11
Return to India
The deep thrum of an engine stirred me. My head throbbed, and there was a funny taste in my mouth. Something was very wrong; my mind was still fuzzy. I wanted to wake up, but I knew that on the other side of consciousness, a new kind of horror awaited me, so I allowed myself to sink back a little deeper into the murky blackness, and hovered there, like a coward. I needed something to hold onto, a crutch that I could lean on to give me enough strength to face what lay ahead.
I was lying on a bed. I felt the soft sheets and stretched out my hand hesitantly. A furry head butted against my fingers. Ren. He was here. He was the motivation I needed to rise above the darkness and step into the light.
I cracked open my eyes. “Ren? Where am I?” Every part of my body hurt.
A pretty face looked down at me. “Kelsey? How are you feeling?”
“Nilima? Oh, we’re on the plane.”
She pressed a cold wet cloth to my forehead, and I mumbled, “We got away. I’m so glad.”
I stroked the tiger’s head. Nilima looked at the tiger next to me briefly and then nodded. “Let me get you some water, Kelsey.”
She left, and I closed my eyes again, pressing my hand against my throbbing forehead.
I whispered, “I was so afraid you weren’t going to make it. I guess it doesn’t matter now. We were very lucky. Let’s not split up ever again. I’d rather be captured with you than be separated.”
I slid my fingers into his fur. Nilima returned with some water. She helped me sit up, and I took a long drink then mashed the wet towel over my eyes and my face.
“Here . . . I brought you some aspirin,” she said.
I swallowed the tablets gratefully and tried to open my eyes again. I looked into Nilima’s concerned face and smiled. “Thanks. I feel better already. At least we all made it. That’s the important thing. Right?”
I looked over at the tiger. No. No! I started gasping for air. My lungs locked. “Kishan?” I pleaded in a raspy voice, “Where is he? Tell me we didn’t leave him behind! Ren?” I yelled. “Ren? Are you here? Ren? Ren?”
The black tiger just watched me with sad, golden eyes. I grabbed at Nilima’s hand.
“Nilima, tell me! Is he here?”
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. My vision became blurry, and I realized that I was crying too.
I desperately clutched her hand. “No! We have to go back! Tell them to turn the plane around. We can’t just leave him there! We can’t!”
Nilima didn’t react. I turned to the tiger.
“Kishan! This isn’t right! He wouldn’t leave you. They’ll torture him. They’ll kill him! We have to do something! We can’t let this happen!”
Kishan changed to a man and sat on the side of my bed. He nodded to Nilima, and she left us alone.
He picked up my hand and spoke quietly, “Kelsey, there was no choice. If he hadn’t stayed behind, we wouldn’t have made it.”
I shook my head in denial. “No! We could have waited for him.”
“No, we couldn’t. They shot me with tranquilizers too. I only got hit once, and I barely made it to the plane despite my ability to heal. He’d been hit at least six times. I was amazed that he could still stand. He fought bravely and well and bought us time to get away.”
I grabbed his hand as tears dripped off my chin. “Is he . . . ?” I sobbed, “Did they kill him?”
“I don’t think so. None of them had weapons other than Taser sticks and tranquilizer darts. It appeared their instructions were to take us alive.”
“We can’t let them do this, Kishan. We have to try to help him.”
“We will. Mr. Kadam is already working on locating him. It won’t be easy, though. He’s been searching for Lokesh for centuries, and the man has kept hidden well. There is one thing in our favor. Ren doesn’t have the amulet, so Lokesh may be willing to offer a trade: the amulet for Ren.”
“Fine. We’ll give him the amulet if we can get Ren back.”
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes, Kelsey. For now, you should rest. We’ll be in India in a few hours.”
“I was asleep that long?”
“You were hit twice and were knocked out for about fifteen hours.”
“Did they follow you to the plane?”
“They tried. Luckily, the plane was ready to take off. Jason probably saved our lives.”
I thought about Ren being engulfed by enemies while we ran away, and I choked on a sob. Kishan leaned over, wrapped me in a hug, and patted my back.
“I’m sorry, Kelsey. I wish it had been me, not Ren. I wish I’d had the strength to carry both of you out of there.”
