by Collen Houck
I whispered against his chest quietly but firmly, “Thank you. But don’t ever…ever…everdo that again!”
He laughed. “If I get results like this, I surelywill do it again.”
“You willnot !”
He reluctantly let me go, and I began mumbling to myself, complaining about tigers, men, and bugs. He seemed very pleased with himself, which seemed to be a typical guy reaction to surviving a near-death experience and also appeared to be an attitude shared by men ofevery century.I overcame. I conquered.
I’m a man, etc, etc.
“What was that, Kelsey?”
“Nothing. I’ll live.”
I checked to make sure I had everything I needed and then pulled out my flashlight again. Ren changed back into a tiger and moved in front of me.
We walked down a few more passageways and came upon a door etched with symbols. There was no knob or handle. On the right-hand side, about a third of the way down, was a handprint that had markings on it that looked familiar. I looked down at my hand with the henna drawing on it and turned it over. The symbols matched up like a mirror image.
“It matches the drawing from Phet!”
I put my hand on the cold, stone door, lined it up with the drawing, and felt a warm tingling. Pulling my hand off, I looked at my palm. Marveling at the symbols on my hand, I saw they were glowing bright red,
but strangely, it didn’t hurt. I put my hand back on the door and felt the warmth build up again. Electric sparks began popping out as I moved my hand closer. It almost looked like a miniature lightning storm was occurring between my hand and the stone, and then I felt the stone move.
The door pulled inward and allowed us to pass. We walked into a large grotto that was glowing dimly due to phosphorescent lichen growing on the stone walls. The center of the grotto housed a tall rectangular monolith with a small stone post set in front of it. I dusted off the stone post and saw another handprint. This one was a set of two, a right and a left hand. The right hand looked the same as the door, but the left one had the same markings that were on theback of my right hand.
I tried putting both hands on the stone block, but nothing happened. I put my right hand with the backside down on the left hand print. The symbols started glowing red again. Flipping my hand over, I placed it palm down on the right hand print and felt a more than a warm tingle this time. It crackled with energy, and heat poured out of my hand and into the stone.
I heard a deep rumbling at the top of the monolith and a wet sucking, slurping noise. A thick golden liquid spilled over the top of the edifice and poured down the four sides, pooling into a bowl-shaped basin at the bottom. The solution was reacting to something on the stone. The stone hissed and steamed as the liquid foamed, bubbled, and fizzed, eventually dribbling down into the basin.
After the hissing stopped and the steam cleared, I gasped in shock, seeing that engravings had appeared on the stone where none had been before.
“I think this is it, Ren. This is Durga’s prophecy.” I walked around the structure seeing glyphs materialize
on all four sides. “I really think this is what we have been looking for!”
I pulled out the digital camera and started taking pictures of all four sides, then took some more with the disposable camera for good measure. I grabbed the paper and rubbing charcoal and did a rubbing of the handprints on the stone and the door. However, I did not do a rubbing on the monolith because the liquid was still bubbling in some places, which made me believe it was an acid of some kind.
I wandered around the monolith trying to make out some of the symbols and then heard a yelp from Ren. I saw him pick up his paw carefully and set it down again gingerly. The golden acid was seeping out
of the basin in little rivulets and moving across the stone floor, filling in all the cracks. I looked down and my shoelace was steaming where it lay in a golden puddle.
We had both just leapt over to the sandy part of the floor when another great rumble shook the maze.
Rocks began falling from the high ceiling, dropping to the stone floor and shattering in tiny pieces. Ren nudged me back against the wall, and I ducked down, sheltering my head. The shaking got worse, and there was a deafening crack as the monolith split in two. It fell with a mighty boom to the floor and broke
into large chunks. The golden acid bubbled through the broken basin and started to spread across the floor, slowly destroying the stone and everything else it touched.
