Tiger's Curse (34 page)

A large statue of Ugra Narasimha was the last thing that we saw. When I asked Mr. Kadam what he represented, he didn’t respond. He walked around the structure, looking at it from many different angles while thinking and mumbling quietly to himself.

I shaded my eyes and studied the top of it. Trying to get Mr. Kadam’s attention, I repeated, “Who is he? He’s a pretty ugly fellow.”

This time, Mr. Kadam replied, “Ugra Narasimha is a half-man, half-lion god, though he can assume other forms as well. He was supposed to look frightening and impressive. He is most famous for slaying a powerful demon king. What’s interesting is the demon king could not be killed either on earth or in space, during day or night, not inside or outside, by neither human nor animal, nor by any object that was dead or alive.”

“You sure seem to have a lot of unslayable demons running around in India. So how did he kill the demon king?”

“Ah, Ugra Narasimha was very clever. He picked up the demon king, placed him on his lap, and then killed him at twilight, on a doorstep, with his claws.”

I laughed. “Sounds like Miss Scarlett, in the conservatory, with a candlestick.”

Mr. Kadam chuckled. “Indeed, it does.”

“Hmm, day or night, that’s twilight, inside or outside was the doorstep, and he was half human and half lion, so that covers animal/human requirement. Not on earth or space is on his lap . . . what was the other one?”

He answered, “He could not be killed by an object that was dead or alive, specifically, animate or inanimate, so he used his claws.”

“Huh. That
is
pretty clever.”

“I’m impressed, Kelsey. You figured out most of those on your own. If you look closely, you can see that he is sitting on the coils of a seven-headed snake, and their heads are arching above him, hoods open, to provide shade for his head.”

I grimaced. “Uh-huh, those are snakes alright.” I twitched my arm uncomfortably and peeked over at my golden snake. Fanindra was still a hard piece of jewelry.

Mr. Kadam started muttering to himself again and spent a long time examining the Ugra Narasimha statue.

“What are you looking for, Mr. Kadam?”

“Part of the prophecy says ‘let serpents guide you.’ Before, I thought it might only mean your golden snake, but perhaps the plural is important.”

I joined him in looking for a secret doorway or a handprint like the one I found before, but didn’t see anything. We tried to be as casual as the other tourists as we studied the statue.

Finally giving up, Mr. Kadam said, “I think it might be a good idea if you and Ren return here this evening. I have a suspicion that the entrance to Kishkindha might be here by this statue.”

We brought a picnic dinner to Ren. I tore off pieces of Tandoori chicken for him, which he carefully nibbled from my hand, and told him about the different buildings we’d investigated at the temple.

Mr. Kadam explained to us that the ruins were closed to visitors at sundown unless there was a special event taking place.

“Most evenings, guards are standing watch, looking out for treasure hunters. In fact,” he elaborated, “treasure hunters are responsible for much of the destruction you see in the ruins now. They seek gold and jewels, but those things were taken from Hampi long ago. The treasures of Hampi now are the very things they are destroying.”

Mr. Kadam felt that it would be best if he dropped us off at a location on the other side of the hills because there were no roads leading into Hampi, and it wasn’t guarded as well.

“But if there aren’t any roads, then how will we get there?” I asked, fearing Mr. Kadam’s answer.

He grinned. “Off-roading is one of the reasons I bought the Jeep, Miss Kelsey.” He rubbed his hands together animatedly. “It will be exciting!”

I groaned and muttered, “Fantastic. I feel nauseous already.”

“You will need to carry the
gada
in your backpack, Kelsey. Do you think you can manage?”

“Sure. It’s not that heavy, really.”

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me, puzzled.

“What do you mean it’s not heavy? It is actually quite heavy.” He pulled it free from its wrapping and hefted it with two hands, straining his muscles to hold it.

Puzzled, I mumbled, “That’s weird. I remember it being light for its size.” I walked over and took the
gada
from him, and we were both shocked that I could easily lift it with one hand. He took it back and tried to lift it with one hand, and he again faltered under its weight.

“To me it feels like fifty pounds.”

I took it back again. “For me it feels like maybe five to ten pounds.”

“Amazing,” he marveled.

Shocked, I added, “I had no idea it actually weighed that much.”

