Page 155 of Tiger's Voyage
“Bermuda? As in the Bermuda Triangle?”
“I have no idea what triangle you are talking about. Dragons such as I waste no time on geometry except when it’s used in art.”
I poked him in the arm several times to illustrate each word. “You are a terrible dragon. All of you just make trouble. What’s the point of your existence?”
“You want to know the point of my existence? Come with me. I’ll show you.”
He led me through another opulent hall with carved walls depicting the great sculptors of the world at work. They were lovely, and I felt myself softening at the sight. Surely someone who cares for the world’s most priceless treasures couldn’t beallbad.
We stopped at heavy wooden doors, ornately fashioned and polished to a gleaming sheen. He clapped his hands, and the doors opened. We stepped inside a warehouse of the most exquisite things I’d ever seen. Centuries-old paintings looked as new as if they’d just been finished. Statuary was glossy and perfect. Diamond chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting rainbows around the room as the light bounced off jewels as big as footballs. Ancient tapestries hung as if they’d just been woven.
He let me touch everything, pleased that I took such an interest in his collection. I found a golden replica of theTitanic, a life-sized horse cast in bronze, a queen’s tiara encrusted with diamonds and emeralds, and a perfect white pearl the size of a globe resting on a red, velvet pillow.
Each step made me gasp as I beheld the splendor of his treasure room. I lifted a hand to touch the head of a jade tiger and smiled. “It’s so amazing.” I turned to look at the dragon with an expression of awe. He seemed smug. “Still … it doesn’t justify killing people,” I charged.
“Doesn’t preserving all of this make up for it? How many of these things remain on the surface—ruined and uncared for?”
“Too many,” I admitted.
“There, you see? I’m preserving humanity’s most precious contributions.”
“But no one sees it but you.”
He hedged, blew some smoke out of his nostrils, and abruptly turned, expecting me to follow.
I did, and the doors closed and locked right behind me. Though he was short, he strode quickly ahead. “I know … I know,” he said through clenched teeth. “Yínbáilóng has been after me for years to stop sinking ships and downing planes.”
“Yínbáilóng?”
“Yes, the white dragon. He’s the eldest and hasopinionsabout everything, including drowning humans.”
“Maybe you should listen to him.”
“Maybe. But then what would I do? It’s not like I get many visitors down here, and I don’t want to sleep all the time like Qnglóng or go crazy like L sèlóng. Allhethinks about is hunting.”
“Maybe you could help people. Leave a coin under their pillows like the tooth fairy.”
“Are you serious? Perhaps you didn’t get enough oxygen on the way down. You are nothing if not interesting, my dear. Give up my treasure? Bah! The last thing I would ever do is give up my wealth. Come. We’ve left those crafty brothers alone too long. They’re probably devising new ways to cheat me out of more of my fortune.”
“Well, it’s nothing you don’t deserve.”
“Ha!” He led me back into the room, seeming somewhat distracted by our talk. This time during the bartering if he got particularly greedy, I’d raise an eyebrow, and he’d be distracted enough to make a bad agreement.
I would casually insert extra items in Ren’s wish list, like not sinking any ships in the next century or not going to Bermuda anymore. Ren added them in without questioning me.
Occasionally, Kishan would lean over to whisper something to Ren as well, and among the three of us, we made some headway. Jnsèlóng was scowling all the time and after a particularly bad loss, he began crying. He wept crocodile tears and talked about all the people he drowned. He seemed truly repentant, and I felt terribly sorry for him.
He asked if I had a tissue, and I scrambled around for a moment, then pulled out the Scarf and asked it for a tissue. It shimmered and changed into a beautiful monogrammed handkerchief. Embroidered on it was:
I stared at it for a moment, puzzled, then it hit me. Alagan Dhiren Rajaram. I flushed and gave the Scarf a mental warning to cut it out.
“Here you go,” I said to the dragon, and handed it to him just as Ren’s hand darted toward mine.
The dragon snatched it away and pressed it to his wet face. Ren sighed and dropped his hand, and it took me another few seconds to realize that what I thought were Jnsèlóng’s heaving sobs were actually heaving peals of laughter.
As he wiped the tears from his smiling face, I folded my arms and accused, “You tricked me.”
He pointed a finger and wagged it happily at Ren. “Andthat’swhy you never allow women into the bartering chamber. Your magical cloth is mine!” he tittered in delight.
