The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [129]
Shankarpa was unmoved. ‘She never understood what it means to serve Shiva. She was weak.’
‘Do not speak of her like that!’ Girilal snapped. The other guardians reacted with surprise at the challenge to their leader, and even Shankarpa was taken aback by the anger in the old man’s voice. The yogi took a breath, then continued more quietly. ‘I am sorry. I did not mean to shout. You made your decision, as I made mine. The difference is . . . you did not regret it.’
‘No, I did not.’ His dark eyes flicked across to Nina, Eddie and Kit. ‘What do we do with you, hmm? My father thinks you can be trusted. But why should I?’
‘Protecting secrets is part of what we do,’ said Nina. ‘We stopped a catastrophe that would have killed billions of people, and kept it a secret to prevent global panic.’
‘And this guy Khoil and his wife,’ added Eddie, ‘they’ve got a catastrophe of their own in mind, and they’re dead set on getting hold of what’s behind that statue up there before they kick it off.’
‘If the Khoils can’t get the Shiva-Vedas, they might not go ahead with whatever they’re planning.’
‘If it is Shiva’s will,’ said Shakarpa, ‘who are we to stop it?’
‘But it isn’t Shiva’s will,’ Nina replied. ‘It’s the Khoils’ will - and they’re very definitely not gods. They don’t want to destroy the world so it can be reborn. They just want money and power for themselves. I doubt Shiva would approve.’
He nodded slowly. ‘If you are telling the truth about these people, what can we do to stop them?’
‘Nothing,’ said Eddie. ‘If they find this place, first thing they’ll do will be airlift in mercenaries. Lots of ’em. With lots of guns.’
Shankarpa sat back, mulling their words over before speaking in Hindi to his companions. The discussion went on for some time, varying degrees of disagreement emerging.
‘What’re they saying?’ Nina asked Kit.
‘They’re deciding whether they can trust us, and, if we’re telling the truth about the Khoils, what they can do to stop them.’ He listened to the conversation for a few moments, unsettled. ‘They are also still arguing about whether or not they should kill us. Some of them have very strong feelings about it.’
Nina noticed the man she had hit with the rifle glaring at her, an ugly purple bruise on his throat. ‘Yeah, I figured that. Good thing we didn’t actually kill any of them.’
Girilal leaned closer, lowering his voice. ‘I think he will let you live.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘He is my son. I have to believe that he will do what is right.’ Eddie watched the debate. None of the factions appeared particularly pro-mercy. ‘Just hope you were a better dad than you give yourself credit for . . .’
It was several minutes before Shankarpa reached a decision, shouting down the more vocal objectors. ‘If we let you live,’ he said to Nina, ‘what will you do for us in return?’
‘The first thing will be to tell the Indian government and the United Nations about this place. It will still be a secret,’ she pressed on, seeing he already had very strong reservations. ‘We won’t go public. But if the UN knows about the Vault, we can protect it.’
Shankarpa didn’t seem convinced. ‘And what else?’
‘If you’ll let us, we can try to open the Vault.’ She indicated the replica key.
He laughed in disbelief. ‘You want the guardians of the Vault of Shiva to help you open its door?’
‘All the Khoils want are the Shiva-Vedas. We can take them someplace secure. If they’re not here - and they know that - they’ll have no reason to come. Whatever other treasures are in the Vault will be safe.’
‘And why should you be trusted with the sacred words of Lord Shiva over this man Khoil?’
‘Because the Khoils want to use them to gain power. But I want to show them to the entire world,’ she said defiantly. ‘Everyone will be able to read the teachings of Shiva. Isn’t that what he would want?’
‘She is telling the truth,’ Girilal added. ‘She is very famous for this. Even in Kedarnath!’
‘I can help you,’ Nina insisted. ‘If you let me.’
Shankarpa remained deep in thought for a long moment. ‘I