Tiger's Quest

by Colleen Houck

He smiled rakishly. “I only need one pretty girl fawning all over me, and she’s not interested. Now what brings you down here? Want to work out?”

  “No. I wondered if you wanted to go for a swim. Mr. Kadam has ordered us to relax today.”

  He grabbed a towel and scrubbed his face and head. “A swim, huh? It might cool me off.” He peeked from around his towel. “Unless you’re planning to wear a bikini.”

  I snorted. “I don’t think so. I’m not a bikini kind of girl.”

  He affected a deep, dramatic sigh. “That’s a pity. Alright, meet you at the pool.”

  I headed upstairs and changed into my red one-piece swimsuit, slipped on a robe, and stepped out onto the veranda.

  Kishan had changed into a pair of board shorts and was setting up the net for water volleyball. I’d just tossed my robe onto a deck chair and tested the water with my foot when I felt something cold on my back.

  “Yikes! What are you doing?”

  “Hold still. You need sunscreen. Your skin is so white you’ll burn.”

  He efficiently coated my back and neck with lotion and started on my arms when I stopped him.

  “I can take it from here, thanks,” I said, holding out my hand for the bottle. I squeezed out a quarter sized blob of lotion and rubbed it onto my arms and legs. It smelled like coconuts.

  Kishan grinned, glanced at my legs, and winked. “Take your time.”

  By the time he got the ball and a couple of towels out of the storage locker, I was done.

  He asked, “Care for a game of volleyball?”

  “You’ll beat me.”

  “I’ll take the deep end. It’ll slow me down.”

  “Okay, I guess we can try.”

  He took a step closer. “Hold on a second.”

  “What?”

  He grinned mischievously. “You missed a spot.”

  “Where?”

  “Right here.”

  He dabbed a giant blob of sunscreen on my nose and laughed.

  I punched him and smiled. “You troublemaker!” I reached up to try and blend it in better.

  “Here,” he said. “Let me.”

  I let my hands drop down to my sides while his fingers lightly brushed the lotion over my nose and cheeks. The touch was friendly at first, but then his mood changed. He closed the distance between us. His golden eyes studied my face. I sucked in a deep breath and ran.

  I took a few steps and cannonballed into the deep end of the pool, effectively splashing him and everything else nearby.

  He laughed and dove in after me. I shrieked and swam underwater to the other side of the net. When I popped my head above water, I couldn’t see him. A hand grabbed my ankle and tugged me under. After I surfaced again, coughing and pushing the hair out of my eyes, Kishan sprung up next to me, flipped his hair back with a toss of his head, and laughed as I tried to shove him.

  He didn’t budge, of course, so I splashed water at him instead, which turned into a water fight. It soon became painfully obvious that I was losing. His arms never seemed to tire, and when wave after wave of water drowned out my pathetic splashing, I called a time out.

  He happily stopped the bombardment and, using his arms, pushed himself up and out of the pool to grab the volleyball. We started playing, and I was delighted to see that I’d finally found a game where I seemed to have an advantage.

  After I spiked the ball for the third time, winning another point, Kishan asked, “Where did you learn to play? You’re pretty good!”

  “I’ve never played in the water before, but I was decent at standard volleyball in high school. I almost joined the team, but that was the year my parents died. I wasn’t as interested in playing the next year, but it’s still my favorite game. I did okay at basketball too, but I was never tall enough to be competitive. Did you guys play sports?”

  “We didn’t really have time for sports. We had competitions in archery, wrestling, and some games like Parcheesi, but no team sports.”

  “Still, you can see I’m barely winning against you, even though you’re in the deep end and have never played before.”

  Kishan grabbed the ball out of the air and fell into the water. When he surfaced, he was right across from me on the other side of the net. He lifted it and swam under. My feet were barely touching the bottom of the pool, leaving only my face above water. Our heads were at about the same level. He was still a good three feet away, and I narrowed my eyes wondering what he was up to. He watched me for a moment and smiled mischievously. I prepared for another water fight by raising my arms to splashing position.

