Page 47 of Tiger's Dream
Ana gave me a long look. I squirmed under her gaze, feeling guilty, but held my ground.
“Very well,” she finally said and took the Rope of Fire, twirling it until a vortex appeared.
My gut wrenched hard when we leapt through, indicating that we were traveling far into the future indeed. When we landed, I could immediately tell we were in India, but where and when we were, I had no idea.
It was daytime, and I shielded my eyes from the glaring sun, trying to see if I recognized the city. With me being barefoot and Ana in her green hunting dress with boots and a bow strapped across her back, we were conspicuous in the modern world. As she looped the Rope of Fire and slung it around her waist, attaching it like a belt, I used the scarf to make myself some shoes and her a pair of leggings that formed beneath her dress.
Ana fussed about that, saying I had no right to dress her without her consent. She wasn’t wrong, so I grumbled a sorry. She still stood out. There was nothing I could do about the bow, so I stashed it behind a dumpster, a terrible thing to do with such a beautiful weapon, and, after asking permission, laid the scarf over her head, covering her long, shiny hair. The Divine Scarf lengthened and matched the color of her dress.
“Where are we?” Ana asked as I adjusted the scarf, tucking her hair beneath it.
When I was satisfied, I realized just how close our faces were. Her lips looked incredibly soft and I froze in place. Our eyes locked and I swallowed. Her hands pressed against my chest, and my heartbeat kicked into overdrive, but apparently her thoughts were not in alignment with mine because she pushed me away. “Are you finished?” she asked.
I blinked. Then turned aside.What is wrong with me?Am I missing Kelsey so much that any female will do? My tiger nose alone should have been deterrent enough, what with the scent of battle and death that still hung on me. Switching to a man had helped, but I needed a long shower to get rid of the stench of blood and sweat. Ana should have smelled just as bad but she didn’t. Every time I was close to her, it was like stepping into her garden. Roses and jasmine wafted around her and clung to her hair. Had she somehow bathed when I wasn’t looking?
My mind suddenly shifted to Ana languishing in her bubble bath, and I shook my head to get the image out of my mind. She was like a sister.Wasn’t she? Sure, she was beautiful, powerful, striking even. Especially in battle. My response was most likely the result of being on my own for too long. I backed away several feet, which was way too obvious and probably confused her. The thing was, even from a distance, I could still smell the jasmine.
Closing my eyes, I gritted my teeth. Without answering her question, which hung in the air awkwardly between us, I turned around and walked into a nearby shop. She followed me and entered just after I did, marveling at the wares while I asked the shopkeeper the date and time and if he had a business card. He did.
When he handed it to me, I read the card and sucked in a breath.Mangalore. What was Nilima doing in Mangalore?
All at once, I knew.
“Come on,” I said and held out my hand, knowing she’d hate it if I grabbed her. She took it slowly, placing her hand in mine consciously, deliberately. It meant something to her. To me, too, but I didn’t want to think about it at that moment. “Which way’s the ocean?” I asked the man.
“West,” he replied and I headed outside.
After a quick glance at the sun, we darted between stores and down streets at a quick enough pace that people moved aside so we wouldn’t trample them. When the ocean finally came in view, I heard Ana gasp in wonder. I scanned the coastline, and when I found what I was looking for, I blew out a breath, my heart thudding in my chest as if I’d just run five miles.
“They’re here,” I said.
“Who?” Ana asked, glancing warily up and down the street.
Lifting my arm, I pointed out to the ocean toward the object that had caught my attention.
“What am I supposed to be seeing?” she asked.
“It’s theDeschen,” I answered. “Our boat. The one you found me on before where I was watching Kelsey. Do you see it?”
“You mean…you mean that great white whale out on the water?”
“It’s not a whale. It’s a yacht. A big boat,” I explained when I saw she didn’t understand.
“What does this have to do with Nilima?”
I headed to the shade beneath an awning where I could still see the ship. When Ana joined me, I said, “We docked here to go to the temple of Durga. This was after Shangri-La and before the dragons.” Over the past few months I’d patiently illustrated the timeline to her regarding the curse and the different places we’d been as we’d gone through the steps to break it by fulfilling the prophecies that Kelsey had discovered. Still, I could see she was confused. I didn’t blame her.
“So if we seek out Nilima, we will meet your past self as well?”
I scraped my hand over my jaw. “I wasn’t in the city until we went to the temple at night. I could only be a man for twelve hours at a time here. My best guess is that I will be onboard the ship, napping as a tiger during the day.”
“Then you believe we are safe in the city?”
“For now, yes,” I replied.
She nodded and paused, lifting her chin as if listening to something. “She calls to me,” Ana said. “I can hear her.”
I strained my ears to try to hear what she did, but without her hand on me, connecting me to the power of the goddess, all I could make out were the typical sounds of the city—people, barking dogs, noisy cars, the distant ocean, bicycle bells, and vendors advertising their goods. Ana stared off in the distance, her eyes glossed over and her lower lip pinched between her teeth. I stared at those lips for a too long minute before asking, “What is it?”
