Then he changed into a tiger and quickly ran off into the jungle, leaving me alone to berate myself for my foolishness.
I shouted, “Ren, wait!” But it was too late. He was gone.
I can’t believe I insulted him like that! He must hate me! How could I do that to him? I knew I only said those things because I was nervous, but that was no excuse. What did he mean he would never ask me again? I hope he asks me again.
I replayed my words over and over again in my mind and thought of all the things I could have said that would have given me a better result. Things like, “I thought you’d never ask” or “I was just about to ask you the same question.”
I could have just grabbed the man and kissed him first. Even just a simple “Yes” would have done the trick. I could have said dramatically, “As you wish,” “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time,” or “You had me at hello.” He’d never seen the movies, so why not? But, no. I had to go on and on about “permission.”
Ren left me alone the rest of the day, which gave me plenty of time to kick myself.
Late in the afternoon, I was sitting on my sunning rock with my journal open, pen in hand, staring into space, utterly miserable, when I heard a noise in the jungle near our camp.
I gasped in shock as a large black cat emerged from the trees. It circled the tent and stopped to smell my quilt. Then it walked to the fire and sat there for a moment not afraid of it at all. After a few minutes, it loped off into the trees, only to come back into the clearing from the other side. I sat still, hoping it hadn’t seen me.
It was much larger than the panther that had attacked me near the Cave of Kenhari. In fact, as it came closer to where I was sitting, I made out jet-black stripes on a dark, sable coat of fur. Bright, golden eyes scanned the camp, seemingly calculating. I’d never heard of a black tiger, but it was most certainly a tiger! It must not have seen me because, after circling our camp and sniffing the air a few times, the tiger disappeared back into the jungle.
Still, just to be safe, I sat on my rock for a long time to make sure it was gone for good.
After hearing nothing for a while, and feeling stiff, I decided it was safe to move. At the exact same second, a man stepped out of the jungle nearby. He boldly approached me, looked me slowly up and down, and said, “Well, well, well. We are full of surprises, aren’t we?”
The man was dressed in a black shirt and pants. He was very handsome, but in a darker, more swarthy way than Ren. His skin was antique-bronze, and his hair was ink-black, longer than Ren’s, but also swept back from his face and slightly curled.
His eyes were gold with specks of copper. I tried to identify the color. I’d never seen anything like it before. They were like pirate gold— the color of gold doubloons. In fact, pirate was a good way to describe him. He looked like the kind of guy who might be found gracing the cover of a historical romance novel, playing the part of a dark lothario. As he smiled at me, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
I knew immediately who I was looking at. This was Ren’s brother. Both men were very handsome and had the same regal bearing. They were about the same height, but while Ren was tall, lean, and muscular, this man was heavier and brawnier, with more powerful arms. I thought he might take more after their father. While Ren, with his prominent Asian features—the slightly almond-shaped blue eyes and golden skin— surely took after his mother.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid, though I recognized an undercurrent of danger. It was almost as if the tiger part of him had overtaken the man.
I stated, “Before you say anything, I think you should know that I know who you are. And I know what you are.”
He stepped forward and quickly closed the gap between us. Then he cupped my chin, lifting my face for his perusal.
“And who or what do you think I am, my lovely?”
His voice was very deep, smooth, and silky—like hot caramel. His accent was more pronounced than Ren’s and he hesitated as if he hadn’t used his voice in a long time.
“You’re Ren’s brother, the one who betrayed him and stole his fiancée.”
His eyes tightened, and I felt a twinge of fear. He clicked his tongue, “Tch, tch, tch. Now, now. Where are your manners? We haven’t even been properly introduced yet, and here you are making wild accusations against me. My name is Kishan, the unfortunate younger brother of this one.”
He lifted a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers before tilting his head. “I do have to give Ren credit. He always manages to surround himself with beautiful women.”
I was about to step away from him when I heard a tremendous bellow from the trees and saw Ren crash through the camp and leap, snarling into the air. His brother quickly moved me to the side and then leapt also, changing into the black tiger I’d seen before.
Ren was beyond rage. He roared so loudly that I felt the vibrations of it quiver through my body. The two tiger bodies smashed together in the air with an explosive clap and fell hard to the ground. They rolled in the grass, clawed at each other’s backs, and bit whenever they got a chance.
I scrambled as far off to the side as I could and ended up near the falls, behind some bushes. I tried to shout at them to stop, but the fighting was so loud that it drowned out my voice. The two big cats rolled apart and faced each other. They crouched close to the ground, tails twitching, ready to pounce. They began circling the fire, keeping it between them.
For the moment, they were growling menacingly and locked in a staring contest. I decided that this was the best time to intervene, when the claws were on the ground and not in the air. I approached the two tigers slowly, staying closer to Ren’s side.
Mustering my courage, I entreated, “Please, stop it. Both of you. You’re brothers. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. You need to talk to each other.”
I implored Ren, “You were the one who wanted to seek him out. Now’s your opportunity to talk, to tell him what you need to say.”
I looked at Kishan. “And you. Ren’s been a captive for many years, and we’re working on a way to help both of you. You should listen to him.”