  Kishan was next to me in an instant. He snaked his arms around my waist, yanked me close, grinned roguishly, and said, “What can I say? I’m very competitive.” Then he kissed me.

  I froze. Our lips were wet from the water. The chlorine taste was strong, and he didn’t move at first, so I could have been kissing the cool tile on the side of the pool for all I knew. But, then, he squeezed my waist, slid his hands up to caress my bare back, and tilted his head.

  All of a sudden, the clean, wet, bleached out, non-kiss turned into a very real kiss from a very potent man who was very much not Ren. Kishan’s lips warmed and moved against mine in a pleasant way. Pleasant enough that I forgot that I didn’t want to kiss him and felt myself responding. My hands stopped pushing against him, and I gripped his strong upper arms. His skin was smooth and warm from the sun.

  He responded with enthusiasm, wrapping one arm around my waist to crush me against his chest, while his other hand slid up my bare back to cup the back of my head. For the briefest of moments, I let myself delight in his embrace. But then, I remembered, and instead of making me happy or blissful, as kisses should, it made me sad.

  I broke off the kiss and drew slightly away. Kishan kept his arm around my waist and placed a finger under my chin, tilting my face so I’d look at him. He studied my expression quietly. My eyes filled with tears. One rolled down my cheek and dropped to his hand.

  He smiled tenuously. “Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.”

  He reluctantly let me go as I swam away to sit on a step of the pool.

  “I never claimed to be an expert kisser, if that’s what you mean.”

  “I’m not talking about the kiss.”

  “Then what are you referring to?”

  He didn’t say anything.

  I spread my fingers and placed my hand on the surface of the water, letting it tickle my palm. Without looking at him, I asked quietly, “Have I ever given you a reason to hope for more?”

  He sighed and swept his hair back ruefully. “No, but—”

  “But what?”

  I looked up. Big mistake.

  Kishan looked vulnerable. Sort of hopeless and hopeful at the same time. Wanting to believe but not daring to. He seemed angry, frustrated, and unfulfilled. His despairing golden eyes were full of longing, but they also glittered with determination.

  “But . . . I just can’t help thinking that maybe Ren was taken for a reason. That maybe fate intervened. That maybe you were meant to be with me all along.”

  I replied bitingly, “The only reason that Ren was taken was because he volunteered himself to save our lives. Is this how you repay him?”

  I watched the sting of my words wound him. It was easy to blame Kishan, but I was more upset with my reaction to him. I felt incredibly guilty about letting the kiss happen at all. My accusation was as much to me as to him. That I’d actually enjoyed his kiss made me feel even worse.

  He swam to the side and rested his back against the wall of the pool. “You think I don’t care, don’t you? You think I don’t feel anything for my brother. But I do. Despite everything that’s happened, I wish I was the one who had been taken. You’d have Ren. Ren would have you. And I’d get what I deserved.”

  “Kishan!”

  “I’m serious. Do you think a day goes by that I don’t hate myself for what I’ve done? For what I feel?”

  I winced.

  “You thi
nk I wanted to fall for you? I stayed away from you! I gave him the chance to be with you! But there’s another part of me that asks what if ? What if you’re not supposed to be with Ren? What if you were supposed to be the answer to my prayers? Not his!”

  He watched me from the other side of the pool. Even from this far away, I could see that he was hurting.

  “Kishan, I—”

  “And before you say anything, I want to warn you that I don’t want your sympathy. It would be better if you said nothing than if you tried to tell me you didn’t like it or that you feel only friendship for me.”

  “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Good. Then are you admitting that you did like it? That there is chemistry between us? That you are attracted to me?”

  “Do you need me to admit it?”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “Yes. I think I do.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Fine! I admit it. I liked it. We have chemistry. Yes! I’m attracted to you. It was nice. In fact, it was so nice that it actually made me forget Ren for all of about five seconds. Are you happy now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I’m not.”

