Tiger’s Destiny (49 page)

“I’m sorry I’ve acted . . . less than hospitable,” I said to Sunil as we warmed ourselves by the flames. “Things have been . . .”

“Very strange,” he admitted. “I have not felt slighted. In fact, I have much to thank you for. I apologize for my sister. She is not behaving much like the sister I know. When she remembers herself, she will return to thank you as well.”

I laughed softly. “I won’t hold my breath but thank you.”

Kishan returned with the Fruit and paused when he saw Ren sitting with me. He shook his head as he approached, then, stubbornly sat on my other side, pressing his thigh and arm against mine. I suddenly felt like I was a very thin layer of chocolate separating two cookies fresh out of the oven.

Shoving entire pizza pies at Ren, Kishan, and a happily surprised Sunil distracted everyone a bit.

After Sunil was on his fifth slice of cheesy goodness, I asked, “How did Lokesh catch you anyway?”

“The irony is that if I’d listened to my sister, I wouldn’t have been taken,” Sunil explained. “We first heard of the demon a year ago. Rumors spread from trade caravans saying that he was gathering an army and that entire villages were disappearing. Anyone who ventured north near the Great Mountains were warned that they risked their lives if not their very souls.

“The people said that once the demon leader looked into your eyes, you’d live for an eternity enslaved by him, an evil spirit that would never let you go. The stories were terrible, and when one of the most treasure-laden caravans of our king went missing, we were finally sent with our armies to take care of the situation.

“It was during our second assault that I was taken. I’d been hit on the head and knocked unconscious. Anamika found me and brought me back to camp and I am sad to admit that I doubted her when she described the horrible fate of our dead. I couldn’t comprehend such an evil. It was impossible. I’d always been the practical one, the skeptic, and I told her that magic such as that did not exist.”

“But didn’t you see the enemy soldiers?” I asked.

“We fought them in the swirling mists and during that fight many of them wore armor. How could I ask my men to fight magic? I simply refused to give in to the wild speculation and told them we fought clever men who used tricks to frighten their enemies.”

Sunil bent his knees and wrapped his arms around them. “Anamika was the believer between the two of us. She worshipped the gods and always felt that something, or some . . . power, dwelt outside of our human existence. She showed great faith in everything our teacher told her, but I considered them to be just the fabricated stories of an imaginative monk.

“After my first defeat, she described terrors so indomitable that our only option was to turn our heads toward home in shame. My pride wouldn’t allow that. A few days later I strapped on my armor and left only a small number of soldiers behind with my sister. She cried and pleaded for me not to go. A few men had to physically restrain her from jumping onto her horse to follow me. As I left, I heard her voice carrying in the wind, begging me to return and leave this place of death.

“When the battle started, my men were literally ripped apart. I’d just given the signal for retreat and turned my horse around when I heard a screech from above. Huge claws sunk into my shoulder and talons pierced my skin. I was carried through the sky and was dropped on a stone outcropping. Before me stood the demon himself. Somehow he pinned me to the side of the mountain using only his mind to freeze my body. I was still aware of what was happening, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“He took my knife and cut my palm, dribbling my blood onto a wooden talisman. He said, ‘I have need of a commander for my army. This is why I have kept you alive, little warrior.’ He began chanting, and the medallion glowed red and then white. Light shot toward me and entered my body. The pain was so intense that I would have sunk to my knees and begged for death if I could have. Everything went black and then my body was no longer mine to control.”

“Do you remember what happened to you?”

“I can recall bits and pieces, but it was almost as if I was in a dark waking dream. The things I experienced happened in a place far away, outside of me. Does that make sense?”

Ren nodded.

“And your sister? Did she feel this pain?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kishan said flatly, “she did.”

“I’m sorry.”

I put my hand on Kishan’s arm as Sunil rose, saying he was going to find his sister.

“’Night, Sunil. Let’s get some rest, Kells,” Kishan said, and we ducked into my tent. He flashed a look at Ren and added, “Don’t you have somewhere else to be, big brother?”

Ren shrugged and smiled shamelessly at Kishan. “Think of me as your chaperone. Are you regretting saving me now?”

