Page 13 of Tiger's Dream
“Do you know my future as well?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“And Ren’s? Kelsey’s?”
Kadam nodded.
“Is…is she happy?”
“I think it’s better for you not to know how things unfold. To travel in time is no light undertaking. The knowledge I have influences every thought, every word, every action I take. If you were to learn the things that I know, it would change you forever. What has happened is something I cannot fix, Kishan.” After a pensive moment, he added, “I often wish I could.”
“I’m not asking you to fix it. I just want you to tell me. Is the future Kelseyhappy?”
“I’m sorry, but that is information that I cannot share with you, and there are events that you must not know. If you attempt to learn more or to tamper with things that should be left alone, the consequences could be catastrophic. I beg you, leave Kelsey to her fate.”
Herfate. Herdestiny. As I cradled the young version of the girl I loved and listened to her soft moans as she slept, I knew leaving Kelsey to her fate was something I could never do. If I’d made a mistake in letting her leave with Ren, then I needed to know it. Kadam may have qualms about altering the timeline, but if I could spare Kelsey pain and assure myself of her happiness, then I would make every effort to do so.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a siren on the road high above us and the shouts of men.
“It is time,” Kadam announced. “We need to leave before they come.”
“You want to leave her here unattended?”
“We must. There must be no record of us or our names associated with what happened here today.”
I narrowed my eyes briefly, then sighed and kissed her soft cheek as I stood. Studying the surrounding landscape left me unsatisfied. I refused to place her too close to the car for fear of her waking up alone to that traumatic scene, but if she continued to sleep, I needed her close enough so the rescue workers could find her.
Closing my eyes, I used the power of the Damon Amulet. The earth rumbled and rocks appeared to block her view of the car. I melted the snow and dried the ground around us and even caused tender shoots of grass and wildflowers to bloom. Kadam raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Satisfied with my efforts, I carefully laid her down on the natural carpet I’d created.
When I was finished, Kadam said, “And now it’s time to take her memory.”
I started. “Take her—” I set my jaw. “What are you saying?”
“We need to alter her memory so she forgets our presence. Surely, you understand why this must be done.”
Impatiently, I ran a hand through my hair.Take her memory? When Kelsey first met me in the jungle, she’d said that she knew who I was and what I was. She knew that I was Ren’s brother and that I was a tiger, but there hadn’t been a spark of recognition when she saw my face. I bristled thinking of what he was asking me to do and wondered what would happen if I didn’t.
Would she remember me and carry that connection with her? When she saw me for the first time, would she recall that I was the man who saved her? Would she give me a chance to love her before Ren got his claws into her? Not taking her memory could alter the future significantly. I suddenly understood why Kadam was pressing.
“What would I need to do?” I asked, still undecided.
“The Damon Amulet has the power to remove her memories of you. Since there are only a few there at this time in her life, it should be very easy to follow the pathways. Use the amulet to open her mind. Close your eyes and see what she sees.”
I entered her mind, though I was still unsure if I was actually going to go through with it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to peek. A spark of light blazed as the amulet glowed and I felt warmth spread through me. Images, fuzzy at first but becoming clearer by the moment, filled my mind.
Initially, I was overwhelmed with seeing so many of her thoughts. They flashed by too quickly for me to absorb them all, but soon I recognized patterns and an organization in her mind. Prevalent were thoughts of her grandmother and her worry over a boy at school who was picking on her. My fists tightened as I watched her come home in tears because he’d bullied her.
Mr. Kadam’s voice broke through. “Focus on the recent hours,” he said.
The images shifted, shuffling quickly to the most current. I saw myself in the lodge, craning my neck for a glimpse of Kelsey. She wasn’t reading at all but watching me. I smiled when I discovered that she thought I was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
Quickly, those images were overtaken by her fear of the boys crashing into us and the memory of clutching my hand as she instinctively looked to me for strength and protection. She didn’t want the bullies in the other car to find her. When I’d offered to fight them, she’d stared at me in wonder, and something sparked in her at that moment. She suddenly felt like fighting back. Humbled, I realized thatI’dgiven her that.
“Kishan, we must hurry,” Kadam said.
I sorted through her memories and decided that if I was going to change the future, then I had plenty of time to try to do so when Kadam wasn’t around to stop me. For now, I’d do as he asked. With a mental flick, I swiped her memories of meeting me and Kadam in the lodge and of me being in the car.
Unhappily, I removed her thoughts of me holding her after the accident, but at the last minute, I decided to leave her two things—the last piece of advice she’d ever get from her mother and the budding feeling of her wanting to fight back. She wouldn’t know where it came from, but she’d still recognize it, and I’d always know that I was the one who’d inspired that courage.
