(Tiger Saga #2) Tiger's Quest

by Colleen Houck

  I glanced up at the leafy bower overhead, and it did look as if the branches were squeezing the leafy fingers of the tree that was straining nearby. It made wooden groaning and popping sounds as the leaves trembled above us.

  The tree nymphs seemed to be focused on a large, knobby mound that bulged near a low branch. The tree shuddered as the long branch quivered. After several intense moments of listening to the deep rumbles of the tree and watching the trunk expand and contract, so slowly that I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t paying attention, the bottom branch broke off from the enormous trunk with a terrible crack.

  A hush fell over the assembly. The branch hung loosely, touching the ground near us, held on by only the bark of the tree. Tucked in the space where the base of the branch met the trunk was a small silver head.

  A group of Silvanae approached and cooed, speaking softly to the small being resting in the tree. They gently lifted it out and wrapped it in a blanket. One member of the group lifted the small Silvanae baby in the air and announced, “It’s a boy!” They disappeared into the cottage while everyone cheered. Another group of Silvanae carefully removed the quivering limb from the tree and spread a creamy salve over the broken oval in the trunk where the branch had been.

  Silvanae began to dance around the tree, and tiny fairies flew up into the top and lit up all the branches with their fluttering wings. When the celebration was over, it was late.

  As Faunus walked us to the Grove of Dreams, I asked him, “So now we know where the Silvanae come from, but what about the fairies? Are they born from trees too?”

  He laughed. “No. Fairies are born of roses. When the bloom is spent, we leave it to seed. A bud swells, and when the time is right, a fairy is born with wings the color of the bloom.”

  “Do you live forever?”

  “No. We’re not immortal, but we do live a long time. When a Silvanae dies, his body is laid to rest in the roots of the mother tree, and his memories become a part of future generations. Fairies die only if their rose plant does, so they can live a long time, but they are awake only in the evenings. During the day, they find a flower to rest on and their bodies change into morning dew. At night, they turn back into fairies again. Ah, here we are, the Grove of Dreams.”

  He’d led us into a secluded area. It looked like a fairy honeymoon suite. Tall trees supported a leafy bed that hung from vines. Baskets of fragrant flowers hung from each corner of the grove. Gossamer pillows and bedding were embroidered with swirling vines and leaves. A group of fairies who had followed us in took their places in the lanterns.

  “The four large trees that support the bower stand one in each direction—north, south, east, and west. The best dreams are had when the head points west so you wake with the sun in the east. Good luck to you and sweet dreams.” He smiled and was off, taking two fairies with him.

  I shifted uncomfortably. “Umm, this is a little awkward.”

  Kishan was staring at the bed like it was a mortal enemy. He turned to me and gallantly bowed. “Not to worry, Kelsey. I will be sleeping on the ground.”

  “Right. But, uh, what if you’re the one who has the dream?”

  “Do you think it matters if I’m in the bed or not?”

  “I have no idea, but just in case, I think you better join me.”

  He stiffened. “Fine. But we’re sleeping back to back.”

  “Deal.”

  I climbed in first and sank into the soft feather bed and pillow. The bed shifted back and forth like a hammock. Kishan muttered as he stowed the backpack. I caught snippets of phrases. There was something about fairy princesses, and how does she expect me to sleep, and Ren better appreciate, etc., etc. I stifled a laugh and rolled onto my side. He pulled the gossamer cover over me, and then I felt the bed sway as he lay next to me.

  As a breeze softly stirred my hair, I heard Kishan sputter, “Keep your hair on your side, Kells. It tickles.”

  I laughed. “Sorry.”

  I pulled my hair over my shoulder. He muttered some more, something about more than a man can bear and shifted quietly. I fell asleep quickly and had vivid dreams of Ren.

  In one dream, he didn’t know me and turned away from me. In another he was laughing and happy. We were together again, and he held me close and whispered that he loved me. I dreamed of a long rope lit with fire and a black pearl necklace. In another dream, I was underwater swimming alongside Ren, while we were surrounded by schools of colorful fish.

