or create anything made of fabric or natural fibers. It doesn’t have to reabsorb what it creates. It can, but it can also leave the thing behind, and then the creation loses the magic of the cloth. The Scarf can also be shaped to gather the winds like in the story of the Japanese god ’s bag. The third thing it can be used for is . . . changing appearance.”
“Changing appearance? What do you mean?”
“Umm, how do I describe it? Have you ever seen a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat or change a bird into a feather?”
“We did have magicians come to court occasionally. One of them changed a mouse to a dog.”
“Yes! It’s similar to that. It’s an illusion. A trick done with light and mirrors, sort of.”
“How does that work?”
“Remember the Divine Weaver said there was power in the weaving? It not only creates the clothes of that person, but it can make you look like him or her as well. The key is, you have to be specific and capture in your mind exactly who you want to look like. I’m going to try it. Watch and tell me if it works.”
I said, “Disguise, please—Nilima.”
The Scarf grew into a long piece of sparkly black fabric with colors swirling quickly through the entire piece. It glittered as if embellished with jeweled sequins that surfaced briefly and then disappeared. Light reflected and moved around the tent like thousands of prisms shooting rainbows in every direction.
I wrapped the fabric around my body and covered my entire frame, including my hair and face. My skin became warm and tingly. The swirling colors were iridescent and lit the dark small space in which I sat wrapped inside the warm blanket the Scarf had become. It was like watching my own personal laser light show. When the glow diminished, I unwrapped myself and looked at Kishan.
“Well?”
His mouth opened in shock. “Kells?”
“Yep.”
“You . . . you even sound like Nilima. You’re dressed like her.”
I looked down and found I was wearing a powder-blue silk dress that ended at my knees. My legs were bare. “I just realized that. I’m freezing!”
Kishan wrapped his coat around me then picked up my hand and examined it. “Your skin looks like hers. You even have her long painted nails. Unbelievable!”
I shivered. “Okay, demonstration done. I am seriously freezing.” I wrapped the fabric around me again and said, “Back to myself, please.” The colors began swirling again and after a long minute I removed the material and returned to looking like myself. “Now you try, Kishan. I didn’t have a mirror. I want to see how accurate it is.”
“Okay.” He took the Scarf from me and said, “Disguise— Mr. Kadam.”
He wrapped it around his entire body. When he took the fabric off a minute later, I found myself sitting across from Mr. Kadam. He looked exactly like I had last seen him. I stretched out a finger and touched his short beard.
“Wow! You really look like him!” I felt the hem of his pants. “The pants feel real. It’s a perfect replica!”
He touched his face and rubbed a hand over his close-cropped hair.
I said, “Wait a minute! You’ve even got his amulet on! Does it feel real?”
He touched the amulet and felt the chain. “It looks real, but it’s not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wore an amulet for most of my life, and when I gave you mine to wear, I could feel its absence. This one doesn’t feel real to me. It doesn’t feel powerful. Also it’s lighter in weight, and the surface is slightly different.”
“Hmm, that’s interesting. I don’t know that I can really feel the power of mine yet.”
I reached over and touched the amulet around his neck and then compared it to mine. “I think the one you are wearing is made of some kind of fabric.”
“Really?” He rubbed it between his fingers. “You’re right. The surface is slightly off. You really can’t feel the amulet’s power?”
“No.”
“Well, if you wore it for as many years as I did, you would feel it.”
“Maybe it’s something only you tigers can feel because you’re so closely associated with it.”
“Maybe. We’ll have to ask Mr. Kadam about it.”
Kishan changed back to himself. “So what exactly is your plan, Kells?”
“Well, I haven’t hammered out all the details yet, but I was thinking that maybe we could impersonate Lokesh’s guards and sneak into wherever they’re holding Ren.”
“You don’t plan to make a trade then? An amulet for Ren?”