THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET (28 page)

69

Nectar and jewels

Vijay stepped off the final stair and looked around in wonder. The searchlights revealed a large hall, cut out of the rock. This was no cavern, natural or man-made. The chamber they now stood in had clean geometrical lines. It was rectangular, with smooth polished walls. A number of doorways, leading into darkness, lined the walls on either side. At the far end, set in the wall facing the group, was a rectangular stone that seemed to protrude from the wall.

Under instructions from Van Klueck and Cooper, the group split up into smaller units and spread out to explore what lay beyond the open doorways. Vijay, accompanied at all times by two guards, followed Van Klueck as he moved from room to room.

In the first room urns that were one foot in height stood on shelves that lined the walls. There were at least one hundred urns, all made of the same black metal that the metallic plate had been forged from. And, Vijay suspected, the same black metal that he had encountered last year. After seeing the tunnel hewn through the rock, the urns seemed to be another indication that the same group of people who built this structure were involved somehow in the secret location he and his friends had discovered last year.

But their identity remained a secret. Only Van Klueck seemed to know who they were. Had the Order been behind the construction of both locations?

A single word, written in the Devanagari script came into view as the searchlights swept the higher reaches of the walls.

‘
Rasakunda.’
Vijay read out the inscription. But he didn’t know what it meant.

Van Klueck saw his puzzled expression and chuckled. ‘These are vessels that contained a special kind of potion which is described as nectar in the Mahabharata,’ he explained condescendingly. ‘The potion had the ability to impart great strength to whoever drank it. In the Mahabharata, when Bhima is poisoned by Duryodhana and descends to the kingdom of the Nagas, he is given this potion to recover and build his strength. According to the epic, Bhima drank eight jars of the nectar, each of which was said to provide the strength of a thousand elephants.’

‘You mean these are the same jars that were described in the Mahabharata?’ Vijay could hardly believe what he was hearing. He had already learned that the Mahabharata was based on actual events that occurred thousands of years ago. He had seen evidence of that. But to encounter actual objects from the ancient epic was another thing.

Van Klueck shrugged. ‘Maybe not the same jars. But that’s what the inscription says.’ He turned to Cooper. ‘After all these centuries, the urns will be empty. The nectar would have evaporated. The water must have contained the retrovirus. That’s the only explanation for the sudden strength the nectar conferred on whoever drank it. There may be some residue which contains the virus. Collect enough samples.’

Cooper nodded and bags were produced. Vijay hadn’t noticed, but each one of them had a collapsible nylon bag fastened to his waist. The men proceeded to examine the urns and selectively collect some of them in the bags.

Van Klueck strode out and entered the room on the opposite side of the chamber. This room had walls lined with jewels that glittered in the beam of the searchlights. The European nodded. ‘Everything is as it should be,’ he said, more to himself than to Vijay. ‘That’s what the shloka meant.’

Vijay understood what Van Klueck was muttering about. One of the shlokas he had interpreted for Vijay on the flight to Kazakhstan had mentioned medicinal plants and jewels. The reference to medicinal plants had been quite clear – it meant the plants which Callisthenes had been assigned to collect from the forests of Bactria. But at that time, Vijay hadn’t understood the reference to the jewels. Now, he realised that the jewels were right here. With the virus.

Van Klueck had muttered something about knowing what had killed Alexander, when the seal on the rock was being broken.

Vijay now knew what that remark had meant. He, too, knew why Alexander had died despite drinking the
amrita.

The final barrier

‘It is a door,’ Van Klueck announced after a quick inspection of the stone slab that protruded from the wall opposite the entrance to the chamber. The group had swiftly explored the smaller chambers on either side of the main one. But apart from the vessels in the first chamber and the jewels in the second one, they had not found anything of significance apart from some inscriptions on a wall of one of the rooms. It seemed that whoever had occupied this place had cleared it out before sealing it, leaving only the urns and the jewels behind. It was difficult to fathom why those hadn’t been transported away but there was no time to analyse or speculate. Van Klueck was in a hurry to get a more reliable sample of the virus. And he was convinced that it lay behind the stone door.

