Tiger's Quest

by Colleen Houck

  Ren and Kishan argued about which form to use in which situation. Eventually they stopped, and Ren invited me to walk along the beach with him. We kicked off our shoes, held hands, and let the cold water lap over our bare feet as we walked all the way to the black rocks, about a half a mile away.

  “Do you like the ocean?” he asked.

  “I like to look at it or cruise on it, but swimming in it scares me. Wading is fine, but that’s about it.”

  “Why? I thought you loved stories about the ocean.”

  “I do. There are some great books about the sea—Robinson Crusoe, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, and Moby Dick.”

  “Then why are you afraid?”

  “One word. Sharks.”

  “Sharks?”

  “Yes. Apparently, I need to introduce you to the movie Jaws.” I sighed. “I know, statistically speaking, that most beach swimmers aren’t eaten by sharks, but just the fact that I can’t see anything in the water freaks me out.”

  “But swimming pools are fine?”

  “Yes. I love swimming, but I’ve seen too many televised Shark Week specials to feel comfortable in the ocean.”

  “Maybe you’d feel differently about diving.”

  “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

  “I’d like to try it sometime.”

  “Be my guest.”

  “You know, statistically speaking . . . you are much more likely to get eaten by a tiger.”

  He tried to grab my arms, but I darted out of his range and laughed. “Not if the tiger can’t catch me.”

  I took off running as fast as I could, and he laughed and chased me back across the sand trying to grab my heels.

  He let me elude him for a while, even though I knew he could have overtaken me at any time. Eventually, he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder.

  I laughed. “Come on, Tiger, the water’s getting higher, and we’ve left Kishan to his own devices for too long.”

  He carried me back to the blanket and set me down.

  I got out the marshmallows to toast. Ren challenged Kishan to a race, going from the blanket to the rocks and back.

  “Come on, Kishan, first one back wins.”

  “What do I win?”

  I suggested, “How about you get the first s’more.”

  Kishan shook his head. “How about the prize is a kiss from Kelsey?”

  Ren’s face darkened.

  I ventured, “Uh, Kishan. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Kishan persisted, “It’s fine, Kelsey. It’ll give him real motivation to try. Unless he thinks he’s going to lose.”

  Ren growled. “I won’t lose.”

  Kishan poked Ren’s chest. “On your best day, you wouldn’t even see my tail.”

  “Fine. Let’s do this.”

  “Guys, I don’t think—”

  “Go!”

  They both took off running so fast they became almost a blur on the sand. My marshmallows forgotten, I stood to watch them run. Kishan was lightning fast, but Ren was quick too. He was right behind Kishan. When they turned at the rock, Ren turned tighter, got a couple of feet ahead of Kishan, and was able to maintain his advantage on the run back. At the halfway mark, Kishan reached out, grabbed the blue hood on Ren’s sweater, yanked it hard, and pushed him into the sand.

  Ren spun and fell, but quickly got back up and surged forward, running with a vengeance. His legs pumped even faster than seemed possible. Sand flew out from behind him several feet, as he came up neck and neck with Kishan. The race ended with Kishan winning by a foot.

  Ren was angry. Kishan laughed and nudged Ren aside so he could claim his prize.

  I stood up on my tiptoes and pecked Kishan on the cheek. Ren seemed appeased and started to relax. He picked up a rock and threw it out into the ocean.

  He grumbled, “You only won because you cheated.”

  Kishan said, “I won because I know how to win. Cheating is irrelevant. You have to learn to do whatever it takes to win. Speaking of which, that was not the prize I had in mind.”

  He reached over and grabbed my elbow, then he spun me around and dipped me over in a dramatic kiss. It was much more drama than substance, but Ren went ballistic.

  “Let. Her. Go.”

  After Kishan stood me up, I moved back a step and Ren barreled into Kishan’s stomach, effectively cutting off his peals of laughter by shoving him into the sand. They rolled across the sand wrestling and growling at each other for the next ten minutes. I decided not to intervene. It seemed like fighting and wrestling with each other was a favorite pastime of theirs.

