Page 2 of Tiger's Dream
She studied me silently for a moment, then walked past me, heading toward our home with a stiff back. The fading sound of her muttering disappeared as she moved through the trees, but still I caught the phrase, “I amnotfrightened of his teeth.”
I felt a passing guilt at letting her return home alone, but I’d noted that she wore the Damon Amulet and knew there was nothing on this earth that could harm her. When she was gone, I stretched and wondered if I should return to the home we shared, shared being a relative term, or if I should stay the night in the forest. I’d just decided to find a nice piece of grass to sleep on when my body stilled, sensing the presence of another person.Who would be here? A hunter?Had Anamika returned?
Slowly, I circled, making little to no sound, and when I’d fully revolved, I jumped back, my heart slamming in shock.
A little man stood before me as if he’d appeared out of nowhere,which he probably had. Moonlight shone on his bald head, and as he shifted, his sandals crunched the grass. We hadn’t seen the monk since that fateful day when I gave over my fiancée, the girl I loved more than life, to my brother. The day I watched my dreams, my hopes, and my future leap through a vortex of flame and disappear, extinguishing like a lamp run out of oil.
I’d been depleted ever since.
“Phet,” I said simply. “What bringsyouto my version of hell?”
The man took hold of my shoulder and peered at me with lucid brown eyes.
“Kishan,” he said gravely, “Kelsey needs you.”
Chapter 1
Phet Revealed
My muscles tensed and I stopped breathing.
Kelsey.
I pictured her face. The last words we’d shared.
I’d been an absolute idiot.
Six months before, Phet had said that Durga needed a tiger and that one of us must make the choice to stay. When Ren and I moved off to talk about it, my brother completely refused to even consider staying behind. He told me he would go where Kelsey went. There was no other choice for him, he’d declared stubbornly.
Phet spoke to us quietly then and explained that Sunil, Anamika’s brother, would be returning with Kelsey to the future and thus would be leaving his sister behind. I’d glanced at Anamika and seen her gripping her recently rescued brother’s arm. She was still unaware that her brother would leave. I knew through my connection to the goddess that his departure would be a terrible blow.
Phet emphasized, “Durgamustfulfill her purpose. Generations of people will be influenced by her. Without a companion, she will be left alone and the world as we know it will change utterly. A tiger is meant to embrace this life. You must choose.”
As new as our bond was at the time, I was aware, even then, that Anamika hated the idea of posing as a goddess, destiny or not. The odds were good that without someone at her side, she’d likely head back to India and give up the life of the goddess.
Rubbing my hands across my face, I suggested, “Why can’t her brother stay with her?”
“Her brother is a part of her human life. She must step into the role of an immortal, see to her duty, and leave thoughts of her past behind. Trust me when I say, it will be better for both of them to place their feet on separate paths.”
Phet knew more than he was sharing. That much was always true, so when he said Sunil needed to leave his sister, I didn’t question it further.
Ren seemed to come to the same conclusion because he nodded and answered, “Then, I will stay and serve, but only if Kelsey remains as well.”
Adamantly, Phet shook his head. “Kahl-see’s course lies in the future.”
The old monk headed off to console Kelsey and left me alone with my brother. “She’smyfiancée,” I began.
“I loved her first, Kishan.”
“Yes. But you walked away.”
“It was a mistake. One I don’t plan on making again.”
The two of us went back and forth for a few minutes trying to convince the other to stay, but neither of us budged. Phet returned and told us an answer needed to be given soon, and as he said it, he gave me a look. A look that suggestedIshould end this.
What did that mean?Was he trying to tell me I should be the one to give in?To give up the girl I loved?Or maybe he meant I was the one who understood the calling of Durga, who had the connection. I shifted uncomfortably.
Desperately, I whispered to Ren. “You know what I’ve seen, what my vision in the Grove of Dreams showed me.”
