Tiger's Voyage

by Colleen Houck

  “Tomorrow we will head to the location where we first met the red dragon and hope that it will lead us back to the Shore Temple. However, before we proceed, I would like to stay at anchor tonight and allow everyone to get a good night’s rest. I have reason to believe another battle looms in our near future, and I want us to be ready. Miss Kelsey? Perhaps it is now time to share what happened in the vision.”

  I swallowed thickly and turned to face Ren and Kishan. “When you asked me before what Lokesh said, I downplayed it.”

  “What do you mean?” Kishan asked.

  “I … I lied.”

  Ren leaned forward. “What really happened?”

  “First of all, Captain Dixon is dead.”

  Mr. Kadam waited a moment for them to absorb the news and then explained, “Lokesh caused the death of my friend. We watched it happen, and I feel great sorrow for his loss. My first reaction was that we should seek the rest of the crew and make sure they are all safe, but we cannot risk going back to Mahabalipuram, knowing that Lokesh was, and possibly still is, there. It’s very likely he has already murdered our entire crew. I can only hope that some of them survived, but in my heart I don’t believe they did. Still, when we are safely away, I will send agents to look for them.”

  “What else?” Ren said.

  “Umm … it seems he wants more than just our amulets,” I stammered and choked.

  Mr. Kadam smiled in sympathy and took over. “He made overtures to Miss Kelsey. He … desires her.”

  Ren abruptly stood up, and Kishan’s fists tightened.

  “I will kill him,” Ren swore. “He’ll never touch her.”

  “I don’t believe it is merely lust for a woman that is driving him, though that’s certainly a part of it. He sees power in Miss Kelsey, and he wishes to … sire a son from her.”

  The reaction from the two men was very different. Ren was seething. His hands clenched, and his fingers curved as if he still had claws and wanted to rip something to shreds.

  In contrast, Kishan despaired quietly. His face fell. “This is my fault,” he said.

  I touched his arm. “Why do you say that?”

  “I goaded him, pushed him when I fought him on the Baiga lands. He saw me wield the chakram when I was disguised as you.”

  “I don’t believe that is entirely the reason,” Mr. Kadam assured. “But perhaps that adds to his perception. If I may be so bold as to hypothesize, I think he has always seen the Rajaram family as powerful, and he wants to absorb that power. He has never defeated you. You have escaped him many times, and he doesn’t like to lose. Having a son is something he’s desired for a long time, for centuries even. Back in our day, he had the same wish but with a different woman.”

  “Mother,” Ren choked softly.

  “Yes. He would have taken Deschen if we had not escaped, and now he seeks to take Miss Kelsey. He is on a boat, and I suspect he will be watching for our return.”

  “He won’t lay a finger on her,” Kishan promised.

  Ren added, “We need to hide her.”

  “Wait a second,” I interjected. “You need me. I have power, and there are dozens of Lokesh’s pirates to face. We saw them.”

  Mr. Kadam tapped a lip. “I concur with Miss Kelsey. I believe if we are to win a fight without losses, we’ll have to hit them quickly and hard. I don’t believe that they will try to kill us. Most likely, they will use stun weapons again. We’ll use the framework of the boat as a shield and use your power from a distance first. Hand-to-hand fighting will be a last resort, and Miss Kelsey is a good distance weapon. I will come up with a specific plan of attack while the three of you sleep. Get as much rest as you can. We will hope to escape his notice but we will prepare for war. Tomorrow we need to be battle ready.”

  Ren turned to face a dark window and asked, “Why did you keep this from us, Kelsey?”

  Rubbing sweaty palms against my jeans, I answered, “I didn’t want to distract you. If we didn’t make it to the surface, it wouldn’t have mattered. I hoped there would be plenty of time to tell you later.”

  He turned to face me. “Next time, just tell me. I can handle disturbing news better when everything’s out in the open, and you are honest with me.”

  “Okay,” I agreed but broke eye contact uncomfortably.

  With the meeting adjourned, I headed back to my room with Kishan at my elbow and Ren trailing along behind at a discreet distance.

