(Tiger Saga #1) Tiger's Curse

by Colleen Houck

  He swung the gada mightily at the nearest one and sunk it deep into the creature’s chest. The monster sprayed filthy dark fluid from its mouth and fell to the creek bank. The other creatures didn’t even notice their fallen comrade. They just closed in on Ren.

  He whacked several more, then spun around and ran in my direction again. He waved at me. “Keep running, Kelsey! Don’t stop!”

  We were able to keep ahead of them, but I was tiring quickly. We stopped for just a moment to catch our breath.

  I gasped for air. “They’re going to catch us. I can’t keep running. My legs are giving out.”

  Ren was breathing heavily too. “I know. But we have to keep trying.” Taking a big swig of water, he handed me the rest of the bottle he had taken from my backpack, and grabbed my hand, leading me to the trees. “Come on. Follow me. I have an idea.”

  “Ren, the needle trees are awful. If we go back there, we’ll have two things trying to kill us instead of just one.”

  “Just trust me, Kells. Follow my lead.”

  When we entered the needle trees, the branches immediately began reaching for us. Ren pulled me along as we raced through. I seriously didn’t think I could keep going, but somehow I did. I could feel the thorns whipping my back and ripping my shirt.

  After several minutes of running, Ren stopped, told me to stand still, and beat the trees all around me with the gada.

  He leaned over, panting. “Sit down. Rest for a while. I’m going to try to get the Kappa to chase me into the trees. I hope it works on them as well as it did with the monkeys.”

  Ren changed into a tiger, left me with the gada and backpack, and then leapt back into the waving branches. I listened carefully and heard the trees moving, trying to snag him as he passed. Then it became deathly quiet. The only sound was my jagged breathing. I sat on the mossy ground as far away from the trees as I could and waited.

  I strained my ears to listen but heard nothing, not even birds. Eventually, I lay down and rested my head on my backpack. My sore body and muscles throbbed, and the scratches on my back stung. I must have drifted to sleep because a noise startled me awake. I heard a strange shuffling noise near my head. A sallow grayish-white shape lunged out of the trees toward me, and before I could even get up, it grabbed my arms and jerked me up to a sitting position. It leaned over me and drooled black spittle on my face.

  I swung my arms wildly, beating on its chest, but it was more powerful than I was. Its torso was covered with cuts oozing murky droplets; the trees had torn off pieces of its flesh. Alien eyes blinked several times as it pulled me up closer, bared its teeth, and sunk them into my neck.

  It grunted and suckled at my neck, and I kicked my legs hard, trying to escape its clutches. I screamed and thrashed, but my energy quickly waned. After a moment, I couldn’t feel it any longer. It was almost as if it were happening to someone else. I could still hear the monster, but a strange lethargy stole through my frame. My vision fogged up, and my mind drifted until I felt a dreamy peace.

  I heard a crash, followed by a very angry roar. Then I saw a warrior angel rise up above me. He was magnificent! I felt a slight tugging on my neck, and then a weight lifted off my body. There was a juicy splat, and the handsome man knelt beside me. Although he seemed to be speaking urgently to me, I couldn’t understand his words. I tried to respond, but my tongue wouldn’t work.

  Gently, he brushed the hair away from my face and touched my neck with cool fingers. His dreamy eyes filled with tears, and a sparkling diamond drop fell to my lips. I tasted the salty tear and closed my eyes. When I opened them, he smiled. The warmth of that smile enveloped me and wrapped me in a blanket of soothing tenderness. The warrior carefully lifted me in his arms, and I slept.

  When I regained consciousness, it was dark, and I was lying in front of a green-and-orange tinged fire. Ren sat nearby staring into it, looking broken, exhausted, and forlorn. He must have heard me move because he came directly to me and lifted my head to give me water. My throat suddenly burned as if I had swallowed the campfire. The heat moved deeper into my body until it exploded in my core. I was on fire from the inside out, and I whimpered from the terrible pain.

  Ren set my head down gently and picked up my hand to stroke my fingers.

  “I’m so sorry. I should never have left you alone. This should have happened to me, not to you. You don’t deserve this.”