My tears dripped on his shirt. “It’s not your fault. If you hadn’t been there, we both would have been captured.”
I sat up, sniffed, and wiped my eyes on my sleeve.
He ducked his head to look in my watery eyes. “I promise you, Kelsey, that I will do everything in my power to save him. He’s still alive. I can feel it. We’ll find a way, and we will defeat Lokesh.”
I wished I felt as sure as Kishan that we could save Ren. Nodding, I squeezed his hand and whispered that I’d be all right. He asked if I’d like to eat something, and even though I felt knots twisting my stomach, I said yes. He looked relieved as he rose to look for Nilima.
I wondered if he was right. Could Ren still be alive? Since the day I first saw Ren at the circus, there was a strange connection between us. Tentative and wispy at first, it grew stronger. When I went back to Oregon, the link stretched and pulled like a rubber band.
It tugged me and tried to draw me back to him. And, in the last few months as we became closer, the connection solidified and tightened, forming a steel connection. We were part of each other. I felt his absence, but the bond was still there. It was still strong. He was alive. I knew it. My heart was still tied to his. It gave me hope. I resolved that I would find him, at any cost.
Nilima invited me to eat something. She set out a dinner with a glass of lemon water that I sipped slowly while I thought about what I could do to help Ren. Kishan had changed back to his tiger form before resting at my feet. His golden eyes watched me sadly, and I leaned down to pet his head, reassuring him that I would be okay.
By the time we landed, I still didn’t have a clue as to how I would find Ren, but I knew that I would never let myself be so unprepared again. The next time something like this happened, I would fight. Now that I knew I had this . . . this lightning bolt power inside me, I would practice it. I would also ask Kishan to continue to train me in martial arts and maybe even in weapons. Perhaps Mr. Kadam would teach me too whenever Kishan was a tiger. Regardless, I would never let someone I loved be taken again. Not while I was still alive.
Mr. Kadam met us at the private airport. He wrapped me in a hug. “Miss Kelsey, I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” My eyes stung with unshed tears, but I refused to let them spill over.
“Come. Let’s get you home. There is much we need to discuss.”
When we got home, Kishan took my bag upstairs and left me alone with Mr. Kadam in the peacock room.
Books were piled high on his beautiful mahogany desk; the normally organized and clean top was covered with papers. I picked up a few papers to examine the notes written in his elegant script. “Have you figured out the second prophecy?”
“I’m close. Actually, it’s thanks to you that I’m as close as I am. The landmark that puzzled me turned out to be the Himalayas. All this time, I’d been searching for a certain mountain, not realizing that it was a mountain range I needed to find. Thanks to your report on the Himalayas and their weather patterns, I was able to open my mind to that possibility, and it led to new discoveries for me.”
“Glad to be of help.” I set the papers down and asked quietly, “What are we going to do? How are we going to find Ren?”
“We’ll find him, Miss Kelsey. Don’t worry. There’s even a chance he may be able to escape on his own and call us.”
A thought occurred to me. “Will he be able to change into a man if he’s captured?”
“I don’t know. He wasn’t able to before, but now you’ve broken part of the curse. That may make a difference.”
I squared my shoulders. “Mr. Kadam, I want you to train me. I want you to work with me on weapons and martial arts. You taught both of the boys, and I want you to coach me too.”
He looked at me thoughtfully for a minute. “Alright, Miss Kelsey. It will take discipline and many, many hours of practice to become competent. Don’t expect to be able to do what Ren and Kishan can do. They have been trained all their lives, and the tiger within each of them makes them stronger.”
“That’s okay. I’m prepared for that. I plan to ask Kishan to continue working with me. I can learn faster if I practice with both of you.”
He nodded. “Perhaps it is for the best. Not only will you learn new skills, but sometimes it helps to keep your hands busy when they are tied. I still need to focus much of my attention on research, but I will make time to train with you every day. I can also give you routines to practice on your own as well as some things you can learn with Kishan.”
“Thank you. I’d like to help you with your research too. I can take notes, and a new set of eyes can’t hurt.”
“We can start today.”
I nodded. He gestured to the leather furniture and we sat down.
“Now, tell me about this new power you seem to have. Kishan explained it to me, but I want to hear what happened from your perspective.”
