Page 62 of Tiger's Dream
“I buy silks from his family often. I could arrange a meeting between you if the price is right.”
Gritting my teeth, I said, “How much?”
“Oh, not much, not much. A trifle really.”
“What do you desire?” Anamika said.
The man licked his lips greedily. I knew that look. He desired to rob us and it wasn’t only our money he had in mind. I could easily imagine what he saw when he looked at Ana. The vendor only looked on the surface. He saw an uncommonly beautiful woman, unattached, and with only one man to guard her. My hackles rose with the desire to spring, to protect her, but at the same time, I knew she, of all women in the world, had the ability to protect herself.
As if sensing my distress, Ana put a hand on my arm. “This is what we offer.” She held out a brilliant ruby. I wasn’t sure where she’d gotten it, but she always carried various types of gems and coins in her bag for just such a purpose. “Be quick with your answer,” she warned the man. “For this is a generous sum and there is another seller of silk down the way. Perhaps he will be more helpful.”
The man lowered his brows, snatched the ruby from Anamika, and snapped his fingers. A young boy scrambled to his feet from beneath the table. The dog he’d been petting nudged the boy’s leg, wanting his attention back. “Xing-Xing,” the vendor barked. “Take these visitors to the silk maker’s home. And you’d better return within the hour. Otherwise you’ll feel the back of my hand. Understand?”
The boy nodded vigorously and ducked under the bolts of fabric, seemingly appearing out of nowhere between us. “Come,” he said and held out his hand to Anamika. She smiled at him and took it as he quickly wove his way between people, dragging her along, heedless of those who yelled at him for getting in their way.
It was all I could do to follow their bobbing heads through the thick throng. The boy didn’t slow until we entered a new district, strangely devoid of people. His eyes darted from side to side and he licked his lips nervously. “Are you worried?” Anamika asked him.
“This area is famous for thieves and robbers.” He glanced back at me. “I don’t think your man could handle more than a couple.
I frowned until Ana said, “I assure you that Sohan could handle many dozens of thieves even without my help.”
The corner of my mouth lifted and the savvy boy turned to study me. “I think you exaggerate,” he told her after his perusal. “He doesn’t look that formidable.”
We soon got to prove exactly how formidable we were. Just as the boy suspected, we were very quickly surrounded by a half dozen thieves. They were wiry and young. Some of them were not much older than the boy guiding us. I held up my hands. “We do not wish to harm you,” I said in a flat, calm tone. “Go in peace and we will forget your disrespect to the lady.”
To his credit, the dirty boy guide pulled a short knife from his belt and stood before Anamika, guarding her, a fierce expression on his face.
She snaked an arm around his chest which served to make him stand up as tall as he could, puffing out his chest. I knew she did it to protect him but he likely believed she was cowering behind him. I understood the feeling. Anamika inspired bravery like no other.
Holding up my hands to show I had no weapons, I turned in a circle to study my opponents. By my count there were seven assailants. Four of them carried knives. One had a short sword and the others were large in stature with no weapons visible except their fists. “Very well,” I said, cracking my neck. “Come on then.”
I heard the shush of steel as the sword was drawn from the sheath. The boys circled us, their eyes hard. They stuck to the dark shadows of the alleyway and moved in such a way that I easily spotted their plan. The thieves paid no heed to the boy or Anamika. They probably figured the least of them was a match for her. Instead, they focused on me.
At once they rushed, the boy with the sword coming at me first to distract me while the smaller, younger boys would try to stab me in the leg or the back. I sensed more than saw the young man coming at me from the side as the one with the sword came head on. Playing along, I kept my hands and eyes raised to the first boy and waited until just the right moment, then my hand came down on the arm of the boy with the knife. With one move, his weapon fell and I grabbed him, tossing him into the path of the other attacking from behind.
They fell in a tumble. The boy with the sword slashed repeatedly but he was untrained. I shifted my body one way and another, taking out the other boys one at a time, while letting him continue to come at me. When they were all down except him, each nursing various bruises and cracked jaws, I turned my attention to his moves.
“That’s better,” I said. After another thrust, I coached, “You’re leading with the wrong foot.”
“Are you really teaching them to fight better?” Ana asked. “They are thieves.”
“How right you are, my lady. It’s time to end this.” Spinning in a circle, I caught the arm of my opponent between my torso and my own arm just as he thrust the sword. As I twisted his wrist, the sword dropped into my hand. I turned and held it beneath his chin. Then I glanced up at the young man hidden above us. He’d been preparing to leap on top of me. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay where you are,” I said.
The young thief froze in place. Ana looked up and smiled at him. “As the leader of this company, you are responsible for their actions. Do you surrender to us?”
The young man threw down a knife. It was a beautiful dagger. One an emperor might wear. I picked it up and ran my thumb down along the edge. “We’ll keep your token as payment for the injustice done to us this day,” I said. “Remember to pick your marks more wisely in the future. Looks can be deceiving. Now run off and lick your wounds.”
We left the alley behind and kept on. “You shouldn’t have let them go so easily,” Anamika said.
“They were just misguided boys,” I answered her.
“Perhaps. But misguided boys turn into hateful, cruel men.”
“Not all of them.”
“All it takes is one,” she said softly. “The sword of brutality is honed on the whetstone of hardship—turn the hilt one way and you see suffering, both on the part of the wielder as well as that of his victims. On the other side, you’ll find contempt for self and others.”
“But you forget that hardship also makes heroes. Some rise above and become better because of it.”
