Free The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C Doyle

remain a secret. Forever.’
    He drew a short dagger from the scabbard at his waist and beckoned the men .
    ‘Hold out your left hand,’ he said. Each courtier extended his left hand, palm upwards. Asoka made a small cut on the palm of each courtier, letting out blood that spilled across their palms. ‘You are today joined in brotherhood,’ he said as the men placed their hands together, their blood mixing and dripping to the floor. ‘The Brotherhood of the Nine Unknown Men. And you will protect this secret forever, never letting the rest of mankind know that it ever existed.’
    He looked at them gravely. ‘Swear upon your blood that you will protect this secret with your life; that you will never betray your brotherhood or your cause, that no one will ever know about the true nature of your purpose in life.’
    The nine men swore their allegiance to the newly-formed brotherhood and its mission.
    ‘One more thing.’ Asoka was not done. ‘The Vimana Parva —the book of the Mahabharata that mentions the legend,—erase it from every record of the epic that exists. By royal decree, the memorisation of this book of the Mahabharata must also be discontinued. The myth must disappear from the knowledge and memories of men, just like the secret it mentions. The only place where it will continue to exist will be within the brotherhood. Create a book of stone that will record the Vimana Parva and hide it within the folds of the brotherhood, concealed from the eyes and ears of men forever. The world will still know the Mahabharata , but it will never know the dark secret it carries deep within.’

10
    Present Day
    Day 5
New Delhi
    ‘I have an idea,’ Colin suddenly whispered in Vijay’s ear. ‘Hang on.’ He turned to the little group that clustered not far from them. ‘Does anyone here smoke? Do you have a lighter or a box of matches?’
    Vijay instantly understood. He glanced up at the ceiling. A network of pipes ran along the roof, with sprinklers protruding at regular intervals. There were smoke detectors fixed on the walls, which would set the sprinklers off.
    One of the women in the group had a lighter and she handed it over to Colin, her hand trembling, her face betraying her anxiety. There was no time to lose. The shouts upstairs had subsided into a strange calm. Was it a lull before the storm? Both friends doubted that the door, thick as it was, could withstand another assault.
    Vijay sprinted towards a ladder that was used to access the higher levels of the lockers and wheeled it over to one of the smoke detectors. Colin kept pace with him and jumped onto the ladder even before it came to a stop, shinning up the rungs at top speed. He reached the smoke detector and produced a flame from the lighter.
    The seconds ticked by, seeming like hours.
    Nothing happened.
    There was another loud blast, followed by the sound of metal buckling under metal. The steel door was wrenched off its hinges, the bolts of the double lock snapping with a shattering sound as the door flew down the stairs. It skidded along the floor and came to a stop as it smashed with a resounding crash into a row of lockers against the far wall. The little group shrank back, sheltering behind a wall of lockers in an attempt to shield themselves.
    Shouts rent the air and men came clattering down the stairs, following the path of the destroyed door.
    Colin was grim-faced as he held the lighter to the smoke detector, willing it to work. Why was it taking so long ?
    Suddenly, the sprinklers came to life, dousing the group in the vault, soaking them thoroughly. The men charging into the vault were caught unawares and for a few seconds their downward progress into the vault slowed down.
    ‘Quick, the ladder!’ Vijay shouted to Colin.
    With one accord, both friends lifted the heavy ladder and, holding it horizontal before them like a battering ram, charged towards the group of men racing down the stairs.
    The men, though armed, hadn’t expected to meet