The Chaos Curse (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #3) - Sayantani DasGupta Page 0,64
ashamed, but also a little irritated. Why was Mati being so darned careful? Were we heroes dedicated to saving the multiverse or not?
“What’s that?” I pointed to a clay horse half a head taller than me. It looked like the traditional clay horses from the Kingdom Beyond that Ma had decorating our mantel in Parsippany, only a bunch bigger.
“Oh, Mati had it made to hide swords and bows,” said Priya. “It’s going to be part of the tottho.”
Looking at the big clay horse gave me an idea. “Why not hide the rakkhosh army in there instead of just weapons?” I suggested, thinking of an old story I’d read about at school. “You have a few humans go with it, pretending it’s a present for the tottho, and then, at the right moment, they let the rakkhosh out of the horse! No need to worry about all this costuming and manicuring, then!”
“Brilliant!” squawked Tuni.
“It could work,” said Neel. “If only to get us enough time to figure out if my mom’s a prisoner and get her out of there.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything.
“Cool plan.” Priya looked impressed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Let’s clear it by Mati,” Bunty suggested. But I stopped the tiger before they padded away.
“Don’t bother her! She said she had to deal with a pedicure crisis!” I knew Mati was a good leader, but what did that make the rest of us, chopped liver? “We can do this on our own!”
“But, Princess …” protested Tuni.
“What, don’t you trust me?” I asked in an offended tone. “I do have some experience with this being a hero stuff, you know. More than Mati.”
“Jealousy is a green-eyed monster,” mumbled Neel.
“What did you say?” I snapped.
“Nothing, nothing,” said the prince, but his words struck me hard. I set my jaw in a determined line. Just because I had a different way of doing things than Mati, that didn’t mean I was wrong.
While most of the rakkhosh army stayed at headquarters, working on their manis and pedis and tusk filings, I assembled a crack force. Even though Bunty didn’t want us to, Neel and I decided to be a part of the Trojan horse delivery mission.
“I’ll go with them and keep them out of trouble,” Tuni said. “Don’t you worry, you old scaredy-cat!”
Bunty roared in annoyance at the bird, batting a giant paw. Wisely, Tuni flew out of the tiger’s reach and perched on a jutting rock near the ceiling.
“You’re not leaving me out of the fun!” said Priya. “You’re right, Kiran. I’m getting tired of all this prepping and planning. I want some action!”
“Perhaps it is more prudent to wait until a bigger horse can be prepared,” mused Bunty. “I estimate no more than about six rakkhosh are going to fit inside that!”
“I’ve got to go see if I can find my mom, talk to her.” Neel was chewing on his fingernail again. “Even if this isn’t a perfect plan, it’s better than sitting around here doing nothing.”
Neel and I gave Priya and her friends on the inside our weapons. Then we dressed up in some excellent yellow designer duds from Gyan Mukherjee. Since both Neel and I were pretty recognizable, we made sure to hide our faces. Neel had on a weird fake beard and I a full face scarf.
“Most likely Mati is going to be livid!” said Bunty, but Tuni flapped his wings in the tiger’s face.
“You’re just mad you can’t join the army!” said the bird to the tiger. “Not only do I get to go along, my yellow feathers perfectly match today’s dress code!”
“With only six rakkhosh within,” said Bunty again. “It’s hardly an army.”
“The six of us are as good as an army!” roared Priya, clapping her fellow rakkhosh on the back. They roared and drooled and cheered, waving long-nailed fists in the air.
“I’ve got to find a way to talk to my mother.” Neel scratched distractedly at his fake facial hair. “It may not be a perfect plan, but if she’s Sesha’s prisoner, I’ve got to free her.”
I said nothing but exchanged a rolly-eyed look with Tuni.
“I have a great deal of concern for your lack of cautiousness,” sniffed Bunty.
And with that, we were off.
The area surrounding the palace was an absolute zoo. It seemed that everyone from all over the Kingdom Beyond, the Kingdom of Serpents, and beyond had been invited to the pre-wedding festivities. Everyone except me, I thought bitterly. From servants to farmers to bankers to schoolchildren—everyone was crowding