Gandharvas had no option but to comply. That was probably why Mahitya had been speeding all along. He wanted to drop the injured priest and then go back to look for Visha. He felt guilty to let her leave. He felt that he should've been more coercive. He owed his life to her and yet he let her endanger hers. They all felt the same way and after watching Mahitya, they too felt as ingrates who had left their savior on the lurch.
Ashwin had already detected the helplessness the Gandharva felt and hence did not say much either. Visha seemed like a quiet, timid girl but once someone gets to know her they'd know how adamant and willful she could be. There was no changing it once she had made up her mind. Ashwin bent forward to lean against Danish's shoulder so he could be audible enough for only him and not the Gandharva upfront.
"You should have more faith in her. She was personally recommended by the Young Miss. There must be something special or she wouldn't have placed her directly among the elite teams."
After hearing his reasoning Danish felt reassured and nodded. That was true, their Young Miss was one of the most skilled and powerful witches the clan had ever seen. She had led the clan singlehandedly even when the Master was still present. Every elite team knew that their Master had only been a signing authority these past few years. Ashwin too decided to suppress his anxiety and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience. He opened his arms to feel the wind gushing by, but soon closed them and held Danish tightly in fear of falling over.
"Is this how you people feel all the time?" he yelled louder this time as he tapped on the Gandharva.
"Not really. I have never carried anyone before, so I'm slower than usual." the Gandharva yelled back.
"Slow? Are you bragging or being modest?" Ashwin yelled.
"Both, I guess. I'm Shavku, by the way." he said in a shy tone.
"You people should be honored to be here like this. I don't mean to sound high and mighty but Gandharvas don't let anyone ride them as if we were some horses. Not even Gods have ridden us." A brawny one yelled from behind. He was carrying Trisha and Shaurya.
"Oh don't be such a bore, Vitrash. We owe them our lives. So be a good Gandharva and behave before Mahitya comes back to scold you." the last one chuckled and sped up to fly beside Shavku.
"You shouldn't tease him like that. You know he's a ticking bomb right?" Shavku said. To this the charming Gandharva with beautiful dark brown feathers and fur, chuckled again. He closed the distance between them before speaking up, "Who cares? It's not like he can start fighting while carrying two witches. Can he?" with that he chuckled again as his lips curved into a charming smile . Trisha sighed in awe from a distance. She had wanted to ride that beautiful and charming one but ended up stuck with that bulky Vitrash.
Shavku sighed in helplessness, these two brothers had always been at loggerheads. Since they were twins and grew up sharing everything, they couldn't help despise their twin. Vitrash had always been bulky and brawny and was one of the most upcoming soldiers. While Vishrav, also an upcoming soldier was the heartthrob of the clan. All four of them were from the same platoon and so knew each other well.
"Both of you can continue this discussion once we reach. Speed up so we can go look for that little girl. Mahitya has been at it ever since we left. We better catch up." Shavku said as he sped up leaving the two to bicker behind. Trisha's face contorted when she heard that they would double back for that Visha. What was so good about that Gutter Rat's pet, she thought. It'd be better if she didn't make it out at all, or else her fate would be the same as that Dhira once the Elders knew everything. Trisha immediately wiped off her grin before anyone noticed but couldn't escape Shaurya's keen eyes. He had already seen the smug look on her face and he knew something was definitely cooking in that stupid head of hers.
Vishrav looked at his brother with a sly smile, "Whoever comes last has to cook for a whole month." With that he sped up without giving a chance for Vitrash to agree or deny. Since he didn't want to be left behind he too sped in order to catch up with the others.
Mahitya glanced around in utter darkness as he felt a power surging around him. He should be close he thought, the cave was at the center. That cave has surged such waves of powerful magic for a thousand years and attracted all kinds of negative energy. Once the negative energy became overbearing it'd bring all sorts of disasters and catastrophes. Very few people were aware of what lied within that cave, one was the current High Priest, and others were Elders of Spiritual clans in the forest. All they had known since childhood was they were forbidden to enter it and only those human Priests were allowed inside. If they were lucky this time, they might finally find out the source of all this power.