  “We have the Necklace. You two can be men for eighteen hours a day now. Only one more task to go.”

  Kishan nodded distractedly, kissed my forehead, and stopped at my door. “Eighteen hours, huh? That sounds like a lifetime.” He smiled. “Ren and I need to talk.” He brushed a finger across my cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

  Confused, I nodded and went to bed.

  Kishan never returned to my room, and it was just as well because I woke repeatedly from nightmares. I ended up turning on a soft light so that I’d stop imagining I was under the black water again. When I opened the connecting door, I found Kishan lying on his stomach, sleeping deeply.

  Softly, I closed the door and headed to breakfast. Mr. Kadam and Nilima had already eaten and told me to make a plate up for myself. I settled across from them at the table just as a freshly showered Ren turned the corner. He heaped a plate high with pancakes, spread peanut butter over the tops, sliced up a banana, and doused his whole plate in maple syrup.

  I hid a smile by sipping milk. He sat next to me, and we bumped shoulders.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes. You?”

  “I’ve slept better,” he said and smiled as if remembering a specific incident. “But it was good enough. Where’s Kishan?”

  “Still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake him.”

  He frowned. “He should be more vigilant where you’re concerned. He should have woken when you stirred.”

  I shrugged. “It’s not like I was in any danger, and I don’t think he was sleeping deeply. That’s how he sleeps as a tiger too. Besides, it’s possible he didn’t hear me.”

  “Why wouldn’t he hear you?”

  “He slept in his own room last night.”

  Ren grinned. “Had a fight, did you?”

  “No. And where he sleeps isn’t your business.”

  “It is if he doesn’t take care of you.”

  I sighed and picked up my plate. “Do you know if we are under way yet, Mr. Kadam?”

  “Yes. We should arrive at our chosen coordinates in a few hours. Relax for now. I’ll alert you with plenty of notice before we get there.”

  Ren polished off the last bite of his pancakes and asked, “Would you like to play a game of Parcheesi while you wait for …” he frowned, “while you wait?”

  “Sounds good. But no Parcheesi. I need to teach you the train game. We do have that one, don’t we, Mr. Kadam?”

  “Yes, and the others you recommended as well.”

  I threaded my arm through Ren’s. “Come on. I’ll let you be blue.”

  An hour later, Ren analyzed the board, slapped down a wild card, and placed his last train. “I win,” he announced.

  “Not so fast. We need to count the score.”

  “I think it should be obvious without counting that I win.”

  “Not necessarily. I have the longest connection and big segments. You aren’t afraid to use your math skills, are you?”

  “Are you implying that I cannot add?”

  “No. But it’s been a long time since grammar school. Feel free to whap your paw against the table like a horse if you need to.” I grinned wickedly.

  “Apparently, you need to be taught a lesson in respect.”

  “Are you going to write a law against teasing the High Prince and Protector of the Mujulaain Kingdom?”

  “That’s Prince and High Protector of the Mujulaain Empire and, yes, perhaps I should write a law.”

  “And what would you do if I broke your law? Cut off my head?”

&n
bsp; He smirked. “I was thinking more along the lines of devising a way to keep you from talking, but you might enjoy the punishment too much.” He rubbed his jaw. “I could throw you into the pool, I suppose.”

  He smiled, but then his expression changed when the blood drained from my face. “What’s wrong, Kells?” Quickly, he slid the game board across the table and took my hand. The little train cars spun off the board every which way, messing up our scoring. “What is it?” he asked softly and stroked my cheek.

  “I don’t know if I can ever go back into the water. I couldn’t even sit in the Jacuzzi last night. All I see is giant teeth coming after me. I had nightmares all night.”

  “I’m sorry, my anmol moti. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No. Not really.” I sighed. “I’ll get over it eventually, I hope. I enjoyed diving before this happened.”

  He nodded and stood, then held out his hand. Grinning slyly, he said, “Then perhaps your punishment should be cleaning up the game while I watch.”

  “That’s a terrible punishment. A definite teasing deterrent.”

