Tiger's Curse (20 page)

“Uh, yes. Did you?”

He grinned a dazzling white smile and nodded his head slightly. “Are you having trouble?” he asked and watched my detangling progress with an amused expression.

“Nope. I’ve got it all under control.”

I wanted to divert his attention away from my hair, so I said, “How’s your back and your, um, arm, I guess it would be?”

He smiled. “They’re completely fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Ren, why aren’t you wearing white? That’s all I’ve ever seen you wear. Is it because your white shirt was torn?”

He responded, “No, I just wanted to wear something different. Actually, when I change to a tiger and back, my white clothes reappear. If I changed to a tiger now and then switch back to a man again, my current clothes would be replaced with my old white ones.”

“Would they still be torn and bloody?”

“No. When I reappear, they’re clean and whole again.”

“Hah. Lucky for you. It would be pretty awkward if you ended up naked every time you changed.”

I bit my tongue as soon as the words came out and blushed a brilliant shade of red.
Nice, Kells. Way to go.
I covered up my verbal blunder by tugging my hair in front of my face and yanking through the tangles.

He grinned. “Yes. Lucky for me.”

I tugged the brush through my hair and winced. “That brings up another question.”

Ren rose and took the brush out of my hand.

“What . . . what are you doing?” I stammered.

“Relax. You’re too edgy.”

He had no idea.

Moving behind me, Ren picked up a section of my hair and started gently brushing through it. I was nervous at first, but his hands in my hair were so warm and soothing that I soon relaxed in the chair, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back.

After a minute of brushing, he pulled a lock away from my neck, leaned down by my ear, and whispered, “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

I jumped.

“Umm . . . what?” I mumbled disconcertingly.

“You wanted to ask me a question.”

“Oh, right. It was, uh—that feels nice.”

Did I say that out loud?

Ren laughed softly. “That’s not a question.”

Apparently, I did.

“Was it something about me changing into a tiger?”

“Oh, yes. I remember now. You can change back a forth several times per day, right? Is there a limit?”

“No. There’s no limit as long as I don’t remain human for more than a total of twenty-four minutes in a twenty-four hour day.” He moved on to another section of hair. “Do you have any more questions,
sundari
?”

“Yes . . . about the maze. You were following a scent, but all I could smell was nasty sulfur. Was that what you were following?”

“No. I was actually following a lotus flower scent. It’s Durga’s favorite flower, the same flower that’s on the Seal. I figured that was the right way to go.”

Ren finished with my hair, set the brush down, and then began lightly massaging my shoulders. I tensed again, but his hands were so warm and the massage felt so good, I sat back in my seat and started to slowly melt into a puddle.

From a place of utter tranquility, I slurred thickly, saying, “A lotus scent? How could you smell that with all the other noxious odors in there?”

He touched my nose with the tip of his finger. “It’s my tiger nose. I can smell lots of things people can’t.” He squeezed my shoulders one last time and said, “Come on, Kelsey. Get dressed. We have work to do.”

Ren circled around to the front of the chair and offered me his hand. I put mine in his and felt tingly, electric sparks shoot down my arm. He grinned and kissed my fingers.

Shocked, I asked, “Did you feel that too?”

The Indian prince winked at me. “Definitely.”

Something about the way he said “definitely” made me wonder if we were talking about the same thing.

After I got dressed, I went downstairs to the peacock room, and found Mr. Kadam hunched over a large table stacked with various tomes. Ren, the tiger, was perched beside him on an ottoman.

I dragged another chair over to the table and shoved aside a large stack of books so I could see what Mr. Kadam was working on.

Mr. Kadam rubbed his tired, red eyes.

“Have you been working on this since we got home, Mr. Kadam?”

“Yes. This is fascinating! I’ve already translated the writing on the paper rubbing that you did, and I am now working on the pictures you took of the monolith.” He handed me his notes.