  When they finally broke off fighting, we all ate s’mores. Smoothing Ren’s hair back from his forehead, I said, “You know he didn’t really mean anything by it. He’s just trying to bother you on purpose.”

  “Oh, he meant it alright. I told you, if he keeps making plays for you, then all bets are off. Hey, these are really good. Hmm, they could use—”

  “Peanut butter?” we both said at the same time.

  He started planting sticky kisses all over my face. I laughed, rolled him off my lap, and jumped away. He’d just sprung to his feet to catch me when my phone rang. It was Jason.

  “Hey, Jason. What’s up?”

  “I just thought you’d like to know that there were a couple of guys on campus yesterday asking about you. They said they represent a legal firm, and they have news about your parents’ will.”

  “I see. What did they look like?”

  “Tall guys, expensive suits. They seemed legitimate, but I didn’t tell them anything. I figured I’d talk with you first.”

  “Okay. Thanks for telling me, Jason. You were right not to tell them anything.”

  “Are you in some kind of trouble, Kelsey? Is everything alright?”

  “Everything’s fine. Don’t worry.”

  “Okay, see ya.”

  “See ya.”

  I closed my phone and looked at Ren. He stared back, and we both knew. Lokesh had found me. I heard Kishan speaking quietly and turned to see he was on his phone, presumably with Mr. Kadam.

  We started packing up immediately. Suddenly, the atmosphere at the beach had changed. It now seemed somber, dark, and sinister, when it once had felt friendly and safe. The sky appeared foreboding and ominous, and I shivered in the suddenly cool breeze.

  Ren and Kishan agreed that if Jason hadn’t told the men anything, it was unlikely that they had found our home yet. We decided to drive home, tie up a few loose ends, and leave Oregon.

  On the drive, I called Sarah and Mike and told them I was returning to India right away. “Mr. Kadam has made an important discovery and needs my help. Ren will be going with me. I’ll call as soon as I land.”

  I called Jennifer and told her the same thing. She kept hinting that if I was eloping with Ren, I should just flat out tell her. Eventually, she believed the story and said she’d pass along the info to Li. I was careful not to mention the city or how long I’d be away. I tried to be as vague as possible.

  When I hung up, Ren assured me that my family would be safe. He said that Mr. Kadam had arranged a surprise vacation for Sarah, Mike, and the kids. They were getting a three-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii, but only if they left immediately. They would be told that the trip was a prize from their favorite running-shoe company.

  I kept looking in the mirrors the entire drive home, expecting black sedans to come barreling down on me with shady men shooting at us. To say I was scared was an understatement. I’d faced demons and immortal monkeys, but, somehow, it felt totally different to face modern-world bad guys. I could rationalize that demons weren’t real; therefore, even though they were chasing me, they weren’t really a threat, but actual men who wanted to kidnap and torture or kill seemed much more menacing.

  When we got home, I pulled into the garage and waited in the car until the brothers checked the house. Returning about ten minutes later, Ren put his fingers to his lips and quietly opened my d
oor. He had changed into dark clothing, heavy boots, and a black jacket.

  “What’s going on?” I mouthed.

  Ren whispered back, “Someone’s been in the house, both houses actually. Their scents are everywhere, but nothing’s been taken. No one’s here now, so go upstairs, and quickly change into dark clothing and running shoes. Then meet us downstairs. Kishan’s watching the doors. We’ll go out the back of the house, take the long way to Kishan’s truck, and head for the airport.”

  I nodded, hurried into the house, and ran up the stairs. I washed my face, pulled on dark jeans, a long-sleeved black sweater, and sneakers. I grabbed my jacket and met them downstairs. Kishan led the way as we crept through my house and into Ren’s.

  Both Kishan and Ren had armed themselves with weapons from my wushu box. The three-section-staff was folded and threaded through Kishan’s belt at his lower back, and Ren had tucked a pair of Sai knives through his belt loop. Ren and I continued to follow Kishan as he led the way outside and into the trees.

  He stopped often to smell the air and look at the ground. We had about a mile to hike to the truck. Every noise, every pop and crack in the forest startled me, and I whipped around often, expecting an attack. I felt an itch between my shoulder blades like we were being watched.

