"Tyrell? Tyrell? Can you hear me?"

Celina fidgeted restlessly on her seat perched at the corner below the countertop. Glancing at the water clock that indicated half-past two in the night, she got startled knowing how late it was. The blend of western and country music blaring in the background dominated the atmosphere, mildly irking her. The regular crowd in her Cowboy's Bar was dancing like goofs to the music. Their occasional high pitched laughter and squeals competed with the rhythmic chords. She bit her lip with the tinge of exhaustion. How she wished for the night to be over...

She was worried if the things between Tyrell and her were fizzling out already. It hurt thinking not being together or atleast the way they were in the academy. Every conversation these days had been turning up into an argument. How can Tyrell bluntly refuse to move to the country and join her business? She thought they had finally found the solution to stay close. To run the business together, to promote themselves as full-fledged Samagraha and take up their duties together. Now his refusal had brought them back to square one. His voice, she figured, was so calm, almost too chilling. And the way he rudely referred about her cheating on him with Ashwant. Oh blimey! He didn't even sound like the Tyrell she knew and loved.

"Tyrell...?"

She tried the mind connection every five minutes. He would respond only with a grunt of frustration that stated his refusal to talk. This wasn't working anymore. She felt the need to come face to face with him, that hysterical moron needed a good hard knock on his head. But with Doctor suddenly giving up on visiting her, she had to scrap that idea off.

She vented her frustration by throwing a fist in the air. A pack of papers, placed on the shelf beside her, rattled and glided down to the floor. She went ahead to gather them, her mind unconsciously driving her to contact others in the academy. Leena was being in touch with her. "Doctor says he is sick."  She had said the other night. And then Hayden had suggested her once. "Maybe you should visit him often."

Yeah, she wished.

She stood assembling the papers together and eyed the cowmen don fancy glittering dress, dancing in the middle of the bar. Anyone of these could belong to the Clan of Pradhans- Shourya's stooges, waiting for an opportunity to kill her and destroy the only ancestral possession she started to treat like a baby.

It isn't I, she thought, Tyrell and others need to visit me more often.

It so happened a couple of months ago- Shourya, or rather, Shashi's men had surrounded the premises and tried to infiltrate her property. If her employees hadn't been attentive and informed her, she wouldn't have gotten rid of them in time. Her bar would have been demolished and her loyal, regular customers might have burned alive to death. Not to mention, that was the beginning of rise in her struggle.  Ever since then, Shourya's men had never stopped breathing down her neck.

All those weeks, during the course of getting trained alone with Doctor, had taken her in a new fruitful direction in terms of developing her skills. Learning new tricks and new Formations was a sheer delight. Her happiness had crossed all bounds when she'd met her Constellia. Finding her having similar traits and mentality, she quickly befriended her and in no time they became partners in protecting the clan. They would talk sometimes and Celina made an effort to learn a few details regarding the First Moonstone User - Endira El Sayed.

An old man walked inside the bar, holding a stick and adjusting his bandana. His shuffling gait reminded her of Doctor, who she suddenly felt missing. He had been regular in visiting her in those early months when she'd moved to the country. He had trained her during the close of business hours with an aim to make her stronger and sharpen her Formation. There were occasions when he had fought with the infiltrator side by side with her. It had been easier and fun-filled with him around. Naag, as an additional member of the team, would capture them, and take them away to Panchayat. Somehow she did not like the idea of simply handing them over without extracting information. She wanted to deal with them by herself first.

"I am a Panchayat's slave, just like you are," Doctor had said, "It's not in my hands. to give you permission to do that."

Days had passed by. Connection with her friends reduced. Sometimes, a strange prickly sensation on the edge of her consciousness bothered her. She doubted if it were her friends trying to reach out for her but then she never actually heard their voices in particular. It was because of the distance, she kept telling that to herself to soothe her nerves. What else could be the reason for the mind connection to suddenly cease to function?

However, she did not let this detachment afflict her daily duties. The safety of the clan took precedence over everything else. Doctor had always taken a moment to remind her of what she was actually chosen as a Samagraha and she had pledged to prove her loyalty. Besides being a regular protector of the county, as a much-needed relaxation, Celina spent her spare time with the villagers, the Clan of Vaquiro, who lived in ignorant bliss of the farming and breeding cattle. She did not mind transforming herself as one of them. Her interests and enthusiasms meshed amazingly well in lending a helping hand in trivial works like hosing the farm down, bathing the cattle, and also tried to learn horse-riding from her folks.

