Page 134 of Tiger's Quest
“Kelsey. How did you—” he trailed off.
“Scarf, please.”
The bag shifted and twisted, turned a soft blue and gold color, and then shrunk into a Scarf again. I wrapped it around my neck and tossed the end over my shoulder.
“The answer is, I don’t know. When Hugin and Munin cleared our minds, I remembered stories and myths I had learned before. I recalled things the Divine Weaver told us and also things that Mr. Kadam had speculated about. He’d told me a story of a Japanese god called who controlled the winds and had a bag to carry them in. I also knew that this material was special, like the Golden Fruit.
“Maybe everything was in my mind all along or maybe Hugin whispered it in my thoughts. I’m not sure. I do know that the Scarf can do something else, something that will help us save Ren, but we should get out of here before the birds come back. I’ll show you then.”
“Alright, but first, there’s somethingIneed to do.”
“What’s that?”
“This.”
He yanked me up against his body and kissed me. Thoroughly. His mouth moved against mine passionately. The kiss was fast, turbulent, and wild. He held me tightly, one hand cradling my head while the other held me firmly at my waist. He kissed me fiercely, with an utter abandon that I could no more put a halt to than I could stop an avalanche.
When you’re caught in an avalanche you have two choices: stand there and try to block it, or you can give in, roll with it, and hope you come out alive at the base. So, I rolled with Kishan’s kiss. Finally, he lifted his head, spun me around, and let out a jubilant whoop of victory that echoed in the surrounding hills.
When he finally set me down, I had to catch my breath. I panted and said, “What was that for?”
“I’m just happy to be alive!”
“Okay, fine. But keep your lips to yourself next time.”
He sighed. “Don’t be upset, Kells.”
“I’m notupset. I’m . . . I’m not sure what I think about it. It all happened too fast for me to even react.”
A scoundrel’s smile lit his face. “I promise to slow it down next time.”
“What next time?”
He frowned slightly. “You don’t need to make a big deal out of it. It’s just a natural reaction to narrowly escaping death. It’s like when soldiers come back from war and grab a girl to kiss right after they get off the boat.”
I retorted wryly, “Yeah, maybe so, but the difference is,thisgirl was on the boatwithyou. Feel free to grab any girl you like when we get back to the mainland, sailor, butthisgirl is hands off.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Really?It felt more like your hands wereonif you ask me.”
I sputtered in outrage, “If my hands were on you atall, they were there to push you away!”
“Whatever you have to tell yourself to have a clear conscience at the end of the day. You just won’t admit that youlikedit.”
“Hmm, let me see. You’re right, Casanova. Ididlike it. After it wasover!”
He shook his head. “Youarestubborn. No wonder Ren had so many problems.”
“Howdareyou evenmentionyour brother!”
“When are you going to face facts, Kells? You like me.”
“Well, I’m not liking you so much right now! Can we just head back to the spirit gate and drop this conversation?”
“Yes. But wewillcontinue this discussion later.”
“Maybe when Shangri-la freezes over.”
He took the backpack and grinned. “I can wait for that. After you,bilauta.”