“Well, I needed to protect Ren and was so angry I think I actually saw a red haze around me. He’d been hit with darts, and he was staggering, weakening. I knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. I stepped in front of him to face our attackers. I was desperate because there were so many men coming at us. A kind of fire burned in me.”
“What did it feel like?”
“It felt like . . . a whoosh of power in my center, like a pilot light in a water heater that suddenly bursts into flame. My stomach tightened as if to push the heat up to my chest. My heart burned, and the blood felt like it was boiling in my veins. I felt a bubbling sensation traveling down my arm. When it reached my hand, the symbols that Phet had painted in henna reappeared and glowed red. I could hear a snap, crackle, pop kind of noise and then this power rose and spilled out of me. A lightning bolt shot out of my hand. It picked one guy up in the air and slammed him into a tree.”
“And this power worked several times?”
“Yes. I was able to take down several men until I was shot with the tranquilizers. Then, the power sort of fizzled out.”
“Did the lightning bolts kill them or just stun them?”
“I hope it just stunned them. To be honest, we didn’t stick around long enough to find out. My first target, the man who hit the tree, was pretty hurt I imagine. I was really desperate.”
“I’d be curious to see if you can reproduce the effect when you aren’t in danger. Perhaps we can practice. It would also be interesting to see if you can widen the band to encompass more than one person at a time and to see how long you can maintain the burst.”
“I’d also like to practice the intensity. I’d prefer not to kill people,” I added.
“Of course.”
“Where do you think it came from?”
“I have . . . a theory.”
“Really? Tell me.”
“One of the ancient stories of India says that when the gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, faced the demon king, Mahishasur, they could not defeat him. They combined their energies, which took the form of light, and the goddess Durga emerged from that light. She was born to fight him.”
“So, Durga’s made of light, and you think that’s why I have this power in me?”
“Yes. There are also several references that say she wears a necklace that flashes like lightning. Perhaps that stream of power resides in you.”
“That’s . . . I don’t even know how to feel about that.”
“I imagine it must feel disconcerting.”
“You can say that again.”
I paused for a moment and twisted my hands together.
“Mr. Kadam, I . . . I’m worried about Ren. I don’t think I can do this without him.”
He ventured, “The two of you have become closer then?”
“Yes. He’s . . . I’ve . . . We . . . Well, I guess I could just sum it up by saying I love him.”
He smiled. “You do know that he loves you, as well, don’t you? He didn’t think of anything but you for the months you were apart.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “So he was miserable, huh?”
Mr. Kadam smiled. “Desperately so. Kishan and I never found a moment’s peace until he left.”
“Mr. Kadam, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“There was a girl, an Indian girl, who was interested in Ren and wanted her parents to match them up. Ren told me that dating outside of his culture is considered inappropriate.”
“Ah. What he told you is accurate. Even in modern times, it’s a custom that’s still followed. Does this bother you?”
“Kind of. I don’t want Ren’s people to ostracize him.”
“Did he express concern about this?”
“No. He didn’t seem to care. He said he’d made his choice.”
Mr. Kadam stroked his short beard. “Miss Kelsey, Ren hardly needs anyone’s approval. If he chooses to be with you, no one will object.”
“Maybe not to his face, but there might be . . . cultural ramifications that haven’t occurred to him yet.”
“Ren is well aware of all the possible cultural ramifications. Remember, he was a prince who was highly trained in political protocol.”
“But, what if being with me makes his life more difficult?”
He chided softly, “Miss Kelsey, I can guarantee that being with you has been the only thing in his long life that gives him a modicum of peace. His life before you was fraught with difficulty, and I would venture to say that getting the approval of others has dropped very low on his priority list.”
“He told me that his parents were from different cultures. Why were they allowed to marry and be together?”
“Hmm, that’s an interesting story. To tell it properly, I’d have to tell you about Ren and Kishan’s grandfather.”
“I’d love to learn more about his family.”
He sat back in the leather recliner, and steepled his fingers under his chin. “Ren’s grandfather was named Tarak. He was a great warlord who wanted to live in peace in his later years. He’d grown tired of the infighting between kingdoms. Though his empire was the largest and his armies were the most renowned, he sent word to several other warlords governing over smaller territories, inviting them to a summit.
