Tiger's Dream (Tiger's Curse Book 5)

by Colleen Houck

Ana mumbled some words, and the power of the wind lifted all the dust from her body and clothing and swept it away. Just before Kelsey entered the temple with Ren as a tiger at her feet, she shifted us in time so we phased out of view. Again, I took care to shield my scent and wipe it from the temple so Ren couldn’t detect my presence.

  Kelsey came close and I was going to move but Ana took hold of my arm and shook her head. Kelsey walked right through us. She shivered but, other than that, took no notice. They made their way over to the statue of Durga and her tiger. It was old and had already been in the temple. We followed them quietly, our footsteps magically disappearing in the sand.

  “I guess she had a tiger to protect her too, huh, Ren?” Kelsey said. “What do you think Mr. Kadam expects we will find here? More answers? How do we get her blessing?”

  Kelsey walked around the statue, brushing off the grit, a futile gesture considering the dust resettled almost the instant her hand moved away. Ren just flicked his tail back and forth, oblivious to the dust clinging to his fur, his eyes fixed on Kelsey. She sat down and kept up the chatter as she thought through the situation out loud.

  I sighed with impatience. Just look up, I thought. The answer is right there.

  Finally, she stood, tracing the carving. “Hey, Ren,” Kelsey said, “what do you think that is in her hand?”

  Ren changed into his human form. I leaned my shoulder against the statue, watching the play-by-play between them. That he was already in love with her at that point was obvious. He had it bad. They talked through how to make an offering, left to get food from Kadam, who waited somewhere outside, and then they finally began the process of invoking the blessing of the goddess.

  It took them several moments to locate a bell, and I panicked for a moment, thinking we’d forgotten one, but Ana waved her hand and one appeared on a shelf. When they approached the statue again, I stepped back, giving them a wide berth. Ana watched the whole process with interest. There wasn’t a trace of the boredom I felt showing on her face.

  “I think you should be the one to make the offering, Kells,” Ren said. “You are the favored one of Durga, after all.”

  They went back and forth a bit about religion. I glanced at Ana when Ren admitted he didn’t worship Durga, but she didn’t seem to care about that one way or another. When Kelsey talked about her lack of faith since the death of her parents, I flinched. I’d been there. Could have saved them. I didn’t though. At the time, I’d thought I’d go back and fix it. Now I wasn’t so sure. If her parents lived, she probably never would have worked at the circus. Never would have met me or Ren.

  I snorted when Ren waxed poetic about a good power in the universe. As far as I knew, the only power in the universe was us. I certainly didn’t feel worthy enough to be a god. Ana, though, Ana was different. Even now, she watched them with a beatific smile on her face. Almost like she was a pleased parent, all traces of her prior resentment gone. I shifted uncomfortably, thinking perhaps it was me she resented and not Kells.

  They began cleaning the statue and when Ana stepped aside, I did too. She used the power of the wind to help keep the dust at bay. When they were done, they set down the offering and rang the bell. Ren said, “Durga, we come to ask your blessing on our quest. Our faith is weak and simple. Our task is complex and mystifying. Please help us find understanding and strength.”

  Kelsey’s voice was shaking, like she was nervous. “Please help these two princes of India. Restore to them what was taken.”

  Anamika glanced up at me. She gave me a small smile.

  I returned it as Kelsey continued, hoping it meant our fight was over.

  “Help me be strong enough and wise enough to do what’s necessary,” Kells said. “They both deserve a chance to have a life.”

  We stood there, all four of us, two of us unseen and the other two holding hands. Nothing happened. Ana frowned and then lifted her eyebrows to me as if I would know what to do. I shook my head and shrugged. A few more minutes went by. The goddess and her tiger didn’t appear.

  Ren changed back into a tiger again. Ana flicked her hand and time stopped. Ren and Kelsey stood there frozen. The dust particles that sparkled in the rays of sunlight didn’t move. “What happens next?” Ana asked.

  “Well, the goddess and her tiger appear. She gives Kelsey Fanindra and the gada.”

  Her brow furrowed as if she was in thought and then she nodded. “Very well. Follow my lead.”

