Tiger’s Destiny (6 page)

It was time to run. I asked the Scarf to create more practical clothes under my wedding dress. The brothers kept me between them as we raced down staircases and through a complicated maze of hallways and busted-open doorways. Blast marks peppered the walls, and my feet crunched over broken, once-hidden cameras. We leapt over dozens of fallen guards. As we pushed ahead, I cast off Lokesh’s diamond ring and my Chinese bridal wear piece by piece.

Finally we came to an open window whose bars had been severed cleanly. Kishan leapt outside and landed in the bushes twelve feet below. Ren picked me up and tossed me into Kishan’s open arms before joining us. I was dying to talk, to scream, to whoop with joy, but by the time we reached the motorcycles, my heart was practically bursting out of my chest and I was completely out of breath.

But I was free.

With no time for anything more than a brief squeeze of my hand, Ren pulled me onto his bike, and with a rev of engines, the three of us shot off like blazing comets into the night, leaving a trail of discarded red fabric in our wake.

reunion

W
e rode for several hours in silence without stopping. The chilly December wind whipped through my hair, and I wriggled closer to Ren, who had somehow managed to take off his leather jacket and give it to me without slowing down. I gratefully put it on and hugged Ren tightly in thanks.

I had no idea where we were though I suspected based on the road signs we were not in India. When the boys finally pulled over, it was early morning, maybe an hour or two before sunrise. I wearily got off the motorcycle. Ren and Kishan hid their bikes in the brush, and finally, finally, we were able to have a proper reunion.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Kishan said tenderly, wrapping his arms around me and running his hands up and down my back. “Are you okay? Did Lokesh hurt you?”

I shook my head. “Only a little. He gave me a few bruises and kissed me a few times but for the most part he left me alone. I never saw his torture chamber.”

It felt good to be back in Kishan’s embrace. Safe. For the first time in a long time, I let my guard down completely. I was with my tigers again. I was back where I belonged.

“Good,” Kishan grunted, holding onto me as if he’d never let go.

When he finally did, Ren approached me with an indiscernible expression in his eyes. He said nothing, but I could have sworn he was reading my mind. Hesitantly, he touched my cheek and tears welled up in my eyes. Before I could say anything, he pulled me into his arms. Wrapped into that safe haven, feeling the unspoken connection between us and the warmth of his strong body against mine, I finally relaxed, and all the terrifying emotional turmoil spilled out of me in a torrent.

Seeing the state I was in, Kishan lowered his gaze and busied himself setting up a tent while I cried quietly in Ren’s arms. My body shook in racking sobs. I clawed Ren’s shirt, gathering it in my fist while he murmured softly and stroked my hair. At some point I realized I wasn’t supporting my own weight anymore. He picked me up and carried me into the tent.

Ren cradled me against his chest, and Kishan made me some hot tea. I shook my head, too overwhelmed to drink, but Ren insisted. When I’d finished, he whispered some words to Kishan, who changed immediately into the black tiger and stretched out along the cushions. I lay next to him, stroking my black tiger’s fur, knowing that the curse still required them to take tiger form for six hours a day.

“Try to sleep,
priyatama
,” Ren said, placing his palm lightly against my cheek. Then he changed into his familiar white tiger form and lay on my other side.

For a time, the only noise was me sniffling and Ren’s comforting purr. Exhausted, I finally fell asleep with my fist gripping the soft fur at Ren’s neck.

I slept for a long time, only partially waking with the movements of the brothers as they tried not to disturb me. They spoke softly in Hindi, and the lovely, musical words helped me relax and fall back to sleep.

When I finally woke, the sun was high in the sky. Though it was cold at night, it had warmed up to around fifty degrees, which in Oregon is like early summer. I sat up grimacing and shoved the helmet hair out of my face.

Kishan ducked into the tent and grinned. “Thought I heard you get up.”

“Do we have time for at least a sponge bath before we go?”

“If you’re including me in that statement, I’ll make the time.”

