In the Heart of Darkness(62)

The Maratha women, poor in their origins, had been absolutely stunned by her act. Each of them now carried on her person more money than their entire extended families had earned in generations of toil. Holkar glanced shrewdly at the four young women sitting in the corner. They had recovered from the shock, he thought. But if there had been any lingering doubt or hesitation in their allegiance to Shakuntala, it had now vanished. The trust of their Empress had welded them to her completely.



When Holkar's eyes returned to Shakuntala, he immediately understood the question in her face.



"There is no need, Your Majesty," he said, shaking his head. "My allegiance is still to Belisarius, even though you are my sovereign. If he wishes me to have money, he will give it to me. I cannot take it from another. And besides—" he gestured mockingly at his loincloth "—where would I hide it?"



Shakuntala began to reply, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.



Tarabai opened the door. Valentinian stepped into the room, accompanied by Eon. They walked over to Shakuntala.



"We may as well plan for an early supper," said Eon. The Prince gestured at Valentinian. "The cataphracts just arrived from the palace. Belisarius dismissed them for the rest of the day. It seems he won't be returning until late this evening. He has some social event he must attend."



The cataphract scowled. "These imperial Malwa are even worse than Greek nobility, when it comes to hobnobbing with celebrities. Bad enough he's got to waste hours with every third-rate bureaucrat in the Palace. Now, they're insisting he has to meet with old women."



Shakuntala frowned. "Old women? In the palace?"



Valentinian shook his head. "No, worse. They're dragging him off to some barge in the river to meet with one of the Emperor's elderly relatives. A great-aunt, I think."



Shakuntala grew still. Utterly still.



"What is her name?" she hissed.



Valentinian squinted at her, startled by her tone of voice.



"She's called the Great Lady Holi. Why?"



Shakuntala shot to her feet.



"She is a witch! A sorceress!"



Valentinian and Eon gaped at her. Shakuntala stamped her foot angrily.



"It is true, you fools!"



With an effort, the girl restrained herself. These were the type of men, she knew, for whom any hint of hysterics would be counterproductive.



"Believe me, Valentinian. Eon." Her voice was low and calm, but deadly serious. "My father spoke of her several times to me. His spies did not know much—it was dangerous to get near her—but they did learn enough to know that she is very powerful among the Malwa. Do not let her age deceive you. She—is—a—witch."



Valentinian was the first to recover.



"I'll get the others," he said, spinning around to the door.



Less than a minute later he was back, followed by all the members of the Roman and Axumite missions. He brought Kungas also.



Eon took charge.



"We have an unexpected situation, which we need to assess."



Quickly, the Prince sketched the situation. Then, to Kungas:



"Bring Kanishka. And Kujulo, and your other two troop leaders."



Kungas disappeared. Eon waved everyone else into the room.



"All of you. Come in and sit."



In the short seconds that it took for everyone to take a seat—most of them on the floor—Kungas returned with his four chief subordinates in tow. The five Kushans entered the room but did not bother to sit.



Eon began at once.



"You've all heard—" He hesitated, casting a glance at Kungas.



"I've told them," grunted the Kushan commander.



"You've all heard about the situation," continued Eon. "It may be a false alarm. But there's enough reason to think otherwise." He took a breath. "As you know, we hoped to make our exit from India quietly. Just a peaceful diplomatic mission heading back for home. But Belisarius always warned us that things could go wrong. That's why he insisted on obtaining those horses, and the elephants."



Another breath. A deep breath.



"Well, that time may be here. We have to assume that it is."



He scanned the room. Everyone's face was grim, but not distraught. Except, possibly, for Menander. The young cataphract's face was pale from fear. Not fear for himself, but for his general.



"Do you have a plan?" asked Anastasius.



Eon shrugged. "Belisarius discussed some possible alternatives. You heard them yourself. But none of those alternatives really apply, since Belisarius himself may not be able to join us. So we'll have to improvise."



He stared at Shakuntala.