“He offered each one a portion of his land if they would sign a nonaggression pact and cut back their armies. They agreed, as the contract would bring each of them great wealth and properties. The country rejoiced as the king brought his armies home and prepared a grand feast in celebration. That day was considered a holiday throughout the land.”
“What happened?”
“About a month later, one of the rulers who signed the pact roused the others, telling them that now was the time to strike and that between them, they could rule all of India. Their plan was to first take Tarak’s ancestral lands. Then, from there, they could conquer all of the other smaller kingdoms easily.
“They broke their oath to Tarak and engaged in fierce battle, laying siege to his city. Many of the king’s soldiers had retired from active duty and had been given parcels of land in exchange for their years of service. With the armies at half strength, they couldn’t defeat the combined armies of the other warlords. Fortunately, Tarak was able to send runners out to enlist aid.”
“Where did they go for help?”
“China.”
“China?”
“Yes. Specifically they went to Tibet. The Indian/Chinese borders of that time were not as defined as they are today, and trade between the two countries was commonplace. Tarak especially had a good relationship with the Dalai Lama of the time.”
“Wait a minute. He enlisted the aid of the Dalai Lama? I thought the Dalai Lama was a religious leader.”
“Yes, the Dalai Lama was and is a religious leader, but religion and the military had close ties in Tibet, especially after gaining the attention of the Khan family. Centuries ago, Genghis Khan invaded but was satisfied by the tribute Tibet paid him, so for the most part, he left it alone. After Khan died, though, his grandson, Ögedei Khan, wanted those riches and returned to take over the country.”
Nilima came into the library to bring us lemon waters. He thanked her and continued, “Three hundred years after the takeover, Altan Khan built a monastery and invited Buddhist monks to teach the people. Buddhist ideology became widespread, and by the early 1600s, virtually all of the Mongols had become Buddhist. A man named Batu Khan, another descendant of Genghis Khan, who was in charge of the Mongol armies, was sent by the Dalai Lama to help Ren’s grandfather when he asked for aid.”
I sipped my lemon water. “Then what happened? They won, right?”
“Indeed. The combined Mongol armies in addition to King Tarak’s military were able to defeat the upstarts. Tarak and Batu Khan were of the same age. They became friends. Tarak, in gratitude, offered precious jewels and gold to take back to Tibet, and Batu Khan offered his young daughter to be married to Tarak’s son when the time was right. Ren’s father, Rajaram, would have been around ten years old at the time, and his mother had just been born.”
“So, Ren’s mother is related to Genghis Khan?”
“I haven’t researched the genealogy, but one must assume there is some relation.”
I sat back in my chair shocked. “What was his mother’s name?”
“Deschen.”
“What did she look like?”
“She looked a lot like Ren. She had the same blue eyes, and her hair was long and dark. She was very beautiful. When it was time for the marriage to take place, Batu Khan himself brought his daughter to meet with Tarak and stayed to oversee the wedding. Rajaram was never even allowed to see his bride until they were married.”
“Did they have a Hindu or a Buddhist wedding?”
“I believe it was a combination of the two. In a Hindu wedding, there is typically an engagement ceremony, a feast with gifts of jewelry or clothing, and then a wedding in which the groom gives the bride a mangalsultra, or marriage necklace, that she wears for the rest of her life. The whole process takes about a week. By comparison, a Buddhist wedding is a personal celebration, not a religious one. Only a few people are invited. Candles and incense are burned, and flowers are offered at a shrine. There are no monks, priests, or assigned marriage vows. I imagine Rajaram and Deschen probably followed the customs of a Hindu wedding, and perhaps also added offerings to the Buddha.”
“How long did it take for them to realize they loved each other?”
“That is a question I cannot answer, though I can tell you that their love and respect for each other was truly unique. When I knew them, they were very much in love, and King Rajaram often consulted with his wife on important matters of state, which was highly irregular at the time. They raised their sons to be open-minded and accepting of other cultures and ideas. They were good people and very wise leaders. I miss them. Did Ren speak of them?”
“He told me you watched over them for him until they died.”
