Page 172 of Tiger's Voyage
The marble and gold statues depicted three people: two men and a woman. The woman draped her arm over one of the men who offered her a beautifully detailed carving of a pearl necklace. The other man looked on jealously. A thick curved wall of marble stretched behind the fountain on either side.
“Ren? I think I found Parvati and Shiva! Indra’s here too!”
“I’ll come up and look in a minute,” he called out.
There was something else. Indra’s one hand was tightened into a threatening fist but the other was pointing behind the fountain where Shiva and Parvati stood.Maybe it meant something. Something else mightbe back there. Another statue maybe.I climbed down the fountain steps, walked all the way around the long wall, and then gasped in shock and horror. A giant shark lay dead on the floor.
“It can’t be,” I whispered.
Its pointed nose jutted into the air, and its mouth gaped open loosely. Though it was made of marble, I shivered, imagining it bearing down on me. Its mouth was big enough to bite through a dragon, let alone a puny human such as me. Mesmerized, I reached out a finger to touch a sharp, serrated tooth, but pulled back at the last moment. Mumbling to myself, I said, “It’s impossible. I’ve never seen anything this big onShark Weekbefore.”Maybe it’s prehistoric.
I cleared my throat. “Ren?” No response. I called out a little louder, “Ren? Can you come up here? Please!”
“Just a minute, Kelsey. Almost got this one open.”
I slowly backed away from the nightmare creature until my backside bumped up against the alabaster railing. Freezing there, I stared at the length of a creature that frightened me more than anything I’d ever faced. The Kappa were kittens compared to this thing. The Stymphalian birds? Canaries. I started shaking as waves of fear poured over me, obscuring everything except the monster I couldn’t look away from.
I shook my head, and little mewling sounds spilled from my lips. Stumbling quickly down the steps, I stopped at the waterfall and froze again. All I could think was the wordno. I chanted it over and over in my mind—no-no-no-no—and didn’t realize I was repeating the words out loud until I heard the word echoed in another’s voice.
Ren appeared in front of me as if by magic, put his arms around me, and held me close. He lightly massaged the back of my neck and asked, “No… what, Kelsey?”
“It’s impossible,” I whispered against his shirt like a zombie.
“Come on. Show me what you found.”
A part of my brain registered Kishan who shouted, “Hey! Where is everybody? Guess I have to do everything myself, then.” I heard him prying open the oysters. Knowing he was in no danger, I continued to bury my nose in Ren’s shirt.
“It’s alright,” Ren soothed. “Let’s go take a look. I’ll go with you.”
He stepped away from my clinging form and took my hand. I grabbed onto it with both of mine and pressed myself against him. He briefly touched his lips to my temple before climbing the stairs. We passed the waterfall. When I saw the first statue, I started shaking again.
He stopped at the top and studied the forms. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong,strimani?”
I lifted a shaking hand and pointed in the same direction as Indra. “It’s—” my voice shook, “it’s too big.”
Seeing I wouldn’t take another step, he let go of my hand and began the long walk around the marble wall by himself. I watched his face register shock and then grim determination. He crouched down by the beast’s head and studied it.
I grimaced thinking that, compared to the shark, Ren looked like a tasty cream puff dipped in chocolate.He’d be delicious, decadent even.But even he was just an appetizer. Me? Maybe a celery stick. Not the tastiest,so I might as well douse myself in ranch dressing to save the shark the troubleof spitting me back out. Kishan was perhaps a little meatier. He’d be more likea taquito or an egg roll. Even if the shark ate all three of us, it’s likely it wouldhave to go back for seconds and thirds. It was just … that … immense.
Ren paused to study the statues briefly, and then turned to me.
“It’s going to be alright, Kelsey. Try not to worry.”
“Try not to worry? It’s a giant shark!”
“Yes, but—”
“Ren! Spider monkeys are to King Kong as great whites are to that thing!”
“I know, but—”
He was interrupted by an irate Kishan on the floor below us. “Whereareyou guys?”
I walked over to the railing and waved down to him. “We’re up here. Be down in a minute.”
“Fine.” He sulkily went back to opening oysters while I turned back to Ren.
“But what? Don’t you get it? That’s the great hunter who doesn’t sleep or eat—the thing the mermaid told us about. Its only purpose is to prevent us from reaching the surface!”
