Tiger's Voyage (35 page)

I bit my lip, imagining climbing that sheer face. Then I heard the noise—a deep rhythmic whoosh. In … out. In … out. The sun was just over the island, and it was too bright for me to see the peak. In … out. In … out. I shaded my eyes and blinked several times. “Is … is that a—”

Kishan answered, “Yeah. It’s a tail.”

Our blue dragon was wrapped around a castle ruin on top of the island, snoring. Puffs of fog streamed out of its nostrils as it slept. We all stood there in silence, staring at the snuffling blue dragon.

“What are we supposed to do?” I asked.

Kishan shrugged. “I don’t know. Should we wake it?”

“I guess we have to. Otherwise, who knows how long it’ll sleep.”

I shouted up at the creature, “Great dragon! Please awake!”

Nothing happened. Ren shouted, “Wake, dragon!”

Kishan cupped his hands and hollered, bellowing in a deep voice. He switched to a tiger and roared so loudly, I pressed my hands to my ears. We tried shouting together. We tried both Ren and Kishan roaring. Finally, Mr. Kadam went below and rang the ship’s foghorn. The blast of noise was loud enough that rocks tumbled from the top of the mountain.

A great, rumbling bass voice echoed the foghorn as it reverberated in our heads.

What … do you want?
it said grumpily.
Can’t you see you’re disturbing
my res-s-st?

The mountain vibrated, causing the water at the bottom to ripple.

Ren shouted, “Your brother, Lóngjūn, has sent us. He said we must seek your aid in retrieving Durga’s Necklace.”

I don’t care what you seek. I’m tired. Go away, and bother me no more.

Kishan stepped forward. “We cannot turn back. We need your help, dragon.”

Yes. You do. But
I
don’t need
you.
Leave me now, or suffer the wrath of Qīnglóng.

I answered, “Then we must risk your wrath, Qīnglóng, for we can’t leave. But perhaps, there is something we can do for you, something to make helping us worth your time.”

And what could
you
do for
me,
little girl?

The mountain rumbled as the blue dragon unwound its upper body from the tower and dropped down closer to us. Though similar in size to its brother, this blue dragon looked different. Its head was longer, narrowing more at the nose. Instead of a black beard, its cheeks and brow were covered with feathers that swept away from its face and shimmered like fish scales in brilliant blues and purples.

Similar feathers flowed down the spine of its back and fanned out at its tail and limbs like the hair around a Clydesdale horse’s hoof. Sharp golden talons gripped the air, opening and closing while it swayed back and forth above us like the tail of a kite caught in a tree. Its scaly skin was brilliant blue, and as it hissed in vexation, the feathers along its back and the top of its head stood up like a crested cockatoo’s.

Yellow eyes peered at me and a purple tongue pressed against long white teeth as it spoke again in my mind.

Well? Are you just going to stand there like a fish with its mouth opening
and closing, or are you going to answer me?
It suddenly jerked closer and bit the air near us. Its jaws snapped together like a bear trap, and I heard its laughter.
That’s as I thought. You’re too weak to do anything for me.

Ren and Kishan immediately responded by leaping in front of me and changing to tigers. They both roared and swiped claws angrily near the dragon’s nose.

It wasn’t enough to frighten the dragon, but it was enough to catch its interest. It leaned closer and puffed foggy air over us. Cold dew settled over my skin, and I shivered. Ren and Kishan changed back to men but continued to stand in front of me. I stepped between them.

“Give us a task to prove ourselves,” I suggested bravely.

The dragon clicked its tongue and twisted its head.
What could you
possibly accomplish, young woman?

“You’d be surprised.”

The dragon grunted and yawned.
Very well. Your challenge will be to
make the journey up to my mountain temple. If you can do that, I will help
you. If you can’t … well … let’s just say you won’t be worrying too much
about the Necklace anymore.

It rose in the air and began to coil around the temple again.

