Page 127 of Tiger's Destiny
The demon army shrieked horribly before falling to the ground, succumbing to a final death. Those that passed through in safety were set upon by Durga and our men who sent up a volley of arrows that I lit with fire power. As the enemy fell, one by one, and the souls of the men and beasts were released, I murmured a last wish, “I hope you find peace.”
When the battle was too close for arrows, my men raised their swords and ran forward. I stayed behind using my fire power and was able to take out a large pack of canine-demons. I cremated them in large groups, but when my men got in the way I had to switch to weapons. Ren sped forward and leapt into the fray with me on his back. My tiger pounced, ripping demons apart with teeth and claws.
He stood on hind legs and raked a paw across a demon’s head. My armor held me tightly to Ren’s body, but I could no longer see our opponent. When Ren sunk to all fours again, the demon had wicked slashes that went from the back of his neck to over the top of his head and ended between his eyes. I finished him off while Ren lashed out at a second foe on the left.
Ren, this is horrible.
It’s how a tiger fights, Kells. Try to distance yourself. Read my thoughts.
I sunk arrows into creatures’ legs, pinning them to the ground while Ren ripped their chests apart. I targeted a demon with a raised ax and hit it with darts from the trident. When one attacked me, I blocked its claws on my forearm cuff, smacked its face with my shield, and then ran it through with my sword. Another came at me with a studded mace. It hit me hard, but my armor withstood the blow and my magnetized connection to Ren kept me upright. Ren swept its feet, and when the demon fell, Ren tore at its neck and crushed its windpipe.
Becoming Durga had somehow turned me into a superhuman fighting machine. Ren and I worked in a deadly symmetry, and nothing could stop us. I was able to borrow from Ren’s battle experience and shut off the part of myself that reacted in horror. Our minds came together as one, and I realized that when I fought with a sword or used the trident, it was as much Ren wielding the weapon as me. Likewise, every time Ren swiped the enemy with a paw or spotted a charging demon, it was as if I were also his claws and eyes.
When a new group headed toward us, I touched the trident to the Rope of Fire and shot jolts of electricity at the demons. The sound it made was like the crack of thunder or a hammer hitting sheet metal. The group exploded. Before one of the enemy died, it had managed to get off a poisoned dart. With preternatural speed, I caught the dart between two fingers and flipped it around, jamming it into the tough hide of a nearby cat-demon.
Others headed our way and when Ren jumped on top of one, I leaned over almost upside down. My boots locked onto the saddle, and I was able to zap two demons with fire power underneath Ren’s chest. Then as Ren landed, I flipped up and spun backward, slashing a demon with a sword in one hand and swinging thegadawith another.
Ten came at us at once and instinctively I kicked away from Ren and cartwheeled off of the saddle. My arms seemed to almost function independently. I knocked one attacker over with my shield, cut off the head of another with a sword, and while the hand with the henna tattoo glowed red, I hit others with flame. As I continued to flip, I stabbed an opponent through the heart with the trident, shot an enemy through the neck using my golden bow and a flaming arrow, and blasted two away with a wave of water that I shot from my hand using the Pearl Necklace.
Pushing off the ground as though I had jumped on a trampoline, I flipped into the air. Twisting my body up, I saw Ren tear apart a few of the cat-demons to my right. Below us, a big bear-demon growled viciously and swept the air with sharp claws, waiting for me to fall. Thinking quickly, I unwound the Rope of Fire from my waist, lit it with a blue flame, and snapped the Rope around the demon’s belly with a sizzling crack.
The momentum yanked me sideways, and I whipped around Ren’s body just as he leapt. I managed to grab Ren’s torso with one of my arms. As he shot forward, I slid into place on his back just in time. With another flick of my wrist, the Rope of Fire was once again settled at my waist. The bear-demon’s body fell, sliced into two. Ren leapt cleanly over the body and landed lightly on his front paws.
Don’t do that again, he growled in my mind.
Smiling, I thought.You have to admit it was cool.
Cool? You are a devastatingly beautiful angel of death. If death came for me and it looked like you, I’d go willingly.
Realizing they were no match for us, the demons switched course and headed toward my men.
Ren, our soldiers.
He whipped around and raced back to the small group of our men who were still alive. He rounded their flank and leapt toward the largest of the demons: an elephantman that stood on two powerful legs. It raised a weapon to defend itself but Ren was too fast. With a swipe, the weapon was gone. Then he leapt up, grabbed the beast in his jaws, and with a powerful clench and a twist of his body, threw the creature onto its back. I burned it and a dozen others.
Be careful, I admonished.You don’t heal any longer.
Don’t worry about me, sundari.Today I can do anything.
To prove his point, he used his teeth to crush the bones of one evil demon and leapt upon another, pinning it to the ground so I could finish it off.
When the last of the stragglers were taken care of, we retreated and regrouped with our remaining soldiers. We’d overcome several hundred demons with only a handful of men, but only a few dozen of our troops had survived. I told them they had served me well and told them to circle round the fire and rest.
Ren and I had a mission of our own.
Together we raced back to the grassy field. Smoke from burning bodies drifted into the air. I twisted to see the catapults still standing and cocked my head when I thought I smelled burned sugar. I heard the noise of fighting coming from beyond the fire and the roar of a distant tiger: Kishan.
It’s time to go, Kelsey.
Ren began running, gathered speed, and leapt over lines of fire. We raced toward the mountain, which was guarded by a long line of demons. They stood firm, completely unafraid.
I recognized Sunil standing on a rock jutting out from the cliff.
Raising my arm, I used fire power to take out every demon in my line of sight. Ren never broke his stride.
I glanced up at the overhang, but Sunil was gone.
“Lokesh!” I shouted. “We’ve come for you! Show yourself, you coward!”