  I began scooping the trains into their little bags, and despite his edict, he helped. My braid flopped over my shoulder as I bent to retrieve the box lid, and he tugged on it.

  “You thought I wouldn’t notice?”

  “I knew you probably would. I’m surprised you didn’t say anything about it last night.”

  “I did notice but … I’m sorry, Kelsey. I shouldn’t have been so adamant about it before.” He twisted my hair ribbon around his finger thoughtfully. “When you cut your hair right after we broke up, I felt as if you were cutting away all your ties to me. When you and Nilima prepared to cut it again, I panicked. It was very difficult for me. I know it’s just in my mind, but I feel as if the long-haired version of you belongs to me, and the short-haired version belongs to Kishan.”

  He sighed. “But your hair is attractive no matter which way you wear it, though I’ve always been fond of your braids.” He set the thick braid down and trailed his fingers from my jaw down the side of my neck then took a step closer. I stopped breathing, transfixed by the beautiful man intent on kissing me.

  “Kelsey? Kelsey, where are you?” Kishan hollered as he leapt down the stairs and onto our deck.

  “In here!” I shouted back with a panicky edge to my voice as I took a step away from Ren.

  He ran over to my side, oblivious to the thick tension I felt with his brother, and pecked me on the cheek. “We’re almost there. Mr. Kadam wants us in the wheelhouse.”

  Kishan took my hand to lead me from the room. Ren followed along behind us. I felt him watching me and tingling goose bumps shot down my arms. I listened for his footsteps, and he shot past us on the wide stairs.

  As we walked around the outside deck to the wheelhouse, Ren asked, “Kishan, will you sleep in Kelsey’s room tonight?”

  I peered at Ren who looked like he’d just swallowed something bitter.

  Kishan openly gaped at his brother, then straightened and folded his arms across his chest suspiciously. “Why?”

  Ren quickly explained, “She’s having nightmares. She sleeps better with a tiger around.”

  I frowned. “Ren, you don’t have to arrange—”

  “Just let me help with this, Kells.”

  “Fine. Whatever. You two work out your plans.” I started up the stairs and heard Kishan and Ren whispering below. Rolling my eyes, I entered the wheelhouse and plopped into a comfortable chair. “So what’s going on?” I asked.

  “We’re getting ready to enter the red dragon’s waters.”

  “Okay.”

  Half an hour later, the brothers and I watched as Mr. Kadam and Nilima deftly guided the ship in a circle around the waters of the red dragon. Nothing happened. We couldn’t see a passageway or a marker indicating what we were supposed to do. Lóngjn didn’t make an appearance either. By mid-afternoon, I was restless and thought I’d go crazy if I had to stare at the ocean any longer. My fingers brushed against something soft as I turned away from the window. It was Lady Silkworm’s kimono.

  I traced the star on the front, which was now complete. Turning it over, I saw that all five dragons had indeed disappeared from the back, but that their elements were still there. I ran my hand over the clouds, traced the lightning bolts of the green dragon, and then flipped the kimono over again and drew a line to the Shore Temple with my finger. “Take us home,” I whispered.

  I heard the slick pulling of silk threads and felt the ship lurch.

  “What happened?” Mr. Kadam shouted.

  “I touched the kimono and said, ‘Take us home.’”

  Nilima and Mr. Kadam backed away from the controls that were now blinking wildly. The sextant and the sky disk shimmered and disappeared. Ren and Kishan abruptly changed into tigers and sat at my feet, one on each side. The movement of thread against my fingers caught my attention, and I showed Mr. Kadam a tiny stitched boat traveling along the new line of thread ending at the Shore Temple.

  “It would appear as if we’re moving in normal time again. Though none of our instruments are working,” he said. “I believe Lady Silkworm is pulling us home.”

  I sat abruptly and let out a breath. “Does that mean we have time before we get back?”

  “I believe it does. It took us approximately twelve hours to travel between worlds before.”

  “So we’ll arrive early tomorrow morning.”

  “It would appear so.”

