Page 81 of Tiger's Quest
Kishan glared at me. “PerhapsRenhad areasonto look elsewhere.”
Mr. Kadam laughed. “I would very much like to meet her if it will work.”
“It can’t hurt to try. The worst that could happen is nothing, and then you could always leave, and we’d try it again.”
After we returned to the hotel, we showed Mr. Kadam our new weapons. Kishan was going on and on aboutthe goddess thisandthe goddess thatand was twisting his discus in the light so the gleaming gold reflected on the walls of the hotel room. I listened for a while and heard Mr. Kadam talking about how the discus represented the sun, which was the source of all life and that the circle was a symbol of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. I stopped listening, so I could tune out Kishan’s constant praising of Durga and her lovely feminine features, which practically made me gag.
I leaned in the door frame between their connecting rooms, rolled my eyes, and during a break in Kishan’s Durga tribute, mocked, “Are you going to yell like Xena when you throw the discus? No! Even better. We’ll buy you a leather kilt.”
Kishan’s golden eyes turned to me. “I hope your arrows are as sharp as your tongue, Kelsey.”
He walked toward me. I stood my ground, blocking his way, but he just picked me up and moved me to the side. Leaving his hands on my arms for a moment, he leaned over and whispered, “Perhapsyou are jealous,bilauta.” Then he closed the connecting door behind him, leaving me alone with Mr. Kadam.
Flustered, I flopped into a chair and muttered, “I amnotjealous.”
Mr. Kadam looked at me thoughtfully, “No you’re not. At least not in the way he might hope.”
I sat up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“You’re protecting him.”
I snorted. “Protecting him from what? His own delusions?”
He laughed. “No. You clearly care for him. You want him to find happiness. And because Ren isn’t here, all of your maternal instincts are focused on Kishan.”
“I don’t think what I feel for Ren is maternal.”
“Of course, it is. Well, a part of it is, anyway. Do you remember what the weaver told you about the different threads?”
“Yes. She said I’m the warp.”
“Exactly. Ren’s and Kishan’s threads weave around you. Without your strength, the fabric couldn’t be complete.”
“Hmm.”
“Miss Kelsey, do you know much about lions?”
“No. Not really.”
“A male lion cannot hunt for himself. Without the female, he would die.”
“I’m not sure I’m getting the point.”
“My point is that a lion without a lioness dies. Kishan needs you. Perhaps even more than Ren does.”
“But I can’t be all things to both brothers.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’m just saying that Kishan needs . . . hope. Something to hold onto.”
“I can be his friend. I’ll evenhuntfor him. But, I loveRen. I won’t give up on him.”
Mr. Kadam patted my hand. “A friend, someone who cares about him and loves him and won’t let him give up on himself, is what Kishan needs.”
“But isn’t that whatyou’vedone for him all these years?”
He chuckled. “Oh, yes. Of course. But a young man needs a youngwomanwho believes in him. Not a crusty old man.”
I got up and hugged him. “Crustyandoldare two words I’d never use to describe you. Goodnight.”
