Serpent's Kiss

Sahadeva started gathering his treasure. “The ships are in. I want passage on one of them. Perhaps I can strike a deal with a captain who would trust his instinct for jewelry.”

“Wait,” Harshad said. He sighed. “I’m only going to do this because you look like a good boy. Although some might question if you really got these things from the river.”

Sahadeva held the bag tightly. He’d come to Harshad because he’d heard the man didn’t ask too many questions.

“Come with me.” Harshad gestured to a doorway draped by curtains. He stepped through them and waved again.

Sahadeva and Jyotsna followed him.

“Just you,” the jeweler said. “Back here I only deal one-on-one.”

Sahadeva hesitated, then turned to Jyotsna. “Stay here.”

She pulled on his arm. “Don’t leave me.”

“It’ll only be for a moment. You’ll be safe.” Sahadeva gently pulled her hands from his arm. Doing so almost broke his heart because her fear showed in her liquid gaze. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

Jyotsna wrapped her arms around herself. As she stood there, she looked incredibly small.

Sahadeva made himself turn and follow the jeweler to the back room of the shop.

“Sit, sit.” Harshad gestured toward a chair on the other side of a small wooden table in the back room.

Sahadeva waved away the thick white smoke given off by the incense. Coils of the fragrant paste burned in every corner of the room. He sat at the table. The smoke made it hard to breathe and he immediately felt light-headed.

Harshad clapped his hands. Immediately an old woman appeared through another door and delivered a tea service. She poured cocum squash into tall glasses of water, then left without a word.

Sahadeva’s taste buds flooded at the drink’s scent. He and Jyotsna had subsisted on bread, goat’s cheese and water. Cocum squash was only available in April and May. He’d almost missed the season entirely. He picked up the glass and felt the chill.

“Let me again examine what you have,” Harshad said. He smiled once more.

Sahadeva saw the anticipation in the man’s face. Harshad clearly wanted the jewelry and gems. Slowly, Sahadeva emptied the pouch onto the table. The heavy gold smacked into the wood. The sound echoed strangely in Sahadeva’s ears.

“You found these in the Vaigai River, you say?” Harshad examined one of the rings.

“Yes,” Sahadeva said. He sipped his drink. The flavor was strong and cool.

“You’re lucky. Many men have searched that river for treasure,” Harshad said.

“I know.”

“Some soothsayers still insist there is a secret city with impossible wealth located there.”

Sahadeva’s heart thudded and his head swelled from the pressure. “I wouldn’t know about that,” he said.

“It is supposed to be a city of naga s,” Harshad said as he moved on to examine a bracelet. “Half men, half snakes. Have you ever seen such a thing?”

“No.” But Sahadeva knew well the old stories and legends told of such things.

“They lived on an island, it’s said. Then the monsoon season brought a wave that broke their island and drove them inland. They tried to live on the mainland, but they worshiped snakes and practiced bloodthirsty rituals. No one would suffer them to live there. So they fled upriver.”

Sahadeva listened without comment. He had to force himself to breathe. He wanted out of the room. Anxiety crawled over him at the thought of leaving Jyotsna with the burly guard. It was worse thinking about her father’s warriors lurking in the street.

“Do you think these things came from that city?” Harshad asked.

Sahadeva’s heartbeat became thunder in his ears. He was certain the jeweler could hear it. “No,” he lied.

“Why not?” Harshad asked.

“No one has ever proved that city ever existed,” Sahadeva said. No one had ever found the tributary Sahadeva and his friends had found, either. It went underground for a time, and if Pramath hadn’t gone hunting that morning they might never have found it, he thought.

“Still,” Harshad mused, “there is usually some kernel of truth in those old legends.”

Sahadeva said nothing. He pulled at his collar in an effort to get more air. Heat flushed his face. He forced air into his lungs.

“I’ve even been told that the things that have been found from the naga city are cursed,” Harshad said.

“Cursed?” Sahadeva’s mind tried to grasp the word but it slipped away.

“I’ve been told,” Harshad said in a quiet voice, “that the naga spirits follow anything that was taken from their city. They find them and bring them back after killing those who stole them. Do you believe in curses?”

Sahadeva thought about that for a moment while he finished the rest of his drink. He’d never actually seen a curse in effect, but he’d heard stories about them all of his life. “I don’t know,” he finally said.

“Well, it’s better to keep an open mind, perhaps. When you’ve lived as many years as I have, you’ll learn the wise men don’t have all the answers.” Harshad pushed the jewelry and gems to the center of the table. “Now we must discuss what these are worth to you.”

For the next few minutes, they haggled over the price. Sahadeva knew not to take the first offer. Only a fool and an amateur took the first offer. His father had taught him that, as well.

Finally, they agreed upon an amount. Sahadeva didn’t know if it was fair, but it was more than he’d been hoping to get for the pieces. He was certain Harshad thought he’d gotten the better of the bargain.

Sahadeva wanted only enough to arrange passage on one of the ships in the harbor. He knew he and Jyotsna would have to start over somewhere new. Perhaps Greece or Rome would be a good choice. He might even like to see Egypt. Those countries accepted foreigners.

Besides, he hadn’t shown Harshad the full treasure they’d escaped with.

“I must tell you one thing,” Harshad said at the end of the negotiations. “If these things are indeed cursed, I expect you to take them back. Is this understood?”

Sahadeva readily agreed. He didn’t believe in the curse. Even so, he would be long gone in just a matter of hours if he could find a ship putting out to sea in that time.

“I will return with your gold.” Harshad got up and left the room. He left the jewelry and gems sitting on the table.

Sahadeva felt his head grow heavier. When he turned to look at the window high on the wall, his senses whirled. He realized the colors seemed brighter than normal, and the sounds coming from outside were leaden and muffled.

Something was wrong.

He tried to stand but his legs were almost too weak to hold his weight. He gasped for air and choked on the thick incense smoke. He tried to sweep the jewelry and gems into the pouch again, but only succeeded in scattering them across the table and the floor.

A cloud of smoke suddenly burst inside the room. A loud hiss accompanied it.

Startled, Sahadeva stumbled back against the wall. The acrid smoke burned his nose and throat when he inhaled it. Incredulous, he watched as a figure took shape.