Tiger’s Destiny (31 page)
As Ren moved in to attack again, Shala recovered, twisted his hand, and threw a ball of fire. The blast hit Ren squarely in the chest. He flew back several feet and started to fall between the pillars. At the last moment, Ren extended the trident to its full length across two poles. When he whipped his body back into the air like a gymnast on a high bar, Shala was prepared for him. He brought out his barbed whips and snapped them one after the other, pummeling Ren mercilessly. Ren spun in the air, rolled across the top of the pillars, and dropped the trident. I sucked in a breath as the weapon fell between the columns, landing too far below to retrieve.
In an impressive display, Ren charged Shala, twisting his body in the air, and grabbed the end of first one whip, then the other. He snapped his arms violently apart and wrenched the weapons from Shala’s grasp. The ends slithered down the pillars as Shala tackled Ren—the two of them rolling dangerously atop the pillars.
Kishan fought Wyea with his sword and managed to dislodge the spear from Wyea’s hands. It soared through the air until the heavy morning star propelled the weapon down between the pillars. Wyea backflipped impressively and reached down between the columns to grab his spear, but Kishan was on him too fast. Wyea rolled away a split second before Kishan’s foot crashed down.
Using his momentum to rotate in a backward crescent kick, Kishan regained his balance and tornado-kicked Wyea in the face. He brought his sword up under Wyea’s chin, but the fire Lord murmured a few words and Kishan’s sword grew so hot he could no longer hold it. Kishan’s scorched flesh healed as his weapon fell to the ground.
With no weapons left, Ren and Kishan turned the battle into a martial arts brawl unlike anything I’d seen before. Ren targeted Shala’s vulnerable spots with the eagle claw technique. Kishan employed the monkey approach. He stayed very close to Wyea, tearing at his torso and arms and even darted up Wyea’s leg only to leap over him to land on Shala’s turned back.
Ren had to constantly block the spinning blades of Shala, and he and Kishan ended up switching places often throughout the battle. Ren heel-kicked Shala and reverse-punched Wyea while Kishan grabbed Wyea’s arm and flipped him. Then Kishan hook-punched Shala before he could attack Ren.
Just as quickly, the tables turned and the fire Lords claimed the upper hand. Wyea shot a stream of flame at Kishan’s chest. In pain and seriously injured, Kishan ripped off his shirt before it engulfed him and collapsed on top of the pillars. Seconds later, Shala flung a broken piece of his staff at Ren. The razor-sharp edge glinted in the light as it rotated in the air and imbedded itself in Ren’s back. Kishan caught Ren as he fell and somehow managed to keep them on top of the pillars.
Pulling the weapon out, Kishan threw it violently down between the poles and held onto his brother while the twin Lords mocked.
“Was that the best you could do?” Wyea taunted.
“They barely put up a fight at all. It’s disappointing, really.” Shala sighed and ran his thumb along the edge of his remaining blade.
Wyea smiled smugly in my direction. “At least we won the girl. Come, brother, we don’t have much time.”
“It’s for the best,” Shala said, picking up Ren by the shirt. “Neither of you were man enough to keep your woman anyway.”
He thrust Ren back into Kishan’s arms, and the twins started toward me.
I narrowed my eyes as they approached and brought my hand to the Pearl Necklace, remembering that my fire power was useless in this realm. There was no way I was going to go without a fight.
The brothers were halfway to me when I saw Ren and Kishan rise up as tigers behind them. They leapt, claws extended, and pushed the fire Lords down. They ripped at their backs and arms with claws and teeth until the twins fell between the pillars. The cats nimbly circled, heads angled down, watching the Lords of the Flame as if they were mice chased into a hole. Ren and Kishan snarled and growled as they paced.
Suddenly a stream of fire shot up between the pillars, and the tigers darted away from the flames. Implacable, the fire Lords emerged in a swirl of flame and stood on top of the columns.
Shala spat, “Got a second wind, did you?”
Ren and Kishan morphed back into men. I let out a pent-up breath, seeing that they were completely healed.
Kishan smiled menacingly. “It will take a much stronger
man
than either of you to bring us down.”
“Kelsey will never belong to you. That I promise,” Ren threatened.
Shala and Wyea lifted their arms. Fire flowed down Wyea’s extended limbs and shot toward Ren. What looked like throwing stars made of flame just missed Kishan as he leapt to the side.
