The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [109]
Eddie snorted. ‘Your pep talks were a lot better back in the Regiment.’
‘I’m getting more careful with age. You might want to consider trying it. Both of you.’ He gave them a meaningful look, then stood. ‘Speaking of which, age affects the body as well as the mind, so if you’ll excuse me . . .’ He headed for the bathroom.
‘Cheeky old git,’ said Eddie, with a fond look after his former commanding officer. ‘I’m always careful. Ish.’ He noticed how Nina was looking at him. ‘What? Don’t tell me you agree with him.’
‘Of course I do, Eddie. We almost got killed at the Khoils’ estate. Several times.’
‘Par for the bloody course with us, isn’t it? And being chased up a tree by a tiger’ll make a great story to tell at a pub sometime.’
‘And what about the story when you almost got your throat ripped out by a psychopath because you didn’t hear him coming? Will that be on the list too?’
‘Yeah, okay, that wasn’t so good. But I still came out on top.’
‘Only by sheer luck.’ She took his hands in hers. ‘Eddie, I’m just worried that if you carry on like you always have, and deliberately ignore the fact that it’s affected your hearing—’
‘I’m not bloody deaf, all right?’ he snapped. ‘That Pennywisetoothed little bastard got lucky, that’s all.’
‘Or you were unlucky,’ said Nina quietly. ‘And you only have to be unlucky once to . . .’ She couldn’t speak the terrible thought.
He squeezed her hands and gave her a reassuring smile. ‘Well, at least it should be nice and quiet up in the mountains, right?’
21
‘So much for quiet,’ said Nina as she stepped off the bus . . . into a noisy crowd.
From what she had read, she had expected the Himalayan village of Gaurikund to be nothing more than a small pit stop on the way up to Kedarnath. But even with a covering of snow and a chill winter wind, the narrow streets of colourful, tight-packed and high-stacked buildings were bustling with activity.
‘They’re pilgrims,’ said Kit. ‘Kedarnath is closed in winter because of the weather - so the priests from the temple all move down to Gaurikund.’
‘They close the whole village?’ Eddie asked incredulously, hauling a large rucksack out of the bus. ‘Guess we’re not checking into a hotel once we’re up there, then.’
‘I’m afraid not. And we have to walk from here - this is as far as the road goes. It’s another fourteen kilometres to Kedarnath.’
Eddie looked up the valley. Though shrouded in grey clouds, the looming dark mass of Mount Kedarnath was still discernible, its highest peak over three miles above. ‘Nice weather for it.’
Nina was more interested in the people. They were of all ages, dressed in everything from utilitarian cold-weather clothing to layers of brightly coloured traditional Indian apparel to simple orange robes that seemed highly unsuited to the cold conditions. ‘They’re all here to pay homage to Shiva?’
‘Not all of them,’ Kit replied. ‘Gaurikund is a holy site for other gods as well. There is a hot spring where Shiva first told Parvati that he loved her - people come to bathe in it. It’s also where their son Ganesha was born.’
‘He’s the one with an elephant’s head, right?’ said Eddie. Kit nodded.
‘I’m impressed,’ said Nina. ‘How did you know that?’
‘It was in The Simpsons.’
‘Ah.’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘The source of all modern knowledge.’
‘But did Bart and Homer explain why he has an elephant’s head?’ Kit asked Eddie with a smile, getting a negative response. ‘Parvati was bathing in the spring, and Ganesha was standing guard. Shiva arrived unexpectedly - he had been away for a long time, and didn’t recognise Ganesha as his son. Ganesha tried to stop him from seeing Parvati, so Shiva cut off his head.’
‘Whoa,’ said Eddie. ‘That’s a bit harsh.’
‘Parvati thought so too! She demanded that Shiva bring him back to life. But Shiva couldn’t find the head, so he took the head from an elephant and used that instead. That is one of the stories. As usual, there are many