However, despite this conclusion, there seemed to be no way of opening the door.

‘Break it open,’ Van Klueck commanded, unable to wait any longer.

The massive rock breaking hammers were produced and three men set to work on the rock.

There was evidently something important behind the rock, for it would not yield easily. The three men laboured for half an hour before cracks began appearing in the rock. All the while, splinters from their efforts flew around the chamber. The other men had to shield their faces with their hands to avoid being hit in the face by the shards that rocketed out of the stone. The men attacking the rock now stepped back and were replaced by three others, to provide fresh energy to complete the task.

After another half an hour of back breaking work, the stone door finally splintered into smaller pieces and disintegrated.

A yawning black hole was revealed.

What was hidden beyond that opening?

70

327
bc

PRESENT DAY AFGHANISTAN

From Man to God

Eumenes held aloft the torch as Alexander squinted at the parchment his mother had given him before he had embarked on his campaign of conquest to the East. She had told him that it had been given to her by a philosopher from the very lands his army was now camped in. But it was not the source of the parchment that had interested him. It was the tale of the myth — the secret of the gods — that had driven him to lead his army across Asia and into the land of the Indus.

He stared at the dark landscape around him, trying to identify the meaning of the verses on the parchment, as explained to him by his mother, with the topography of the land.

‘It should be here, somewhere,’ he muttered, half to himself, half to Eumenes. ‘We just passed Poseidon’s staff.’

Eumenes nodded. ‘Shall we proceed further? Perhaps it is ahead?’

Alexander grunted. They had been searching for almost an hour now, their task made more difficult by the darkness and the unevenness of the rocky ground upon which they walked. But Alexander had needed to carry out his search under cover of the darkness. That was the only way to find Poseidon’s trident.

He had cleverly motivated his army to march this far and was not going to allow anything to come in the way of his success.Initially, he had told his soldiers that they were fighting for glory. For Macedonian glory. Avenging their humiliation at the hands of the Persians. They would fight the Persians and defeat them. Alexander would rule Persia. This had resonated well with his troops, especially the battle hardened veterans who had served under his father, Philip II. They could see in his plans, an extension of Philip’s ambitions and his conquests. Alexander, to them, was a true son to his father.

Over the last few years, they had routed Darius, killed the nobles who had betrayed the Persian monarch and established Alexander as the ruler of Persia. And then, at Balkh, as the troops contemplated returning home, Alexander had dropped the bombshell. They were marching on to Asia. He had goaded them on with stories of conquest of the world, marching to its ends and establishing Macedonian supremacy in the lands of the Indus. His men, flushed with their victories and the seeming invincibility of their king and his army, had rallied around him.

Now, he was within sight of the true reason he was here. The secret of the gods. Dividing his army into two parts, he had led one section up the Kunar valley, following the instructions on the parchment. Callisthenes had already completed his part of the mission, in which he had complied with some of the instructions on the parchment, while Alexander had led his army against the Sogdian rock and subdued the Bactrian tribes.

Alexander now had all he needed according to the instructions on the parchment. He and Eumenes had slipped away from the camp tonight, searching for the final signs that would lead them to the location of the secret.

Slowly, cautiously, they moved forward, skirting the rock formations that rose around them like silent sepulchres in the night, towering above them. Far below, unseen to them, hidden by the mountains and the cloak of darkness, the river flowed on. It had seen conquerors come and go and was oblivious to the presence of even this king, who would be one of the greatest conquerors of all time.

