Journey to India (Exiled Dragons Book 7)

by Sarah J. Stone

  They followed behind him, getting their stuff together and helping to pack things back into the jeep before they headed out to the shed, from which they had retrieved it. It took almost an hour in the terrain they were navigating, but they finally arrived. Khalib busied himself, looking for what they would need, while she stood outside and snapped some photos of the beautiful world that surrounded them.

  “I can’t get over how breathtaking this place is,” Barb said, taking her own photos, while the two men went to see if they could help Khalib. They might not like him, but it was in their best interest to help him get them moving along.

  “It is gorgeous. Listen, Barb, I’m sorry about this. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just thought that this would be like going to the zoo, I guess. I mean, I knew what I signed up for, but last night…wow. I don’t know how to apologize for almost getting everyone attacked by tigers.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. Obviously, the Higgins men are less than thrilled, but I suspect that is mostly about being out of their element. They are putting us all in the hands of someone, who they don’t care for and in a position where it could be harmful for them to employ the defense mechanisms they have in place. Hard enough to hide being a dragon in the mountains of Ireland, even harder to do so in India.

  Their conversation was interrupted as the men returned, all joking and laughing. Barb and Kara exchanged a look, wondering what had changed while the trio were gone. It beat the earlier animosity, so whatever it was, they would take it.

  “All right, let’s give this another go,” Khalib said cheerfully, motioning for them to follow him back in the direction from which they had come.

  Chapter Six

  “All right, looks like we are in business,” Khalib told them as the engine fired up. It had taken a walk to the shed and back, plus another hour of tinkering, but he had gotten the vehicle going so that they could continue their journey.

  “I guess we should get going then,” she said in reply, realizing she had been lost in thought and had said nothing.

  “You guess correctly,” he replied. “We have a bit of lost time to make up for.”

  Kara gave up taking snapshots of the surrounding area as she had been doing, while he worked on the jeep. Everyone climbed back into the jeep, ready to get on with their journey. Thankfully, the breakdown seemed to have cured some of the open hostility between everyone. Though she still didn’t understand it, she was glad it had passed.

  Once they were all settled in to their seats, he immediately headed off along the edge of the forest, following the flow of the river toward their next destination. No one spoke for a while. She engrossed herself in snapping photos of passing wildlife and exotic looking flowers, while Khalib focused on the path ahead of them. Everyone else, it seemed, was busy checking out the landscape around them.

  “We should be at the main sanctuary in another hour. I’m taking more of a shortcut toward it now that we don’t need to bed down in the shelter for the night,” he told them.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” she replied, looking back toward Thomas with a smile. He winked at her and looked back out over the gorgeous greenery as they passed through it.

  “We’ll spend some time there and then journey down to meet the rangers on the boat. They will take us a bit further down river,” Khalib said as they made their way closer to their destination.

  “That doesn’t seem to give us very much time,” she observed, having hoped they would be able to spend most of the day there.

  “We are shortening it a bit so that we make up for the lost time, but the sanctuary is quite massive. It is only a matter of not spending as much time on this end of it. The rangers will take us through the narrow part of the river that separates the two halves, and we will have the rest of the day to explore the lower region. I think you’ll find what you are after before the day is out,” he told her.

  “What I am after?” she asked.

  “Tigers–lots of them. A lot more than what you saw last night, but from a safer distance.”

  “Right. We’ll just have to trust you on that,” she told him.

  “Yes, you will have to do just that.”

  “Tell me about the tigers earlier this morning,” she said suddenly.

  “Tell you what about them?”

  “I heard you talking to them as if they could understand you, and they seem to have responded. How did you learn to do that?”

  Kara knew how he talked to the tigers. Though she didn’t have a complete understanding of it, it was at least apparent that he shared some common denominator as a tiger shifter. What she was really after was a way to open the door for an honest discussion of who and what he was, but not until she felt it was safe. First, she would see just how much he was willing to tell her.

  “It isn’t something that was learned. It just seems to be natural. It was as much a surprise to me as anyone, when I realized that I had such a power over regular tigers.”

  “Regular tigers? Are there other kinds?”

  “Of course. There are many kinds, and all of them respond to me the same way.”

  “What about other animals? Dogs? Hyenas? Lemurs?”

  “No. I have an instinct about animals. I guess I am a bit of one myself, but I don’t possess the bond with them that I do with tigers.”

  “It seems very unusual.”

  “You’ve no idea,” he laughed. “It’s most of the reason I chose to get into this line of work.”

  “How long have you been doing this?”

  “Working as a guide? Or talking to tigers?”

  “Both, I suppose.”

  “I learned about the tiger thing when I was very young. My family taught me their ways, and I have honed them since then. They own the tour company and allow me to do tours even though I’m much younger than most of the guides.”

  “And the sanctuary? How are you affiliated with that?”

