Page 155 of Tiger's Quest
“But why the Baiga?” I asked. “Why not keep Ren in the city or in a regular military compound?”
Mr. Kadam pulled out some papers. “I think I may know. I placed a call to a friend who is a professor of ancient history at Bangalore University. We’ve had many a great discussion on the kingdoms of ancient India. He is always fascinated by my . . .insights. He has studied the Baiga in great detail and has shared some interesting facts with me. First, they are extremely afraid of evil spirits and witches. They believe that any bad events—sickness, a lost crop, a death—are all caused by evil spirits.
“They believe in magic and honor theirgunia, or medicine man, above all others. If Lokesh had demonstrated magic of some kind, it is likely the people would do anything he asked. They consider themselves guardians or caretakers of the forests. It’s very possible that Lokesh persuaded them to move by convincing them that the forest was in danger and that he has placed guards there to protect it. The other thing he mentioned, and what I found most interesting, is that theguniaof the Baiga are rumored to be able to control tigers.”
I gasped, “What? How is that possible?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but they are somehow able to protect their villages from tiger attacks. Perhaps Lokesh has found truth in the myth.”
“You think they’re using some kind of magic to keep Ren there?”
“I don’t know, but it surely seems it would be worth our time to investigate, or perhaps infiltrate would be a better word.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“I need a little time to come up with a plan, Miss Kelsey. Our goal is to get everyone out of there alive. Speaking of which, I feel I should share with you two that my informants have disappeared. The men I’ve sent to investigate the penthouse office of the tallest building in Mumbai are gone. They haven’t contacted me, and I fear the worst.”
“Do you mean they’re dead?”
He replied soberly, “They aren’t the type of men to allow themselves to be taken alive. I won’t allow any more men to die in this cause. From now on, we’re on our own.” He looked at Kishan. “We’re at war with Lokesh again in a new century.”
Kishan clenched his fist. “This time, we won’t run away with our tails between our legs.”
“Indeed.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “That’s great for you two, butI’mnot a warrior. How can we possibly win? Especially when it’s just the three of us against all of his men?”
Kishan put his hand over mine. “You’re as fine a warrior as any I’ve fought with, Kells. Braver even than many I’ve known. Mr. Kadam has been known to come up with strategies when we’ve been outnumbered before that won a battle with ease.”
“If there is one thing I’ve learned in my many years, Miss Kelsey, it’s that careful planning can almost always create a positive outcome.”
Kishan interjected, “And don’t forget, we have many weapons at our disposal.”
“So does Lokesh.”
Mr. Kadam patted my hand. “We havemore.”
He pulled out a satellite photo and a red pen and began circling items of interest. Then he handed me a piece of paper and a pen. “Shall we get started?”
First, we made a column of our assets, brainstorming how each could be used. Some of the ideas were silly and some had merit. I recorded everything we came up with, not knowing what might turn out to be handy.
Mr. Kadam made a star on the map where he thought Ren might be found. He felt the simplest plans were the easiest to follow, and our plan was pretty straightforward: Sneak in. Find Ren. Get out. Even so, Mr. Kadam made sure to analyze the plan from several different viewpoints.
He prepared for every contingency. He asked dozens ofwhat ifquestions.What if Kishan can’t enter the compound because he’s a tiger? What if there are tiger traps in the jungle? What if there are more soldiers than we thought? What if we can’t enter from the jungle? What if Ren isn’t there?
He made a separate plan to overcome each problem and still have a successful outcome. Then, he combined problems and drilled Kishan and me on our roles. We had to remember how our roles would switch depending on what problems came up. I felt like I was memorizing every possible ending in aChoose Your Own Adventurebook.
Mr. Kadam also organized practice runs. We had to test the limits of the Golden Fruit and the Divine Scarf as well as several complicated moves using our weapons. He made us train most of the day in hand-to-hand combat and practice several techniques simultaneously. By the time he let us quit on the first day, I was exhausted. Every muscle hurt, my brain was tired, and I was covered in maple syrup and cotton fluff— a Fruit and Scarf combo test that backfired.
When I said goodnight, I wearily climbed the stairs, took Fanindra off my arm, and set her on the pillow. Mr. Kadam had a plan for her, but she didn’t move when he’d explained it.
We didn’t know if she would do anything, but I was going to bring her along anyway. She’d saved my life enough times to deserve to be in on the action, if nothing else. I watched her golden coils shift and twist until she settled in a circular position with her head resting on the top coil. Her emerald eyes gleamed for a moment and then went dark.
Something fluttered outside the window. My fairy clothes! It seemed there weren’t any fairies here. The clothes still seemed solid enough, but now they just needed a spin in the washing machine. I threw them into my hamper before stepping into a hot shower. As my sore muscles relaxed, I let my thoughts dwell on trivial things, such as wondering if I should wash the fairy clothes in cold or hot water. The shower soothed me until I almost fell asleep on my feet.
Mr. Kadam drilled us for a week before he felt we were ready to seek out the Baiga village.
The three of us stood at the base of a large tree in the dark jungle. We passed around the Divine Scarf and assumed the appearance we had each been assigned to mimic.