Acid crept closer to us, and there wasn’t any place for us to go. The doorway had been blocked, sealing us in, and there appeared to be no other way out. Ren got up, sniffed the air, and walked a short distance away. Standing up on his hind legs, he put his claws on the wall and started scratching furiously at something.
Approaching him, I saw that he had opened a hole and that there were stars on the other side! I helped him dig and pull out rocks until the hole was big enough for him to leap through. After he got out, I tossed
out my backpack, and then I shimmied my way through, fell out the other side, and rolled across the ground. At that moment, a huge boulder fell with a thunderous boom inside the cavern and covered the hole. The quaking slowed and then stopped. Silence descended in the dark jungle where we stood as a light, powdery dust filtered down from the air and fell gently upon us.
CHAPTER 12
Igot up slowly, dusted off my arms, and found my flashlight. I felt Ren’s hand grasp my shoulder as he spun me around and looked me over.
“Kelsey, are you alright? Did you get hurt?”
“No. I’m fine. So are we done here?”
“Yes. Let’s head back to the car. Stay very close to me. Animals that were sleeping when we came into the jungle are awake and hunting now. We must be careful.”
He squeezed my shoulder and shrunk down into tiger form again then headed into the trees.
It appeared to me that we were on the far side of the caves, maybe a half mile behind them at the bottom of a tall hill. Ren led me around the hill to the part of the jungle where we’d come in at the steps of the cave. I was actually happier walking through the jungle at night because I couldn’t see all of the scary creatures that I was sure were watching us.
After about an hour and a half of walking, I was at the point where I didn’t even care if animals were watching me. I was so tired I was barely keeping my eyes open and my feet moving. Yawning for about the hundredth time, I asked Ren again, “Are we there yet?” He rumbled softly in a response, which I took to mean no, and then he stopped, lowered his head, and peered into the darkness.
He altered his form into a man, and with eyes fixed on the jungle, he said, “Kelsey, we’re being hunted.
Go that way! And run!” He pointed to my left and dashed into the dark jungle as a tiger. I soon heard an impressive, menacing roar shake the trees. Rousing my tired body, I began running. I had no idea where I
was or where I was going, but I tried to keep myself aimed in the direction he’d pointed out. I moved quickly through the jungle for about fifteen minutes before I had to slow down. Breathing heavily, I stopped and listened to the sounds in the jungle.
I heard cats,big cats, fighting. They were maybe as much as a mile off, but they were loud. Other animals
were quiet. They must have been listening to the fight too. Heavy growls and roars echoed through the jungle. It sounded like more than just two animals, and I started worrying about Ren. I walked for another fifteen minutes and listened carefully, trying to pick out Ren’s sound from the other animals I heard. All of a sudden, it became deathly quiet.Did he drive them off? Is he safe? Maybe I should go back and try to help him.
Bats fluttered overhead in the moonlight, and my fear for Ren led me to start walking back in search of him. I’d gone about a quarter mile in what I hoped was the right direction when I heard a popping, rustling noise in the bushes and saw yellow eyes stare at me from the darkness.
“Uh…Ren? Is that you?”
A shape emerged from the bushes and crouch
ed down, watching me.
It wasn’t Ren.
A black panther was staring at me boldly, assessing my ability to fight back. I hadn’t moved yet. I was sure that if I had, he would have sprung immediately. I stood up as tall as I could and tried to look too big to eat. We watched each other for another minute. Then, the panther sprung. One moment he was crouching, tail flicking back and forth, and the next he was quickly accelerating toward my face.
His sharp claws were extended and glistened in the moonlight. Transfixed, I stood there and watched the
snarling cat’s claws and gaping maw full of teeth draw closer to my face and neck. I screamed, drew my hands up to protect my head, and waited for claws and teeth to rip my throat out.
I heard a roar and felt a rush of air brush past my face and then…nothing happened. I cracked open my eyes and spun around looking for the panther.
Did he miss me?
