Page 170 of Tiger's Voyage
Kishan nodded and placed thekamandalunder his shirt.
“If your decision is to move forward, I suggest you go quickly.”
Ren and Kishan prepared the sled while the mermaid called me to her. She plucked a bloom from the lei and pressed it into my hand.
“You’re a lucky young lady. Love can overcome many challenges. It’s a precious treasure—worth more than all of these other miraculous things. It’s the most powerful magic in the universe. Don’t let it slip through your fingers. Hold onto it. Tightly.”
I nodded and left to strap in the tigers. After I was seated and buckled in, I turned to look at the mermaid one last time. She was splashing contentedly in her fountain. I patted Fanindra and tied one of the bags more securely, and then we started off.
As the boys circled the fountain, I gasped in shock. The mermaid and the entire fountain were already frozen. Milky droplets hung suspended in the air, trickling from the mouths of frozen fish. Kaeliora had dipped her head to smell the lei and had iced over with a glistening smile on her face. The boys started running, and I shifted to watch the path looming before us.
It wasn’t long before we shot into the ice tunnel again, running through the ocean. The black water surrounding us suddenly made me fearful. As we raced along, I couldn’t help but hum the song from Willy Wonka’s scary paddleboat ride. Creepy neon fish darted up to take a look but mostly left us alone. They weren’t really big enough to break through the ice, but it wasn’t very long before something large took an interest.
I didn’t see anything except a gray shadow at first. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but then I looked down over the side of the sled and saw a giant eye peering up at me. I screamed, and the tigers slid to a halt. Something about us stopping spurred the creature to action. It nudged the ice tunnel from beneath. The sled popped into the air abruptly and crashed down, knocking the air out of my lungs. Kishan and Ren fell in a tumble of legs and tails, and the sled tilted and slammed into the side wall. I pushed against the ice and righted us again while the boys scrambled to their feet.
The creature swam to the right and scraped its scaled side across the ice. We bounced into the other side, and a large crack appeared. Ren and Kishan broke into a run, with the creature giving chase. I started calling out its positions, so they could brace themselves when it hit. Cracks were forming all over the tunnel. I knew the ocean could easily rush in and kill us. We had no dragon air bubbles here—all we could do was run.
Faster and faster the tigers sprinted, but the creature easily outswam us. At one point, I couldn’t see it anymore and had just breathed a sigh of relief when I looked to the right and saw something swimming toward us at top speed. It looked like a prehistoric crocodile. Its long snout gaped open as it headed right for us. It was going to bite the ice tunnel in half!
I screamed again and braced for the impact. Closing my eyes and covering my head, I felt the tunnel shake violently as the creature hit. Kishan and Ren slid to a stop and dug in their claws. I’m sure they were wondering, as I was, if it would be smarter to turn around and go back.
As we waited for the shaking to stop, I looked deeply into the maw of the beast. The only thing preventing us from being fish food was the tunnel. Its teeth were each a foot long and jabbed into the ice with a terrible crunch. Water started leaking in where a tooth pierced the top. Kishan nudged Ren, and they began running forward again.
The creature wrenched its head up and bellowed in frustration as we moved away from it. More huge cracks appeared in the ice as its body pounded over the top of the tunnel trying to catch us. Its noise must have attracted attention, because it was soon joined by another beast—an eel that had a long tail ending in a fin. It wrapped its tail completely around the ice tunnel and started squeezing. I heard several pops and water streamed in, coating the walls and making the ice slippery. The tigers slid and had to slow down to dig in their claws for traction.
A vibration shook the tunnel as the crocodile bellowed and started to fight the eel for the prize. The eel creature bit the crocodile’s tail while the latter slammed its body against the tunnel, pinning the eel. The ice crackled before they swam off in a flurry of fins. The tigers took advantage of their absence to press on.
We turned a corner and saw a rocky outcropping and a glint of gold ahead. The Seventh Pagoda! We were close. Through the ice I made out the temple. We were headed for a mountain of stone that rose from the bottom of the sea. Carved into that mountain were tall pillars and smooth dark panels that looked like glass, though I knew the pressure here would implode windows. The tunnel led right to its golden door.