“That is true.” Mr. Kadam’s eyes became moist, and he seemed to fix his gaze on something I couldn’t see. “I held Deschen when King Rajaram passed out of this world and then later, held her hand when she closed her eyes forever.” He cleared his throat, “That’s when she entrusted me with the care of her most precious possessions—her sons.”
“And you have done more for them than any mother could ever ask. You are a truly wonderful man. A father to them. Ren told me he could never repay you for all you’ve done for him.”
Mr. Kadam shifted uncomfortably. “That is neither here nor there. He does not need to repay me for what I gave him freely.”
“And that is exactly what makes you so special.”
Mr. Kadam smiled and stood to refill my water glass, probably to deflect attention from himself. I changed the subject.
“Did Ren and Kishan’s parents ever know they were changed into tigers?”
“As you know, I was the king’s military advisor. As such, I was put in charge of the armies. When Ren and Kishan were placed under the spell, they tried to sneak back into the palace at night as tigers. There was no way they could have gotten in to see their parents because Rajaram and Deschen were too well guarded, and Ren and Kishan would have been killed on sight. Even tigers as rare as they were would not have been allowed to enter the palace grounds. Instead, they came to me. I had a small house near the palace so I could be summoned at any time.”
“What did you do when you saw them?”
“They scratched at my door. You can imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find a black and a white tiger sitting there staring at me. At first, I grabbed my sword. Military instinct is strong, but they didn’t react to me. I lifted my sword above my head ready to strike, but they both sat there calmly, watching, waiting. For a time, I thought I was dreaming. Several minutes passed. I opened my door wider and moved back, keeping my sword at the ready. They entered my house and sat on my rug.
“We watched each other for hours. When I was summoned to attend training, I begged off, telling the servant that I felt ill. I sat in my chair all day and watched the tigers. They seemed to be waiting for something. When evening came, I prepared a meal and offered meat to the animals. They both ate and then lay down to sleep. I stayed awake all night, watching them. I had trained my body to go several days without sleep, so I remained vigilant, though they slept as harmless as kittens.”
I sipped my lemon water. “Then what happened?”
“Early in the morning, just before the sun came up, something changed. The white tiger shifted and changed into Prince Dhiren; the black one followed suit and became Kishan. Ren quickly explained what had happened to them, and I immediately requested audience with their parents. I explained that it was imperative that Rajaram and Deschen accompany me to my home without guards. Their private guard took a lot of convincing, and only the king’s absolute trust in me led him to comply with my wish.
“I led them back to my home. When I opened the door, Deschen let out a small scream when she saw the tigers. Rajaram moved in front of his wife to protect her. He was very upset with me. I begged them to enter and told them the tigers meant them no harm.
“After I’d finally convinced them to close the door, the two brothers rose to stand before their parents as men. They had very little time left and quickly changed back and allowed me to relate the story. The five of us stayed in counsel all day in my little home. Runners came to say that a vast army led by Lokesh was approaching and that he had already destroyed several villages and was on his way to the palace.”
“What did you all decide to do?”
“Rajaram wanted to destroy Lokesh, but Deschen held him back, reminding him that Lokesh may be the only way to save the boys. They gave me a special charge: to take the boys and leave. Deschen couldn’t bear to part with her sons, so arrangements were made for her to come with me under the pretense that she would be visiting her homeland.
“In reality, we snuck away to a small summer home near the waterfall where you found Kishan. Despite Rajaram’s best efforts, he couldn’t capture Lokesh. The armies were pushed back for a while, but Lokesh seemed to gather strength while Rajaram lost it. A few years passed. Without his wife and sons, Rajaram no longer had the will to be the king. Deschen also had become despondent. There seemed to be no hope for her sons, and her beloved husband was far away, taking care of the empire.
“I sent a missive to Rajaram explaining that Deschen was suffering. Reluctantly, he stepped down from the throne and turned over the affairs of the kingdom to a quorum of military advisors. He had told his people the false story of Ren and Kishan’s deaths and explained that his wife had fled to China to find solace. He said that he needed to leave for a time to bring her back. He never returned. He joined us in the wilderness, bringing along some of their wealth and most precious things so that the boys would be able to keep their inheritance.”
I asked, “Is that when Deschen died?”
