Black Avatare

34 | JOURNEY

A second before the nagas could fire, Binara released the band. Her makeshift bullet thrummed through the air like a red-hot meteor. It missed the mark, hitting the ground a good meter from the nagas. Yet, the explosion sent them flying—along with a shower of soil, rock and plant matter. The bang resounded in her head while the Monara passed over the chaos and quickly gained altitude.

Diyan snapped his head back to stare at her. "What was that?"

"Saved us from becoming toast." Binara slumped back against the seat, chest heaving. "You're welcome."

"Binara—"

"I have a new weapon, see?" She smirked and waved the slingshot before stowing it back into her backpack. "Now let's get the heck away from those snake jerks."

Diyan watched for a few seconds more, incredulity written all over his face. Then he smiled and shook his head.

They rode a thermal, rising higher and higher. Kurul receded into the distance—a mere speck soon swallowed up by the vegetation. Binara inhaled one lungful after another, glad to be alive. She inwardly reeled at the realization that she survived a battle with beings of myth.

Before long, the land below became rockier. Diyan guided the Monara to a canyon that cleaved down the mountainous terrain. The kinnaras took position at the wheel while he sank down onto the seat next to her.

Binara was so transfixed by the view that it took her a good minute to notice Diyan watching her. "What?"

He shifted his gaze away from her and said quietly, "That flower looks pretty on you."

She just blinked at him. "Um..."

"You had it on the first time I met you."

"M-my sister gave it to me." She drummed her fingers on the gunwale. "I mean Piumi. Piumi gave it to me."

"Piumi is your sister? I thought she's—"

"No, that's not what—Piumi is my Yakadura partner." Binara paused. "She got this made for me when—you know what, it's not important."

Diyan opened one of the boxes and produced a large fruit that looked like a soursop.

He sliced it open with a knife and handed her one half. "Breakfast."

"Thanks." She took an experimental bite from the white flesh, which turned out to be good. "What is this?"

"A type of soursop that grows here." He bit into his own fruit. "Would you like to tell me about your sister?"

"And why would I do that?" she retorted, sounding more defensive than she intended.

"Perhaps it might help to talk."

She glanced at him. The sharp angles of his face were set in a somber mask, limned with moonlight. She realized that his past was much worse than what she had gone through, and she only knew the tip of the iceberg.

Binara stared into the distance as the Monara sailed through the air. "As a kid, I thought I was an only child for the longest time. I kept to myself—reading or playing with my doll."

"Have you always lived with your mother?"

"Technically. She isn't at home much." Binara extracted a seed from the sticky pulp and gave it a nonchalant flick. "The walauwa has a wing that's been closed off as far back as I can remember. One day—I was seven then—I was out in the garden when I saw a teen girl at the window."

Diyan frowned. "In the closed wing?"

"Yeah. That was the first time I saw my sister."

Surprise flickered over his face. "You confronted your mother about her?"