  Despite dreaming very clearly, there was no hint of the omphalos stone. I woke disappointed and found I was sleeping nose to nose with Kishan. He had his arm draped over me, and his head was pillowed on my hair, pinning me to the bed.

  I shoved him. “Kishan. Kishan! Wake up!”

  He woke only halfway and pulled me closer. “Shh, go back to sleep. It’s not morning yet.”

  “Yes, it is morning.” I pushed against his ribs. “Time to wake up. Come on!”

  “Okay, honey, but how about a kiss first? A man needs some motivation to get out of bed.”

  “That kind of motivation keeps a man in bed. I’m not kissing you. Now get up.”

  He woke with a start. Confused, he groaned and rubbed his eyes. “Kelsey?”

  “Yes, Kelsey. Who’ve you been dreaming about? Durga?”

  He froze and blinked a couple of times. “That is none of your business. But, for your information, I did have a dream about the omphalos stone.”

  “You did? Where is it?”

  “I can’t really describe it. I’ll have to show you.”

  “Okay.” I hopped out of the bed and adjusted my dress.

  Kishan watched me and commented, “You’re prettier now than you were last night.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. I wonder why you dreamed of the omphalos stone, and I didn’t.”

  “Perhaps you went to bed last night with different questions in your mind.”

  My mouth fell open. He was right. I hadn’t thought about the stone at all before I slept. My thoughts were entirely focused on Ren.

  He watched me curiously. “And what did you dream about last night, Kells?”

  “That’s none of your business either.”

  He narrowed his eyes and scowled. “Forget it. I think I can figure it out on my own.”

  Kishan took the lead in walking back to the Silvanae village. A short distance away, he stopped and ran back to the Grove of Dreams. “Be right back. I forgot something,” he hollered over his shoulder.

  When he returned, Kishan was grinning from ear to ear, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him to tell me what had made him so happy.

  19

  Bad Things

  We breakfasted with the Silvanae again and were gifted with new clothing. Both of us were given lightweight shirts, khaki pants with a subtle sheen, and plush-lined boots. I asked if they were leather, and the peaceful creatures didn’t know what I was talking about. When I explained, they seemed shocked and said that no animals were ever harmed in Silvanae. They said that the fairies wove all their cloth and that there was no material on Earth as fine or as soft and beautiful.

  I agreed with them. They also added that, while journeying in Silvanae, if you hung fairy-made apparel on the limb of a tree at night, the fairies would clean and repair the clothes while you were sleeping. We thanked them for their gifts and enjoyed our repast. As we lounged at breakfast, Faunus appeared carrying a small infant and said, “Before you go, we would like to ask a favor. The family with the new baby wondered if you would name their child?”

  I sputtered, “Are you sure? What if I name it something they don’t like?”

  “They would be honored by any name you give him.”

  Before I could mouth another word of protest, he laid the tiny infant in my arms. A small pair of green eyes looked up at me from the soft blanket. He was beautiful. I bounced him softly in my arms and cooed at him instinctively. I reached in a finger to lightly tap his nose and touch his downy, soft, silver hair. The li
ttle baby, much more active than a newborn human baby would be, reached a hand out to grab a lock of my hair and tugged.

  Kishan gently removed my hair from the baby’s grasp. Then he brushed the rest of my hair over my shoulder. He touched the baby’s hand, which grabbed onto his finger.

  Kishan laughed. “He’s got a strong grip.”

  “He does.” I looked up at Kishan. “I’d like to name him after your grandfather, Tarak, if you don’t mind.”

  Kishan’s golden eyes sparkled. “I think he’d like to have a namesake.”

  When I told Faunus that I wanted to name the baby Tarak, the Silvanae cheered. Tarak yawned sleepily, unimpressed with his new moniker, and started sucking his thumb.

  Kishan put his arm around my shoulders and whispered, “You’ll be a good mother, Kelsey.”

  “Right now, I’m more of an auntie. Here. Your turn.”