  He stroked my cheek. “I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know how much blood you lost or if the bite is lethal.” He kissed my fingers and whispered, “I can’t lose you, Kelsey. I won’t.”

  The burning in my blood overtook me until pain clouded my vision. I started writhing. The pain was beyond anything I’d ever felt before. Ren bathed my face with a cool wet towel, but nothing could distract me from the fire burning through my veins. It was excruciating! After a moment, I realized that mine was not the only body writhing.

  Fanindra freed herself from my arm and coiled next to Ren’s knee. I didn’t blame her for wanting to get away from me. She raised her head and opened her hood. Her mouth gaped open wide, and she struck! She bit me on the neck, sinking her fangs deep into the ripped tissue.

  She pumped her own venom in me, drew back, and then bit me again and again and again. I groaned, touched my neck, and then pulled back my hand to see oozing pus. Golden juices that had dribbled out of the fang punctures dotted my hand as well. I watched a golden drop trickle from my finger to meet some of the pus on my palm. It steamed and hissed. Fanindra’s venom coursed through my body. It felt like ice as it shot through my limbs and entered my heart.

  I was dying. I knew it. I didn’t blame Fanindra. She was a snake, after all, and she probably just didn’t want me to suffer anymore.

  Ren lifted the bottle of water to my lips again, and I swallowed gratefully. Fanindra had turned inanimate and remained coiled at his side. Ren cleaned my wounded neck gently, washing off all the hissing black blood that had dribbled out.

  At least the pain was gone. Whatever Fanindra had done numbed me. I became sleepy and knew that I needed to say good-bye. I wanted to tell Ren the truth. I wanted to say that he was the best friend I’d ever had. That I was sorry about the way I had treated him. I wanted to tell him . . . that I loved him. But I couldn’t say anything. My throat was closed up, probably swollen from snake venom. All I could do was look at him as he knelt over me.

  That’s okay. Looking at his gorgeous face one last time is enough for me. I’ll die a happy woman.

  I was so tired. My eyelids were too heavy to keep open. I closed my eyes and waited for death to come. Ren cleared a space and sat down near me. Pillowing my head on his arm, he pulled me onto his lap and into his arms. I smiled.

  Even better. I can’t open my eyes to see him anymore, but I can feel his arms around me. My warrior angel can carry me in his arms up to heaven.

  He squeezed me closer to his body and whispered something in my ear that I couldn’t make out. Then darkness overtook me.

  Light hit my eyelids, forcing me to crack them open painfully. My throat still burned, and my tongue felt thick and fuzzy.

  “This is too painful for heaven; I must be in hell.”

  An annoyingly happy voice admonished, “No. You’re not in hell, Kelsey.”

  As I tried to move, my sore, cramped muscles protested. “I feel like I lost a boxing match.”

  “You did a lot more than that. Here.”

  He crouched beside me and helped me to gingerly sit up. He examined my face, my neck, my arms, and then sat behind me to prop up my back against him and held a water bottle to my lips. “Drink,” he commanded. He held the bottle for me and tipped it back slowly, but I couldn’t swallow fast enough, and some of the water dribbled from my slack mouth down my chin, and then dripped down to my chest.

  “Thanks, now I have a wet T-shirt.”

  I felt his smile on the back of my neck. “Perhaps that was my intention.”

  I snorted and lifted
a hand to my face. I poked my cheek and arm. The skin tingled and felt a little numb at the same time. “It feels like my whole body was shot full of Novocain and I’m just getting the feeling back. Here, hand me the bottle. I think I can lift it myself now.”

  Ren let go of the water bottle and snaked both arms around my waist, pulling me back to rest fully against his chest. His cheek grazed mine, and he murmured quietly, “How are you feeling?”

  “Alive, I guess, though I sure could use some aspirin.”

  He laughed softly and retrieved the pills from the backpack. “Here,” he said, handing me two aspirin. “We’re at the entrance to the caves. We still have to go through the caves and the trees, and then climb back up to Hampi.”

  “How long have I been out of commission?” I asked groggily.

  “Two days.”