  “Considering what’s waiting for us, that’s probably a good thing. Ren and Kishan need to be tigers for six hours.” I patted Ren on the head and scratched Kishan behind the ear, amending quickly, “Not that they aren’t equally as formidable in battle when in their feline forms.” I grinned and gently twisted Ren’s ear. Leaning over, I said, “Can’t punish me for teasing you now, can you, pretty kitty?”

  Ren growled at me in a way that let me know he’d remember my jest and make me pay for it later. I giggled.

  Mr. Kadam turned distractedly back to his maps while I smoothed the kimono on my lap. When I flipped it onto the other side, I saw the five dragons were back. The blue one snored softly, the white one nodded and smiled warmly, the red grinned, the green winked, and the gold panicked and ducked his head into a pile of gems.

  “Nice to see you all too,” I laughed.

  I shared dinner with my tigers and snickered when both of them preferred hand feeding. I’d missed this version of them and teased about their being giant spoiled kitty cats while they licked the juices between my fingers from the meaty chunks I was feeding them.

  Later, I read to them from Grimms’ Fairy Tales while reclining against Ren’s back. Kishan lay along my side with his head resting on my leg. It wasn’t too long before I shifted uncomfortably and asked him to move his head to the floor.

  “Sorry, but my leg still hurts a little.”

  Ren growled softly in response.

  “You shush.” I slapped the white tiger playfully on the shoulder. “He didn’t know, and now he does.”

  They both settled down, and I spent another hour reading out loud the stories of The Frog Prince, Tom Thumb, and The Lady and the Lion, which was my favorite version of the Beauty and the Beast tale. After that, I stumbled my way sleepily to my room followed by both tigers.

  Kishan jumped onto the bed, and Ren lay on the floor. I changed into my pajamas in the bathroom and slid between the sheets. Kishan was already asleep, but Ren lifted his white head off his paws so I could scratch his ears.

  “Goodnight,” I whispered and fell into a dreamless, healing sleep.

  Just after dawn, the ship lurched so suddenly and violently that I rolled off the bed and landed on top of Ren. He changed to a man and pulled me quickly out of the way as an entire shelf of books fell heavily onto the floor where we had just been a moment ago.

  Kishan leapt to the floor as a tiger and immediately changed to a man. “Meet me in the wheelhouse!” he called out as he barreled out the
door.

  Ren gathered our weapons while I changed clothes. I emerged from my walk-in closet with a bump on my forehead. Another wave had hit the ship, and I smacked my head into the robe hook.

  “It’s strange.” I made my way over to him while the ship straightened itself and commented, “It seems like the waves are timed rather than random. It doesn’t feel like a storm.”

  “You’re right. It’s not natural.” Ren slid Fanindra up my arm, attached the Pearl Necklace, tied the Scarf around my waist, slid the Fruit into the top of my quiver of golden arrows on my back, and handed me my bow. The trident hung from a loop at his waist, and he carried the gada.

  “Got everything you need?” I asked as I braced myself in the doorway.

  He smiled and touched my cheek softly. “Yes. Everything I need is right here.”

  I folded my hand over his, and he brought it to his lips. I leaned toward him when another wave tossed me into his arms. “We need to go,” I said.

  “Yes.” He made no move to leave.

  I pecked him on the cheek. “Come on, Tiger. We’ll … talk later.”

  He grinned and tugged me out of the room. We ran as fast as we could up the lurching stairs to the wheelhouse.

  “Are we under attack?” I asked. “Another sea monster?”

  Before Ren could reply, we stepped onto the sundeck, and I stood there for a moment shocked. “The Shore Temple! We’re home!”

  The city of Mahabalipuram stretched out before us on the shore. In just a few moments, we flew past the city, continuing to follow the shoreline. Wherever we were going, we were headed there fast.

  “Kelsey! Come on!”

  I caught up to Ren and grabbed his outstretched hand just as another wave pummeled the ship. I lost my footing as the ship tilted dangerously to the side. Ren braced himself on the rail and yanked me up until he could wrap his arms around me.

  “Thanks,” I murmured against his chest as my feet found the ground again.

  “Anytime.” He grinned and squeezed my waist.