Page 90 of Tiger's Dream
He didn’t scare me. His knives, the posturing, and his flights of rage were nothing more than inconveniences. I honestly didn’t care about the weapons he traded either, or the fact that he bought and used slaves. But a man who did such things to children deserved the wrath of the goddess and her tiger, and one way or another, we would rain it down upon him.
When his knives were put away, I said, “Take the stone between your hands.” After he did, I added, “Now, tell me that you will let the girl go free.”
He hesitated for just a beat and then said, “Yes, yes. If you tell me the secret of the magic, I’ll set her free.”
The phoenix egg stayed dark. “You’re lying,” I said.
“You are in no position to question—”
I shook my head. “No. I mean, I know you are lying because the stone stays dark. When someone speaks the truth, the stone glows from within. Watch it carefully, and I will show you.” Leaning forward, I said, “When I escape, and I assure you I will, there will be no shadow too dark, no closet too hidden for me to find you, and when I do, I will bring your death within that hour.”
When I finished speaking, the truth stone glowed with an inner light, and the turbaned man lifted his hands away quickly, crying out, “It lives!”
“Yes,” I said. “It is a living thing, and when the truth is spoken, it glows.”
He sat back and rotated the stone, peering at it carefully as it dimmed. Tilting his head, he said, “This is a trick.”
“It is no trick,” I said. “Test it yourself. See if you can trap it in a lie.”
The man sat back, licking his lips as he looked from the stone to me with heavy lids. “My mother died when I was four,” he began.
The stone glowed, illuminating his face with a devilish light.
“I love camels,” was his next attempt and the fire inside the stone darkened. “I can trust my personal guard,” he said, and the stone stayed dim. He made eye contact with the guard at my side and the man swallowed, his forearms tensing.
Ignoring the guard for the moment, he uttered statement after statement, declaring everything from his favorite fruit to the name of a mouse he’d once kept as a pet to the place where he kept his gold. Truth, lie, lie. He then practiced on his guard, asking him a series of questions, and it quickly became evident that all was not as he had supposed within his household. This went on for some time until he finally sat back, satisfied.
“This is a valuable treasure, indeed,” the man said. “With such an object, no man will ever be able to lie to me again. There are so many possibilities.”
My mind worked at the same time his did. There were many things a man such as him could use the stone for. It was dangerous leaving it in his hands.
“Why did you leave it behind?” he asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.
I shrugged. “Saving the children was more important.”
He glanced down at the stone but it remained dark.
Sighing, I said, “I didn’t see it.”
The egg glowed.
“Ah.” He smiled contentedly. “I find there is much I want to ask you, but I confess that I’d like to test out this stone of truth a bit further first. Take him back to his cell,” he said to the guard and then warned him. “And do not think I will forget the truths the stone revealed about your loyalty,” he said. “I’d tread very carefully if I were you.”
The nervous guard bowed quickly and jerked me to my feet, cuffing me for good measure before his master left, shutting the door behind him.
“He’s going to kill you, you know,” I said as he escorted me back to my cell.
“Shut up,” he warned.
The man shoved me into my cell and headed up and out the cellar door, locking it as he did. Even though it was early afternoon, we were all plunged in darkness. I took the edge of my shirt and pressed it against my bleeding mouth.
When the footsteps above disappeared, I heard a soft voice nearby. “I’ve still got the knife,” the boy whispered. “I’ve used it to open my lock.”
“Good job, son,” I said. “Do you think you can open mine?”
“I think so.”
“Be careful. When you hear them come back, make sure you get back in your cell and close the door.”
