Tiger's Curse (25 page)

“I hope you both appreciate the fact that cleaning your wounds freaks me out. I hate blood. Also, for your information,
I
will decide who will or won’t be touching me. I’m not some ball of string that gets tossed between you two cats. I’m also not the person you’re really fighting about either. What happened between you two is long over and done with anyway, and I really hope you can learn to forgive each other.”

Golden eyes looked into mine, and I explained, “The reason we came here is because Ren and I are trying to break the curse. Mr. Kadam’s been helping us, and we have a good idea of where to start. We’re going to be looking for four gifts to offer Durga, and, in exchange, you both get to be men again. Now that you know why we’re here, we can get back to Mr. Kadam and be on our way. I think both of you may need to go to a hospital.”

Ren rumbled in his chest and started licking his paws. The black tiger rolled to his side to show me a long scratch that went from his neck down to his belly. I cleaned that one too. When I finished with him, I walked back to my bag and placed the bottle of rubbing alcohol inside. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and jumped when I turned and found Ren’s brother standing behind me as a man.

Ren got up, alert, and watched him carefully, suspicious of Kishan’s every move. Ren’s tail twitched back and forth, and a deep grumble issued from his chest.

Kishan looked down at Ren, who had crept even closer to keep an eye on him, and then looked back at me. He reached out his hand, and when I placed mine in it, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it, then bowed deeply with great aplomb. “May I ask your name?”

“My name is Kelsey. Kelsey Hayes.”

“Kelsey. Well, I, for one, appreciate all the efforts you have made on our behalf. I apologize if I frightened you earlier. I am,” he smiled, “out of practice in conversing with young ladies. These gifts you will be offering to Durga. Would you kindly tell me more about them?”

Ren growled unhappily.

I nodded. “Is Kishan your given name?”

“My full name is actually Sohan Kishan Rajaram, but you can call me Kishan if you like.” He smiled a dazzling white smile, which was even more brilliant due to the contrast with his dark skin. He offered an arm. “Would you please sit and talk with me, Kelsey?”

There was something very charming about Kishan. I surprised myself by finding I immediately trusted and liked him. He had a quality similar to his brother. Like Ren, he had the ability to set a person completely at ease. Maybe it was their diplomatic training. Maybe it was how their mother raised them. Whatever it was made me respond positively. I smiled at him.

“I’d love to.”

He tucked my arm under his and walked with me over to the fire. Ren growled again, and Kishan shot a smirk in his direction. I noticed him wince when he sat, so I offered him some aspirin.

“Shouldn’t we be getting you two to a doctor? I really think you might need stitches and Ren—”

“Thank you, but no. You don’t need to worry about our minor pains.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call your wounds minor, Kishan.”

“The curse helps us to heal quickly. You’ll see. We’ll both recover swiftly enough on our own. Still, it was nice to have such a lovely young woman tending to my injuries.”

Ren stood in front of us and looked like he was a tiger suffering from apoplexy.

I admonished, “Ren, be civil.”

Kishan smiled widely and waited for me to get comfortable. Then he scooted closer to me and rested his arm on the log behind my shoulders. Ren stepped right between us, nudged his brother roughly aside with his furry head, creating a wider space, and maneuvered his body into the middle. He dropped heavily to the ground and rested his head in my lap.

Kishan frowned, but I started talking, sharing the story of what Ren and I had been through. I told him about meeting Ren at the circus and about how he tricked me to get me to India. I talked about Phet, the Cave of Kanheri, and finding the prophecy, and I told him that we were on our way to Hampi.

As I lost myself in our story, I stroked Ren’s head. He shut his eyes and purred, and then he fell asleep. I talked for almost an hour, barely registering Kishan’s raised eyebrow and thoughtful expression as he watched the two of us together. I didn’t even notice when he’d changed back into a tiger.

t
he sleek black tiger stared, its yellow eyes glittering with rapt attention, as I concluded my Cave of Kanheri highlights.

It was late into the night. The jungle, which had seemed so noisy during the day, was now silent except for the crackling of the logs on the fire. I played with Ren’s soft ears. His eyes were still squeezed shut, and he was purring slightly, or perhaps, snoring would be more accurate.

