Next morning, Bhairavi decided that she could no longer delay convincing Namma about going to Samanya's house for a few days. Namma was a very very cool grandmother, but she was also a guardian and would never let her stay at a man's house for a few days, especially when she considered the man to be romantically involved with her.

Bhairavi knew that what she had in mind might fail, but there was no other way to find out. She had spent the night packing a small bag with a few clothes, her Aadhar Card, some basic makeup, a notebook, a pen, and some money.

Hefting the bag up from her bed, she left it near the sofa and went looking for Namma in the kitchen.

"Good morning, baccha. You are a little late, so I got your coffee and lunchbox ready. You can rush to college..." Namma looked up with a smile before faltering, "Is everything alright? You look tensed….and  where is your college bag? Do you not want to go? It is fine, you can take a day off..." Bhairavi stopped her by raising her palm.

She decided that speaking in her mind would be faster than signing or writing, 'Namma...'

Namma jumped and looked at Bhairavi with frantic eyes, "Did you hear that...I...I heard your voice again, but your lips were not moving...I.."

'Yes, Namma, it's me. I can talk now, but without moving my lips.'

Namma stared at her, shocked. She blinked in confusion and Bhairavi could easily sense her thoughts without reading them. 'Namma, I can speak in minds. But that is not what I wanted to talk to you about.'

"That is not what you wanted to talk...but Bhairavi you can talk now! This is...this is great. But...how...and mentally? No, I must have heard it wrong...is this some kind of ventriloquism?"

Bhairavi saw that Namma found it hard to believe and she felt terrible that she was springing it at her first thing in the morning. But she had to do it for the next step.

Closing her eyes, Bhairavi focused her mind and tried to believe what she was about to say with all her heart, 'Namma, I am going to Mayuri's house for a few days. We have four assignments to submit before the Puja vacations and she promised yesterday that she would help me. I will be staying at her place. You do not have to worry. I will video call you by you by using her phone everyday. You just have to trust me on this.'

Bhairavi swallowed the lump of regret in her throat, and waited to see if it worked. She had tried to influence Namma's mind, very delicately, to believe her and let go of all worries.

She knew that an overdose of influence might create an imbalance of thoughts and had spent the rest of the night making a spider climb up and down the wall, even jump to the beats of  'London Thumakda'.

But a human being is far more complicated to influence, due to their complex brain structure and functions. All she could do was cross her fingers and hope it worked without any side effects.

Namma had an oddly unfocused look about her, and Bhairavi was half scared to death that she had scrambled her brains when she spoke, "Okay, since I have had a talk with Mayuri's mother and she has vouched for being there to look after you two, you can go. But video call me every night, okay? If you miss, I will go to their house to see if you are alright."

Bhairavi realized that Namma's brain had processed her influence in its own way to make it acceptable to her. Sighing in relief, she hugged her. She was about to thank her when Namma said with an indulging smile, "It's okay, you don't have to sign thank you and tell me how awesome a grandma I am, you can leave now. Here, take some money for an Uber, no, I insist."

With a sinking heart Bhairavi understood that Namma's brain had already made her forget that she could speak mentally. Nodding, she forced a small smile on her face. After kissing her cheek and scratching Summer's ears as the cat purred and licked her fingers before turning to another side and falling asleep, Bhairavi picked up her bag and left, without looking back.

She was afraid she would not be able to control the tears pricking her eyes from regret and sadness, but she knew she had done what was necessary. Now, she had to focus on the task at hand, preparing her mind and body, as much as possible, for battle.

On reaching Samanya's house she told him the entire story. He was upset, she knew, that she took such a risk, of influencing Namma's mind instead of explaining everything, but she could not afford to be distracted and waste time. And she absolutely could not afford to shed a single tear. She would cry after she killed those who were responsible for her parents' death.

"Okay. So let's make a note of your powers till date. Telepathy and Telekinesis, which fall in the superpower category, mostly, as they can be attained by touching base with certain parts of the human mind. Conjuring objects by mental strength and making a man ejaculate painfully and uncontrollably at will, well, these are Divine powers, which cannot be attained normally.

These powers are usually attributed to Gods, and the latter specially with the Goddess Tripura Bhairavi, but we still have been unable to connect you to her. And mind control, which you exhibited today. Phew. It is really hard to keep a track of all your powers."

Samanya tried to make a joke but Bhairavi did not react to it, 'Which is what makes it all the more confusing. Who am I, and why am I?'

"Be patient, we will find out. But let's focus on the task at hand. I have made a basic schedule for the week. From 8 am to 2pm, you will learn physical combat. From 2 to 3 is lunch break. From 3 to 4 you will meditate to warm up, and from 4 to 7 you will practice mental combat. After that you are free to relax till 9, when you have dinner. By 10, you go to bed as you have to wake up at 6am."

Seeing her open her mouth to speak he added, "I know it is a rigorous routine, and with your human body and energy it will be impossible to keep up. Thus, I will be making you a special potion every morning before physical combat, and another one for lunch. They will give your body an extra boost of energy and make it possible to last through the day, but the rest is up to your will power and determination. This schedule was made to get you somewhat ready in a week. You can always delay another week for a more comfortable schedule," he added, hoping she would agree.

