Page 127 of Tiger's Dream
“Anything else?” she asked.
Rubbing my cheek, I frowned and glanced around. “I think that’s it. No. Wait. There was a hidden handprint exposed by an earthquake. There’s one in each temple.”
Approaching the statue, Ana touched her hand to the stone and looked my way, waiting for me to do the same. I slid my hand on top of hers and our eyes locked.Ana, I said in her mind.I don’t want to fight.Tell me what’s wrong.Let me share your pain, the way you shared mine. I stepped closer, pressing my body against hers. Ana didn’t answer me but she didn’t move away either. With our hands touching, she sped us through time. Centuries passed in a blur. I was transfixed by the light playing across her features until, too soon, the light slowed.
I was about to speak when, at that moment, we heard a cheerful, piping voice. It was unmistakably Kelsey. Ana stiffened and moved back abruptly, waving a hand to cover the print with stone. I thought she liked Kelsey. It didn’t make sense that she was so upset about seeing her again. But I could sense her resentment rising in waves. She hadn’t been that way at Kelsey’s wedding. As close as we were, I couldn’t understand what she was going through.
Ana mumbled some words, and the power of the wind lifted all the dust from her body and clothing and swept it away. Just before Kelsey entered the temple with Ren as a tiger at her feet, she shifted us in time so we phased out of view. Again, I took care to shield my scent and wipe it from the temple so Ren couldn’t detect my presence.
Kelsey came close and I was going to move but Ana took hold of my arm and shook her head. Kelsey walked right through us. She shivered but, other than that, took no notice. They made their way over to the statue of Durga and her tiger. It was old and had already been in the temple. We followed them quietly, our footsteps magically disappearing in the sand.
“I guess she had a tiger to protect her too, huh, Ren?” Kelsey said. “What do you think Mr. Kadam expects we will find here? More answers? How do we get her blessing?”
Kelsey walked around the statue, brushing off the grit, a futile gesture considering the dust resettled almost the instant her hand moved away. Ren just flicked his tail back and forth, oblivious to the dust clinging to his fur, his eyes fixed on Kelsey. She sat down and kept up the chatter as she thought through the situation out loud.
I sighed with impatience.Just look up, I thought. The answer is right there.
Finally, she stood, tracing the carving. “Hey, Ren,” Kelsey said, “what do you think that is in her hand?”
Ren changed into his human form. I leaned my shoulder against the statue, watching the play-by-play between them. That he was already in love with her at that point was obvious. He had it bad. They talked through how to make an offering, left to get food from Kadam, who waited somewhere outside, and then they finally began the process of invoking the blessing of the goddess.
It took them several moments to locate a bell, and I panicked for a moment, thinking we’d forgotten one, but Ana waved her hand and one appeared on a shelf. When they approached the statue again, I stepped back, giving them a wide berth. Ana watched the whole process with interest. There wasn’t a trace of the boredom I felt showing on her face.
“I think you should be the one to make the offering, Kells,” Ren said. “You are the favored one of Durga, after all.”
They went back and forth a bit about religion. I glanced at Ana when Ren admitted he didn’t worship Durga, but she didn’t seem to care about that one way or another. When Kelsey talked about her lack of faith since the death of her parents, I flinched. I’d been there. Could have saved them. I didn’t though. At the time, I’d thought I’d go back and fix it. Now I wasn’t so sure. If her parents lived, she probably never would have worked at the circus. Never would have met me or Ren.
I snorted when Ren waxed poetic about a good power in the universe. As far as I knew, the only power in the universe was us. I certainly didn’t feel worthy enough to be a god. Ana, though, Ana was different. Even now, she watched them with a beatific smile on her face. Almost like she was a pleased parent, all traces of her prior resentment gone. I shifted uncomfortably, thinking perhaps it was me she resented and not Kells.
They began cleaning the statue and when Ana stepped aside, I did too. She used the power of the wind to help keep the dust at bay. When they were done, they set down the offering and rang the bell. Ren said, “Durga, we come to ask your blessing on our quest. Our faith is weak and simple. Our task is complex and mystifying. Please help us find understanding and strength.”
Kelsey’s voice was shaking, like she was nervous. “Please help these two princes of India. Restore to them what was taken.”
Anamika glanced up at me. She gave me a small smile.
I returned it as Kelsey continued, hoping it meant our fight was over.
“Help me be strong enough and wise enough to do what’s necessary,” Kells said. “They both deserve a chance to have a life.”
We stood there, all four of us, two of us unseen and the other two holding hands. Nothing happened. Ana frowned and then lifted her eyebrows to me as if I would know what to do. I shook my head and shrugged. A few more minutes went by. The goddess and her tiger didn’t appear.
Ren changed back into a tiger again. Ana flicked her hand and time stopped. Ren and Kelsey stood there frozen. The dust particles that sparkled in the rays of sunlight didn’t move. “What happens next?” Ana asked.
“Well, the goddess and her tiger appear. She gives Kelsey Fanindra and thegada.”
Her brow furrowed as if she was in thought and then she nodded. “Very well. Follow my lead.”
She waved her hand and channeled the power of the earth and the scarf. Before I could ask what she was doing, the ground shook. The stone covering the print fell away. Kelsey touched her hand to it, and I felt my body lurch and reposition as I sunk down into my tiger form. I was stiff and frozen in place.Ana! I thought.
Patience, Damon, was her reply.At leasttryto trust me.
Kelsey placed her hand on the statue, and through a sort of film over my eyes, a bright light appeared. It was so dazzling I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t, so I growled softly. Little by little, I felt my limbs coming alive again. Dust tickled my nose and instead of sneezing, I bared my teeth and growled softly.
Ren roared a challenge and I recognized he was getting ready to leap on me. A hand touched my shoulder, and I looked up to see Ana, dressed like the goddess, brandishing all of the weapons that I knew were just in a knapsack on my back. I was inches away from her bare midriff and her long, long legs. The skirt was slit high up her thigh and the tight bodice clung to her curves. She smelled of lotus and jasmine and her long hair hung down her back in gleaming waves. Two of her arms rested on me and she communicated with me silently.We’ll do this together.
Ana lifted a long, golden arm, her bracelets clinking softly. “Welcome to my temple, daughter,” Anamika said. “Your offering has been accepted.” The smile on her face was so sweet, her voice so melodious that I stared up at her as enraptured as Ren and Kelsey.You’re so beautiful, I thought, then swallowed, wondering if she’d heard my inner voice.
Ana hesitated, then one of her hands lifted to my head and she played with my ear. A golden sort of satisfaction swept through me, and I wasn’t certain if it was coming from her or if it was me or if it was our connection, but either way, I liked the feel of her fingertips brushing through my fur.