  After about five minutes, Kishan froze. He gestured for us to get down, and we sank behind some ferns. There was someone in the trees moving quietly, following in our tracks. Even I could hear him, which meant he was close. Kishan whispered, “We need to get out of here. When I say ‘now,’ go.” A few tense seconds passed. “Now,” he whispered.

  He led us deeper in the forest at a faster pace. I was trying to move as silently as I could, but I was afraid whoever was behind us could hear me. My feet couldn’t seem to find the right places to step, and I often cracked branches and skidded on wet spots as I ran. We came upon a clearing, and Kishan froze and hissed back, “Ambush!”

  We turned back. The man who was following us caught up and blocked our path. Kishan ran at him, closing the distance quickly. When he was just a few feet away, Kishan pulled out the staff, and whipped it overhead to gain momentum. I’d thought the weapon unwieldy, but in Kishan’s hands it spun like the blades of a helicopter. With a snap he swept the man’s legs out from under him, and then, he took a giant leap, twirled the weapon, and cracked the staff across the fallen man’s back and head. With a flick of his wrist, the weapon folded into his palm and he shoved it back into his belt. The man didn’t get up.

  Ren grabbed my hand and yanked me behind him as he ran. Stopping at a copse of trees, he pushed me behind a fallen log and told me not to move, then he ran back to join Kishan. He took a ready stance not far from his brother. I saw the flash of Sai knives as he took them out and twirled them skillfully while Kishan once again wielded the staff. Both brothers peered into the forest and waited.

  The other men had caught up to us. What happened next was no fight in a dojo. This was battle. War. Ren and Kishan looked like two uber-soldiers. Their faces showed no emotion. They moved sharply, efficiently. They wasted no energy. They moved in harmony like a pair of lethal dancers, Ren with the Sai knives and Kishan with the staff. Between them, they took down at least a dozen men, but dozens more shot out from the trees.

  Ren punched one man in the neck with his elbow, probably crushing his windpipe. When the man bent over, Ren cartwheeled over his back, flipped around, and kicked the next guy in the face. Kishan was brutal. He broke a guy’s arm and then kicked another guy’s knee at the same time. I could hear the sickening snap and the scream as both of his opponents slumped to the ground. It was like being in the middle of one of Li’s martial arts films, only here the blood and the danger were real.

  When none of the men could stand, the brothers ran back to me.

  “More are coming,” Kishan said flatly.

  We ran. Ren picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Even with my weight slowing him down, he still moved faster than I could. The brothers were running at top speed. Fast, but silent. Somehow, they knew where to step to avoid making noise. Kishan slowed and started running behind us, taking up a flank position. We continued this way for at least ten minutes. I figured we were far away from the men, but, suddenly, I heard pings and pops as something hit the trunks of the trees around us.

  Immediately, Ren and Kishan doubled their speed, leapt behind a fallen log, and took cover. “Are they shooting at us?” I whispered.

  “No,” Kishan whispered back. “Not with bullets anyway. Bullets sound different.”

  We sat quietly. I was breathing harder than they were, even though they were the ones who had been running. We waited. The brothers were both listening very carefully. I was about to ask a question, but Ren pressed a finger to his lips indicating that I should keep silent. They used some kind of hand signals to communicate with each other. I watched carefully, but I couldn’t figure out what they meant. Ren rolled his finger in a circle and Kishan handed Ren his staff, morphed into the black tiger, and slunk off into the trees.

  I pointed toward where Kishan had left. Ren pressed his mouth next to my ear and whispered in a barely audible voice, “He’s drawing them off.”

  He positioned me in the hollow of the tree and moved so that his body covered mine.

  I sat there, tense, my face pressed against Ren’s chest for a long time. I heard a terrible roar. Ren wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “They’ve followed him. They’re about a half mile away now. Let’s go.”

  He took my hand and began leading me toward the hidden truck again. I tried to be as quiet as I could. After several minutes, a dark shape leapt in front of us. It was Kishan. He switched back to a man. “They’re everywhere. I led them as far off as I could, but it looks like a whole regiment was sent after us.”