But Bhairavi shook her head, 'It's alright. I will manage. I cannot afford to delay any further. Let's begin today itself, you can extend it to 9pm to make up for the delay today, right?'

With a sigh, Samanya nodded, he just hoped that Bhairavi won't lose herself or hurt herself in her angry, rushed quest for justice.

"Okay, so have you had any previous experience with combat or any of the fighting arts?" Bhairavi shook her head in dissent.

"Okay...did you work out or take part in sport? Something which made you have an active life or helped keep your muscles in shape, at least?"

'Well. I walk a lot and I played badminton for six years.'

"Okay, that is good to know. Let's not waste any more time and begin."

First, he made Bhairavi run in front of his house for an hour, till her legs gave away and she fell on her butt. Then he apologized for his mistake and made her rest while he made her the potion.

'What are the ingredients? They don't look like normal vegetables or fruits or anything,' Bhairavi asked curiously.

"They aren't," Samanya smiled, as he handed her the potion. She looked at the drink quizzically, before smelling it. It was unlike anything she had smelled before and she could not quite put it into words.

Sensing her burning curiosity he answered, "These are special, ancient herbs and fruits which used to grow when the earth belonged to Manavas, Danavas, Daityas, and Rakshasas. We Rakshasas still grow them in our gardens. When I left home, I carried a few seeds and herbs with me to grow them in my own garden. With our little magic, we can coax them to infuse their goodness and nutrition into different potions. Drink."

Bhairavi drank the potion in one go before grimacing at the wild taste of it. 'You, sir, are a wizard,' she said with a smile, already feeling more energetic than she ever had before, her exhaustion had already washed away.

"Don't be too happy, after it wears off, including the one you will have at lunch, you will feel the full brunt of your exhaustion," he warned.

"Come on now, fifty push ups."

After that, he made her use the skipping rope for a hundred jumps before hanging a sack filled with sand.

"This is a more difficult version of a punching bag. Go ahead. Practice. Use your rage to aid your energy and hits."

After an hour of plummeting the sand bag, Bhairavi's knuckles had split and she was doing her best to hold back cries of pain.

Samanya said nothing, he simply applied a soothing salve on them and within moments she felt a cooling sensation and saw that the cuts looked a day or two old. She realized it was another one of his magical creations.

"Next, I will teach you a few basic maneuvers with a weapon of your choice. Take your pick. Sword, knife, dagger, bow and arrow, mace. I will teach you to use guns too, but after a couple of days."

Bhairavi stared at all of them, scrutinizing, before answering, "Sword." Samanya's eyes slightly widened but he said nothing.

'How did you procure them?' she asked, 'Raided a museum?'

Samanya smiled, "Never leave your home unarmed, especially if you are a Rakshasa."

After that, for two hours, he taught her how to hold a sword, how to thrust and parry, and different moves. "It is very important to learn to hold on to a sword. As for the different maneuvers, we will attempt each of them over the next few days so that you can at least perfect a couple of them in time."

Around a quarter past three they had lunch, grilled chicken and egg whites along with a bowl of vegetables, "You need plenty of proteins, vitamins, and minerals for daily practice," Samanya explained before pouring her some more of the potion.

After she was dismissed from practice for the day, she sat down with her assignments. She had not lied to Namma about that, as she would not let her grades slide below decent. She could not disappoint Namma any further. So she worked hard, even when her eyes were burning with sleep and her body was begging her for rest.

After dinner she video called Namma using Samanya's phone and signed and communicated for five minutes before excusing herself saying that she was going to go back to studying. Bhairavi was asleep on the sofa by the time she had cut the call. True to Samanya's words, the exhaustion had finally caught up and her body had forced her to rest.

By the fifth day, Bhairavi could not only run for an hour without falling to her knees, she could do a hundred pushups, and had managed to hold her sword in a sparring match with Samanya after she had lost to him by a small mistake.

"Again, get up," Samanya ordered.

Wiping the sweat away from her eyes, she stood and prepared herself for another attack. It was silly, she told herself, to expect she would win against Samanya in physical combat after he had been trained for years in it, but she would do her best. She had already defeated him twice in mental combat, and looked forward to it again.

But she knew she would have not been able to improve without his magical potions and salves. He had been using a lot of his Rakshasa magic and that drained him, so by the time night rolled, both were fast asleep in different corners of the house.

But one thing had been niggling at the back of her mind for days. She had improved her mental skills, but she had come no closer to the truth of her odd existence, and that irked her tremendously.

She had read in a book from Samanya's personal collection that Tapasya, or concentrating on a goal by meditating and/or depriving the self of every luxury helped one achieve it. She was determined to know if that was true, and that day, without sharing her intentions with Samanya, she sat for meditation with Tapasya in mind.

A/N

Well, my lovelies, I have a complain. You people forget to vote after reading a chapter. It's really simple and only takes a second. All you have to do is press the star button at the bottom of the screen. It gives a vote to that respective chapter. Votes are like...pumps of liquid energy, they motivate me to write and edit and update even faster! So do vote on the chapters you read, including this one, and comment your views.

XOXO
Kaushiki.