Emon quickly went through the available shades mentally which could stand up to Lilac.
Chetwode was the strongest of them all but sadly Crimson was an unruly shade which broke through any shade's defense, mostly Chetwode.
Emon scanned through the other shades of Purple, Lavender, the cache of Royal blue and around ten other shades between Blue and Violet but none could match up to both Lilac and Crimson. It was truly a deadly combo.
Mahir zoomed forward with his Earl shade and tried to pry inside the enclosure but in vain. Ashm was now half awake as the pressure caused him to lose consciousness. It was a torture to just keep his mind steady.
Just then an idea struck Emon. A good attack or defense depended mostly on how good the coordination is... So in this case...
"Mahir! Bind the Crimson with your Major and Ashm! Keep Lilac busy with you! Don't let both of them sync!"
Mahavar smiled proudly as she figured out the solution... Seeing the his features glow up, Mahir had no doubt that Emon had hit the bull's eye. He shot his Major to bind Crimson in a Death cage. Quite instantly the shards retracted from Ashm. Painful as it was, Ashm pushed himself up.
"Hurry!" Mahir screamed. The Death cage with any other shade was bearable but with his Major it was super taxing and could only last for a few minutes.
Ashm flared his Chetwode again and locked Lilac.
Mahavar smirked as he felt both his Shades become inactive,
"And now what? How do plan on nulling both of them?"
Mahir and Ashm hadn't thought about this and were at a loss!
Looking at Mahavar's smile that time, Mahir was sure that it was the right solution but...
"Binding my colours to disable me is great, but only if you plan to do something crucial in that time frame... To finish off the entire ploy, you need the final blow..."
Suddenly Emon came infront of Mahavar and whispered
"Ira is arriving today..."
Silence!
Instantly the entire ploy started defusing and shrank back inside Mahavar...
What!!!
Mahir and Ashm fell on the ground pretty hard at this instant closure.
"Curse you Mahav!" Ashm cried as his body was pierced with hundred shots of pain from the blue black sores.
Mahir on the hand had no energy to speak, so he lay on the ground glaring at Mahavar.
Emon watched Mahavar's face go white, to pink and finally bright red as the name wreck havoc on his mind. Ploy forgotten, his train of thoughts had derailed at those few words.
"Is.... it... true??"
Mahavar asked meekly as he kept his head low.
Really? Is he so much into her?
Emon laughed in her mind as she recalled a memory about how much this dangerous guy could become mushy at the thought of Ira...
That was like 10 years back when everything was normal...
When Emon had been found by Mahavar...
And when they went missing...
Bitter memories started floating in as she stopped her mind from going any further.
She looked at man before her slyly,
"Just kidding" She said and walked away.
Mahavar noticed the change of fleeting emotions on her face, but didn't comment... Focusing on what she said, it infuriated him that he had let himself become distracted by her words...
That little witch! She had known his weakness all along!
Emon turned back and said,
"She HAS arrived and waiting for us at the Guest house"
Ashm and Mahavar had regained their strength, though Ashm looked absolutely shocking with patches of blue and black...
Nevertheless, all knew the practice was over!
Ira looked around the house which was impeccably furnished with wood and modern equipments. The bungalow had a front and back yard and the view from the front yard was breath taking.
It was already morning when she had arrived here and the housekeeper had cooked up a feast. Few guests came throughout the year and it was such an agony to not being able to cook heartily. So given a chance now, the housekeeper was showing off her culinary skills extravagantly.
The table was set for at least ten people with an assortment of starters, main course, desserts and drinks.
Ira looked amusingly at the dishes sparkling before her.
"Uh... It's only me... You sure you had been informed well?"
The housekeeper was a motherly elder and beamed at her hopefully,
"I am so happy to serve you Madam, it's nothing..."
Ira stared at the crinkled face which was glowing neon with happiness and it strangely reminded her of the annoying fellow whom she had come to talk to.
Her mood dampened instantly.
Ugh!
She looked at the food once again,
"Let's wait for the team to arrive"
Back on the road Mahavar drove like a madman!
As per Mahavar's reasons, it was only because he immediately needed to discuss something urgent with Ira...
Yeah right!
Mahir and Ashm could no longer survive the madness and threw up in bags...
This guy is sick in love!!!
"Mahavar, the boys are not feeling well, drive a bit slowly"
Emon tried to put a leash to her Mentor's excitement, but failed miserably.
"I see... Let's speed up then, they should reach home quickly!"
"What? NOOO!!"
Ira was lazing on the porch reading a book when a squeal of tyres made her look up.
That guy whom she had promised never to see again came striding towards her with a trio of utterly miserable kids who were looking like corpses.
Mahavar walked up to her in a proud swagger and smiled boyishly.
"Hey"
Ira stared at him sternly... And then at the trio...
She frowned as she saw Ashm...
"Did you somehow get transmuted to a cheetah?"
Mahir coughed at this and Emon looked elsewhere as she suppressed her laughter.
The famous uncanny sense of humour of this lady!
Mahavar smiled like a boss and said,
"My training sessions can be pretty torturous!"
"Oh... didn't know you were a sadist!
Mrs. Barua, help the kids inside and tell them to freshen up"
Saying this, she turned and walked away.
Mahavar sighed.
Feisty as ever!
Ashm and Mahir felt being pulled up and dragged inside. They had totally run out of energy and could hardly move a muscle.
Emon too helped them inside as she laughed in her mind at how Ira slapped down her mentor at his own words!!
She's a devil allright!