Read Online The Third Eye by Mahtab Narsimhan - Free Book Online Page B

deep satisfaction on his face as helooked at the stunned, scared faces around him.
    â€œ
You
are the evil one here,” yelled a dishevelled young man, who broke through the crowd and rushed to Ravi’s side.
    â€œMohan,” said Raka in a stern voice. “We know Ravi was like a brother to you. But you cannot blame Zarku for what happened to him in the forest. Zarku is only trying to protect us. Get a hold of yourself and stop talking nonsense.”
    â€œNo,” said Mohan, shaking his head, wiping his streaming eyes and nose. “He is the cause of this, I know it.
I know it
...”
    â€œThank the Lord that you have my protection,” said Zarku as he strode forward and scooped up the body in both hands easily, as if he were picking up a child.
    No one came forward to help him.
    â€œNo one is to enter my hut while I treat this boy,” he said, his whiteless eyes sweeping the crowd. His gaze stopped on Mohan. Mohan returned his look defiantly. Then Zarku turned and walked away.
    Tara and Suraj stood at the edge of the crowd as she watched the receding back of Zarku and noticed that Mohan was obediently shuffling behind him.
    At that moment, Tara knew without a doubt: Morni was in very grave danger and they were running out of time. She had to brave the forest and reach the one place Prabala might be. She had to find him and bring him back!

C HAPTER 6
F REEDOM
    â€œLet’s go,” Tara muttered to Suraj under her breath after Zarku had walked away.
    Suraj was unusually quiet and very pale. Everyone looked the same. Murmurs and whispers spread through the crowd like ripples in a still lake.
    â€œWhat happened to Ravi?”
    â€œThe Vetalas, they’re here.”
    â€œWhat is going to happen to all of us if we cannot go to the forest? How will we get food and firewood?”
    Unease hung in the air like a black cloud. The sky was a deep grey. People drifted away. Tara saw Shiv, Kali, and Layla in the distance. Her father had a deep frown on his face. Kali tried hard to maintain a blank expression, but her eyes sparkled and Layla played with her new bangles.
    â€œLet’s go home, everyone,” Shiv said. “It has been a long day.”
    Tara was silent as she walked slowly behind her father. Suraj slipped a small, warm hand in hers. She raised an eyebrow.
    â€œAs long as we’re together, Didi, I can be as brave as a lion. I will protect you,” he said with a slight swagger in his walk.
    Tara glanced at the scrawny body of her brother as he uttered the words and smiled. He looked more like a weak kitten than a lion.
    â€œThank you, Suraj,” she answered him with utmost seriousness. “I love you. You know that, right?”
    â€œI love you too, Didi. Even more than mangoes!”
    Tara squeezed his hand. She saw the implicit trust in his eyes and made a promise to herself:
I cannot fail him! I have to take him to safety and back to our real mother
.
    Suraj grabbed her hand and pointed.
    â€œLook Didi — Dhruv Nakshatra, the North Star. Let’s make a wish.”
    Tara closed her eyes and prayed in earnest.
    â€œLord Ganesh, keep us safe till we find Mother and Grandfather,” whispered Tara.
    â€œDidi, about Ravi,” Suraj started to say.
    â€œShhhh, lets not talk about him. Not now,” said Tara gently.
    Darkness was seeping across the sky like an inkblot as lizards and crickets heralded the arrival of night. The sweet fragrance of the raat-ki-rani flower scented the air. Tara inhaled deeply.
    Suraj stopped and scooped up something from the ground and straightened up.
    â€œWhat is that?” asked Tara, suspicious of the mischievous glint that had suddenly appeared in Suraj’s eye.
    â€œShhhhhh, watch!”
    He quickened his step and reached Kali’s large back, which swung like a pendulum as she waddled along. Suraj walked up close to her and gently placed a large greyish white lizard on the edge of her pallu,