Page 118 of Tiger's Quest
“You would have treasured us over time. We have the ability to take away all thoughts and replace them with only feelings of passion and pleasure.”
I replied sarcastically, “I’ll bet.”
“We are lonely. Our last companion died several centuries ago. We loved her.”
The other one interjected, “Yes, we loved her so. She never knew sorrow for even a day in her life with us.”
“But we are immortal and her life was over too quickly.”
“Yes. We must find a replacement.”
“Well, sorry, boys, but I don’t want that. I have no interest in being your,” I swallowed, “love slave. And besides, I don’t want to forget everything or everyone.”
They studied me for a long moment. “So be it. You are free to go.”
“What about Kishan?”
“He must make his own choice.”
With that, they spun into a thin wisp of smoke, entered a knot on the wall of the tree, and disappeared. I went back into the bathroom to retrieve my fairy clothes and was delighted to see that they had been cleaned and repaired.
Picking up the bag, I stepped back into the room. Instead of a seductive boudoir, it was now a simple, empty room with a door. I opened it, left the house, and ended up back on the circular stairway that wound around inside the trunk of the world tree. The doorway closed behind me. I was alone on the stairs.
I changed back into the pants and shirt the fairies had woven for us and wondered when or if Kishan would exit.That soft bed would have made a much better place to sleep than the hard wooden steps. Then again, if I had stayed in that bed, I don’t think I would’ve been getting a lot of sleep.
I mentally thanked Ren for saving me from the tree nymphs or man sirens or whatever they were. Completely exhausted, I curled up in the sleeping bag and fell asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Kishan nudged my shoulder.
“Hey.”
I leaned up on an elbow and yawned, “Kishan? Took you long enough.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t exactly easy to shake off those women.”
“I know what you mean. I had to threaten to shoot those guys to make them leave me alone. In fact, I’m surprised you got out as quickly as you did. How did you purge their influence from your mind?”
“Talk to you about it later. I’m tired, Kells.”
“Okay. Here, take my quilt. I would offer to share the sleeping bag, but I’ve had enough of men for the moment.”
“I understand completely. Thanks. Goodnight, Kells.”
After we woke, ate, and packed, we continued up the steps of the world tree. Bright light shone ahead. A hole in the trunk opened, and we stepped through to the outside. I appreciated the sunshine, but the steps were no longer enclosed. I hugged the trunk, refusing to look down.
Kishan, on the other hand, was fascinated by how high we were. He couldn’t see the bottom despite his super tiger vision. Giant branches extended out from the tree. They were so large we could have walked across one together side by side without any danger of falling off. Kishan ran along a couple of them from time to time to explore. I stayed as close to the trunk as possible.
After several hours at our slow pace, I stopped in front of a dark hole that led back inside the trunk. I waited for Kishan to return from his latest exploration, so we could enter the hole together. This part of the trunk was darker and moist. Water trickled down the inside, dripping and plopping from somewhere above. The walls changed from smooth to splintered and peeling. Our voices echoed. There seemed to be a large gap in the tree, like it had been hollowed out.
I said, “This part of the tree feels dead, as if it’s been damaged.”
“Yes. The wood under our feet is rotting. Stay as close to the trunk wall as you can.”
Another few minutes passed, and the stairs stopped below a black hole just big enough to crawl through.
“There’s nowhere else to go. Should we climb in?”
“It’s going to be a tight fit.”
“Then let me go first and look around,” I volunteered. “If it’s blocked ahead, there’s no need for you to climb through. I’ll just back out, and we’ll figure out another way to the top.”
