Page 53 of Tiger's Tale
“Your magic boots and tunic. Will you let me borrow them?”
“Why?” Nik asked. “What are you going to do?”
“The storm has broken. Already I have risked much to supply you with food. Tomorrow before sunrise is the time to leave. I’ll use the boots and tunic to return the box and leave the key on the bishop’s staircase, along with a letter saying I have decided to return home. I will accompany you on your trip. If you will have me, that is.”
“Of course we will have you,” Danik said immediately.
“I’m not certain about this,” Nik replied, rubbing his chin.
“It is not you I ask, gentlemen,” Zakhar said quietly, his eyes trained on the tigers. Getting down on one knee in his cassock was awkward, but he managed to do it and bowed to the two tigers. “My tsarinas, I have come to the realization that there is a part I need to play in this. If you will accept me, a humble priest, as your servant on this journey, I offer my services. I cannot provide protection in the way of swordsmanship, but I sense you can take care of yourselves in that regard. I am, however, well-spoken; and I’m well-versed in many languages; and I’m good with maps, quill, and ink.”
Raising a finger, Danik said, “I, uh, am also good with maps.”
Zakhar waved his hand, trying to shush Danik, while keeping his eyes trained on the tigers.
“Will you have me?” Zakhar asked earnestly. Never in his life, even since he joined the priesthood, had Zakhar wanted something more. The mystery of the work done by his own future hand intrigued him. He needed to understand the how, the why, and the when. Every part of him knew he must accompany them at all costs.
Stacia glanced at her sister, who rumbled in her chest in reply. Then both cats approached the brown-eyed priest and sat down before him, inclining their heads in a gesture that the men took to mean approval.
“Thank you,” he replied with a smile and reached out to pat Veru awkwardly on the head before rising and tripping on his robes.
After Zakhar exited the barn with the magic boots, the bishop’s key, and the empty gold puzzle box tucked into his pack, leaving them with instructions to meet him outside the cathedral wall an hour before dawn, Nik said, “I sure hope we can trust him.”
Danik clapped a hand on Nik’s back. “I still don’t trustyou, if that’s any consolation.”
With a snort, Nik built up his straw bed, put some more wood on the fire, and tried to get some sleep. It was going to be a long, cold night, or several nights, before they found shelter again.
* * *
The moon was bright on the snow in the predawn hours as they made their way outside the cathedral walls the next morning. They had the tigers walk first so they could obscure their tracks in the snow and then hid in a copse of trees as they waited for Zakhar to appear. Finally, they saw him emerge from the gate in the stone wall. Quickly he found their trail and followed it into the trees.
“Do you have the boots?” Nik asked.
“Yes. Here. Take them,” Zakhar said, pressing them into Nik’s hands.
While Nik turned and placed the boots down on the ground near the tigers, Zakhar took off his heavy pack and opened it, showing Danik what he’d brought.
“Redistribute some of this to your bags,” he said. “The cooks aren’t going to be happy with me after seeing how much food I’ve taken, but we have to feed the tsarevnas.”
“Thank you,” Danik replied, moving some of the food to his bag. “I’ll hunt when we have time to stop.”
“When we have time? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“You will soon,” Nik mumbled from his crouched position.
There was awhooshas the magic boots transformed around the paws of each tiger, but this time instead of fancy saddles, the laces created long leather reins and straps that tied each tiger next to one another. Then they lifted in the air and wove together an ornate double-benched white sleigh, trimmed in gleaming black.
When the magic was finished, Stacia danced in place, a jeweled collar of onyx around her neck with a large emerald resting in the center on her chest. It was attached to a set of black diamond–studded reins and a harness. The laces on Veru seemed to have a difficult time deciding what to create. At first it settled on a shaft bow, but then the design switched to the same jeweled collar and harness as Stacia’s, but hers was made of gold and silver, with a huge white diamond at the base.
Zakhar’s eyes rested on that priceless gemstone, and his fingers twitched. “Look at that,” he said with something akin to awe and reverence. “Think how many of our suffering children such a prize would feed and house.”
Glancing up at him in that moment, Veru wondered for the first time in her life just how many children there were under her authority that went without food or shelter. She knew her mother had programs set up, but honestly, she hadn’t paid much attention to them. She’d been much more concerned with the Guard, border patrol, and diplomacy efforts. There was so much she didn’t know. She looked at the gemstone adorning her sister. Such things were beautiful, indeed, but they meant little to her and her sister. Neither twin cared much for the jewels or crowns or furs that came with their station.
There were times when they dined well at the palace, and there were certainly foodstuffs they enjoyed. She, in particular, enjoyed trying new dishes with spices and flavors offered when guests or diplomats from other lands visited. It was one of the reasons she wanted to command the military. That way she could explore the far reaches of the empire. Veru had an intense desire to see, taste, and experience everything the world had to offer. She wanted to meet the people, learn their customs, taste different foods, and study new languages.
Of course, she’d serve her own country and people at the same time. She’d always told herself that she’d be the best daughter of the empire she could be and would lead the military capably. But what if her dream was selfish? How could she head off to explore the things she wanted when her own people were suffering without the basic necessities of life? She was always willing to suffer alongside her men when it came to long marches, scanty food, or fighting the elements. Veru had learned to put her men first, and in return they trusted her to lead.
And yes, they’d encountered hungry faces along the way and had parted with blankets and rations when they could spare them. She’d always informed her mother of such things upon her return to the palace. But who would take care of those people now? Stacia? Her sister and the troops who followed her practiced the same policies Veru did. They’d never spoken about the many, many programs their mother had run on her own. Who would take those over? Perhaps it no longer mattered. If they remained tigers, there would be no more empire. No one to watch over the people. For the first time in her life, Veru felt anger over what had been taken from her, from them. They needed to fix their tiger problem and then return and defeat the sorcerer who had done this.