A flash of white and black rolled through the trees. It was Ren! He’d attacked the panther in midflight and pushed him out of my path. The panther growled at Ren and circled him for a moment, but Ren roared back and batted the panther across the face. The panther growled again and galloped off quickly into the jungle. Ren’s white and black shadowy form moved through the trees and hobbled over to me.
There were bloody scratches all over his back, and his right paw was hurt, maybe broken, causing him to walk with a limp. I crouched down and hugged his neck.
“Thank you for saving me. I’m so glad you’re safe. Will you be able to walk on your paw?”
He snuffed and started walking.
“Okay. Then let’s hurry and get out of here.”
Another hour of walking and we were back to the Jeep. Too tired to do anything else, we drank about a gallon of water each, folded the back seat down, and climbed in. I fell into a deep sleep with my arm draped over Ren.
The sun rose too quickly and began to heat the car. I woke up drenched in sweat. My entire body was sore and filthy. Ren was exhausted too, and still drowsy, but his scratches didn’t look bad; in fact, they were almost healed.Maybe his injuries were not as severe as I thought they were. My tongue was thick and fuzzy, and I had a terrible headache.
I groaned as I sat up. “Ugh, I feel terrible, and I didn’t even have to fight panthers like you did. A shower and a soft bed are calling my name. Let’s go home.”
Reaching into the backpack, I checked each of the cameras and the rubbings I’d done and secured them before I started the Jeep and moved out into the morning traffic.
Upon arrival, Mr. Kadam rushed out the door and began peppering me with questions. I handed him the backpack, walked zombie-like toward the house, and mumbled, “Shower. Sleep.”
I made my way up the stairs, peeled off my dirty clothes, and stepped into the shower. I almost fell asleep standing there while tepid water pounded my back, massaged my aches and pains, and washed away all the dried sweat and mud. I rinsed my hair, got out, and toweled myself dry. I slipped on my pajamas, fell into bed, and slept without even combing the tangles out of my hair.
About twelve hours later, I woke up to a tray of food left for me.Thank you, Mr. Kadam! I’m starving! I pounced on my midnight snack. Mr. Kadam had outdone himself. A stack of fluffy crepes sat next to a plate of sliced bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Strawberry syrup, a bowl of yogurt, and a mug of hot chocolate, which was sitting on a warmer plate, accompanied it.
I ate every delicious crepe and then took my cocoa out to the balcony with my freshly washed blanket. I made a mental note to thank Mr. Kadam. He was so wonderful!
It was the middle of the night and cool outside, so I snuggled into a cozy deck chair, wrapped my blanket around me, and sipped my hot chocolate. A breeze blew my hair into my face. I reached up to push it aside and realized with dismay that I had been so tired, I’d forgotten to comb it out after my shower. I got up and went back to the bathroom, grabbed my brush, and headed back to my comfy chair. Brushing through my hair was usually bad enough after a shower. Letting it dry in that condition was a terrible mistake.
It was full of painful tangles, and I hadn’t made much progress when the door at the end of the veranda opened and Ren walked out wearing different clothes. He was still barefoot, but had on khaki pants with a sky blue button down shirt that matched his eyes perfectly. The effect was magnetic, and here I was in my flannel pajamas with giant tumbleweed hair.
“Good evening, Kelsey. Did you sleep well?”
“Umm…yes. Did you?”
He smiled his dazzling white smile and nodded his head slightly. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”
He sat down across from me and watched my detangling progress with an amused expression.
“Are you having trouble?”
“Nope. I’ve got it all under control.” I wanted to divert his attention away from my hair, so I said,
“How’s your back and your…er…arm, I guess it would be?”
He smiled. “They’re completely fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Ren, why aren’t you wearing white? That’s all I’ve ever seen you wear. Is it because your white shirt was torn?”
He responded, “No, I just wanted to wear something different. Actually, when I change to a tiger and back, my white clothes reappear. If I changed to a tiger now and then switch back to a man again, my current clothes would be replaced with my old white ones.”
