Chapter 28 #2
“That’s right!” He laughed. “And are you hungry for them? Let’s show them we are as we watch the hunt!
Five will go in, but only one will come out!
Place your bets. Which one will it be? For this arena you can bet on color!
A special treat. Your choices are gold, red, silver, and oh, let’s call this last one pearl.
Or is it fawn? I just can’t decide. Such a beauty though. Am I right?”
Stacia watched in horror as four cages were wheeled up to the arena.
The announcer continued, “And for those of you who enjoy bettering on an underdog, you can select white. Who knows? Maybe this stag has a few magical gifts of his own up his sleeve. Better hurry. The doors are opening now. Stakes will raise soon.”
Stacia?
She heard Iriko’s voice, though he felt far away and . . . and something was different about him. It was almost like he was throwing his emotions onto her. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck raised, as did gooseflesh on her arms and legs. Her heart raced, and she felt a desperate need to pace.
I’m here, she called out in her mind. Try to calm yourself. We’re going to get you out of here.
It’s too much, he said. Too much pain. They’re cast off. Angry. They need a home. I can’t provide for them. They hunger. They need . . . they need so much.
Who hungers? What are you talking about?
Too late. I can’t stop them. They’ll kill each other if we don’t do something. I’m not right. I can’t hold them.
Do you mean your captors? The vodnik?
No. Not them. They mean nothing. Sold me and walked away. Help them. Please, Red. What I did was wrong. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t mean to do what he did. They can’t help themselves.
Just tell me what to do, Iriko.
Oh no. It’s too late.
She heard a blast from the horns, and the gates were opened.
The stag lifted his head. His nostrils widened as he scented danger.
He froze, but only for an instant, then he turned and bound like lightning up the side of the cliff.
Higher and higher he climbed, rocks tumbling beneath his hooves until he stood atop the edge of the mountainside, where the water spilled over onto the boulders below in a glorious shower.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the trees, Stacia spied movement.
A tawny flash sped through the underbrush.
She heard a roar. Bushes shook, and then her eyes spied another large shape.
This one, she knew well. The silver-and-black coat was barely visible, but she knew what to look for and she spotted him.
How are you seeing? Stacia asked him as she watched him move carefully in and out of the tree line.
I’m using their eyes, he said simply.
The tawny-white cat pushed in front of him.
She was beautiful. Smaller than Iriko, but lithe and lean.
Stacia was transfixed, watching her slink in the shadows as she hunted.
Iriko trailed behind her. Then, on the opposite side of the arena, she spotted another cat.
This one was orange, no, red, and it was bigger than the one hunting with Iriko. It was . . . it seemed . . . familiar.
Stacia’s breath caught, and her heart started beating hard in her chest.
No. It can’t be!
It is, Iriko said. She’s your cat.
But how? How did she get here?
I don’t know. But she’s feral. My cat says if she kills, she’ll be broken. Gone. A wild thing forever. There’ll be no bringing her back. No taming her.
But what do we do? How do we stop her?
He doesn’t know. We’ve been trying to communicate, but they seem . . . lost. Like they don’t know who they are.
The red cat leaped from the trees into the clearing and faced down Iriko.
She snarled, baring her teeth in challenge.
Then she lowered her head, smelling him and seemed to find him familiar somehow.
As if changing her mind, she switched direction and bound the other way, tracking the stag.
But right behind her, a golden tiger paced out of the trees.
She lifted her head and grimaced, tasting the air.
Ignoring Iriko, she turned and raked her claws down the tree, then snarled viciously at the cream-colored tiger standing behind him before disappearing down the trail after the red tiger. Stacia watched the very familiar animal, her heart hurting for her missing sister.
“Oh, Veru, where are you?” she whispered.
But who is the tiger staying with you? Stacia asked. Who does she belong to?
There was a long pause, and then Iriko finally answered. I guess you could call her my penance.
I don’t understand. What do you mean?
I can’t be certain. It’s been a long time. But if I’m right, this is the tiger that belonged to my sister. I think—I think I’m meant to return her home.
Stacia took a long look at that cream tiger with the tawny stripes, and she could almost see the proud older sister who’d drowned to save her baby brother.
