by Collen Houck
“Leave it alone, Kelsey. I’ll heal.”
“But, Ren.”
“No. Now stand back.”
He moved to the back of the trunk and picked it up, cradling it against his chest. My mouth gaped open in amazement.Yep, he still has tiger strength. I winced as I imagined those hundreds of needles digging into the skin on his chest and arms. His biceps bulged as he walked the trunk to the edge of the creek.
A girl can still admire, can’t she? Even those who can’t afford to go in the store can still window-shop.
Right?Knowing he wasn’t for me didn’t mean I couldn’t covet the merchandise. It was like watching Hercules in action. I sucked in an appreciative breath and had to keep repeating the words, “He’s not for me…He’s not for me…He’s not for me,” to strengthen my resolve. The far end of the trunk butted against the stone wall. He moved down the creek bank several more steps until he found the spot he wanted and then dropped it in place with a soft thud.
The needles had ripped jagged, deep scratches down his chest and torn the front of his white shirt to ribbons. I walked over to him and reached out to touch his arm. He turned his back to me and said,
“Now stay here.”
He changed to a tiger, vaulted up and across the log, then leapt up to the crack where the drawbridge was hanging slightly open. He clawed his way in and disappeared.
I heard a metallic clang and then a whoosh as the heavy stone drawbridge lowered. It fell across the creek, hit the water with a big splash, and then settled itself deeply in its pebbly bed. I walked quickly across, fearful of the Kappa I spied in the water below. Ren was still a tiger and seemed content to stay that way.
I looked up at the stone city. Most of the buildings were about two or three stories high. The smoky periwinkle stone of the outer walls was also used in the buildings. The stone was hard and polished like granite and had shiny pieces of mica reflecting the light. It was beautiful. There was definitely a monkey theme in the city’s design plan.
A giant statue of Hanuman stood in the center, and every nook and crevice of the city was covered with stone monkeys. The statues roughly approximated the proportions of actual monkeys. I noticed that the statues also comprised several different species of monkey and were often grouped together in twos and threes. In fact, the only kind of monkeys not included were the fictitious flying monkeys from theWizard of Oz andKing Kong .
Every building, every rooftop, every balcony, had monkey statues. Then the buildings themselves had ornate monkey carvings, as well. I took a step forward and felt pressure on my arm. Fanindra came alive. I bent down to let her slide off my arm to the ground. She raised her head and tasted the air with her tongue several times; then, she started moving through the city. Ren and I followed her as she wove her slow path.
“You don’t have to stay a tiger just because of me.”
He kept his eyes forward following the snake.
“Ren, it’s a miracle that you can be a man at all. Don’t do this to yourself, please. Just because you’re ang—”
He switched back to a man and spun around to face me.
“Iam angry! Why shouldn’t I stay a tiger? You seem to be much more comfortable withhim than you are
with me!” His blue eyes flashed with uncertainty and hurt.
“Iam more comfortable with him, but not because I like him more. It’s toocomplicated to discuss with you right now.” I turned away from him, hiding my red face.
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and asked anxiously, “Kelsey, why have you been avoiding me? Is it because I’ve been moving too fast? You aren’t ready to think of me in that way yet. Is that it?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just…I don’t want to make a mistake or get involved in something that will lead to
one or both of us getting hurt, and I don’t really think this is the best place to talk about this.”
I stared at his feet as I said these words. He was quiet for several minutes. I peeked at his face from under my lashes and found him assessing me. He continued to watch me patiently as I squirmed under his
gaze. I looked at the stone pavers, Fanindra, my hands, anything except him. Finally, he gave up.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yes, fine. Here, hand me the backpack. It’s my turn to carry it for a while.”
He helped me slip it off my back and then adjusted the straps to fit over his wide shoulders. Fanindra seemed ready to get moving again, and she continued her journey, slinking through the city.
We passed between buildings in dark shadow where Fanindra’s golden body gleamed in the darkness.
She slipped through cracks beneath unwieldy doors that Ren had to throw his body up against to get open. She took us on an interesting obstacle course from a snake’s perspective, going under and through things that were impossible for Ren and me to navigate. She disappeared under cracks in the floor, and Ren had to sniff her out to find her. Often, we had to backtrack and meet her on the other side of walls or rooms. We always found her coiled and resting, patiently waiting for us to catch up.
Eventually, she led us to a rectangular reflecting pool brimming with sea-green algae-filled water. The pool was waist high, and on each corner stood a tall stone pedestal. On top of each pedestal was a carved monkey, each one looking out in the distance, one for each point of the compass.
They were crouched down with hands touching the ground. Teeth were bared, and I could visualize them hissing, as if ready to pounce. Their tails curled up over their bodies, fleshy levers to increase the range of their attack. Under the pedestals, groups of evil-looking stone monkeys stared out of the darkness with grimaces and hollowed black eyes. Long arms were stretched out, as if to grab and claw at whomever passed by.
Stone steps led up to the reflecting pool. We climbed up and peered into the water. With relief, I saw that no Kappa were lurking in the murky depths. At the edge of the pool on the stone border was an inscription.
“Can you read it?” I asked.