I sighed, stretched, and gave him a half smile. “I’ve missed your teasing. Hey, where are we anyway?”

“Uzbekistan.”

“That doesn’t help . . .”

“Central Asia. We’re about a thousand miles from home.”

“Wow, that’s a long way to come on motorcycles,” I said and paused before continuing. “Kishan? Do you think he’s . . . he’s dead?”

“I don’t know. Lokesh has lived a long time.”

“I hope he’s dead.”

Kishan studied me thoughtfully. “I hope so too, Kells.”

I took his hand. Though my heart still stirred for Ren, I had made my choice: Kishan.
Round pillow, square pillow, they’re both still pillows
, I remembered, thinking fondly of Phet.

“Kishan, thank you for coming for me.”

His golden eyes gleamed. “Anytime, beautiful.”

Kishan left me to clean up, and I asked the Scarf to create a makeshift shower curtain and the Pearl Necklace to create a shower on a section of flat rock not far from the tent. I stuck my hand into the water and was surprised that it felt like a warm tropical rain. I scrubbed the makeup and perfume from my body and imagined I was washing away a thick layer of false skin, sloughing off the girl who would have been the bride of Lokesh.

Refreshed and feeling like myself again, it was time to go home. When Kishan asked me to ride with him, I glanced at Ren, who would not meet my gaze. I bit my lip and threw my leg over Kishan’s bike.

Wanting to get as far away from Lokesh as quickly as possible, we kept up a grueling pace. I got the feeling that the brothers only stopped for me and to refuel.

At a gas station, Kishan filled the bikes while Ren and I picked up a comb and a bottle of sunscreen. As I began working out the tangles in my hair, Ren insisted on rubbing the lotion over my arms, nose, and cheeks.

“How are you?” he asked quietly.

“I’ll survive.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Finished with one arm, he moved to my other one. “Lokesh was making you marry him?”

“It was actually my idea. I wanted to . . . stall him as long as possible.”

Ren stiffened and his fingers gripped my arm for a moment. He looked me in the eye and asked carefully, “Did he . . . hurt you?”

I put my hand over his. “No, not the way you’re thinking.”

Ren nodded and cupped my face with his palm. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”

“I know. And Ren? I’m sorry about the kiss. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I know why you did it. It hurt worse knowing you were a prisoner and not being able to save you.”

“Thank you for rescuing me.”

He sighed. “No matter where you are, I will always come for you,
iadala
. There is no need to thank me.”

“Still, thank you.”

Ren kissed my forehead. “Have I told you lately that you’re a very stubborn woman?”

“Not recently,” I replied playfully, enjoying our familiar banter and feeling a warm tingle flow throughout my body. “Let’s go home. I can’t wait to see Mr. Kadam. I have so many things to tell him.”

Ren reached out for my hand and pulled me closer, suddenly serious. “Kells, we . . . haven’t been able to find him. When Lokesh’s pirates ambushed us, he stepped in front of a harpoon meant for Nilima, and they both disappeared. We can’t locate them on the GPS. Both of their signals went missing. We saw yours, but not theirs.”

“What? That can’t be. Let’s go then. We need to find them.” My mind filled with new worry for Mr. Kadam and Nilima. Nothing would be right until we were all back together.

Ren held out his hand. “Will you ride with me?”

His question hung in the air. I looked over at Kishan, who had just finished filling the tires with air and gave me a merry wave.

Kishan is my boyfriend. I should ride with him
, I thought.

“Please,” Ren added quietly. “I need to feel you near me.”

I lowered my eyes and took his hand. My resolve crumbled. “Alright,” I said, climbed on behind him, and wrapped my arms around his waist.

Ren wound his way over to Kishan and announced, “We’re riding together on this leg.”

I quickly added, “If that’s alright with you, Kishan.”

Kishan shrugged good naturedly and warned, “Ren rides like a grandpa, but it’s fine with me.”

To thank him, I kissed him lightly.