“Wait!” I shouted. “How do we get up there?”

There is an underwater tunnel with steps leading up, but you must get
past my guardian first, and it’s not as … accommodating as I am.

Desperate, I questioned, “Who guards you?”

Yāo guài yóu yú.

I whispered to Ren, “What does that mean?”

“Uh … it’s something like a devil squid.”

Qīnglóng snorted.
Bah! It’s called the kraken. Now, be off with you.

The dragon’s soft laugh soon turned into a snore. I watched for a moment as fog drifted lightly from his nostrils and dissipated into the blue sky.

Kishan and Ren began heading toward the ladder.

I leaned over the side and asked, “Where are you two going?”

Kishan looked up. “To suit up. Looks like we’re diving.”

“Oh … no … you … don’t! Didn’t you hear what it just said?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you did. The dragon said there’s a kraken down there.”

Kishan shrugged his shoulders. “And?”

“And … the kraken is huge! There’s no way we can fight it!”

“Kelsey, calm down. Just come down here, and we’ll talk about it. There’s no need to get hysterical.”

“Hysterical? This isn’t even close to being hysterical. Have you ever seen a kraken in the movies? No, you haven’t, but I have. They destroy whole ships! A couple of tigers would be like kibble! I insist we plan with Mr. Kadam before you two jump into the water.”

Ren was standing on the deck, and Kishan landed next to him with a quiet thump. They both looked up and gestured for me to come down.

“Promise me you know what you’re doing.”

Kishan said, “What we’re doing is getting the Necklace, Kells. Now come down so we can talk to Kadam.”

“I don’t know if I can be of assistance, Miss Kelsey,” Mr. Kadam said, rubbing his temple dubiously.

“What! What do you mean you don’t know? You know
everything
!”

“All I know about the kraken is what I’ve seen in movies and the little bits and pieces I’ve already told you. Nothing can kill it. It’s immortal. It’s originally from a Norse myth, described as a giant tentacled beast that attacks ships. It’s likely based on the giant squid. They were considered fantasy until recent years when a couple of them washed onto beaches.”

“That’s it? There’s nothing else? How do we fight it?”

Mr. Kadam sighed. “I only know a few middling facts. In the myth, when the kraken opens its mouth, water boils. When it raises its head above water, the stink of it is more terrible than any living creature can endure. Its eyes have great illuminating power; when they shine it’s like looking into the sun. The only things I’ve ever heard it’s afraid of are kilbits.”

“What are kilbits?”

“Mythological creatures resembling giant worms that latch onto the gills of large fishes, similar to marine leeches, though marine leeches are small enough that they’re unlikely to frighten a kraken.”

“That’s it? You want us to fight a kraken with worms?”

“Sorry, Miss Kelsey. There is a poem about a sea creature called Leviathan that some also call the kraken …”

Mr. Kadam picked up a book, turned a page, and began to read:

From
THE
MARRIAGE
OF
HEAVEN
AND
HELL
by William Blake

But now, from between the black & white spiders,
a cloud and fire burst and rolled thro’ the deep black’ning all beneath,
so that the nether deep grew black as a sea, & rolled with a terrible noise;
beneath us was nothing now to be seen but a black tempest,
till looking east between the clouds & the waves,
we saw a cataract of blood mixed with fire,
and not many stones’ throw from us appear’d and sunk again
the scaly fold of a monstrous serpent;
at last, to the east, distant about three degrees
appear’d a fiery crest above the waves;
slowly it reared like a ridge of golden rocks,
till we discover’d two globes of crimson fire,
from which the sea fled away in clouds of smoke;
and now we saw, it was the head of Leviathan;
his forehead was divided into streaks of green & purple
like those on a tyger’s forehead:
soon we saw his mouth & red gills
hang just above the raging foam
tinging the black deep with beams of blood,
advancing toward us
with all the fury of a spiritual existence.

