Journey to India (Exiled Dragons Book 7)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “That’s not good,” Khalib groaned.

  “This better not be another joke,” she told him.

  “I’m afraid it’s not,” he told her, reaching for a large flashlight on the seat behind them. “Sit tight.”

  Kara waited anxiously as he tinkered under the hood, a healthy spew of expletives flying about as he did so. She wondered if he was not even the slightest bit afraid, being out there in the darkness and drawing attention to himself, but she realized that she wasn’t exactly out of danger herself. The jeep was open-topped, which was fine while they were moving, but now she had to wonder what might drop in there with them.

  “What a clusterfuck,” Josh breathed.

  “Josh, be nice,” Barb said, chastising him.

  “That was me being nice. You wouldn’t want to know what I was really thinking,” he said.

  “Well, we’re here now and we just need to make the best of it. Getting angry about something you can’t do anything about is hardly going to help the situation,” she told him softly.

  “Angry? I’ve got a good mind to shift and fly out of here with you on my back.”

  “Well, you know how I love that, but we need to stick it out. We’ve come all this way, and you have to admit, seeing the mother tiger earlier was very interesting. I want to see more of them,” she told him, reaching out her hand to take his before turning to smile at Kara.

  Barb was always the voice of wisdom, it seemed. Her training as an anthropologist made her naturally curious about everything when it comes to how every species–from man to fire ants–interacted with one another. Everyone fell into silence as they waited for Khalib to finish tinkering with the vehicle. Finally, Thomas let out a large sigh and stepped out to see if he could help.

  “We aren’t going any further in this thing tonight,” Kara heard Khalib say to him.

  “You’re kidding?” Thomas replied.

  “I’m afraid not. We’ll have to make camp here for the night.”

  “In the middle of nowhere? This is worse than that last place you showed us,” Kara called out to him.

  “I would have to agree with that, but not much else we can do. It’s safer to hunker down here for the night than it is to try to walk out of here in the darkness,” he told her.

  “I don’t believe this!” she groaned.

  “I don’t really care what you believe, princess. We are stuck here, and we need to make camp quickly before anything realizes we are here. I’ll pitch the tent here by the jeep with the opening facing it. If things get too out of hand, we’ll have a bit of safety from larger animals under the jeep.”

  Kara glared at him. She was having a hard time deciding if he planned this or was just doing it to scare the shit out of them.

  “Listen, if you are just screwing with us to try and scare us, you’re doing a great job–at least for me, anyway. I admit that I’m out of my element and don’t belong here, but I just thought we were coming to tour some wildlife in a somewhat controlled environment. I didn’t know I would find us all sleeping with the enemy.”

  Much to her surprise, he put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, looking down at her with what appeared to be a hint of kindness in his eyes. Or was that just the near darkness falling around them that was playing tricks on her?

  “Kara, you will all be fine. I realize you haven’t been in a situation like this before, but I have, many times. In fact, I’ve been in much worse situations. If you just stay close and listen to what I tell you, you will be fine. I promise. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said uncertainly, glancing toward Thomas, who stood shaking his head by the jeep.

  “Besides, if you get eaten by a tiger, I have to give the ridiculous amount of money you paid me to be your guide back to your family. Probably get sued for whatever I have on top of it,” he joked.

  “That’s not funny,” she said, laughing despite herself.

  “No, of course not. Stop laughing. We have tents to set up. In the morning, we will get up and hike back to the shed where we got the jeep. I know what is wrong with it, but I don’t have what I need to fix it tonight. Then, we’ll get you back down to where you should be without too much delay before we get back on the boat to head downstream toward the sanctuary.”

  “If we don’t get eaten by tigers,” Thomas said flatly.

  “Precisely,” Khalib laughed, pulling the tent from the back of the jeep. He had it erected in a matter of moments. “Where are your tents?”

  “What tents?” Kara replied.

  “You didn’t bring any tents?” he asked incredulously.

  “Why would we bring tents? We were told we would be staying in rigid shelters, not camping out,” she replied.

  “Most people bring tents anyway. The shelters are pretty bare bones, and you wouldn’t want to sleep on them without some sort of barrier between you and the dirt floor below you.”

  Kara was getting frustrated again. She looked toward Thomas. She hadn’t wanted him to get involved in all this muck, but now she felt as if she needed him to rescue her. Things were seeming a bit direr than they had even an hour ago.

  “Look, there was nothing telling us we should bring tents. We have some emergency blankets. We’ll just make do with those,” Thomas told him.

  “No way. You can’t sleep out in the open here. It will be cramped, but we can all squeeze into my tent.”

  “Fantastic,” Thomas replied sarcastically.

  Tossing their packs and bedding inside, Khalib motioned for them all to get in. Kara slipped into the tiny bit of space between the front of the tent and the jeep and ducked inside, gathering up a blanket and resting her head on her backpack as a pillow. It wasn’t exactly the kind of camping she was used to, but she supposed it would suffice.

  One by one, the others joined them, lined up across the breadth of the tent like human sardines as Khalib zipped them all in. He lay at the far edge, putting a bit of space between him, and Josh beside him, with a rolled-up blanket from his own pack.

