Page 109 of Tiger's Dream
Nodding, I replied, “If you hadn’t, I would have.”
Pulling something from her belt, she held out a familiar knife. The one I’d been using to carve the stone, the one I’d used to escape. “You kept it?” I asked, taking it from her and stroking my thumb along the edge. A thin line of blood appeared but the cut quickly healed. “I see you’ve kept it sharp.”
“It was my first lesson as a warrior,” Ana said, smiling and bumping my shoulder. “Take it. I’ve been holding it for you all these years though I didn’t know it.”
Thanking her, I set it to the side. We fell quiet and the silence between us felt thick with an unnamed tension. Gently, I squeezed her hand. “Are you ready to work?” I asked.
“If you are.” Her still face brightened and she got to her feet, summoning her weapons and her gifts. They flew toward us and I caught the chakram easily, tying it to a leather strap on the belt at my waist. Next came the trident, the kamandal, the Golden Fruit. Anamika’s hand shot out quickly, snatching each one from the air. She tossed me the kamandal and I lifted it over my head so the shell rested next to the small truth stone.
As she caught the Rope of Fire and wound it around her waist, forming a belt, I noticed a tiger charm hanging around her neck. Catching it between my fingers, I smiled, seeing it was the gift I gave her before I left. She cupped her hand around mine and stepped closer just as the Divine Scarf whipped around her shoulders, becoming a cloak.
The Pearl Necklace wrapped around her neck, fastening itself as she caught thegadaand the bow and arrows, slinging them both into pouches on her back. The two brooches swirled around each other as if they were twin moons in orbit. One attached itself to her cloak and the other clamped on to my tunic.
The sword sped toward us, splitting in two at the last minute, and we each grabbed one and slipped it into the scabbards that materialized at our sides. By my count, we retrieved every weapon, but Ana put a hand on my arm. “Wait,” she said. “She’s coming.”
I didn’t know who she was talking about. But then I saw a sunshine-yellow head shoot toward us from around the corner. Anamika smiled beatifically and crouched down, holding out her arm. The serpent wound her way up her arm, but her body wasn’t quite long enough to circle it more than once.
The snake turned her head up to Ana’s face and the goddess stroked the top. “Hello, there,” she said. “I think a ring would work best for now, don’t you?”
“A ring?” I asked, confused.
“Yes. Hasn’t she transformed yet?” Ana asked.
“Transformed?”
Ana frowned. “Who do you think this is?” she asked.
I shrugged. “It looks like Fanindra but the snake came from the phoenix egg, so I really don’t know.”
“ThisisFanindra,” Anamika said.
“It can’t be,” I said. “Fanindra died. I saw her body disappear.”
“What happened before she died? Tell me exactly.”
“Her…her body stiffened. Half of her remained metal. She was weak. She used all her energy to take me to the past.” I felt my throat close at the memory. “Just before she died, she bit the phoenix egg. I don’t think she knew what she was doing. Then she died and her body disappeared.”
“I see.” Ana’s brow furrowed as she bent closer to the snake. “Yes,” she said softly. “I understand.” A pause. Then, “Oh, I never thought of that.”
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, looking around.
“Fanindra. Can’t you hear her?”
“Hear her?” I shook my head. “Neither Fanindra nor this snake can speak.”
“Of course she can speak.” Again, she hesitated as if listening. “Right, I hadn’t considered that,” she said. “Will you hold her for a moment?” Ana asked.
I nodded and the snake wrapped around my fingertips. Anamika pulled the Damon Amulet away from her neck and touched its edge to Fanindra’s body. Closing her eyes, she murmured softly, and a golden necklace floated over to us on a wind that blew back her hair. Almost as if a tiny explosion happened, the necklace blew apart into tiny fragments that rotated in a cloud before us.
“Are you certain?” Ana asked.
“Certain about what?” I answered.
“Shh,” she hissed. “I am not speaking to you.”
The snake lifted her head and swayed in the air as if transfixed by the swirling particles of gold.
“Very well,” Ana said.