“Wow, you’ve been very busy!” I commented admiringly. “What do you think ‘four gifts’ and ‘five sacrifices’ means?”

“I am not completely sure,” Mr. Kadam replied. “But, I think it might mean that your quest isn’t over just yet. There may be more tasks that you and Ren need to complete before the spell can be broken. For example, I have finished translating one side of the monolith, and it indicates that you need to go somewhere else to obtain an object, a gift, that you’ll give to Durga. You will need to find four gifts. My guess is that there’s a different gift mentioned on each wall. I’m afraid you’re only at the first step of this journey.”

“Okay, so what does the first wall say?”

Mr. Kadam pushed a piece of paper toward me.

For protection, seek her temple

And take hold of Durga’s blessing.

Travel west and search Kishkindha

Where simians rule the ground.

Gada strike in Hanuman’s realm;

And hunt the branch that’s bound.

Thorny dangers grasp above;

Dazzling dangers lie below,

Strangle, ensnare, the ones you love—

And trap in brackish undertow.

Lurid phantoms thwart your route

And guardians wait to bar your way.

Beware once they begin pursuit

Or embrace their moldering decay.

But all of this you can refute

If serpents find forbidden fruit

And India’s hunger satisfy . . .

Lest all her people surely die.

“Mr. Kadam, what’s Hanuman’s realm?”

“I’ve been researching that,” he replied. “Hanuman is the monkey god. His realm is said to be Kishkindha, or the Monkey Kingdom. There is great debate as to where Kishkindha was located, but the current thought is that the ruins of Hampi are most likely to be on, or near, ancient Kishkindha.”

From the stack on the table, I pulled out a book that had detailed maps, found Hampi in the index, and thumbed through the pages. It was located in the bottom half of India in the southwestern region.

“Does that mean we have to go to Kishkindha, deal with a monkey god, and find a branch of some sort?”

Mr. Kadam answered, “I believe what you will be seeking is actually the forbidden fruit.”

“As in Adam and Eve? Is that the forbidden fruit you’re talking about?”

Mr. Kadam considered, “I don’t think so. Fruit is a common enough mythological prize, symbolic of life. People need to eat, and we depend upon the fruits of the ground for sustenance. Often, different cultures of the earth celebrate fruit or the harvest in a variety of ways.”

“Yes!” I responded. “Americans celebrate the harvest at Thanksgiving and display a cornucopia. Are there any stories in India regarding famous fruits?”

“I’m not sure, Miss Kelsey. The pomegranate is important to many Indian cultures, as well as to the Persians and Romans. I’ll have to look more into that, but offhand, there’s nothing else I can think of.”

Mr. Kadam smiled and put his nose back into his translations.

Picking up a few books on Indian culture and history, I made my way over to a cozy chair and sat down with a lap-pillow to read. Ren hopped off the stool and curled up at my feet, actually, on top of my feet, keeping them toasty while Mr. Kadam continued to research at his desk.

I felt like I was back in my parents’ library again. It felt natural to sit relaxing with these two, even though they were affected by unnatural elements. I reached down to scratch Ren behind his ear. He purred contentedly but didn’t open his eyes. Then I shot a smile over at Mr. Kadam, even though he didn’t see it. I felt happy and complete, as if I belonged. Setting aside my musings, I found a chapter about Hanuman and began to read.

“He is a Hindu god, who is the personification of devotion and great physical strength. He served his lord Rama by going to Lanka to find Rama’s wife Sita.”

Phew . . . too many names.

“He found that she had been captured by the Lanka king named Ravana. There was a great battle between Rama and Ravana, and, during that time, Rama’s brother fell ill. Hanuman went to the Himalayan Mountains to seek an herb to help heal Rama’s brother, but he couldn’t identify the herb, so, instead, he brought back the entire mountain.”

I wonder how he moved the mountain exactly. I hope we don’t have to do that.

