A Flight of Broken Wings: Aeriel Trilogy #1

Chapter 53

"Baan!" the little ball of fiery delight burst through the doors of the stately residence. Skipping over the scrupulously tended garden, she threw herself at the Hunter the moment he had stepped out of the sedan.

Even as Ruban picked his ten-year-old cousin up into his arms, the passenger door clicked open to reveal Simani. She held herself a little stiffly and moved with a tad more caution than usual, but apart from that there was no indication of the injuries she had suffered only a few weeks ago. She smiled at the little girl in her partner's arms and with a conspiratorial wink, whipped out a large pack of Dairy Milk chocolate from somewhere within the folds of her multi-layered tunic. The girl squealed, wriggling in Ruban's arms to get within reach of the gigantic candy bar.

"Where's Uncle Subhas, Hiya?" Ruban asked, setting the girl down so that she could run to Simani to claim her prize. "Isn't he home?"

Hiya shook her head, making a grab for the chocolate only for Simani to hold it up, just a little out of her reach. This prompted another squeal and a singularly impressive leap that brought the child level with Simani, if only momentarily. "He's out!" she gasped at last with a satisfied smile, chocolate held firmly in her hands as she landed on the grass with a thump.

Bala, the housekeeper, came out of the house behind Hiya, wiping her hands on her stained apron. Her round, pockmarked face was slightly flushed. "Master Ruban, Miss Vaz," she greeted, nodding at the familiar faces as she rushed over to the parked vehicle. Plucking the chocolate out of Hiya's hands on the way over, with a bright 'after dinner, darling', she blithely ignored all of the girl's vociferous protests thereafter. "Sir told me that you would be coming to the house today. He had to go out on an urgent errand just about an hour ago. He said he wouldn't be gone for more than a couple of hours, though. You don't mind waiting, do you? Please, do come in. I'll make some tea."

As she turned to walk back into the house, Ashwin emerged from the car, big eyes drinking in every tiny detail of his surroundings as he walked towards the small cluster standing near the garden. Ruban grinned. He could almost see the cogs turning in Hiya's head as she turned to look curiously at this new arrival, her tantrum forgotten mid-wail. Brow furrowed and head cocked to one side, she observed solemnly as the Zainian came to stand beside the two Hunters, looking appreciatively up at the manor that stood beyond the garden.

Ruban had not been entirely certain whether or not to bring Ashwin along for this particular trip. However, even he could not deny the Zainian's considerable role during the showdown at SifCo. And he supposed his input might prove helpful in the recovery of the formula. Unless he was terribly mistaken, Tauheen had seemed very interested in Ashwin's presence at the facility, and Ruban would pay a good deal of money to know exactly what the Zainian had done to attract the attention of the Aeriel Queen. It was better than leaving Ashwin to his own devices, at any rate. The young man seemed to have a penchant for ending up at the weirdest places when left alone, even for the briefest period.

"Who's this?" asked Hiya, thrusting a haughty chin at the newcomer, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Before Ruban could introduce him, Ashwin broke out into a grin. "Hello, I'm Ashwin," he said, walking up to Hiya and holding out a hand. "It's very nice to meet you."

Cautiously,with a quick glance at Ruban, Hiya extended her own hand, taking Ashwin's for aperfunctory shake. Then, before she could pull away, her eyes widened, adelighted squeak escaping her lips. "It's magic!" she declared, beaming up atthe Zainian as she held up two small, bite-sized packs of Dairy Milk – theexact flavour that Simani had given her earlier – stuck neatly to heroutstretched hand.