Eumenes glanced around anxiously. Alexander had refused to bring along any of his guards, trusting his sword and his skill as a soldier. ‘Who will attack the man who has conquered the world?’ he had scoffed at Eumenes when the latter had suggested that they be accompanied by a host of soldiers. But Eumenes did not share Alexander’s confidence. Alexander had made no secret of his desire to subdue the hill tribes of this area, arguing that they posed a threat to the flanks of the army. Eumenes knew that this was a cover up for the secret mission they had undertaken tonight. But the local tribes had fled at their approach, retreating to their stronghold at Aornos, a few miles away across the pass that would lead them to the east. Who could tell whether a disgruntled tribesman was skulking in the shelter of the rocks and the trees, waiting for an opportune moment to assassinate the ruler of the civilised world?

‘There!’ Alexander’s hoarse whisper intruded on his general’s thoughts.

Eumenes strained to see what Alexander had noticed. Another strange shaped rock formation loomed ahead of them. But this one was different. It seemed to have been massively eroded in layers on either side, giving it the appearance of an immense wave breaking over their heads, stretching to the sky above.

A massive wave. Or a snake with five heads. Which matched the verse on the parchment.

Alexander hastened towards the snake shaped rock, Eumenes scrambling after him, trying to keep pace with his king.

Presently, they stood before the rock. It was much taller than it had seemed when they first saw it, stretching around fifteen feet above their heads.

Eumenes held the torch close to the rock, trying to detect any means of entry to the underground cavern that, according to the parchment, lay beneath the rock.

Alexander found it. It was a narrow fissure, hidden behind a fold in the rock. Unless one knew it was here, it would have been impossible to see it, even in broad daylight.

‘Wait here,’ Alexander commanded, as he took the torch from Eumenes. ‘I will be back soon.’

Eumenes started to protest, but was silenced immediately. ‘This is a sacred place,’ Alexander told him. ‘Fit only for a god. I shall go on ahead by myself.’

The young conqueror disappeared into the fissure, leaving Eumenes alone in the darkness. But the general was not worried about his own safety now. Neither of them knew what lay beyond that fissure. They only had the word of a stranger to go by. What if this was a trick, a ploy to kill Alexander?

Time passed, slowly, agonisingly and Eumenes sat down on the hard, stony ground, awaiting the return of his king.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Alexander emerged from the fissure. His armour was wet, and his face shone.

‘It is done,’ he said, handing the torch back to Eumenes. ‘Now, I am finally a god!’

71

PRESENT DAY

DAY SIX

The Kernel of the Quest

The now open portal gave way to empty space, every pore of which was filled with a blackness that threatened to ooze out of the doorway and overwhelm the small chamber they stood in.

There was a collective gasp as the searchlights played on the impenetrable wall of darkness that formed a hidden cavern beyond the stone doorway.

On the floor of the cavern was a roiling mass of snakes of all kinds, in all possible sizes. There were cobras and rat snakes, which were easily identifiable. There were others that were barely one foot in length. There were black snakes, along with green, grey and rust coloured ones.

Only Van Klueck was unmoved. Vijay glanced at him and saw, to his surprise, that the European had a grim, satisfied look on his face. He seemed to have anticipated this.

‘Gather them up,’ the European commanded. ‘I want two of each type of snake. Get your hands on as many as possible.’

The men hesitated. There were possibly non-poisonous snakes in there. But most of the snakes seemed to be poisonous.

Cooper barked out orders and whipped out a gun. ‘I want every man in there now! You have guns. Get in there and get the samples! Shoot if required, there are enough of them! Work as a team of two and watch each other’s back!’

The men looked at each other and, hesitatingly, moved into the cavern. Ten men stood at the doorway, holding searchlights to illuminate the floor and make it easier for their comrades.

The mass of snakes roiled even more as the men crossed the threshold. Their bags were now held in one hand, a gun in the other as the men moved gingerly through the snakes, trying not to step on them.

There were immediate casualties. One man stepped on a cobra which struck with lightning swiftness. The man collapsed on the floor while the others continued their march. Another unfortunate man stumbled on a pile of snakes while trying to avoid treading on a cobra. He was immediately attacked by a coiled, hissing mass of snakes and went down with a scream as he was bitten multiple times.

