The Tiger Prince

by Iris Johansen

  Relief flooded her and she relaxed against him. “Naturally, nightmares never do.”

  “Go to sleep. You won’t have any nightmares tonight.”

  She had an idea that he was right. Her eyes closed and she let the veils of sleep fall around her. She did not have to worry about anything. Ruel would keep the dragons of the night away….

  “That wraps it up.” Medford rolled the maps and stood up. “If there are any changes, send someone to let me know. When do you think you’ll reach the canyon wall?”

  “On schedule.” Jane made a face. “We’re having trouble with a rogue elephant damaging the track, but we’ll find a way to overcome the difficulty.”

  He smiled. “I believe you will. You’ve done a fine job.”

  She looked at him, surprised. “You think so?”

  “It’s early days yet,” he qualified quickly. “But I’ve been impressed with the way you’ve proceeded so far. It’s not what I expected of you.”

  “I was aware of that,” she said dryly.

  “But you’ve not let your liaison with Ruel affect your work. I was afraid after—” He stopped, grimacing. “I wasn’t supposed to mention that.”

  “What?”

  “Ruel said he’d tear out my tongue if I didn’t keep our talk on a strictly business basis.” He shrugged. “He should have known better. I’m not a man who hides what he thinks.”

  “I’ve noticed,” she said, her mind on what he had said. Why had Ruel tried to protect her when he had not done so before?

  “Time for you to go, Medford.” Ruel stood in the doorway. “She has to rest now.”

  “I was just leaving.” He nodded to Jane as he moved hastily toward the door. “I hope you recover quickly, Miss Barnaby.”

  “Good day, Mr. Medford.”

  “He stayed too long.” Ruel scowled as he closed the door behind the engineer. “I told him one hour. Did he tire you?”

  “No,” she said slowly. “But I’m contused.”

  “Fever?” He swore beneath his breath as he moved across the room. “That damn doctor said it shouldn’t come back right away.” He touched her forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”

  “I don’t have a fever.” She turned her head to avoid his touch. “And I don’t have to be ill to be bewildered about how you’re treating me. Why are you being so kind to me?”

  “No wonder you’re confused. You haven’t received an overabundance of the commodity from me, have you?” He smiled mockingly. “Pure self-interest. I need you well to build my railroad.”

  “I … don’t think so.”

  He dropped down into the Louis XV chair in front of the window. “What other reason could there be?”

  She wished she could see his face. He sat there, his legs indolently stretched before him, the sunlight forming an areola about his hair, his face in shadow. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s because I became ill.”

  “Are you saying I pity you?”

  “No.” She was silent, trying to fit the pieces together. “I believe it’s because you took care of me. Kartauk says some people are natural caretakers and the more they guard and protect, the stronger the obligation to keep on doing it.”

  “Oh, yes, he told me you were one of the caretakers of the world. I assure you I’m not so giving by nature.”

  “You gave to Ian.”

  “Ian is the exception.”

  “Is he?”

  “I believe I’ve proved that during the last few days.” He got to his feet. “I’m growing bored with all this searching of souls. Do you play poker?”

  She nodded. “But I’m not as good as Li Sung.”

  “I didn’t think you would be. Bluffing wouldn’t come easily to you.” He opened the drawer of the table next to him. “While I’m truly superb in the art.”

  “Then why should I play with you?”

  “To pass the time.” He sat down at the table and started to shuffle the deck. “And to give me a victory. I’m feeling in dire need of one.”

  “Then what satisfaction would I receive?”

  He smiled. “I’m a running patterer, remember? I might be persuaded to give you the benefit of my skill to compensate. Sit down and I’ll tell you how I found my first gold mine.”

  “Is it an interesting story?”

  “At the time it was harrowing rather than interesting. I was nineteen and still had a few lessons to learn.” He began to deal the cards. “But I’ll make it entertaining for you.”

