Tiger's Quest

by Colleen Houck

  “While he was sleeping, a common snake on its evening hunt passed by. It came upon the fragrant plant, which Gilgamesh had placed in a small rabbit-skin bag. Thinking it was getting an easy rabbit dinner, the snake swallowed the entire bag. The next morning, all Gilgamesh found was a snake skin. This was the first time a snake had ever shed its skin. From then on, people would say that snakes have an eternal nature. When a snake sheds its skin, it dies and is born anew.”

  I paused. Kishan was quiet. “Did you stay awake this time?” I asked.

  “Yes. I liked your story. Sleep well, bilauta.”

  “You too.”

  But I couldn’t sleep for a long time. Thoughts of a golden-eyed baby kept me awake.

  It took us two days to find what I was looking for. I knew the tree was in a large valley and that if we climbed between the twin peaks we would see it. We made it to the peaks the first day and spent almost all of the second day climbing. At a lookout spot, we finally gazed below.

  We were high enough that clouds obscured the view. Wind broke up the clouds, and the valley appeared to be a dark forest. The trees were so tall that they rose as high as the mountain. In my omphalos stone vision, I saw only one tree with an enormous trunk.

  Despite that things looked different in my vision, we descended into the valley. As we continued on, I was shocked to realize that what I was looking at was not a forest of trees at all—but the branches of one gigantic tree, a tree whose limbs stretched taller than the mountains. When I pointed this out to Kishan, he reminded me of Mr. Kadam’s research. I fished the papers out of the backpack and read as we hiked on.

  “He said it’s a giant world tree with roots descending to the underworld and leaves touching heaven. It’s supposed to be a thousand feet wide and thousands of feet tall. I’m guessing this is it.”

  Kishan replied dryly, “It appears so.”

  When we finally stepped onto the grassy valley floor, we trailed a giant branch back to the trunk. Because the sun could not penetrate the massive limbs overhead, it felt dark, cold, and still under the leafy roof.

  The wind blew through the large leaves, which slapped against the branches like stiff clothes on a line. Eerie, strange noises assaulted our ears. Creaking and moaning, the wind found ways to blow over and through the mighty limbs making it seem as if we were walking through a haunted forest.

  Kishan moved closer to me to take my hand. I accepted his gesture gratefully and tried to ignore the feeling of being watched. Kishan felt it too, and said it was as if strange creatures were studying us from above. I tried to laugh.

  “Imagine the size of the tree nymphs that would be born out of this tree.”

  I’d meant it to be funny, but the possibility that it could be true caused both of us to look up warily.

  Hours later, we finally reached the trunk. It extended like a giant wooden wall as far as we could see. The nearest limb was hundreds of feet high. It was too high for us to reach, and we had no rock climbing gear with us.

  Kishan said, “I suggest we make camp here at the base and start hiking around one side early in the morning. Maybe we can find a lower branch or a way to climb it.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’m exhausted.”

  I heard a flapping noise and was surprised to see a black raven settle on the ground near our camp. He cawed at us and stridently beat his wings as he flew away. I couldn’t help but feel this might be a bad omen, but I chose not to voice my concerns to Kishan.

  When he asked for a story that night, I told him one I’d read in a book that Mr. Kadam had given me.

  “Odin is one of the gods of the Norse people. He has two ravens named Hugin and Munin. Ravens are notorious thieves, and these two pet ravens were sent all over the world to steal for Odin.”

  “What did they take?”

  “Ah, that’s the interesting thing. Hugin took thoughts and Munin took memories. Odin sent them out early in the morning, and they came back to him in the evening. They perched on his shoulders to whisper the thoughts and memories they had stolen into his ears. This way, he knew everything that happened and everyone’s thoughts and intentions.”

  “They would be convenient to have during a battle. You would know what moves the enemy was planning.”

  “Exactly. And that is what Odin did. One day, Munin was caught by a traitor. When Hugin returned to whisper thoughts in Odin’s mind, he immediately forgot them. An enemy snuck in that night and overthrew Odin. After that, the people stopped believing in the gods. Hugin flew away, and both birds disappeared. The legend of Odin’s ravens is one of the reasons that seeing a raven is a bad omen.”

