Page 24 of Tiger's Trek
“No. No. Not at all. If you say he saw your, um... backside, then I believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes, well... if you’ll be so good as to allow me to speak with Iriko, man-to-man, perhaps I can clear this up.”
“Be my guest,” she said, throwing up her hand and stalking away several paces.
Zakhar took a breath and said quietly, “Now, Iriko, I know that I won’t understand you, but you can understand me, so here it goes.” Zakhar clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing while the tiger sat and angled his head toward the priest. “I don’t have much in the way of personal experience in relationships between men and women,” he began, “but I have counseled many bitter, angry souls. I’ve found that most things can be fixed with apologies. Sometimes that requires swallowing pride, but it’s worth it. I know you can’t do anything about your... vision problem.”
The tiger huffed softly in response, sending a small shiver down Zakhar’s spine.
“Yes. Well, regardless, the girl’s embarrassed. Would it be too much to say you’re sorry? That no harm was meant? Now, most priests would say it’s a sin to lie. But I say, on occasion, the good Lord Himself might tell a woman she’s beautiful, when compared to others she might be found lacking”—he held up a finger—“and I would venture, even when she’s angry. After all, He who created the cunning wolverine and the wild boar and pronounced them good can surely find joy and splendor in even a furious woman. I wouldn’t consider such a thing a lie. I’d instead call it looking at someone with godly perspective.
“Your job, as I see it, is to speak to our Stacia using godly—or perhaps princely, if you can’t bring yourself to do otherwise—language. Every woman, but this one in particular, who you depend upon so very much, must be treated with great care and consideration. Now, that’s all I have to say on the subject. Unless you’d like me to go on?” Zakhar paused, waiting for a noise from the tiger.
When he heard none, he said, “Then, if you’ll permit me, I’ll do my best to guide you back to the stream.”
Zakhar’s hand was trembling as he placed it on Iriko’s ruff, but when the tiger began walking beside him, he grew bolder and steadier.
When they approached Stacia, she turned, hands on hips, and said, “Well?”
After a moment of silence, Zakhar saw the corner of her lip quirk up. “Is that right?” she said. “Well... who would have thought? Spasibo.” Stasia turned and picked up her pack. “I’m talking to you, Zakhar.”
“What? Me?” he said, shouldering his own.
“Yes, you. Thank you for whatever it is you said to him. It helped.” Stacia patted the tiger, and he rubbed his head against her palm, then dug it into her hip, nearly knocking her over.
“Oh. Yes,” Zakhar sputtered in response. “Pozhaluysta. You’re welcome. It was nothing.”
“Oh no. It was something.”
They had just begun walking again when they heard a rustling in the bushes. Stacia pressed the button on the walking stick, revealing the hidden blade. “Who’s there?” she cried. “Come out at once, or my tiger will maul you and swallow you for supper!”
Chapter7
EVERY BOLOTNITSA PRAISES HER OWN SWAMP
“Now, now beastie,” the little man said, holding up his hands. “There’s nothing you’ll be wanting here. It’s all been a simple misunderstanding. I’m already spoken for, you see? Perhaps the lad might be interested?”
He turned back for just a moment to catch Nik’s eye.
Panicked, Nik shook his head vehemently, saying, “What?No!I amnotinterested.”
“Okay, son. Calm yourself. Don’t want to beoffendingthe pretty bolotnitsa now, do we?” he said with his one eye wide open and his teeth clenched for emphasis. Then hissing under his breath, he added, “Use your magic. Fashion a net to hold her while I distract her.”
Nik nodded but stood rooted to the wet ground, gape mouthed as the bolotnitsa slid further out of the water, exposing her slime-covered torso.
Digging unnaturally long arms into the muck, she pushed her body into an upright position and smiled at the two of them as she wove back and forth in the air. That was when Nik realized the bottom half of her body was shaped like a snake’s. Nik just so happened to be terrified of snakes.
The bolotnitsa opened her mouth, and her jaw unhinged, exposing a menacing set of sharp teeth with two protruding fangs that glistened in the moonlight. Moving closer, her hair flickered in the light, and the tips sprung to life with tiny white filaments. They were beautiful in a way, almost mesmerizing. Nik could see how in the dark water they might serve to lure prey closer to those deadly jaws. Even he had a difficult time looking away from her.
He shook his head and instructed the boots to weave a net to trap the creature. The laces went to work, creating a webbing that intersected between the trees. As he worked, the likho kept talking, making some sort of an attempt to woo the terrifying creature, but whatever he was doing didn’t seem to be working.
“Faster, boy,” the little man said. “Faster!”
Nik concentrated, widening the net and stretching it over the bolotnitsa’s head. When he was ready, he cried out that it was time. “Okay!” Nik cried. “Whatever you’re going to do, you’d better do it now!”
The likho rubbed his hands together, mumbled a few words, and then it was like powerful bursts of light exploded right in front of the bolotnitsa’s eyes. She screamed and writhed, bringing her long limbs up to protect her head. Then they heard a hiss and a snarl. Nik let his net drop, picked up his magic boots, and ran. The likho, now free, grabbed his arm, telling him to move like his life depended on it.
