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

20.1 Sketchy Past

"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.