  Lying there in the dark tent, listening to Thomas breathe contentedly by her side, Kara fell asleep peacefully. Her thoughts quickly drifted away as she fell asleep, grateful for whatever respite this was that had been granted to her from her own thoughts. The last thing she needed to focus on was just how bad all of this was going so far.

  Chapter Five

  Kara was startled awake in the early morning hours with Khalib’s hand planted firmly over her mouth. She attempted to struggle, but he held her down, bringing his opposite hand to his lips. Still foggy with sleep, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on, and she was terrified. She struggled against him until he leaned very close, his voice barely audible.

  “Tigers outside. Wake the others. Quietly,” was all he said.

  Her eyes flew wide open as she began to understand what was happening. He hadn’t wanted to risk her crying out and drawing attention to them. She nodded and he took his hand from her mouth, sitting up and slipping into the shirt he had removed when they bedded down for the night. Reaching over, she shook Thomas awake, cautioning him to be quiet.

  “Don’t say a word. I’ll be right back,” Khalib told them quietly as Thomas turned to rouse Josh.

  Kara wanted to protest, but she knew she should keep quiet as instructed. Instead, she shot him a look that told him he shouldn’t go out, but he just smiled at her and climbed from the tent, carefully closing it behind him. She could hear him speaking to them outside the tent, and it drew her curiosity, but she didn’t dare look out.

  “Who is he talking to?” Thomas whispered as Josh turned to wake up Barb.

  “Hello, guys. What’s going on here? This isn’t a place for you. Understand?” Khalib was saying outside the tent.

  There was a loud growl from one of them that made her skin crawl, her body jangling with nerves on edge. Did he really think he was so in tune with them that he could just go out and speak to them, send them away? In her mind, he was human, but Thomas quickly reminded her th
at their guide was not human.

  “He’ll get them settled,” he said softly in her ear. “Don’t forget he is one of them.”

  Kara nodded. Of course, he was right, but he wasn’t really one of them. No more than their kind was a naturally-born dragon. If she were to meet one, she would have no idea how to communicate with it. Of course, dragons no longer existed, so it was hardly an issue. Though Khalib was somewhat unlikeable, she still found herself concerned for him. They could fly out of here if they had to, but it might be too late for him if he got too close to the wild beasts outside the tent.

  Something popped loudly against the side of the tent, and she had to cover her own mouth with her hands to prevent crying out. It struck again and she realized it was a tail. One of them was standing almost right beside her, separated only by the thin layer of material that made up the tent, in which they were hiding. It was angry and swishing its tail back and forth. That didn’t bode well for how things were going out there. She listened as Khalib continued to speak to them.

  “That is no attitude to have. I tell you what. Walk away, and I won’t hurt any of you. That isn’t what I came here for. I’m just here to observe, nothing more.”

  There was another loud growl and something scraped against the side of the tent. Kara looked up to see a small rip where one of the tigers had apparently managed to get a claw into it.

  “Now, that just wasn’t nice. I guess we’ll have to settle this another way,” she heard Khalib say.

  There was a strange sound that she couldn’t even begin to describe. It sounded like ripping flesh, and she found that she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Had they attacked him? This wasn’t happening. And when they were done with him, what would become of the rest of them out here all alone if they couldn’t shift and get off the ground fast enough? Surely, the rangers would look for them when they didn’t show up at their rendezvous point, but that was another day away, and they would have to somehow manage to survive another night here alone unless they risked being seen in flight. Of course, that was assuming they didn’t come after them as soon as they were done with him.

  The deafening roar she heard next was so loud that it seemed to rattle the poles holding up their tent. It was followed by a howl of pain, but not from Khalib. One of the tigers was making the sound. Had one of them turned on the others? She hadn’t heard anything else from Khalib. Was he dead? Were they fighting over his carcass? “Oh God, oh God, oh God,” her mind babbled in terror like she had never experienced before. What had possessed her to come here? What was she thinking when she brought her loved ones into this place?

  It seemed like the encounter went on forever, with howls and growls that made her skin crawl. She looked around the tent for a weapon, fishing around in his bag for his knife before realizing he kept it hanging on his belt. She had noticed it there earlier. He had gone out in only the shorts he had been sleeping in and the t-shirt he had pulled on, so his pants were in here. Feeling around in the darkness, she finally found her hands on his belt and worked her fingers toward the leather sheath that hung from it.

  “What are you doing?” Thomas whispered.

  “Finding something for us to protect ourselves with,” she replied.

  “Protect ourselves? We’re dragons. We will just fly out of here,” he said, not understanding her fear, but he was a man and didn’t understand that while he always thought of himself as the dominant force in any strife, she always considered the risks.

  “What if we can’t get out quick enough? We’re trapped like rats,” she said.

  “It’s a tent, Kara. Our wings will just push it away from us. You’re just panicking.”

  Kara considered this, and perhaps he was right, but she still maintained her grip on the knife she had retrieved from Khalib’s pants. She was taking no chances. If a tiger came into the tent, she would take on defense while the others changed.

