The Avatari (62 page)

Peter

They came up to Peter, Tashi and the fierce-looking man who was evidently their leader, and stood looking down at him. He had been lying on the pelt of an animal, probably a deer, and he propped himself up against the rock now. He was feeling much better, though still weak.

‘Are you better now, er, Peter?’ Tashi enquired, tentatively addressing him by his name.

‘Yes, thanks. I’m sorry about losing my temper the last time we met. It was quite a shock to know that
I
was destined to be your saviour.’

He gave a short laugh and gestured at them to be seated. The two men complied.

‘Yes. That is how I was told it would be,’ Tashi replied.

Peter saw that his expression was quite serious.

‘Oh my god!’ he exclaimed.

The other man said something to Tashi, who turned and asked Peter, ‘Tell us about those men. How many of them are there and what weapons are they carrying?’

Peter got to his feet and began giving them all the information he had about Stein’s group. Describing the kind of rifles they carried wasn’t too difficult a task, for when he used gestures to give the men a clearer picture, Tashi remarked that they had seen similar weapons with the bands of robbers they had intercepted. Explaining the automatics, light machine guns, rocket launchers and mortars was more complicated and took considerable time. Peter tried to give the two men an idea about their effective ranges by indicating the distance between boulders on the ground: a hundred metres for the Kalashnikovs, 300 for the light machine guns and 500 for the rocket launchers and mortars.

While speaking to the men about Stein’s range of weapons, it dawned on Peter that Tashi was no soldier, but more of an interpreter. He translated Peter’s explanations to the best of his ability for the benefit of the other man, whom he addressed as the ‘Gurkhan’. When at a loss for words, he would use extravagant gestures to convey the meaning of terms the Gurkhan might be unfamiliar with. He would also reply to Peter’s questions after obtaining the answers from the Gurkhan.

When the men had obtained the answers to all their questions, Peter came to the point.

‘All right,’ he said, not mincing his words, ‘if we have to fight those men, you will need to show me what you can do. I must know what your own men are capable of.’

Tashi translated his words for the Gurkhan who nodded, then barked out a series of orders. At his command, Peter saw the men from the camp spring up as one and scamper on their mounts. The display they put up for him now would leave him spellbound, for he had never seen anything quite like this in his life.

First a rider came up, approaching them at full gallop. On his path, some 300 yards away, the other men had driven a pole into the ground, crowning it with a metal helmet. Without breaking his horse’s stride, the rider lifted a bow and released an arrow. To Peter, this was poetry in motion. He had studied the subject at West Point, never expecting to witness an actual demonstration of the old Mongol recurved composite bow in action. It was a masterful weapon, deadly in the hands of a skilled archer and unsurpassed on the battlefield as an individual long-range weapon till the 1800s, a period that marked the advent of breach-loading firearms. The bow itself was supposed to have a draw weight twice that of the English crossbow.

Peter noticed that the rider had released his arrow only when all four hooves of his mount were off the ground to ensure that his aim remained true, undisturbed by the movement of the animal. The one-metre-long birch arrow, with the metal head and eagle-tail feathers for fletchings, sailed in a graceful arc and struck the target, the arrowhead passing through the helmet.

‘He can shoot as accurately from much farther away, but you would not be able to see him, then,’ Tashi whispered.

Peter nodded in acknowledgement, but the whistling sound in the sky had snatched his attention away. The Gurkhan was already pointing at the dozens of arrows that were released by men so far away they could not be seen, and now descended like a black cloud on the target. They fell around the pole, with one arrow fortuitously striking the top of the pole and sticking straight up.

The final part of the demonstration was a display of horsemanship. Two formations consisting of fifteen riders each, short swords raised in the air, charged at each other at full gallop from opposite ends. Peter had seen equestrian displays before;
but none like this
. In those displays there was grace and skill, here there was that
and
the threat of raw savage violence. To Peter, it was like watching a trapeze artist on the high wire
without
a safety net.The two groups came within striking distance of each other
too fast
. They should pull back now, he thought, they
had
to pull back now, or they would clash,
god they are going to clash
! His heart sank and he could feel the bitter taste of bile in his mouth. The riders were a single mass now, they had crashed into each other, some of them would fall now, he knew. But they didn’t. Then the mass separated again into two distinct groups, the horsemen had pirouetted gracefully without breaking step and were now galloping back in the direction they had come from, short swords raised.