  Kishan asked, “Kells, are you afraid the raven will steal your memories?”

  “My memories are the most precious things that I possess right now. I would do anything to protect them, but no, I’m not afraid of the raven.”

  “For a long time, I would’ve given anything to have my memories wiped clean. I thought that if I could forget what happened I might be able to get on with my life.”

  “But, you wouldn’t want to forget Yesubai, just like I wouldn’t want to forget Ren or my parents. It’s sad to remember, but it’s a part of who we are.”

  “Hmm. Goodnight, Kelsey.”

  “Goodnight, Kishan.”

  The next morning, as we packed up for the day, I noticed the bracelet Ren had given me was gone. Kishan and I looked everywhere, but couldn’t find it.

  “Kells, the camera is missing too, and all the honey cakes.”

  “Oh, no! What else?”

  He pointedly looked at my throat.

  “What? What is it?”

  “The amulet is gone.”

  “What happened? How were we robbed in the middle of nowhere? How could I not feel someone taking things from off my body as I slept?” I cried frantically.

  “I have a suspicion it was the raven.”

  “But it’s not real! It’s just a myth!”

  “You said yourself that myths are often based on truths or partial truths. Maybe the raven took them. I would have known if it was a person. A bird I ignore when I sleep.”

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “The only thing we can do. Keep going. We still have our weapons and the Golden Fruit.”

  “Yes, but the amulet!”

  “It’ll be okay, Kells. Have a little faith, remember? Like the Ocean Teacher said.”

  “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have your only picture of Yesubai taken from you.”

  He looked at me silently for a moment. “The only picture I ever had of Yesubai is the one in my mind.”

  “I know, but—”

  He slid a finger under my chin and tipped my face up. “You have a chance to get the man back. Don’t worry so much about the picture.”

  “You’re right, you’re right. I know. Let’s get going then.”

  We chose the left side of the tree trunk and began walking. The trunk was so huge that I could barely see it curve in the distance.

  “What happens when we see the snake, Kells?”

  “It’s not a vicious snake. It simply guards the tree. At least that’s the way it looked from the omphalos stone. If the snake feels that we have a legitimate reason to pass, it will allow us. If not, it will try to stop us.”

  “Hmm.”

  An hour or two later, I was trailing my finger along the bark when the trunk moved.

  “Kishan! Did you see that?”

  He touched the trunk. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Put your hands on it. Feel it right . . . here. You see? The texture changes. There! It’s another shift! Put your hand on top of mine. Can you feel it now?”

  “Yes.”

  A section of the trunk about six feet wide began to move. Another segment above that shifted in the opposite direction. The patterns seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put it together. It was confusing, like seeing the giant tree and mistaking it for an entire forest. Wind swirled around us like deep bellows. A giant
suction of air followed by a strong wind disturbed the short grass and caused prickly goose bumps to rise on my arms.

  Kishan looked up and froze. “Don’t move, Kelsey.”

  The air began moving harder, like the bellows were pumping faster.

  I hissed, “What is it, Kishan?”

  A rustling noise stirred behind me. It sounded like someone was dragging a heavy bag through a pile of leaves. Twigs cracked, leaves shuddered, and branches groaned. I heard a deep, sibilant voice.

  “Why isss ittt you are comminngg to my foressssttt?”

  I slowly turned and looked into a giant, unblinking, horned eye. “Are you the guardian of the world tree?”

  “Yessssss. Why are you presssssenttt?”

  I looked up and up and up. Now I knew what I’d been looking at before. The giant snake was coiled around the tree, and the six-foot segments were the snake’s body. It was perfectly camouflaged. In fact, as I watched, its body shifted color to match its environment like a chameleon. Its head was as big as Ren’s Hummer, and there was no way to know just how long its body was. Kishan stepped up beside me to take my hand. I noticed he held the chakram loosely in his other hand.