“It says Niyuj Kapi—Choose the Monkey.”
“Hmm.”
We walked around the four corners examining each statue. One had ears pricked forward and another had ears flat against its head. All four were of different species.
“Ren, Hanuman was half man half monkey, right? What kind of monkey was the monkey half?”
“I don’t know. Mr. Kadam would know. Ican tell you that these two are not native to India. This one’s a spider monkey. They come from South America. This one is a chimpanzee, which is technically an ape,
not a monkey. They’re often classified as monkeys because of their size.”
I gaped at him. “How do you know so much about monkeys?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, so I’m to assume that talking about monkeys is an approved topic of conversation? Perhaps if I were a monkey instead of a tiger you might clue me in as to why you’re avoiding me.”
“My avoiding you has nothing to do with your species. It has to do with other things.”
“What other things?”
“Nothing.”
“No. Obviously, it’s not nothing.”
“Trust me, it’s nothing.”
“It’s something.”
“It can’tbe anything.”
“What can’tbe anything?”
“Nothing! Can we get back to the monkeys, please?”
He yelled, “Fine!”
We stood there glaring at each other for a minute, both of us frustrated and angry. He went back to examining the various monkeys and ticking off a list of their traits.
Before I could stop myself, I shot off a sarcastic, “I had no idea that I was walking with a monkey expert, but, then again, you haveeaten them right? So I guess that would be the difference between say, pork and chicken, to someone like me.”
He scowled at me. “I lived in zoos and circuses for centuries, remember? And I don’t…eat….monkeys!”
“Hmm
.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back at him. He threw me a look and then stomped over and crouched in front of another statue.
Irritated, he spat out, “That one’s a macaque, he’s native to India, and this hairy one is a baboon, also found here.”
“So which one do I pick? It has to be one of the last two. The other two monkeys aren’t from around here, so I’d guess one of these is right.”
He ignored me, probably still offended, and he was looking at the monkey clusters under the pedestal when I declared, “Baboon.”
He stood up. “Why choose him?”
“He has a more human face. He reminds me of the statue of Hanuman.”
“Okay, so give it a try.”
“Give what a try?”
He lost patience. “I don’t know! Do that thing you do, with your hand.”
“I’m not sure it works that way.”
He gestured to the monkey. “Okay…then rub his head like a Buddha statue.”
Oh yeah, he was definitely frustrated with me.
I frowned at him, then walked up to the baboon statue and tentatively touched its head. Nothing happened. I patted its cheeks, rubbed its belly, and tugged on its arms, its tail…nothing. I was squeezing its shoulders when I felt the statue move a bit. I pushed on one of the shoulders, and the top of the pedestal moved aside to reveal a stone box with a lever. I reached in and pulled on the lever. At first, nothing happened. Then I felt my hand grow hot like it had before. The symbols drawn into my hand resurfaced, and the lever shifted, rose up, twisted, and popped out.
Rumbling shook the ground, and the water in the pool started to drain. Ren grabbed my arms and quickly yanked me against his chest, swiftly backing us away from the pool. He rested his hands on my upper arms while we watched the shifting stone.
The rectangular pool cracked and divided in two. Both halves began moving in opposite directions. The water spilled out and fell below, splashing against rock and stone as it tumbled into a gaping hole that opened up where the pool used to be.
Something began to emerge. At first, I thought it was just a reflection of light on the shiny wet stone, but
the light grew increasingly brighter until I saw a branch poke out of the hole. Sparkling golden leaves covered it. More branches emerged and then a trunk. It kept rising until the entire tree was standing before us. The leaves were shimmering, radiating a soft yellow light as if thousands of golden Christmas tree bulbs were threaded through the branches. The golden leaves quivered, as if a slight breeze shook the tree.
The tree was about twelve feet tall and covered with small white flowers that released a sweet fragrance.
The leaves were long and thin, attached to delicate, thin branches that led to thick, stronger ones and from there to a sturdy, compact trunk. The trunk sat in a large stone box that had ascended on a solid stone base. It was the most beautiful tree I’d ever seen.
Ren took my hand and led me cautiously toward the tree. He stretched out a hand to finger a golden leaf.
“It’s beautiful!” I exclaimed.
He plucked a flower and smelled it. “It’s a mango tree.”
“Mango? Are you sure?”
He watched me admire the tree. I was sure my face was as awestruck as his. His expression softened.
He took a step toward me and lifted his hand to tuck the flower in my hair. I turned away from him, pretending not to see, and fingered a golden leaf. When I glanced at him a moment later, his expression was stony. I saw he’d dropped the white flower. It was crushed and broken, and my heart throbbed painfully when I saw the beautiful petals lying torn and forsaken in the dirt.
He stared indifferently at my face and said, “I’m sure.”
We walked around the base of the tree, examining it from all angles.
Ren shouted, “There! Do you see up at the top? It’s a golden fruit!”
“Where? I can’t see it from here.”
He pointed to the top of the tree and, sure enough, a golden orb swung softly from a branch.
Ren mumbled, “A mango fruit. Of course. It makes sense.”
“Why?”