She could also hear in Iriko’s voice how desperate he was to save her, or at least her tiger, in return.
The tsarevna sucked in a breath. What do you want me to do? she asked.
Just help me try to get through to them. At the very least, we can’t let them kill the stag, he said. No matter how hungry they are.
Okay, Stacia said. She looked around. No problem. I just need to keep three hungry tigers away from their supper.
There was no hiding for the beautiful stag. His white coat stood out against the gray mountains. Perhaps if they were covered with snow, she thought, he’d have a better chance of hiding.
Just as she imagined the stag hidden in a winter background, the clouds turned dark, and snow began falling. Lightly at first, and then thicker. Soon the arena was dusted with snow, showing clear pugmarks where the tigers marked their trails.
Right, Stacia thought. Zima must be watching.
Belting her pelisse tightly, she measured the distance between the scaffold and the cliff peak where the stag hid.
If she was careful, she might make it without breaking a leg, but if she mistimed it, she’d be hurting.
She was about to jump when there was a stirring in her pocket.
“What’s that?” she said, wrenching open her coat, only then remembering she had a stowaway who’d been very quiet since she’d disappeared.
“Belizna! Don’t want to die with me? I don’t blame you. Fine. Hop out. Hopefully, I’ll find you later.”
The ermine scurried out of the pocket, squeaking as it did, and hopped madly over to a section of scaffolding that had a dangling section of rope. She leaped onto it, grabbing the end in her sharp teeth, and dove over the side into midair.
“Oh no!” Stacia cried.
Wispy clouds obscured her view, so Stacia put her hands on the rope, hoping to pull the little ermine back to safety, but when she tugged, something tugged back.
She let go, not knowing what to do, and then tried again a moment later.
This time, when she yanked on the rope, it was tighter.
She pulled harder and found it was so tight it wouldn’t give at all.
“Belizna!” she called softly over the edge of the scaffolding, but she didn’t hear a squeak of any kind.
She stood back, waiting for the clouds to clear a bit so she could jump, and kept herself occupied by thinking of how she’d apologize to Zakhar and Zima for killing their pet, if she herself should survive, when she saw the rope bouncing wildly.
A moment later, the little ermine leaped up onto the scaffold and into Stacia’s arms, having climbed the rope on her own.
“You smart girl,” Stacia said.
The wispy clouds cleared then, and the tsarevna could see what the ermine had done. The rope had been secured to some rocks below. “Clever beastie,” she said. “Why don’t you ride down in my pocket, then?”
She put Belizna inside Father Frost’s cloak and then lifted one leg and then her second over the rail.
Gripping the rope with both hands, she closed her eyes and prayed her sister wasn’t doing anything nearly as foolhardy or dangerous; then she leaped, wrapping her legs around the rope and sliding down two stories to the top of a mountain in an arena filled with thousands of spectators, wild tigers, and a stag so frightened he’d probably impale her the moment she came too close.
Thankfully, Belizna had wedged the rope between the mountain and a very large boulder.
Unfortunately, what was strong enough to hold an ermine wasn’t always strong enough to hold a tsarevna.
The rope gave way and came loose when she was just nearing the top.
Stacia screamed as she careened out over nothing.
Her boots came in contact with a boulder when she swung back, but her hands, which were now raw and blistered from sliding down, threatened to slip off at any second.
She bounced and spun out a second time. The third time she was determined to make it meaningful and pushed on the boulder deliberately.
She got enough power behind the push to swing far enough out to kick herself back to safety, but the boulder shifted, and she knew it would fall.
Desperately, she dropped the rope and grabbed on to the boulder, finding one handhold but slipping until her boots caught.
Quickly, she climbed and leaped just as the boulder tumbled out from beneath her, rolling down the mountainside in a great tumble of rocks and debris.
Stacia! Iriko cried out.
I’m fine, she managed to tell him as she lay in an awkward position, panting. She heard a noise above her and saw the stag, leaping even higher, trying desperately to get away from the newcomer who had just destroyed his ledge of safety.
At least the polar bear fur acts as a nice cushion, she thought as she laid there, trying to assess her body for damage.
Polar bear fur? Iriko said.
I’ll tell you later.