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

21.1 Hola, Milady Casanova

The water was thick as gravy coursing speedily in the direction of its chaotic path. 

As it collided with the plane we were kneeling down on, frigid water splashed onto my face and stung my eyes. Surrounded by white soapy water, the crashing sound seemed quite disturbing. We weren't exactly in the middle of nowhere, yet there was a creepy feeling of being deserted into the wilderness.

Ashwant, who was seething with anger, formed considerably more amount of hard planes abreast of ours. I didn't say a word, nor lifted my face up to meet his eye. I let him make a decision which might help us get away from this situation. On noticing his effort to accomplish the task, I presumed that he was creating a way to lead us ahead to the bank of the strait. It took him a minute or two, the bank was too far off to our right. He then cleared his throat as though to indicate that it was done. Without once looking at me, he picked his bag and the basket and strolled away placing hard long steps against the planes.

The edges of the banks were shadowed by the dark clouds blotting out the late morning sun. Ashwant dropped his bag and sat down on the snow-filled rocky shoreline, with legs slightly pulled up and staring grimly at the surging water. I sighed dramatically, plonking myself down beside him. I'd been anticipating to meet Sir Pizaca first, but fate had thrust me to meet the most severe one amongst the three siblings, that now had diverted us from our initial plan. Only if I had control over my mind and will...

My stomach groaned. I took a snack bar out of the basket and handed him one. He hesitated at first but then relaxed his shoulders before he agreed to take it. We ate in silence. Neither of us talking. This silence felt horrible and I finally decided to break it.

"Let's hit the bridge again."

He snapped a sharp look. "There is no way we are using the bridge now."

My insides twisted. I wanted to yell back with 'It was one silly mistake. Would you please get over it already?!' but I tried to be as polite as I could. "Why not?"

He threw the wrapper of the bar aside. "Because Hayden Mackay, you openly challenged the darkest of the dark magic users. You're a Cornelian user. With the way he reacted, it's so clear that he holds a grudge against the bearer of that stone. He knows that you are here. All his rivalry with his the First must have made him more infuriated..."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I am saying that he must be waiting for you to return only to once again scare you away. Twenty-year-old against a thousand. Ha! What a joke. And you don't even have the Khatanjar with you for your defense. He'd want to play with you, make fun of you, tease you since you're just a baby against him. He will do that until he gets bored and then will rip you apart into pieces. You might not care about yourself but I do. So, no! We are not taking the bridge again."

If not the bridge then there was another and the only way to resume our journey. "Wouldn't it take more time to cross the Matsyasvi's territory and then travel all the way to Pizaca?"

"Yes, it will," he replied, lowering his tone, "But we don't have to cross Lady Matsyasvi's territory without meeting her at all. We can save time that way."

I gaped at him. "Are you suggesting a change in plan?"

"If you are willing to. You wouldn't listen to me anyway."

I stared momentarily at him, feeling unsettled. The idea of altering the plans didn't sound appealing at first. I wasn't expecting to meet Matsyasvi for about a week or two from today. With whatever I'd been briefed about her, what if the sibling rivalry stretched too far on account of I make another mistake? Also, how could I forget the conflicting theory about her? I gulped down my question to inquire if it was any truth in the rumor. I had a bad feeling that whether Ashwant and I had started this job on a sour note already. He would simply hit me if I brand the Lady a floozy.