Tiger's Dream (Tiger's Curse Book 5)

by Colleen Houck

  I took her hand and pressed it against my chest. “Look into my heart, Ana. You know I honor you. Truly.”

  Despite my request, her thoughts remained blocked. She offered a small smile. “You honor me with your words,” she said. “But I think your mind and heart lie elsewhere.”

  She turned back to the river and crouched down, dipping her hand in the water. I took a knee next to her but she didn’t look up. Our reflections bent and swayed in the river. Sensing the import of my next words, I thought carefully of what I wanted to say and then began. “Anamika, with everything in me, I vow that I am yours. I’m not looking back. This I promise you. I will serve the goddess faithfully all the remaining years of my life.”

  Her hand stilled in the water and I noticed a liquid drop land on its shining surface. Ripples spread out from the center where the drop fell. When she looked up at me, I saw it wasn’t rain that caused it but tears. “I know you will serve the goddess,” she murmured quietly. “But there’s a woman in here as well.”

  “Ana…I don’t…I don’t understand. Of course you’re a woman too. I know that.”

  She dashed her hands across her cheeks and then cupped her hands, allowing river water to pool in them, and then washed her face. Using the scarf to dry her cheeks, she took a step back. I was about to approach her again to demand answers when I noticed the water churning. Sucking in a breath, I peered down.

  “What is it?” she asked as she came up beside me.

  Though they were still tiny, I knew from seeing them as adults what they were. “Kappa demons,” I answered softly. “Creatures born from the tears of a goddess.”

  As we watched, the spawn of her sorrow grew. They’d matured inside the tears, which housed them like a flexible bubble. Their long tails pierced the translucent eggs and wrapped around underwater grasses, securing them like an umbilical cord as they bobbed gently.

  When they reached adult size, which happened within the span of a few moments, they bit through the membrane housing them, and the jelly-like substance sloughed away in the stream. I counted at least a dozen and knew that there would be many more by the time Ren and Kelsey arrived. Did that mean Ana was going to cry again or was it just that easy for them to create offspring? The idea made me shiver.

  Three of the newly made beings detached from their underwater plant and slowly strode ashore. They were as ugly as I remembered. As one, they knelt at Ana’s feet. She took a step back. Even she was fearful of them. I thought that didn’t bode well.

  The eerie voice of the unctuous one in the middle rose from his peeled-back lips. His tongue darted unnaturally between teeth as sharp as a shark’s. “Goddess,” it said, “we have risen from the darkness like straying stars plucked from the heavens. To your enemies, we are an invidious scourge. We will descend upon them like the raging sea, slashing with gaping jaws and bared teeth until they are twice dead, their mouths foaming and their salt-caked eyes filled with shame.”

  “And how will you distinguish those I consider an enemy?” Ana asked.

  The creature turned its head at an impossible angle to look at me. His smile was full of menace. “Those who cause your tears are your enemies,” he said snidely, his voice sticky and wheezing, like a bubbling tar pit.

  “I see,” Ana said.

  Taking a step toward her, I was about to reach for her arm when the three creatures quickly rose and stepped between us. All of them bared their teeth and hissed. Goose bumps shot down my spine as I remembered what they’d done to Kelsey.

  “This one is not stout-hearted regarding you,” the monster said to Ana. “He is as a tree without fruit. We will hew him down.”

  “No. You will leave him,” Ana said. “He is mine as you are mine.”

  “But he has caused you tears,” one of them whined.

  “Yes. And he will no doubt cause me many more in my lifetime, but regardless, he is mine. You will not harm him. Not this moment and not ever. Go now,” she ordered. “Attend to your duty. Keep watch and protect this land from those who would seek to harm it.”

  “Yes, Goddess,” they hissed in unison, glaring at me as they made their way back into the river.