Kishan turned on Wyea and landed a series of punches and elbow strikes, then pivoted and did an inside sweep on Shala. Meanwhile, Ren leapt over the fallen Shala and cross-blocked a downward hammer-fist strike Wyea had aimed at Kishan’s head. Unsuccessfully, Ren tried to target pressure points: joints, the throat, the eyes, and the ears. But the twin fire Lords recovered too quickly for the open-handed jabs to be effective.
The Lords of the Flame repeatedly shot streams of fire and burning throwing stars at Ren and Kishan. I shouted that they were cheating again, but they ignored me.
Finally, Ren and Kishan seemed to have the advantage. They pressed the twins until the Lords of the Flame stood back to back. All four of the men were now extremely weary.
Kishan kicked Wyea across the face, and the fire Lord collapsed. Leaning over him, Kishan yelled through gritted teeth, “Do you submit?”
Wyea spat blood, and the crimson liquid trickled from his mouth. “Never.”
The twin closed his eyes and mumbled some words. A clicking noise surrounded us on all sides.
“What is it?” I called out. “What did you do?”
The clicking sound got closer, and I gaped in horror as a giant red creature emerged to crawl across the top of the pillar near me. It was a scorpion! It popped up on the top of the column, followed by dozens more. One of them struck at me with its tail. Panicking, I blasted it with a lightning bolt, but it absorbed the power and actually grew bigger.
“Alright! That’s it!” I spat.
I’d had enough. The Lords of the Flame were cheating, which meant I had every right to intervene. I stroked the Pearl Necklace at my throat and felt a cooling rush of water hiss through my limbs. My anger calmed and my head cleared. I felt waves pulsing, almost lapping gently at my fingertips. Raising my hand, I struck the giant scorpion next to me with a burst of water. It emitted a high pitched screech as it fell over the side of the pillar.
Spreading my fingers, I let the waves of water rush down my arms, and I blasted two creatures that slid away to the dark ground below. One by one, I pounded the scorpions, making my way closer and closer to the fighting men. Ren and Kishan had been able to kick the monster arthropods off the posts, but the scorpions just turned around and climbed back up again. I manipulated the water, taking out almost all of the scorpions.
“Call off your creatures,” I shouted to the Lords. “This fight is over.”
The men stopped and looked at me.
Shala smiled. “The fight isn’t over until someone wins.”
“It’s over . . . because
I
win.” I narrowed my eyes at the fire Lord.
“Prove it,” Wyea taunted.
He launched a fireball at me. I lifted my hand and caught it, bounced it up and down a few times and then threw it back, aiming for his head. I missed, but the action caused the Lords of the Flame to stare in shock.
“You have the power of the flame?” Shala murmured in wonder.
“It’s her!” Wyea declared. “It must be! Lawala has returned.” He waved his hand and all the remaining scorpions disappeared.
The Lords of the Flame leapt across pillars to reach me but were intercepted by Ren and Kishan, who knocked them over. The twin Lords’ skin began to glow, and fire and light swirled around Ren and Kishan in a cyclone. Ren and Kishan were lifted into the air and set on fire. They writhed in pain and screamed.
“Stop it! Put them down! Now!” I yelled.
“They are of no consequence. We must complete the ritual. You will come with us.” Shala threatened.
“I will not.” I summoned the water within and threatened, “I’m warning you. Let them go, or you will suffer greatly.”
Shala and Wyea smiled haughtily and moved closer. With a mighty push, I sent a huge wave of water toward them. A great hissing cloud of vapor rose around them when it hit their chests. They seemed unharmed but confused, as if they’d never seen water before.
I dropped my hands. “Let them go.”
Wyea straightened, tilted his head, and twirled his finger. Fire exploded around Ren and Kishan until they were completely enveloped. Desperate, I turned my power toward Ren and Kishan, trying to douse the flames.
The Lords of the Flame laughed. “Your power is not as strong as ours.”
“Oh yeah?”
I turned my inner valve on full blast. Water circled around the men I loved, but Ren and Kishan were still suffering. Every second that ticked by was agony. I needed to stop the Lords of the Flame before it was too late. The strength of my emotions turned the water ice cold. I couldn’t overcome the flames surrounding my tigers, so I turned my icy focus on the twins. They screamed when the freezing water hit them. The fire cyclone twirling around Ren and Kishan subsided, dropping them slowly to the tops of the pillars. Immediately, they switched into tigers to accelerate their healing process.