  She was sure he would do that. He would amuse and intrigue, cloaking the grimness of the tale in glittering eloquence, but perhaps she might catch glimpses of that younger, more vulnerable Ruel.

  “Well?” Ruel picked up his cards.

  She had never felt more confident or sure of her own strength of will than she had these past days. He could no longer hurt her, so why shouldn’t she satisfy her curiosity about him?

  “Why not?” She moved across the room toward him. “As you say, it will pass the time.”

  “Jane is with Ruel at the summerhouse,” Margaret said as she watched Kartauk pack the sand around the mold of Ian’s seal.

  “Oh?” He raised a shaggy brow. “And is that troubling your stern Scottish morality?”

  “No, though I suppose it should. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her.”

  “Leave them alone, Margaret. You can’t save the world.”

  “Only a heathen does not try to change bad to good.” She wearily shook her head. “But sometimes the lines become blurred, don’t they?”

  “Good God, I believe I detect a softening in that rigid backbone. Jane’s not nearly so vulnerable as she used to be, and she and Ruel must play out what’s between them in their own way and time. Neither of them would thank you for interfering.”

  “Ruel is—”

  “Many things,” Kartauk interrupted. “And will be many more before he is fully formed. It will be interesting to watch.”

  “You don’t think he’s wicked?”

  “Ruel?” He shook his head. “I don’t doubt he believes he is, but he doesn’t know the meaning of wickedness.”

  “And you do?”

  “Oh, yes, I studied under a master.” “Abdar?”

  He nodded. “A true and complete monster.”

  It was the first time he had made more than a passing mention of Abdar. She asked curiously, “Then why did you stay so long with him?”

  “My work was principally done for his father, the maharajah, and I had little to do with Abdar until the year before I left the palace. Then the maharajah became interested in his railroad and Abdar received permission to have my services put at his disposal.” He shrugged. “After six months I decided I could stomach no more and departed.”

  “What work did you do for him?”

  “I did a statue of his favorite goddess, Kali. It was quite a splendid effort.”

  “Kali?”

  “The goddess of destruction. Abdar regards himself as her true son, sent to earth to do her work.” His lips set grimly. “But he also believes that his power must be constantly fed. That’s why he needed me.”

  “To create statues?”

  “No.” He paused. “Masks.”

  “Masks?”

  “Masks of gold.” He turned to look at her. “Are you sure you wish to hear this? It’s not a pretty tale.”

  “Yes, go on.”

  “Abdar believes his power is strengthened by the emotion of those around him, and the stronger the soul, the more powerful emotion to feed on. But emotions are fleeting and Abdar grew more and more irritated. He decided he needed to stabilize the emotion, freeze it so that he could draw on it at any time.” He lifted a brow. “And what better method to freeze an emotion than death?”

  Her eyes widened in shock.

  “You wanted to hear it. Abdar believed if he could capture that last tremendous burst of emotion and energy, he could draw it into himself.”

  “Death masks,” she whispered. “He had you cr
eate death masks?”

  “I did three for him. The first was of one of his concubines, a young woman named Mirad. Her body was brought to me early one morning by Pachtal, and I was told the woman had died during the night of a seizure and Abdar wished a mask in gold to remember her by. It had to be of gold because it was the purest and most immortal of metals. I made the mask. Actually, it turned out very well. The woman was beautiful and her expression sad but serene.

  A week later Pachtal brought me another dead woman with the same story. This mask was much harder to do. The muscles of her face were twisted, frozen in an expression of pain and terror.”

  “Another death so soon?”

  “I found it odd as well, but I didn’t allow myself the indulgence of questioning him. The third body that was brought to me was that of a young boy no more than eleven or twelve, and his face—” His lips thinned. “I could He to myself no longer. No sane man could want that face preserved for eternity. I refused to do the mask.

  “An hour later Abdar paid me a visit and told me that I would make his masks and ask no questions or he would cut off my hands. I was to be the divine tool of Kali and create him masks with which to surround himself so that he could look on them and draw their energy into himself.”

