Page 119 of Tiger's Trek
No. Not them. They mean nothing. Sold me and walked away. Help them. Please, Red. What I did was wrong. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t mean to do what he did. They can’t help themselves.
Just tell me what to do, Iriko.
Oh no. It’s too late.
She heard a blast from the horns, and the gates were opened. The stag lifted his head. His nostrils widened as he scented danger. He froze, but only for an instant, then he turned and bound like lightning up the side of the cliff. Higher and higher he climbed, rocks tumbling beneath his hooves until he stood atop the edge of the mountainside, where the water spilled over onto the boulders below in a glorious shower.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the trees, Stacia spied movement. A tawny flash sped through the underbrush. She heard a roar. Bushes shook, and then her eyes spied another large shape. This one, she knew well. The silver-and-black coat was barely visible, but she knew what to look for and she spotted him.
How are you seeing?Stacia asked him as she watched him move carefully in and out of the tree line.
I’m using their eyes, he said simply.
The tawny-white cat pushed in front of him. She was beautiful. Smaller than Iriko, but lithe and lean. Stacia was transfixed, watching her slink in the shadows as she hunted. Iriko trailed behind her. Then, on the opposite side of the arena, she spotted another cat. This one was orange, no, red, and it was bigger than the one hunting with Iriko. It was... it seemed... familiar.
Stacia’s breath caught, and her heart started beating hard in her chest.
No. It can’t be!
It is, Iriko said.She’s your cat.
But how?How did she get here?
I don’t know. But she’s feral. My cat says if she kills, she’ll be broken. Gone. A wild thing forever. There’ll be no bringing her back. No taming her.
But what do we do? How do we stop her?
He doesn’t know. We’ve been trying to communicate, but they seem... lost. Like they don’t know who they are.
The red cat leaped from the trees into the clearing and faced down Iriko. She snarled, baring her teeth in challenge. Then she lowered her head, smelling him and seemed to find him familiar somehow. As if changing her mind, she switched direction and bound the other way, tracking the stag. But right behind her, a golden tiger paced out of the trees. She lifted her head and grimaced, tasting the air.
Ignoring Iriko, she turned and raked her claws down the tree, then snarled viciously at the cream-colored tiger standing behind him before disappearing down the trail after the red tiger. Stacia watched the very familiar animal, her heart hurting for her missing sister.
“Oh, Veru, where are you?” she whispered.
But who is the tiger staying with you?Stacia asked.Who does she belong to?
There was a long pause, and then Iriko finally answered.I guess you could call her my penance.
I don’t understand. What do you mean?
I can’t be certain. It’s been a long time. But if I’m right, this is the tiger that belonged to my sister. I think—I think I’m meant to return her home.
Stacia took a long look at that cream tiger with the tawny stripes, and she could almost see the proud older sister who’d drowned to save her baby brother. She could also hear in Iriko’s voice how desperate he was to save her, or at least her tiger, in return. The tsarevna sucked in a breath.What do you want me to do?she asked.
Just help me try to get through to them. At the very least, we can’t let them kill the stag, he said.No matter how hungry they are.
Okay, Stacia said. She looked around.No problem. I just need to keep three hungry tigers away from their supper.
There was no hiding for the beautiful stag. His white coat stood out against the gray mountains. Perhaps if they were covered with snow, she thought, he’d have a better chance of hiding.
Just as she imagined the stag hidden in a winter background, the clouds turned dark, and snow began falling. Lightly at first, and then thicker. Soon the arena was dusted with snow, showing clear pugmarks where the tigers marked their trails.
Right, Stacia thought.Zima must be watching. Belting her pelisse tightly, she measured the distance between the scaffold and the cliff peak where the stag hid. If she was careful, she might make it without breaking a leg, but if she mistimed it, she’d be hurting. She was about to jump when there was a stirring in her pocket. “What’s that?” she said, wrenching open her coat, only then remembering she had a stowaway who’d been very quiet since she’d disappeared.
“Belizna! Don’t want to die with me? I don’t blame you. Fine. Hop out. Hopefully, I’ll find you later.”
The ermine scurried out of the pocket, squeaking as it did, and hopped madly over to a section of scaffolding that had a dangling section of rope. She leaped onto it, grabbing the end in her sharp teeth, and dove over the side into midair.