  “Two days! What happened? The last thing I remember is Fanindra biting me and me dying.”

  “You didn’t die. You were bitten by a Kappa. He was making quick work of you when I found you. He must have followed you there. They are nasty things. I’m glad most of them were done in by the trees.”

  “The one that found me was scratched and bloody, but he didn’t seem to care.”

  “Yes, most of the ones that followed me were torn apart by the trees. Nothing seemed to halt their pursuit.”

  “Didn’t any of them follow you here?”

  “They stopped chasing me once I got near the cave. They must be frightened of it.”

  “I don’t blame them. Did you . . . carry me the whole way? How did you whack the trees and hold me at the same time?”

  He sighed. “I slung you over my shoulder and banged the trees until we cleared them. Then I stowed the gada, put on your pack, and hiked up here, carrying you in my arms.”

  I drank deeply from the water bottle and heard Ren let out a deep breath.

  Quietly, he said, “I’ve experienced a lot in my life. I’ve been in bloody battles. I’ve been with friends who were killed. I’ve seen terrible things done to man and beast, but I’ve never felt afraid.

  “I’ve been troubled. I’ve also been uneasy and tense. I’ve been in mortal danger, but I’ve never experienced that cold-sweat kind of fear, the kind that eats a man alive, brings him to his knees, and makes him beg. In fact, I always prided myself on being above that. I thought that I’d suffered through and seen so much that nothing could scare me anymore. That nothing could bring me to that point.”

  He brushed a brief kiss on my neck. “I was wrong. When I found you and saw that . . . that thing trying to kill you, I was enraged. I destroyed it without hesitation.”

  “The Kappa were terrifying.”

  “I wasn’t afraid of the Kappa. I was afraid . . . that I’d lost you. I felt an unquenchable, gut-wrenching, corrosive fear. It was unbearable. The most agonizing part was realizing that I didn’t want to live anymore if you were gone and knowing there was nothing I could do about it. I would be stuck forever in this miserable existence without you.”

  I heard every word he said. It pierced through me, and I knew I would have felt the same way if our places had been reversed. But I told myself that his heartfelt declaration was just a reflection of the tense pressure we’d been under. The little love plant in my heart was grasping at each wispy thought, absorbing his words like sweet drops of morning dew. But I chastised my heart and shoved the tender expressions of affection elsewhere, determined to be unaffected by them.

  “It’s okay. I’m here. You don’t need to be afraid. I’m still around to help you break the curse,” I said, trying to keep my voice even.

  He squeezed my waist and whispered softly, “Breaking the curse didn’t matter to me anymore. I thought you were dying.”

  I swallowed and tried to be flippant. “Well, I didn’t. See? I lived to argue with you another day. Now don’t you wish it had gone the other way?”

  His arms stiffened, and he threatened, “Don’t ever say that, Kells.”

  After a second of hesitation, I said, “Well, thank you. Thank you for saving me.”

  He pulled me closer, and I allowed myself a minute, just a minute, to lie back against him and enjoy it.

  I had almost died after all. I deserved some kind of reward for surviving, didn’t I?

  After my minute was up, I wiggled forward and out of his grasp. He reluctantly let me go, and I turned around to face him with a nervous smile. I tested my legs, which felt strong enough for me to walk on.

  When I thought I was dying, I wanted to tell Ren that I loved him, but now that I knew I’d survived, it was the last thing on earth I wanted to do. The strong resolve to keep him at a distance returned, but the temptation to allow myself to rest wrapped in his arms was strong, powerfully strong. I turned my back to him, squared my shoulders, and picked up the backpack.

  “Come on, Tiger. Let’s get a move on. I feel healthy as a horse,” I lied.

  “I really think you should take it easy and rest a bit more, Kells.”

  “No. I’ve been sleeping for two days already. I’m ready to hike another umpteen miles.”

  “At least wait until you’ve eaten something.”

  “Toss me an energy bar, and I’ll eat on the way.”

  “But, Kells—”

  My eyes locked briefly with his cobalt blue ones, and I said softly, “I need to get out of here.”

