Page 32 of The Last Tiger

Seung

The tiger leads us forward through the woods, her tail taut with focus. The spirit stands taller than my waist, yet she pads through the forest almost without a sound.

True to the spirit’s word, she’s lost the ability to speak now that she’s out of the cave and back in animal form. Behind her, I march quickly to keep up, the Dragon Empire’s most wanted outlaw in Kidoh beside me.

All the time, my mind swirls with new information.

I have ki.

We have ki. The Tiger Colonies have their own ki powers.

“Watch it!” Jin says, yanking me down just before I smack my head into a branch. She looks at me, perplexed. “Keep your eyes up, man. If you can’t save yourself from a tree, we’ll never make it to the mountain alive.”

“Right. Sorry.” I dodge under the branch and keep going.

Jin was right, though. Having Tiger ki—merely knowing that it exists—changes everything.

For most of my life, I never thought I would be as powerful—as resourced, as well connected, as able —as a Dragon person or a yangban.

No Tiger person from my background had ever held a position as their equal.

Nor did I ever see anyone from my community rise above their station to the heights that Dragon people held.

In time, I came to internalize those expectations for myself. My dreams began to die on the vine.

Then came the Exam. For a year, I chased a mirage. At the time, I thought I might have a chance to break out. That, through passing the Exam, I could join the ranks of the people who were actually respected by Dragon society. That I could be one in a million.

I realize now, it was the empire that put that dream in me.

They used the Exam to bait us. To weaponize our hope and our hunger to climb.

To force us to read books that taught us we weren’t their equals, and never would be.

The message was subtle. But it was there, nevertheless, on every page.

They were the ones with ki powers. They were the masters.

Our job was to fall in line with their vision of the world.

If we did so, if we were good in their eyes, maybe we’d get a few crumbs of the pie.

Because they, and their way of doing things, were the only ones who mattered.

The Exam. What a joke that was. Advertising all the time You, too, have a shot! while the fine print read If you can convince us you’re good enough . And I believed every word of it.

The whole setup was constructed to destroy our own sense of agency.

To keep us looking to them for approval.

That laughable dream, which defined my entire existence from childhood—to have Dragon ki—that idea was planted deep in my head by a regime whose very intention was to destroy my people’s culture and sense of identity.

But having Tiger ki? That changes everything.

Tiger ki means that we matter. Of our own accord. Without anyone else’s approval.

“Why would they do this?” I still can’t get my head around it.

“Do what?” Jin casts a glance at me.

“Outlawing our language. Killing our tigers.” I can’t help but laugh bitterly, suddenly understanding for the first time what we’re up against. “They don’t just want to colonize us. They want to erase us. They’re actually trying to wipe us out.”

“Took you that long to figure it out, huh?” Jin raises an eyebrow.

“They always described what they’re doing in such noble terms…” I pause, still digesting it. “Somehow I always believed them.”

Jin seems content to let me think. We keep walking for a while.

“What could possibly lead someone to want to destroy an entire people?”

Jin shakes her head. “You should ask one of them.”

I heave a sigh, which feels cleansing, like I’m releasing every last bit of—to use Jin’s words—that propagandist bullshit . I send it away in the wind: everything the empire taught me, all their poisonous ideas. I want to let it all go. I want to be free.

Suddenly I’m ravenous to know everything that has been kept from me. What else has the empire lied about that I don’t know?

“How did you get Serpent ki, Jin?” I ask. “You never told me.”

The black cloud from before instantly returns around Jin’s shoulders. Something hard and dark coheres at its center. Immediately I sense that I’ve overstepped some boundary, asked the wrong question.

“It’s…a complicated story.” Jin falls silent.

Suddenly she sticks a hand out in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

And I see them—

Moving out of the woods in front of us, blocking our path—a squadron of Dragon policemen.

There’s over a dozen of them—far more than we could possibly fight off.

Several of them pull out broad nets, which they begin to whirl in their hands.

In the center, they’re led by an officer of the secret police.

My blood curdles as I recognize Officer Hiyoshi.

By daylight, the small, wiry mustache on his upper lip looks particularly hideous.

The tiger stops in front of us. She releases a low growl. Her lips pull back from her teeth, revealing bone-white fangs.

With steel helmets and masks concealing their faces, the squadron moves like a single machine. I feel a unified sense of purpose emanating from them.

There’s so many of them.

They’re here to kill me.

They’re here to kill the tiger.

I seize up, panicking—I can’t help it. Even one man with Dragon ki could overpower me easily. But with this many of them…our journey’s about to end before it has even started.

How could we possibly fight so many men with Dragon ki?

“You.” Officer Hiyoshi’s eyes narrow. I jump, thinking he’s talking to me. But he’s looking squarely at Jin.

“Nice to see you again, Chief.” Jin stands defiantly.

We freeze, standing off.

Hiyoshi’s eyes flash as they land greedily on the tiger.

Then the spirit leaps into action—turning and dashing behind me and Jin.

“Get the beast!” the officer shouts.

“Go!” Jin spins me around and shoves me forward. “I’ll take care of them.”

I stumble, then break into a sprint. The tiger follows, leaping through the brush. I throw a hand in front of my face to block the branches.

Whipwhipwhipwhip!

A thwacking noise flies through the air as something whooshes past. I turn to look, but it’s too late—I’m tripping, then falling, hitting the ground hard. There’s a rope wrapped around my ankles, two heavy steel balls securing them together.

An officer bounds toward me. Beside me, the tiger roars as she wrestles with a net ensnaring her. Three policemen are struggling to pin her down. I try to scramble to my feet, but it’s hopeless—in seconds, two officers are towering over me—

My mind goes blank.

