Page 186 of Tiger's Voyage

“I find it interesting that you didn’t heal from the shark bite while in this realm, though you healed quickly in Shangri-la from the bear attack,” Mr. Kadam commented.

“Remember, I didn’t heal in Kishkindha either when the Kappa bit me.”

“But you did heal from the kraken bite, though somewhat more slowly. A few possible explanations come to mind. One: It could be that there is something special about Shangri-la. The law of doing no harm might apply. Two: Perhaps only the actual guardians of the objects can cause mortal harm. Three: Healing only occurs when the wound is not mortal. Whatever the reason, I believe you need to be very careful, Miss Kelsey.

“Even in the realms of the other worlds, you can be killed. We are fortunate that Kishan was blessed with thekamandal. I feel we can no longer afford to believe that your amulet protects you from injury or that being in a magical realm will help you to heal.” He reached forward and patted my knee. “It would be unthinkable to lose you, my dear.”

Mr. Kadam widened his gaze to include everyone. “We will all have to be more vigilant regarding Miss Kelsey’s health.”

The brothers nodded in agreement.

When we finished giving our accounts, Mr. Kadam sat back and pressed his hands together. He tapped his lip in his usual style and said, “I believe that is just about everything. Except I feel I should share with you that the five dragons have disappeared on Lady Silkworm’s design. Nilima and I could see the dragons change as you entered their realms, so we knew when you left the waters of their dominion. Two days ago all five of them vanished.”

I blinked. “That was about the time we entered the Seventh Pagoda.”

He nodded. “We still have the sextant and the disk, but I believe those will disappear when we reenter our world. Nilima and I have speculated that there is a passageway of some kind similar to the Ugra statue and the Spirit Gate that will take our boat back into normal time.

“Tomorrow we will head to the location where we first met the red dragon and hope that it will lead us back to the Shore Temple. However, before we proceed, I would like to stay at anchor tonight and allow everyone to get a good night’s rest. I have reason to believe another battle looms in our near future, and I want us to be ready. Miss Kelsey? Perhaps it is now time to share what happened in the vision.”

I swallowed thickly and turned to face Ren and Kishan. “When you asked me before what Lokesh said, I downplayed it.”

“What do you mean?” Kishan asked.

“I … I lied.”

Ren leaned forward. “What really happened?”

“First of all, Captain Dixon is dead.”

Mr. Kadam waited a moment for them to absorb the news and then explained, “Lokesh caused the death of my friend. We watched it happen, and I feel great sorrow for his loss. My first reaction was that we should seek the rest of the crew and make sure they are all safe, but we cannot risk going back to Mahabalipuram, knowing that Lokesh was, and possibly still is, there. It’s very likely he has already murdered our entire crew. I can only hope that some of them survived, but in my heart I don’t believe they did. Still, when we are safely away, I will send agents to look for them.”

“What else?” Ren said.

“Umm … it seems he wants more than just our amulets,” I stammered and choked.

Mr. Kadam smiled in sympathy and took over. “He made overtures to Miss Kelsey. He … desires her.”

Ren abruptly stood up, and Kishan’s fists tightened.

“I will kill him,” Ren swore. “He’ll never touch her.”

“I don’t believe it is merely lust for a woman that is driving him, though that’s certainly a part of it. He sees power in Miss Kelsey, and he wishes to … sire a son from her.”

The reaction from the two men was very different. Ren was seething. His hands clenched, and his fingers curved as if he still had claws and wanted to rip something to shreds.

In contrast, Kishan despaired quietly. His face fell. “This is my fault,” he said.

I touched his arm. “Why do you say that?”

“I goaded him, pushed him when I fought him on the Baiga lands. He saw me wield thechakramwhen I was disguised as you.”

“I don’t believe that is entirely the reason,” Mr. Kadam assured. “But perhaps that adds to his perception. If I may be so bold as to hypothesize, I think he has always seen the Rajaram family as powerful, and he wants to absorb that power. He has never defeated you. You have escaped him many times, and he doesn’t like to lose. Having a son is something he’s desired for a long time, for centuries even. Back in our day, he had the same wish but with a different woman.”

“Mother,” Ren choked softly.

“Yes. He would have taken Deschen if we had not escaped, and now he seeks to take Miss Kelsey. He is on a boat, and I suspect he will be watching for our return.”

“He won’t lay a finger on her,” Kishan promised.