Vol 2: Chapter 15: Bhumi's Offer

They stepped out of Hotel Pleasure and Privacy. Ram gave the coordinates he got from Vama to Em and Aunt Sheila.

They had a brief discussion before they announced to Ram that their resting location was far away from here.

And they were going by walk.

Ram groaned. "Aunt Sheila, I frequently lost Soulfire many times that put me at a disadvantage. And walking is will also drain my Soulfire. Why don't we hail a taxi and reach there earlier?" he asked.

Aunt Sheila shook her head. "You don't get it. We not only have to deal with Chitra and her agents, but also her enemies as well as Living Souls who might have heard about us and are on lookout for us. If we were to hail a taxi, then we would be delivering ourselves to them. And most importantly, you should learn to control how much Soulfire you use during daily activities. Walking is one such thing that's going to help you master it. Go on, try consuming less Soulfire than you usually do while walking. After some time, use even less Soulfire and so on. We will decrease your Soulfire consumption in 5 minute chunks," she said.

Ram sighed. "Alright. Let's walk," he said.

Ram used what he thought was less Soulfire and was walking for 5 minutes.

He didn't find it that much different from earlier. But when he continued to decrease his Soulfire consumption by 1/4th during every 5 minutes, he was left with walking at a pace that was more like dragging his feet.

After few rounds of walking in 5 minute circuits, he remembered what Vama's advice.

"Aunt Sheila, Vama adviced me that I shouldn't stand out in front of Chitra in any shape or manner. But I already did that and when she was leaving us with Akila, she really looked reluctant. It seemed that she was having second thoughts on not using her potion on us that generates fake love between us, thereby making both of us as Soulmates. I think we are in danger. What if she decides to use it on us? Can't you prepare an antidote for it?" he asked.

Aunt Sheila frowned. "If I had a vial of that solution, I can. But we don't have. If I try to prepare antidote in our situation, then the chances of it becoming worse for both of you is more. Instead of nullifying the fake love, it might even increase the intensity of the love. But there's a natural solution for your problem. One that will keep you safe from such solutions forever. Are you interested?" she asked.

Ram perked up.

Em was also interested in what Aunt Sheila has to say.

Both of them glanced at Aunt Sheila curiously.

She chuckled. "You both are really children," she said.

Ram ignored it and looked at her expectantly.

Aunt Sheila shook her head. "If you find a Soulmate of your own and accept your bond, then you will be safe," she said.

Ram resisted the urge to lash out at her. Had she discussed with Em before coming up with this solution? He had already denied that he was not interested in Bhumi. Then why are they still insisting on it? "Is this your new way of making me feel that I deserved to be loved?" he asked.

Aunt Sheila shook her head. "No. Not at all. Sheila tried the same with me. But I had already acknowledged Ella as my Soulmate. Even though we got separated after that, I still think of her as my other half. As you can see, I am not affected by it. So, get yourself a Soulmate and you would not be affected by solution similar to what Chitra had no matter how potent it might be," she said.

He stared at her. When she didn't respond, he stared at Em.

Em shrugged her shoulders. "Don't blame me. I didn't have any idea about it. But if it helps you to be not affected by Chitra's solution, in case if she were to use it on us, I think it would be better if you acknowledge that you love Bhumi and that she is your Soulmate," she said.

Ram glared at them. "I think you are trying to fool me. Don't think that you can convince me so easily. Especially after the way ruined Sandhya and Chandra's relationship. I will deal with this on my own," he said, turning away from them.

Aunt Sheila sighed. "Are you really sure that Bhumi was his Soulmate?" she asked Em.

Em nodded. "I think she is. But I am not an expert on Soulmates or I am not even a proper Soul. Whatever records I have access to was not different from what you said. So I can't be sure. We will have to see about it," she said.

Ram ignored both of them, forgot about his training and walked faster..

And he walked way farther away from than them and arrived at crossroad. He didn't know which way to take. To make matters worse, his Well of Soulfire was depleted of most of his Soulfire before his fit of anger began.

He had to recover Soulfire. He searched the Dimensional Pocket equivalent in his Mind World and downed a vial of Soulva replica, which restored his Soulfire slowly.

He decided to wait for Aunt Sheila and Em. Meanwhile, he thought about what they said.

It definitely felt like they were scheming to make him fall in love with Bhumi, accept her as his Soulmate.

But as he said earlier, he was not easily fooled in this matter.

He was sure he was not going to meet with Bhumi anytime soon.

As soon as he thought about that, he thought someone were looking at his direction.

The street was fairly empty, except few souls here and there, walking in normal fashion.

Most of them covered their face, unlike Ram, Em and Aunt Sheila and he worried for a moment that they should also have done the same.

It was already too late for that. He will ask them about it when he met with them.

For now, he decided to take cover from others and wait for them, at the same time observing his surroundings to see if anyone were following him.

Since rest of them had their faces covered, he thought it was going to be pretty difficult.