  “I’m just an overseer like many of the other volunteers that do what they can to protect the tigers there. You’d be shocked how many of these beautiful animals are killed each year for their fur or because some crazy asshole wants to drink tiger’s blood as part of some hunting or war ritual. People eat their meat and use parts of them to make folk medicine. Tibetans like to wear their fur as dresses. It’s a status symbol.”

  “Can’t those people be arrested?”

  “Not unless they are the ones actually doing the poaching and get caught in the act by the right people. Unfortunately, some of the people entrusted with protecting the tigers are in on it and work with the poachers to acquire them and get them out of the sanctuary undetected. They are very good at what they do, very covert, and they have a lot of contacts. Ruthless men with ruthless friends.”

  “How can they possibly get away with that?”

  “There are always corrupt people, who only speak the language of cash. They don’t really care about the tigers at all, only what they can get out of the situation.”

  “But not you. You do what you can to legitimately protect the tigers.”

  “Always,” he said with a slow smile that spoke volumes about how he felt about the animals, even if they were not a direct part of his personal lineage. It occurred to Kara that these tigers were a part of her as well, and she felt a sense of pride, though it wasn’t something she could relay to anyone.

  “I admire that about you.”

  “I can live with that. I have many less admirable qualities, so perhaps it makes up for a few of them.”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, no. I never tell people what my faults are. If they can’t see them, then they don’t really exist, right?” he laughed.

  “I’ve never thought about it that way. It’s like saying that you don’t like your nose, and then that is suddenly all another person notices about you.”

  “Exactly,” he said. His attention was suddenly diverted by something beyond anything she could see within their view.

  Kara looke
d around. They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere still, but she could see the same style shed built into a grove of trees, so as not to be invasive. Khalib parked inside, and they began to gather their gear for the trek down to the water where the rangers would pick them up to carry them through the narrow passages to the lower half of the sanctuary. It was insanely hot out as they traveled the hour it took to get from the shed to the water.

  “I think our chariot is arriving,” she said after hearing the sounds of breaking twigs not far away.

  “Good thing. A few more minutes, and you might be melted completely,” he replied.

  His gaze swept over the group of sweaty tourists looking wearily back at him. It was obvious that they were not accustomed to the heat around them. Ireland was relatively cool year-round, downright cold for many months, and mostly rainy. To be in some place this warm was not so out of the norm for Barb, who had relocated from California to be with Josh, but even she had gotten used to the cooler climate to an extent.

  Kara laughed at how they must look to him and turned as the boat made an appearance from beyond the branches that hung over the water, and the rangers called out to them. Khalib walked down to the water to greet them, helping them pull the boat up onto the bank while looking all around. She could only assume there was still very much a danger of crocodiles and other animals that one wouldn’t want to encounter on their own turf. He returned a moment later, helping her with their packs.

  “Watch your step. It’s further down once you step into the boat than you’d think,” he warned her. He stepped inside and took her pack before offering her a helping hand. One by one, he helped them into the boat before getting in behind them.

  The ride from where they joined the rangers to the lower end of the sanctuary was a bit rough. Though the water was shallow and fairly quiet, the trees that hung over it from either side brushed against the boat and its passengers in some of the narrower sections. Everyone was forced to take on a defensive posture to ensure that they weren’t struck by any of them with any force. Of course, she was more concerned with contracting some deadly virus from the insects that seemed to swarm constantly.

  “Here’s some more repellent,” Khalib told her, handing her the same small container as yesterday.

  “You’re a mind reader,” she laughed, accepting it and beginning to rub it on with one hand while combating flying branches with the other.

  “More like body language reader. You were practically having a spasm trying to keep them off you in between fighting branches. It won’t be much longer before we’re more out in the open. We’ll have a bite to eat once we clear these trees and won’t be risking having our food snatched from our hands by tree dwellers.”

  “Sounds good. I hadn’t even thought about food, but now that you mention it, I’m starving,” Kara replied, the others nodding their heads in agreement.

  “I know. The dried provisions are okay to keep you going, but they just don’t do much to really satisfy hunger,” he replied, referring to the packed food they had been eating since getting off the boat yesterday.

  “I’ll have to agree with that. There is only so long you can eat dried fruit, nuts, and jerky before you want something more substantial,” Thomas added with a groan.

  On cue, one of the rangers began to unpack a cooler sitting to one side of the boat. They had brought more sandwiches but also fresh vegetables and fruit. It still wasn’t the same as having a real meal, but it was an improvement. He passed the containers of food back to them, along with bottles of water and bars of dark chocolate once the boat had cleared the trees.

  Chapter Seven

  It took most of the day to make their way down the river to the other part of the sanctuary and to the shelter. Everyone was quiet as they wearily looked at the wildlife that they had been looking forward to seeing. Josh sat toward the back of the boat with Barb by his side, her head laid over on his shoulder as if to rest, but there was no rest out in this environment. They were all hot and sticky, all exhausted, and they still had well over a week to go.

  “I thought this would be so much easier,” she admitted to Thomas.

