‘You didn’t die. You were bitten by a Kappa. He was making quick work of you when I found you. He must have followed you there. They are nasty things. I’m glad most of them were done in by the trees.’
‘The one that found me was scratched and bloody, but he didn’t seem to care.’
‘Yes, most of the ones that followed me were torn apart by the trees. Nothing seemed to halt their pursuit.’
‘Didn’t any of them follow you here?’
‘They stopped chasing me once I got near the cave. They must be frightened of it.’
‘I don’t blame them. Did you . . . carry me the whole way? How did you whack the trees and hold me at the same time?’
He sighed. ‘I slung you over my shoulder and banged the trees until we cleared them. Then I stowed the gada, put on your pack, and hiked up here, carrying you in my arms.’
I drank deeply from the water bottle and heard Ren let out a deep breath.
Quietly, he said, ‘I’ve experienced a lot in my life. I’ve been in bloody battles. I’ve been with friends who were killed. I’ve seen terrible things done to man and beast, but I’ve never felt afraid.
‘I’ve been troubled. I’ve also been uneasy and tense. I’ve been in mor-tal danger, but I’ve never experienced that cold-sweat kind of fear, the kind that eats a man alive, brings him to his knees, and makes him beg. In fact, I always prided myself on being above that. I thought that I’d suffered through and seen so much that nothing could scare me anymore. That nothing could bring me to that point.’
He brushed a brief kiss on my neck. ‘I was wrong. When I found you and saw that . . . that thing trying to kill you, I was enraged. I destroyed it without hesitation.’
‘The Kappa were terrifying.’
‘I wasn’t afraid of the Kappa. I was afraid . . . that I’d lost you. I felt an unquenchable, gut-wrenching, corrosive fear. It was unbearable. The most agonizing part was realizing that I didn’t want to live anymore if you were gone and knowing there was nothing I could do about it. I would be stuck forever in this miserable existence without you.’
I heard every word he said. It pierced through me, and I knew I would have felt the same way if our places had been reversed. But I told myself that his heartfelt declaration was just a reflection of the tense pressure we’d been under. The little love plant in my heart was grasping at each wispy thought, absorbing his words like sweet drops of morning dew. But I chastised my heart and shoved the tender expressions of affection elsewhere, determined to be unaffected by them.
‘It’s okay. I’m here. You don’t need to be afraid. I’m still around to help you break the curse,’ I said, trying to keep my voice even.
He squeezed my waist and whispered softly, ‘Breaking the curse didn’t matter to me anymore. I thought you were dying.’
I swallowed and tried to be flippant. ‘Well, I didn’t. See? I lived to argue with you another day. Now don’t you wish it had gone the other way?’
His arms stiffened, and he threatened, ‘Don’t ever say that, Kells.’
After a second of hesitation, I said, ‘Well, thank you. Thank you for saving me.’
He pulled me closer, and I allowed myself a minute, just a minute, to lie back against him and enjoy it.
I had almost died after all. I deserved some kind of reward for surviving, didn’t I?
After my minute was up, I wiggled forward and out of his grasp. He reluctantly let me go, and I turned around to face him with a nervous smile. I tested my legs, which felt strong enough for me to walk on.
When I thought I was dying, I wanted to tell Ren that I loved him, but now that I knew I’d survived, it was the last thing I wanted to do. The strong resolve to keep him at a distance returned, but the tempta-tion to allow myself to rest wrapped in his arms was strong, powerfully strong. I turned my back to him, squared my shoulders, and picked up the backpack.
‘Come on, Tiger. Let’s get a move on. I feel healthy as a horse,’ I lied.
‘I really think you should take it easy and rest a bit more, Kells.’
‘No. I’ve been sleeping for two days already. I’m ready to hike another umpteen miles.’
‘At least wait until you’ve eaten something.’
‘Toss me an energy bar, and I’ll eat on the way.’
‘But, Kells—’
My eyes locked briefly with his cobalt blue ones, and I said softly, ‘I need to get out of here.’
I turned and started gathering our things. He just sat there watch-ing me closely, his eyes burning into my back. I was desperate to get out of there. The longer we were together, the more my resolve wavered. I was almost to the point of asking him to stay here with me forever and live among the needle trees and the Kappa. If I didn’t get the tiger part of him back soon, I’d lose myself to the man forever.
Finally, he said slowly, almost sadly, ‘Sure. Whatever you say, Kelsey.’ He stood up, stretched, and then put out the fire.
I walked over to Fanindra, who was spiraled into an arm cuff, and stared down at her.
‘She saved your life you know. Those bites healed you,’ Ren explained.
I reached up and touched my neck where the Kappa had bitten me. The skin was smooth, without a pucker or a scar. I crouched down.
‘I guess you saved me again, huh, Fanindra? Thanks.’
I picked her up and positioned her on my upper arm, grabbed my backpack, and then walked ahead a few steps.
I spun around, ‘You coming, Superman?’
‘Right behind you.’
We entered the mouth of the black cavern. Ren held out his hand. I ignored it and began walking into the tunnel. He stopped me and held out his hand again, staring at it pointedly. I sighed and gripped a couple of his fingers in mine. I smiled sheepishly and was again too obvious in my attempt to avoid physical contact. He groaned in disgust, took my elbow, and yanked my body up next to his, settling his arm around my shoulders.
We walked through the tunnels quickly. The other Rens and Kelseys moaned and beckoned even more aggressively than before. I closed my eyes and let Ren lead me through. I gasped when the figures approached and tried to lay ghostly hands on us.
Ren whispered, ‘They can’t become corporeal unless we pay attention to them.’
We walked through as quickly as possible. Evil shapes and familiar forms clamored for us to notice them. Mr. Kadam, Kishan, my parents, my foster family, even Mr. Maurizio all shouted, begged, demanded, and coerced.
We made it through the tunnel much faster than the first time. Ren still held my hand in his warm grip after we emerged, and I tried to gently and inconspicuously free my hand from his. He looked at me and then at our entwined hands. He raised an eyebrow and grinned maliciously. I started tugging harder, but he merely tightened his grip. I finally had to wrench it away to get him to let go.
So much for subtlety.
He smirked at me knowingly while I glared back.
It wasn’t long before we faced the needle tree forest again and Ren headed boldly toward the treeline. Striking with the gada, he moved slowly forward creating a path that I could walk through safely. The branches abused him violently and ripped his shirt to shreds. He tossed it aside, and I found myself staring in fascination first at the rippling muscles of his arms and back and then at his cuts as they healed before my eyes. Soon he was soaked with sweat and, and I couldn’t watch anymore. I kept my eyes on my feet and followed along silently.
He headed toward the trees. Banging on them with the gada, we skirted through the prickly forest without further incident.
In no time at all, we were climbing the rocks leading to the cavern, heading back toward the Ugra Narasimha statue in Hampi. When we reached the long tunnel, Ren started to say something several times but stopped himself. I was curious, but not curious enough to start a conversation.
I pulled out my flashlight, angled my stride to put distance between us, and ended up hugging the other side of the cavern. He looked over at me once, but he allowed me to maintain my distance. Eventually, the tunnel narrowed enough that we had to walk side by side again. Every time I glanced at Ren, I saw that he was watching me.