Peter stood up, turned and bowed to the Gurkhan who stiffly bowed back. There was no need for words.

When they were seated again, Peter said, ‘One important question: what is the nature of the terrain as they follow the route from where they are at the moment till they reach the monastery? Is there any ground up ahead which we can use to our advantage to stop them?’

‘I do not understand,’ Tashi admitted timidly, aware that he was quite out of his depth where military tactics were involved.

‘Just ask him the question,’ Peter directed, gesturing towards the Gurkhan.

From the grin that spread across his face, the Gurkhan evidently approved of the question. He sprang up to hug Peter, nodding vigorously and pouring out a string of words that sounded very much like a compliment. His enthusiasm was palpable. His breath was fetid, his huge yellow teeth looked like a wolf ’s fangs and he showered the American with a spray of spittle as he spoke. After Peter had managed to disengage himself from the man’s embrace, the Gurkhan gave an animated reply to his question, resorting to grand gestures to express himself. Tashi struggled to follow, interrupting occasionally, when he found himself completely at sea. The Gurkhan would growl in irritation, liberally using his fists to cuff the younger man for disturbing his train of thought.

Finally, Tashi turned to Peter and said, ‘The ones we seek, they will cross a range of mountains tomorrow, leading to a lakebed which has been dry for many centuries. The gases that escape from cracks in its surface make men light-headed. It is called the “lake of dreams”.’

‘Possibly natural gas, with a high ethyl content rising to the surface,’ Peter suggested with a nod of understanding.

‘Yes,’ Tashi said, not fully understanding what he meant, but hurrying on with his account. ‘It is here that we need to stop them, because ahead lies another range of hills. If they cross those, they will see the Trimukha, the three-faced peak which leads into the monastery.’

‘And is there a line or ground favourable for us to give battle?’

‘Yes, yes! I was just going to tell you,’ Tashi said at once, glancing nervously at the Gurkhan. ‘Within the lakebed there is a crevasse, a very deep one. It is impassable but for a rope bridge, which we can reach before they do by taking another route. We can cut the rope bridge and prevent them from crossing by holding the far bank.’

Peter pondered over the information for sometime, before replying, ‘That may well be possible, but you must remember that the woman is with them. They will threaten to kill her if we don’t allow them to cross. It is by holding that very threat over the colonel, your
avatari
, that they have compelled him to act as their guide.’

Tashi spoke to the Gurkhan, then turned back to Peter, looking embarrassed.

‘The Gurkhan asks if this woman means something to you?’

‘Yes,’ Peter replied without a moment’s hesitation. Turning to face the Gurkhan, he added, ‘She means everything and more to me.’

The Gurkhan, who had evidently understood Peter, grimaced and spoke rapidly to Tashi who translated the words.

‘He says that you will not be seen by those men. While we cannot allow any harm to come to the
avatari
either, it is not a fact we intend disclosing to the enemy. Thus they will have no bargaining power with us at all. We will not permit them to cross the crevasse and they will be starved for water in the lakebed. While we cannot defeat them because of their weapons, they too shall not be able to pass. In the stand-off, we will demand the release of the
avatari
and the woman in exchange for safe passage and water.’

Peter stared at the Gurkhan. It was not by their horsemanship and archery alone that the Mongols had ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen for over five hundred years, he thought. This was not a man you wanted to play poker with either.

‘It is not just the rifles,’ Peter said after a pause. ‘We have to consider their mortars and rocket launchers.’

He knew the Jhagun had never seen such weapons put to use.

‘These weapons,’ he continued, ‘would enable them to force you away from arrow range, nullifying the advantage of terrain.’

