Page 130 of Tiger's Quest
He didn’t hear me. His head drooped down to his chest. I started crying.
Someone did hear me, though—Lokesh. He narrowed his eyes and whipped around to see what I was looking at. He tried to speak to his servants, but they didn’t hear him. He turned back to me and, for the first time, studied the wispy images behindmyshoulder. Everything was already fading. I couldn’t tell if Lokesh recognized Kishan or not. I froze and willed him to see only me.
Lokesh did focus his attention on me. He gestured to Ren and, with false sympathy, clucked his tongue.
“How terriblypainfulit must be for you to see him like this. You know, between you and me, he screams out for you when I torture him. Unfortunately for him, he’s been quite unforthcoming as to your whereabouts.” He chuckled, “He won’t even tell me your first name, though I already know what it is. It’s Kelsey, isn’t it?”
Lokesh watched my expression carefully waiting for me to give away a clue.
He continued his mocking diatribe. “It’s become something of a sticking point between us. The prince is so tight-lipped he won’t even confirm your given name. I must say I expected as much. He’s always been quite stubborn. More tears? How sad. He can’t hold out forever, you know. The pain alone should have killed him by now.
“Fortunately, his body seems quite resilient.” He watched me out of the corner of his eyes while he cleaned microscopic dirt from under his fingernails. “I have to admit, I’ve quite enjoyed torturing him. It’s the best of both worlds seeing him suffer both as a man and as an animal. The exquisite lengths I can go to are unheard of. He heals so quickly that even I have been unable to test his limits. I assure you, though, Iammakingeveryeffort.”
I bit my trembling hand to stifle a sob and glanced at Mr. Kadam. He shook his head discreetly, indicating to keep quiet.
Lokesh smiled sardonically. “Perhaps if you would just confirm your name, I might give him a brief . . .reprieve? A simple nod would suffice. ItisKelsey Hayes, is it not?”
Mr. Kadam’s warning raced through my thoughts. It took all my determination, but I kept my eyes focused on Ren. Tears ran down my face, but I didn’t move or even look at Lokesh.
He became angry, “Certainly, if you care for him, you would spare himsomepain,easehis anguish? No? Perhaps I was mistaken in your affections. I am relatively sure that I am not mistaken inhis. He won’t speak of you at all except to call out in his dreams for his beloved. Or perhaps you are not the one he begs for?” His voice started to fade.
“Ah, well. The two brothers were not always lucky in love, were they? Maybe it is time to put him out of his misery. It seems to me as if I’d be doing him a favor.”
I couldn’t help it. I screamed, “No!”
He raised his eyebrows and spoke again, but his words were too quiet to hear. When the three of us could no longer hear one another, Mr. Kadam turned to me. Lokesh was gesturing with his hands, but I ignored him and focused on Mr. Kadam as he faded to white. I wiped away my tears while he smiled sympathetically and then winked at me just before he disappeared.
I blinked and white turned to green. Blood pounded in my head.
Kishan was yelling at me, “Kelsey!Kelsey!Snap out of it!”
Fortunately, I was still holding the Scarf. I shouted, “Got it! Pull me up, Kishan!”
“Kelsey! Watch out!”
A bird screeched above us. I twisted and saw the gaping black maw of a metallic bird and got an up-close and personal view of its green, verdigris-coated, double-edged scissor beak. I shot a bolt of lightning into its beak, and it took off squawking, smoke trailing from its mouth.
With a mighty grunt, Kishan swung me upright. I grabbed his waist and held on for dear life. He let go of me, trusting I’d have the muscle to cling to him. I wrapped my arms around him, grabbed my wrists to lock my arms at his waist, and clutched the Scarf in my hands. He pulled himself over the edge of the broken nest and helped me over. His arms shook with fatigue.
Kishan sat up and inspected my limbs. “Kells, are you okay? What happened to you?”
“Another vision,” I breathed. “Tell you about it later.”
We ducked as a bird called out nearby. I picked up our backpack and stowed the bow and quiver, which had magically refilled with golden arrows, as well as the Scarf and chakram.
“Okay. Now what?” he said.
“Now we make our escape. Come on.”
We descended until we had sufficient enough cover that the birds could no longer see us. We could still hear them circling the tree and shrieking to each other, but the farther down the tree we went, the quieter the noises became. Soon we couldn’t hear them anymore.
“Kells, stop. We need to rest for a while.”
“Okay.”
The Golden Fruit created something quick to eat and drink, and Kishan insisted on inspecting me for injuries. He seemed fine. His cuts had healed already, but I had some wicked gashes on my arms and legs. I was healing too, but several of my nails were torn and bloody, and I had a long splinter under one that Kishan worked out carefully.
“This will hurt. Splinters and quills are the tiger’s worst enemies.”