  “I can see that.” He assessed me from across the pool. “So all I got was five seconds, huh?”

  “Honestly, it was probably more like thirty.”

  He grunted. His arms were still crossed over his chest, but he wore a very self-satisfied-male type of grin now.

  I sighed unhappily. “Kishan, I—”

  He interrupted, “Do you remember when we escaped the House of Sirens in Shangri-la?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you said you escaped because you thought of Ren?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, I escaped because I thought of you. You filled my thoughts, and the spell of the sirens went away. Don’t you think that means anything? Couldn’t it mean that maybe we were meant to be together? The truth is, Kells, I’ve thought about you for a long time. Since I first met you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

  A tear fell down my cheek, and I said softly, “I’m sorry for all that’s happened. I’m sorry for everything that you’ve been through. And I’m especially sorry for any suffering I’m causing you. I don’t know what to say, Kishan. You’re a wonderful guy. Too wonderful. If the situation were different, I’d probably still be over there kissing you.”

  When I put my head in my hands, he ducked under the water and swam over to me. I heard him stand and looked up at his face. Water sluiced off his bronze torso. He really was a gorgeous man. Any girl would be lucky to have a guy like him.

  He held out a hand. “Then come back over here and kiss me.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not . . . I can’t,” I sighed sadly. “Look, all I know is, I love him. And being with you, as tempting as you are, is not something I can do. I can’t turn away from him. Please don’t ask me to.”

  I got out of the pool and wrapped a towel around my body. I heard a splash and felt his nearness as he also dried off.

  Kishan turned me to face him, willing me to meet his eyes. “You need to know that this is not about me competing with him. It’s not about some hidden agenda. It’s not a crush.” He brushed his thumbs across my cheeks and cupped the sides of my face. “I love you, Kelsey.”

  He took a step closer.

  I placed my hand on his warm chest and said, “If you really love me, then don’t kiss me again.” I stood my ground and waited for his reply. It wasn’t easy. I felt like running, escaping to my room, but we needed to settle this between us.

  He stood there breathing deeply. He looked down, and I could see flashes of emotion cross his face. Then he raised his eyes to mine. He acquiesced and said, “I won’t promise that I’ll never kiss you again, but I will promise not to kiss you unless I’m sure that you and Ren are through.”

  I was about to protest when he continued.

  He touched my face lightly. “I’m not the kind of man to bottle up my feelings, Kells. I don’t sit up in my room pining away, writing love poems. I’m not a dreamer. I’m a fighter. I’m a man of action, and it will take all of my self-control not to fight for this. When something needs to be done, I do it. When I feel something, I act on it. I don’t see any reason why Ren deserves to get the girl of his dreams and I don’t. It doesn’t seem fair that this happens to me twice.”

  I put my hand on his arm. “You’re right. It’s not fair. It’s not fair that you’ve had to be with me night and day for the past few weeks. It’s not fair to ask you to set aside your feelings. It’s not fair to ask you to be my friend when you feel this way. But, the fact is, I need you. I need your help. I need your support. And, I especially need your friendship. I wouldn’t have survived one day in Shangri-la without you. I don’t think I can rescue Ren without you, either. It’s not fair to ask, but I’m asking. Please. I need you to let me go.”

  He looked at the house, brooding for a moment, and then at me. He touched my wet hair and discontentedly said, “Alright. I’ll back off, but I’m not doing it for him and definitely not doing it for me. I’m doing it for you. Remember that.”

  I nodded silently and watched him stalk off to the veranda. My knees buckled, and I sat down hard on the pool chair.

  I spent the rest of the day in my room studying texts on the Baiga. I kept rereading sections. I felt divided, torn. I was confused. I felt like someone had asked me to pick which parent would live and which would die. Whichever choice I made, I would feel responsible for the death of the other one. It wasn’t about choosing happiness; it was about choosing suffering. Which one would I make suffer?