“Hanuman was made immortal and invincible. He is half-human and half-ape and is faster, quicker, and mightier than all other apes. The son of a wind god, Hanuman is still worshiped today by many Hindus who sing his hymns and celebrate his birth every year.”

“Strong ape-man, mountain moving, and singing. Got it,” I mumbled sleepily.

It was still the middle of the night, and I was feeling warm and tired despite my long rest earlier. I set my book down and, with Ren still curled at my toes, dozed for a while.

I left Mr. Kadam alone most of the next day, encouraging him to get some sleep. He’d stayed up all night, so I tried to move through the house quietly.

Later that afternoon, he visited me on the terrace. He smiled as we sat down.

“Miss Kelsey, how are you faring? These burdens you’re facing must weigh very heavily on you, especially now that we know we have more journeys to take.”

“I’m okay, really. What’s a little bug juice between friends?”

He smiled, but then his expression became serious again. “If you ever feel pushed too far . . . I just . . . don’t want to endanger you. You have become very important to me.”

“It’s alright, Mr. Kadam. Don’t worry. This is what I was born to do, right? Besides, Ren needs my help. If I don’t help him, he’ll be stuck as a tiger forever.”

Mr. Kadam smiled and patted my hand. “You’re a very brave and courageous young lady. A finer lady I haven’t met in a long, long time. I hope Ren sees how lucky he is.”

I blushed and looked out at the pool.

He continued, “From what I have gathered so far, we need to go to Hampi next. That distance is entirely too far for the two of you to go alone. I will accompany you on the journey. We’ll leave at first light tomorrow. I want you to rest as much as you can today. You still have a few hours of daylight left. You should relax. Perhaps take a swim. Do something for yourself.”

After Mr. Kadam left, I thought about what he’d said.
A swim would be relaxing.

Changing into a swimsuit, I slathered sunscreen over me as best I could and dove into the cool water.

I swam several laps and then flipped over on my back and looked up at the palm trees. They towered over the pool, and I lazily floated in and out of their shade. The sun had dipped down to tree level, but the air was still warm and pleasant. I heard a noise from the side of the pool and saw Ren lying at the edge watching me swim.

I ducked under the surface, swam up close to where he was, and then popped out of the water.

“Hey, Ren.” I splashed him and laughed.

The white tiger just harrumphed at me, blowing out some air.

“Come on. Don’t want to play, huh? Okay, suit yourself.”

I swam several more laps and finally decided I’d better go in because my fingers had turned into wrinkled prunes. Wrapping a towel around my body and hair, I made my way up the steps to shower. I emerged from the bathroom to see Ren lying on the rug. There was a silvery blue rose on my pillow.

“Is this for me?”

Ren made a tiger noise that seemed to mean yes.

Crushing the flower to my nose, I inhaled the sweet fragrance deeply and flipped over on my stomach to look at the tiger at the side of my bed.

“Thank you, Ren. It’s beautiful!” I kissed him on the top of his furry head, scratched him behind the ears, and laughed as he leaned into the scratch. “Would you like me to read you some more
Romeo and Juliet
?”

He lifted a paw and placed it on my leg.

“I guess that means yes. Okay, let’s see. Where were we? Ah, Act II, Scene
III
. Enter Friar Lawrence and then Romeo.”

We had just finished the scene when Romeo kills Tybalt when Ren interrupted.

“Romeo was a fool,” Ren said, suddenly back in human form. “His big mistake was not announcing the marriage. He should have told both families. Keeping the marriage a secret will ruin Romeo. Secrets like that can be the downfall of any man. They’re often more destructive than the sword.”

Ren sat there quietly, wrapped in his own thoughts.

I asked softly, “Should I continue?”

He shook off his momentary melancholy and smiled. “Please.”

I repositioned myself to sit up against the headboard and pulled a pillow on my lap. He changed back into a tiger and leapt up onto the foot of the bed. He stretched out on his side at the bottom of the huge mattress.