The Tiger Prince (44 page)

“Males?” He scowled. “How unfortunate for you. No females to carry on your tradition of domination and glory.”

She sighed. “You do not understand. We do not dominate, it’s merely … If a male wishes to sit on the High Council, he may do so. He must just prove himself worthy.” A grin lit her face. “But the tests are hard and the men of our tribe usually prefer to enjoy life and leave the decision-making to us.”

“And does your husband also prefer to let you make the decisions?”

Her smile vanished. “My husband is dead, but no, he never wanted to govern. Senat was a hunter and took joy in it. He took joy in everything he did.”

“Which of your children did Danor save?”

“Medor. He was only five then. You wish to hear about it?”

He nodded.

She hesitated and then shifted her shoulders as if bracing herself. “My husband Senat, Medor, and I often went down to the banks of the river near our village in the evening to watch the elephants. Medor loved to see them play and spray one another. One evening while we were there a tiger came to drink. There was no warning. One moment we were laughing together on the bank and the next the tiger was charging toward us. Senat pushed me aside and stepped in front of the tiger.” She had to stop a moment before continuing in a whisper. “There was blood, so much blood. Senat was on the ground and I yelled at Medor to run back to the village for help. I grabbed Senat’s lance and rushed toward the tiger, hoping to distract his attention from mauling my husband. Medor did not obey me. He rushed toward me, screaming. The tiger ignored me, left my husband, and raced toward Medor.

“An elephant charged out of the herd and down the bank. Danor. He picked Medor up in his trunk just as the tiger sprang. The tiger’s teeth caught Danor’s ear and ripped it.”

Dilam had turned pale and her lips had tightened with pain. Li Sung had never dreamed when he had asked her to tell him the tale that it would be so fraught with tragedy.

“I intrude,” Li Sung said gruffly. “You do not have to tell me more.”

“It is almost over. Danor reared and trampled the tiger.” She shivered and pulled the blanket around her shoulders. “I lived. Medor lived. Senat died. Life held no joy for me for a long time. Then I found I was with child again and the joy returned. It was as if I had been given a
gift by Senat to comfort me in my grief and tell me life was still good. Was that not a wondrous thing?”

“Yes, very wondrous.” She, too, appeared a little wondrous to him in this moment, simple and earthy and almost beautiful in her strength. He said quietly, “This does not change anything. In my mind your Danor is still a monster.”

“I know.” She grimaced. “You will not let yourself think clearly because you are fighting the
makhol
Such lack of reason is common to males. It will not matter.” She lay back down and closed her eyes. “Now go away and let me sleep.”

“How bad is the damage?” Ruel asked, his gaze on Li Sung, who was supervising the workers clearing the chaos of rails and timbers that had once been the track.

Jane didn’t look at him. “You’ll be disappointed to know it’s not as bad as it looks. I’ll still make my deadline.”

“One elephant did all this?”

“Dilam says he’s a very special elephant.” She smiled bitterly. “I tend to agree with her.” She straightened her shoulders. “But it will make no difference. We know to watch out for him now. It won’t happen again.”

“No?”

“No.” She strode away from him toward Li Sung. “I have no more time for you. I have work to do. Go back to your mine and dig another ton of gold or something.”

“I don’t think so,” Ruel murmured. “I believe I’ll stay the night and see what happens. It seems I have an unexpected ally.”

Dear God, she was hot.

She bent over the washbasin and splashed water into her face. Cool … that was better. She dabbed her face with a towel and wandered over to the tent opening to let the breeze dry it more thoroughly, her gaze going to the campfire several yards away.

Ruel must be telling stories, Jane thought with an odd feeling of wistfulness.

She always went to her tent immediately after supper when he was present, but she knew he often amused Dilam, Li Sung, and the other Cinnidans with one of his outlandish tales when he came to visit. This story must be particularly fascinating, for everyone was gazing at Ruel as if mesmerized.

Ruel’s own face was alive, blue eyes shimmering in the firelight and, though she couldn’t hear the words, she knew how well he could build pictures with words to charm and persuade. At that moment she could almost see the aura of spellbinding power he was casting.

Mandarin.