  After they were gone, I folded my arms and peered down into the water, disgust curving the edges of my mouth downward. “Nasty,” I said. “I’ve seen them in action too. Did you know they nearly killed Kelsey? If Fanindra hadn’t been there…”

  Anamika pushed me hard on the back, and since I was already off-balance, I stumbled into the water, barely escaping before the things below caught me. I scrambled out as quickly and turned to her. It wasn’t that she’d pushed me; we’d tussled enough that I knew her full strength. What she’d done was not to hurt me but to send a message, and I had one of my own.

  “What on earth is wrong with you?” I demanded, squeezing out my shirt. In my anger, I ripped it, and a second later, I yanked the sopping thing from my chest and threw it as hard as I could. It landed on the other side of the river. After tearing the scarf from her hands, I used it to dry my chest. Her eyes kept sliding down from my face to my chest. The reddish tinge to her cheeks told me she might now regret what she’d done, but I knew her. She’d never admit she’d gone too far.

  While I used the scarf to create new clothes for myself, her eyes widened and she turned away, stomping to the river. Several demons lifted their heads from the water and blinked sideways with their inky black eyes. One with a pied coloration ran a tongue over his jagged teeth, eying me as if he was anticipating dinner.

  With a flourish of her hand, Ana sent them away, and slowly, they once again sunk beneath the water. I picked up a rock and tossed it with a vengeance into the river. I’d aimed for the Kappa demons but ended up narrowly missing her. I regretted it when I saw her flinch and remembered the abuse she’d suffered as a young girl.

  Letting out a long sigh, I said, “I’m sorry, Ana.” I headed over to where she stood and skipped another stone. As it sank, it transformed into a gemstone, and I stared at it, watching it fall to make sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light. Then I saw that all the rocks in the river had changed. The bed of the river was now lined with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones.

  Why did the rocks change in the water? Did the Kappa demons cause it? I glanced over at Ana and saw her tossing an emerald up and down in her hand as she stared thoughtfully at the water. “You did this?” I asked, pointing at the water.

  “I did,” she answered quietly.

  The gemstones would tempt anyone. The idea that Ana would purposely draw Kelsey toward those evil creatures didn’t sit right with me. “Why?” I sputtered.

  She whirled on me. “Why not, Kishan?” Ana spat my name with an air of disgust, as if the very mention of me tasted wrong on her tongue.

  Trying to keep my temper under control, I worked my jaw back and forth, grinding my teeth until I could trust that I would speak civilly to her. Turned out, it didn’t matter.

  “Ana,” I began, raising my hands and speaking calmly, trying to soothe the irascible woman, “don’t you understand how this could be a problem?”

  “It’s not,” she said haughtily, folding her arms across her chest after tossing the emerald into the water.

  I ran a hand through my hair, tugging in frustration. “But Kelsey and Ren will—”

  She cut me off. “I don’t want to hear another word about Kelsey.”

  A hiss distracted me from our argument, and I turned to the river to see several creatures paying very close attention to everything we said. I lowered my voice, remembering how the demons had almost killed Kells. “Why won’t you listen to me?”

  “Why should I? You clearly don’t listen to me! If you’d bother to ask nicely instead of making assumptions, I’d tell you why I did it. Not that it should matter. I would think I’d earned your trust by now.”

  My dumbfounded expression should have said it all, but just in case, I said, “Of course I trust you. I trust you with anything, everything.
”

  “Not…everything. Not when it comes to Kelsey.”

  Silence fell between us. Her chest was heaving with emotion, and other than the slap of the water on the riverbank, our breaths were all I could hear. There was more between us though. Things that weren’t being said. The invisible, intangible weight of what we weren’t saying flowed between us like smoke. It filled my lungs and demanded I acknowledge it.

  “I…” I began, not knowing what I was going to say but letting the words rise like bubbles from somewhere deep inside, “I know you would never do anything to hurt Kelsey.”

  Her eyes bored into me, searching desperately for something, and I could see the moment when she gave up looking for it. “Never mind,” she said, her whole body slumping in disappointment. “We should just finish the task.”

  I didn’t like the finality in her voice or the way she trudged ahead of me down the path. In that moment, she looked every inch the young girl, cowering from the villain. There was no trace of the goddess, and I hated that I was the one who’d made her feel that way. Quietly, I described the crumbled fortress, the mango tree, the fountain, and the monkeys.

