Page 93 of Tiger's Curse
Right next to the diamond, an image glimmered slightly beneath the water. It looked like a white monkey, but hairless. Its long arms were stretched up, reaching out toward me.
“It was trying to grab you.”
I quickly tossed the emerald into the creek. The water swirled and hissed where it hit, then it quieted and calmed again to become as smooth as silk. When I looked directly at the jewels, that’s all I could see, but when I looked out of the corner of my eye, I could see water monkeys everywhere, floating just under the surface. It looked like they used their tails to anchor their bodies to tree roots and underwater plants, just like sea horses.
Ren mumbled, “I wonder if they could be Kappa?”
“What are Kappa?”
“A demon from Asia my mother used to tell me about. They lurked in water, waiting to catch children and suck their blood.”
“Vampire sea horse monkeys? Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “Apparently, they are real. Mother told me about them when I was young. She said that children in China were taught to show respect for their elders by bowing. They were told that if they didn’t bow, the Kappa would get them. The Kappa have depressions on the tops of their heads that are full of water. They need water on their heads in order to survive. The only way to save yourself if one comes after you is to bow.”
“How does bowing save you?”
“If you bow to a Kappa, it will bow back. When it does, the water spills out of the top of its head, which leaves them defenseless.”
“Well, if they can come out of the water, why haven’t they attacked?”
He pondered thoughtfully. “They usually attack only children, or so I was told. My mother told me that her grandmother used to carve the children’s names into fruit or cucumbers and then toss them into the water before bathing. The Kappa would eat the fruit and be satisfied enough that they wouldn’t hurt the bathing children.”
“Did your mother follow that tradition?”
“No. First of all, we were royalty and had our baths drawn for us. Second, my mother didn’t believe in the story. She just shared it with us so we would understand the point, which was that all people and things needed to be treated with respect.”
“I’d like to learn more about your mother sometime. She sounds like a very interesting woman.”
He replied softly, “She was. I would’ve liked for her to know you as well.” He meticulously scanned the water and pointed out the waiting demon. “That one was grabbing for you, even though they’re supposed to attack only children. These might be assigned to protect the jewels. If you’d taken one, they probably would’ve pulled you under.”
“Why pull me under? Why not just jump out at me?”
“Kappa usually drown their victims before taking their blood. They stay in the water as much as possible to protect themselves.”
I backed up putting Ren between me and the river. “So should we head for the trees again or stay by the creek bed?”
He ran a hand through his hair and shouldered thegadaagain, keeping it ready for attack. “How about we stay somewhere in the middle. The Kappa seem content to stay in the water for the time being, but let’s try to avoid the branches of the trees too.”
We walked along for another couple of hours. We were able to skirt both the Kappa and the trees, though the latter did try their best to reach out and grab us. The creek curved in a long bend that brought us a bit too close for comfort to the trees, but Ren had thegadaready, and a few blows on the close trunks took care of any wayward branches.
Eventually, we came upon an enormous tree that was directly in our path. Its long, snaking branches stretched impossibly far out toward us, needles pricked forward. Ren crouched down. With an extraordinary burst of speed, ran ahead and leapt up toward the trunk. The tree’s leafy embrace immediately engulfed him.
I heard a big thump, and the tree quivered and released him. He emerged all scratched but walked up to me with a grin on his face. His expression quickly changed into a look of concern, however, because my mouth was gaping open as I looked over his head. The tree had been blocking our view, and now that it had folded in on itself, I could see the ghostly gray kingdom of Kishkindha ahead.
21
kishkindha
We moved past the giant needle tree’s reach and stared at the city. It was actually more the size of a medieval castle than a city. The river ran down to its wall and split into two directions, circling it like a moat. The walls were built of light gray stone tinged with blue flecks of mica, giving it a sparkling smoky periwinkle color.
“We’re losing our light, Kelsey. And it’s been a hard day. Why don’t we set up camp here, get some sleep, and enter the city tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me, I’m beat.”
Ren went off to collect some wood and came back, muttering, “Even the old dead branches can scratch you.”
He threw several branches into the stone ring I’d created and started a fire. I tossed him a bottle of water. Pulling out the little pot, he filled it with water and left it to boil.