  “We’re here to claim the airy prize that rests at the top of the tree,” I declared.

  “Why sssshould I let you passssssss? Why do you neeeeddd the Divine Ssssscarffff?”

  “The airy prize is a scarf?”

  “Yessssssssss.”

  “Huh. Well, we need it because it will help break the curse placed on two princes of India, and it will also help to save the people of their country.”

  “Who areee thesssseeee princccccccesss?”

  “This is Kishan. His brother Ren has been kidnapped.”

  The giant snake flicked its tongue out toward Kishan several times, who withstood the inspection bravely. I would’ve run in the other direction.

  “I know not thesssssseee brothersssssss. You may notttt passsssssssss.”

  The huge head began to turn as heavy coils slid over the ground. I felt a similar movement on my arm and shouted, “Wait!”

  The snake turned back toward me and lowered its head to see me better. Fanindra stretched out her coils and slid around the back of my neck. She raised her head toward the giant eye and flicked out her tongue several times.

  “Whooo isssss sssssheeee?”

  “Her name is Fanindra. She belongs to the goddess Durga.”

  “Durgaaaaa. I have heard of this godddeessssssss. Thissss ssssnakeee is herssss?”

  “Yes. Fanindra is here to help us on our quest. The goddess Durga sent us and gave us weapons.”

  “I sssssseeeeeeeee.”

  The guardian peered at Fanindra for a long moment as if pondering our fate. The snakes seemed to be communicating silently with each other.

  “Youuu may crossssss. I sssseennsssse your purposssssse is not malicccioussssss. Perhapsssssss you will be succccessssssful. Perhapssssss it issss your dessssstiny. Who knowssssssss? You will passsss through four houssssseeesssss. The houssssse of birdsssssss. The housssse of gourdssssss. The housssse of sssssirenssssssss. And the houssssse of battsssssss. Beee cautioussssssss. To move on, you musssst make the besssstt of choiccccessssssss.”

  Kishan and I bowed. “Thank you, Guardian.”

  “Bessssst wisssssheesssss.”

  The large snake swung its heavy body, and the great tree rumbled. The coils wrapped around the trunk moved, separating to reveal a secret passage into the trunk and a hidden stairway. Fanindra wound her body around my upper arm and settled into her dormant state.

  Kishan pulled me into the passage. I had enough time to recognize the floor was covered with sawdust, when the snake moved. Its body dropped over the passage, sealing us into the black root of the giant world tree.

  20

  The Tests of the Four Houses

  Fanindra’s emerald eyes began to glow and provided enough light that Kishan could retrieve our flashlight. Five feet beyond us was another tree trunk that appeared as solid as the one outside—a trunk within a trunk. Between the two trunks was a spiral stairway. He took my hand again before we started our climb. The stairs were wide enough that we could walk side by side and deep enough that we could stop and rest or even sleep if we needed to.

  We ascended at a slow pace and rested frequently. It was hard to tell how high we’d climbed. After several hours, we came upon a door of sorts. It was yellow-orange and bumpy. A rough, woody stem was at the exact place where a knob should have been. I strung my bow and nocked an arrow while Kishan readied his chakram. He stood to the side, took the handle, and pushed the door slowly inward while I slid in my foot and scanned for attackers. No one was in sight.

  The room was full of shelves that had been carved into the walls of the tree. Covering the shelves and the floors were hundreds of gourds of all shapes and sizes. Some were solid; some were hollowed out. Many of them had beautiful, elaborate designs and were lit from within by flickering candles.

  Some pumpkins were depicted with carvings far beyond anything I’d ever seen on Halloween. We walked past shelf after shelf, admiring the designs. Some were painted and oiled until they shone like carved gems. Kishan reached out to touch one.

  “Wait! Don’t touch anything yet. This is one of the tests. We need to figure out what to do. Hold on for a second while I look at Mr. Kadam’s notes.”

  Mr. Kadam had provided three pages of information on gourds. Kishan and I sat on the polished wood floor and read through them.