  As we channeled the power of earth, mighty stone blocks rose from the soil, stacking one atop the other, until there was an ancient Indian citadel. The trees shook behind us and I recognized the hoot of monkeys. They’d responded to her call and the trees allowed them to pass so they might serve their goddess. She tasked them with guarding the precious Golden Fruit of India, and after they agreed to bow before both the goddess and her weapons, they took their places atop the fortress, turning to stone much as Fanindra now did to metal.

  When we got to the fountain, she took the golden mango from her bag and placed it in a large planter that rose in the center. With a few murmured words from Ana, it sank beneath the soil, and within a matter of a few moments, a seedling sprouted. It grew before our eyes until it reached full height. Flowers bloomed and fruit grew. At the top, one special flower, shining brighter than the sun, blossomed and turned into the Golden Fruit.

  “But won’t we need it?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Not if we have the amulet. With this,” she said, lifting the medallion that hung around her neck, “we can draw upon the power of the Golden Fruit no matter where we are.”

  “But how? It never worked that way before.”

  “The fruit is a gift of Durga, is it not?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “My…my body has absorbed the power of the gifts. I no longer need the scarf or the fruit to work their magic.”

  “When did this happen?” I asked.

  “I noticed it a short time after we returned from the past. Our teacher suggested that it could be the result of young Fanindra’s bite coupled with my merging with my past self. He surmised that in some species, a newborn snake’s venom is much more powerful than an adult’s. I don’t know if that is the case with Fanindra but my powers have grown ever since.”

  Ana turned away from me and I saw the proud stiffness of her shoulders. Even though she refused to open her mind to me, I knew the expanded powers she now possessed bothered her. She hadn’t wanted to tell me and it hurt knowing that she still didn’t trust me.

  Stepping away, she said, “Regardless, the fruit has served its purpose for us. Now it will serve again.” She murmured some more words and then said, “There. It is done. When Ren and Kelsey pluck the fruit from the tree, you will both gain back six hours as men.”

  We created the handprint and the riddle. Ana only left her hand beneath mine long enough to create the lock that would raise the tree. Concerned about Ren and Kelsey, I mentioned the attacks on them I’d witnessed before and asked if she could limit her creations even further so they wouldn’t be hurt. She touched her hand to the stone baboon head and said softly, “They survived. Didn’t they?”

  “Yes, I suppose,” I said, remembering how I had helped them before. “But a goddess could surely do more to—”

  “And what of my creatures?” she asked. “Do you have more concern for Kelsey than for these beings who willingly serve me?”

  Folding my arms across my chest, I answered, “Frankly? Yes.”

  Ana gave me a sharp look. Her eyes went glassy and dull. We both jerked our heads when we heard a booming crash on the far side of the monkey city. Without speaking, we headed in that direction.

  Sighing, I reached out to touch her shoulder but she shrugged me off. “Ana, come on. We need to talk about what’s really bothering you.”

  “No,” she answered. “We do not. If you continue to feel anxious over the girl who walked away from you, then you can return to help her without making me watch.” I didn’t bother to tell her I already had. It felt like the wrong time to bring it up. We found the source of the noise and saw that the drawbridge had fallen halfway down. Since we’d just created it, we were surprised.

  As I examined it, she spoke, turned away, and trailing her finger over a broken hinge, she said, “If you had bothered to ask me why I filled the river with gems, I would have told you.” Ana’s back was stiff, the epitome of the unapproachable goddess. “Despite your suspicions,” she continued, “I did not do it to tempt Kelsey. If you must know, the Kappa are like dragons with a hoard of gold. The gemstones lull them, keep them dormant and quiet.”

  “You could have told me,” I said.

  “I shouldn’t have to,” Ana replied, her eyes hot and distant.

  Not knowing what to say, I asked if she was going to fix the drawbridge. It was a bad choice on my part. Ana clutched the amulet and shifted us in time and space without even touching me. She was right that her power had grown. My stomach wrenched as we arrived at the next stop—the Shrine of Earth.

