I felt a hand on my arm. Anamkia’s warmth radiated through me. Her look was one of understanding. One of sympathy. Leaning over, she pressed her lips against my ear and whispered, “All will be well. Trust in our teacher.”
With a reassuring squeeze, she turned her attention back to the men. Ana trusted her teacher, Phet, no, Kadam completely. Could I trust him as much as she did? I had in the past. I knew he had secrets. That there was more going on than he shared with us. Snickering softly, I marveled that he’d been able to keep all this from us for so long. He was a wily one. I did trust him though. Always had. No one loved my parents, loved me and Ren more than he did.
The hoots of the men by the pit caught my attention. When the leader advocated for killing Ren, I sprang into action, disguising myself as one of the hunters who had gone off into the trees to relieve himself. I said I knew a very wealthy man who would pay dearly to have a living white tiger to add to his menagerie. Of course I actually knew no such thing, but figured I needed to say something to prevent them from removing Ren’s fur from his body.
The leader seemed shocked that one of his minions would have any connection to a man of means and demanded that I tell him who. I said the first name that came to mind, Anik Kadam, and told him the name of the nearest town. It was agreed then that they’d take the living tiger to this Kadam and negotiate payment.
If I was wrong, I’d be soundly beaten. I agreed and slipped out between the trees just as the man I’d impersonated returned. He was intelligent enough to fake knowing what was going on, but I could see the alarm on his face when he turned away from the group.
With some hassle, they managed to get Ren into a hastily constructed cage. It took a half dozen men to carry him. Since I wasn’t certain that they wouldn’t kill Ren after all, we decided to split up. Anamika would follow the procession through the jungle while I would return to the future to find Kadam. His instructions had left too much to the imagination, and I wasn’t willing to risk Ren’s life on an oversight on my part.
I took Ana’s hand before we departed and asked her again if she’d rather return to the future instead of me, but she shook her head, reminding me that I was more familiar with Kadam’s paths than she was. It was an uncomfortable feeling leaving her alone with all those men despite the fact that she obviously knew the jungle better than any of them. I knew Anamika distrusted men in general and being around them made her feel nervous despite the power she had at her disposal.
Reassuring her that I’d hurry, I took her hand, and when she gripped it tightly, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I was surprised when she stepped into the embrace. It was over before I could react to it. Moving back, I gave her a stiff nod and disappeared, darkness swirling around me as I sought out Kadam.
Chapter 7
A Tiger’s Tale
Moving through time and space, I decided the safest way to track down Kadam was to find Phet. I knew the date that Ren and Kelsey entered my forest, seeking me out to help them break the first part of the curse, so I headed to Phet’s…er…Kadam’s hut, hid in the trees, and let time flow backwards until I saw Kelsey and Ren. Power rushed over me in a whoosh as I stopped time and let it progress normally again.
Kelsey and Ren, in his tiger form, exited the hut and headed off through the jungle as Phet waved good-bye and encouraged them on their journey in his singsong voice. Smoke drifted lazily from the small chimney in the roof as he stared after them. When they were gone, the strange half smile melted off his face and he straightened his back until he looked more like Kadam wearing Phet’s face.
Even though he was still donning the disguise of the little shaman, I recognized the tired expression. It was how he’d looked the last few weeks before he died. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I remembered the final days of my mentor. How alone he must have felt as he carried on with his work without having anyone to confide in. He headed back inside, and I moved from my hiding spot, careful to be quiet lest Ren hear me and turn back.
Phet reappeared at the door with a cage and opened it, encouraging the little bird inside to fly back into the trees, but the bird wouldn’t budge. He hadn’t noticed me.
“Looks like he prefers to be caged,” I said quietly from the side of the hut.
Phet, no…Kadam turned wide eyes in my direction. “What are you doing here, son?”
“Looking for you. I need your help.”
He glanced at the trees where Ren and Kelsey had just left. “Come inside then,” he said. “Quickly. I don’t want them to overhear.”
I ducked, following him into the hut, and sat in a familiar chair. “So,” I said, not really knowing how to begin. “Was this building always here or did you create it?”
After setting down the cage with the bird and leaving the door open so it could move about freely, he closed the flimsy curtains and lit a second candle. It wasn’t long before I heard the whisper of fabric. When he sat down, the monk had disappeared, and in his place was the man with more secrets than anyone should have to bear.
“A man did live here at one time. The frame was intact,” he said. “I just added enough so it would appear lived in.” He reached behind him for a kettle and poured me a mug of fragrant tea, then set a plate of rustic cookies between us, crumbling the end of one and sprinkling it on the table. The bird hopped down and pecked at the food. “How can I help?” he asked.
Kadam looked like he needed more help than I did. “You’re tired,” I said, perhaps too bluntly.
“There is much to do before my bones can rest.”
“How much time do you have left?” I asked softly.
He chose not to answer my question. Instead, he lifted his cup to his lips and sipped thoughtfully, glancing at me briefly over the brim. Finally, he set it down and said, “Time is a funny thing, isn’t it, Kishan?”
“Yes,” I admitted, drinking from my own cup. “I sense your remaining hours are few.”
“You would be correct, which is why you should tell me what you’ve come to say.”
I let out a weighted breath. “Very well. We’ve captured Ren. The second item on your list.”
“Is he in good health?”
“He is unharmed.”
“Then what is the issue?”
“We just don’t know where to have the hunters take him. That information was not included on your list. I suggested to the men that a wealthy merchant named Anik Kadam might be interested.”
“And so he would be.”
I nodded stiffly. “Then we’ll go when you are ready.”
“You misunderstand me.” Kadam set down his cup, lifted a spoon, and stirred the remaining liquid slowly. He looked so old in that moment. I wished more than anything that he would confide in me. That he would let me help relieve his burden. “I cannot accompany you,” he said.
“Then…then what would you have us do?”
He looked up and in his eyes I saw the reflection of the eternities. “It is not my place to instruct you,” he said.
Confused, I asked, “But isn’t that what you’ve been doing all along?”
“Yes and no.” Kadam smiled, but it was only an echo of a real one—a breakable pretender that looked wrong on his face.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” I said.
“The list I gave the two of you is yours to follow. If I interfere in any way, it could disrupt the way things are supposed to happen.”
“Haven’t you already interfered by giving us the list in the first place?”
Kadam shook his head. “Giving you the list was something I was supposed to do. Helping you work your way through it is not.” His tone was almost abrasive, a sharp contrast to his normal demeanor. Standing abruptly, he turned his back to me and carefully replaced the tea on the crooked shelf and then busied himself washing our cups and drying them. I stood up to help and we worked quietly together for a time. He didn’t speak as we did so.