Page 49 of Tiger's Tale
“Yes, my friend, of course. How can I help?”
“See?” Danik put an arm around the priest’s shoulders, turning him toward the stall and guiding him inside while grinning at Nik. “That’s why I came here. It wasn’t just for shelter. If anyone can figure out how to help the tsarevnas, he can.”
Scowling, Nik jerked to his feet. “Hold on. We never agreed to bring more people into this. How do you know you can trust him?”
Danik looked at the priest and jerked his head toward Nik with a can-you-believe-what-he-just-said expression. “Uh, because of this?” Danik said sarcastically, yanking on Zakhar’s cassock.
“Hey. Stop that! Show some respect for the calling,” Zakhar chastened, pulling his black robes away from Danik’s fingers and smoothing out the wrinkles. When he wasn’t satisfied with his robe, he started tugging on the belt, attempting to adjust it, when the other two men suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking the view.
“How about we keep that thing knotted up properly?” Danik said. “We wouldn’t want to offend anyone of a... um... delicate nature.”
Zakhar frowned. “What are you two going on about? There’s no one else here.”
When he began removing his belt again, Danik grabbed it and cinched it tight. “Yes... there...are,” he insisted. “We told you.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and whispered, “Thetsarevnas.”
Zakhar looked from Danik to Nik and then over their shoulders at the two cats behind them who sat still in the straw, watching the whole interaction. At that moment, Veru lifted a paw and gave it a long lick. Lifting an eyebrow, Zakhar straightened his shoulders, gave the two men a tight smile, and said, “I see the problem.”
“You do?” Nik asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he answered with a monkish mien. Slowly, he began backing out of the stall. “We do have some training in counseling for those who have been”—he fluttered his fingers together and wrinkled his nose—“addledin their thinking for one reason or another. I’m certain we can set up some sessions that will help you?—”
Danik cut him off. “I don’t think you understand, Zakhar.”
“Oh, but I do, my friend,” the priest replied with a condescending sort of head bob. “Let me just find the right person who might understand your particular... affliction, and then I’ll introduce?—”
“Exactly,” Nik said, catching the priest by the arm before he could escape. “Allow me to make proper introductions.”
“No. That’s not necessary,” the priest said. The tranquil appearance he’d been momentarily displaying on the surface melted away like fat in a hot skillet. Now the man was crackling and sizzling with emotion as he attempted to wriggle out of Nik’s grasp.
Nikolai could sense the man’s fear escalating. He was nearly ready to bolt, and they couldn’t have that. “Stacia,” Nik said, “if you will kindly block the door, he might accept the fact that we’re not going to allow him to leave.”
The large red tiger rose, and the priest nearly clawed Nik’s face in an effort to move away from the big cat. Nik obliged him by stepping around him, placing his own body in front of the priest’s, allowing him to cower in the corner of the stall.
“There now,” Nik said. “You can see there’s no escape until you’ve heard us out. We mean you no harm, sir. I know it must feel difficult to set aside your fear, and yet you must. Until you do, your mind will not function as it should, and according to Danik, we need the knowledge you possess. At the very least we could do with some supplies and the certainty that you won’t cause a panic among the seminary trainees or the townspeople while we are in residence.”
After the priest had calmed himself somewhat and nodded mutely, Nik waited a beat and then, taking pity on him, added, “You might close your eyes and breathe in deeply. Hold it and count to five, then breathe out while counting to five again. Do this for a series of five to ten times until you feel yourself centering. Remember that you are alive, and while you are alive, no matter what trials life brings, you still have a chance to overcome them and attain your goals. If you wish to pray during this time, you may. Whatever helps you focus is a good thing.”
They waited while the priest did as Nik suggested, breathing in and out, in and out. After a few rounds of deep inhales and exhales, his body relaxed, and he seemed much calmer. “Better?” Nik asked.
“Yes, spasibo,” Zakhar admitted. “Where did you learn such techniques?”
Stacia was wondering the same thing at that moment. Nik didn’t answer the question though. Instead, he summoned her. “Tsarevna Stacia, will you come and greet young priest Zakhar?”
Uncertain as to how exactly she should “greet” someone formally as a tiger, Stacia walked over next to Nikolai and glanced up at him briefly, hoping for some kind of suggestion. When she didn’t get one, she then attempted what she would have done had she been asked to welcome someone of status in the grand ballroom while wearing a formal gown and a tiara. She extended a regal head nod coupled with a slight curtsy, but she suspected it ended up looking more like a tiger stretching its back.
“Veru?” Nik said next, turning to the golden tiger.
The golden tiger rose to her feet and walked over to Nik, then sat down next to him, looking as regal as a tsarina on a golden throne. To drive the point home, Nik placed his hand on top of Veru’s head and gave Stacia’s shoulder a brief pat, showing he was unafraid.
Clearing his throat, Nik began. “Several weeks ago, a dark sorcerer entered the royal palace with an undead army. His intention was to force one of the tsarevnas into wedlock.” Nikolai glanced at the tigers briefly but went on. “As you may have heard, their mother, the tsarina, has recently died, leaving them as the heirs to the empire. When weaving his magic spell, the sorcerer discovered they were in possession of two charms left to them by their mother. I was aware he had long been seeking these charms, but I did not know the sisters were in possession of them.”
Stacia and Veru wondered if Nik was purposely leaving out his role in inviting the sorcerer into the palace to make himself look better in the eyes of the others or because he desired or needed their trust or if he simply couldn’t admit it to himself.
“As far as I can tell,” Nik went on, “the charms have no monetary value but are magical in nature. Somehow the sorcerer became aware they had the charms and dropped the charade of a suitor, choosing to attack instead. This is when the sisters were transformed into the creatures you see before you.
“I was not a direct witness to this change, having taken a severe blow to the head. But their soldiers, such as survived, were. One of their men-at-arms roused me after the attack and bid me take them to his mother’s people on the far side of the mountains, where they have stories of such transformations occurring. He hoped they might know how we may be able to change them back.
“We... bumped into your hunter friend along the way. He, too, is hearing this story for the first time. As a priest, I do not know your views on magic. I am in possession of some magical gifts of my own, and I have seen such things used for both good and evil.
