Tiger’s Destiny (4 page)

While I pulled myself together, Lokesh strode toward the mantle and stoked the fire. The flames crackled and danced. I was grateful that he was at a further distance.

I told him about Durga’s other quests without divulging the actual prizes to give myself time to recover from his disturbing assault. He was most interested in the golden dragon’s hoard. I told him Mr. Kadam’s theory was that these prizes had been stolen from Durga and that she wanted them back.

“How old is your Mr. Kadam? I know he wears the other piece of the amulet,” Lokesh said.

“A few years older than Ren and Kishan.” Hoping to learn more about the amulet, I pushed on. “How is it that you can look like a young man? Is it the amulet?”

“Partially. Shortly after I’d found the second piece, I realized that my life was prolonged. Though my natural state is to look fifty, I can alter my form to appear to be a young man at will. Often I choose the age that will help me to accomplish my aim.”

“I know the amulet has kept Mr. Kadam from aging, but he doesn’t have the ability to make himself look younger like you do,” I commented, circling back to the amulet.

“He only has one piece of the amulet and his ancestors never wore it.”

“What difference does that make?”

“The power is compounded the more pieces you have,” Lokesh explained. “The descendants of those who wore amulets live very long lives, even if they’d never worn it.”

I need to know more. It’s the only way to figure this whole puzzle out.

“Yes, Mr. Kadam mentioned that his children and his children’s children lived longer-than-average lives. Do you think that is why Ren and Kishan have lived so long even without wearing the amulet?”

“The amulet cursed them. In defying me, they suffer an eternity of life as beasts.”

The curse.
I bit my lip and thought back on everything we had learned from our previous quests.
Isn’t the amulet protecting Ren and Kishan? I need to know more.

“Does that expression mean that you still care for the beasts, my dear?”

“It’s not that. I just worry that they may return and try to take your amulet pieces,” I lied with a look of concern plastered on my face.

“Do not fret. Should they return, we can easily weave a trap for them from your magic threads, and obviously I know more of the power of the amulets than they.”

I smiled shyly, laying it on thickly through lying lips. “May I ask how you found the amulet pieces, my . . . liege? I’m sorry if it’s forward of me to designate you as such, but you were an emperor, and a man of your stature should be addressed properly.”

Smiling, he studied me shrewdly and then said, “I wandered for many years asking scholars, monks, and kings for information about a great battle that united the kingdoms of Asia. During that time, I began studying the black arts and witchcraft. I sought those rumored to be dark wizards and learned whatever they would willingly teach me and extracted whatever they held back. I followed many clues that led only to dead ends. But, one by one, I discovered all five parts of the amulet. Ren and Kishan were the last pieces of the puzzle. Even now it irritates me that they have eluded me this long.”

“Why didn’t you just kill Ren and Kishan from the start?” I asked.

Lokesh sat back and replied, “The short answer to that very shrewd question is that I wanted to savor the moment. When I first found the royal family, Dhiren was five and Kishan four. Their parents, Rajaram and his wife, Deschen, never wore their amulet pieces in public. They also surrounded themselves and their young princelings with honorable, trustworthy guards who made their palace impossible to infiltrate. I watched the royal family for several months.

“That was when I first became fascinated with Deschen. She participated in every aspect of running the kingdom. She was clever, beautiful, and had an alluring combination of strength and softness. Any fool could see her sons would grow to be the greatest leaders of their time. I found to my surprise that I wanted to reunite the amulet, but I also hungered for Deschen and for strong sons of my own.

“Pretending to be a wealthy merchant in the neighboring kingdom of Bhreenam, I stirred up enough talk to gain a position on the king’s council and through thievery, betrayal, and cunning I was appointed commander of his military. I siphoned money from the government, took goods from the common people, and worked to undermine the kingdom. I also sent spies to Rajaram’s land.

“During that time, a wealthy merchant offered his daughter in exchange for favorable treatment. She was beautiful—tall, lithe, and young. And she had the most striking violet eyes.”

