Page 69 of Tiger's Destiny
I nodded and turned to leave when he took my arm and whispered a few of the brutal things he wanted to do either to me or with me. I wasn’t sure which, and I really didn’t want to know. I just smiled at him and hissed slightly, which he took as a good sign, and then he finally left me alone.
Inside my tent, I pulled back the blanket on the bed—and found a box full of dead insects. I figured they were used either as a mattress or as a late night snack.
I curled up in a corner and spent the next hour wondering what I’d gotten myself into. So far, I’d seen no sign of Ren or Kishan and for all I knew, Queen Desecration was bluffing and didn’t even have them in the first place. Knowing I needed rest, I pillowed my head in my hands, figured out how to dim my hair and tattoos, and tried to sleep.
I quickly learned that the Rakshasi queen didn’t really leave me to my own devices. Two huge guards stood just outside my tent and squashed any ideas I had of sneaking out to find Ren and Kishan. I napped on and off during the day, worrying about my tigers.
When the night comet passed overhead and the fire trees extinguished, I was summoned for battle. The queen had dressed for the occasion in some kind of bone armor, and her hair was teased out to look like a bonfire. The tattoos on her face glowed vivid red as if someone had slapped her across her face with red paint.
We marched to a large clearing, and the Rakshasa demons melted into the surrounding trees so that only their torch-like hair was visible.
The queen faced off from me and raised her arms into the air. “Rakshasas! Witness the power of your queen!”
She circled her arms dramatically and produced sparks and black smoke that swirled around her. The smoke moved as if alive and twisted toward me. It circled around my body and then back to the queen. She shouted, and two bolts of lightning hit the ground.
The smoke cleared and two stone altars appeared—with Ren and Kishan tied to them. They looked around in confusion and struggled vainly against the ropes. Their shirts hung in ribbons, but other than that, I could see no injury.
The queen walked up to Ren and ran a dagger-like nail down his bare chest. She clucked, “Now, now, my pretty. Don’t jostle around so.” She touched his lip with her grotesque claw. “I like my meat . . . tender.”
She moved as if to kiss him, and Ren turned his head in disgust. In retaliation, she ran her claws across his cheek. Bloody gashes dripped rivulets down his neck. Desecration turned to Kishan. “Perhaps this one will be more cooperative.”
She smoothed her hand across Kishan’s broad shoulders and down his arm. He snarled angrily at her.
The demon laughed throatily. “Perhaps I’ll let you live just a bit longer. Your aggressiveness is charming. Well, don’t despair, my fragile hunters. Your queen has come to redeem you, for as much good as it will do her.”
Both Ren and Kishan desperately sought the surrounding forest for me but their eyes passed over my new form.
I stepped forward and shouted, “You’ve wasted enough of my time and have insulted me by abusing my warriors before my eyes. I don’t think you have the venom necessary to defeat me.”
Smoke swirled around Desecration, and her eyes glinted dangerously. “I will suck the marrow from your bones as you choke slowly on your own blood.”
I put my hands on my hips and smiled, baring my fangs. “If only your bite were as strong as your rank perfume.”
Ren and Kishan were gaping openly at me, and the Rakshasa hunter from the night before stepped out of the tree line and grinned triumphantly.
Just when I was starting to feel like I had the upper hand, a streak of smoke slammed into my stomach and threw me to the ground. It wrapped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen. Quickly, I untied the Scarf from my waist and whispered painfully, “Gather the winds.”
Smoke billowed and pulsed into the bag the Scarf had created. The air swirled around the clearing and blew my hair in every direction. Finally, the winds were gone and the bag danced in my hands. I smiled at the woman glaring at me from across the clearing, lifted my eyebrow, and opened the bag. Smoke shot toward the queen, circled her, and began choking her. She coughed, raised her arms into the air, and brought them suddenly down. The smoke disappeared.
Desecration snapped her fingers, and the light of her hair and body went out. I took a battle stance, turned off my own inner light, and watched the darkness carefully. I heard her laughter as she appeared briefly and was gone again. I tried to sense her, but she moved stealthily. A hiss came from my right, and as I spun around, her claws raked across my arm and shoulder.
She jumped onto me and pushed me to the ground, but I thrust her back and attacked with my own claws, managing to get her thigh and calf. My shoulder began to burn horribly like acid was gnawing its way into my muscle. I’d thought the bear scratches on my leg were excruciatingly painful. This was far worse.
She disappeared again, only to materialize a few feet away. She whispered some words, and with a flourish, the trident appeared in her hands. She aimed it at me.
“Perhaps you are missing this?” She brandished the weapon and circled. “I have to admit I was surprised to see your collection of war prizes. For such a weak queen, you have accomplished much.”
“Come a little closer,” I threatened with an evil smile, “and I’ll show you how much more I can accomplish.”
She attacked with the trident, but I stepped aside and blasted her in the back with my fire power. I heard the collective hisses and shifting of the demons in the trees and smiled until I heard the queen laugh excitedly.
“Nowthatfelt good.” She turned and stretched languidly. “You must tell me the secret for that power before you die, my little queen.”
“Not likely,” I hissed and crouched for the next assault.Stupid! Fire is good for them. Time to change tactics.
I sprung at the queen and pushed her to the ground. She blew a palmful of some kind of dust that ignited and sent sparks flying everywhere. I couldn’t see anything but white flashes. Still, I slammed into her blindly, and we tore at each other with claws until I had stinging hurts everywhere.
The queen overpowered me, pinned me with her muscular legs, and wrapped her claws around my throat. The tips pierced my neck, and I could feel her poison entering my body.