  Ten minutes later, Kishan froze and sniffed the air. Ren did too. Men jumped down on us from the trees; several of them descended from harnesses and ropes. Two men grabbed me, pulled me away from Ren, and held me tightly, while five men attacked him. He roared in fury and switched to a tiger. The men didn’t seem surprised by this. Kishan had already changed to a tiger and had taken down several of his opponents.

  Ren stood on his hind legs, thrust his paws on a man’s shoulders, and roared in his face. He bit the man’s neck and shoulder, pushed him to the ground, and used his body as a jumping off point. He leapt in the air, claws extended, and swiped two men across the chest. His ears lay flat against his head, his fur bristled, and blood dripped from his jaws. His tail raised and lowered like a lever just before he hurtled himself into the air again. He landed on the back of a man attacking Kishan, and the weight of his body alone disabled the attacker.

  I struggled but couldn’t even move because the men held me so tightly. Kishan roared. One of the men had used a pronged weapon that had some kind of electric Taser attached to the end. The black tiger whirled, knocked the weapon to the ground with a paw, and snapped it in half with the weight of his body.

  Quickly, Kishan jumped on top of the man who had fallen to the ground and bit into the man’s shoulder. Kishan lifted the man off the ground with his powerful jaws, and jerked his head violently until the man stopped moving. Kishan dragged the limp body several feet, and with a fling of his head, threw the man into the bushes. Then, he raised himself up on his haunches like a bear and swiped at other men who came near. His jaws dripped blood as he snarled viciously.

  Ren kept trying to get back to me, but men always stepped between us. I took advantage of the momentary distraction when Ren dropped a man at our feet to kick one of my attackers in the groin as hard as I could and elbow the other one in the stomach. He doubled over but kept a tight grip on my arm. Then, he cuffed me at my temple and my vision got blurry.

  I heard Ren’s terrible roar. I kept struggling, but I felt dizzy. The man held me in front of him as if I was bait. He taunted the tigers by handling me roughly. I knew it was to distract the brothers, and unfortunately, it worked. Ren and Kishan ke
pt trying to clear a path to me and frequently looked my way, which allowed more men to get behind them.

  Other men arrived. Apparently, reinforcements had been called, and these men had more weapons. One of the men pulled out a gun and fired at Ren. A dart hit him in the neck, and he briefly staggered. I saw red and suddenly my vision cleared. I felt power sizzle through my limbs. I popped the back of my head into my captor’s nose and gratifyingly felt the cartilage break. The man screamed and loosened his hold enough for me to jump away. I ran to Ren. He changed into a man. Another dart hit. He was still on his feet, but he was moving much slower. I yanked the darts from his body.

  He tried to push me behind him, “Kelsey! Move back! Now!”

  A third dart hit him in his thigh. He staggered once more and fell to one knee. Men surrounded him, and, knowing I was near, he began fighting again to keep them away from me. Kishan was enraged, mauling man after man while trying to get to us, but more kept coming. He was too busy to help me with Ren. He was barely holding his own ground. I tried to pull the men off Ren, but they were big. They were also professional fighters, maybe military, so they mostly ignored me and focused on the two more dangerous targets. I was just an annoying fly they swatted away. If only I had a weapon.

  I felt desperate. There had to be something I could do to protect Ren. He finished off the last man near us and fell to his knees panting forcefully. Bodies were piled in groups around us. Some dead, some wounded. But, more men were coming. There were so many! I could see them creeping closer, eyes trained on the weary man at my side.

  Fear for Ren’s life steeled my resolve. Like a mother bear protecting her young, I stood in front of Ren, determined to somehow stop the men from advancing, or at least give them a different target to shoot at. There were more than a dozen men stalking toward us, most of whom had guns. A fire burned in me, a need to protect the man I loved.

  My frame shook with energy, with power. I faced the man closest to me and stared at him darkly. He raised his weapon, and I raised my hand in defense. My body burned hot, and I felt a molten inferno travel down my arm and into my hand. The flames ignited, and the symbols Phet had once drawn on my hand reappeared and blazed crimson. A lightning bolt exploded from my hand to the body of my attacker. It lifted his body into the air and slammed him into a tree hard enough to make it shake. He fell in a crumpled mass at the base.