“Mangoes are one of the main exports of India. It’s a staple for our country…possibly the most important natural resource we have. So the Golden Fruit of India is a mango. I should have guessed it before.”
I gazed up at the tall branches. “How are we going to get it?”
“What do you mean, ‘How are we going to get it?’You climbing up on my shoulders is how we’re going
to get it.”
I laughed. “Uh, Ren, I think you’d better come up with another plan. Like maybe leap up as you supertigers do and catch it in your mouth or something.”
He smiled at me malevolently. “No. You,” he touched my nose with his finger, “are going to sit on my shoulders.”
I moaned, “Pleasestop saying that.”
“Come here. I’ll talk you through it. It’s child’s play.”
He picked me up and set me on the tall border of the reflecting pool; then, he spun around so his back was facing me. “Okay, climb on.”
He held out his hands. I tentatively grabbed them and swung one leg over his shoulder, complaining the entire time. I almost lifted my leg back off, but he anticipated that I would chicken out and reached back with his arm to grab my other leg and hoist me up before I could retreat.
After I yelled at him to no effect, he held my hands and, easily balancing my weight, walked back to the tree. He took his time looking for the right place and then began instructing me.
“See that thick branch right above your head?”
“Yes.”
“Let go of one of my hands and reach up to grab it.”
I did and threatened, “Don’t drop me!”
He bragged, “Kelsey, there is absolutelyno danger of me dropping you.”
I grabbed the branch.
“Good. Now reach up with your other hand and grab the same branch. I’ll be holding your legs, don’t worry.”
I reached up and got a good hold of the branch, but my palms were sweaty, and if he hadn’t been supporting me, I was sure I would have fallen. “Hey, Ren, this was a great idea and all, but I’m still a good foot or two away from the fruit. What do you expect me to do now?”
In response, he laughed and said, “Hold on a sec.”
“What do you mean, ‘hold on a sec’?”
He yanked my tennis shoes off my feet and then said, “Hold on to the branch and stand up.”
Frightened, I yelped and strangled the branch for dear life. Ren was pushing me up above the branch even higher. I glanced down and saw he was cupping my feet in his hands, supporting my entire body weight with his arms alone.
I hissed, “Ren, are you crazy? I’m too heavy for you.”
He scoffed drolly, “Obviously not, Kelsey. Now pay attention. Keep your hold on the branch, and I want you to step from my hand to my shoulder, first one foot, and then the other.”
He lifted my right leg first, and I felt my heel bump against his upper arm. I carefully shifted my foot to rest it on his wide shoulder, and then did the same with the other one. I looked at the fruit, which was now hanging directly across from me and bouncing slightly up and down.
“Okay, I’m going to try and grab the fruit now. Hold on.”
His hand had moved to the back of my calves, and he squeezed them tightly. I pushed off from the branch, which was now at my waist, and stretched my arm to reach the bobbing fruit. It was attached to a long, woody stem that shot off from the top of the tree.
My fingers grazed it, and it shifted away from me for a moment. When it swung back to me, I wrapped my hand around it and pulled gently.
It didn’t want to move. I tugged a bit harder, careful not to damage the golden fruit. Surprisingly, it still felt like a real mango with leathery smooth skin, even though it twinkled with dazzling golden light.
I braced my body on the branch again, yanked firmly, and was finally able to pl
uck it from the stem.
All at once, my body iced over and became rigid, and my mind was carried away in a black vision. A burning heat seared my chest, and I stood in complete darkness. A ghostly figure started making its way toward me. The misty features swirled around a shape and solidified into a form. It was Mr. Kadam! He was clutching at his chest. When he removed his hand, I saw the amulet he was wearing was glowing red
hot. I looked down and saw mine too, glowing in the same manner. I tried to reach out to him, and I spoke, but he couldn’t seem to hear me or I him.
Another ghostly figure swirled up across from us and slowly took form. He was gripping a large amulet as well. When he became alert, he turned his eyes to Mr. Kadam. He immediately focused his attention on the amulet Mr. Kadam was wearing.
The man was dressed in expensive, modern clothing. His quick eyes showed intelligence, confidence, determination, and something else, something dark, something…evil. He tried to take a step forward, but
a barrier of some kind prevented any of us from moving.
His expression tightened and twisted into a vile rage that, though quickly suppressed, continued to swirl like a stalking beast behind his eyes. Black, desperate fear congealed in my stomach as the man turned his attention to me. He clearly wanted something.
His eyes examined me carefully from head to toe and then settled on the glowing amulet around my neck. Gleaming malice and loathsome delight swept over his face. I looked at Mr. Kadam for support, but he was studying the man meticulously as well.
I was very afraid. I cried out for Ren, but even I couldn’t hear my own voice.
The man pulled something from his pocket and started muttering words to himself. I tried to read his lips,
but I think he was speaking in another language. I looked at Mr. Kadam again. His features were becoming transparent. He was becoming spectral again. I looked at my arm and gasped as the same thing started happening to me. I became dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. I couldn’t stand anymore. I was falling down…down…down.
CHAPTER 22
When I opened my eyes, I was staring up into Ren’s face. “Kelsey! Are you okay? You fell. Did you faint? What happened?”
