Page 30 of Tiger's Tale
“Yes. Of course they are.”
“And you’re sure the tsarevnas are in there somewhere?”
“I am. I watched them change myself. I’ve heard stories of such a thing happening from my mother’s people. That’s where you need to take them. My mother’s clan can help.”
“Your mother’s people? But I don’t understand. If they’re in there, can’t they change back?”
“Perhaps, but perhaps not. I would think if they could, they would have already. My mother’s people, the Evenki, will know what to do. They live on the other side of the great mountains. The tsarina established several laws protecting them, and free trade has been the policy for some years now. My father was stationed at one of the highland outposts as a young man. That’s where he met my mother. Her people are reindeer herders. They migrate in the hinterland, so you’ll have to find them, but if you head to one of the outposts at the borders of the taiga lands, they’ll direct you to the nearest settlement. Tell them you need to speak directly with a shaman. Hunt before you arrive and offer them meat or pelts in exchange for their help.”
“But I don’t understand. How did this happen? Was it the monk’s black magic?”
“No. It couldn’t be. This is very powerful magic, but it isn’t black. It’s a different sort. Do you understand? Tell me you understand.”
Nik looked at the beasts seated near him and at the hussar speaking earnestly about the magic of his people. If there was anyone who understood magic, it was Nik. “Yes,” he said. “I understand. It’s special to your people.”
“Good.” The older man looked relieved. “Once you arrive, you can talk with them openly about the tsarevnas and the tigers. They’ll believe you and the tigers will be protected once they’re on Evenki lands. But don’t mention anything about what happened to others in the empire. They’ll kill the tsarevnas on sight and likely string you up for heresy or lock you away. According to the law, farmers are still allowed to trap and kill wolves, bears, lynx, and tigers whether they’re threatening herds or not, so long as they use the skins or meat. Now, do you understand my instructions?”
Nik nodded, still wary but less nervous, having watched the large creatures and seeing that not only had they not attacked but that some of their mannerisms were indeed similar to the twin tsarevnas he’d come to know. “I do,” he said.
“Good. Then take my knife and sword. I’ll grab others from the armory. There isn’t much time. Out with you now.” He crouched down to the large cats and patted each of them cautiously on the shoulder. “Goodbye and good luck to both of you. May the souls of your good parents watch over us all. I promise we’ll do our best to guard your empire until your return.”
With that, he slipped out the door and was gone.
A bit awkwardly, Nik murmured, “Well then, now that it’s just the three of us, I wanted to take a moment to apologize for the display from before. Obviously, that man isnotmy father. And I?—”
The larger red tiger with black stripes growled softly, cutting off Nik’s words.
“Right. Let’s be off, then, shall we? Apologies can wait for a better time.” He leapt up to the dais, circled the thrones, and found a dropped knife. Quickly he pocketed it and discovered the hidden panel that allowed them to exit through the back of the room. Checking for passersby and finding none, he gestured to the cats, who padded quietly behind him, stopping to sniff the air. They clearly wanted to head to the left, but he hissed that they should follow him to the right instead, and reluctantly, they did.
That way led to the kitchen. There was the sound of items breaking outside, coupled with screams and shouting. Pots were left boiling over with no one watching, and bread was burning in a hot oven. Nik quickly grabbed a sack and stuffed it full of anything he could find—bags of preserved apples, a half-burned loaf of bread, some goat cheese, and strips of dried meat—and then he took two bladders from a hook and dipped each into a large barrel of water, filling it to the brim and capping it off, slinging both over his shoulder, before checking the door that led outside.
Servants and soldiers ran in every direction. There would be no easy means of escape from that exit. He turned back and went down one hall and another until he came up to a wall and felt along the top until he heard a click. A pocket opened, and he pushed, revealing a black opening that descended down a staircase into darkness. He was about to turn to the tigers and beckon them forward when the large red one pushed past him. He figured that one was Stacia.
As for him, he was nearly blind in the dark passageway and had to hold his hands out to feel along the sides as he walked down step by careful step, but the large cats bounced quickly down and were soon so far ahead of him he could no longer hear them. He cried out softly, “Stacia? Veru? Wait for me.” Soon he bumped into a soft tiger body. “Er... sorry,” he said awkwardly. “Can you just move over a bit? I need to find the latch.”
