Page 94 of Tiger's Destiny
Soon, I felt lighter than air. Though I was still in Lokesh’s clutches, I could no longer feel his touch.
He bellowed in frustration as his hand suddenly passed through my now intangible body.
Relieved, I wiped tears from my hot, abused face and stepped away. He could no longer hold me in his grip, and he violently swung his arms at my ghost-like form. I moved farther away from him, putting as much distance between us as I could. Soon, Lokesh’s body began to fade as well. When he was almost gone, he narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. With a mighty roar, he charged toward me at full speed, like a bull at a matador. Froth foamed at his mouth, and there was a crazed look in his eyes.
The ground shook as he thunderously charged. I raised my arms to protect myself when the points of his horns made contact. A horrible roar echoed in my mind as his dark wind passed through my body. I screamed and fainted.
When the vision was over, I opened my eyes to see Ren and Kishan leaning over me. Kishan was using the Scarf to bandage my elbow, and Ren was examining my throat. Both had stony expressions but asked no questions. My back stung until Kishan applied a salve from the Golden Fruit.
I gulped the life-saving elixir from thekamandal, and within a few minutes, I began to feel better.
“She’s starting to heal,” Kishan remarked.
Ren nodded.
“Where’s—” I tried to clear my raspy throat, but it hurt too much. “Chimera,” I whispered.
“I used the Rope to whip her,” Ren said, stroking my bruised throat. “She ran off and hasn’t returned yet.”
I saw regret in his eyes, but then he touched my arm and the steely determination returned. I knew how much it pained him to abuse an animal, even one that would have killed us. But I couldn’t help but feel grateful that the Chimera wasn’t around.
“She’ll come back soon,” Kishan said. “We need to leave.”
I nodded my agreement. Ren gently lifted my arms to help me put on a new T-shirt. After he slipped it over my old torn one, he asked the Scarf to reabsorb the ripped and bloody shirt underneath. Threads flew out from under the hem and sleeves, and soon the Scarf was quiet.
Kishan and Ren helped me stand, and then Kishan picked up the Rope of Fire. I took hold of the Rope in one hand and placed the other on top of Kishan’s.
“Try it now, Kishan,” I encouraged, my voice just a bit stronger.
He whipped the Rope in a wide circle in front of him. I channeled my fire power into the Rope, and the entire length caught on fire. I sent in more energy, and he whipped faster and faster until the inner circle became a black vortex. Flames danced along the edges.
“Tell it where you want to go,” Kishan said.
I whispered, “Take us to the past. To the place where we are to meet our destiny.”
The blackness flickered and a green forest materialized.
Ren put on the backpack, picked me up, and ran toward the vortex just as the Chimera shot out from the trees. As he and Kishan leapt through the circle of flame, Ren twisted in the air to shield me from her. The Chimera’s jaws snapped, but her teeth missed us, and we fell backward into the void. I was wrenched away from Ren, and then the three of us tumbled around one another in the vortex.
At first, I felt nothing. Then gravity took over, and my stomach heaved as I plummeted downward into an abyss. I screamed, terrified, as my body tumbled into blackness. The echoes of voices calling my name swirled around me.
I closed my eyes as a wave of dizziness overtook me. I heard a snarl, a roar. Then I felt heat and flame rush over my skin. Just as quickly, all motion ceased, and I felt my consciousness start to slip away until it disappeared altogether.
a new world
Get up!” shouted a woman’s no-nonsense voice.
I opened my eyes to see a lovely leg in a mile-long, thigh-high boot connect with my stomach. I curled into a protective ball, blinking and groaning at the aches and pains in my body.Who is kicking me? And why won’t she stop?
The woman kicked me again and hissed, “Get up!”
Twisting into a sitting position, I looked up and saw a tall, striking woman in front of me. A helmet covered most of her face, but her eyes were a brilliant green, and her skin was an exotic buttery-brown of sugar caramel. Her long black hair fell well past her waist. I also noticed the sharp tip of her spear hovering dangerously close to my nose.
I shuffled slowly to my feet, trying to get a grip on my current situation. Once again, I was in a forest. I was surrounded by armored warriors who had confiscated our backpack and weapons and were pointing various spears directly at me. Ren and Kishan were bound with coarse ropes and still unconscious. The Rope of Fire lay idly on the ground.
“Who are you?” I asked the beautiful Amazon who could have doubled as a swimsuit cover-model. “What do you want with us?”
The men spoke to her in a foreign language until she silenced them with a signal.
