Page 149 of Tiger's Dream
Turning around, I waited until everyone headed back to the plane, and when I heard the thrum of the engine, I lifted my hands and channeled the power of the amulet. Closing my eyes, I imagined what the home had looked like back when my parents lived there. Trees and plants shifted. Some grew. Others shrank. The screech of monkeys told me I was disturbing their home but I didn’t care. Flowers and shade trees grew in my mother’s garden. The broken pieces of wood and the fallen walkways mended themselves before my eyes.
When it was done, a lovely home stood where the ruins were just a moment before. The plane carrying my family flew overhead, the light glinting off the windows. If they’d looked down just then, they would have seen a lush garden had grown in the place they had just been, but I knew they were all too emotionally overwrought to notice.
A hand touched my shoulder. I spun in alarm and then laughed when I recognized my mentor. His elongated face was lined with weariness but his color was fair.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said.
He seemed more himself than he did before.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved to see you. What happened back there?”
“Do you recall when I said to use caution around your past self?”
I nodded. “It’s why I had to save Ana.”
“Yes, well, in this case, the version of me you just met was the one who disappeared from theDeschenduring the attack. I had just discovered I had the ability to travel in time and was attempting to navigate its pathways. I’d only recently learned of my imminent demise, and to say it shocked me was an understatement. Even though I witnessed it with my own eyes, I had a difficult time accepting that I wasn’t trapped in a dream. Thinking I’d shake myself awake, I touched my own hand in the casket and, well, you saw the result.”
“What about Nilima? Wasn’t she with you?”
“I never told you or her that she was lost to me for a time. It took quite an effort and what amounted to several years to locate her, then even longer for her to knit back together.”
“Knit together?” I frowned. “That doesn’t sound fun.”
“Trust me when I say it wasn’t.”
“What happened after you left your body?” I asked.
“Something similar to what happened to Nilima. Do you remember the pull you feel in your gut when you travel in time?”
“Yes.”
“Imagine its effect on mere mortals. Because you, Ana, Kelsey, and Ren were, and are, connected to the power of the amulet, it protects you from the effects. As for the rest of us…let’s just say we’ve been remade. Your gift literally ripped me apart into atoms and it took quite a while to complete the puzzle. Suffice it to say, I am not the same man I used to be.”
“And Nilima?” I asked.
“She is none the worse for it as far as I can tell. Nilima was lost—scattered to the four winds as it were—but I was able to use my rather unenviable experience to make the process easier for her. I had to use a portion of your gift to save her, but it was worth it in the end.”
“I…I’m sorry. I should have done more.”
He shook his head. “You did too much as it was. You sacrificed for me, much as you did for Ren. Please accept my deepest regrets for your loss.”
“My loss?” I said.
“Ah. You don’t yet understand.”
“What did I lose?”
He sighed. “I’m afraid you’ve given up your connection to the goddess.”
“My connection to…to Ana?” I gaped. “How is that possible? I’m her tiger! How will we be able to do our work without our bond?”
“The Damon Amulet still connects you. Ana can still draw upon its power. What I speak of is your, um, personal connection. Before, your bond functioned like a triangle. Ana could draw power from you and you from her, but now the only option for both of you is to draw from the amulet. It’s more…limiting.”
“Will we still be able to mindspeak?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Perhaps through the amulet.”
“Can I fix it?” I asked, already guessing what his answer would be.
