Page 123 of Tiger's Dream
Smirking, I said, “Are you trying to build up a new army?”
“No. They just needed a home.”
I sighed. “Just don’t expect me to be dad to half of humanity,” I said, trying to diffuse the tension between us.
In reply, Ana said softly, “I expect nothing from you. Good night, Kishan.”
“Good night.”
Ana trailed down the hall where the kids had disappeared. A hollow feeling in my gut drove me outside. Unwilling to stay in my empty room, I headed to the forest and slept. After a quick breakfast, I sought her out, finding her waiting for me, the list in hand.
Almost reluctantly, she stepped closer, and the two of us were whisked away, not to Kishkindha but to the ruins of Hampi. I recognized the Queen’s Bath and the Virupaksha Temple.
“Where are we?” Ana asked.
“This is the way Ren and Kelsey entered Kishkindha.”
“And how was this done?” Her mood was cold and businesslike. I didn’t like it. I wanted the warm Ana back. The one who ruffled my hair and teased me.
I held out my hand, and when she took it, I felt like I’d won something. “If I recall,” I said as we walked, “they went through the statue. We find it, we find our entrance.”
We wound through buildings until we came upon the right place. “There he is,” I said, pointing. “Anamika meet Ugra Narasimha.”
“Lovely.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Now what?”
I scratched my neck as I circled the statue. “Well, there was something about a bell and an offering.” Snapping my fingers, I said, “I’ve got it. We’ll just flash forward and watch how Ren and Kelsey get in.”
Ana just raised an eyebrow, which I took as acquiescence, and with a thought, I sped us up in time, not slowing until Ren and Kelsey appeared. We kept ourselves phased out just enough to be able to hear and see what was going on but not be seen by either of them. I hid my scent so Ren wouldn’t detect me. Together we watched Kelsey as she figured out Kadam’s clues, and after they disappeared down the opening, I shifted us back to our point of origin. We snapped back like one of Kadam’s rubber bands.
“Doesn’t seem too difficult,” I said. While Ana stood, arms folded, I headed over to the columns and tapped on one three times.
When I returned, she pointed to the statue. “There’s no fog. The mouth didn’t open and the snakes’ eyes aren’t red.”
I frowned. “Maybe those things don’t matter. We need a light.”
Ana opened her palm and a ball of flame grew in the center. “Is this good enough?” she asked.
“Yeah. It should be. Next is claws.”
Ana gave me a pointed look and held out her arm. I shifted to tiger form and drew my claws down her arm, hard enough to draw blood but not hard enough to seriously injure her.
“Sorry,” I said after shifting back.
She raised her shoulders in a shrug, but when I lifted her in my arms, she was silent and cold, her body as rigid as a fire poker.
“Relax,” I said, my lips brushing her ear. When I got to the doorway, I glanced down at her face. Her eyes were closed; the fringe of her lashes shadowed her beautiful face in the moonlight.Tell me what I did to hurt you, lady fair, I said directly to her mind.It was not my intention to stoke your ire.
“It does not matter,” she said out loud. After a long moment of silence, she wriggled in my arms. “This is not working. Please set me down.”
She was right, but I found I was reluctant to put her down. I liked the spill of her silky hair over my arm and the taut bend of her mouth as she frowned at me. Something about it made me feel happy. When she began to struggle, I set her on her feet, and she adjusted her dress, wrenching it into place with a tight-fisted fury she barely contained.
“Did you stop to think,” she said, “that we might possibly have created Kishkindha in the first place, much as we did the Cave of Kanheri?”
“No, I…I suppose I didn’t. It makes sense though. We’ve done most everything else. Why not create an entire underground city?”
She missed my sarcasm and nodded, lifting her arms. “Then let us begin.” Before we could even discuss anything, Ana began working her magic. The statue glowed and the snakes writhed. Even Fanindra came alive to watch the process. When we connected a handprint to the newly made entrance to the tunnel below Hampi, Ana sent her power down into the aperture. Light blossomed in the dark and we headed down steps that rose to meet her feet.
As we walked down the passageway, rock and dirt melted away before us, repositioning themselves or flying up and outside, and I wondered if a new mountain was being created from the ground we’d displaced. Finally, after we’d walked a good distance underground, she paused, pushing her hands forward, and mumbled a spell that shook the earth. A yawning chasm appeared before us. Rocks and dirt swirled in massive eddies, disappearing in cracks in the ceiling far above us or shooting down the tunnel behind.
