‘What did they do to you?’
‘After a few days, the hunters found me. They sold me to a private collector who had a menagerie of interesting creatures. When I proved difficult, he sold me to another who sold me to another, and so on. Eventually, I ended up in a Russian circus and have been passed from circus to circus ever since. Whenever people became suspicious of my age or hurt me, I would cause enough trouble to inspire a quick sale.’
It was a terrible, heart-breaking story. I stepped away from him to circle a log and when I moved back next to him, he twined his fingers in mine and kept walking.
‘Why didn’t Mr. Kadam just buy you himself and take you home?’ I asked sympathetically.
‘He couldn’t. Something always happened to prevent it. Every time he tried to buy me from the circus, the owners refused to sell at any price. Once he sent people to try to purchase me, and that never worked either. Mr. Kadam even hired people to try to steal me, but they were captured. The curse was in charge, not us. The more he tried to intervene, the worse my situation became. We eventually discovered that Mr. Kadam could send potential buyers with a genuine interest my way. He was able to influence good people to buy me, but only if he had no intention of getting me for himself.
‘Mr. Kadam made sure I was moved around enough so people didn’t notice my age. He visited me from time to time so that I knew how to contact him, but there was really nothing he could do. He never stopped trying to figure out a way to break the curse though. He spent all his time researching solutions. His visits meant everything to me. I think I would have lost my humanity without him.’
Ren swatted a mosquito on the back of his neck and reflected, ‘When I was first taken, I thought it would be easy to escape. I’d just wait for night to fall and pull the latch on the cage. But, once I was a captive, I was permanently in tiger form. I couldn’t become a man again – not until you came along.’
He held back a branch so I could pass under and said, ‘What was it like, being in the circus all those years?’
I tripped over a stone, and Ren reached out to steady me. When I was standing firmly again, he slid his hands reluctantly from my waist and offered a hand to me again.
‘It was boring mostly. Sometimes the owners were cruel and I was whipped, poked, and prodded. I was lucky, though, because I healed quickly and was smart enough to do the tricks other tigers refused to do. A tiger doesn’t naturally want to jump through a flaming hoop or have a man’s head in his mouth. Tigers hate fire, so the tiger has to be taught to fear the trainer more than he fears the flame.’
‘It sounds awful!’
‘Circuses back then were. The animals were placed in cages much too small. Natural familial relationships were broken, and the babies were sold. In the early days, the food was bad, the cages were filthy, and the animals were beaten. They were trekked from city to city and left outdoors in places and climates they were not accustomed to. They didn’t survive very long.’
Thoughtfully, he went on, ‘Now, though, there’s more study and effort to prolong the lives of the animals and better their quality of life. But, captivity is still captivity no matter how pretty the jail is.
‘Being caged made me think long and hard about my relationships with other creatures, especially the elephants and horses. My father had thousands of elephants that were trained for battle or heavy lifting, and I had a favorite stallion once that I loved to ride. As I sat there in my cage day after day, I wondered if he felt like I did. I imagined him sitting in his stall, bored, just waiting for me hour after hour to come and let him out.’
Ren squeezed my hand and changed back into a tiger again.
I got lost in my thoughts. How hard being caged up must have been. Ren had to endure centuries of that. I shuddered and kept hiking after him.
After another hour had passed, I spoke up again, ‘Ren? There’s one thing I don’t understand. Where was Kishan? Why didn’t he help you get away?’
Ren leapt over a huge fallen log. At the height of his jump, he changed in midair, dropping to the ground on the other side, silently, on two feet. I reached out for his hand to help steady me as I began to climb over the log, but he ignored it, reached over the log, and put his hands around my waist.
Before I could even form the words to protest, he lifted me up and over the log as if I were as light as a down pillow. He cuddled me close to his chest before letting me go, which made me stop breathing entirely. He looked in my eyes, and a slow smile spread across his face. He set me down before reaching out his hand again. I placed my slightly shaky hand in his warm one, and we set off again.
‘Back then Kishan and I tried to avoid each other as much as possible back then. He didn’t know what had happened until Kadam found him. By the time they’d figured it out, it was too late to do anything. Kadam had tried unsuccessfully to free me, so he persuaded Kishan to stay in hiding while he tried to figure out what to do. Like I said, he tried breaking me out, purchasing me, and hiring thieves for centuries. Not a single thing worked until you. For some reason, after you wished me free, I was able to call him.’
Ren laughed. ‘When I changed into a man again for the first time in centuries, I asked Matthew to place a collect call for me. I told him that I’d been mugged and needed to get in touch with my boss. He helped me figure out how to use the phone, and Mr. Kadam flew in right away.’
Ren changed back into a tiger again, and we continued. He walked close beside me, so I kept a hand on the scruff of his neck.
After walking for several hours, Ren stopped suddenly and smelled the air. He sat on his haunches and stared at the jungle. I listened intently as something shook the bushes. First a black nose emerged, followed by the rest of the black tiger, from the undergrowth.
I smiled happily. ‘Kishan! You changed your mind. You’re coming with us now? I’m so glad!’
Kishan approached me and held out a paw that changed into a hand.
‘Hello, Kelsey. No, I haven’t changed my mind. I am glad to find you safe though.’
Kishan shot a nasty look down at Ren, who wasted no time morphing into human form himself.
Ren shoved Kishan’s shoulder and shouted, ‘Why didn’t you tell me she was out there! She saw the hunt, and you left her alone and unprotected!’
Kishan countered, poking Ren in the chest, ‘You left before I could say anything. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been searching for her all night. You also packed up and left without telling me.’
I stood between them and interjected, ‘Please calm down, both of you. Ren, I agreed with Kishan that it would be best for me to go with him, and he watched over me with great care. I was the one who decided to watch the hunt, and I was the one who chose to head back to camp alone. So if you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at me.’
I turned to Kishan, ‘I’m so sorry that I made you search for me all night in a rainstorm. I didn’t realize it was going to rain, or that it would hide my trail. I apologize.’
Kishan grinned and kissed the back of my hand, while Ren growled menacingly. ‘Apology accepted. So, how did you like it?’
‘You mean the rain or the hunt?’
‘The hunt, of course.’
‘Umm, it was—’
‘She had nightmares,’ Ren spat at his brother.
I grimaced and nodded, dipping my head in agreement.
‘Well, at least my brother is well fed. It might have been weeks before he made a kill on his own.’
‘I was doing just fine without you!’
Kishan smirked. ‘No, you couldn’t catch a limping turtle with-out me.’
I heard the punch before I saw it. It was a hard, teeth-rattling punch, the kind that I thought only happened in the movies. Ren had moved me deftly to the side and then socked his brother.
Kishan stepped away while rubbing his jaw, but he stood up to face Ren with a smile.