Nagasta entered the Dark Forest. Here held answers for her. She met many creatures she had known in their lifetimes, including Tacróc, Kikatili, Kinsta, Darzee's two children, who she had eaten a year earlier, and Karistan, her late husband. "Call them for me Karistan. I wish to avenge you and all the others Rikki-tikki-tavi has taken from me." she hissed. "You must bring someone who knew them in life. You cannot get them yourself." said the shade of her dead husband. She left the Dark Forest and called upon some of her friends. A few of them had known Nag and Nagaina.
They had traveled in the dead of night, past all guards. Not that it had mattered. In the time since her defeat several months earlier, the creatures had started to get careless after not hearing from her for a long time. She reentered the forest. She did not have to wait long for those whom she sought. A big black cobra came toward her. He was flanked by a green cobra. "At last! My parents!" she hissed. "At last, we see in person our daughter Nagasta, the bane of Rikki-tikki-tavi." said Nag. "I've got some things I have to ask you." said Nagasta. "What do you want with us?" said Nagaina. "There is so much I would like to know. So much that Rikki-tikki took from me! And I've wasted months on killing humans!" said Nagasta. "No, you haven't wasted any time at all. The less humans, the better. It was our plan once the people were dead. To kill more. Our kind in our homeland may have been able to kill the people there, but they were divided by petty feuds and wasted too much time fighting each other." said Nag. "Know then Father, that I have won their respect and have united and control the clans." said Nagasta. "Well done." said Nagaina. "However, there was a flaw in your plan to wipe out the people, was there not?" said Nagasta. "I told your father that he should have been hunted down. He wouldn't believe me." said Nagaina. "He attacked me the very night! How would it have mattered had we gone hunting for him in the morning?" said Nag. "We should have killed him first. It was my mistake." said Nagaina. "He has told me. Said he couldn't stand to see the people die." said Nagasta. "So, he told you. Fool! Now you know the truth and can kill him and continue our family plan!" said Nag. "Haven't you talked to Karistan? He nearly had Rikki-tikki, but that pest cheated death and saved the boy and his girlfriend. And killed Karistan to boot." said Nagasta. "I won't deny it." said Karistan. "Even I can't deny that Rikki-tikki-tavi is a dangerous enemy. As is Avíá-tía-tárá, his wife. I don't know if I can handle them alone." said Nagasta. "Remarry. I'm dead and can be of no use to you. Also, Rikki-tikki has once more failed to kill you. He has never managed to kill you. Even with the help of Avíá, he has failed to kill you." said Karistan. "But now the others aren't afraid of us anymore. He's gotten them all to stand up against us." said Nagasta. "No, they are still afraid! Rikki-tikki knows you're still out there. He's not going to rest easy until you're out of the way!" said Nagaina. "By how am I to be rid of him and Avíá? My only plan, kidnapping his children, seems very hard to pull off." said Nagasta.
"You needn't get them all. You only need one." said Nagaina. "Which is still out of my reach." said Nagasta. "You'll find a way, in time." said Nag. "I wanted to ask, why did you leave China? If you'd stayed, you'd still be alive." said Nagasta. "There was fighting among the clans. The House of Marxicasa was respected by all, but….." said Nag.
"The House of Marxicasa, the great Cobra Emperor. Our ancestor." said Nag. "I've never heard of him." said Nagasta. "He ruled all of China and half of India. He was the greatest of the clan leaders. Under him, the clans were united." said Nagaina. "Tell me more about him." said Nagasta.
[To Be Continued]