Rakshak

A story of two brothers, who find themselves smacked in the middle of a war within a secret society. Mauryans, Chanakya, Aikantya.CHAPTER 44HomeIn any sort of a fight, psychology plays a very subtle, yet important role. Having the higher ground helps, but having a literal throne, even a makeshift one can make all the difference. Then again, a Throne is only prestigious as the way the king sits on it. If the king cowers, the throne appears to be too empty. But, Kaal didn't cower. He never cowered.The idea of backing down was alien to Kaal, and his body- a straight back with an empty face, one hand ready to retrieve a gun out of its holster and the other resting across, soothing dominance, was as natural to The Demon as breathing.The Elder Thakur waited in his chair for the younger to make his presence felt.Out of the many ways to enter a room, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Dev choose to go for a boneless stride, with the head a tad bit bowed and the arms hung on either sides. The walk resembled the feeling one conjured when the cold metal of a blade lodged itself between the vertebrae, and the brain refused to lose conscious, not surrendering to the pain.The feeling that went through in a person's mind, when he felt the last puff of a dying man's breath on his skin.Too bad for Dev that much like him, Kaal too, was indifferent to these mind games.For the first time in a long time, and for the last time for a very long time, the last of their family stood in the same room. The battle had already begun the moment the younger brother entered the room, but none had made a physical move yet."Game of chess?" Kaal asked Dev, Between Dev and Kaal, there laid a dining table, with a chess board spread over it. On the opposite end there lied an empty chair.Kaal moved the pawn in front of a queen onto the next square."I know you always wanted to play against me. I thought I could fulfill at least one of your wishes before I kill you.""Well Dev, it's your turn now."With a battle hardened aim, Dev shot a bullet that broke apart the king into two parts."Checkmate, brother."Not too far away, a certain scarecrow's mind was running a hundred miles per minute in hopes of finding a solution.Aman weighed his options- Nadira could go for a headshot but between the time it would take for her to pull the trigger and for the bullet to go through Trent's skull, Trent would have enough time to pull a pin and destroy everything in his vicinity, present company included.Perhaps Sameen could try getting him with one of her knives- it would be faster since she would have a larger target area and would not cause the explosives to well, explode. But if the hit would not be fatal, they all were done for.Which brought him to this final conclusion."Wolfhard, I challenge you to a duel. Just you and me."Throughout the ranks of Rakshak and otherwise, there were a select few who would dare to engage Aman 'Scarecrow' Ali in combat. Trent Wolfhard was one of those few.But at the moment, he had other plans.A sadistic smile crept on his face. He had just received the signal. It was time.