Mr. Kadam took the weapon from me again, wrapped it in a soft blanket, and then placed it into my backpack. We hopped back into the Jeep, and he drove us along a back road, which changed to a dirt road, which changed to gravel, which changed to two lines in the dust, and then disappeared altogether.

He let us out and set up a mini-camp, assuring me that Ren would be able to find his way back. He also gave me a small flashlight, a copy of the prophecy, and then he included a warning: “Don’t use the flashlight unless you have to. Be sparing because there are security guards walking through the ruins at night. Be alert. Ren can smell them coming, so you should be alright. Also, I would suggest that Ren stay in tiger form as much as possible in case you should need him for something later.”

He squeezed my shoulders and smiled. “Good luck, Miss Kelsey. Remember that you might not find anything at all. We might have to start all over again tomorrow night, but we have plenty of time. Don’t fret. There’s no pressure.”

“Okay. Well, here goes nothing!”

I began trailing after Ren. The moonless night allowed the stars to glisten with extra brilliance in the black, velvety sky. Beautiful though it was, I wished the moon were out. Fortunately, Ren’s white hide was easy to follow. Pits and holes dotted the terrain, and I had to be extra careful. It would be bad timing to trip and break my ankle. I didn’t even want to think about what kinds of creatures had made those holes.

After a few minutes of stumbling, a greenish light began to softly glow in front of me. I looked around and finally figured out that the light was coming from Fanindra’s jeweled eyes. She lit the dark countryside for me, providing a special kind of night vision. Everything was clearly outlined, but it still felt creepy, like I was walking across alien terrain on some weird green planet.

After almost an hour of walking, we arrived at the outskirts of the ruins. Ren slowed and smelled the air. A cool breeze wafted over the hills and freshened the warm evening. He must have decided the coast was clear because he continued forward quickly.

We made our way through the ruins, striking a path toward the Ugra Narasimha statue. The ruins that had been stunning during the day now hovered over me, casting dark shadows. Beautiful archways and pillars that I had admired were now gaping black maws waiting to devour me. The gentle breeze I had appreciated earlier whistled and moaned as it wound through passageways and doors as if ancient ghosts were announcing our presence.

Hair on the back of my neck prickled as I imagined eyes watching us and demons lurking in hazy hallways. When we finally neared the statue, Ren started investigating, sniffing, and searching out hidden crevices.

After an hour of searching and finding nothing, I was ready to give up, head back to Mr. Kadam, and get some sleep.

“I’m exhausted, Ren. Too bad we don’t have an offering and a bell. Maybe the statue would come alive. Hmm?”

He sat next to me, and I patted his head for a moment. I looked up at the statue, and an idea popped into my head. I mumbled, “A bell. I wonder—”

I got up and ran to the Vithala Temple with its musical columns. Guessing what to do, I lightly tapped on one three times hoping that no guards would hear it, and ran back to the statue. The eyes on the seven-headed snake were now glowing red, and a small carving of Durga had appeared on the side of the statue.

“This is it! The sign of Durga! Okay, we’re doing something right. What do we do next? An offering?” I moaned in frustration. “But we don’t have anything to offer!”

The mouth of the half-man, half-lion statue opened, and wispy, gray mist started pouring out of it. Puffs of the cold, smoky vapor rolled down the statue’s body, spilled over the ground, and began to expand in all directions. Red snake eyes were soon the only thing I could still make out. I kept my hand on Ren’s head for reassurance.

I decided to climb the stone carving and search the head of the statue for some sign. Ren growled an objection, but I ignored him and began climbing up. It didn’t matter because I still found nothing to lead us further. As I hopped down from the statue, I misjudged the distance to the ground and tripped. Ren was at my side instantly. I wasn’t hurt except for a broken fingernail, but being encompassed by the swirling fog was chilling.

Just then, as I stared at my fingernail, I remembered Mr. Kadam’s story about Ugra Narasimha. I thought for a minute.

“Ren, maybe if we repeat Ugra Narasimha’s actions, the statue will lead us to the next step. Let’s try to reenact Ugra Narasimha’s famous task.”

He brushed against my hand in the darkness.