  “He murdered them?” she whispered.

  “Oh yes, with Pachtal’s help. Pachtal experimented with various poisons to get the exact effect Abdar wanted. Abdar told me he had decided that pain gave the greatest explosion of energy, so he had Pachtal accommodate him with a poison that induced the required result.”

  She felt sick. “You’re right. They are monsters. And Ruel believes Abdar will come here?”

  He nodded. “That’s why he’s working so hard to be prepared for him. He wants to bring a final end to Abdar.”

  Her gaze searched his face. “That is why you came to Cinnidar, isn’t it? You want Abdar killed too.”

  “I admit I think the world would be a brighter place without him. I’m tired of hiding my glorious light under a basket.” He met her gaze. “But that’s not why I came.”

  “Then why did—” She inhaled sharply. Another precipice. These days it seemed every word and gesture could become fraught with danger in the space of a heartbeat. It was a moment before she could look back down at the mold in the box. “When do we pour the gold?”

  “Soon.” He said slowly. “It’s unwise to lack patience in these matters even when it’s difficult to wait.”

  Ruel’s gaze narrowed on Jane’s face. “You’re bluffing.” He spread out his hand. “Two kings. Call.”

  Jane threw down her cards in disgust. “How did you know? I thought I was getting better.”

  “You are.” He gathered up the cards. “No outward signs. If I hadn’t known you, I might have been fooled.”

  “Then how did you know, blast it.”

  “Instinct. With some people you can sense their tension. It’s nothing you can put your finger on.”

  Well, he could certainly sense her emotions, she thought ruefully. She had won only four games out of the many they had played in the past day and a half. It should have been an exasperating experience, and yet for some reason she had not found it so. “Instinct? You can’t be that good. I probably twitched an eyebrow or something. I’ll watch it next time. Deal.”

  He set the cards on the table. “Later. Time for your nap.”

  “I’m not tired. Deal.”

  “Later,” he repeated. “Right now you rest.”

  “I’m well again,” she protested. “I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. You should have another week.”

  “Tomorrow,” she repeated flatly. “And I’m not going to rest any—”

  She stopped, startled, as a knock sounded on the door. No one came to the summerhouse except Tamar, who delivered their meals, and it was only midafternoon.

  Ruel threw open the door to reveal Dilam standing on the doorstep.

  Jane’s heart lurched and she jumped to her feet. “What’s wrong?” She moved quickly across the room. “Is Li Sung well?”

  “Li Sung is in good health,” Dilam said. “It is the elephant.”

  Jane muttered an imprecation. “How bad?”

  “All went well. We finished the repairs and extended the tracks to a mile beyond the crossing. All that time Danor did not come.”

  “How bad?”

  “We thought he had given it up. Then last night.” She shrugged. “Three miles of track ruined. Li Sung was not pleased.”

  “Neither am I,” Jane said grimly.

  “Li Sung went after him.”

  She should have known Li Sung would react like this. Why the devil did he have such an obsession with the beast? “Alone?”

  “It will come to that,” Dilam said. “I sent him to the mine to see if any of the workers there would go with him, but I knew they would not.”

  “Then why send him there?”

  “I needed time to get to you and tell you what he planned.” Dilam frowned worriedly. “I do not think Danor will hurt him, but I do not—you will go after him, yes?”

  “Yes. How much time do I have?”

  “Li Sung will probably start after the elephant tonight or early tomorrow morning. He should have very little head start on you if you come at once.”

  “And just how does he think he’s going to find this elephant,” Ruel asked.

  Dilam looked at him in surprise. “It is not difficult to track an elephant. They hardly creep unnoticed through the jungle.”

