Page 138 of Tiger's Voyage
I counted six more jaguars on the ground, but there may have been more. It was hard to tell because they were constantly moving. It was eerie the way they moved. They paced back and forth as one, circling the tigers. Their eyes never left their prey. One darted in and slashed its claw across Kishan’s face. He swiped back but missed as the lighter, more agile cat leapt out of the way. Two jumped at Ren, one from each side. He bit the leg of one, and it limped off, but the other one landed on his back, claws extended. It bit Ren’s neck and locked on. Kishan turned around and knocked the cat away, but two more jumped on Kishan.
Ren bit one in the throat and shook the cat violently. Its neck snapped, and he tossed the body aside. They bit and clawed until the spotted cats slunk off to regroup. Ren and Kishan tried to lope away, but the jaguars quickly cut them off.
They must be really hungry, I thought. They seemed to be herding the striped cats toward some thick brush.
They started pacing, circling around the tigers again. A cat snarled and darted in but ran off before the tigers could get him. Another one did the same thing. They seemed to be playing with the tigers. A moment later, two cats leapt from an overhead tree onto Ren’s and Kishan’s backs. They bit and held. Ren was bleeding from his chest and shook hard to get the jaguar off his back. It wouldn’t budge.
The other jaguars leapt into the fray and began biting. One bit Kishan’s cheek, and another his back leg. Ren wasn’t faring any better. The tigers were panting from the exertion, and even with their ability to heal, I worried.The jaguars could still take bites out of them. How would theyheal from that?Ren roared, stood on his hind legs, and banged his back into a tree. The stunned jaguar released its grip and fell off. Ren was attacking the cat on Kishan’s back when a shot rang through the jungle.
The dragon had caught up. A jaguar fell dead and dropped near Kishan’s front paw. The jaguars disappeared like shadows back into the verdant jungle, while Ren and Kishan mustered the strength to run. Shots rang out again and again as the hunter pursued the tigers. A bullet grazed the top of Ren’s head, and I could hear his yelp of pain. He shook the blood out of his eyes and kept running. Another sank into Kishan’s shoulder. He roared angrily and staggered, but continued on, though with a limp.
Then they decided to go on the offense. Ren leapt onto a large rock and into an overhead tree. Kishan exaggerated his limp to let Lsèlóng catch up. The hunter followed Kishan’s tracks but paused when Ren’s suddenly disappeared. He paced back and forth, started down Kishan’s trail and then went back to where Ren was last seen. He stopped and carefully studied the surrounding bushes. A wet drop hit his cheek. He touched it and drew back his finger. It was blood.
His eyes widened, and he looked up but it was too late. The five-hundred-plus-pound white tiger had leapt out of the tree, jaws gaping and claws extended toward the throat of the dragon. Behind him the black tiger had leapt into the air also. The hunter sucked in a breath and everything froze. He stepped gingerly away from the two tigers, who hung suspended in the air, less than a foot away from mangling the hunter.
I screamed, “That’s cheating! They had you!”
Lsèlóng ignored me and walked around both tigers curiously. “I congratulate you. No one has ever gotten the jump on me before.”
“Lsèlóng! You are breaking the rules!”
The dragon laughed and spoke in my mind.It doesn’t count. My riflewas down.
I banged my fist against the mirror in frustration, but the dragon walked off several paces, aimed his rifle, and then snapped his fingers. The tigers hit each other and rolled in the dirt. They got up, shook the dust from their coats, and the hunter fired. The shot hit the dirt inches from Ren’s head. Ren and Kishan quickly broke apart and scrambled into the trees.
Fortunately, they didn’t hit any traps this time. Soon the shots and sounds of pursuit could no longer be heard. They only rested for short times and kept up their wearying pace for hours. They hit the beach on the eastern side of the island and searched back and forth, looking for the castle or the hedge.
“No. No. It’s not there. I’m over here. Across the water!” I shouted to the mirror, but I knew they couldn’t hear me. When night fell again, I wrapped a blanket around me and sat in front of the mirror. Lsèlóng was still searching, but my tigers were safe for the moment. Kishan’s eyes closed and soon, too exhausted to keep watch, Ren’s eyes closed too. I watched them wearily for a long time, and then I walked up to the mirror and traced the outline of Ren’s white furry ear.
“You’re not going to make it. He’s going to wear you out. The dragon cheats, and there’s not enough food to sustain the two of you. Do you hear me, Ren?” I slapped the mirror on the side of his face. “You’re going to die, and who am I going to argue with then? I’ll be a dragon’s consort on a nonexistent island, and you’ll be dragon kibble.”
A tear plopped on my cheek, and I touched the glass with my fingertip as if smoothing the fur of his brow. “It’s not supposed to end this way, you know. I didn’t get to say good-bye to you. To either of you. There are so many things we left unsaid.” I sniffed and felt tears rolling down my face. “Pleaselive. Please find me. I’m right here.”
I placed my hand over my heart and felt its beat. I could feel my connection to him, the tether that bound my heart to his. If I closed my eyes and concentrated, I could feel the steady thump of his heart as he rested. I pressed both palms to the mirror on either side of his head and touched my forehead to the glass while I cried.
My eyes felt hot and my heart heavy. Then my heart started to burn. It filled me with warmth. I dashed the tears away from my eyes and looked at the mirror. Ren was awake. He’d lifted his head off his paws, and he was staring straight at me as if he could see me. Startled, I pushed back from the mirror and gasped softly as I saw both of my hands were glowing. When I pulled them away from the glass, the red light faded.
Ren growled quietly and woke Kishan, then began moving. He walked out to the beach straight toward me and took a few steps into the water. He stared out into the dark waves. It was foggy, and I knew even he couldn’t see the island in the dark. He lifted his head as if smelling the air, then, with a few great bounds, he leapt into the water. He started swimming forward. Kishan ran back and forth along the beach, not sure what Ren was doing, but eventually, he ran into the surf as well and started swimming alongside his brother.
They were coming. I clapped my hands to my mouth, sobbed in relief, and kept talking to the mirror, encouraging them to keep coming and to not give up. I pressed my hands against the glass again, but they didn’t glow like before. I tried to shoot a flare as a beacon light, but my power was still gone. The only thing I could do was stay awake and watch them swim in the dark water, using all the power of my mind to will them forward.
Silently, I prayed, asking that there would be no dark sea monster to find them. No terrible storm to overwhelm them. They swam and swam and an hour later, dragged their weary bodies onto my island and dropped down onto the sand, exhausted. They slept the rest of the night while I kept my silent vigil over them.
They were still asleep when dawn approached. I saw the dragon find their resting place on the other island and follow their tracks to the beach. He stared out at the ocean for several minutes, and then rubbed his jaw and smiled. With a deep intake of breath, he exploded into his natural form and rose into the sky. The mirror turned black.
20
A Princess, a Dragon,
and Two Knights
All was quiet, and I was so tired that I dozed off. Later, I was startled awake when I felt the tower shake and heard heavy footsteps. The hunter slammed open my door and strode in. He was not dressed in his hunting clothes but in the tunic and cloak of a fairy-tale prince. He watched me speculatively.
“What happens next?” I ventured. “Did they win the first part of the game?”
“They did. Though you cheated,deti dama.”
“Icheated? How?”