Kishan grinned and said, “I might be better off. This way if I ride behind Grandpa, I can admire the view.”

Ren grunted and said something brusque in Hindi, but Kishan just laughed and ignored him.

That night Kishan scouted out a place to set up camp and returned excited. I followed him up a rocky hill to a circle of stones around a hollowed out area of packed clay.

“Fill it with water,” Kishan suggested. “Voilà! Your very own Jacuzzi.”

I laughed and brushed my hand across the Necklace at my throat. The basin quickly filled with a bubbling mineral bath, and Kishan blasted it with fire power. The cold air billowed with steam.

“Enjoy your bath, Kells. Oh, and if you need the water warmed again, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

After my soak it was Ren’s and Kishan’s turn. Kishan ripped his shirt off. “First one there rides all day with Kells.” Ren took off like a shot with Kishan whooping after him.

With only one more day of travel to go, we were all starting to fall back into our normal routines, at least as normal as they could be under the circumstances. Both brothers were careful with me, treating me as delicately as a precious China cup.

Later that moonlit night, when Kishan smiled and leaned over to kiss me, it was warm and brief. Something flashed in his eyes when he pulled away.

I took his hand. “What is it?” I encouraged gently.

“If I do something that reminds you of Lokesh or hurts you in any way, will you tell me?”

“The fact that you’re even worried about it is a sign you could never be like him. Don’t be afraid to touch me. I won’t break.”

Kishan nodded, pressed a kiss to my fingers, and lifted the amulet from his chest. “You were smart to send Fanindra to me with this, but you should wear it now.”

He fumbled with the chain and fastened the amulet around my neck. I rubbed the smooth stone with my fingers.

“That’s how you created those balls of light? With the amulet?”

“Yes. This piece of the amulet is quite a weapon.”

“I was wondering how you did that. That never happened to me.”

“You probably could do it if you tried. The amulet seems capable of creating any type of flame.”

I considered how I’d seen Lokesh use his pieces of the amulet and suddenly stood and took Kishan’s hand.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I want to blow something up.”

Kishan laughed. “You are definitely the girl for me. Let’s go.”

When we found a large rock, I infused so much energy into the burst that the rock disintegrated. I stared at my hand incredulously. I had no idea I’d become so dependent upon my power and knowing for sure that the amulet was the source was a relief. I could put on and take off the power at my leisure.

Kishan and I practiced drills for the next half hour. He taught me how to create bursts of light so they’d explode right in front of someone’s eyes to temporarily blind him, how to snap my fingers to start a fire, and after finding some roadkill to practice upon, how to use the beam to burn the flesh. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but I knew that if Lokesh was still alive and came after me again, or if I had to face another monster in order to fulfill Durga’s fourth prophecy, I would have to be able to use this technique.

When we returned to the tent, Ren was moody and yelled at Kishan for walking off with me and not telling him. “We need to watch over her constantly. We have no idea if Lokesh is still alive, and I don’t want to take any chances on losing her again,” Ren said sternly then turned around and left.

After he stormed off, Kishan sighed and picked up my hand. “He’s right. We have to remain vigilant where you’re concerned.”

I scooted closer and lay my head on his shoulder. “I’ll just make sure one of you is always around.”

He put his arm around me. “He shouldn’t be that mad anyway. He won the bet. He gets to ride with you all day tomorrow.”

I teased, “What happened to doing whatever it takes to win?”

Kishan grunted. “Apparently, he took my advice. He shoved me face-first into a boulder. It broke my nose.”

“What?” I gasped. He started laughing. “I don’t find anything funny about that,” I said.

“I do. Ren’s never cheated in his life. He must have been pretty desperate.”

“Hmm.”

That night, I dreamed of Mr. Kadam. He was standing in front of a movie screen studying various battle scenes that flashed by so fast I couldn’t make them out. When I touched his arm, he turned and smiled. There was something different about his eyes. He seemed much older and a little sad.