Ren was so good natured about it that Kishan’s lip twitched.

“Maybe,” he grumbled and busied himself setting up a place to sleep.

I caught Ren’s eye and he winked at me; then prepared his own place to rest.

Laying down, I tucked my arms beneath my head and asked the two men on either side of me, “Can you still become tigers?”

“Yes,” they both answered simultaneously.

“Then the curse hasn’t been broken. There’s still something else we need to do, isn’t there?”

Kishan grunted and Ren said, “I believe there is.”

I turned to look at his blue eyes in the firelight. “That’s what scares me,” I said softly.

We were quiet after that, and I fell asleep listening to the pops of the crackling fire and the deep breathing of both of my tigers.

We found Durga busy with the remaining soldiers the next day. She was a natural leader, and even her brother stepped back and let her command the army. Scribes were brought forward to write dictated letters that would be sent by messenger to all the different tribes and kings that had a vested interest in the outcome of the battle.

I could tell as I listened that she downplayed her own achievements and noted that instead of writing about Kelsey, Durga, Ren, and Kishan, the letters only mentioned the two incarnations of the goddess.

As different men stepped forward to share their own interpretation of the battle, I thought back to my research on Durga, and I finally understood where all the references came from. Phet had been right. We had always been destined to take this road. The stories I’d read were
our
stories, and if we hadn’t been willing to go through with our quests, history as we know it would have changed.

The soldiers talked of boiling lakes, battle drums, and the divine breath of the goddess that gave life to men encased in stone. Mountains shook, a goddess danced across the tops of uprooted trees, and the roar of tigers was heard around the world.

They also listed the powers they’d seen, and the words contained in the prophecies were finally clear. With the Golden Fruit, Durga could feed millions. The Divine Scarf would help her clothe the masses. The Pearl Necklace would be used to end drought, fill rivers, and provide drinking water, and the Rope of Fire surely fulfilled its purpose in bringing peace to the nations by helping me slay Mahishasur.

The goddess Durga was created in a time of great need to overcome a foe that no man could destroy. A woman
was
fated to fight the demon Mahishasur, but history got it wrong. Not one woman but two. Two avatars of the goddess overcame Lokesh.

Phet said that our future would soon be determined. I wondered if that meant we had to stay here.
Could I be happy living in the past?
As a goddess I’d be waited upon. Thousands would come to worship us. We’d have all the gifts and weapons at our disposal, and we’d have the Damon Amulet. The power we had was virtually limitless. We could help so many.

I sighed. I didn’t crave ultimate power. I didn’t want to lead an empire or make myself out to be the some kind of heroine for the masses. Living as a goddess was a noble sacrifice to make. I’d spend the rest of my days serving others, which was a great thing. But, deep down, a normal life was really what I craved. I wanted a chance to be a mom. To marry a wonderful guy—someone who would take me out to dinner once in a while and who I could nag about putting his socks into the hamper.

That was the life I’d planned on.

I didn’t want to be magical.

I didn’t want to be a goddess.

I just wanted to be . . . me.

Anamika and I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing the camp. It was good to be doing something useful, and it kept my mind off whatever the future would bring.

After a time of working together quietly, I said to Anamika, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For blaming you for Ren’s death.”

She paused while folding a blanket, then set it softly on top of a pile. “You were right to blame me. If Lokesh had not killed Ren, I would have tried.”

“You were under Lokesh’s control. It’s not your fault.”

“I should have been strong enough to resist him.”

“No one could.”

“You did.”

I sighed. “He didn’t have my blood.”

“He . . . he wanted you. I could feel it when he controlled me.”

“Yes, he wanted a powerful son, and he thought I could provide one.”

Anamika nodded. “You are very beautiful. I understand why he would desire one such as you as his mate.”

“Me?” I almost choked with laughter. “Are you serious?”

“I do not jest, Kelsey. They all want you. Your tigers are devoted to you utterly. Their eyes never leave your face. You are as the sun to them. You are strong and powerful, and yet your skin is as soft as a flower and your hair smells of perfume. You are small, which makes a man puff out his chest and sweep you into his arms to carry you to safety.

