Page 109 of Tiger's Voyage
“That’s not nearly as much fun. But yes, I’m dressed.”
“Huh, barely.”
All Kishan had on was a pair of shorts.Ren must have thought … itdoesn’t really matter what Ren thinks now, does it?
“Well, get dressed. Ren said—”
“I heard what Ren said.” Kishan hugged me briefly and kissed my forehead. “I’ll wait for you outside.”
In no time at all, we were headed to the wheelhouse. I thought about what had happened that morning. Even though it was technically only a nap, and I’d slept near or next to either Ren or Kishan as tigers many times before, I felt … uncomfortable sleeping with Kishan as a man. Ren had never pushed me in that area, and was, in fact, adamant about usnotbeing physical.
I’d assumed Kishan wouldn’t either, but despite the similarities between them, they were very different men, and I had to remember that. I’d need to speak with him about it soon.Would I feel the sameway if it had been Ren and not Kishan?I shoved that thought aside and refused to consider the answer.
TheDeschenwas anchored in a dense cloud cover. Mr. Kadam pulled us aside as we entered the wheelhouse.
“The island came up out of nowhere,” he said. “I guess the depth perceptor isn’t working. The only reason I was able to stop the ship in time is because Ren had been on the lookout.”
Kishan and I stared out the window into the cold nothingness.
“How are we supposed to know what to do?” I mumbled out loud. Nobody answered me—not that I’d expect anyone would have an answer.
Mr. Kadam stood next to us. “According to my notes, wearein the right place.”
Ren peered into the sky. “Then where’s our scaly friend?”
He and Kishan began debating the idea of taking a small boat to get closer to the island when I got an idea. I put my hand on Mr. Kadam’s arm.
“What is it, Miss Kelsey?”
“Let’s use the winds.”
“The winds?”
“I mean the Scarf. Fjin’s bag.”
He stroked his short beard. “Yes. That just might work. Let’s give it a try.” He opened a cupboard and took out the Scarf. It shifted to orange and green in his hand, but when he passed it to me the Scarf turned a solid cobalt blue. I blushed, hid the Scarf behind my back, and asked all of them to climb to the top of the wheelhouse to try an experiment.
After the others climbed the ladder, I chastised the Scarf, “Can’t you turn red or black or something? Just ignore my thoughts, okay? I’m trying to focus, but it’s hard.” The Scarf shifted colors but stubbornly remained cobalt blue in the center. I sighed. “That’ll have to be good enough.” With a final warning to the silky object, I headed up the ladder.
When everyone was assembled on top, I said, “Fjin’s bag, please.” The Scarf twisted in my hands and doubled over on itself, creating long finely stitched seams down its sides. “Now everyone grab on.”
We all took a section of the wide opening, and I shouted, “Divine Scarf, gather the winds!”
I was immediately hit in the face with a strong gust of wind that blew my hair back and whipped it so fiercely that it stung my neck. The bag quickly filled and expanded. The winds bucked inside as the bag grew like a hot air balloon. It tore at my arms. I twisted the edge around my wrists to keep hold. Even Ren and Kishan were straining.
Finally we held a very full bag and could feel not the slightest wisp of a breeze against our faces.
“Get ready,” I shouted. “Aim it toward the island.”
I let Kishan and Ren take the lead in aiming because they could see the island and the rest of us couldn’t.
Kishan hollered over the shrieking bag, “One! Two!Three!”
We opened the bag and held on for dear life. It bounced and howled as the wind screamed through the opening like a cyclone. The noise level was incredible. It was worse than skydiving, worse than riding dragonback. It was concentrated, pummeling every nerve ending, and pounding in my eardrums. Ren and Kishan were squinting. If the sound was bad for my ears, I imagined it would be much worse for the tigers. As the fog blew away from us, we turned as a unit to drive the mists and vapors as far away from the island as possible.
By the time the bag had completely exhausted itself, the fog had been driven far enough away that it was just a vague haze on the horizon. I combed my fingers through my hair and transformed the Scarf back to its normal appearance. Kishan stared over my head. He put his hands on my shoulders and twisted me around to look at the island. It was really more of a large jutting rock than an island. It rose straight up out of the water and there were no beaches. Apparently, the only way to access the top would be by rock climbing.
I bit my lip, imagining climbing that sheer face. Then I heard the noise—a deep rhythmic whoosh. In … out. In … out. The sun was just over the island, and it was too bright for me to see the peak. In … out. In … out. I shaded my eyes and blinked several times. “Is … is that a—”
