(Book 6) Hayden Mackay and The Third-Eye of the Pancharatna

30.2. A Royal Pain

The creature turned around and flicked its tail. "Hardik, watch out!" Celina yelled. Too late. The tail hit the carpet. Together they plummeted down. A shock-filled scream escaped Celina's throat. Thankfully Hardik regained its balance and glided towards her at a tremendous speed. Before she crashed to the ground, the carpet got hold of her. Celina's stomach roiled, vomit surged in her throat, and the feeling of the sudden stoppage of a roller coaster took a toll on her.

Hardik gently landed on the ground. They both needed a minute to breathe and come out of the shock of rapid freefall.

Nazira came running towards them and crouched, torrential rain beating down on her but she remained undeterred. She hesitated to speak, and Celina guessed if she was laughing in her mind. A lifetime of humiliation rattled her bones.

"You wipe that damn smirk out of your face," Celina yelled.

Nazira chuckled, touched her hand, and said sweetly, "Leena told me you're the strongest among the five, why are you proving her wrong?"

Celina clenched her jaw. "Thanks for kicking me while I'm down."

"Please. You have to listen to me," Nazira said, pleading. "Take me to Agnidaanav. Let me distract it for you."

With an egoistic nerve throbbing with alarming intensity, Celina refrained from replying. She wasn't too willing to oblige to go further along Nazira's path. Quietly, she lurched forward and sat back up on Hardik, pretending not to give heed to Nazira's proposal. Nazira hung her head down, sprang up, and stepped sideways, lending them space. The carpet lifted itself slightly, hovering just above the ground and Celina assumed it was readying itself before it sped up.

A moment later, Hardik took off with the speed of a jet.

Agnidaanav had been flying around the cave, assumingly in dire need to get back inside Selvyn Hill and take up its position as a guard to the Molten Vault. Hardik, reading Celina's nerves flew towards it, cutting through the susurration of freezing rain.

Before the creature figured out the way, Celina commanded her stone and created a windshield the half size of the mountain. The creature screeched and blew out the fire. Damn it! Celina gritted her teeth. The impact of wind and fire bombarded a portion of the mountain.

The sound of the explosion was terrifying but that did not hinder Hardik's momentum. It twisted and turned in its way, ingeniously escaping the tumbling flying rocks. Celina made up her mind, she could not risk her Formation colliding with the flames anymore.

The creature flew up against the slope of the mountain, as swift as an arrow. Rain smashing. Snow plummeting. Trees blowing about. Celina's brain was in a speed mode and she braced herself for what was coming. Hardik folded itself from the backside, creating a chair-like provision for the sake of Celina's comfort. It slanted itself, front skywards, and flew behind the creature, matching its speed.

The sound of the turbulent wet-windy atmosphere buzzed in her ears. Breath rasped in her chest. The feeling of falling off the cliff, although in reality, they were jetting slantingly upward. The chase of the cat and mouse began- the rush of Hardik's flight to cross off the creature's speed and to allow Celina attack from the front. The zipping-zapping, turbulent-filled ride gave her the most exhilarating and strenuous experience, involving a lot of high-risk caveats. The lining of her nose became irritated and inflamed on getting exposed in such inclement weather, but she had her mind concentrated on the stone, also focusing on the need to strengthen her in-air maneuvering. The creature was somehow flying up, and upwards only, taking no diversion whatsoever. Was it trying to escape into the clouds and the rain? Now she knew why Nazira had explicitly mentioned not to insult the creature's intelligence.