“And that is?”
“I believe you can prevail and save her.”
“But how? Do you take me back to her?”
He shook his head. “I cannot, of myself, transition you to the time and place you need to go from here, but I can advise you.”
“Advise me,” I mumbled dryly. “What a surprise. Tell me, Kadam, what good will advice do when I’m in a different time than she is?”
“You can get back to her time, Kishan. But when you arrive, you will be completely on your own, relying on the strength of your arm and the cunning of your mind. You’ll have to draw her out of her younger self, and I’ll tell you right now, it will be no easy task. Even if you had the power of the amulet, it would be difficult at best. You did something similar when you rescued Ren from death.”
“But as you said, I had the amulet then.”
“You did. Even so, you sacrificed your immortality to save him. And in rescuing Ana, you will be asked to forfeit something again. But take heart, son. I’ve seen you do it. The power to liberate her is indeed in your hands.” He tilted his head, his eyes hot and deep. “How much has Ana shared with you about her past?”
I shrugged. “Not much. There’s a part of her that she carefully guards. I know something in her past frightens her.”
“I see.” He let out a breath, his expression undecided. “I do not think it is my place to tell you of her past but you will soon find out regardless. The young Anamika you saw was a very happy child, but a life-changing event is about to occur.” He leaned forward, his expression grave. “You must allow it to happen.”
“What is it?” I asked, fearing where my thoughts took me.
He wrinkled his nose. “I believe if you knew, you would do everything in your power to prevent it from happening. I am sorry, Kishan, but I think it is best to allow you to discover this for yourself. However, I will say that you must be the one to save her.”
My stomach tightened. “Save her? You’re talking about more than simply pulling the goddess from her younger form, aren’t you? Do you mean someone will try to kill her?”
Kadam shook his head. “I’ve already said more than I should.”
My anger returned. “Fine,” I spat. “Keep your secrets then. Just tell me how to get there.”
My friend and surrogate father seemed hurt by my anger and lack of faith. I’d always treated him with deference and respect before. I didn’t like the wide chasm of distrust that had grown between us, but I was fed up with mysteries wrapped in riddles and the expectations of the universe in general. Since he now represented everything that had served up unhappiness to me, it was easy to take it out on him.
He glanced away from me as if he could no longer bear to face my vitriol. “Are you willing to take him, my dear one?” Kadam asked, looking down at my feet.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, looking around.
“Fanindra, of course.”
The golden snake wriggled, coming to life, and expanded her coils, and yet she looked different than she normally did. Her skin was peeling away in several places and her eyes looked dim. The snake wound her way through the grass until she reached Kadam’s boot, and then she stretched her upper body, raising it up into the air. Gently, he held out a hand and lifted her, cuddling her body protectively in his arms.
“What’s wrong with her?” I said.
Kadam stroked her back, unflinching when a patch of her skin flaked off.
“She is dying,” he said somberly.
“Dying?” I cried with alarm. “Fanindra can’t die.”
“I assure you she can. She is one of the weapons of Durga. Is she not?”
“Yes, but…” I opened and closed my mouth. The sick feeling was back.
“But Fanindra is a bit more than a weapon. Aren’t you?” he said to her. “She’s also a gift.”
The snake’s green eyes glowed dimly.
“A gift?”
“Yes. Like the rope or the fruit,” he explained with a flourish of his hands.
“But there were only four gifts.”
Kadam counted on his fingers. “Four gifts, five sacrifices, one transformation.”
“Right,” I said, folding my arms. “We have the four gifts. Where does Fanindra come in?”
“As you know, each gift corresponds with one piece of the amulet. The necklace works with the water piece. The scarf with air.”
“So Fanindra goes with…”
“Time,” he answered for me.
“Time?” I gaped.
“Do you remember when I told you about the first temple of Durga? The one with the columns?”
“Yes. You told me that was how Kelsey figured out how to summon the goddess.”
