We continued on, stopping at midday to rest and eat, and camped beneath the stars that night. The next day, we moved even quicker and found a flat space near a bubbling stream. We’d consumed all the bread and meat but we refilled our pouches with water and had enough fruit for each of us to eat two pieces, leaving one for breakfast.
The truth stone indicated that we were on the right track and would reach the place of safety by the afternoon of the next day. The next morning as we prepared to leave, I felt the prickle of something on the back of my neck. The camels bawled nervously and glanced toward a thicket of brush. I stared at it for a long time and then sucked in a breath.
Though I couldn’t see anything behind the brush, I knew exactly what it was—a tiger. A hungry one if it was thinking about attacking our group. It wasn’t natural for tigers to hunt people. Man-killers were uncommon unless it was too injured to hunt its normal prey. “Children,” I said quietly, “get behind me. Ana? I’m going to need that knife.”
I held out my hand behind my back and felt the handle of the knife graze my palm. Wrapping my fingers around it, I took a step forward, raising the knife in front of me. Staring straight at the brush, knowing it would unnerve the tiger to be seen, I said loudly, “There’s nothing here you want, my feline friend. I suggest you move along.”
The bushes shifted and I heard a deep and throaty growl. A huge paw parted the grass, followed by a second, and then the striped face emerged, yellow eyes trained on me. He crouched, tail twitching slightly as he studied me. The tiger was massive and I wondered if I looked that big when in tiger form. My perception as a tiger was different, and I never looked closely at my reflection before except in a pool of water.
Uncertain what to make of us, the tiger started toward my left, where most of the children stood in a huddle. “Stay together,” I warned him. “If you separate, he will pounce.”
I heard a whimper from one of the kids but the crying was quickly stifled. “I don’t think so, my friend,” I said, angling my body to stand between him and the children. He froze and backed up a few steps, snarling. His low growl would have terrified me if I had been a normal human, but I recognized the catch of hesitation as his growl cut off. He was unsure of us.
He moved back a step and that’s when I noticed his mangled back leg. The tiger had been caught in a trap and was missing part of his foot. His limp was noticeable. “I feel sorry for you, old man,” I said, “but you won’t find breakfast here.”
We stared each other down for too many minutes. The tiger must have been desperate because he wasn’t giving up. The truth stone lay fastened in a bag over the camel’s back. Carefully, I slid my hand inside the bag hanging from the camel’s back and touched the stone, murmuring a plea for help. The stone grew warm and then I heard the sibilant sound of snakes, lots of them. Not three feet from where I stood, a brown, triangular-shaped head popped up from a hole. Another slid quickly down a hill and was joined by a third and a fourth.
The children cried in earnest as more and more snakes emerged from the ground. The reptiles moved forward in a wriggling carpet, creating a wide barrier between us and the tiger. Slowly, they crept closer to the massive animal. He wrinkled his nose and puffed air in a snort. Frustrated, he paced back and forth, quickly darting back when several snakes spat at his feet and others struck, missing him by inches. Finally, he turned and bounded off, his tail marking his progress through the grass.
The snakes stared ahead for a few moments and then slid away, some in the grass, some down holes, and others just made their way into the desert and disappeared. When they were all gone, I turned to the trembling children and hugged them closed, capturing as many in my arms as I could.
“You were all very brave,” I said. “Come now. The danger has passed. Hop back up on those camels.”
There were no further incidents for the rest of our journey, and the gratitude and relief I felt when the home I’d seen in vision came into sight was immense. An old couple emerged from the house as we drew near and the man hailed me. They must have been confused and surprised at seeing so many children traveling with one man.
As the wife ushered the weary kids into her home to feed and bathe them, I quickly explained to the husband who we were and that, though we appreciated his hospitality, he was likely endangering his family to come to our aid. He put a hand on my shoulder and told me he’d heard rumors about the man I’d killed and that he’d happily help us.
Later that night I learned that the two of them had lived alone for many years and had wished for a large family but that his wife was unable to bear children. He agreed to help as many of the young ones find their families as he could and to those who could no longer remember where they came from, he would gladly offer a home.
I said that I’d been charged with finding Anamika and returning her to her family and that I needed to do so as soon as possible. The couple encouraged me to stay with them, to rest after our ordeal. When I wanted to set out the next morning, they packed up bags of supplies and even offered up a horse in exchange for the camels.
The man gifted me with an old sword and told me to head south. He informed me that the caravans and camel traders tended to use the northern routes. It would take longer to get Ana home but it was better to avoid them where possible.
Although the children were sorry to see me go, it was obvious that they had quickly grown attached to the older couple, and they bid me a fond farewell. Anamika didn’t hesitate to join me. The man had given her a sheath for her knife, and she wore the leather belt proudly, often resting her palm on the knife handle as if to reassure herself.
After I lifted her to the back of the horse and mounted behind her, we set off on the southern road, the truth stone in a pouch securely at our side.
Chapter 21
The Last Gift
We didn’t speak much at first. I was content to leave Ana alone now that she was safe. She’d been through a terrible ordeal, and I wanted her to begin healing from it both mentally and physically. Every so often, I stopped to rest the horse and gave Ana a chance to stretch. She was more accustomed to being on horseback than someone like Kelsey would have been, but I wanted to make her as comfortable as possible.
When we made camp, she gathered wood for me, and I made a bed for her using the blanket the woman had given us. We ate in silence and I tethered the horse to a tree that had plenty of grass beneath it for grazing. When I returned from a small creek with full canteens, I found Ana had pillowed her head on the saddle, stuck her hand beneath her cheek, and quickly fallen asleep. My heart pinched when I saw that she slept in the same loose way she did at home. The backs of my eyes stung. I missed her. Even with the younger version of her at my side, I found I longed for the company of the woman.
When I was a tiger, living in the jungle of India, being alone didn’t bother me. At least, that’s what I’d convinced myself. I’d been so wrapped up in my grief that I didn’t allow myself to reach out for what I wanted the most. It wasn’t until Kadam came for me that I realized how much I wanted to be a part of something again.
I yearned for family. To have a home. To surround myself with people who loved me. For a long time, I thought Kelsey would be that family. In a way, I guess she was. But seeing her with Ren confirmed my deepest doubts. Kelsey didn’t need me like I needed her. She had my brother. She had a home and a life that I could no longer be a part of. At least not in the way I’d hoped.