The others ventured carefully among the serpents, trying to learn from the mistakes their colleagues had made. Working in twos, they cautiously picked up snakes using their rifle barrels and slipped them into the bags. It was a painstakingly slow operation but there were no further losses.

Vijay stood and watched apprehensively. He was not worried about the fate of the men in the cavern. He was more concerned about what would happen next. To him. And to Radha.

The men in the cavern began making their way back as he looked on. He observed that, as long as the men were able to find spaces among the snakes where they could tread without disturbing the creatures, they were safe. By and large, though the snakes seemed to resent the intrusion, they left the men alone.

Finally, the last pair stumbled past the broken stone doorway, into the main chamber. Their foreheads were beaded with perspiration and their clothes were sticking to their bodies. It was cool down here but the pressure of the task they had undertaken had drenched them in sweat.

‘Good.’ Van Klueck smiled appreciatively. ‘We now have the virus. Our operation here is over.’

Vijay frowned. He didn’t understand what Van Klueck meant. They had collected snakes. Where was the virus?

But the European was speaking again. ‘Let’s move.’ He fixed Vijay with a stony stare. ‘And now, I guess it is, as the Americans say, “payback time”. You gave us enough grief last year. And now, I think it is time we put a stop to that. In any case, you know too much about us and this operation. So you’ll understand when I tell you that we’re not taking you with us. You’re staying here.’

Vijay’s heart sank. Even though he had always known that this was a possibility, he had hoped that the European would keep his promise. He should have known better. Especially after he had learned what they were after.

But there was still one last hope he clung to. It was not for himself.

‘But you will let Radha go?’ he ventured.

Cooper grinned. ‘We would if we could.’

‘She’s dead,’ Van Klueck informed him in his usual matter of fact manner. ‘She tried to escape and was shot by our guards.’ He turned to the men who were looking on. ‘Let’s get moving!’

Vijay stood, rooted to the spot. He felt numb. His mind felt like a vacuum had sucked all his thoughts out, leaving a large empty hole. A deep, dark void. His legs gave way under him and he slumped to the floor, his back bent, his face buried in his hands.

He had lost loved ones before. His parents. His uncle. But somehow, nothing had hit him as hard as the loss of Radha. Patterson had prepared him for this. But how can you ever be prepared for losing someone who you love more than life itself?

Dimly, through a mist, he sensed, rather than heard, people moving around. Someone was saying something to him. A searchlight was thrust into his hand. But the dark depression in his mind had engulfed him. Mind and body. The loss was overpowering. Nothing else registered.

The men moved on, back up the staircase. Cooper had handed Vijay a searchlight. ‘We aren’t cruel,’ he grinned. ‘We’ll leave you with some light. At least as long as the batteries last.’

Vijay sat, hunched over, staring at nothing, as Van Klueck and Cooper disappeared up the stairway.

He was too far submerged in shock for a critical question to enter his mind.

How long would it be before the snakes discovered the open doorway and entered the chamber?

Nowhere to run

Vijay didn’t know how long he had sat there in a stupor. He was jerked out of it by a loud rumble that shook the chamber and caused the shards of stone from the broken doorway to shiver on the floor.

For a moment he was disoriented. Then, he recovered and remembered where he was. The keen pain of his loss had settled into a dull ache. He had his faculties back.

In the light of the searchlight, he saw thick swirls of dust cascade down the stairway. He realised what had happened. Van Klueck and his team had emerged from the rock and blown up the opening of the tunnel, sealing it and sending boulders and dust surging down the stairway.

He was trapped.

But there was worse happening. He heard scraping sounds around him. There was hissing on the fringes of the searchlight, emanating from the darkness that reigned beyond the reach of the light beam.

Vijay trained the searchlight on the floor of the chamber and froze in horror.

The snakes had discovered the chamber and were making their way in.