Usually, others faces would reveal what they really wanted most of the time. If the souls were really following him, then he would know about it if he get a glimpse of their faces. Sometimes, he can spot them using their body language. But he required Em's help for that and it seemed that both of them decided to give him some much needed space.

He would've appreciated it if they had given him that space while they were alone. But now, he didn't think so.

For a moment, he thought whether he had lost the way. And they were searching for him.

He cursed at himself and was about to make a move when he felt that he was being watched again.

He glanced around.

He felt like the all the souls present in the street were watching every move he made, even though none of them had their heads turned towards his direction.

He had to get out of here. He had to walk back the way he had taken and get back to Aunt El and Sheila.

He came out of cover and started walking.

As he walked more and more, the feeling of him being followed increased. And he forgot the way he had come.

He was cursing at himself when he felt someone close on him.

He was on the verge of freaking out when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He freaked out.

He jumped few feet in the air, shouting at the top of his lung. He felt the hand on his shoulder rose along with him, as if the other soul mirrored his movements. When Ram settled down, he felt the hand squeeze his shoulder for a moment before letting it go with a chuckle.

The voice sounded familiar to him.

But he still turned towards the voice to see Bhumi looking at him in amusement.

He was mesmerized by her for a moment. He cursed at himself and gave her a sheepish smile. "I have perfectly plausible explanation for me freaking out," he said.

She nodded as if she were allowing him to explain himself.

So Ram did. "You see, I was separated from my aunt and my friend and I am searching for them. Then I felt I was being followed and I got scared," he said.

She frowned. "You are meant to say that you lost you way form Hotel Pleasure and Privacy till now? That simple route?" she asked.

Ram gasped. How did she know he was at Hotel Pleasure and Privacy?

"Don't look so surprised. I was roaming around when I found you walking into Hotel Pleasure and Privacy. You were pretty chummy with Sheila," she growled.

Ram swallowed. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should explain his relationship with his aunt before she could mistaken him. "She is my Aunt, working undercover. It was with her help I was even able to have a meeting with Chitra," he said.

She seemed like she didn't believe him. "Let's say what you said was the truth. Why did you meet with Chitra's Chief Agent, Vama?" she asked.

Ram shook his head. "I was tasked by Chitra to get something, which I was not going to do. I was using this as an opportunity to lure most of Chitra's Agents. Once I did that, I could neutralize them along with my aunt and my friend's help," he said.

Bhumi frowned, but she nodded reluctantly. "Do you need my help in any way?" she asked.

Ram wondered why she had been so forthcoming to offer her help, and even trust him so easily. If he were in her place, he would not have believed her so easily. "I don't meant to disrespect you or even questioning your intelligence. Why are you so trusting towards me? Why do you keep on offering your help?" he asked. "Is there something that I should know? Did we meet before?" he asked.

He was about to ask if they were Soulmates, but he stopped from embarrassing himself further. There was no way that she can be his Soulmate.

"I feel like you are a good guy. I don't think someone as naive as you can be on Chitra's side. She would devour you alive. Before that could happen, I am offering you my help. There's nothing more to it," she said.

Ram frowned.

"Were you expecting something else?" she asked, walking closer to him.

Ram swallowed. "No," he said.

She stared deep into his eyes and once again, he was attracted to her blue eyes, not orange like other living souls.

He felt a sort of connection to them. Her eyes widened, but it vanished in the next moment.

She closed her eyes and stepped away from him, muttering something to herself.

"What is it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. It seemed you were lost. Let me help you get back to your aunt. That is, if she were really your aunt and you are not trying to fool me," she said.

Ram went into defensive mode. "I will not tolerate anyone that tries to say anything offensive against my aunt," he said.

She was surprised, opened her mouth only to close it again. Later, she sighed. "Well, it seems like you were awfully close to her. Is she really your aunt? And not your Soulmate?" she asked, her voice sounding weaker as she ended it.

Ram frowned. He felt like she really wanted to know his answer to her question, but at the same time, she was afraid of it. He felt that he should not disappoint her. But he didn't know why. "It's too complicated to explain. But here's short version of it. She is the Soulmate of my Aunt and they treat me as their own son. Both had different views on how to raise me and they got separated because of that. Aunt Sheila is doing this to prove to my Aunt that she loves me as much as my aunt loves me, and I am helping her. You can't ever ruin our relationships by accusing us of being Soulmates. Just like them, I think of them as my parents," he said.

She frowned and was about to say something.

Ram interrupted her. "If you have anything against same sex relationship, I will appreciate if you keep them to yourself. I love both my aunts and will go against anyone who opposes them to be together," he said, panting.

She seemed hurt, but after a long time, she calmed down. "Fine, it's alright as long as you don't have any Soulmates," she said.

"Why?"

"Being a spy is dangerous not only to us, but also to our loved ones, especially to our Soulmates. Others could use them against us in critical situations. We can't choose who we are born to and who our friends were. But when it comes to our Soulmate, we can save them from the possible hardships. That's why I was so worried," she said.

