Page 1 of Tiger's Trek
Prologue
WHAT FALLS OFF A CART IS AS GOOD AS GONE
The first thing she became aware of was the sound of wind rustling the leaves in the trees and the feeling of warm rays of sunshine bathing her cheeks, neck, and arms. It had been so long since she’d felt that warm. Straightening her toes, then her legs, she stretched languidly, curling her back and wriggling as if trying to nestle deeper into the soft grass, not even bothering to blink open her eyes, fully intending to sleep longer. Then wisps of soft hair tickled Veru’s nose.
Irritated, she brushed her fingers against her face and stretched an arm out, patting around for her travel blanket. Not finding it easily, she grunted and mumbled, “Nik, did you steal my blanket again? Give it back. Or go and find me another one, won’t you? There’s a good man.” She yawned deeply, smacking her lips a few times, before snorting loud enough to startle herself awake more fully.
When she didn’t hear a response or Nik’s telltale scrambling to obey her orders, the tsarevna finally cracked open an eye and blearily studied her surroundings. “Nikolai?” she called out. “Where can that blasted, nikudyshnyi have run off to?” she mumbled. Then Veru used her palm to rub the sleep from her eyes and shouted for her sister. “Stacia?”
Almost in an instant, as the specter of sleep departed, awareness returned.
Something was very, very wrong. She was in a meadow. A green meadow. Alone. And she was... human. And... clean. Had it all been a dream? A strange nightmare? Veru quickly scrambled to her feet, teetering on legs she hadn’t used to stand upright in months, and discovered to her shock that she was wearing a dress, not her typical fur-lined travel clothing or even her armor. Her upper lip curled in disdain when she plucked at the thin, gossamer-like skirt. Quickly, she searched the sides of the fabric, hoping for a belt with a knife or a sword or at least a pocket with some type of tool, but found only a wide ribbon cinching her middle. The pinching she felt came not from a weapon but from a corset.
Almost instinctively, she shook her whole body and felt the tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up.Is that the trigger? She waited. Breathing deeply. Expecting the tiger to explode from her body and take over at any second.
She’d lived with the cat for so long that her human body felt almost unnatural. She couldn’t have dreamed something so vivid. So real. Her mouth even watered at the thought of catching and devouring a raw fish. Veru touched her thumb to her lip to wipe away a drop of saliva as she told her stomach to stop rumbling.
She was surprised to find she missed her claws and teeth and ran her tongue across her smooth canines. For a moment, she thought about her situation. She was alone. She possessed no weapons. No armor. And she was in a strange, unknown place. There was nothing she and her sister had wanted more than to regain their humanity, but Veru was practical. Survival was key. As a tiger, she’d have natural defenses.Not to mention a coat, she thought as she rubbed her arms.
Decision made, she closed her eyes and tried to wish herself back into her tiger form. Nothing happened. “Come on. Come on!” she shouted at the sky. She felt vulnerable in her human skin and cursed again the fact that she didn’t at least have her armor. But even begging and rubbing her fingers over the amulet that hung around her neck did nothing to help the situation.
Pacing, she bit her lip and tried speaking to her inner animal, but it was strangely silent. In fact, for the first time since her transformation, she felt as if she were completely alone, stripped of everything that made her feel... safe. “I guess she’s really gone,” Veru whispered, not sure if she meant her tiger or her sister or both.
“It’s all up to me now,” she said softly as she wiped away a hot tear that fell to her cheek.
With no other options, she yanked the ribbon from her waist and went to work on the laces at the back of her dress. It took some rather extraordinary feats of stretching and balancing on her part, but eventually she managed to get the top half of the sky-blue confection of a gown off so she could start working on the corset, which was laced even tighter than the dress had been. Veru figured if she could pry some of the boning out of the fabric, she could use it as a weapon or a tool that would help her hunt or start a fire.
So intent on her work was she that Veru didn’t hear the noise of someone approaching until the whistle finally caught her attention. Veru recognized the musical sound and who it belonged to immediately.
“Danik?” she cried out, a wide grin on her face as she stood and rushed forward to find her friend, bunching the folds of billowing fabric in her arms to cover her chest.
She saw him as she rounded a tree, but, like her, he was dressed differently. Instead of his hunter’s attire, he was clad in clothing more befitting a traveling musician. His hair was a bit longer, and he still had the blond stubble on his chin and cheeks. White loose-cut trousers were tucked into tall black leather boots, and he wore a beautifully patterned tunic tied at the waist with a belt. Instead of his hunter’s pack, he carried only his domra, with a small bag tied to the instrument.
Veru grabbed hold of his arm. “Please tell me you have food or at least a knife in there. I’m starving.”
Gently, Danik took hold of Veru’s hand and stepped back, a look of deep concern on his face.
“My good lady. Of course I am more than willing to share with you whatever victuals I have at my disposal. It is clear to me by your present state that you’ve been brutalized.”
He clucked and tsked at her torn and bleeding fingers, something she’d done to herself while trying to tear the stitches from her corset using bits of stone and twigs. Hissing, she snatched her fingers from his, more of an involuntary response than because she actually felt any offense. Over the years, she’d become accustomed to treating men who touched her without permission in that manner. It was a way of protecting herself from unwanted attention.
In truth, she trusted Danik and even thought on occasion she might enjoy being close to him. She certainly did as a tiger, or at least, she’d learned to like being with him when there was no pressure. Still, at this point there was no reason to let things go too far. Friend or not, Veru was unwilling to let him know she’d actually liked his fussing over her.
Nonplussed, Danik placed his hand back on his bundle and gave her a kind smile despite her scornful expression. “Dobryy vecher. Though I’m a stranger in this land, I’ll do my best to see you back to your hearth and home. I’ve no cloak to offer you, but perhaps I may be of service in helping you repair your... er... abused garment?”
“My hearth and...?” Veru blinked, confusion replacing the ire. Then she laughed. “Oh, I believe I understand. You just don’t recognize me as a person.” She squared her shoulders, hoping he’d somehow recognize the fierce and powerful soul he knew inside the beautiful package who stood before him now. “Danik, I’m Veru, the tiger you’ve traveled with all these months.”
“The... tiger. Yes.” He nodded dumbly. “I see. I’m think I’m starting to understand.”
When Danik’s eyes melted in pity, she threw up her hands and shook a fist at the sky, which caused her loose dress to slide even lower. Only a thin slip of material above her ruined corset kept her from exposing herself. Danik shifted away from her uncomfortably, looking everywhere but at Veru’s face or bosom, and Veru stomped off and let out a frustrated bark. “Unbelievable! You have no idea at all who I am, do you? Or is it you just can’t see past my... you know... all this,” she finished, indicating her face and form.
The poor man simply shook his head while avoiding eye contact. “I’m not sure I... I take your meaning, good lady.”
Veru mumbled curses about men and their eyes while shrugging back into the sleeves and bodice of her dress. Of course he couldn’t think with her half dressed. Most men were so taken with her beauty that they stopped and stared, even when she was fully encased in armor and sweat poured off her body. It was the reason she covered her hair whenever possible and wore the heaviest of helmets. What was she thinking? Once she’d shrugged back into her bodice as best she could, she snapped her fingers to regain his attention. “What about Stacia, Nik, Zakhar, or Iriko? Do you recall them? Or have your brains disappeared into your nether regions?”
“Z-Zakhar? Oh. Yes. I know him. I believe he’s the man I met along the trail. Nice fellow.”
With her dress still gaping in the back where she’d torn her laces, Veru grabbed hold of Danik’s shoulder and shook him. “Zakhar’s here? Show me.”