“Yesubai’s mother.”

He nodded. “Later, when she confessed she was pregnant, I was pleased. I envisioned a strong son like Dhiren but with violet eyes. I coddled her and spoiled her—”

I suppressed a shiver as I wondered what Lokesh’s definition of coddling and spoiling might be.

He went on. “—and it was early during her pregnancy when we were married. The night she gave birth to Yesubai, I picked up the child. The baby’s eyes were indeed violet, and it took several seconds before I realized it was a girl. I put the child back into its cradle. I was enraged. I had wanted a son and now I had a worthless girl. Without regret or pity, I strangled the life from Yesubai’s mother.”

I swallowed, thinking about the poor girl and knew that her fate would likely be mine. “What was your wife’s name?” I asked softly.

“Yuvakshi.” He clicked his tongue. “Now, now. I know what you’re thinking. It’s been several hundred years since that happened. I promise you that my attitude about women has progressed with the times—at least somewhat. Besides, you are much more valuable to me than my first wife was and I had no control over my temper at the time. If we find out the child you carry is a girl, we’ll simply remove it and try again.”

I sucked in a breath and tried to turn my grimace into a smile. “Of course, you are right. I’m not worried at all,” I choked out. When I noticed the gleam in his eye, I cleared my throat nervously. “So, when did you decide to use Yesubai to gain access to Rajaram’s kingdom?”

“How very clever of you, my dear,” Lokesh said, still looking at me in a very disturbing way. “Yesubai learned from a young age to obey me without question. She was beautiful, like her mother. By the time she was sixteen, I’d killed off the old king and taken the throne. I began expanding the military and attempted several infiltrations of Rajaram’s palace without success. He simply had the stronger military. I turned to diplomacy, which got the Rajaram family to open their arms to me, but every time I visited, one of the boys was missing.

“Yesubai reported that she’d seen the amulet worn by the younger one. In an attempt to bring both brothers to the palace at the same time, I negotiated a marriage between Yesubai and Dhiren, but planned for her to marry whichever brother was more easily influenced. Then I’d kill the other brother and Rajaram, take Deschen for my own, and claim their pieces of the amulet.

“It turned out there was no controlling Dhiren. His brother, Kishan, however, was more susceptible to a pretty face.”

I thought about what Kishan had told me of Yesubai. I couldn’t visualize her being so cold and deceitful. I decided to give Yesubai the benefit of the doubt. Whatever she had truly felt and done, she didn’t deserve the life she got.

“So you really didn’t want to kill Ren when he and Kishan changed into tigers?” I asked, trying to make sense of how and why the curse happened.

“No. I wanted to use him. Keep him under my thumb and cause him pain. Drag out his death slowly. I tried to control him through blood magic. I bought a medallion from a priest of the dark arts. Those I’d used it against had become mindless servants, willing to do anything I asked.

“But it didn’t seem to affect Dhiren or Kishan. The amulets they wore may have affected the spell and it changed them into tigers instead. It was not I who set the Tiger’s Curse into motion. In retrospect, I should have killed Dhiren when I had the chance, but I felt I had already won. Obviously, things didn’t go my way.”

With a flourish, Lokesh took my hand and put his mouth roughly against it—his version of a caress. His black eyes flashing menacingly, he held my gaze and said the words that made my blood run cold.

“Time’s up, my pet. Will you offer yourself to me freely in exchange for the tigers’ lives?”

shotgun

I
swallowed thickly. I’d been planning on “offering myself freely” to someone I truly loved and who loved me. It wasn’t too long ago that I had the luxury of choosing whether that someone would be Ren or Kishan. I had chosen Kishan, but none of that mattered now. I was all out of options. If I didn’t agree to go through with Lokesh’s plans, we would all surely die.