I sat back in my chair and reached for Kishan’s hand. “Well, that’s just great. Monstrously vague. Terrifically amorphous.”

When Mr. Kadam began describing theories and comparisons between the creature known as Leviathan and the monster called the kraken, I noticed Ren running his fingers over another book that he had set discreetly on the floor.

I turned to him and asked, “What is it, Ren? If you’ve found something else, you might as well share it.”

“It’s nothing. Just a poem that I’d found.”

Despite my love of his reading voice, the passage gave me chills.

THE
KRAKEN
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening open huge sea worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.

Mr. Kadam pressed his fingers together and tapped his mouth in deep thought. “That final part references the end of the world. Supposedly the kraken, or the Leviathan, will rise from the deep in the last days. Then it will finally be destroyed, and the world will be forever at rest. There are biblical references to the Leviathan being the mouth of hell or even Satan himself.”

“Alright. Stop right there. That’s enough for me. It’s bad enough thinking of fighting demons without dragging the devil into it. I’d rather be surprised. The more I learn, the scarier it gets, so let’s just get this over with.”

I took the Golden Fruit, my weapons, and the Divine Scarf and rushed down the stairs with everyone chasing after me.

“Kelsey! Wait up!”

Kishan quickly caught up, and Ren was right on his tail. Mr. Kadam puffed down the stairs behind us, but we soon outpaced him. I slammed into the wet garage like a hurricane and picked up my wet suit. Ren and Kishan were resigned to my actions at this point, and picked up their wet suits without protest and headed to the changing rooms. When I emerged, they were ready. Kishan had tied his
chakram
at his waist and the
kamandal
hung from a thong around his neck.

Ren left the
gada
but took the trident. I decided to leave my bow and arrows behind because they wouldn’t work underwater anyway and felt pretty naked with no weapon except my lightning power. Kishan pushed the button that opened the ship’s garage door. The fog was appearing again. Apparently, our resident dragon’s snoring was creating the miasma that seemed to seep into my bones. The normally blue-green warm water seemed gray and cold. Bubbles hissed and popped on the surface, and I allowed my mind to create the terrifying monster below.

I imagined the kraken waiting just beneath the water, gaping, toothy mouth open, patiently waiting for me to step off the boat and into his terrible maw. I shuddered. Just then, Mr. Kadam hurried in to hand Fanindra to me. I slid her up my arm and felt better knowing she would be with me. Ren approached and strapped the diving knife to my leg while Kishan handed me my mask and snorkel.

“Do you think she can breathe underwater?” I asked Mr. Kadam.

“She was twisted up, ready to go when I went to get her. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Ren and Kishan didn’t want to be hindered by the tanks just yet. This was to be an exploratory dive. We were just going to scope out the island and look for the underwater opening. If we needed the tanks we’d come back. I sat on the edge looking up at the jutting, rocky island and put on my fins. Ren went first, followed by Kishan. They looked around and gave me the thumbs-up sign. I pushed off with my hands and slipped into the cold, gray water.

After clearing my mask, I started off toward the island following Ren. Kishan stayed behind me. The water was calm if not clear. The island looked like a giant mountainous column just sitting in the middle of the ocean. There was no sandbar, no gentle slope of land. It just went on below the water as far as I could see. It wasn’t very big either, maybe the size of a football field. It took only an hour or so to swim all the way around the outside.

We studied the surface above as much as below, and it wasn’t until we were ready to return to the ship that we found the underwater entrance. After Ren did a short exploration, he confirmed that we would need diving gear. The only good news was there was no sign of the creature.

I’d exited the ship in a rush of reckless bravado, but now that I’d been in the water for a while, I felt my bluster diminish, washed away by the lapping ocean tide. I accepted the fact that I was afraid. Deathly

afraid. I nervously stammered in an attempt at humor. “He’s probably just waiting for all three of us. He’d rather get the combo special. A chicken, a cheese,
and
a beef enchilada. I’m the chicken, by the way.”