No, that was the fever distorting her thinking again.

She turned away from the entrance and moved heavily toward her knapsack resting on the ground beside the cot. She would take a few drops of the
quinghao
and go to sleep and the fever would leave her.

After she took the medicine she lay down on her cot and breathed evenly, deeply, trying to relax. She must rest. Lately she had felt as if the weariness and tension of the past months had crystallized within her and would shatter at the slightest blow. That must not happen. It
would
not happen. Think of the railroad. Think of the life of freedom that would soon open to her. See, she was easing already. Her knotted muscles were beginning to unlock. In a few minutes the fever would lessen and she would be fine. Then sleep would take her and she would forget the mandarin….

Jane knew as soon as she saw Li Sung’s expression in the dim light streaming through the tent entrance behind him. She sat up on her cot. “The elephant?” she asked unsteadily.

Li Sung nodded. “Last night. Dilam just received word from one of the outlying guards.”

She threw aside her blanket. “I’ll be right with you.”

“There’s no hurry, he’s gone now. The damage is up line. I’ll saddle the horses and wake up Ruel.”

Ruel. She had forgotten Ruel was here. Panic and anger washed over her. It wasn’t fair. Why should all her hard work and hopes be destroyed by this force she couldn’t control? But maybe it wasn’t too bad this time. It was almost sunrise and they hadn’t heard the elephant at all during the night.

There was no use worrying what might be; she had to go see for herself. She swung her feet to the ground and stood up. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she reached out blindly for the tent pole to steady herself. Damn this fever; she had no
time
for it.

Five minutes later she came out of the tent to see Li Sung, Dilam, and Ruel already mounted. She didn’t speak to any of them as she swung onto Bedelia and turned the mare toward the track.

It couldn’t happen, Jane thought numbly as she gazed at the ruin before her.

“What’s the extent of the damage?” Li Sung asked Dilam.

“Five miles of track gone.”

“And where were your fine guards?” Li Sung asked bitterly as he moved off the track toward the path Danor had carved through the jungle.

Dilam shrugged. “We did not expect him to strike this far from the base camp. It’s nearly fifteen miles from where he did damage the last time.”

“Five miles,” Jane muttered. There was no way she could repair the damage by the end of the day. She could feel Ruel’s gaze on her face and she knew she should try to hide her shock and panic. This was what he wanted her to feel and she mustn’t give him that satisfaction. She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead on the terrible damage inflicted by Danor so that she wouldn’t have to see his gloating satisfaction. “It can’t go on. We’ve got to stop this, Dilam.”

Dilam did not look at her as she turned and walked
toward her horse. “I will go back to the crossing and fetch workers to clear the damage.”

She was ignoring her words, Jane realized with frustration. The damn elephant could wreck her entire line and Dilam would do nothing to stop him.

“Jane,” Ruel said.

She suddenly could take no more. Something inside her shattered, and despair turned to wild, reckless anger. “I suppose you’re happy now. You’ve won.”

“Aye, I’ve won.”

The odd note in his voice made her whirl on him. His expression reflected no mockery, none of the gloating satisfaction she had thought would be there. She could not fathom what he was thinking. She didn’t
care
what he was thinking. The rage exploding through her was a hot tide blurring everything in its wake. “But it’s not enough for you, is it? You still want more. You want to see me on my knees. Isn’t that what you said? You still want to punish me.” Her eyes blazed at him. “Well, I’m going to give you your chance.”

He stiffened. “Indeed?”

“It’s never going to end.” Her words came fast, feverish. “I can see that now. Not until you think you’ve hurt me enough. Well, I can take anything you want to deal out to me. Go back to your damn summerhouse and wait for me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I’ll come to the summerhouse and let you do whatever you want to me. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” The words tumbled out fiercely, feverishly. “You want to punish me. That’s what you’ve always wanted. That’s why I’m here.”

“I’ve never denied that.”

“Oh no, you were always honest with me,” she said bitterly. “Come to Cinnidar and I’ll give you the world.”

“I didn’t say I’d give it to you. I said I’d give you the chance to win it.”

“And I lost the first battle. Well, I’m not going to lose again. I’m going to finish the line on time.”