Changing back into a man, Kishan looked at me reflectively and said, “It sounds very . . . interesting. I just hope you don’t end up getting hurt in the process. It would be smarter of you to return to your home and leave us to our fate. This sounds like the start of a long mission and one rife with danger.”

“Ren has protected me so far, and with two tigers watching over me, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Kishan hesitated. “Even with two tigers, things can go wrong, Kelsey. And . . . I don’t plan on going with you.”

“What? What do you mean? We know how to break the curse. At least the first step, anyway. Kishan, I don’t get it. Why won’t you help us . . . help yourself?”

Kishan shifted his weight and explained, “Two reasons. The first is that I refuse to have any more deaths on my conscience. I’ve already caused too much pain in my life. The second is . . . well, I just don’t believe we will be successful. I think you two and Mr. Kadam are just chasing ghosts.”

“Chasing ghosts? I don’t understand.”

Kishan shrugged. “You see, Kelsey, I’ve become accustomed to life as a tiger. It’s not a bad existence, really. Plus, I’m used to it. I’ve come to accept that this is my life now.” He trailed off and got lost in his thoughts.

“Kishan, are you sure that it’s not
you
who’s chasing ghosts? You’re punishing yourself by staying out here in the wild, aren’t you?”

The younger prince stiffened. His golden eyes snapped back to me. His face grew cold and uncaring. I recognized shock and pain in his eyes. My abruptness hurt him deeply. It was as if I’d torn off a bandage carefully placed to cover the wounds of the past.

I put my hand over his and gently asked, “Kishan, don’t you want a future for yourself or a family? I know what it feels like when someone you love dies. It’s lonely. You feel broken, like you can never be whole again. You feel like they took a piece of you with them when they left.

“But you are not alone. There are people you can care for and who will care for you. People who will give you lots of reasons to go on living. Mr. Kadam, your brother, and me. There could even be someone else to love. Please come with us to Hampi.”

Kishan looked away and continued softly, “I gave up wishing for things that will never be a long, long time ago.”

I gripped his hand harder. “Kishan, please reconsider.”

He squeezed my hand back and smiled. “I’m sorry, Kelsey.” He stood up and stretched. “Now, if you and Ren insist on going on this long journey, he will have to hunt.”

“Hunt?” I cringed. Ren hadn’t been eating much from what I’d seen.

“He might have been eating enough for a human, but definitely not enough for a tiger. He’s a tiger most of the time, and for him to be strong enough to protect you on this journey, he’ll have to eat more. Something big, like a nice boar or a water buffalo.”

I gulped. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. He’s very thin for a tiger. He needs to bulk up. Get some protein.”

I stroked Ren’s back. I
could
feel his ribs.

“Okay, I’ll make sure he hunts before we leave.”

“Good.” He bowed his head and grinned at me. He grasped my fingers in farewell and seemed reluctant to let them go. Finally, he said, “Thank you, Kelsey, for the very interesting chat.”

With that, he changed back into the black tiger and loped off into the jungle.

Ren was still asleep with his head on my lap, so I sat quietly for a bit longer. I traced the stripes on his back and looked at his scratches. Where gaping rips had been only an hour ago, the skin had almost completely healed. The long scratch across his face and eye was gone. Not even a scar remained.

When my legs were completely numb from having Ren’s weight on them, I shifted out from under his head and built up the fire again. He just rolled over on his side and continued sleeping.

That fight must have taken a lot out of him. Kishan is right. He does need to hunt. He’s got to keep up his strength.

Ren slept as I puttered around the area restocking the woodpile and eating dinner.

Ready to sleep myself, I grabbed my quilt, wrapped it around my body, and lay down near him. His chest rumbled, but he never awoke; he just rolled closer to me. Using his back as a pillow, I fell asleep looking at the stars.

I woke up in the late morning with my quilt twisted all around me. I looked around for Ren, but I didn’t see him anywhere. The fire was ablaze, though, as if he’d just thrown logs onto it. I rolled onto my stomach to try to wiggle out of the quilt, only to gasp in pain as a tremor rippled across my back.

