Page 158 of Tiger's Quest
Lokesh quickly murmured again, and Kishan was soon held in the same immovable grip as I was. Lokesh straightened and ceremoniously dusted off his jacket lapels. He pressed a clean white handkerchief to his bleeding throat. Then he laughed, approached Kishan, and patted his cheek fondly.
“There, now. It’s always better to cooperate, isn’t it? Do you see how feeble and useless it is for you to grapple with me? Perhaps I slightly underestimated you. You certainly put up a better fight than I’ve had in centuries. I look forward to the challenge of breaking your spirit.”
He pulled a very old, wicked-looking knife from inside his jacket and waved it almost lovingly in Kishan’s face. He moved closer and trailed the blunt edge down Kishan’s cheek. “This blade is the same one I used so many years ago on your prince. See how I’ve kept it in such good condition for all of these years? You could call me a sentimental old fool, I suppose. I’ve been secretly hoping that I’d get to use it again and finish what I’d begun many years ago. Isn’t it fitting that I should also use it on you? Perhaps it was saved for just that purpose.
“Now, where should I begin? A nice scar would make your face a bit less attractive, wouldn’t it? Of course, I’ll have to remove the amulet first. I’ve seen how it heals you. I’ve waited so long for this piece. You have no idea how I’ve yearned to feel the power it possesses. It’s sad that you won’t be around to appreciate what it does for me.”
He pouted briefly. “Too bad I don’t have time for a little experimental surgery. I would so enjoy teaching you some lessons in discipline. The only thing that would give me more pleasure than running my knife across your skin would be to disfigure you in front of your prince. Still, he will appreciate my handiwork, regardless.”
I was afraid. If I wasn’t already stiff, I would have been scared stiff anyway. It didn’t matter how prepared I was. Fighting someone who was truly evil was not an easy thing to do. The birds, the monkeys, and the Kappa were all just doing their jobs. They protected the magical gifts, and I was okay with that. But, facing Lokesh and watching him brandish that knife against Kishan’s throat was horrifying.
I tuned him out when he started speaking of dismembering Kishan piece by piece. It was nauseating. If I could have vomited, I would have. I just couldn’t conceive of someone that cruel. I wished that I could have covered my ears. My poor Ren had been abused by this psychotic fiend for months. My heart broke at the thought.
Lokesh had the conniving persona of Emperor Palpatine mixed with the sadistic cruelty of Hannibal Lecter. He craved power at any price, like Lord Voldemort, and he displayed the pitiless brutality of Ming the Merciless who, like him, had killed his own daughter. My frame shook with terror. I couldn’t watch him hurt Kishan. I couldn’t bear it.
He gripped Kishan’s chin and was just about to cut his face when I realized that, even if I couldn’t move, the Golden Fruit would still work. I wished for the first thing that crossed my mind: jawbreakers. And jawbreakers I got. A storm of them. They broke monitors and one of the glass windows. The booming roar of them buffeted my eardrums as they fell in the command center. It sounded like thousands of marbles dropped in a lake of glass, and everything shattered and broke around us. Kishan and I wobbled and fell as we were pelted with a hail of the hard, round candy. My backpack was what saved me from breaking my neck. I was sure Kishan was hurt again. Luckily, he’d heal quickly. I would be grateful if even just one of us got out of this alive.
Soon, every inch of the floor was covered with the colorful candy about a foot deep. Lokesh was pummeled and hit hard enough that he lost his balance and went down. He spat out several expletives in his language as he tried to regain his footing and figure out where the storm was coming from. Then, he realized the knife was missing and began combing through the candy to find it. Kishan and I were almost buried by that point.
The building shook and a segment of wall crashed in the partition next to us. Lokesh scrambled to his feet after finding his knife, grabbed the amulet around Kishan’s neck, and yanked until the chain broke, leaving a red welt behind.
He bent over him briefly and touched Kishan’s face with the knife. “We’ll meet again,” he smiled horribly, “soon.” He trailed the knife from Kishan’s cheek down to his throat, leaving a trail of blood that would terribly scar but not kill. Then with a pained noise, Lokesh wrenched himself away. He waded through the jawbreakers to a hidden button in the wall. A panel opened, and he disappeared.