  Kishan settled the small creature in the crook of his arm and spoke quietly to it in his native language. I went off to change my clothes and braid my hair. When I came back, he was rocking the sleeping baby in his arms and staring thoughtfully at its little face.

  “Ready to go?”

  He looked up at me with a tender expression. “Sure. Just let me change too.”

  He handed off the baby to his family. Before he left, he brushed a finger across my cheek and smiled at me. His touch was hesitant and sweet. When he came back, we said our good-byes and picked up our pack, which now held my gossamer dress, several honey cakes, and a flagon of flower nectar, and started walking east.

  Kishan seemed to know where he was going, so he led the way. I often caught him watching me, staring at me with a strange sort of smile on his face. After an hour or so of walking, I asked, “What’s wrong with you today? You’re acting differently.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes. Care to share?”

  He hesitated for a long moment, and then sighed. “One of my dreams was about you. You were propped up in bed, tired, but happy and beautiful. You held a dark-haired newborn baby boy in your arms. You called him Anik. He was your son.”

  “Oh.” That explains why he was acting differently toward me. “Was there . . . anyone else there with me?”

  “There was, but I couldn’t see who.”

  “I see.”

  “He looked like us, Kelsey. I mean . . . he’s either Ren’s or . . . he’s mine.”

  What? Is he saying what I think he’s saying? I conjured in my mind a sweet baby boy with Ren’s vivid blue eyes; in a flash, the eyes changed color and became as golden as an Arizona desert. I bit my lip nervously. This isn’t good. Is it possible that Ren won’t survive? That somehow I’ll end up with Kishan? I knew that Kishan had feelings for me, but I couldn’t fathom any future in which I’d choose him over Ren. Maybe I wouldn’t have the option. I have to know!

  “And did you uh . . . see the baby’s eyes?”

  He paused and looked intently at my face before saying, “No. His eyes were closed. He was sleeping.”

  “Oh.” I started walking ahead again.

  He stopped me and touched my arm. “You once asked me if I wanted a home and a family. I didn’t think that I’d ever want one without Yesubai, but seeing you like that in my dream, with that little baby . . . yeah. I want it. I want him. I want . . . you. I saw him, and I felt . . . possessive and proud. I want the life that I saw in my dream more than just a little, Kells. I thought you should know that.”

  I mutely nodded and fidgeted while he watched me.

  He asked, “Is there anything you dreamed about that you’d like to share with me?”

  I shook my head and played with the hem of my fairy shirt. “No, not really.”

  He grunted and walked ahead.

  A baby? I’d always wanted to be a mom and have a family, but I’d never imagined that I’d have two men—brothers, nonetheless—vying for my attention. If Ren, for some reason, doesn’t survive . . . no. I’ll stop that line of thinking right now. He will survive! I’ll do everything I can to find Lokesh. If that puts me in danger, then so be it.

  We walked all afternoon, stopping for breaks along the way. I was bothered by Kishan’s confession. I didn’t want to deal with this, didn’t want to hurt him. There were so many unresolved questions. Words formed in my mind, but I couldn’t seem to find the courage to broach the subject. This was bad!

  My heart screamed that it wanted Ren, but my mind reminded me that we didn’t always get what we wanted. I wanted my parents back too, and that was impossible. My thoughts roiled like boiling water, but the ideas and thoughts burst into steamy nothingness when they reached the surface.

  We didn’t talk much except to say, “Look out for that log,” or, “Watch out for the puddle.” Being with Kishan felt different now, awkward. He seemed to expect something from me, something more than I could give him.

  He led us to a range of hills and made for a small cave at the base of one. When we arrived, I peered into its murky depth. “Great. Another cave. I don’t like caves. My experiences with them have not been good thus far.”

  He replied, “It’ll be okay. Trust me, Kells.”

  “Whatever you say. Please lead on.”