  She waved her hand and channeled the power of the earth and the scarf. Before I could ask what she was doing, the ground shook. The stone covering the print fell away. Kelsey touched her hand to it, and I felt my body lurch and reposition as I sunk down into my tiger form. I was stiff and frozen in place. Ana! I thought.

  Patience, Damon, was her reply. At least try to trust me.

  Kelsey placed her hand on the statue, and through a sort of film over my eyes, a bright light appeared. It was so dazzling I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t, so I growled softly. Little by little, I felt my limbs coming alive again. Dust tickled my nose and instead of sneezing, I bared my teeth and growled softly.

  Ren roared a challenge and I recognized he was getting ready to leap on me. A hand touched my shoulder, and I looked up to see Ana, dressed like the goddess, brandishing all of the weapons that I knew were just in a knapsack on my back. I was inches away from her bare midriff and her long, long legs. The skirt was slit high up her thigh and the tight bodice clung to her curves. She smelled of lotus and jasmine and her long hair hung down her back in gleaming waves. Two of her arms rested on me and she communicated with me silently. We’ll do this together.

  Ana lifted a long, golden arm, her bracelets clinking softly. “Welcome to my temple, daughter,” Anamika said. “Your offering has been accepted.” The smile on her face was so sweet, her voice so melodious that I stared up at her as enraptured as Ren and Kelsey. You’re so beautiful, I thought, then swallowed, wondering if she’d heard my inner voice.

  Ana hesitated, then one of her hands lifted to my head and she played with my ear. A golden sort of satisfaction swept through me, and I wasn’t certain if it was coming from her or if it was me or if it was our connection, but either way, I liked the feel of her fingertips brushing through my fur.

  “I see you have your own tiger to aid you in times of battle,” Ana said.

  “Umm, yes,” Kelsey answered, “this is Ren, but he is more than just a tiger.”

  “Yes. I know who he is and that you love him almost as much as I love my own Damon. Yes?”

  Wait. What? She loved me? Did you mean that? I asked mentally. How could she when she’d been so angry with me in Kishkindha just recently.

  Hush, she answered, her second arm massaging my ruff. Can you not see I am busy?

  Ana continued, “You have come to seek my blessing, and my blessing I will give. Come closer to me and accept it.”

  Ren crept closer and I flinched as he sniffed. Did he recognize me? I remembered Ren saying that Durga’s tiger was orange. Glancing down, I saw that indeed, my paws were orange. I scratched at the stone thinking I preferred them black.

  Ana told them where they were supposed to go and warned them of danger. I was too busy watching Ren, who was eying me much too closely for comfort to notice Ana holding the gada out to Kelsey.

  Are you sure? I asked.

  Yes. The weapons of Durga are now a part of me as well, she explained almost sadly. I can summon them from the ether at any time or place I wish. When we no longer have need of them, we simply relinquish our hold and they will return from whence they came.

  I blew out a breath, which, on a tiger, looks like a chuff. It wouldn’t make sense to Ren at all but there was nothing I could do to take it back.

  Kelsey tested out the gada and I was surprised to see that she had the strength of the goddess. I’d always assumed that Ana’s strength came from the earth portion of the amulet, but Kelsey had it even at that point. I wondered then if it was the connection to th
e tiger that gave the women the abilities they had. If so, the curse of the tiger wasn’t a punishment but a blessing. Without it, Ana and Kelsey would have died on the battlefield, assuming they had survived their other hardships first.

  I closed my eyes and tilted my head. Ana reached over and scratched just beneath my jaw. Her hands were definitely distracting me. Enough so that I missed Fanindra coming alive and gliding over to Kelsey. What surprised me even more was that Fanindra had grown to full size. When had that happened? I wondered.

  She feeds on time, Ana said, answering my question. During our recent time travels, she has matured rapidly.

  That answered two questions. Not only did I now understand Fanindra’s rapid growth but I knew that Ana could also hear my secret thoughts. She’d heard me call her beautiful.

  Kelsey trembled as Fanindra approached. The poor girl was obviously petrified.

