(Book 5) Hayden Mackay and The Pride of Haima-Endira

17. Cry Bloody Murder

Standing alone on the porch and watching the downpour of the heavy snowstorm suddenly gave me a notion of uneasiness.

The premises of the Sharad's palace was completely white-out. The flakes were falling in haste as if a race, almost obscuring the view ahead. In the bleakness of extreme cold, I felt frozen to the spot, the tips of my fingers and toes stung with sharp pain. My heart hoped for the storm to end already. With Hardik being badly affected by the terrors of the beasts, my mind could make up to no logical plan to travel other than to walk within Uttarameer, the province where the temperature could be innumerable times worse.

To save myself from the blinding whiteness, I gazed with the shrunken eyes. My insides wanting to go back inside the house, yet I stood there, unmoved, as though an invisible force had a tight grip around me yearning to have no interruption and disturb this presentation.

The wind susurrated, the chilliness of which cut through my clothes. But I gazed ahead, discovering the dark outline of a person standing far away in the middle of the grounds and faced towards me. I took a step closer and leaned over placing my hand over the cold railing. The profile of the person seemed womanly, tall and slim, with long hair waving with the uprush of the air.

It was Nazira, of course. Frowning, I squinted and there was nothing else that I could see except her. Having her eyes glued upon me, giving me a firm and bitter stare. Standing in the midst of the extreme temperature, she was in her usual jeans and tunic top and showing no signs of shivering whatsoever. I had this uneasy feeling that she hated me, she was hostile towards me, and in a desperate need of wanting me no more in her life. There was no innocence in her face, just the sense of evoked begrudges. The gaze of hers seemed to be saying something, which I presumed to be as - "Watch me!"

She turned around and began taking slow steps away into the nothingness. With every step, she gave away the bounty of nature to the premises. The snow melted revealing the greenery beneath her feet. The storm stopped with a whoosh and flakes lifted off with shrubs and trees coming back to life. The colorful flowers appeared, attractive and exotic, as an addition to the beauty, she seemed to be spreading around. The sky was blessed as the clouds dissipated, and sun rays streaming down, giving space to the entire flock of winged creatures flying their way out. My heart dropped to my knees seeing this miracle, my breath caught in my throat and...

"Hayden!"

I was knocked out of my chair.

Coughing and spluttering, as though smoke had been stung in my lungs, I impulsively searched for the bottle of water and drank fully of it until I got the last drop out. I wiped my mouth and looked around. Nazira was standing in front of the walkway. Her eyes were wet and forehead sweaty. Hair tied behind and pulled up with a few strands diverted off from her loose bun.

"Hey!" I smiled at her and gently rubbing my eyes to get rid of the sleep crumbs off my lashes.

It was then that I remembered making plans with Ashwant to meet here at the apartment. We were supposed to leave for the job before the night fell as per King Aghasthya's orders. I had packed my bag. Ira Zutshi had lent us an extra magical basket for the necessary foodstuff. Minor issues were all taken care of for my trip to Uttarameer. Everyone had been anticipating that I'd be gone for a while and to make a memory, there was a desire to see her, to say a polite thank you and goodbye. I'd been on my way to her room but ...when and how I'd fallen asleep in the living room, I had no clue.

"Did you see that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She walked towards me looking straight at my lips.

"See what?" I asked.

"You don't remember?"

"Er, no. What are you talking about?"

Now that she had asked, a strange feeling came about at the back of my consciousness as if I'd been seeing through the whiteness for a long time without any real purpose.