“No. Actually, Deschen and Rajaram lived several more years. Reunited, they were happy and cherished every minute they had with the boys. It soon became obvious that Ren and Kishan weren’t aging. I became the caretaker for the family. I was the intermediary between them and the outside world. The boys hunted and brought us food, and Deschen gardened and grew vegetables. I often ventured into town to purchase items and to listen to news.
“After several years, Ren’s father became ill with what I now suspect was nephritis, or kidney disease. We heard that Lokesh was still fighting with the military, but that the Mujulaain people continued to fight back. Great legends were being told about the royal family. They had passed on into myth. The story I told you when I met you at the circus is the story as it is told today.
“Ren eventually asked me to wear his amulet. At the time, we didn’t know what it would do to me. We only knew that it was powerful and important. He was afraid that if a hunter caught him it would be gone forever. Perhaps it was a premonition because he was captured soon after that.
“Kishan tracked him, and I learned that he had been sold to a collector in another part of the country. I returned disheartened. Ren’s capture was the final blow to his father, and he died within the week. Deschen lapsed into deep despair and stopped eating. Despite Kishan’s and my best efforts, she too, died, not a month after her husband.
“Kishan would not be consoled after his mother’s death, and he often stayed in the forest. A few months later, I told him that it was time. I began my search for Ren. He told me to take the money and jewels. To take whatever I needed to find him. I took some, leaving the most precious family heirlooms there for Kishan to watch over, and began my quest.
“As you know, I was not able to rescue Ren. I studied every myth and story about tigers and about the amulets that I could find. Over the years, I invested their money, and it grew. I began with the spice trade and then moved on, buying and selling companies until the boys became wealthy.
“During those years, I married and had a family. After I left them, I followed Ren from place to place and spent many hours in research. For decades I searched for Lokesh and a way to break the curse. Lokesh, after failing to hold the Mujulaain Empire, mysteriously disappeared and never resurfaced, though I suspected he was still alive, like I was. That leads us to you, and you know the rest of the story.”
“So, if Ren and Kishan lived in the jungle with their parents, how come they never made up?”
“They tolerated each other for their parents’ sake, but they tried to avoid becoming men at the same time. In fact, I never saw them as men together again until you came along. It was a tremendous breakthrough to get Kishan to return and be a part of the family again.”
“Well, Ren doesn’t exactly make it easy on him. It’s weird. I get the sense that they respect and even love each other, but they just can’t let the old wounds heal.”
“You have gone a long way toward healing all of us, Miss Kelsey. Rajaram would have been delighted by you, and Deschen would have wept at your feet for giving her sons’ lives back. Don’t let yourself doubt for a moment that you are right for this family or right for Ren.”
My mangled heart thumped hollowly in my chest. Even thinking about him hurt, but my hands fisted in determination.
“So what should we start with? Research or sword-fighting?”
“Are you able to begin with some physical training?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, get your things put away and then join me in the gym downstairs in half an hour.”
“I will. And, Mr. Kadam? It’s nice to be home.”
He smiled at me, winked, and then set off for his room.
I headed upstairs and found that all the precious things I’d shipped were safe and sound. My ribbon box was in the bathroom. My books and journals had been moved to a library shelf along with newly framed pictures of my family and a vase of fresh pink tiger lilies. My grandmother’s quilt rested on the foot of my bed, and my stuffed white tiger sat among the mound of plum-colored pillows.
I unzipped my bag and pulled out Fanindra, apologizing for leaving her out of the battle in the forest. We would be better prepared next time. I set her on the new library shelf on top of a round, silk-covered pillow.
I quickly changed into my wushu clothes and headed downstairs to meet Mr. Kadam. Kishan heard me bustling around and trotted down the stairs behind me. He curled up in a corner of the room on the gym mat, put his head on his paws, and watched sleepily.
Mr. Kadam was already there. The wall was flipped open to showcase his collection of swords. He walked over with two wooden sticks.
“These are called shinais and are used in the practice of kendo, which is the Japanese form of fencing. Use these to practice forms before moving on to the steel weapons. Grip it with both hands. Reach out as if you are shaking hands with someone, then wrap your three bottom fingers around the weapon and leave your thumb and forefinger loose.”
I tried to follow his instructions, and before I knew it, Mr. Kadam was moving onto the next step.