“Correct. At the time, Kelsey discovered four columns. Each one depicted a scene that gave a small glimpse into the different quests you went on. Since that time, I’ve studied the columns in great depth, and what I found was very revealing. Basically, each one represented either earth, air, fire, or water. Kishkindha, being underground, was earth. Shangri-La was air.”
“Yes, yes. Fire was the place we found the Lords of the Flame, and water was obviously the City of the Seven Pagodas. What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, rubbing a hand through my hair.
Kadam gave me the same look he gave me when I was a young man and didn’t want to put in the time or energy to figure out his war scenarios. “How many gifts are there?”
“Apparently five,” I spouted off automatically.
“And how many pieces are in the amulet?” he queried softly.
“Five,” I repeated, growing impatient.
“And the number of columns?” he queried, giving me a meaningful look.
“Okay,” I said, wrapping my brain around his puzzle. “You’re saying there was another column representing the last piece of the amulet?”
“Yes, there was once. To guard the information of the time portion of the amulet, that column was destroyed.”
“Who destroyed it?”
He waved a hand. “The who is irrelevant. The question you should be asking is, what was on it?”
“Fine,” I said. “What was on it?”
“Like you said, the columns showed how the goddess Durga could be summoned for each quest.”
“But there aren’t any more quests. We’ve defeated Lokesh.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Lokesh is gone. But it still remains that there is one more quest in your future—saving Anamika.”
I frowned. “So I do what, exactly? Summon the goddess again? Draw her out like I did with Ren? Fight dragons?” I pointed a finger at him. “You said the goddess Durga doesn’t exist in this plane. How can I summon her if she doesn’t exist?”
“She doesn’t, but still, summon her you must. You must make an offering to the goddess to summon her soul and separate her from her younger form. If you are successful, then the two of you will return to the normal time stream, and the young Anamika Kalinga will become what she is meant to become. She is already the daughter of a powerful man, but when she returns from her ordeal, she will become much more.
“If you fail,” Kadam said, “she will never become a champion or a warrior. She will never be trained alongside her brother or learn how to lead armies. It would not be an unhappy life, but the goddess Durga will never exist, and all the good she does and has done and will do will be undone.”
I pressed my forefinger and thumb on my nose, pinching the bridge. “Okay,” I said.
“Okay?”
“Okay.” I lifted my head. “I’ll go. Make an offering. Do whatever needs to be done. If you think I can bring her back, save her, I will.”
He gave me a long, discerning look, and it felt like he was looking at the man I’d become and somehow found me lacking. The notion disturbed me more than it should have. “Here,” he said. “Take her.”
Rising, he handed over Fanindra and then dropped an old rucksack at my feet.
“What’s this?” I asked, hefting it
over a shoulder.
“There’s a knife, clothing, supplies, and…and the phoenix egg.”
“You mean the one from my room?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you put that in the bag?”
“Because it’s time for you to unveil the truth, Kishan.”
“The truth?” When I’d been given the egg, the phoenix warned me that it would never hatch a phoenix, but would instead become a truth stone. As far as I knew, it didn’t do a blessed thing. I’d tried several times to peer into it, to ask it questions, hoping it would grant me the wisdom the phoenix promised. Eventually, I gave up. Supposedly, the heart of a phoenix rested inside. But no light, not even Durga’s magic, was ever able to penetrate the jeweled shell. I assumed it just wasn’t responding to me.
Kadam put his hand on my arm. “There’s one jug full of firefruit juice. It was the only thing I could bring you. Use it sparingly. Since you are mortal now, you can be injured or even killed. Be careful, son.”
“I will.”
“And bring her back.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“See that you do.” He squeezed my upper arm, his eyes bright and piercing. I sensed that he wanted to say more but he purposefully held back. He stroked Fanindra’s head. “You must hurry before her power fails. She will take you to her mistress. Good luck and farewell.”
Before I could answer him, he clutched the amulet at his neck and disappeared.
“Well,” I said to Fanindra. “I guess it’s just you and me now.”