Reaching around and trying to rub my sore muscles, I groaned, “Too many nights sleeping on the hard ground and you wind up an old lady before your time.” I gave up and lay back down.

I heard a soft footfall, and Ren stuck his nose into my face.

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just going to lay here until my spine pops back into alignment.”

He turned and began kneading my back with his tiger paws. I laughed painfully as I tried to suck air back into my lungs. He was like an extremely heavy kitten sharpening his claws on a human couch.

I squeaked out, “Thanks anyway, Ren, but you’re too heavy. You’re knocking the wind out of me.”

His heavy tiger paws lifted off my back and were replaced by warm, strong hands. Ren began massaging my lower back, and my thoughts drifted back to the embarrassing kissing altercation. My face turned hot, and my body tensed, causing my back to spasm even more.

“Relax, Kelsey. Your back is full of knots. Let me work on it.”

I tried to not think about Ren, and instead remembered my one and only massage from a middle-aged masseuse. It was actually painful, and I never went back for another one. The lady pushed too hard and dug her knuckles into my shoulder blades. I didn’t want to say anything, so I just suffered through it. Each minute was torture. With every rub, I repeated the mantra “I hope it’s over. I hope it’s over.”

Ren’s massage was completely different. He was gentle and applied medium pressure with his palms. Rubbing in a circular pattern down my spine, he found the tight spots and worked the muscles until they were warm and loose. When he was finished with my back, he trailed his fingers up my spine, to the collar of my shirt, and began to massage my shoulders and neck, which shot little tingles all through my body.

Nimble fingers began at my hairline and pressed in little circles, working my neck. Then Ren increased the pressure using smooth strokes from my neck to my shoulders. Wrapping his fingers over the arch of my neck, he kneaded, squeezed, and compressed the muscles, easing away the aches and pains leisurely and methodically. Eventually, the pressure lightened until it was almost a caress. I sighed deeply, enjoying it immensely.

When he stopped, I carefully tested my back by sitting up. He got up and reached under my elbow to steady me as I stood up.

“Do you feel better, Kelsey?”

I smiled up at him. “Yes. Thank you so much.”

I twined my arms around his neck and hugged him affectionately. His body seemed stiff. He didn’t hug me back. I pulled away and saw that his lips were tight, and he wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Ren?”

He pulled my arms from around his neck, held my hands in front of him, and finally looked at me. “I’m glad you feel better.”

He moved away from me to the other side of the fire and changed into a tiger.

Not good
, I thought.
What just happened? He’s never acted cold to me before. He must still be mad at me about the kissing thing. Or maybe he’s still upset about Kishan. I don’t know how to fix this. I’m not good at talking about relationship stuff. What can I say to make it right?

Instead of talking about us or our relationship or the non-kiss, which was obviously hanging in the air between us, I decided to change the subject. I cleared my throat.

“Uh, Ren? You need to go off on a hunt before we leave. Your brother said you needed to eat, and I think you should really consider it.”

He just huffed and rolled on his side.

“I’m serious. I promised him you would, and . . . I’m not leaving the jungle with you until you go out to hunt. Kishan said that you’re too thin for a tiger and that you need to eat a boar or something. You like hunting anyway, remember?”

Ren walked over to a tree and began rubbing his back against it.

I offered, “Do you have an itch on your back? I can scratch it for you. It’s the least I could do after the massage you gave me.”

The white tiger stopped twitching for a moment and looked at me, and then he dropped to the dirt and rolled over on his back, wrenching his body back and forth while his legs pawed the air.

Hurt that he would brush me off that way, I shouted, “You’d rather rub your back in the dirt than to have me scratch it for you? Fine! Do it yourself then, but I’m still not leaving until you hunt!” I spun around and grabbed the backpack, crawled into the tent, and zipped it up.

Half an hour later, I peeked out. Ren was gone. I sighed and began collecting firewood again to bulk up our supply.

I was dragging a heavy log over to the fire pit when I heard a voice coming from the forest. Kishan was leaning against a tree watching me. He whistled.

“Who knew such a small girl would have such big muscles?”

I ignored him and finished dragging the log, then dusted off my hands and sat down with a bottle of water.