  I turned and started gathering our things. He just sat immobile, watching me closely, his eyes burning into my back. I was desperate to get out of there. The longer we were together, the more my resolve wavered. I was almost to the point of asking him to stay here with me forever and live among the needle trees and the Kappa. If I didn’t get the tiger part of him back soon, I’d lose myself to the man forever.

  Finally, he said slowly, almost sadly, “Sure. Whatever you say, Kelsey.” He stood up, stretched, and then put out the fire.

  I walked over to Fanindra, who was spiraled into an arm cuff, and stared down at her.

  “She saved your life you know. Those bites healed you,” Ren explained.

  I reached up and touched my neck where the Kappa had bitten me. The skin was smooth, without a pucker or a scar. I crouched down.

  “I guess you saved me again, huh, Fanindra? Thanks.”

  I picked her up and positioned her on my upper arm, grabbed my backpack, and then walked ahead a few steps.

  I spun around, “You coming, Superman?”

  “Right behind you.”

  We entered the mouth of the black cavern. Ren held out his hand. I ignored it and began walking into the tunnel. He stopped me and held out his hand again, staring at it pointedly. I sighed and gripped a couple of his fingers in mine. I smiled sheepishly and was again too obvious in my attempt to avoid physical contact. He groaned in disgust, took my elbow, and yanked my body up next to his, settling his arm around my shoulders.

  We walked through the tunnels quickly. The other Rens and Kelseys moaned and beckoned even more aggressively than before. I closed my eyes and let Ren lead me through. I gasped when the figures approached and tried to lay ghostly hands on us.

  Ren whispered, “They can’t become corporeal unless we pay attention to them.”

  We walked through as quickly as possible. Evil shapes and familiar forms clamored for us to notice them. Mr. Kadam, Kishan, my parents, my foster family, even Mr. Maurizio all shouted, begged, demanded, and coerced.

  We made it through the tunnel much faster than the first time. Ren still held my hand in his warm grip after we emerged, and I tried to gently and inconspicuously free my hand from his. He looked at me and then at our entwined hands. He raised an eyebrow and grinned maliciously. I started tugging harder, but he merely tightened his grip. I finally had to wrench it away to get him to let go.

  So much for subtlety.

  He smirked at me knowingly while I glared back.

  It wasn’t long before we faced the needle tree forest again and Ren headed boldly toward the treeline. Striking with the gada, he mo
ved slowly forward creating a path that I could walk through safely. The branches abused him violently and ripped his shirt to shreds. He tossed it aside, and I found myself staring in fascination first at the rippling muscles of his arms and back and then at his cuts as they healed before my eyes. Soon he was soaked with sweat and, and I couldn’t watch anymore. I kept my eyes on my feet and followed along silently.

  He headed toward the trees. Banging on them with the gada, we skirted through the prickly forest without further incident.

  In no time at all, we were climbing the rocks leading to the cavern, heading back toward the Ugra Narasimha statue in Hampi. When we reached the long tunnel, Ren started to say something several times but stopped himself. I was curious, but not curious enough to start a conversation.

  I pulled out my flashlight, angled my stride to put distance between us, and ended up hugging the other side of the cavern. He looked over at me once, but he allowed me to maintain my distance. Eventually, the tunnel narrowed enough that we had to walk side by side again. Every time I glanced at Ren, I saw that he was watching me.

  When we finally reached the end of the tunnel and saw the stone steps that led to the surface, Ren stopped.

  “Kelsey, I have one final request of you before we head up.”

  “And what would that be? Want to talk about tiger senses or monkey bites in strange places maybe?”

  “No. I want you to kiss me.”

  I sputtered, “What? Kiss you? What for? Don’t you think you got to kiss me enough on this trip?”

  “Humor me, Kells. This is the end of the line for me. We’re leaving the place where I get to be a man all the time, and I have only my tiger’s life to look forward to. So, yes, I want you to kiss me one more time.”

  I hesitated. “Well, if this works, you can go around kissing all the girls you want to. So why bother with me right now?”

  He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Because! I don’t want to run around kissing all the other girls! I want to kiss you!”