Black Avatare

35 | CAVE

Diyan strode down the hillock, making his way to the fire. "We need to hurry. The storm will be upon us within hours."

"So what's the plan?" Binara asked. "Weather it out?"

"We need to gain more ground while the skies are clear. Then we can find shelter and continue on foot."

"On foot? What about the Monara?"

"We have limited fuel, and the weather most likely won't improve the further we go." Diyan handed her a steaming bowl of fried rice that the kinnaras had cooked. "I was hoping we could go further on the Monara, but now, it cannot be helped."

She didn't like the worried look on his face. "You mean this setback would cost us many more days?"

He nodded.

The clatter of spoons carried in the quiet. Everyone tucked into their meal. The kinnaras ate from miniature bowls, which would have fascinated Binara if the atmosphere wasn't so grim. As she chewed on the food, her brain whirred.

In Holmanloke time, the Perahera was almost three weeks away, but Mahasona was expected to strike just before the festival. That meant she had just over two weeks to get to Mount Meru, procure the items and stop Mahasona. To make matters worse, it was all mired in uncertainty, especially the last stage of the mission. Even Diyan had no clue about Raa, let alone venture into the heart of enemy territory and find where Mahasona would open his dimensional rip. This whole mission was wild and perilous to begin with, but a delay would make it nothing short of impossible.

Suddenly, the food might as well have been cardboard, even though it was cooked to perfection. Binara swallowed and glanced at Diyan. He was quieter than ever, brows drawn together. Her stomach started to churn.

"You said the storm would hit within hours." Binara scooped up the last of her rice. "How far can the Monara go in that time?"

"Two hundred kilometers? It would take us at least four days to travel that distance by foot."

"Oh."

Binara gulped down the last mouthful of food while urgency twisted her insides into knots. Even the kinnaras were more jittery than usual. As soon as the meal was over, they doused the campfire and packed everything back into the Monara. Binara tried not to think about their impending trek through rain, gloom and wilderness.

When the Monara took to the skies again, Binara stared into the horizon. Clouds gathered, though they were still an innocuous white. She wondered how quickly the weather would turn.

After a while, she glanced back, taking note of the boxes. "What are we going to do with these? We can't carry these on foot."

"I may have a solution for that," Diyan replied.

Of course. He's probably got an SUV stashed out there somewhere so we could cruise to Meru in style. She shook her head.

The landscape they passed was largely the same, though no less picturesque. Grass swayed in a dark achromatic carpet, interrupted by blotches of rock and tree cover. That was when she spotted a flying animal that looked like a cross between a bat and a manta ray. She watched a bluish glow pulse from its wings as it sailed through the air—a gliding specter that was nothing short of captivating. Eventually, the drone of the craft lulled Binara into a doze.

She only woke up when Diyan guided the Monara to a hasty landing, concentration etched on his brow. She wondered how much time had passed, but the clouds had now obscured the sky, taking on an ominous grey.

Moonbeams pierced the cloud cover, and in the dim light, she could make out the relatively flat area that Diyan had chosen for the landing. It was hemmed in with craggy hillocks and trees, while further away, a stream meandered out into the distance. She wondered if they would manage to find shelter before the storm struck.