I could see that the fur was burned off their bodies. Pushing every drop of energy I could muster, I encased the fire Lords in ice and hurried as fast as I could to Ren and Kishan’s side. My tigers were panting in short bursts as they tried to breathe. I touched Kishan gently, and burned skin peeled away and clung to my fingertips. Crying, I gingerly took the
kamandal
from his neck and poured a few drops onto his tongue. Kishan licked his chops weakly, and I turned to Ren.
His fur was sloughing off in clumps too, but his black stripes were still prominent against the white of his skin. His whiskers and eyelashes were gone, and the sensitive hairs in his ears were missing as well.
“My poor tigers,” I gasped with a sob.
I gave Ren a few drops of the mermaid’s elixir as well and prayed it would lessen their pain. I sat with them, stroking their heads as their labored breathing eased. It wasn’t long before I touched soft fur again.
Mussing Ren’s head, I whispered, “Next time I fight with you.” I kissed Kishan’s head and said, “You got that?”
I heard a quiet huff from both brothers and then a mocking voice interrupted us. “Hiding behind a woman’s skirt, are we?”
I turned.
Shala
! He was standing a short distance away. He looked a bit blue, but he’d still had enough power to melt the ice I’d encased him in.
“Are you back for more?” I challenged.
Shala rubbed his jaw, and I saw little flames burst in his eyes. “Of you? No. We want no more of you. Lawala would never damage us like you did.”
“No kidding.”
“Unfortunately, we are the jealous type, and if we can’t be happy with our woman, nobody can.”
He raised his hands and pointed them at Ren and Kishan. Fire flew down his arms. I flung my hands at Shala, and a wall of water met his fire in a terrible hiss. Vapor billowed around us in waves.
A nagging thought invaded by mind.
Where was Wyea?
Just then, I heard running footsteps and heard Ren shout, “
Kelsey!
No!”
Before I knew what was happening, Ren threw himself between me and Shala, who laughed gleefully. Ren fell heavily against me. I clutched him desperately as we collapsed in Kishan’s outstretched arms.
Kishan pulled Ren off me, and I cried out as Ren’s blood trickled over my hands. Quivering rigidly, deeply imbedded in the middle of Ren’s chest, was the
Gáe Bolga
.
I
could hear the sound of the horrible weapon as the spear discharged in Ren’s chest. Sharp barbs sunk deep, ripping him apart from the inside. He screamed as blood gushed from his wound and trickled from his mouth. The soft mocking laugh of the twins behind me became mere background noise as I stared at the protruding weapon in shock. For a brief moment, I flashed back to the loss of Mr. Kadam. The grief and suffering flowed into me anew, and I was crippled, unable to move.
I thought of my parents and the burning of the Phoenix. Only the gentle touch of Kishan’s hand brought me back to the present. Though it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, I left the care of Ren to Kishan.
Steeling my resolve, I turned to the twins. Wyea was worse off than his brother; he could barely stand. Acting purely on impulse and with the heaviness of loss and guilt still flowing through my veins, I attacked. But this time I concentrated all of my efforts on Wyea.
Icy water hit the fire Lord and knocked him off the column. Determined to finish what I’d started, I made my way over the pillars until I found him on the ground, his limbs twisted around the obsidian pillars. I lifted my hands and allowed the cold emptiness I felt inside to become a weapon. It was only a few moments later that I realized the water coming from my hands had turned to sleet. Frosty air swirled around me and with a twitch of my fingers, the sleet turned to icy daggers.
Shala had come after me, of course, but this time his attacks were no match for me. When his plumes of fire came close, my wintry wind blew them out. When Wyea was no longer moving, I lifted my arms up to the sky, turned to Shala, and shouted, “You will not take Ren from me. If I have to use my power against everyone and everything in your realm, even to the point of destroying your world, I will.”
My mind twitched briefly with sadness at the thought of destroying the fire trees but the pain of losing Ren overwhelmed me enough that I was able to push the guilt aside. In all honesty I didn’t even know if I had the power to carry through with my threat, but at that moment I felt as if I could. If I were a Jedi, I had definitely turned to the dark side of the Force, for in truth my thoughts and feelings dwelled on pain, wrath, and vengeance. But I didn’t care.