  I heard a buzzing noise that grew louder the deeper we went. It was dark. I pulled out my flashlight and swung it around. Thin pillars of light broke through the soil above in several places, spotlighting the rocks and ground. Something brushed my face. Bees! The cave was full of bees. The walls were dripping with honeycomb. It was like we’d stepped into a giant beehive. In the middle of the cave, on a pedestal, sat a stone object with a hole on top that looked not unlike a beehive.

  “The omphalos stone!”

  A bee crawled down the neck of my shirt and stung me.

  “Ow!” I smacked the insect with my hand.

  “Shh, Kells. Keep quiet. They’ll bother us less if we move slowly and quietly and get done with what we came to do.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Bees swarmed angrily around us. It took all my resolve not to bat them violently away from my body. Several had landed on my clothing, but it seemed the stingers couldn’t penetrate the fairy cloth. I felt a sting on my wrist and pulled my hands into my long sleeves, holding the opening closed. I approached the stone and looked inside. “What do I do?” I asked.

  “Try using your power.”

  Kishan had been stung several times on the face; in fact, his eyebrow was swelling. I shook my hands out of my sleeves and winced as a bee took the opportunity to crawl up my arm. I put both hands on the sides of the stone and willed the heat to move up from my belly. Fiery warmth shot down my arms and into the stone.

  The stone turned yellow, then orange, and then bright red. I heard a hissing sound from within and smelled gas fumes. As smoky gas began to fill the cave and the bees became sluggish, they plopped to the cave floor like fat gumdrops and slept.

  “I think you might have to inhale the fumes, Kells, like those oracles Mr. Kadam talked about.”

  “Okay, here goes.”

  Leaning over, I took a big whiff. I saw shooting stars and colors. Kishan became distorted, his body twisted and elongated. Then, I was sucked into a powerful vision. When I woke, we were in the jungle again, and Kishan was dabbing my stings with a gooey substance the color of inch-worms. To say it wafted a strong odor would be an understatement. The fetor permeated my hair, my clothes, and everything around us.

  “Ugh! That stuff is nasty! What is it?”

  He held out a jar. “The Silvanae gave it to us when I told them we would be seeing lots of bees. They’ve never heard of bees that sting but they use this salve on the trees to repair damage when a limb is blown off by the wind. They believed it would help.”

  “When did you tell them we’d be going to a bee cave?”

  “When you were changing. They said this bee cave was outside their realm.”

  “It smells awful.”

  “But how does it feel?”

  “It feels . . . good. Soo
thing and cool.”

  “Then I imagine you can tolerate the smell.”

  “I guess.”

  “Were you successful then? Did you see the tree?”

  “Yeah. I saw the tree and the four houses and something else too.”

  “What else?”

  “Like you said before, there’s a snake in the garden. To be specific, it’s a very large snake wrapped around the base of the tree preventing anyone from accessing it.”

  “Is it a demon?”

  I considered, “No. It’s just an exceptionally large snake with a job to do. I know how to get there. Follow me, and we’ll figure out what to do on the way.”

  “Right. Before we get underway though, would you mind?”

  He held out the salve and I began smoothing the substance on his neck. He removed his shirt so I could reach the raised red stings on his upper chest and back. I quickly moved behind him to hide my red face. Though I tried not to linger, I couldn’t help but notice his bronze skin was smooth and warm.

  When I circled around him, he swept his hair back away from his face so I could dab the green slime over his cheeks and forehead. There was a large sting near his upper lip. I touched it lightly. “Does it hurt?”

  My gaze moved from his lips up to his eyes. He was looking at me in a way that made me blush.

  “Yes,” he responded quietly.

  It was obvious to me that he was not talking about the sting, so I said nothing. I could feel the warmth of his gaze on my face as I quickly finished his lip and chin. I stepped away as soon as possible and put the top back on the jar, keeping my back to him as he put on his shirt.

  “Let’s get a move on then, shall we?” I began walking, and he caught up, matching my pace.

  We hiked another hour or two and made camp as the sun went down. That night, Kishan wanted another story so I told him one of the stories of Gilgamesh.