarily and extremely startled to find the five feet short man standing so close to him at the other side of the cell staring up at the six feet tall man.

Before Yodhin could understand the possible way for any person to move around with such an ease with those heavy chains tied around, Shashi at once jumped up the cell so high, more than anyone could expect, gnashing his jaws and hitting the older man with his chained hand.

Yodhin yelped a piercing scream when a sharp needle stung on the chain dug deep through his skin, slicing the flesh from his left side of his forehead slashing down to his following cheekbone, nearly missing his eyes by a few inches. Blood at once poured out. Moaning, he bent down involuntarily, grabbing his wounded part of his face with both his palms.