The golden cobra twisted her head to look up at me, her tongue flicking in and out. Gold flaked away from her body and dropped to the grass. Trembling with effort, she turned and opened her hood. Her body swayed back and forth, back and forth, like she was dancing to the music of a charmer. My skin erupted in gooseflesh as cold air settled on my body. It felt like death had wrapped me in his icy hands. Trees whispered as the leaves rustled overhead and their heavy branches creaked in the wind.
Between the trees the sun cast a pillar of light but the rays weren’t warm or soothing. Almost in a trance, I followed Fanindra’s bobbing head as she angled herself to the light. My breath rasped in my lungs and the snake’s normally warm skin was cold to the touch. When I stepped into the light, we were sucked into a vacuum. I thought I screamed but there was no sound.
One moment I was in a bright space with nothing around me but painful white light, and the next, I stumbled on a rocky path. I caught myself before I fell but still spilled Fanindra from my arms. The backpack landed with a thump alongside her.
“Fanindra!” I cried and crouched down to see if she was okay. If she looked bad before, she was much worse now. Desperate, I pulled the flagon of firefruit juice out of the pack and dribbled a few drops into her open mouth, making sure it didn’t drip out onto the ground beneath her. After a moment, she revived a bit but her body was still as white as death. She managed to turn herself into jewelry though and I picked her up and put her in the bag.
A familiar estate sat atop a hill in the distance and I recognized Ana’s home. Hefting my bag, I made my way toward it. As peaceful as the place looked from afar, I quickly realized that something had disturbed the peace the closer I got to the home. Servants ran from building to building and men were gathering at the stables. Mounts were being brought out, and before I could get close, a horn sounded, signaling the men. They raised their voices along with their swords and headed off on a dirt road away from the house, leaving the elderly and the women wringing their hands and sobbing.
“Good woman,” I said when I reached a stooped lady working in the garden, “what has happened here?”
As she turned to look at me, fat dears dripped down her wrinkled cheeks and wet her dusty blouse. “They’ve taken my precious girl.”
“Who?” I shook her shoulder lightly. “Did someone take Ana?” My heart went cold as she just shook her head, her keening cry ululating as she bent back to her work.
I headed toward the house, unable to swallow the lump in my throat, and was distracted by a rustling coming from the side of the barn. The neigh of an irritated horse was followed by a curse. I caught the word durbala and smiled. Anamika had insulted me with that word once. Rounding the corner, I expected to find her, but instead found her twin brother, Sunil, trying vainly to mount an irascible pony.
“Hold still!” he yelled, one foot caught in the stirrup. He danced on the ground as his mount turned, barely able to keep upright.
“Need some help?” I asked, taking the reins.
“Thank you,” he said as he quickly scrambled atop his pony. It shook its head, trying to break away from my grip, but I held it steady. “Hey,” he said, recognizing my face. “You’re the one who disappeared two months ago.”
Two months? Apparently, Fanindra was unable to bring me back to the precise moment we left. Poor snake. I hoisted my bag. At least we were in the right place, if not the exact time. It would have to do.
“Yes,” I replied. “That’s me. How is your sister?” I asked, trying to feign nonchalance. “Did she recover?”
“Anamika woke up right after you left. She couldn’t remember you or the woman who’d been with you or even fainting at all.”
“Really?”
“My father was really mad when you disappeared.”
“Yes, well, the girl I was with ran off into the trees and she was badly hurt so I had to follow her. I just wanted to make sure your sister was okay first.”
Sunil nodded sagely. “That’s what I told him, but my father didn’t believe me.”
“So,” I said. “Is she here? Your sister, I mean?”
At that, Sunil broke into tears. “She’s been taken. That’s why I’m leaving. I know her better than anyone. I can find her.”
“Taken?” My heart leapt in alarm. “Who has done this?”
“That’s just it. My father doesn’t know. Mika was taken in the night by thieves.”
