Brihannala studied Shivani, her eyes losing the serene calm they usually held. Godha was observing the change in her Guru, too scared to say a word. Mrityunjay was observing too, as Shivani got herself into more trouble, with every word she uttered. He needed some distraction, something to pull Brihannala's attention away from her.
"Swamy. I heard a man was killed close to the ashram three days ago," he began out of the blue, throwing a dart in the dark to attract Brihannala's attention. He had hit the bull's eye. Brihannala immediately looked at Mrityunjay and so did everyone else in the room. Shivani looked at Mrityunjay too, shocked at the casual way in which he spoke about her father. She tried to free her hand from his, but he held on tight.