Page 33 of Tiger's Destiny
“Don’t what, Kelsey? Don’t react? Don’t feel? Don’t speak? Which thingdon’tdo you want me to do?”
“Ren, I don’t want to fight. Not today.Please.”
He lifted watery eyes to my face and studied me for a moment, then wearily turned his head away. “Do what you want with the place. It doesn’t matter. Nothing does anymore.”
He stalked off toward the plane.
Just as quickly as we had arrived, Murphy flew us all back to Ren and Kishan’s home in the jungle. The brothers and I lagged behind in the driveway, saying our goodbyes to Mr. Kadam’s old pilot. We eventually made our way to the kitchen, where we found a tearful Nilima.
“He knew all of this would happen! Kadam planned everything!” she announced.
I put my hand on her trembling shoulders.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
She sniffled loudly and turned to the kitchen table. Grabbing up a handful of papers and a manila envelope, she shook the fistful of documents and shouted, “I found this. He left it for us. He planned everything!”
Ren put his hand on her arm. He quickly scanned the documents and frowned. “I think you should read this aloud, Kells. Would you mind?”
The manila envelope had been sent priority mail from a law office in Mumbai. The first page was a letter. I began:
My Dear Ones,
When you receive this letter, I will be dead. I know you have many questions that I could not answer before, and there are still many things I cannot share with you now. As you may have guessed, the amulet I wore healed me of minor wounds, prevented disease, and kept me alive for centuries. It also has more power than we had previously thought.
It has the ability to control time and space. I discovered this potentially most dangerous of powers purely by accident when I tried to protect Nilima on the ship. The amulet physically removed us and set us adrift in the cosmos.
It took me a while to understand what had happened to us and to learn how to control the amulet. I was also able to erase Nilima’s memory of the event. Forgive me, my dear, but I wanted at least one of us to recover from the experience and be able to live a normal life.
During that interval, I was able to see time unfold before me. I learned more of the universe than a man should know. It’s a terrible burden to know the future. I didn’t want that for you, Nilima.
If there had been any way to guarantee a successful outcome without my demise, I would not have sacrificed myself. Please believe this. I would have preferred to help you finish Durga’s quest and would have enjoyed bouncing your children on my knee, Miss Kelsey. I had no desire to leave you, but it was necessary.
If I survived, one or all of you would have been killed. I could not let that happen. When Lokesh took the amulet, I used its power to send him into the past, for that is where he was fated to go. But this does not mean he is gone for good, and this does not mean you are safe from him.
I also know definitively that it has always been your destiny to overcome Lokesh, and there is only one way you are able to accomplish this—through the power of the tiger.
This power was destined for two worthy sons of India to wield, and though I cannot tell you more at this time, I will say that I can think of no men finer or braver than the two of you. Destiny has chosen well. The lives of many have been entrusted to your care. Consider your actions carefully. There is still much work to be done.
Miss Kelsey, I bequeath to you my library. All the books that I own now belong to you. This library will be the beginning of your own collection. Whether you leave them here or take them with you when you marry, they are yours. You are a daughter to me, and this gift is nothing compared to what you have given me.
Study the books that talk about Durga’s creation. This knowledge will help you in your journey. Take care of Ren and Kishan—they both need you—and guard your piece of the amulet well. It is the only object protecting the world from Lokesh, and he will stop at nothing to take it from you.
When you knew him, Lokesh was still a mortal, but in the past he has embraced evil and allowed his soul to fester in darkness. Through black magic and his manipulation of the amulet, he has become a demon and though he will fall into your hands, it will not be in this time or in this place. To defeat him, you must journey into the past and confront him when he is at his most powerful.
I have included the translation of the fourth prophecy to guide your way. Nilima can take you to the Andaman Islands where you will seek the City of Light. Do not fear the flame, Miss Kelsey, for if you are prepared, it will not hurt you. The object you are seeking is called the Rope of Fire. It will transport you to the time and place I sent Lokesh. There you shall meet a guide who will aid you in your battle. To use the Rope, simply think of when and where in time you need to go and whip it in a circle. A vortex will open, and you will be able to leap through time.
Nilima must stay behind and take care of all the difficulties that will arise in the company due to my death. If she journeys with you into the past, she will perish. She must not go!
I wish that I could be with you. I wish that I could tell you everything. But I promise you that I have seen your future, and I know that you will be victorious. Youwillovercome the monster. Rely upon one another; trust each other. Ahead lies a lifetime full of love and happiness for all of you.
There is a story about a king and his son that may give you some comfort: An oracle foretold that the boy would die by snakebite on the fourth day of his marriage. The king, distressed at this news, vowed that his son would never marry and taught his son to find fault with every princess who came to seek his hand.
Years passed, and then one day when the king was away, a young woman stormed through the castle doors and accused the prince of wrongly imprisoning her father.
The prince was shocked. No woman had ever spoken to him in that manner before. His eyes fixated on the smudge on her cheek and her one eye that was a shade bluer than the other. But as she continued to beseech him, those thoughts fell away, and he soon noticed the curve of her figure, the gleam in her eyes, and the shine of her black hair.
The prince demanded that her father be freed. Instead of pledging her undying thanks, the woman gave a stiff curtsey, which only made the prince love her more. The prince declared his feelings for the woman, who merely scoffed at him with disdain. However, his persistence won out in the end, and she came to love him as fiercely as she once reviled him.
