Page 121 of Tiger's Trek
“Maybe I’ll never become as good of tsarina as my mother was or as clever as either of my parents, but perhaps that’s why they sent you. To make up for my weaknesses. Will you come back?”
Swallowing, Stacia undid the belt on her coat and took hold of either side, opening it to expose her tunic beneath and the length of her vulnerable throat.
Iriko arrived at the top.What are you doing, Red? Stop! It’s too dangerous!
Come!Stacia commanded the cat.It’s time for you to come home.
No!shouted Iriko in her mind.
The red cat snarled, baring her teeth. Then she rose up, crouched on her hind legs, and leaped, her front claws hitting Stacia directly in the chest. The cat’s heavy body caused the breath to whoosh out of the tsarevna’s body as she was pushed flat on her back. Fangs descended and Stacia closed her eyes thinking, it felt right.
Father Frost’s cloak moved of its own accord, enveloping the tiger’s body, and just when Stacia thought she was done for, her breath returned. She sucked in frigid air and opened her eyes, and the world shifted. Stacia was still human, but she was also a tiger. She could feel the cat within, and it was home. But their work wasn’t finished. Now she needed to save their sisters.
Rising to her feet, feeling feral and stronger than she’d been in a long time, Stacia cried out in her mind,Come, sisters. I will make a place for you as well. Opening her coat, she crouched and leaped several feet in the air just as the gold cat sprang for her throat. They wrapped limbs around one another, and soon the golden tiger was absorbed just like the red one had been.
Stacia turned to the cream-and-fawn tiger. Cocking her head, she said, “You too, little one.” The tiger snarled and turned to run, but Iriko blocked the way. Stacia jumped on her back, opened the coat, and wrestled the tiger until it disappeared just like the others. She got to her feet and stumbled when she felt three tigers within her struggling for dominance.
“Cease,” she said softly. “Be still.”
She pressed her fingers into her temples, closing her eyes, and a furry head bumped into her leg.
How are you?Iriko asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Stacia said. “But we need to get out of here.”
Looks like a ride just showed up.
Cracking open her eyes, Stacia realized she stood in a shadow. It was Zakhar and Zima waving to them from the balloon as it descended into the arena. Above them, dragons circled, waiting to take all of them into custody.
“Guess we’re going to fight our way out,” Stacia said.
My favorite way to escape, Iriko replied.
Chapter29
DON’T BOAST WHEN YOU BEGIN BUT WHEN YOU FINISH THE JOURNEY
Veru and Danik arrived back at the cottage just as dawn broke over the eastern mountains. Max greeted them at the open door, meowing furiously, which they took as a bad omen. He’d never done such a thing before. The moment they dismounted, the black steed galloped away, disappearing in a vortex of lightning and fire, leaving only a trail of rapidly disappearing sparks in his wake.
When they entered the cottage, they found it dark. The fire was unlit, and no food was bubbling in the cauldron, which only meant one thing to them—Yuga would be returning any moment. Quickly, they removed their packs, and while Veru moved the sesame seeds back to their original containers, Danik stowed away the magic gifts they’d been given, wrapping them carefully inside clothing, or stowing them inside the now empty flasks and hiding them in their bags.
By the time they heard the scraping of Yuga’s heavy stone bowl as it landed by the door, they were seated in their usual spots, Danik softly strumming his domra and Veru brushing through Max’s coat with her fingers, working out all the burrs and chiding him for whatever it was he’d been up to for the last few days.
The door flew open, and Yuga dragged in her newly acquired supplies, along with her mode of transport, ignoring the two of them as she did. She grumble-groaned to herself as she bustled about, tossing items into cupboards and complaining about the ache in her bones and the cold weather that made her nose leak worse than the old pipes in the house.
Finally, she sank into the creaky chair across from Veru. “Well now,” she said. “I can tell the two of you are still alive. At least my traitorous cat is still good for something, anyway.”
“Yes,” Danik said. “Alive and fit. And we’ve done our packing. We’ve completed our end of the bargain, and we’d like to be bidding you dos vedanya now.”
“Is that so?” she said, glaring in their direction down her very long nose.
“It is,” Veru replied, calmly stroking Maxsim. She glanced meaningfully at Danik. “No... no rush, of course. You’re welcome to examine the wares, if you like. We’ll wait until you do. Then we’ll expect to be taking what’s ours as well as our leave of you.” Leaning forward, she slid the contract across the table. “And just in case you forgot, here’s the signed contract for your reference. I can reread it for you, if you need it, so your memory will be refreshed. You’ll want to take special note of the items you promised us. We’re happy to go over them with you again. Item by item.”
“Ha! Perabsurdum nugatus.” Yuga said, standing up and stabbing a bony finger on the paper. “I’ll thank you not to get ahead of yourself, my dear. Let’s just taste that water first, shall we?”
The old woman rose and cracked open the water barrel, then located a dipper and swirled it inside. After sniffing it, she caught a few drops between her fingers and rubbed it carefully. Last, she touched a few drops to her tongue, then froze.
“Scaturigenous selynesse magicum. How did you do this?” she demanded. “Tell me.”
