Page 116 of Tiger's Destiny
As the day passed, more and more of our men were lost. An army of more than a half a million was mercilessly cut down to just more than half that number. One of my bodyguards pointed out a waving banner that signaled retreat, and soon our warriors escaped the battlefield, making their way back to their camps as best they could. Riders ran through the fallen soldiers seeking to help the wounded before the vermin demons could finish them off.
A horn was sounded, and Lokesh’s army retreated into the shadows of the mountains. My horse, which I tied to a nearby tree, began stamping and neighing loudly. She bucked at her restraints, and the other horses did the same thing. On the field, men lost control of the elephants. They trumpeted loudly and made a beeline for safe cover. Birds of all kinds rose into the air, including the falcons used for communication by the Chinese army. Animals of all types left the surrounding forest and headed toward the scene of battle, overcome by a powerful instinct.
I called upon the power in my amulet and wrapped a bubble of calming heat around me, my horse, and the remaining animals near us. But it was too late to save them all. A king cobra rose up next to me, hissed, and then quickly made its way down the hill. I shivered.
I saw Anamika’s horse and many of the horses still connected to chariots running toward Mount Kailash. When they reached the hill of dead bodies, they stopped and reared up on their hind legs. A powerful wind rose and lifted the bodies of the dead and then the animals were also pulled up into the sky. They hung there limply, dormant, tossed about in the wind as if they were merely autumn leaves caught in a swirling eddy.
Dead men wearing the red cloaks, the short tunics, and the knee-high armored boots of Alexander the Great’s army swirled amid the dark green-garbed Chinese warriors. As their heads lolled back, the heavy helmets fell to the ground below, rolling to a stop amid the shields and weapons that littered the ground.
The animals and humans formed pairs that spun together in a vortex of black magic. Tremors shook the ground as if Mother Nature herself was watching in horror and trembling at the darkness that had stolen over the entire valley.
Circling each other faster and faster until the images blurred in the dark mist of twilight, the animal and the human merged into one being, a thing of darkness, an unholy coupling of man and beast.
Demon birds flapped new wings, rising higher in the air. Beasts— half bear or half wolf—blinked yellow eyes and, when released from the vortex, lumbered off toward the mountain. Creatures rained from the sky, profane imitations of what they once were. Zombie men that were now part wolverine, part snake, or part snow leopard also turned and made their way to their new master. They rose by the hundreds; then by the thousands.
I closed my eyes, sickened by the lack of respect for the dead. The dead soldiers would not be honored for their sacrifice in the manner of their country, but instead they would be conscripted against their will and enslaved to fight for a monster intent on destroying us all.
Who would stop him? Whocouldstop him?
Then the earth shook, and I saw the camp of the Macedonian army disappear, swallowed up in a fissure that inhaled tents, supplies, and war-weary men. A tornado whipped across the clearing, devastating the camp of the Chinese. Tents, men, weapons, and supplies were sucked into the storm and then, after dancing in the turbulent sky, streamed down on top of the broken camp. Something small pelted my cheek and I cupped my hand to catch what I thought was hail. It was raining rice.
A huge wave lifted from Lake Rakshastal and demolished the Indian camp completely. Most of the tents were swept away in a great flood, and the camp was devastated by the impact. Then the mountain settled and became quiet. Our armies had been decimated after a single day of fighting. Our deceased were now swelling the ranks of the demon army, and our camps were destroyed.
I told the men with me that they needed to return to camp to help. They refused to leave me—probably because Ren and/or Kishan had severely threatened them—but I used the power of my amulet to nudge them back down the hill, slightly toasting their backsides when they resisted. I tried my best to convey to them that I would be fine and that I would return soon as troubled questions filled my mind.
Would Lokesh be satisfied if I give myself up? Would he make a trade? The fire amulet and me for the zombie-making token he had? Which is worse? Giving him ultimate power through uniting the Damon Amulet or letting him keep on making zombies?
It seemed like he would win either way. Lokesh was a dangerous puzzle.
“He’s like Ugra Narasimha,” I mumbled. “Nearly invincible. There’s got to be a way to destroy him. I just need to figure out how.”
“You could start by using the gifts of Durga the way they were intended, Kahl-see,” a familiar singsong voice behind me admonished.
I spun around. “Phet?”
two sides of the same coin
The wiry man found an overturned log and sat. He smiled at me and said, “I told you I would see you again in a happier time.”
“Does this look like a happier time to you? And why are you talking like that?”
“Talking like what?” He picked at a speck of dirt from his robes and flicked it away.
“Your English has improved.” I put my hand on my hip. “Significantly.”
Phet still looked the same. Voluminous robes wrapped around his thin frame, but they still couldn’t hide his knobby brown knees and elbows. His funny gap-toothed smile lit up his wrinkled face, and small tufts of gray hair stuck out from the back of his bald head.
He wrapped his hands around a knee. “My English was always good,Kahl-see. It’s not my fault you saw something different.”
“I saw something different because you showed me something different.”
He pointed a finger in the air and smiled. “Precisely. I told the princes that you were a smart girl.” Phet patted the log next to him, offering me a place to sit down.
“I showed you the man you needed to see,” he explained. “The man you would trust to guide you to ancient prophecies. Let me ask you, would you have believed me if I had spoken to you like I am now?”
“Maybe,” I responded, still confused.
“I think you wouldn’t have. In fact, I think you would have returned to Mr. Kadam and taken the first plane out of India.”