When he did and the door opened, he had to push hard against the wind to get it open. He hadn’t used that particular passage in too long a time, and outside of the palace too much debris had built up against the door. Once outside, they were protected by bushes since the opening led to the garden.
“Stay here for just a moment,” he said in a whisper. “Let me make sure the way out is clear.” Within a few minutes, he was back and gave them a signal. They followed him to the garden gate and only paused a moment at their mother’s grave, sniffing at the dying gardenias they’d left outside her crypt, remembering their promise to plant living blooms when the season was right, before trotting quickly out and into the woods after Nik.
Both tigers lifted their heads, turning to look at the palace when the fire started. They growled softly and almost whined. Nik glanced back and reached out a hand as if to touch them in consolation like he would have with a horse or a dog, but then quickly pulled his hand back.What am I doing?They were royalty. Not dogs for him to pet as he willed.
Pressing on, he only wavered for a moment before revealing his hiding place. They watched in curiosity as he dug beneath the trunk of an old tree and pulled out a large wooden chest. From inside it, he gathered a bag of rubles, several changes of clothing, including his magical tunic and boots, and book of spells, a flint and fire striker, and some other items they might need on a long trip, including snowshoes.
He placed all the items in a sturdy waxed leather rucksack to keep everything as dry as possible. Then he took a change of clothes and headed into the woods, using a nearby icy stream to wash as much of the sick off himself as was possible. After slipping into his own clothes, he tossed the others aside, knowing he’d never again don the clothing the undead had acquired for him, and headed back to the twins.
Hoisting the bag and centering it across his shoulders, he took a long drink of water and told them they could drink at the nearby stream if they wished before starting out. They glanced at each other and headed toward the water. He followed and wondered if they could communicate with each other or not and if they still thought like humans or if they were ruled by tiger instincts. Then he supposed he already knew the answer to that question. They wouldn’t be following him if they didn’t have their minds intact. How must it feel to be trapped inside those cat bodies?Powerfulwas the first word that came to mind.
Ready, they left the sounds of battle and the screams of the dying and the undead behind them, heading in an easterly direction, hoping that once the tsarevnas and the charms were gone, the monk would have no reason to stay and terrorize the palace or the Guardsmen. They knew the territory well enough to realize that traveling on foot to the great mountains would take more than a month. Winter would be upon them before they arrived, which may not affect the tsarevnas in their current form, but Nik wasn’t prepared for a brutal winter outdoors. Still, he thought it best not to think of that at present and only consider their escape.
He’d donned his special boots and tunic so he could walk without leaving tracks. Not that it would matter too much. It was certain the tsarevnas in their current form would be leaving obvious pugmarks for the undead to follow, but after a certain distance, he found the two large cats lifting their noses and turning toward the creek again. It was moving much faster than it was near the palace.
Leaping into the water, they strode along in the icy-cold rushing stream, leaping over fallen trees and around rocks and other barriers, always careful to stay in the water to cover their tracks. For an entire day, they marched upstream, staying in the water and catching their own dinner, a large wriggling fish for each of them. With their kill hanging from their jaws, they crouched low and launched their huge bodies up onto tree limbs that trembled with their weight but held, and there they ate, swallowing big chunks of their food until it was gone, then proceeded to bathe themselves with rasping tongues on fur as the sun sunk in the west.
Nik built himself a small fire near the large tree, ate a bit of his own hastily collected food for dinner, refilled his water bladders from the stream, and slept with his back to the tree. Once, when he woke at the sound of a branch cracking, he stared up into the dark canopy and saw a striped tail twitching in the shadows. The eyes glowed eerily in the night, and he shuddered. That night he dreamed the soul of the girl he’d loved had been replaced by a demon, and it was stalking him, a punishment for his many sins.
* * *
The next day Nik decided to try to communicate with the tsarevnas. First, he studied the tigers, much as he did when the twins fought one another in the practice field near the soldier barracks. The larger, red cat was bold, brash, quick to snarl a warning at the other for getting too close, and its vivid green eyes were a match to the redheaded twin.