“For advancing, walk heel-step, heel-step. For retreating, back up ball-step. This way you are always ready and won’t distribute your weight wrong.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. Very good, Miss Kelsey.”
“Now lunge. When someone attacks, swing this leg back, move your body out of the way, and bring your sword up to defend yourself, like this. If someone comes from the other side, move back this way.”
This was complicated. My arms already hurt, and the footwork was hard to remember.
He continued, “Eventually, we’ll move on to heavier swords to build up your arms and shoulders, but for now, the footwork is what I want you to practice.”
Mr. Kadam had me do footwork drills for an hour while he gave me tips. I began to move in a rhythm and crossed the floor back and forth doing lunges, advance-retreats, and deflecting moves. While I worked, Mr. Kadam watched, correcting my form from time to time and citing sword fighting instructions.
“Draw your sword before you engage an opponent. It takes too much time to do it once you’re in a fight. And make sure your feet always stay grounded and balanced.
“Don’t overextend yourself! Keep your elbows bent and close to your body.
“Fight to win. Search for weaknesses and exploit them. Don’t be afraid to use other techniques if they will help you, like lightning power, for example.
“It’s better to get out of the way than to block someone. Blocking saps your strength; moving out of the way requires less energy.
“Know the length of your sword and estimate the length of your opponent’s weapon. Then, maintain a distance at which he cannot easily reach you.
“Though it’s good to practice with bigger, heavier swords, lighter swords can do just as much damage. The big ones tire you out faster in a fight.”
By the time I was done, I was sweaty and sore. I’d been holding the shinai up the whole time I was practicing footwork. And, even though it was lightweight, my shoulders were burning.
Mr. Kadam encouraged me to work on the footwork for an hour every day and said that he would teach me more tomorrow.
Kishan changed to a man after I’d sufficiently rested. He practiced wushu kicks and sweeps with me for another two hours. By the time I climbed the stairs to my room, I was exhausted. A hot dinner was left under a warming cover in my room, but I decided to shower first.
Clean and ready for bed, I lifted the lid and found grilled chicken and vegetables. There was also a note from Mr. Kadam inviting me to help with research in the library the next morning. I finished my dinner and walked over to Ren’s room.
It was so different from the first time I’d entered his room. A thick carpet covered the floor. Books sat on top of the dresser, including a couple of the first-edition Dr. Seuss books that he’d mentioned buying. A paperback copy of Romeo and Juliet in Hindi was dog-eared and worn. A state-of-the-art CD player was set up in the corner with several CDs, and a laptop and writing materials sat on his desk.
I found his Valentine’s present, his copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, and tucked it under my arm. He must have sent it in the package with my special things. Knowing he treasured it made me smile. One of my old hair ribbons was tied around rolled up parchment. I untied the ribbon and found several poems written by Ren in a language I couldn’t read. Rolling up the pages and retying them, I decided to try to translate them.
I opened his closet. The last time I was here it had been empty, but now it was full of designer clothes. Most of them had never been worn. I found a blue sweatshirt that was similar to the one he’d worn to the beach. It smelled like him—waterfalls and sandalwood trees. I threw it over my arm.
When I returned to my room, I set the parchment on my desk and climbed into bed. I had just snuggled under my blanket with the stuffed white tiger and the sweatshirt when I heard a knock at my door.
“Can I come in, Kelsey? It’s Kishan.”
“Sure.”
Kishan stuck his head in the door. “I just wanted to say goodnight.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
Spying my white tiger, he came in closer to inspect it. He grinned lopsidedly and flicked the tiger on the nose.
“Hey! Leave him alone.”
“Wonder what he thought of that.”
“If you must know, he was flattered.”
He smiled for a moment and then grew serious. “We’ll find him, Kells. I promise.”
I nodded.
“Well, goodnight, bilauta.”
I propped myself up on my elbow. “What does that mean, Kishan? You never told me.”
“It means ‘kitten.’ I figured if we are the cats, you’ve got to be the kitten.”
“Hmm, well, don’t say it around Ren anymore. It makes him mad.”
He grinned. “Why do you think I do it? See you in the morning.” He turned off the light and closed the door.
That night, I dreamed of Ren.