An exhilarating hunch never left her side though- may be Shourya's clan hadn't been surrounding her to put her to death. They could set a better trap than just trying to lay in ambush. Wasn't she as an easy target? By now they must have known that she could be found either working in the bar or fielding in the ranches. But the way they attacked seemed too cowardly and unprovoked. And it started to feel like an insult to her strength and dignity. Thanks to the stone she wore as a piece of jewelry, she had been easily blowing them away and winning over each fight singlehandedly. Months had passed saving her bar and the clan. One surprising outcome of fighting with them every other day and without Doctor's help- she started feeling more powerful,  mentally and physically, and also the one to be in control.

No matter how many times she had driven them away, they kept coming back. Their resilience was turning hilarious and also worth appreciating. After a while, she began doubting whether they were wandering in the vicinity only to keep an eye on her and confine her within the bar. Things stretched too far when they began to walk into the bar, utterly benign, disguised as customers. She'd jest with her employees, that they were nothing but a dozen silent foxes guarding the henhouse.

Once inside, they appeared harmless. So she had been keeping her cool. The graceful side of her temperament let her employees serve them as long as they stayed within the limit line and paid to what they ordered. Of course, she was still up for the thought she wanted to put into action months ago. Only been waiting for one single opportunity.

"Do not do anything against the law," Doctor had warned her once when she wanted to bust them big time, "You'll just make things worse."

Shaking her head to get back to work, she put those papers aside. As a customary basis, she walked around the front bar, faking a smile and nodding at her happy customers. Also staying aloof, disinterested at the drunk male chauvinists of the clan giving her googly eyes, trying to woo her. The stale reek of the too many sweaty bodies stirred in the air. These were the people who worked all day long in their ranches, earning Rupals, only to spend a part of it on the only up and running bar of Dakshinpur. There was desperation hanging amidst them, mingled with a glimmer of hope and glow of satisfaction that wasn't because of the diffused multi-colored lanterns. Everyone was waiting for a day to live without fearing death in the form of Shashi.

Her attention focused on the current events when the music suddenly stopped. The instrumentalists needed a short break before they changed their notes. Whilst passing through an obscured table in the smoking section, she heard the whisperings of the two people smoking and boozing at the same time.

"Did you hear the latest news?" a drunken voice of one of the two said, "Nazira Khan is normal. Poor Shashi, he had his hopes pinned on her since Zarina's been jailed."

It wasn't the statement that had slowed her completely down. However, she was mildly uncomfortable with the allusion that served a timely reminder of where she had heard this name Nazira Khan before.

"I find his level of ignorance nauseating," said the other, words seemed to be flowing out in his state of drunkenness, "If she were really as powerful as Zarina claims, wouldn't she already wreak havoc in the nation. Why would she remain as quiet as a no one? It's better to forget about her and move on. Besides, Shashi needs to divert his concentration to Celina Hanslay. Now that his suspicions about her are confirmed."

That made her desperate. She came closer without getting bothered by the cloud of smoke that had always aggravated her. She stood behind the counter hidden in the dark and secretly eavesdropped on their conversation.

"She is totally under our control, isn't she? He should make his move now."

"The most powerful one doesn't even know how powerful she is. Doctor must be a fool to let her leave others behind."

"You know better than all of us. Aren't you Shourya's favorite?"

"To seek more money sometimes you got to lick boots. That's what I did and acquired some knowledge. Celina Hanslay is a hindrance, and Shashi is such a lucky devil. She herself decided to move out of the academy."

Music resumed. She moaned with irritation when the whisperings got lost in the loudness, making her take an impulsive decision to fire the team of the orchestra.

However, those words of a drunk mind spoken a sober heart were technically enough for her to step up efforts to gain some answers. Doctor wasn't around anymore, and God knew when he was going to return. He had stopped her from doing anything illegal. But now, enough is enough! She gritted her teeth and decided to come to the bottom of this unseemliness, to know what was the truth and what wasn't. Seeking the chance and with the help of Vrishabha, she tricked and detained the one who had proudly admitted knowing the truth. She ordered Vrishabha to lock him up in an obsolete storeroom and allowed herself to beat the bejesus out of him.