“What’s that got to do with you coming to the—”

“I don’t
want
you here. You get in my way. I want you out of my life. I don’t want to see or hear or think of you again. I want you to stay away from me until my work is done.” Her voice was rising, but she made no attempt to control it. “And you won’t do that until you’ve had your fill of revenge. Well, I’m giving you the opportunity to take it.”

“I think you’re too upset to know what you’re saying,” he said slowly.

“I know I’m sick to death of having you hover over me like a vulture. I know I want it
over.”

He stared at her flushed face and glittering eyes for a long time. “By God, so do I!” He turned his horse with a jerky motion. “Be at the summerhouse by sundown tomorrow night. Leave your horse at the palace stable and come on foot. I don’t want anyone to know you’re there.” He kicked his horse into a trot, heading south.

“What are we going to do?”

She turned to see Li Sung limping toward her. She drew a deep breath, trying to hide her discomposure.

“Are we to let this elephant continue with his destruction?” he asked.

“You
know we can’t do that. We’ll have to do something about him,” she said curtly. “But first we have to repair this damage.”

“Again.”

“Yes, again,” she said, exasperated. “What other choice do we have?”

“I could go after the elephant.”

“No!” She tempered the sharpness of her tone. “I’ll need you here to supervise the workers and send me word if there’s any other problem with the elephant. Tomorrow morning I have to go to the palace to discuss the contract penalties with Ruel.”

“Dilam can do that as well as I.”

“I want you here. Dilam would probably stand by and let that elephant tear up every rail from here to the mountain.”

“The elephant appears to have great determination.” Li Sung’s gaze wandered once again to the torn and
broken trees that marked the elephant’s passage back into the jungle. “He went west again. I wonder why.”

At least she didn’t have to worry about Li Sung’s interference, she thought wearily as she watched him limp toward his horse. This strange obsession he had with the elephant was obscuring everything else in its wake.

She wished she could block out Ruel and what awaited her tomorrow night with a similar single-mindedness. Her rage was beginning to fade, apprehension taking its place. Yet, though provoked by desperation and despair, the instinct had been sound. She could not continue with these shredded nerves and emotional upheavals Ruel brought. It had to end.

But she
would
block him out for now. There was work to do and time enough to face the ordeal when she must. She would not allow him to make her suffer more through anticipation.

She turned her horse and followed Li Sung back to Elephant Crossing.

“It’s an elephant.” Margaret gazed down at the exquisitely carved design on the small black stone on the worktable. The elephant, its trunk lifted in the act of trumpeting, was amazingly lifelike with every muscle skillfully delineated. The elaborate circle of leaves embossing the rim of the round stone was equally lovely.

“It relieves me to know you at least recognize the species in my humble effort,” Kartauk said.

Margaret snorted. “Humble? You don’t know the meaning of the word.” She drew closer to the table. “But I admit this is very fine work. It wasn’t here yesterday when I left. When did you do it?”

“Last night. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to make this seal for Ruel.”

“Seal? No one uses seals anymore.”

Kartauk grinned. “Exactly. Only heads of state on official documents.” He pointed to a tiny monogram at
the bottom of the stone. “Don’t you think the conceit will amuse our Ruel?”

“With all this pampering he gets when he returns to the palace, he needs no more exaggeration of his consequence.”

“Nevertheless, as a court artist I must please my patron.”

“I think you did it more to please yourself,” she said shrewdly. “Have you ever done a seal before?”

He threw back his head and laughed. “No, and I’ve always wanted to explore Cellini’s methods in the art. I think you’re beginning to know me too well. A man needs his little self-deceptions.”

“Nothing pertaining to you is little.” She looked quickly down at the stone again. “Why the elephant?”

“Since the second part of the elephant game won him the island from the maharajah, I thought it only appropriate.” He delved into one of the small clay pots on the table beside him and drew out a generous scoop of slightly hardened black wax.

She watched in fascination as he fashioned a relief on the design on the stone. His big square hands were astonishingly deft and skillful, and she never tired of seeing him perform this magic of creating beauty from nothing but the materials provided by nature. There was something sensual, almost loving, about the way his hands moved on wax and stone.