Page 171 of Tiger's Voyage

He watched me thoughtfully for a moment, and then finally ducked inside the tent. When I couldn’t put it off any longer, I pulled open the flap and sighed at the very obvious empty place for me between Ren and Kishan. Hoping not to disturb them, I quietly picked up my sleeping bag and tugged it to the other side of Kishan. There was only a tiny space available so I asked the Scarf to widen the tent, crawled into my bag, and turned to face the tent wall.

“It’s not like I’m going to attack you in your sleep,” Ren said softly.

“I get too hot between the two of you,” I lied.

“I could have switched with you.”

“I wouldn’t want Kishan to get the wrong message.”

I heard a deep sigh. “Goodnight, Kelsey.”

“Goodnight.”

I stared at the tent wall for several hours, and, though he was quiet, I didn’t think Ren slept much either.

When we woke or, in my case, decided to move, we packed up and further explored the Seventh Pagoda. The structure was still dark, and the light Fanindra created worked only in a small area. We found rooms full of treasure. Gold, precious gems, and priceless statues littered the floors and shelves of each room.

We entered a cavernous area and paused as the sounds of our voices echoed in the space. I could hear a waterfall and smell the ocean, and I imagined the brothers smelled something else as well, because, at the same time, both brothers moved in front of me. We inched forward slowly and came to a large basin filled with sand. Boxes of long sticks rested on a side table.

“What is it?” I asked.

Ren picked up a stick and studied it. “Incense. They’re used in shrines.”

I gathered a few sticks, placed them in the sand the way Ren had done with his, and used my power to light them. Delicate smoke rose up, smelling of pine. Kishan opened a box of red sticks and began filling the basin with them. I lit them, and my nose twitched as I smelled sweet blossoms. As the incense burned, we noticed the room became brighter.

The pagoda was stunning! We hadn’t been able to fully appreciate its splendor before. We were in a room so huge hundreds of people could have fit in the area comfortably. Golden pillars three floors high supported the painted, domed roof overhead. Thick arched windows displayed the sea in such a way that I felt I was looking in on a series of exquisite aquariums. Detailed scrollwork and murals were framed on the walls, but otherwise the walls and ceiling were painted red with lacquered dragons spurting flame.

The floor was made of polished black tile. A small fountain trickled into a wide pool that took up most of the space. The water was white like the mermaid’s pool, impossible to see through. I made a mental note not to touch it no matter how beautiful it was. Kishan and I joined Ren, who was studying one of the murals.

“There it is. The Necklace. See how it rests in the oyster?” Ren said excitedly upon spotting a mural depicting Durga’s Necklace surrounded by hundreds of oysters.

“Hmm … yes, but we can’t see anything in the water. It’s too cloudy. How is Kishan supposed to find it? And what else is down there?”

“According to the mural, nothing. Only an oyster bed. He’ll have to open all the oysters to find it.” Ren patted Kishan on the shoulder. “Glad you drank thesomainstead of me.”

“Thanks. Well, no time like the present. You two sit poolside, and I’ll toss them up.” He peeled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes.

As I turned back to the mural, Kishan wrapped his hands around my waist from behind. “Want to go for a swim, beautiful?”

“The water will kill her,” Ren said dryly.

I glared at Ren, turned around to hug the bare-chested Kishan, and smiled. “Maybe later.” I patted his chest and ran my hand down to his waist. Poking him in his rather fine abs, I said, “I really think you need to be working out more, Kishan. You’re getting all flabby in your old age.”

“Where?” he demanded, as he tried to pinch the skin at his waist.

Laughing, I said, “I’m being sarcastic. You could grate cheese on your abs. I’m just lucky there aren’t any other girls around. They’d all be swooning at your feet.”

He grinned. “One girl swooning is enough for me. Besides, a guy’s got to be strong enough to save his damsel in distress, doesn’t he?”

Ren frowned and interrupted. “What will you use for a knife?” he asked.

“I’ll use thechakram. How are you going to wedge them open?”

“We’llthink of something.” He gave Kishan a debatably friendly shove toward the milky pool. Kishan squeezed my hand and carefully slipped into the water. A few seconds later, we heard a wet thunk as a heavy oyster the size of a pancake hit the tile. I left Ren alone for a few minutes to figure out how we were going to pry it open and wandered around the outside of the pool.

The waterfall was lovely. The milky water fell over black tiles into the pool below. Steps led up to the top of the fountain, and I climbed them. At a level above the falls, I noticed an alcove with another fountain and some marble statues.

I peered down at Ren and heard him tell Kishan to keep the oysters coming. He was using his trident to open the oysters, and, not having a weapon of my own, I decided to take a minute to study the statues.