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

2.2. Double-dog Dared

Hayden

My legs were blocks of iron but I urged them on. 

The atmosphere had turned thick and tense, filling up with the sounds of hysterical neighs from the horses and the crescendo of the gunfire. The premise was yet colorless with thin early morning sunlight spread around the horizon, the air decidedly chilly but the smell smoky campfire-ish. I crossed through the location where Nazira had established a garden using her magic. However, currently, the garden had disappeared and been replaced with dry grass, some sedges, and heavy snow. Weird. The morbid curiosity within me was strong. I ignored it for now and ran towards the forward-facing apartments, towards the screams.

Hardik jetted crazily in the air, a whirring swish and a whiz.

The far east portion of Sharad's palace and a few of the adjacent apartments were allegedly set on fire. Flames were huge and sizzling, creating bursts of hostile rings of smoke. The palace's walls made of rocks were still intact, but everything else crumbling down and dripping into puddles, the roof caving in, and the loud creak and groan of the contracting wood. There were intense cries for help, scared citizens shuffling away from the fire and crowding back amidst the apartments.

The explosion bore all the hallmarks of Shashi's attacks.

The Sharad's knights had gathered in the frontal portion of the palace. A few of them pointed their musket at the sky, as though searching for a target. The birds went flapping and chirping, the drumming hoof beats of the horses fanatically scattering away from their stables. A rush of sick terror bubbled through my stomach. I took a couple of hurried steps ahead and then stopped at the spot where the three most important people of my life came into the picture. Knights were nursing King Aghashtya, Queen Urmila, and my aunt. They were seated on the edges of the knee wall and looking over at the fire burning a part of their home.

"Leena," I mind-connected. "Leena, are you awake? Please wake up."

Another ear-splitting screech emerged out of nowhere, disrupting my concentration. The knights instinctively loaded their muskets, howling with fear, and pointed the weapons up. I followed their sight. 

A speck appeared in the sky. A black dot amidst the columns of smoke. It came closer down to the earth, turning into an orange light, like that of an afternoon sun. It sailed smoothly down, its shape reforming into a bird, wings, and claws taking its position. It was only a bird, a huge one, sort of peculiar. It started to revolve and rotate at the same spot. Much closer it came now, its neck split into two, casting a monstrous dark shadow over the battalion of knights. I sensed their terror. I sensed mine and gradually realized that it was no bird.

The two eagle-headed monsters- Agnidaanav- loomed high up in the air. It screeched, its volume tremendously loud. Its skin was covered with scales and was shiny as though coated with gold. It spread the bat-like humongous wings, seizing me with panic. Wings flapped and a sharp gust of wind sent away a flurry of powered snow backward. It screeched louder and louder and began hurling flames in the air. Anger evident. This creature was Shashi's friend gifted by Almourah for his excellence in dark magic. It was Shashi's friend and that reminded me of Tyrell's prior warning- Shashi had been creating a new menacing clan and was about to unleash a fresh wave of violence upon the country.

The creature showed off its fierceness with its powerful talons, strong legs, hooked beaks, and keen eyesight. Despite that, the only feature that amazed me was its size. My previous encounter with it had happened more than two years ago, the remembrance of which was enough to determine the difference in the sizes of both the creatures. The current one wasn't as huge as Agnidaanav in the past. What did that mean?