Page 89 of Tiger's Curse
If serpents find forbidden fruit
And India’s hunger satisfy . . .
Lest all her people surely die.
At the bottom of the page were Mr. Kadam’s handwritten notes in his usual, neat script. I also read it aloud:
Miss Kelsey,
There are several trials you must face when you enter Kishkindha, so be wary. I have also included the warnings from Durga as you described them. She said that you should try to stay near Ren. If for some reason you get separated, there will be great danger. She also said do not trust your eyes. Your hearts and your souls will tell you the difference between fantasy and reality. The last thing she said was that when you obtain the fruit, hide it well.
Bhagyashalin!
May you be endowed with luck!
Anik Kadam
I mumbled, “I have no clue what these dangers might be. Hopefully the thorny ones are some kind of plant.”
We started walking, and I babbled along the way about what kind of animals might have thorns.
“Let’s see. There are stegosaurus. No, stegosauruses. Hmm, maybe it’s stegosauri. Well, however you say the plural, there are those kinds of dinosaurs. Then there are dragons, porcupines, and we can’t forget horny toads. If I had to pick a thorny animal, that would be my number one choice. Oh! But what if the horny toads are giant sized with huge gaping mouths? They could swallow us whole. Maybe we should get thegadaout of the backpack, huh?”
I stopped and took it out. The hiking would probably be bad enough without hauling around the club but it made me feel better to have it in hand.
The tunnel soon turned into a stony path, and the farther we walked, the brighter it became. Fanindra’s eyes dimmed and her light went out. Her eyes became mere glittering emeralds again. Something strange was going on. My weirdness meter had expanded considerably in the last few weeks, but this was weird even for me.
I couldn’t really tell where the light was coming from. It seemed to filter in from ahead. Literally, we were following a light at the end of the tunnel. I felt like I was in one of my nightmares in which it wasn’t bright, but it wasn’t dark either. A lurking evil permeated my subconscious and a powerful force chased me, thwarted my progress, and hurt those I cared about.
The rolling mist seemed to follow us. As we walked, it surged slightly ahead to hinder our view of the path. When we stopped, it gathered itself and circulated around us like small nebulous clouds in orbit. The cold, gray mist explored our skin with icy fingers as if looking for an Achilles’ heel.
The corridor began to feel different. Instead of walking on stone, my feet sunk slightly into moist ground, and I could hear the crunch my shoes made on stubby grass. The walls became mossy, then grassy, and soon were covered with small fern-like plants. I wondered how they could survive in this humid, dim environment.
The walls grew farther apart, until I couldn’t make them out anymore. The ceiling opened up to a gray sky. There was no depth to it, and yet I couldn’t see an end. It reminded me of a biosphere dome, but it wasn’t manmade. It was like we’d stepped onto another planet.
Our path turned downward, and I had to focus on my feet in front of me. We entered a forest full of strange plants and trees. They rocked on their roots as if the wind was pushing them, but I didn’t feel even a hint of a breeze. The trees were so close together and the brush was so thick that the path became difficult to see, and then it disappeared altogether.
Ren stayed in front and tore a trail with his body. The trees had long branches that drooped to the ground like weeping willows. Their tendrils were feathery and tickled my skin as I passed. I reached up to scratch my neck and found it wet.
I must be sweating. Strange, I don’tfeeloverworked. Maybe water fell from the branch.Something was smeared on my hand. The greenish light gave the liquid a brown appearance.What is that? Tree sap? No! Blood!
I plucked a feathery leaf to get a closer look. When I examined it, I was surprised to find tiny needles lining the underbelly. I reached out a finger to touch one, and the needles swelled out toward my finger. I moved my finger back and forth, and the needles shifted, following my finger like a magnet.
“Ren, stop! The branches are scratching us. They have needles underneath that follow our movements. They’re the thorny grasping dangers!”
When he stopped, feathery branches slowly slithered down from above and wrapped around his neck and tail. He jumped away and tore them viciously from the tree.
“We’ll have to run or they’ll ensnare us!” I shouted.
He doubled his effort to break through the undergrowth. I jogged after him. The forest seemed to go on forever with no sign of the trees thinning. After another fifteen minutes, I slowed, feeling extremely tired. I just couldn’t run anymore.
Panting, I wheezed, “Ren, I’m slowing you down. Go on ahead without me. Break through the tree line. You can make it.” He stopped, turned around, and raced quickly back to my side. The branches started snaking down and began to wrap their curly tendrils around his body.
He roared and rolled, then slashed at the branches with his claws, which made them retreat for a moment. I felt one twisting its way around my arm and knew that this was it for me. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I knelt to stroke Ren’s cheek.
I begged, “Ren, go.Pleaseleave me.”
He shifted form and placed his hand over mine. “We have to stay together, remember? I won’t leave you, Kelsey. I’ll never leave you.” He smiled sadly.
