Page 122 of Tiger's Destiny
Kishan answered, “We are not gods, Anamika. We are from this world like you, but we were born many years in the future.”
“Such power is beyond my comprehension.”
Phet put his hand on her shoulder. “You must try to learn these things. I know this is overwhelming for you. Perhaps I can explain it another way.” He lifted the golden sword and held it toward her. “How do you know when a sword is made inadequately?”
“The hilt is loose or poorly wrapped, it vibrates too much when used on a target, its balance is off, and if it was not fired properly, it will become brittle and fracture.”
“That is correct.” Phet smiled warmly at his former student. “Think of the world as a sword. The steel is folded in on itself over and over again. Earth has many such folds or layers. This folding makes a blade stronger and more beautiful. When a sword is forged, the steel is heated to a very high temperature then is rapidly cooled. If it’s done properly you will have a strong, solid weapon. If not, microscopic fractures or cracks form where the crystalline structure is weak.
“Our world is much like this. There are fissures and splits in space and time. The fabric of the universe is constantly moving and shifting as it expands and contracts like metal that is heated and then cooled over and over again, and as matter rips apart and reforms, it creates threads. Threads that lead to what once was, what is now, and what will be. Everything is connected. This is what I mean by cosmic strings. This is how these three have traveled to you.”
Anamika nodded. “Then we will reforge the world and heal what is weak.”
“That is your birthright, Anamika,” Phet affirmed.
Phet proceeded to show us one amazing power after another. He used thegadaand the Necklace to open a fissure in the earth, and a geyser shot up into the air higher than anything at Yellowstone. He dipped the tip of a golden arrow into thekamandaland shocked us all when he fired the arrow into Ren’s leg. The arrow disappeared quickly, and the cut on his scalp healed. When Ren examined his leg, it was as if nothing had hit him.
“Are Ren and Kishan no longer able to self-heal?” I asked Phet.
Phet rolled thekamandalbetween his hands and replied, “No. Sadly, they are not.”
“Why? What did we do?”
“You did nothing. It is simply time for them to fulfill their destiny. Their bodies were kept young and preserved so they could fight here.”
“And what will become of us when the fight is over?” Ren asked.
Phet set thekamandaldown and said quietly, “It is perhaps better to think of the future after we have taken care of the present, hmm?”
Phet wrapped the Rope of Fire around his waist, where it locked together like a belt. When he touched any weapon to it, the weapon lit on fire. He touched an arrow to the Necklace and sunk the projectile into a tree trunk. The entire tree turned into water, held the shape of what it once was for a few seconds, and then fell, flooding the undergrowth.
It seemed that the possibilities were endless, and the only limit was our own creativity. All of us were eager to try out the weapons, and Kishan was the first on his feet. But Phet caught his arm as he reached for thechakramand shook his head. Kishan backed up a step.
“I must caution you regarding two things. The first is that when you use the Rope of Fire, you must be very specific with your instructions. If you ask it to take you to a safe haven you may end up in another time and place. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of each of you in this battle. You must stay here. You can, however, use it to move quickly around the battlefield, but you must tell it exactly where you wish to go.”
Kishan nodded and asked, “What is the other warning you must give?”
Phet said nothing for a moment but looked at Anamika. “Is there a reason you didn’t fight as the goddess today or lead out in battle as you wished to, young one?”
Her head dropped, and Kishan and I turned to look at her. Ren put his hand on her arm to offer her support.
“I am ashamed to confess it but—” she glanced at Phet, who was patiently waiting for her to finish.
She pulled a knife from her boot and stabbed the ground a few times. “I was under the thrall of the demon.”
Phet pressed, “You felt this overtake you the nearer you were to the mountain. Am I correct?”
“Yes,” she admitted.
Ren added, “I had to pull her away when she got too close. I took the weapons from her because she turned them on her own troops. The further she was from the battle, the more control she had over herself.”
“I suspected as much,” Phet said. He knelt in front of Anamika and lifted her chin so he could see her face. “This is not your fault. This has happened to Ren and Kishan as well.”
“What?” Kishan took a step forward.
“I was not under the thrall of Lokesh even when he tortured me,” Ren declared.
Phet took hold of Kishan’s arm and explained, “You were under this same power before the tiger saved you.”
