Page 30 of Twisted Sins

Her horse was in the middle of the group, tied to another horse on which Uma was seated. Riding on her other side was Rumi, who was quite pissed off after what happened earlier that morning.

She tried looking around for any landmarks she could remember to track a route for tracing the Kabali clan. But the desert terrain looked nearly the same everywhere, with stretches of sand surrounded by mountains.

Just as she wondered how the demon kept track of the path, the sounds of the eagles grew louder. She looked up and realized the birds were providing the directions.

That’s how the demon abducted her and was able to locate her when she escaped. His trained eagle found her.

Savage demon!

Desperation filled her as she wondered when and how she would get away from the demon.

I will have to kill him or render him unconscious.

Her eyes fell on the broad shoulders of the demon as he rode through the desert sand at the front. The power emanating from him, even from the distance, told her it would be next to impossible to win against him in a physical fight to render him unconscious.

I can’t give up.

She had to think of some other way. Another escape plan was going to be hard as there would be a close watch on her.

Negotiation.

Even if the language wasn’t a barrier, she didn’t know if she could negotiate with the savage demon. He thought of her as his wife, a possession he acquired during a barbaric attack that he could use to gain a large ransom from her family.

As she tried to think of a way, she heard primitive shouts erupt from the front. The horses made noises while the eagles flew in circles at a distance in the front. She tried to look in the front at the demon to see what was happening, but she was surrounded by the Kabali clan women from all sides.

“What’s going on?” she asked as her heart thudded.

The women didn’t reply and had grim looks on their faces as they pulled out what appeared to be the three-pronged weapons and held them in their hands.

A chill passed through her as she heard more primitive shouts go up in the air. It was similar to the one she had heard right before the attack and her kidnap. She desperately tried to see what was happening, but the women and the horses blocked her view.

Oh God. Are we being attacked?

She had no idea what was going on. There were sounds of horses riding away, and then she heard the faint sounds of clashes of metal at a distance.

After many long, tense moments, she heard more primitive shouts. But these sounded almost celebratory, like the ones during the midnight ceremony.

Soon, the horses in front of her parted, and she saw a small group of the Kabali clan men riding back to join the group. At the front was the demon.

As he neared, she saw that his powdered grey face was covered in streaks of red.

Blood.

She somehow knew it wasn’t his blood.

He let out a primitive shout and held up his spear that made his people cheer once again. Her eyes moved up and shock ripped through her.

On top of the demon’s spear was a severed head of a man.

Bile rose up her throat, and dark spots appeared in front of her eyes.

Just as she began slipping from the horse, a woman’s concerned voice called out to her.

“Nandini! Are you okay?”

Her body and mind went into shock. But just as complete darkness filled her vision, she wondered if she was imagining the woman talking to her in a familiar language.

CHAPTER 10

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