  “I know what you are thinking and no way in hell are you going to fight a tiger with a knife. Crazy woman. Give me that,” he said, seeming somewhat amused for a man under attack by wild animals. He reached for the handle of the knife and pulled it away from her, shaking his head. Turning, he handed it to Barb and said something quietly to Josh, who nodded back at him.

  “Take this, Barb. You can’t shift, so on the off-chance that we have to go, you keep them away from you until I can get shifted and get you on my back for flight. Stay behind me and protect yourself if they come around. Do you understand?”

  Barb’s eyes widened as he handed her the knife. She nodded, seeming to fight back tears as she realized the danger they were now in. Then, there was an uneasy silence, and Khalib stepped back into the tent with a huge smile on his face. He appeared completely unscathed as they all stared at him in disbelief. What had gone on out there? Had he really been able to talk to them, reason with them?

  “Come out here. I want you to see these guys,” he said to them, seeming oblivious to the distraught look on any of their faces.

  “What?” she asked incredulously.

  “It’s okay now. I’ve reasoned with them, and they are all calm. I want you to be able to see them up close.”

  “You are shitting me,” she replied, just knowing he was yanking their chain again.

  “No, not at all. All of you come on out,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

  Thomas scoffed. No doubt the idea that a tiger shifter thought he could protect three dragon shifters was still laughable to him, but in these circumstances, it had certainly been a consideration she was willing to entertain.

  Kara stared at him in disbelief as she slowly got to her feet and ducked out of the tent, following him as he walked toward the front of the jeep. The others followed. Barefoot and in only light clothes, he didn’t seem concerned about being vulnerable to a pack of tigers at all.

  “Guys, this is Kara. She’s not edible, and she won’t hurt you. I just wanted her to be able to meet you,” he laughed.

  Kara shot him a look that reflected how surreal this entire situation felt to her. One of the tigers approached her, and she flinched, preparing for the worst. These were wild animals, and Khalib was obviously batshit crazy. Her head shot back toward the tiger as it sniffed her fingers and then lightly nuzzled her hand, allowing her to pet it.

  “Go ahead. She wants you to stroke her fur. Big cats like this love that as much as the regular household kind, but they rarely have enough trust in someone to allow it. They are accepting you as someone, who is my friend, and they won’t hurt you.”

  “How do they know that?” she asked.

  “I told them. I told them you are all friends. You can all touch them if you’d like,” he said, nodding to the others to join her.

  “I know a lot of things, and so do they. They can’t stay long, so enjoy your time with them while you can.”

  It all seemed too weird to believe, but she found herself petting a tiger as several more approached, letting them all touch them. She watched as Barb tentatively reached for one, who seemed to instinctively pull back from her. Was it that they sensed she was different? It was her kind that hunted them, poached them. Maybe they knew this, but surely, they could also sense her natural kindness. After a moment, the tiger let her stroke its fur and seemed to warm to her.

  It was the most amazing thing Kara had ever experienced. Even the two Higgins men seemed quite taken by the encounter with such gentle animals. One of the tigers’ heads snapped around, seeming to hear something in the distance. Mewing toward the others, it turned and trotted away, disappearing into the darkness. The others quickly followed.

  “That was insane,” Kara said, finally letting go of the breath she felt like she had been holding since waking up with a hand over her mouth.

  “They are just big kittens at the end of the day,” Khalib said with a shrug.

  “Were you talking to them out here?”

  “Sure. Why not?” he shrugged.

  “And they l
istened to you?” she asked.

  “Of course, they listened to me. I have a way with these animals. They can be reasoned with as long as you know how to approach them,” he said.

  “And exactly how is that?” she asked.

  “Mutual respect. That’s all it is, really,” he told her.

  “Riiiiiight,” she replied sarcastically.

  “No, really. That’s all there is to it. You saw for yourself how well it worked. They were perfectly docile when you came out here. I just needed to get them settled down. Now, they’re off to find food elsewhere, and they won’t bother us again, at least not that bunch.”

  “Let’s hope another bunch doesn’t turn up,” she moaned.

  “It’s almost dawn anyway. The sun will be coming up shortly. We need to get dressed and head out at first light so we can get the jeep repaired and head downstream. We’ll make up some time on the trip so that we make our rendezvous point with the rangers as scheduled.”

  “Sounds good to me. I hope that tomorrow night we will be sleeping in a shelter and not out in the middle of the plains,” she said.

  “We should be. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get through here intact. It’s really not so bad usually. We were just subjected to a case of curious cats checking us out due to being out in the open,” he told her.

  “I hope not, but I would still prefer some solid walls between the wild animals and me, even if you can talk to them,” she told him.

  “Well, only the tigers. We have an understanding, but I’m sure you are already aware of that,” he said with a smile.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, wondering if he could possibly know why she had come here.

  “Nothing. Look, we need to get going,” he told her, turning to address the rest as a group. “Let’s get packed up and make our way back to the shed.”

  “Do we need to carry all this stuff out with us?” Barb asked, groaning.

  “No, not at all. Just toss it in the jeep and leave it. No one will bother it out here.”