  That was true enough, Jane thought as she remembered the broken branches and uprooted trees that had marked Danor’s path. “Go saddle my horse, Dilam. I’ll meet you at the stable in fifteen minutes.” She shut the door and moved across the room to the armoire. “Don’t worry, this won’t hold us up,” she told Ruel. “Dilam will supervise the workers while Li Sung and I get rid of the elephant.”

  “If you don’t have a relapse trying to track down Li Sung in that jungle,” Ruel said grimly.

  “I’m going after him.”

  “I’m not arguing with you. I didn’t think you’d do anything else.” Ruel strode toward the door. “Heaven forbid you take care of your own health when Li Sung wants to kill an elephant.”

  “May I point out that elephant is destroying your track?”

  “He could also destroy—” Ruel stopped in mid-sentence as he opened the door. “I’ll meet you at the stable. I have some affairs to tidy up here before I can leave.”

  “You’re going back to the mountain?”

  “Hell no, I’m going elephant hunting.” The door slammed behind him.

  “I’ll make camp.” Ruel lifted her off her horse and turned away. “Sit down somewhere before you fall down.”

  “I can help.”

  “Of course you can. You’re white as a sheet and you’ve been reeling in the saddle for the last two miles,” Ruel said sarcastically. “But you’re fit as a fiddle.”

  She was too tired to argue with him. He had been moody and bad-tempered since they had left the palace the day before, and her nerves were as raw as his appeared to be. She collapsed on a fallen log beside the clearing and watched as he unsaddled the horses and began to gather wood for a fire.

  Neither of them spoke until after they had eaten and Ruel was scraping the remains of the food on the plates into the fire. “You didn’t eat much,” he said curtly. “How do you expect to gain any strength if you starve yourself?”

  “I had enough.” She changed the subject. “I thought we’d have caught up with Li Sung by now.”

  “I thought so too. We traveled at a pretty good clip, so he has to be close. We’re bound to catch up with him in the morning.” He spread out their bedrolls on either side of the fire. “If he’s not gone completely berserk and tries blundering through the jungle in the dark.”

  “Li Sung’s not gone berserk.”

  “We’re all mad. Why else are we in the middle of the jungle ch
asing a damn elephant?”

  “You didn’t have to come with me.”

  “Didn’t I?”

  “I would have been fine.”

  “I’m not doing it for you,” he said jerkily. “I need that line finished before Abdar decides to pay us a visit.”

  “It will be finished.”

  “And the first shipment to the dock will probably be your corpse.”

  She had suddenly had enough. “Why should you care?” she flared at him. “Then you’ll be free of me.”

  “Dammit, I’ll never be free of you.” He whirled and jerked her to her feet, his eyes glittering wildly in his set face. “God help me, I don’t want to be free of you. I want you alive. I want you … Jesus, I want you with me for the rest of my life.”

  She stared at him, stunned.

  “Stop looking at me like that. Do you think I like it, that I haven’t been fighting it? But it’s here, dammit, and I can’t do anything about it.”

  She laughed shakily. “What a tender declaration. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s only a temporary affliction and will soon go away.”

  “It’s not gone away in three years. I think I knew in Kasanpore there was no escape, and now we’ve come full circle.” His hands kneaded her shoulders with an odd yearning movement. “And sometimes there is … tenderness.”

  “Pity, you mean.” She stepped back from him. “Caretaking.”

  “Caretaking? Those are your words. You scared the hell out of me. I thought I was going to lose you.” His grip tightened. “I’m not going to lose you, Jane. Not ever.”

  She felt the panic rising. Everything had seemed so clear. She had been so sure of her ability to fight him and yet now she was experiencing a strange weakness and uncertainty. She must not let him sway her. “Lose me? You’ve never had me. You’re never going to have me. I’m not such a fool that I’d let you come close to me after all that’s gone between us.”

  “We’re already close. We’re so close we’re almost a part of each other. You feel it and so do I. We’re so close that we never really left each other even though you were oceans away.”

  The intensity of his emotion was reaching out to her, surrounding her, smothering her.