“Okay, there are five parts. The first thing we need is an animal/human, so that’s you. Here, stand next to me. You can be Ugra Narasimha, and I’ll be the demon king. Next, we need to stand somewhere that isn’t inside or outside, so let’s look for some steps or a doorway.”

I felt around the statue. “I think there was a little doorway here, near the statue.” I stretched out my hand and felt the stone door frame. We both stepped under it.

“The third part was neither day nor night. It’s too late for dusk or twilight. I guess I can try using my flashlight.” I clicked my little flashlight on and off, hoping that would be enough. “Then there was the part about claws. You do have those. Umm, I think you have to scratch me. The story says kill, but I think scratching me might work.”

I flinched. “You might need to draw blood though.”

I heard his chest rumble in protest.

“It’s okay. Just do a small scratch. It’s no big deal.”

He growled again softly, lifted his paw, and set it gently on my arm. I’d seen him hunt from a distance and had also seen his claws during his fight with Kishan. As the flashlight shined on his extended claws, I couldn’t help but feel a little scared. I closed my eyes and heard a soft grunt as he moved, but I didn’t feel anything.

I shone the flashlight all over my legs and didn’t see any blood. I knew he’d done something, though, because I’d heard his claws tear through flesh. Immediately, I had a suspicion and aimed the flashlight on his white body, searching for where he’d hurt himself.

“Ren! Let me see. How bad is it?”

He lifted his leg, and I saw vicious rips where his claws had raked through his fur to the flesh. Blood was freely dripping on the ground.

I was angry. “I know you can heal fast, but really, Ren. Did you have to wound yourself so deeply? You know it might not work anyway if I don’t bleed. I appreciate your sacrifice, but I still want you to slash me. I’m the one representing the demon king, so cut me . . . preferably not as deep as that.”

He wouldn’t lift his paw. I had to bend over and actually lift his heavy paw myself. When I finally positioned it over my arm, he retracted his claws.

I begged, “Ren. Please,
please
cooperate. This is hard enough as it is.”

He allowed his claws to peek out halfway, and he lightly scratched my arm, barely leaving a mark at all.

“Ren! Do it, please. Now would be good.”

He growled softly in disapproval and scratched me harder. The scratch marks left angry red welts down the length of my forearm. Two of the scratches bled lightly.

“Thanks.” I flinched. I adjusted my flashlight to see his scratches again, which were almost healed already. Satisfied, I moved on to the last item.

“Now, the last one was that the demon king can’t stand either in heaven or on the earth. Ugra set the demon on his lap, which means I guess I’ll have to . . . sit on your back.”

Awkward.
Even though Ren was a big tiger and it would be like riding a small pony, I was still conscious that he was a man, and I didn’t feel right about turning him into a pack animal. I took off my backpack and set it down wondering what I could do to make this a bit less embarrassing. Mustering the courage to sit on his back, I’d just decided that it wouldn’t be too bad if I sat sidesaddle, when my feet flew out from under me.

Ren had changed into a man and swept me up in his arms. I wiggled for a minute, protesting, but he just gave me a look—the don’t-even-bother-coming-up-with-an-argument look. I shut my mouth. He leaned over to pick up the backpack, let it dangle from his fingers, and then said, “What’s next?”

“I don’t know. That’s all that Mr. Kadam told me.”

He shifted me in his arms, walked over to stand in the doorway again, then peered up at the statue. He murmured, “I don’t see any changes.”

He held me securely while looking at the statue and, I have to admit, I totally stopped caring about what we were doing. The scratches on my arm that had been throbbing a moment ago didn’t bother me at all. I let myself enjoy the feeling of being cuddled up close to his muscular chest.
What girl didn’t want to be swept up in the arms of a drop-dead gorgeous man?
I allowed my gaze to drift up to his beautiful face. The thought occurred to me that if I were to carve a stone god, I’d pick Ren as my subject. This Ugra half-lion and half-man guy had nothing on Ren.

Eventually, he realized I was watching him, and said, “Hello? Kells? Breaking a curse here, remember?”

I just smiled back stupidly. He quirked an eyebrow at me.

“What were you thinking about just now?”

“Nothing important.”

He grinned. “May I remind you that you are in prime tickling position, and there’s no escape. Tell me.”

Gads. His smile was brilliant, even in the fog.
I laughed nervously.