“How do you know it was thieves?” I asked. “She could just be hiding.” Though I said the words, I didn’t fully believe them. I knew in my gut that this circumstance was precisely what Kadam had warned me about.
“We wasted most of the day looking for her, but then, late this afternoon, my father found boot prints in her room,” he said. “My father summoned trackers to follow their trail.”
“Does your father have an enemy?” I asked. “Someone who’d want to hurt your family?”
Sunil shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t understand who would do this.”
I clapped Sunil on the shoulder. “I can help. I’m a good tracker.”
His eyes brightened. “You could go with me!” he said excitedly.
Cocking my head, I considered him. “Is your mother aware you are joining the rescue?”
Sunil bit his lip, giving himself away.
“I think I should introduce myself to your mother first. Perhaps then she will allow the two of us to leave. Do you have another horse I can borrow?”
He nodded vigorously. “Come on,” he said, sliding down from his mount. “I’ll take you to her now.”
I followed him to the house, and he led me through an open portico to a lush garden in the back. The arched gate dripped with purple bougainvillea that hung down in long clusters and tickled my shoulders as I ducked beneath them. The garden was full of flowering plants, roses, marigolds, rhododendrons, lilies, orchids, and of course, jasmine. It was easy to see where Anamika had gotten her love of flowers.
Fingering a delicate lily, I thought of the girls I’d loved. Both Yesubai and Kelsey had loved flowers. It felt right somehow that Anamika loved them too. Sunil dashed around me and cried out, “Mother!”
We came upon a lovely woman with eyes like Sunil’s and hair like Ana’s. She was older. Her cheeks were tinged red and she’d been crying, but despite her grief, she saluted me with graciousness and led me into the house. After she summoned a servant and I was refreshed with a cool drink, I told her I was a pilg
rim traveling home and had heard the story of the man who’d taken her daughter.
When I offered to help search for her and asked her to share all the information she knew, she waved a hand. “My husband will find her. Nothing under the heavens will stop him.”
I nodded deferentially. “Dear woman. I have particular skills in rousting out villains. I promise you, I can be of great assistance.”
“Me too, Amma!”
“No, ladka. If you were to go, then who would stay to protect me?”
As Sunil argued with his mother, I thought about what I needed to do. Without my tiger nose, I couldn’t track scents. It had been a long time since I’d had to use human skills to track, but I was fairly certain I could still remember most of my tricks.
“Perhaps I could see the room where she was taken?” I asked.
The woman considered me and then shook her head. “I appreciate your offer, sir,” she said. “But you are a stranger. I offer you our hospitality but I cannot send you on this errand until my husband returns.”
The trail would go cold if we waited too long. I bit my lip and considered, then offered her a smile. “Then I will graciously accept your hospitality, for I am road weary and would like to rest.”
Sunil groaned his displeasure, and after she sent him off to tell the cook I’d be joining the family for dinner, I told her about her son’s attempt to follow his father. “It would be best to keep an eye on him,” I warned.
“Thank you,” she said. “I wish to impart my humble thanks.”
“No, dear woman. It is I who should thank you for your kindness during such a trying time.”
She nodded courteously and strode from the room.
After a too long meal, I was shown to a comfortable chamber. I’d have to wait until the house had gone to sleep before I examined Ana’s room. While I waited, I pulled the contents of the backpack out of the bag and spread them on the bed. Fanindra fell atop the blanket and hit the phoenix egg with a clunk. I winced and picked her up but flakes of gold littered the top of the bed.
“Fanindra?” I murmured softly.
The snake came alive, elongating her body and thickening her coils. She shuddered and opened her mouth almost as if she wanted to talk to me, but instead she moved away. Her tail was still hard and metallic. It was as if she couldn’t actually complete the transformation. Pushing aside my bundle of clothing, I found the firefruit juice and uncorked the top. “Take some more,” I said, holding out it toward her.
Tiger's Dream (Tiger's Curse Book 5) Page 24