“I am not like you. I am big and clumsy. My hair is always in knots and my skin is not creamy like goat’s milk. I fight men and often overpower them, which makes them feel weak. They have no desire to be close to me, and any man who tries is soon scared away when I argue with him. My temper is too fiery.”

“I have a temper, too. You should hear some of the fights I’ve had with Ren.”

“But still, there is great love there.”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“When I was with Kishan in battle, our minds connected, and I knew his thoughts about you. He worried that you are still in love with his brother. You once loved Dhiren.”

“Yes.”

“But now you are betrothed to Kishan.”

“Yes.”

She considered me quietly for a moment then stood. Before she exited the tent, she said, “I am envious of the love both brothers have for you. Treat them well, litt . . . Kelsey.”

Anamika left, and I stayed in the tent thinking about what she said for a long time.

The sunset that night was beautiful. The sky was full of puffy clouds that reflected gold, pink, and orange bands across the sky. The purple and blue mountains cast their shadows over the valley, but the white snow laden tips sparkled in the diminishing sunlight. The smell of pine and oak and campfires filled the air.

I sat between Ren and Kishan as we mingled with Anamika and Sunil’s men, sharing an evening meal. I felt content and at peace until the air twinkled and Phet appeared.

Saying nothing, he headed through the forest to a secluded glen. The five of us followed, and when Phet turned to speak, my stomach fluttered nervously.

“Do you have the Rope of Fire?” Phet asked.

Anamika nodded, took it from her bag, and handed it to him.

He coiled the Rope in his hand and said, “I am proud of all of you. You have accomplished a great thing and have protected the world from the demon. The stage has been set, and the time has now come for you to take your places and act your parts.”

The last rays of the sun hit Phet’s back and shone on his bald head. It might have been an illusion, but his body looked like it was surrounded by light. A bird made a pecking noise on a tree.

This was it. The moment when Phet broke the tiger’s curse and Ren and Kishan could be fully human. We’d worked so hard for this. Overcome so much. Would the universe give them what they deserved—a normal life—or would the two of them suddenly age and die before my eyes?

I didn’t know what would happen, but I held their hands tightly and wished on the still invisible stars that Ren and Kishan would survive this. Breathing in the scent of the forest, I swallowed nervously and closed my eyes. When I opened them, Phet was smiling at me which I took to be a good sign.

“Kelsey,” he said, “It is time for you to go home.”

I clutched my tigers’ hands. Uncertainly, I asked, “But what will happen to Anamika?”

“She will take on the role destiny created for her.”

I looked over at the woman who would become a goddess. She shifted uncomfortably at the news.

“You must leave all Durga’s weapons and gifts with her, for she will need them,” Phet instructed.

Ren, Kishan, and I handed over everything to the leggy Amazon.

She stood stiffly. Her brother said something softly to her, but she refused to make eye contact with the three of us. Her expression was stony, and she seemed determined not to say good-bye.

Something in me softened, and I put my arms around her waist. I hugged her fiercely and said, “You’re the bravest woman I know. You’ll be a wonderful Durga.”

She hesitated only a moment before hugging me back. Her rigid expression relaxed into one of sadness.

“Thank you for returning my brother to me. It is more than I deserve.”

I slipped Fanindra from my arm and pressed the snake’s nose to mine. “I never thought I’d get used to having a cobra for a pet. Thank you for saving all of our lives.”

The cobra’s golden body grew and she coiled herself around my hands. Her pink tongue shot out and tickled the tip of my nose, and her emerald eyes gleamed. I passed her to Durga who carefully readjusted Fanindra’s coils over her arm.

“Take care of her,” I whispered.

“We will keep one another company,” the goddess replied. “Goodbye, Kelsey.”

Sunil smiled and squeezed my arm.

As we parted, I saw Ren nod to her. She gave him a small smile in return, but when Kishan stepped toward her with his hand outstretched, she turned away and wrapped her arm around her brother’s waist. He stubbornly waited for her to look at him, but she refused.