  I didn’t want either of them to suffer. My happiness was irrelevant. This wasn’t like breaking up with Li or Jason. Ren needed me, loved me. But Kishan did too. There was no easy choice, no answer that would appease both of them. I pushed the books aside, picked up one of Ren’s poems and a Hindi/English dictionary. It was one of the poems he’d written after I left India. It took me a long time to translate it, but it was worth it.

  Am I alive?

  I can breathe

  I can feel

  I can taste

  But the air doesn’t fill my lungs

  All textures are rough

  All tastes are muted

  Am I alive?

  I can see

  I can hear

  I can sense

  But the world is black and white

  Voices sound tinny and small

  What I sense is confusing and out of place

  When you’re with me

  Air rushes into my being

  Fills me with light

  And happiness

  I am alive!

  The world is full of color and sound

  Tastes tantalize my palate

  Everything is soft and fragrant

  I sense the warmth of your presence

  I know who I am and what I want

  I want you.

  Ren

  A giant tear fell with a splat on the paper. I quickly moved it out of teardrop range. Despite Kishan’s heartfelt words and the confusion about my relationship with him, there was one thing I couldn’t deny. I loved Ren. Wholeheartedly. The truth was, if Ren had been here, been with me, this wouldn’t be an issue.

  When he was with me, I also knew who I was and what I wanted. Even without the strong connection, I could feel my heart swell at his words. I could picture him saying them, sitting at his desk, and writing them.

  If I needed an answer, it was here—in my heart. When I thought of Kishan, I felt confusion and affection, mixed with a dollop of guilt. With Ren, I felt open and light. Free and desperately happy. I loved Kishan, but I was in love with Ren. How it happened was irrelevant. The fact was, it did happen.

  As Kishan had said, I’d been with him longer now than with Ren. It wasn’t surprising that we’d become closer. But, Ren held my heart in his hands. It beat only because he cherished it.

  I was determine
d to be kind to Kishan. I was familiar with heartbreak. Mr. Kadam was right that Kishan needed me too. I had to be firm with him and let him know he was my friend. That I could be anything he needed me to be with the exception of a sweetheart.

  I felt better. Reading Ren’s poem grounded me. The feelings he spoke of, I felt too. I tucked the poem into my journal and went downstairs for dinner with Kishan and Mr. Kadam.

  Kishan raised an eyebrow when I smiled at him. He turned back to his dinner, and ignoring him, I picked up my fork.

  “The fish looks delicious, Mr. Kadam. Thank you.”

  He waved a hand in dismissal, leaned forward, and said, “I’m glad you’re here, Miss Kelsey. I have news.”

  25

  Saving Ren

  My mouth went dry as I swallowed the fish. I coughed, and Kishan slid a glass of water in my direction. I sipped the cold liquid, cleared my throat, and said nervously, “What news?”

  “We’ve found the Baiga tribe, and something is wrong. The tribe is located in a jungle area far away from other villages. Farther than they’ve been in the last hundred years. Farther, in fact, than the law allows them to travel. But what’s even more strange is that the satellite images show technology nearby.”

  Kishan asked, “What kind of technology?”

  “They have some large vehicles parked near the settlement, and the Baiga don’t use cars. A sizeable structure has been built near their village as well. It’s much larger than anything the Baiga have traditionally constructed. I believe it is a military compound.”

  He pushed aside his plate. “Reports show that there are also guards with weapons watching the forest. It looks as if they are defending the Baiga from attack.”

  “But who would attack the Baiga from the jungle?” I asked.

  Mr. Kadam replied, “Who indeed? There are no skirmishes happening between the Baiga and any other group. The Baiga have no warriors and own nothing of value to the outside world. There is no reason for them to fear attack. Unless they expect it to come in the form of . . .” He looked at Kishan. “A tiger.”

  Kishan grunted. “Sounds like you found something alright.”

  “But why the Baiga?” I asked. “Why not keep Ren in the city or in a regular military compound?”