of animals grazed lazily beneath leafy summer trees. Where we stood I could smell the scent of flowers and feel the sun warm my face, yet the wintry sleet still fell across my cheek. Kishan took a step forward, and another. He carried me into the warm paradise. My head lolled against his arm as I listened to the sound of the storm fade. The cold air grew more distant and then left with a pop. That’s when I fainted.
18
Good Things
I woke near a crackling fire at dawn. Kishan was warming his hands.
I shifted and groaned, “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself. How do you feel?”
“Umm . . . I’m feeling better actually.”
He grunted. “You started healing as soon as we entered this place.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About twelve hours. You healed here almost as fast as Ren and I do outside.”
I stretched my legs and was relieved. The pain was bad, but an infection was worse. I had been sort of counting on Kishan’s amulet to fix me, but it wasn’t working like Mr. Kadam had said. Maybe Kishan’s piece did something different. I’d gotten lucky.
“I’m starving. What’s for breakfast?” I asked.
“What would you like?”
“Hmm . . . how about some chocolate chip pancakes with a tall glass of milk.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have the same thing.”
Kishan asked the Golden Fruit to make our meal, and he hunkered down next to me to eat. I was still feeling weak and when he pulled me closer so I could lean against him, I didn’t protest. Instead, I dug happily into my pancakes.
“So, Kishan, where are we?”
“Not sure. About a mile past the spirit gate.”
“You carried me through?”
“Yes.” He set down his plate and put his arm around me. “I was afraid you would die.”
“Apparently my coming back from the dead is a common theme in these mythical cities.”
“I hope this is the last time you come close.”
“Me too. Thanks. For everything.”
“You’re welcome. By the way, it seems I can maintain human form here like Ren did in Kishkindha.”
“Really? How does it feel?”
“Strange. I’m not used to it. I keep waiting for the tiger to take over. I can still become a tiger if I wish, but I don’t have to take that form.”
“The same thing happened to Ren. Well, enjoy it while it lasts. Ren changed back the minute we left Kishkindha.”
He mumbled something and started going through the backpack.
“Can you hand me the prophecy and Mr. Kadam’s notes?” I asked. “The first order of business is to find the omphalos stone, the navel stone, the stone of prophecy. We look into it, and it shows us where to find the tree. It looks like a football standing on end with a hole in the top.”
“And what does a football look like?”
“Hmm, I guess you’d say it’s oblong shaped, but more pointy on the ends.” I stood up on shaky legs.
“Don’t you think you should rest a little bit longer?”
“I feel pretty well rested, besides, the faster we can find the stone, the sooner we can rescue Ren.”
“Alright, but we’ll go slowly. It’s pretty warm here. Wouldn’t you like to change out of your snow gear first?”
I looked down at my ripped pants. “Right.”
Kishan had removed my coat, but I was sweating in my insulated pants. He’d already changed and was now wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a black T-shirt.
“Don’t you get sick of black?”
He shrugged. “It just feels right.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ll scope out the area and see if I can find a trail for us to follow while you change.” He grinned. “And don’t worry. I won’t be peeking.”
“You’d better not.”
He laughed and walked off through the grass toward the tree line. As I changed, I marveled at my torn pants. That bear really did a number on me. I checked my leg and calf. There was no wound. Not even a scar. The skin was healthy and pink, as if it had never been damaged.
By the time Kishan came back, I’d washed using the best thing I could come up with—a pot of warm rose tea courtesy of the Golden Fruit and a T-shirt. I poured the rest of the rose tea through my hair, brushed it out, and braided it into a long tail that hung down my back. I’d just changed into a long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and hiking boots to match Kishan, when he hollered out a warning and strode into the camp. He looked me up and down with masculine approval, and smiled.