  Glancing up at Ana, I huffed. I’m sorry, I said. I know you’ll miss Fanindra. Ren and Kelsey were too preoccupied with the snake to notice the tears on Ana’s face. None of that now, I added. Who knows what demons you’ll create with those. Ana’s hand gripped my fur tightly. I rubbed my head against her very toned leg. We’ll see her again, won’t we? I asked.

  I caught the slight nod. She will heed my call whenever I ask for her assistance. I have given her the ability to leave a metal duplicate with Kelsey when occasion permits. But Kelsey will have need of her at present.

  That’s interesting. While Kelsey and Ren freaked out about Fanindra, I wondered just how many times on our journey we were carrying around a piece of jewelry instead of the real thing.

  When Fanindra reached Kelsey’s arm, she lifted her head and flicked her tongue out as if saying good-bye to the goddess and then turned into an armband.

  Ana explained, “She is called Fanindra, the Queen of the Serpents. She is a guide and will help you to find what you seek. She can conduct you on safe paths and will light your way through darkness. Do not be afraid of her, for she wishes you no harm.” She smiled and stroked Fanindra’s head. “She is sensitive to the emotions of others and longs to be loved for who she is. She has a purpose, as do all of her children, and we must learn to accept that all creatures, however fearsome they may be, are of divine origin.”

  I sensed more to Ana’s words than just an attempt to counsel Kelsey. Was it possible Ana loved those horrible demons? The killer monkeys? When she said Kelsey and Ren should use their hearts to find one another, the truth stone hanging at my neck burned. Am I not using my heart to find my purpose? Ana had accused me of keeping my mind and heart from her. How could I prove that I was not?

  Ren and Kelsey kept asking questions, desperate to learn more, but Ana used the scarf and the power of the earth to cover us once more in grit and stone. A veil crept over my eyes and I became immobile again. Kelsey stretched out a hand to my dusty head and touched my ear, where Ana’s hand had been. A cold feeling came over me, and though I was still stuck inside the tiger statue, I sensed Ana had gone.

  Kelsey spun when she heard a sound, and I saw Ana standing close by, her hands on her hips. She was once again dressed in her typical attire, soft leather boots that came up to mid-thigh and her green dress. Her eyes flashed as she looked at me, but Kelsey couldn’t see her.

  Ren followed Kelsey out of the temple, and after a few long moments, I heard the Jeep leave down the road.

  Still Ana stood motionless, just staring me down.

  Reaching out to her mind since I couldn’t talk, I nervously cried, Um, Ana? Little help?

  Chapter 28

  The Grove

  After spinning on the ball of her foot, she stalked over to the remaining columns of the temple and took her time perusing each of the carvings. When she was finally done, she snapped her fingers and finally gave me back control of my body. I was fuming by the time I shifted out of the grit and took human form. I’d tried freeing myself, but somehow, she was blocking me. Angrily, I beat my hands against my black shirt, vainly trying to get the dust off.

  “What was all that about?” I shouted, staring her down.

  Ignoring my question, she waved a hand, and I was immediately wrapped in a cyclone that sucked away all the dirt like one of Nilima’s vacuum cleaners, only goddess powered.

  “Stop it!” I yelled from inside the tunnel of wind. If she heard me, she didn’t bother to respond. When I was released from her brand of helping, I stormed over to her and took hold of her arm, spinning her so she’d look at me. I knew she hated to be manhandled, and now that I knew the reason and saw her startled reaction, I regretted laying hands on her. It was easier to drop my hand than it was to let go of my irritation. “Would you kindly tell me why you trapped me in there?”

  “I was punishing you,” she said simply, hands on hips.

  “And what, pray tell, have I done to upset you now? You certainly weren’t mad a few minutes ago when you were stroking my ears, so I assume this is a new development.”

  Her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said and stomped over to the temple entrance.

  Chasing after her, I said, “I think we need to. In fact, I think we need to set some ground rules.”

  “Why do men always think they can steer a woman in the direction they wish simply by creating rules?” she asked.

  “Maybe men like rules so they know exactly what to expect. Rules make for an orderly life.”

