Page 166 of Tiger's Quest
“Apparently.”
“Does that mean Ren could have gotten out?”
“Possibly, but Lokesh does seem to have powers of his own as well. I presume that using the Baiga to contain Ren was just a back-up plan in case Lokesh was too distracted to incapacitate Ren himself.”
I spoke softly, “He’s horrible. Ren was his ultimate prize, his trophy. The one he’s waited for and hunted for centuries. He wouldn’t have let Ren escape.”
Kishan interjected, “I think he’s lost interest in Ren. He’s after someone else now.”
Mr. Kadam shook his head discreetly.
“Who?” I asked.
He said nothing.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” I stated flatly.
Finally, Kishan spoke, addressing Mr. Kadam. “It’s better that she knows so she can be prepared.” Turning to me, he said, “Yes. He’s determined to go after you, Kells.”
“Why? I mean, why is he afterme?”
“Because he knows how important you are to us. And because . . . you beat him.”
“That wasn’t me. That was you.”
“But he doesn’t know that.” Kishan shot me a meaningful look.
I groaned softly and only half listened as Kishan began describing our fight with Lokesh. I offered comments only when Kishan forgot something.
Ren was watching us now and listening intently to what we were saying. I set my uneaten plate of food on the floor, hoping he might be interested. He watched me curiously, and then stood up and came a few steps closer.
He ate the eggs but pushed the pieces of French toast back and forth, unable to get them in his mouth. Cautiously, I used my fork to pick up a thick slice. He delicately pulled it off the fork, and swallowed it in one gulp. I did the same with the other one. After he licked the plate clean, he lay down near Kishan and began licking sticky syrup from his paws.
Kishan had fallen quiet, and when I looked up, I saw him watching me. His eyes crinkled at the corners with just a touch of sadness. I looked away. He frowned and started speaking again. When he got to the part where Lokesh threatened to kill me and stop my heart, I interrupted him and clarified.
“Lokesh wasn’t talking about me.”
“Yes, he was, Kells. He must have known who you were. He said I’ll kill him, stop his heart.”
“Yes, but why wouldyou, disguised asKelsey, be concerned aboutmein my Baiga servant disguise? He said killhim, not killher. He merely thought I was betraying him.”
“But Lokesh threatening to kill you was why I stopped.”
“That may be why you let him go, but he wasn’t threatening me.”
“Then who was he threatening?”
I looked down at the white tiger and felt my face flame red.
“Oh,” he said dully. “He was threateninghim. I wish I would have known that at the time.”
“Yes, he was threatening Ren. He knew I wouldn’t do anything to harm him.”
“Right. Of course you wouldn’t.”
“What does that mean? And what do you mean you wish you would have known that at the time? Do you mean you wouldn’t havestopped?”
“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know what I would have done. I can’t predict how I would have reacted.”