Knowing there was nothing else I could say, I affixed a forced smile to my face. “Yes, I’ve decided to accept your offer. There’s something to be said for a mature man of the world. And your power . . . excites me.” Panicked, but trying desperately not to show it, I demurred, “But . . . I have one small request.”

Lokesh’s eyes glittered impatiently. “And what is that?”

My mind sifted through possible ways to put off his advances when suddenly the answer came to me. I quickly explained, “My parents died when I was young, and I was left alone. I don’t want that to happen to our son.”

“That will not happen.” Lokesh raised my wrist to his mouth and nibbled on it brusquely. “I fully intend to instruct my son in all aspects of my power as you will instruct him in yours. I intend to be a
hands-on
father.”

“I’m sure you will be,” I reassured him. “But what I’m trying to say is . . . I want him to have your name. I don’t want to bring an illegitimate child into the world. You suffered much because of that status, and I will not have my son be usurped. I want you to . . . to . . .” I gulped, not believing I was actually saying the words, “marry me.”

Lokesh took a step back and stared. “You wish to be my wife?”

“Surely you didn’t expect me to be your concubine? You offered as much to Yesubai’s mother. I wish the same. I want our union to be not only one of strategy, but also one that’s binding by tradition, if not legally. You can use whatever name you wish but I want to be married before we . . . try to have a child.” I lowered my gaze and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

After a quiet moment he declared, “You are wise to bargain for this. It shows you are thinking of our son and his place in the world. I will do as you wish. We
will
marry and as a gift to you, I will allow you to remain chaste until you come to my marriage bed. Is this satisfactory?”

“Yes, thank you, my . . . husband.”

Lokesh smiled like a cat cornering a mouse. “Then I will leave you to create a bridal gown while I arrange the wedding and a feast. I will send a servant to retrieve you tomorrow for our wedding supper. I’d escort you myself but there is much to do and I still do not trust you enough to leave you to your own devices. You understand, of course?”

“Of course,” I answered, relieved that I’d bought myself another twenty-four hours to come up with an escape plan.

Kissing me before he left, Lokesh pulled and pushed and bit and shoved as if I was a piece of clay being molded into whatever shape he desired. When he finally drew away, I managed a shy smile, though it hurt.

Patting my shoulder roughly, he said, “By this time tomorrow, you will be my wife. Sleep well, my pet. You’ll need your rest.”

“Good night,” I replied woodenly and returned to the freedom of my empty prison.

I didn’t sleep much at all that night. Through closed eyes, I silently prayed that Ren or Kishan, Mr. Kadam, or even Durga would help me. I was running out of time.

During the brief moments I did sleep, I dreamt I was sitting up in bed holding a precious baby boy. It was Kishan’s vision in the Grove of Dreams. The baby slept, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his eyes were the color of a vibrant ocean or sparkled like a golden desert.

I smoothed his dark hair and kissed his baby-soft forehead. Little fingers wrapped around mine as the baby stirred. When he yawned and blinked, I recoiled in horror. My baby’s eyes were pitch black. Slowly his sweet baby expression melted and his lips twisted cruelly. Then I heard the words of a pitiless young boy whisper, “Hello,
Mother
.”

I woke up with a scream. Quickly, I composed myself and rolled over, stuffing a pillow under my cheek. Escape was too much to hope for, but death, either Lokesh’s or mine, would be my goal. I would not allow him to touch me, let alone consider bearing his child. He was a deadly predator and when a predator wants to devour you, you can run, you can hide, or you can kill him first. I had no choice but to fight for my life.

But how could I kill my captor? All I had for weapons were the Pearl Necklace and the Scarf, which meant I could try to hang him or drown him in his bathtub. That wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan. I knew I wouldn’t be able to access the bow and arrows, and I had no fire power.

I tossed and turned, considering strategy after strategy until I heard a noise at my window. In the predawn darkness, I looked out on the empty, snow-covered landscape. Then I felt the whisper of material on the ledge. The Scarf had embroidered a message: