It had been a few weeks Rudra had been hunting the shapeshifters in the miserable weather of monsoon with these people. The routine of the entire city had shifted since the heavy rain had hit them. Groundfloor doorways with stone-sills, monsoon eels roaming in the water logged streets, slow but never stopping trade in market areas, the heavy pressure during early court hours to avoid the typical mid-afternoon rainfall which usually was the heaviest daily rainfall- nothing too unbearable but nevertheless irritating. Amidst this weather Rudra and his crew had performed their duties of investigating every shop, every house- arresting or trying to arrest the shapeshifters which would break into a run shifting into their animal forms as soon as Rudra would spot them and therefore killing them on chase. They would secure the city first and then move to the jungle areas including Royale Hunting Grounds around afternoon and call it a day before the sun set. Not that Rudra couldn't carry on hunting shapeshifters at night, but the crew needed rest.
A letter had arrived from Nayan that morning. Apparently she was having more miserable week than Rudra outside the city. She had written that the lower district- the ones which usually produced agricultural products- were completely flooded, not dangerously, but persistently. The drains would draw the water away from the districts to the Eastern Great River only for the heavy rain to fill in the area with more water the next day- leaving the streets always submerged under a foot of red brown murky water.
And Nayan was stuck working there, the same Nayan who was a being who generally avoided anything remotely damp and who would have probably avoided bathing if she wasn't married to a clean-freak like wife Shia.
Kesh and Sidh were discussing the route they should take today. But Rudra couldn't really focus. He was busy wondering if his favourite Pundāku was sobbing in her pillow every night.
Absent mindedly he watched Rao ride off fast to check route, possibly to make sure there weren't any fallen trees on their path. He rounded a corner and disappeared behind the treelines.
"My Prince," Kesh said suddenly, "Do we check the farms and poultries today?"
Rudra wrinkled his nose. The fact that he would have to spend hours in the smelly residence of creatures way below in the food chain was not exactly exciting for a dragon. He would rather blow torch all the animal husbadries around the city and be done with it.
But a part of him was also a little relieved. Arresting and killing animals who were actually shapeshifters were better than dragging away a shapeshifter from a man who thought that the monster was the most beautiful woman whom he had every seen and also, therefore, love of his life. But those weren't the worst cases.
The worst ones were old folks who were suddenly happy for past several weeks thinking their dead son/ daughter had suddenly returned only to find Royale Hunters by the door to tell them their ressurrected child was actually a monster waiting for the old person to get comfortable enough around them so that they could attack them abruptly, kill them and eat them.
Like Dragons, shape shifters were carnivores. But they had an unusual obsession for human flesh which separated them from dragons.
Both dragons and these creatures were shapeshifters at the end of the day, both were monsters. But of different kinds.
"...Do we avoid poultries?" Kesh asked carefully, "We could stick to the residential and market areas."
Rudra shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped.
And all of them heard it. A blood curdling scream.
Rao was screaming.
Kesh's head snapped to that direction. Taz and Prit wheeled their horses. But the horses resisted the turn for half a stride, nostrils flaring at a sound or a scent only they could catch. The hunters drove their heels hard forcing the horses into submission and they bursted into a controlled dash. Taz and Prit both had their spears raised. Behind them Lohan followed, notching an arrow to his bow. Behind them rest of the hunters also scattered into a loose formation, with
Sidh and Mehta going to cover the left as they galloped forward and Dhaman moved right.
Rudra didn't move his horse. "Your Highness," Kesh urged, "Without us, the formation will not be complete."
Rudra didn't care about the formation. He only cared about the hunt.
The scream was too.... perfect. It rose several octaves, like a man straining his vocal chords. It had the same catch-in throat quality, the same breathless spoke at the start.
But it cut off too cleanly.
There was no choke-off mid note when someone gets actually hurt or grabbed, no ragged edge.
And finally, Rudra noticed the faint, very very faint undertone beneath the screaming voice- like two throats were screaming slightly out of sync. It was barely audible.
But it was enough.
Rudra let the other hunters dash forward while he pulled the bow off his shoulder and then notched an arrow at a leisurely manner.
As the hunters neared, a shape broke from the treeline. It was Rao. He wasn't running but loping. He was drenched in blood. His horse couldn't be seen anywhere near. His weapons were gone. He had his hands raised.
Taz and Prit closed in, their face darkened with concern and alarm. They were going too close.
Rudra let his arrow fly.
THWACK.
The arrow planted itself between Rao's eyebrows. He didn't stagger, didn't scream. He simply stopped mid-stride, as if the shot had cut the string holding him upright, arms still raised, mouth still open. He looked at Rudra, eyes wide.
And then his legs folded. He went down hard and boneless into the muddy water and tall grass face first.
Nobody moved.
Then Kesh turned his head to look at Rudra, "Your...Highness?" He didn't look relieved. He looked suspicious.
The shape shifters on the floor didn't shift into its animal form. It lied there, looking like corpse of a human- of Hunter Rao.
Other hunters looked at Rudra as well, their eyes guarded. But Rudra didn't plead for his innocence.
Dragons don't do pleading.
"Find his body," Rudra ordered, "We need not travel into the city today, nor we need to search husbandries, poultries. The preys have come to us themselves."
"The Hunt has begun."