Page 13 of Tiger's Destiny
I quickly added, “If that’s alright with you, Kishan.”
Kishan shrugged good naturedly and warned, “Ren rides like a grandpa, but it’s fine with me.”
To thank him, I kissed him lightly.
Kishan grinned and said, “I might be better off. This way if I ride behind Grandpa, I can admire the view.”
Ren grunted and said something brusque in Hindi, but Kishan just laughed and ignored him.
That night Kishan scouted out a place to set up camp and returned excited. I followed him up a rocky hill to a circle of stones around a hollowed out area of packed clay.
“Fill it with water,” Kishan suggested. “Voilà! Your very own Jacuzzi.”
I laughed and brushed my hand across the Necklace at my throat. The basin quickly filled with a bubbling mineral bath, and Kishan blasted it with fire power. The cold air billowed with steam.
“Enjoy your bath, Kells. Oh, and if you need the water warmed again, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”
After my soak it was Ren’s and Kishan’s turn. Kishan ripped his shirt off. “First one there rides all day with Kells.” Ren took off like a shot with Kishan whooping after him.
With only one more day of travel to go, we were all starting to fall back into our normal routines, at least as normal as they could be under the circumstances. Both brothers were careful with me, treating me as delicately as a precious China cup.
Later that moonlit night, when Kishan smiled and leaned over to kiss me, it was warm and brief. Something flashed in his eyes when he pulled away.
I took his hand. “What is it?” I encouraged gently.
“If I do something that reminds you of Lokesh or hurts you in any way, will you tell me?”
“The fact that you’re even worried about it is a sign you could never be like him. Don’t be afraid to touch me. I won’t break.”
Kishan nodded, pressed a kiss to my fingers, and lifted the amulet from his chest. “You were smart to send Fanindra to me with this, but you should wear it now.”
He fumbled with the chain and fastened the amulet around my neck. I rubbed the smooth stone with my fingers.
“That’s how you created those balls of light? With the amulet?”
“Yes. This piece of the amulet is quite a weapon.”
“I was wondering how you did that. That never happened to me.”
“You probably could do it if you tried. The amulet seems capable of creating any type of flame.”
I considered how I’d seen Lokesh use his pieces of the amulet and suddenly stood and took Kishan’s hand.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“I want to blow something up.”
Kishan laughed. “You are definitely the girl for me. Let’s go.”
When we found a large rock, I infused so much energy into the burst that the rock disintegrated. I stared at my hand incredulously. I had no idea I’d become so dependent upon my power and knowing for sure that the amulet was the source was a relief. I could put on and take off the power at my leisure.
Kishan and I practiced drills for the next half hour. He taught me how to create bursts of light so they’d explode right in front of someone’s eyes to temporarily blind him, how to snap my fingers to start a fire, and after finding some roadkill to practice upon, how to use the beam to burn the flesh. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but I knew that if Lokesh was still alive and came after me again, or if I had to face another monster in order to fulfill Durga’s fourth prophecy, I would have to be able to use this technique.
When we returned to the tent, Ren was moody and yelled at Kishan for walking off with me and not telling him. “We need to watch over her constantly. We have no idea if Lokesh is still alive, and I don’t want to take any chances on losing her again,” Ren said sternly then turned around and left.
After he stormed off, Kishan sighed and picked up my hand. “He’s right. We have to remain vigilant where you’re concerned.”
I scooted closer and lay my head on his shoulder. “I’ll just make sure one of you is always around.”