The tigers doubled their speed, but the first creature was back, slamming its head violently against the tunnel. Water sprayed against us as more cracks appeared. The frozen rivulets dripped into the thick layers of my clothes, making me shiver. Icy water hit my face and my hair, instantly freezing it and causing my breath to hitch. A thin river ran under our feet making the path slicker, even for claws. Ren and Kishan scrambled as best they could, knowing it was going to be a close race. A cold fear crept into my stomach and grew, creating sharp icicle daggers that shot through my limbs.
Another impact, and I saw terrible claws rake down the sides of the tunnel. Shards—dangerous spear-sized icicles—dropped and shattered around us. A section of tunnel opened and a wall of water slammed against the sled, spinning us around. We were only twenty feet from the door, but the tunnel was filling with frigid seawater. The beast bit the tunnel again. The horrible crack sounded like a pocket of ice breaking off a glacier. I wrenched off my ties to the sled and unstrapped Ren. He changed quickly and began helping Kishan.
“Run, Kelsey! Get the key into the lock.”
I waded as fast as I could, but my clothes dragged me down. The water was up to my waist now. I tried to gulp in air, but the shock of the frozen water on my body was overwhelming. My lungs tightened and wouldn’t expand or contract normally. Prickles of pain raced through my limbs then faded to numbness. Ren and Kishan were coming up fast behind me. The crocodile beast bellowed again and a rush of freezing water slammed me into the golden door. My hand shook as I pulled the key out of my pocket with frozen fingers. The keyhole was underwater, and thanks to my panic and fuzzy depth perception, I couldn’t get the key in the lock.
Hands covered mine and guided the golden key. We twisted it, and the door opened just as a surge of ocean threw us into the Seventh Pagoda. I spilled out onto the floor next to the bags Ren tossed in and scrambled to my feet as Ren and Kishan threw themselves against the door, trying to shut it against the weight of the water. A shiny object hit my shoe. I reached down to pick up Fanindra and cuddled her against my chest. Grateful that Ren had thought to retrieve our bags and my golden pet, I stroked her coils and apologized as best I could.
The brothers somehow managed to shut the door and lock it, and then slumped to the wet floor, panting. I positioned myself between them and slid to the floor too.
Leaning my head on Kishan’s shoulder, I said, “We made it. The Seventh Pagoda.”
At first, I was aware only of our breathing. Then I began to shiver. We stood and by mutual decision chose to change into warm clothes, eat, and sleep. Ren and Kishan had used all their energy. I remembered Ren’s circus trainer, Mr. Davis, had once told me that big cats sleep most of the day and use up their energy in quick bursts. These two had been running for quite some time, and Kishan had been swimming like a polar bear. I knew they were exhausted.
We explored the shrine a bit, looking for a place to camp, and found it smaller than the other two underwater castles. It wasn’t cold like Yínbáilóng’s palace. Instead, it was warm and dark.
I hastily dried off and set up a tent and sleeping bags while the Scarf created warm clothes. Everyone made their own dinner using the Fruit. Kishan ate three pizzas, I chose Grandma’s biscuits and gravy with hash browns and eggs, and Ren ordered stuffed pasta shells, breadsticks, and salad—the first meal I’d ever made for him. When I gave him a look, he raised an eyebrow and nonverbally dared me to do something about it. I decided ignoring him would be better, so I turned my back to him and scooted closer to Kishan, who was already on his second pizza.
“Want a slice?”
“Nah, I’ve got plenty, thanks.”
Nobody said much of anything else. It was awkward. We ate in silence and then prepared to sleep. I sipped my hot chocolate and wondered what I was going to do about sleeping in such close proximity to Ren as a man. Kishan didn’t seem to have a problem at all with our sleeping arrangements. He just crawled into his bedroll and began snoring.
Ren turned to me. “You coming?”
“I’ll … be another minute.”