I know immediately what I should do. Use my ki. Summon my power and immobilize these men. But I can hardly think.

If I die now, everything is over.

I die, and my family dies. My country dies.

I raise my hands, desperately trying to re-create the moment from before, in the gold mine, but nothing comes out—

“HEY—OVER HERE!” I hear Jin’s shout from somewhere behind me.

The police turn in surprise.

“Freeze! Drop your weapons!” Jin shouts. She breaks through the trees behind us, her pupils expanding to fill the whites of her eyes. The officers go limp, their swords clattering to the ground.

“Eyes on me,” she commands. “Good. Now kneel .”

Eyes on me. That’s how Jin controls people, I realize—they have to make eye contact with her. The policemen kneel, suddenly compliant.

Jin rushes over to me.

“I meant go , as in get her out of here ,” she hisses as she cuts through the rope binding my ankles with her jagged knife. “Not get her captured.”

“I tried—” I protest.

“Yeah, whatever. Okay, boys. Come here! ”

Behind us, the remaining policemen file obediently between the trees. Their expressions are slack. Each of their eyes looks like Jin’s now, their pupils expanded.

“Let the tiger go. The rest of you, kneel down.”

Several officers work to free the tiger from the net ensnaring her; she growls, then slinks out. The rest of the squadron lines up, facing Jin, all on their knees. Officer Hiyoshi sits at the center, his expression blank.

My jaw slacks. Spirits , Jin is powerful.

She single-handedly…just disarmed an entire squadron.

A rush of elation suddenly flows through me. We didn’t just hold our own against them.

We have the upper hand.

“All right, children, listen up.” Jin addresses the kneeling men.

“Y-you—” Officer Hiyoshi struggles against Jin’s control, his cheeks turning beet red.

“What is it, Officer?” Jin says sweetly, putting a finger under his chin. “Got something to say?”

“You…” Hiyoshi glares up. An aura of green slime drips from his shoulders, coating his back, arms, and legs with fear.

I walk up beside Jin, cautious at first.

I can hardly believe it. Staring down at this man who so terrorized my family for years.

Who lorded over us with absolute power, knowing he was immune from repercussions.

This tyrannical figure who struck so much fear in my family’s and all of our neighbors’ hearts for as long as I can remember… is totally helpless before us now.

“Huh,” I mutter under my breath. Jin looks at me, amused.

I stare down at the secret policeman. The officer sniffles. I can see the desperation in him. He knows we’ve got him cornered.

It feels so good to stand in front of him…and know that he can’t hurt me.

To be the one in control for once.

And I realize something. He’s…just a man.

Why? I think as I stare down at him. What do you want from us?

You should ask one of them, Jin said.

“Why did you steal from us all those years?” I ask the officer suddenly. “We were helpless. We had nothing. And you knew it. You’re supposed to be an officer of the state.”

Officer Hiyoshi glares at us. He says nothing.

“I remember something,” I say. “That night she tied you up in the woods. I was there. When you called out for help that night, you spoke in Tiger language. Isn’t that true?”

“Answer him,” Jin orders.

Officer Hiyoshi speaks mechanically. Reluctantly.

“I am of Dragon blood,” he says, “but I was born and raised in the Tiger Colonies. My first language was yours, before the ban was instated. Growing up, I always appreciated your food, your ways of life. I like it here.”

“Then why ?” I ask, shocked. “No one forced you to steal. Why make our lives so difficult?”

Hiyoshi shrugs.

“Answer.”

“It’s my job. I’m paid to do it,” he replies.

I balk in disbelief. “That’s it?”

“Yes,” he says flatly. “I have to eat, too, you know.”

I have to eat.

There’s…no grand purpose. No master plot.

He’s just a man.

“But why make us starve, just so you could eat?” I protest, unable to accept his answer. “You knew how little we had.”

“That’s not my fault,” Hiyoshi says simply. “I collect the same amount from every family. If you had so little, well, then your father probably should’ve worked harder to secure a higher-paying job.”

I suddenly see red. I can’t help it.

It isn’t something I tried to summon—but I don’t fight it either.

A rust-red cloud builds, shrouding my vision—

“You…”

Anger crackles across my fingers as the cloud around me grows thick and dark as blood—

I raise my arms, the darkness rushing forward, rage flowing through my fingertips.

Anger, resentment, hate pour out of me, a lifetime’s worth, moving into the officer, consuming his consciousness.

Officer Hiyoshi writhes, eyes rolling back in his head, his body locked in a sudden seizure.

I feel the hatred passing over his heart like a cloud obscuring the sun.

Officer Hiyoshi’s muscles bulge as he howls, throwing his head back. His bellow sounds almost inhuman. When he looks back at us, his eyes are consumed with anger. They’re soulless.

Suddenly the policeman stands—

And begins to charge straight toward me—

I step back, shocked.

Jin reacts without hesitation. She picks up a fallen sword and steps between the officer and me—

As he runs straight into it, impaling himself—

A staggering pain erupts in my chest. I feel his heart shudder, pierced by the blade. I step back, gasping.

Jin frowns. Officer Hiyoshi falls to the side.

“Let’s get out of here.” Jin gestures urgently to me. “Seung.”

“No…,” I whisper.

“Seung,” Jin says. “We gotta move.”

She whips back to face the other officers.

“ Tell no one you’ve seen us. Not a word. Got it?”

I can’t tear my gaze away from the policeman convulsing on the ground. The tiger watches the dying officer impassively, her tail whipping back and forth.

“Seung, let’s go .”

Jin swivels abruptly and walks through the trees, away from the soldiers. She looks back over her shoulder at me.

I shudder, touching my chest, where I can feel the dying officer’s heart struggling its last few beats.

Then I turn—and run after her.