Page 98 of Tiger's Curse
I hurried after him and bent down to pick up the other end.
He called back without even looking at me, “Don’t.”
When we got back to the creek, he dropped the trunk and started looking for a good place to set it. I was about to sit on the tree trunk when I noticed the needles. Even the trunk had thick, spiky needles that rose up to sink themselves into unsuspecting flesh. I walked up to the front end and saw Ren’s blood in great drops coating the shiny black needles.
When he came back, I demanded, “Ren, let me see your hands and chest.”
“Leave it alone, Kelsey. I’ll heal.”
“But, Ren—”
“No. Now stand back.”
He moved to the back of the trunk and picked it up, cradling it against his chest. My mouth gaped open in amazement.Yep, he still has tiger strength.I winced as I imagined those hundreds of needles digging into the skin on his chest and arms. His biceps bulged as he walked the trunk to the edge of the creek.
A girl can still admire, can’t she? Even those who can’t afford to go in the store can still window-shop. Right?
It was like watching Hercules in action. I sucked in an appreciative breath and had to keep repeating the words, “He’s not for me, he’s not for me, he’s not for me,” to strengthen my resolve.
The far end of the trunk butted against the stone wall. He moved down the creek bank several more steps until he found the spot he wanted and then dropped it into place with a soft thud.
The needles had ripped jagged, deep scratches down his chest and torn the front of his white shirt to ribbons. I walked over to him and reached out to touch his arm.
He turned his back to me and said, “Now stay here.” Changing to a tiger, he vaulted up and across the log, then leapt up to the crack where the drawbridge was hanging slightly open. He clawed his way in and disappeared.
I heard a metallic clang and then a whoosh as the heavy stone drawbridge lowered. It fell across the creek, hit the water with a big splash, and then settled itself deeply in its pebbly bed. I walked quickly across, fearful of the Kappa I spied in the water below. Ren was still a tiger and seemed content to stay that way.
I entered the stone city of Kishkindha. Most of the buildings were about two or three stories high. The smoky periwinkle stone of the outer walls was also used in the buildings. The hard stone was polished like granite and contained shiny pieces of mica that reflected the light. It was beautiful.
A giant statue of Hanuman stood in the center, and every nook and crevice of the city was covered with life-sized stone monkeys. Every building, every rooftop, and every balcony, had monkey statues. Ornate carvings of monkeys even covered the walls of the buildings. The statues represented several different species of monkeys and were often grouped together in twos and threes. In fact, the only kind of monkeys not included were the fictitious flying monkeys fromThe Wizard of Ozand King Kong.
When I passed the central fountain, I felt pressure on my arm. Fanindra came alive. I bent down to let her slide off my arm to the ground. She raised her head and tasted the air with her tongue several times. Then she started slithering through the ancient city. Ren and I followed her as she wove her slow path.
“You don’t have to stay a tiger just because of me,” I said.
He kept his eyes forward following the snake.
“Ren, it’s a miracle that you can be a man at all. Don’t do this to yourself, please. Just because you’re ang—”
He switched back to a man and spun around to face me.
“Iamangry! Why shouldn’t I stay a tiger? You seem to be much more comfortable withhimthan you are with me!” His blue eyes clouded with uncertainty and hurt.
“Iammore comfortable with him, but not because I like him more. It’s too complicated to discuss with you right now.” I turned away from him, hiding my red face.
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and asked anxiously, “Kelsey, why have you been avoiding me? Is it because I’ve been moving too fast? You aren’t ready to think of me in that way yet. Is that it?”
“No. It’s not that. It’s just,” I wrung my hands, “I don’t want to make a mistake or get involved in something that will lead to one or both of us getting hurt, and I don’t really think this is the best place to talk about this.”
I stared at his feet as I said these words. He was quiet for several minutes. I peeked at his face from under my lashes and found him assessing me. He continued to watch me patiently as I squirmed under his gaze. I looked at the stone pavers, Fanindra, my hands, anything except him. Finally, he gave up.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yes, fine. Here, hand me the backpack. It’s my turn to carry it for a while.”
He helped me slip it off my back and then adjusted the straps to fit over his wide shoulders. Fanindra seemed ready to be on the move again, and she continued her journey, slinking through the monkey city.