  Sparkling sunshine framed us in its light from the cracks in the ceiling. Turning, I examined the place in which we stood. I recognized it from pictures. “It’s the temple of Durga,” I said. “This is the first one.”

  Ana strode through the space, examining the pillars. I noticed her footprints disappeared in the dust after she lifted her foot. Mine did as well. I wasn’t sure if she’d purposely arranged for that to happen or if it was a natural thing that came with her power. It reminded me of when the camel tracks disappeared in the past. She traced a hand over the smooth terra-cotta columns, purposely ignoring me.

  “Wait,” I said. “Something’s wrong.” I spun around in a slow circle, trying to see what was missing. “The columns are blank. They should be filled with clues about the things that will happen on each of our journeys. The first quest should be here,” I said, pointing to a pillar. “The one with the shark over here. On that one is the City of Light and this one should have the Silvanae.” I slapped a hand on the back of my neck. “I supposed I can go get pictures from Kadam’s library. He took lots of photos…”

  Ana shook her head. “That will not be necessary.”

  Her body briefly phased as she closed her eyes, then, with a whoosh of her left hand, sand erupted from the pillar, and light glowed from within as the carvings I’d seen on photos materialized exactly as I remembered them, down to the last detail. She waved a hand over the second pillar, and I smelled the flowers that had been wound in Kelsey’s hair by the fairies.

  At the third, I caught the scent of the sea, and the fourth quickly materialized into the Lords of the Flame and qilin. The tang of sulfur and a blast of heat assaulted me. I was studying a rakshasa demon on the recently completed fourth column when a brilliant light blasted a fifth pillar Ana had been working on. It was powerful enough to throw her across the room. I ran to her side quickly. “Are you okay?” I asked, kneeling at her side.

  There was a gash on her arm and red powder covered her limbs and hair. “Bruised but not broken,” she said as her eyes took in the destruction.

  “The fifth column,” I mused. “Kadam said I shouldn’t worry about how it was destroyed.” I bit my lip. “Did you…did you see anything?”

  She glanced up at me. “Some. I recognized us
as goddess and tiger with all the weapons. We were charging into a battle.” Ana touched a fingertip to the gleaming snake armband. “I saw the death and birth of Fanindra. Me talking with Nilima at the temple. The creation of the Cave of Kanheri and Kishkindha. Once it got to that point, a veil of darkness clouded my vision, and though I know I finished the carving, I was not allowed to see it. When it was complete, a power destroyed it. That’s all I know.”

  “I wonder if we did that,” I said softly.

  She shook her head. “It would be too dangerous. We would encounter ourselves.”

  I nodded. Both of us knew there was only one other person with a motive and with the power to destroy the pillar. “It was him, wasn’t it?” I asked.

  “It makes sense,” she said with a sigh.

  Reaching out my hand, I offered to help her up, but she pointedly ignored me and got up on her own.

  “Anything else?” she asked.

  Rubbing my cheek, I frowned and glanced around. “I think that’s it. No. Wait. There was a hidden handprint exposed by an earthquake. There’s one in each temple.”

  Approaching the statue, Ana touched her hand to the stone and looked my way, waiting for me to do the same. I slid my hand on top of hers and our eyes locked. Ana, I said in her mind. I don’t want to fight. Tell me what’s wrong. Let me share your pain, the way you shared mine. I stepped closer, pressing my body against hers. Ana didn’t answer me but she didn’t move away either. With our hands touching, she sped us through time. Centuries passed in a blur. I was transfixed by the light playing across her features until, too soon, the light slowed.

  I was about to speak when, at that moment, we heard a cheerful, piping voice. It was unmistakably Kelsey. Ana stiffened and moved back abruptly, waving a hand to cover the print with stone. I thought she liked Kelsey. It didn’t make sense that she was so upset about seeing her again. But I could sense her resentment rising in waves. She hadn’t been that way at Kelsey’s wedding. As close as we were, I couldn’t understand what she was going through.