A few villagers accompanied Mr. Kadam into the office, and they hurried to help us into standing positions. Kishan was already healing, but his shirt was spattered with blood. The cut had been deep. I heard the roar of an engine and a ripping sound as a vehicle tore itself from under the building and sped off on the dirt road leading away from the village. I could have used the Golden Fruit to stop up his engine, but I chose not to.
I was ashamed, but I didn’t want to face him again. Iwantedhim to escape. I never wanted to see him again. I stood stiffly, berating myself for being a coward. I was weak. If I could have moved, I would have whimpered in the corner of the room, hiding. Lokesh was too powerful. We couldn’t win.
The best thing we could hope for would be to avoid him. I knew Kishan and Mr. Kadam would be disappointed with me. Some warrior I turned out to be. Giant iron birds? No problem. Kappa? I had Fanindra and Ren. Monkeys? A few bites and bruises wouldn’t kill me. But Lokesh? I turned tail and ran in the face of the enemy. I wished I could understand why I was reacting this way. He was a monster. That wasall. Just another thing for me to fight. But, this monster had a human face. It seemed worse somehow.
After a few moments, the spell Lokesh had used on Kishan and me faded. We tried to rub our stiff limbs awake. When Kishan had recovered sufficiently, he waded through the jawbreakers to help me. Mr. Kadam gave the villagers instructions while Kishan supported me on my sprained ankle and helped me search for Ren. Fanindra decided to wake and help in the search. She shifted and grew.
I lowered my arm so she could slide to the floor, and she wound her way between boxes of weapons and bags of supplies. She stopped and tasted the air near a section that looked like a dead end. Smoothly, she slid under some boxes, and Kishan inspected the arrangement more closely. He found they were a fake display and shoved them aside. Behind it was a locked door. We were just in time to glimpse Fanindra’s golden tail disappearing under it. Kishan struggled to pry it open. I ended up using my lightning power to blow the lock. It took me several seconds to build up the capacity to use it again. Thinking of Ren still suffering was what finally got me past my internal freeze.
The door swung open, and Kishan’s nostrils widened. Inside, the dank, sweet smell of blood and human sweat permeated everything. I knew where I was. I’d been here before. It was the chamber where Lokesh had tortured Ren. Terrible tools hung on the walls and were laid out on gleaming surgical tables. I froze in horror as I looked at all the instruments and imagined the pain Lokesh had brought upon the man I loved.
Modern surgical tools were spread out upon the utility trays while the older items were stacked in corners and hung on pegs. I couldn’t help myself. I reached out and touched the frayed ends of a whip. Next, I rubbed the handle of a large mallet and began to shiver as I imagined it breaking Ren’s bones. Various knives of different lengths and sizes hung in a row.
I saw wood, screws, nails, pliers, ice picks, leather straps, an iron muzzle, a modern drill, nail-studded collars, a vice that could be used to crush whatever limb was placed in it, and even a blow torch. I touched the items briefly as I passed and wept bitterly. Somehow, touching them was the only thing I could do to truly empathize and try to understand what this experience must have been like for him.
Kishan gently took my arm. “Don’t look at them, Kelsey. Just look at me or keep your eyes down and look at the floor. You don’t have to do this. It would be better for you to wait outside.”
“No. I need to be here for him. I need to do this.”
“Okay. Just stay by me.”
Ren’s cage stood in the far corner, and I could just make out a broken form inside and a gleaming snake coiled nearby. After retrieving Fanindra and thanking her, I stood back and blew the lock off. Then I approached and swung open the door.
I called softly, “Ren?”
He didn’t respond.
“Ren? Are you . . .awake?”
The form moved slightly, and a pale, wan face turned to me. His blue eyes narrowed. He looked at Kishan. His eyes widened, and he shifted closer to the opening. Kishan beckoned him and reached out a hand to help.
Carefully, he stretched out a shaky hand to grasp the bar on the edge of the cage. His fingers were newly broken and bloody. My eyes filled with tears, and my vision blurred as I took a step backward to give him room. Kishan stepped forward to assist him. When Ren finally stood, I gasped. He’d recently been beaten. I’d expected that. He was already healing from his wounds, in fact.
What shocked me was that he was sogaunt. Lokesh had been starving him. He was likely dehydrated too. His strong frame was thin, much thinner than I’d imagined he would be. His bright blue eyes were circled with dark hollows. His cheekbones were sharp and pronounced, and his silky dark hair hung lifeless and dank. He took a step closer to me.
