Bhainsasur's hoof cracked through the marble, his venom-dripping horns lowering for the kill. Kailashi's voice cut through the chaos like a blade:
"Maira-beti-catch!"
The ancient bead necklace flew through the air, its wooden beads clicking like rattlesnake tails. Maira snatched it mid-stride-and the moment her fingers closed around it, the strands *melted* into liquid gold.
The family watched in stunned silence as:
- The rope slithered like a living thing up Bhainsasur's massive arms
- Sanskrit runes flared white-hot along its length
- Raj's bull eyes widened with recognition-*"Vajra pasa?!"*
Maira yanked the cord taut. "Stay. Down." The magic tightened with her command, searing into Bhainsasur's flesh. He crashed to his knees, howling.
Behind her:
- Teju's star-mark blazed through her sleeve, illuminating Sahir's shocked face
- Mihir coughed out a bloody laugh-"Since when...does my wife...have magic lassos?"
- Sapna clutched her sons closer, torn between awe and terror
Kailashi stepped forward, her wrinkled hands glowing like Maira's rope. "Mohana should've remembered," she said coldly, "the Sharmas have *always* guarded this family
Kailashi gripped Teju's shoulders, her voice urgent. "The Vajra Pasa won't hold him long. Remove the spears-*now*!"
Teju's hands shook as she grasped Sahir's spear. His scream as she yanked it free sent her tears splashing onto his ashen face. She repeated the act for Mihir, his choked groan making Maira's head whip around from where she strained against the golden rope.
"Good." Kailashi thrust the prayer platter into Teju's bloodied hands. "Tilak. Quick."
As Teju smeared vermillion on their foreheads:
- The brothers jolted upright like puppets tugged by invisible strings
- Twin golden light beams erupted from their marks, forming a protective mandala
- Black poison steamed from their wounds as the Pataal Ketki dissolved
Sapna's muffled sobs filled the room as her sons assumed the lotus position, their breathing steadying. Moti Baa clutched Akhil's arm, whispering mantras.
Teju didn't wait to see more. She sprinted to Maira, adding her strength to the straining rope. Bhainsasur roared, his hooves gouging the floor as the magic cord began to smoke.
"Hold him!" Kailashi ordered, rummaging through her pouch. "Just thirty seconds more-"
With an earth-shaking roar, Bhainsasur's muscles bulged against the golden ropes. The sacred bindings *snapped* like overstrung guitar wires, the backlash sending both women flying backward-
-only to be caught mid-air by:
1. **Sahir**, now glowing with residual healing energy, his scholar's arms locking around Teju's waist as he skidded across the broken mandap flowers. His glasses flew off, revealing eyes blazing with uncharacteristic fury.
2. **Mihir**, who caught Maira in a dip so deep her hair brushed the floor. "Told you...to run," he rasped, his wound still smoking from the healed poison. His usual smirk was gone, replaced by something far more dangerous.
The brothers set their wives down in unison, stepping forward to form a living shield. Their matching stances revealed the truth-whatever power had healed them, it now thrummed beneath their skin, ready.
Mihir cracked his neck with a sound like snapping bones. "You really shouldn't have come here, *beast*." His usual smirk twisted into something feral as black veins spiderwebbed up his arms.
Sahir removed his broken glasses with eerie calm. "Now," he said softly, "you'll regret this."
As the brothers raised their hands in unison:
- Their nails elongated into obsidian claws, shredding their sherwani cuffs
- Mihir's irises flooded crimson, pupils slitting like a predator's
- Sahir's eyes became liquid silver, glowing with unnatural light
- Twin shadows unfurled from their backs-not quite wings, but something *alive*
Teju stumbled back, her star-mark flaring in response. "S-Sahir...?" Her medical mind short-circuited at the impossible physiology-the way his canines now glinted sharp as surgical steel.
Mihir flexed his claws,vibrating with barely-contained power.
Bhainsasur charged with a bellow-
-only to be intercepted mid-stride. Sahir moved faster than sight, his clawed hand sinking into the bull-man's torso. Mihir followed with a roundhouse kick that sent Bhainsasur crashing through the reception cake table.
Mihir's claws sank deep into Bhainsasur's furry flank as he heaved upward with a guttural snarl-
-muscles rippling beneath his torn sherwani as he launched the half-bull creature skyward like a grisly shotput.
Sahir didn't blink. Silver-blue eyes tracking the arc, he *leaped* higher than humanly possible, delivering a two-footed stomp to Bhainsasur's spine that:
1. Sent the beast cratering through the marble floor
2. Shattered every remaining champagne flute with the shockwave
3. Revealed the blackened demon bones beneath Raj's morphing flesh
Mihir landed in a crouch beside the smoldering pit. "Still think we're easy prey?" His crimson gaze burned brighter as Bhainsasur's horns cracked under his clawed foot.
Teju clutched her star-marked hand to her chest, watching Sahir's usually gentle fingers now flex with lethal intent. The professor who'd once bandaged sparrows now tore through a monster's hide like parchment.