  “I have to say that I did, too. I think it’s the heat. It just zaps all of your energy,” he replied.

  “Yes, out here, the heat is your biggest enemy. It’s not the animals, who will mostly keep their distance as long as you keep yours. It’s the sun pounding down on you and soaking up your life force, drinking every drop of water it can pull from you. Stay hydrated. It makes all the difference,” Khalib told them, tossing each of them a bottle of water and motioning for them to hand some back to Josh and Barb before tossing two more.

  “How much longer?” Kara asked, taking a hearty slug of the water he had given her.

  “Not much further,” he said, pointing toward an embankment just ahead.

  She could see that there was a path leading up the embankment from the river and wondered how far they would have to trek once they were off the boat. She wasn’t one to whine, but the sun was full on in the sky above them, and she was fairly certain she could melt an egg atop her head at this point, even down on the river beneath the tree coverings that hung over the banks. It was bound to be considerably worse without anything to run interference. As if reading her mind, Khalib offered some advice.

  “Put on your hats and scarves before we get off the boat. You’ll need them. The last thing you want to do is get a blister to tend to out here. It’s about an hour walk to where we are going. Not too far and fairly easy through flat lands, but you’ll want to watch out for wildlife. This area is heavy with tigers, boars, and rhinos. They can be quite aggressive when threatened.”

  “Grand, another confrontation,” Barb gasped.

  “Hopefully not. As long as we watch for them and give them their space, we’ll be fine. Just remember to observe from a distance. You can take pictures, but use your zoom. Don’t try to get too close and don’t make loud noises to frighten them.”

  “No screaming then,” Kara laughed.

  “Definitely no screaming,” he told her with a smile.

  “You heard the man, Josh. No screaming,” Thomas teased his brother.

  “I’ll try to remain calm,” Thomas told him sarcastically, punching him playfully on the arm.

  At first, their travels were uneventful. They swatted away the insects that seemed to be attracted to their sticky skin, trying desperately to keep from getting bitten. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Even Khalib commented on the fact that there was not the usual level of activity in the area.

  “It’s as if something has spooked them. There is usually quite a bit of activity out here,” he said, his brow furrowed. “Just stay close and be prepared for anything.”

  “Anything? Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Just be wary. That’s all,” he told her, continuing toward their destination with everyone in tow.

  They were all quiet the rest of the way in, keeping a close eye on things all around them in case they were to run into anything that might require a quick reaction. Everyone, it seemed, was on edge, and Kara once again found herself wondering why she had come here. Not only had it been a bad idea for her, but she had dragged others along and put them in peril as well. Why had it been so important to her to make this trip and meet people she had not even been aware of not so long ago?

  A memory of Cassi came to mind, all the months she had spent with her employer, never knowing that they shared a bond that went back for centuries. As the oldest living member of their clan, Cassi had been well loved by everyone, and she had always taken a liking to Kara. It had all seemed as if it were only a matter of her close friendship with Kara’s early ancestor, but time had revealed that he was Cassi’s long lost son, something of which even she had not been aware.

  It had been quite a shock for everyone involved to learn that not only had Kara’s lineage begun with Cassi, but also with the love that the elderly woman had held in her heart for years. A love for a tiger shif
ter named Khaleel, who originated from India and thought he was the last of his kind. What he had not known was that he wasn’t the only one that had escaped the horrors that had befallen his family, and many years later, some of them had returned here to their home.

  With only her grandfather and herself left on her maternal side of the family line, it had become important to Kara to explore Cassi’s late husband Khaleel’s roots, and that is what had brought her here to India–to mingle with tiger shifters and find a way to broach the subject of common ties.

  “We’re almost there,” Khalib told them as they approached a grove of trees that stood to one side of the large grassland through which they had traveled.

  A few moments later, they stepped back out into a clearing where several buildings could be seen. The one in the center was larger, with two smaller ones on either side. Khalib motioned for them to follow him to the largest one, and they all went inside.

  “Okay. This is the ranger’s station, though it isn’t continually manned. They are only here when they are in the area and need to make use of it. There is a small kitchen at the back and a shower down that hallway right there,” he said, pointing toward a narrow opening that ran along the back wall of the area in which they stood.

  “This is the living area, I guess you could say. Not much to it, just a few chairs and a pull-out sofa and a bookcase full of the most random collection of books you’ll ever see. They are in a variety of languages, as most were donated by tourists or friends of the sanctuary from all over the world. I have some food staples packed in the jeep, so I’ll get us some food going if you all want to take turns making use of the shower,” he said.

  “Where do we sleep?” Kara asked, looking around for any signs of a sleeping area or access to one. “Is the pull-out the only sleeping location?”

  “Oh, no. Sorry. Follow me,” he said, leading them back out the door toward one of the smaller buildings they had seen. “Both of these outer buildings are sleeping shelters. Nothing in there but a stripped-down metal cot for you to toss your sleeping bag on, though. There are two in each. I’ll take the sofa in the main building.”