Ren changed into a man. He said sharply, “You’re right, Kelsey. I did come out here to talk to him, but I see that he still cannot be trusted. There’s no . . . vestige of consideration in him. I should never have come here.”
“But, Ren—”
Ren moved in front of me and spat angrily at the black tiger. “ I’ve been circling you for two days! You had no right to come here when you knew I was gone! And you will never touch Kelsey again if you know what’s good for you!”
Ren’s brother changed back to a man as well, shrugged his shoulders, and said casually, “I wanted to see what you were protecting so fiercely. You’re right. I’ve been following you for two days, getting close enough to see what you were up to, but staying far enough away so that I could approach you on my terms. As for me staying here to listen to you, there is nothing you could say that would hold any interest for me whatsoever, Murkha.”
Kishan rubbed his jaw and grinned as he traced the long scratches left by his fight with Ren. He darted his eyes in my direction, and with a cursory glance at his brother, added, “Unless, of course, you’d like to talk about her. I’m always interested in your women.”
Ren moved me back and responded with an outraged roar. Morphing in midair, he attacked his brother again. The two rolled through the camp biting and scratching, banging against trees and slamming down on sharp rocks. Ren lashed out with a paw aimed for his brother, but he hit a tree instead, leaving deep, jagged claw marks in the thick trunk.
The black tiger took off running into the jungle, with Ren chasing after him. Their two angry roars echoed through the trees, frightening a flock of birds that took off squawking. The fight continued as they moved from one part of the jungle to another. I could follow their path by standing on my rock and watching the trees shake in the jungle and tracking the procession of irritated birds, rousted from their comfo
rtable perches.
Ren finally barreled back into the campsite with his brother half riding his back, sinking in his claws and biting his neck. Ren stood up on his back legs and shook his brother off. Then he leapt up onto a large rock overlooking the pool and turned to face him.
Gathering himself, the black tiger leapt on top of Ren, who jumped up to block him. The move ended up pushing them both into the pool of water.
I stood at the side of the pool watching the fight. One tiger would explode from the water and pounce on the other, pushing him under. Claws raked faces, backs, and sensitive underbellies as the two large cats battered and mauled each other repeatedly. Neither one seemed to dominate the other.
Just when I thought they’d never stop, the fighting seemed to wane. Kishan dragged his battle-weary body up out of the water, walked a few paces away, and collapsed on the grass. Panting heavily, he rested for a minute before starting to lick his paws.
Ren was next out of the water. He placed himself between his brother and me and buckled at my feet. Deep scratches covered his body and blood oozed from cuts that stood out sharply against his white fur. A nasty gash went from his forehead to his chin, slicing across his right eye and his nose. A large puncture wound from a bite on his neck seeped slowly.
I stepped around him and quickly retrieved the backpack. I dug through the bag until I found the first aid kit, popped it open, and took out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large roll of gauze. My innate fear of blood and wounds was set aside as a natural protective instinct kicked in. I was more scared for them than of them and knew they needed help. Somehow, I found the courage.
Moving to Ren first, I flushed rocks and dirt out of the wounds with clean bottled water, and then I poured rubbing alcohol on the gauze and pressed against the worst of them. He didn’t seem mortally wounded, as long as I could stop the bleeding, but there were several deep rips. On his side, the shredded skin was torn so badly it looked like it’d been through a meat grinder.
He softly growled as I moved from his back to his neck and cleaned the puncture wound. I took a large padded bandage from the kit, sprinkled rubbing alcohol on it, pressed it over the badly shredded section on his side, and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Ren softly roared at the sting while I grimaced in sympathy. I left the pad in place. Last, I cleaned his face and murmured reassuring words as I worked on his forehead and nose, careful to avoid the eye. It didn’t look as bad as it did the first time I saw it. Maybe I was imagining it was worse than it was.
I did the best I could, but I was worried about infection, and I was seriously concerned about Ren’s side and eye. A tear fell down my cheek as I pressed gauze against his forehead.
He licked my wrist as I worked. I stroked his cheek and whispered, “Ren, this is awful. I wish this hadn’t happened. I’m so sorry. It must hurt terribly.” A tear dropped and splashed on his nose. “I’m going to go take care of your brother now.”
I wiped my eyes and retrieved another roll of gauze. I went through the same process with the black tiger. A particularly bad, gaping tear started at his neck and went down to his chest, so I spent a lot of time on that area. A bite on his back was deep and full of dirt and small pieces of gravel. It was bleeding profusely at first, which was probably a good thing because the blood helped to flush out the wound. I applied pressure for a few minutes, until the blood slowed enough that I was able to clean the bite. His back quivered, and he growled when I put rubbing alcohol on it.
I held the gauze over the wound, and more tears dribbled down my chin. I sniffed, “You could probably use stitches on that one.” Addressing both tigers, I scolded softly, “You two will probably get an infection and your tails will fall off.”
Kishan made a huffing noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter, which made me stiffen and get a little angry.
“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 re
gistering 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.
15
the hunt
the 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?”