Ram thought about how he caused trouble and brought harm to those surrounding him, those who loved him, those who treated him as a friend. He once again resolved that he will not have a Soulmate.

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind. Do you know where they are?" he asked.

She smiled at him. Ram was once again fought his growing attraction towards her. "Kind of. I asked Anu and Manoj to follow them as I saw you walking away from them. I asked them that to wait for us at a fairly open area. After all, I had went against Sheila and her father many times and I don't want them to think that this was an ambush," she said too quickly.

Ram frowned. She seemed to value my opinion of her too much. Ram felt like she was hiding something, but for now, she accepted her actions. "Let's go," he said.

They kept on walking. But since he practically revealed everything about himself to her, he thought it was only agreeable for her to do the same with him. "What about you?" he asked.

She frowned, then contemplated before nodding to herself. "We were rebel group, who were not satisfied with the peace Bharghav was waiting maintaining between the Two Soul Worlds. On outside, it looked like we co-exist amongst each other, but Chitra, her father and her agents were spread all over the Soul World and were manipulating, threatening or even kidnapping the souls into becoming scapegoats for her experiments on Merged Soul just because of a legend that existed since long time," she said.

Ram perked up. "Can you elaborate on that legend?" he asked.

Bhumi nodded. "It was heard that The Soul World we were living on was the Mind World of A Perfect Merged Soul. He was so powerful that even The Forces of Darkness were afraid to step inside of The Soul World. Chitra wanted to find such Perfect Merged Soul and make them her Soulmate," she said.

Ram frowned. If he and Em were both living beings before they became a Merged Soul, then both of them would've been exploited even more they already were. He had to make sure to ruin Chitra's plans, or at least, escape from this whole mess while he still can. He did not want to doom The Two Souls for Chitra's dream that was based on a legend. "I understood it a little bit. Why are you hell bent on eliminating Chitra and her Nonliving Souls?" he asked.

Bhumi sighed. "We were not divided into two beings at start. But Chitra, her obsession with Perfect Merged Souls and her father's reluctant help was what lead to the development of Nonliving Souls. We were purging them from their dark fate and allowing them to enter life and death cycle once again," she said. "But lately, we were spread too thin and Chitra was gaining more Nonliving Souls. So we were looking for a way to end this once and for all. That's why I was willing to offer my help to you. Will you consider it?"

"Then we will see about that. But first, I have to contact with Aunt Sheila and my friend," he said.

She nodded.

Soon, they reached the place that she mentioned.

Aunt Sheila and Em were chatting up at a corner while Anu and Manoj looked at them warily.

Anu and Manoj perked up as they saw Bhumi and gave her a hug, while they nodded at him. At lest Manoj did.

Anu glared at him outright.

He ignored them and hugged Aunt Sheila and Em, who were surprised by his sudden outburst.

"What happened?" she asked.

He remembered how he felt when he thought someone were following him. And also about Bhumi's words. That others might use the love he had for his friends, family and Soulmate against him and he hugged them harder. "I lost the way and I thought I was being followed. But it turned out she was the one following me up, to help me," he said.

Aunt Sheila chuckled. "It's alright. Everything fine now," she said, squeezing him before disengaging the hug.

Ram explained to them about Bhumi's offer.

Aunt Sheila thought for a long time before nodding her head. "Ram has Bhumi's contact details with him. We will contact you once we know more about Chitra's Agents. Until then, stay safe," she said, and especially looked meaningfully at Bhumi, who nodded her head.

Ram watched them as Em glanced at himself and Bhumi and gave him a knowing smile.

"No, Em. It's not what you are thinking about," he said.

She rolled her eyes.

Ram ignored her. He turned towards Aunt Sheila. "Aunt Sheila, are you sure about them?" he asked.

She nodded.

"It's settled then," he said.

Bhumi nodded and was about to walk away with Anu and Manoj when Sheila and Em stopped Bhumi.

Manoj frowned and Anu was growling at them, but Bhumi shook her head. They left them.

Ram wanted to hear what they were talking about, but they were speaking inside of a sound barrier and all Ram could do was watch as they discuss about something with each other.

Bhumi was was shaking her head and finally she also left with a frown on her face.

Ram stared at Em and Aunt Sheila in horror.

Did they tried to set him up with Bhumi?

Why? Hadn't they realized that he was going to create problems for them?

Why were they involving Bhumi also?

No, he had to do something before they could convince Bhumi.

Bhumi had strong resolve. But Aunt Sheila and Em looked like they will not let this go so easily.

They could easily take care of Manoj, as he believes that everyone were just like him. Honest.

Anu was not. He had to ask her help to look after Bhumi, while he needed to have another talk with Aunt Sheila and Em.

With that settled, he sent a message to Anu first using the contact details that Bhumi shared.

Anu didn't respond.

He ignored it for now and walked towards Aunt Sheila and Em to have a long discussion with them about their interference in his love life.