  “I don’t think they have anything to do with the American slave song ‘Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd.’ I can’t see how that could apply. It refers to the stars, the Big Dipper specifically, which guided American slaves to freedom as they journeyed on the Underground Railroad.”

  I flipped a page. “Here’s a lot of stuff about where certain gourds originated and facts about how sailors sought seeds of certain types to grow them. There’s a myth about gourd boats. I don’t think that’s it either.”

  Kishan laughed. “How about this one? The one about gourds and fertility? Want to give it a try, Kells? I’m willing to make the sacrifice if you are.”

  I skimmed through the myth and narrowed my eyes at him while he laughed. “Ha! In your dreams maybe. Definitely skipping that one.” I turned to another page. “This one says to throw a gourd onto water to call up sea monsters and sea serpents. Huh, not really needing one of those.”

  “What about this Chinese myth? It says that a young boy coming of age must choose the gourd that would guide his life. Each one contained something different. Some were dangerous; some not. One even had the elixir of eternal youth. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Perhaps we should just pick one.”

  “I think picking one is probably the right thing to do, but how do we know which one?”

  “Not sure. I guess we just need to try. I’ll go first. Keep your hand aimed at whatever comes out.”

  Kishan picked up a plain bell-shaped gourd. Nothing happened. He shook it, threw it in the air, and thumped it against the wall . . . still nothing.

  “I’m going to try breaking it.” He smashed it on the ground, and a pear rolled out.

  He snatched up the fruit and took a bite before I could warn him there might be something wrong with it. When he finally paid attention to me, the fruit was almost gone. He dismissed my warning and said it tasted fine. The broken gourd dissolved and melted into the floor.

  “Okay, my turn.” I picked up a round gourd painted with flowers, raised it above my head, and smashed it to the floor. A black, hissing snake emerged from the broken pieces. It coiled to strike and spat at my leg. Before I could raise my hand, I heard a metallic whirring. Kishan’s chakram sank into the wooden floor at my feet, severing the snake’s head. The serpent’s body and the broken gourd melted into the floor.

  “Umm, your turn. Maybe it’s a good idea to go with plain gourds.”

  He chose a bottle-shaped gourd, which produced something that looked like milk. I cautioned him not
to drink it because it might not be what it seemed. He agreed, but we found that if we didn’t drink it, the next gourd wouldn’t break, and the broken one with the milk inside wouldn’t dissolve. He gulped down the milk and we went on.

  I chose a huge white gourd and got moonlight.

  A small warty gourd produced sand.

  A tall thin one made beautiful music.

  A thick, gray gourd that looked like a bottle-nosed dolphin splashed seawater on Kishan’s leg.

  My next choice was a spoon-shaped one. When I broke it, a black mist emerged and headed for me. I darted away, but it followed and moved toward my mouth and nose. There was nothing Kishan could do. I breathed it in and began coughing. My vision blurred. I felt dizzy and staggered. Kishan caught me.

  “Kelsey! You’re turning pale! How do you feel?”

  “Not good. I think that one was disease.”

  “Here. Lie down and rest. Maybe I can find a cure.”

  He began frantically breaking gourds while I watched. I shivered and started to sweat, a scorpion came out of the next one and he stomped on it with his boot. He found a gourd with wind, one with a fish, and one that contained a small star that glowed so brightly we had to close our eyes until the light diminished and it sunk into the floor.

  Every time he found a liquid, he rushed it over to me and made me drink. I drank some fruit nectar, regular water, and some kind of bitter dark chocolate. I refused to drink one that smelled like rubbing alcohol but I dabbed it on my skin so the gourd would disappear.

  The next three contained clouds, a giant tarantula, which he kicked into the corner of the room, and a ruby, which he pocketed. My vision was going black at this point, and Kishan was getting desperate. The next gourd he chose had some kind of pill. We debated if I should take it or not. I was really dizzy and weak, feverish and sweaty. Breathing was hard, and my heart was racing. I panicked, feeling sure that if we couldn’t find something soon, I’d die. I chewed the pill and swallowed. It tasted like a kid’s vitamin, and it didn’t make me feel better.