“Would they still be torn and bloody?”
“No. When I reappear, they’re clean and whole again.”
“Hah. Lucky for you. It would be pretty awkward if you ended up naked every time you changed.”
I bit my tongue as soon as the words came out and blushed a brilliant shade of red.Nice, Kells. Way to go. I covered up my verbal blunder by tugging my hair in front of my face and yanking through the tangles.
He grinned. “Yes…lucky for me.”
I tugged the brush through my hair and winced. “That brings up another question I wanted to ask you.”
He rose and took the brush out of my hand. Moving behind me, he picked up a section of my hair and started gently brushing through it. I was nervous at first, but not seeing him was actually easier, and his hands on my hair were so warm and soothing that I soon relaxed in the chair, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back.
After a minute of brushing, he pulled a lock away from my neck, leaned down by my ear, and whispered, “What was it you wanted to ask me?”
I jumped, and my inner voice gulped.Not easier! Not easier ! “Umm…what?” I mumbled disconcertingly.
“You wanted to ask me a question.”
“Oh, right. It was umm…that feels nice.”Crap! Did I say that out loud?
He laughed softly. “That’s not a question.”
I did.
“Was it something about me changing to a tiger?”
“Oh, yes. I remember now. You can change back a forth several times per day, right? Is there a limit?”
“No. There’s no limit as long as I don’t change for more than twenty-four minutes in a twenty-four hour day.” He moved on to another section of hair. “Anymore questions?”
“Yes…about the maze. You were following a scent, but all I could smell was a nasty sulfur smell. Was that what you were following?”
“No. I was actually following a lotus flower scent. It’s Durga’s favorite flower, the same flower that is on
the seal. I figured that was the right way to go.” He finished with my hair and set the comb down, then began lightly massaging my shoulders.
“A lotus scent? How could you smell that with all the other noxious odors in there?”
He touched my nose with the tip of his finger. “Tiger nose. I can smell lots of things.” He squeezed my shoulders one last time and said, “Come on, Kelsey. Get dressed. We have some work to do.”
He came around to the front of my chair and offered his hand. I put mine in his and felt tingly, electric sparks shoot down my arm. He grinned and kissed my fingers.
&nbs
p; Shocked, I asked, “Did you feel that too?”
He winked at me. “Definitely.”
Something about the way he saiddefinitely made me wonder if we were talking about the same thing.
He changed into a tiger and accompanied me to my room. I pulled some clothes out of the closet, then shooed Ren out the door and closed it behind him.
I got dressed, went downstairs to the peacock room, and found Mr. Kadam hunched over a large table stacked with various tomes. Ren was perched beside him on an ottoman so he could read along.
I found another chair and dragged it over to the table, then shoved aside a large stack of books so I could see what they were working on. Mr. Kadam rubbed his tired, red eyes.
“Have you been awake working on this since we got home, Mr. Kadam?”
“Yes. This is fascinating! I’ve already translated the writing on the paper rubbing that you did, and I am now working on the pictures you took of the monolith.”
He found a paper and pushed it closer to me so I could read his notes.
“Wow, you’ve been very busy! What do you think four gifts and five sacrifices might mean?”
“I am not completely sure. But…I think it might mean that there may be more that you and Ren need to do before the spell can be broken. I have finished one side of the monolith, and it appears to give instructions telling where to go to obtain an offering for Durga. My guess is that there are four ‘gifts’
that
must be found because there’s a different gift mentioned on each wall.”
“Okay, so what have you done so far on the first wall?”
“Here. Read through it and see what you think.”
For protection, seek her temple
And take hold of Durga’s blessing
Travel west and search Kishkindha
Where simians rule the ground
Gada strike in Hanuman’s realm
And hunt the branch that’s bound
Thorny grasping dangers above
Lovely dazzling dangers below
Strangle, ensnare, the ones you love
And trap in brackish undertow