  “Ha! Or-der-ly?” she yelled, shoving my shoulder. “More like or-der. Your kind of order.” She accented each word with a jab of her finger against my chest. “The kind where you can tell me what to do.”

  “In case you missed it, I was the one being controlled by you, not the other way around.” I stepped forward, trapping her between my body and the temple wall so she no longer had the ability to poke my chest. Her palm flattened against it, but she didn’t push me back, though I would have let her if she had. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” I said, gritting my teeth. “I’m simply trying to understand what I did to cause you to trap me inside a statue for the better part of an hour.”

  Ana rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t an hour. It was only a few minutes.”

  “It felt like an hour!” My temper was heating up again like it had when we’d first been stuck together in the past. I’d thought all that volatile emotion was behind us. The woman was so infuriating.

  Ana barked, “You were fine!”

  “I was trapped!”

  “If anyone is trapped, it’s me!” she yelled, grabbing my shirt with both fists and jostling me until I nearly stumbled. She was strong. Perhaps stronger than both me and Ren combined. Before I knew it, she’d reversed our positions and slammed my back against the wall. Her grip on my shirt was so tight I heard a small tear. Ana’s eyes were bright with anger and fear and…and something else, something I couldn’t identify.

  Raising my hands in the air, palms up, I calmed my voice and said, “You’re not trapped, Ana. See? I’m not holding you. You’re holding me.”

  “But I am trapped,” she said with a pleading quality I’d never heard from her before. “I’m a prisoner. The chains of my past…they weigh me down, holding me to a memory of something vile. Then, when I look ahead, the chains of duty stretch before me. Between the two, I feel as if I am being torn in half, everything good in me spilling out in the space between. I don’t know which side will win. Either way, I lose.”

  I remembered the broken young woman then, the one who’d begged me to teach her how to defend herself. Immediately, my temper cooled and I reached out to smooth her hair away from her face. “I understand, Ana. This life we’ve given ourselves over to is not an easy one.”

  “I don’t want them to win, Sohan—not the cosmos that fashions me for its own purpose and not the master of slaves who used me. I want to find a measure of happiness amidst it all—a pleasant middle ground. Is that too much to expect? Is it?”

  “No, Ana. It’s not. So, then tell me what ma
kes you happy. What is it you want?”

  “I want to…I want…”

  She licked her lips, her expression manic. I nodded my encouragement, but she remained mute. Then determination lit her face and she knotted her fingers in the fabric of my shirt and tugged. Before I knew what was happening, her mouth slammed down over mine. When I tried to back away and extricate myself from her desperate embrace, she cried out and slid her hand behind my head, forcing me to stay.

  What are you doing? I asked her, mind to mind, but she had effectively put up a wall between us. I could no more read her than I could see through a stone. I stopped struggling against her as she kissed me again. It was feverish but simple at the same time. Ana’s kisses were a child-like pressing of lip against lip. I didn’t respond to it. Even if I’d wanted to, I was too shocked to understand what she wanted or needed from me. After a long moment, she backed away, her face washed with tears and pain.

  She dropped her hands from my chest, backing away from me as abruptly as if she’d stepped into a thorny bush, and touched her fingers to her mouth. A dozen emotions churned in her expression, but she brusquely turned away any attempts from me at silent communication.

  “Ana,” I began out loud, taking a step toward her.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head back and forth and twirling her fingers to immediately dry her tears. “No, Kishan. We will not speak of it.”

  Turning on her heel, she left the temple. Letting out a long breath, I followed, running my hands down my shirtfront to straighten the deep wrinkles, and then explored the tear along the side with my finger. Without even looking at me, she waved her hand and the two of us were wrenched away in time and space.

  When I came to myself, we were standing knee deep in the snow. I shivered and turned in a circle. We were somewhere high up. Higher than our mountain home. The threads of the scarf circled around both me and Ana at the same time, fashioning a heavy coat, gloves, and thick boots. A vast plain stretched out as far as I could see on one side, and on the other, tall mountain peaks disappeared into the clouds. “Let me guess,” I said. “We’re going to create Shangri-La?”