Bhainsasur charged with a ground-shaking bellow, his venom-dripping horns aimed at their hearts. At the last second-
-the brothers moved as one.
Mihir's crimson eyes flared as he caught the left horn with a sickening *crack*. "This," he growled, "is for stabbing me."
Sahir's silver-blue gaze burned colder as he seized the right horn. "And this," he said calmly, "is for threatening our family."
A simultaneous twist of their clawed hands-
-and both horns *snapped* at the root with a sound like breaking bone.
Bhainsasur's scream shook the broken chandeliers as:
- Black ooze erupted from the stumps
- His fur peeled away like burning paper
- Raj's human face surfaced briefly in the decay, mouth stretched in silent agony before dissolving to ashes
Teju's legs gave out suddenly, her body folding like a puppet with cut strings. Maira lunged forward just in time, catching her before her head could hit the shattered marble.
"Teju? *Teju!*" Maira patted her cheeks frantically, her fingers coming away damp with cold sweat. The star-mark on Teju's limp hand pulsed weakly.
Sahir was at their side in an instant, his demonic features melting back to human as he gathered Teju close. "What's wrong with her?" His voice cracked-the professor reemerging beneath the warrior.
Mihir rolled his stiff shoulders, his own transformation receding. "Probably fainted from the shock," he said, though his usual smirk was absent. "I mean, we *did* just turn into-" He gestured vaguely at his now-normal hands.
Maira pressed trembling fingers to Teju's wrist, mimicking what she'd seen in movies. "Her pulse is... there," she reported uncertainly.
Sahir cradled Teju's face, his thumb brushing her pale lips. "She's never seen that side of us," he whispered, guilt heavy in his voice.
Teju jolted awake with a gasp, the memories flooding back-Bhainsasur's horns, the brothers' monstrous forms, those *claws*. When she saw Sahir sitting at her bedside, she instinctively shrank back.
Sahir's face crumpled. He stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "I'll...I'll go." His voice broke. "I know what you must think of me now-"
"No, I-" Teju's hands trembled in her lap.
"I *swear* I'd never hurt you." He backed toward the window, his glasses fogged with unshed tears. "This curse...it was forced on us when we were just three years old."
The moonlight caught his tear tracks as he turned away. "Our father-Shubham Kashyap-he took us to Mohana's cave. Traded our humanity for wealth." A bitter laugh escaped him. "
Teju's breath hitched as Sahir suddenly sank to his knees before her.
"All my life," he whispered, "I've been called monster. But if *you* say it..." His shoulders shook. "I won't survive that."
The silence stretched until-
Teju threw herself into his arms. "I'm sorry," she choked into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry -you're no monster.you are the person who always came to my aide whenever I faced dangers and no monster will do that,I'm so sorry for making you feel like a monster "
Outside the window, unnoticed by either:
- Sapna clutched Moti Baa's arm, both women weeping silently
- Uma pressed a handkerchief to her mouth
- Akhil's glasses hid his tears as he pulled his wife closer
Mihir's Room
The door barely clicked shut before Mihir moved-pinning Maira against the wall with a forearm braced beside her head. His eyes glowed faintly crimson.
"Your little lasso trick," he hissed. "I knew my suspicions weren't wrong." His free hand tugged at the golden rope still coiled around her wrist. "Who. Are. You."
Maira didn't flinch. "Your theories were half-baked. You thought I was a daayan-even tested me with holy water last month." She shoved him back with surprising strength. "I knew about *that* too."
Mihir staggered, then froze at her next words.
"I'm Reevavanshi. A witch hunter." Maira straightened her kurtah. "Trained by my grandma since childhood to protect you and Sahir from Mohana."
A beat of silence. Then-
Mihir *laughed*, running hands through his hair until the curls stood wild. "So my badass PA was really a supernatural bodyguard?" His grin turned sharp. "You fought Urvi that night at her farmhouse -and saved me ."
Maira nodded.
"All this time..." Mihir's voice dropped. "You played me perfectly."
He snapped his fingers. A miniature storm cloud materialized above Maira's head, drenching her in icy rain.
Maira gasped, spluttering. "*What the hell-*"
"Payback," Mihir said cheerfully, shaking water from his own hair. "For making a fool of Mihir Kashyap."
Maira yanked Mihir into the rain cloud's downpour, drenching them both. Water dripped from his hair onto her nose as she held him close-close enough to whisper, "You're welcome for all the times you didn't even know I was saving you."*
Mihir went still. The rain faded, leaving them breathless in the silence.
For a moment, he just stared at her-really *looked* at her-like he was seeing her in a different light.
**"Thank you,"** he said, voice rough. Not playful. Not mocking. Just raw.
His fingers brushed her waist-before he stepped back with a forced smirk. **"Still should've told me, Reevavanshi."**
Maira rolled her eyes, wringing water from her braid."And then you wouldn't let protect you"