Peter stopped, not even wanting to mention the helicopters which would surely come back after refuelling. There was a silence. Then he spoke again.

‘But there is a way, I think.’

‘What is it?’ Tashi asked eagerly.

‘I’m not sure if it will work but it’s the only thing I can think of. In the bush from where I come, there is the bull elephant, which is very mean, very powerful and lives apart from the herd. It is so big and powerful that the rest of the jungle creatures leave it alone. But sometimes, in the dry season in the veldt, hunger will force the lionesses to hunt the bull elephant. They will charge at it and back away, nipping its legs, angering it, frightening it so that it can no longer think straight. Then one will charge from the front. When its attention has been fully diverted, another will leap on to the nape of the elephant’s neck and bite into its main artery, killing it. It is beautiful to watch, but oftener than not, it is the lionesses who are killed.’ He stopped and took a deep breath. ‘Let me think this through. I will let you know when I am ready.’

‘Yes. Of course,’ Tashi said, then spoke to the Gurkhan who nodded and moved away. Tashi also began to get up.

‘Tashi,’ Peter beckoned to him.

‘Yes?’

‘What did the Gurkhan say?’

‘He said that the Jhagun has already started harassing the enemy, from the time they have entered the valley, just like you have suggested’

‘I got that part,’ Peter said with a gesture of his hands, ‘what else did he say?’

Tashi began to redden. ‘It was nothing,’ he mumbled.

‘Tell me all of it,’ Peter insisted.

‘He said that a fighting man should not get seriously involved with a woman,’ Tashi told him, not looking him in the eye.

Peter began to laugh and was still laughing as Tashi walked away, shaking his head.

26 September

They started out as soon as it was daybreak, with Stein, anxious to climb out of the bowl as quickly as possible, setting a punishing pace. No one complained. The wind had blown away the clouds and they were thankful for the sun which shone brightly, though its rays did little to warm them. They kept rubbing their hands and stamping their feet in an effort to fight the bitter cold which had stiffened their limbs.

The helicopters can make it if it stays like this
, Claire thought to herself, scanning the clear sky.

Four hours had passed since they began crossing the lakebed. All of them had developed a dull, throbbing headache which they attributed correctly to the gas emissions. The concentration of gas was not constant across the lakebed; it increased significantly in the area around the bulging mounds which were almost 30 feet wide and raised about two yards above the ground at the centre, for it was here, through cracks in the ground, that gas under pressure from below the earth was being vented. As they crossed the lakebed, they would try and steer clear of the mounds; if they couldn’t, they would skirt past it as fast as they could, their compasses behaving erratically, with the needles oscillating continuously. They were lucky the sky was clear; at least, they had the sun to orient themselves by.

Stein looked back at the path they had just come through; their footprints left no trail on the hard-crusted, scaly ground. In the far distance all around him, the hills looked just the same, with no distinguishable features. For a moment, he found himself swaying, disoriented. Just as panic was setting in, he quickly turned back to see his group walking on ahead. Taking deep breaths, he tried to compose himself.
Damn
, he thought,
I must get out of this accursed land
!

There was a crackle in the receiver strapped to his jacket. He picked it up and said, ‘Ja?’

‘We have had to halt at an obstacle,
mi capitán
. We are trying to find a way to cross.’

It was one of the scouts who had gone ahead in the ATV. The man was from his first unit in the Secret Police and addressed Stein accordingly. Stein knew that his subordinate was a solid, steady man who did not lose his composure easily, but the voice that came through was shrill and panting.

‘There is an obstacle – it looks like a crevasse – deep in the ground, running all along. It cannot be bypassed,’ the man continued.

There was a silence. Then Stein heard him curse, ‘
Puta madre
!’

The sound of automatic fire followed and continued for some time. There was another period of silence which lasted for about three minutes, followed by more firing and shouting.

‘Emmanuel! What’s going on? Keep talking to me!’ Stein said into the radio, speaking softly, but urgently.

Almost instinctively, the entire group knew that something was wrong. Everyone halted and looked at Stein for further orders.