Colleen Houck - Tigers Curse (Tigers Curse Series #1)  

tigers curse

tigers curse

by COLLEEN HOUCK

SPLINTER
New York

tigers curse

SPLINTER
An imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

www.sterlingpublishing.com

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo
are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

Lot#:
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
11/10

SPLINTER is an imprint of Sterling Childrens Books.
SPLINTER and the distinctive Splinter logo are trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
2011 by Colleen Houck
Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing
c/o Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6

Printed in Canada
All rights reserved.

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-8403-3

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Some of the terms included in the book may be trademarks or registered trademarks.
Use of such terms does not imply any association with or endorsement by such trademark owners
and no association or endorsement is intended or should be inferred.
This book is not authorized by, and neither the Author nor the Publisher is affiliated with
the owners of the trademarks referred to in the book.

Sanskrit lettering by Hema Pendikatla.

Designed by Katrina Damkoehler.

For the Lindas in my life.
One gave me the motivation to write
and the other gave me the time.
Both I call sister.

contents

the tiger
by William Blake

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

the curse

t he prisoner stood with his hands tied in front of him, tired, beaten, and filthy but with a proud back befitting his royal Indian heritage. His captor, Lokesh, looked on haughtily from a lavishly carved, gilded throne. Tall, white pillars stood like sentinels around the room. Not a whisper of a jungle breeze moved across the sheer draperies. All the prisoner could hear was the steady clinking of Lokeshs jeweled rings against the side of the golden chair. Lokesh looked down, eyes narrowed into contemptuous, triumphant slits.

The prisoner was the prince of an Indian kingdom called Mujulaain. Technically, his current title was Prince and High Protector of the Mujulaain Empire, but he still preferred to think of himself as just his fathers son.

That Lokesh, the raja of a small neighboring kingdom called Bhreenam, had managed to kidnap the prince was not as shocking as who was sitting beside Lokesh: Yesubai, the rajas daughter and the prisoners fiance, and the princes younger brother, Kishan. The captive studied all three of them but only Lokesh returned his determined gaze. Beneath his shirt, the princes stone amulet lay cool against his skin, while anger surged through his body.

The prisoner spoke first, struggling to keep the betrayal out of his voice, Why have youmy soon-to-be-fathertreated me with such... inhospitality?

Nonchalant, Lokesh affixed a deliberate smile on his face. My dear prince, you have something I desire.

Nothing you could want can justify this. Are our kingdoms not to be joined? Everything I have has been at your disposal. You needed only to ask. Why have you done this?

Lokesh rubbed his jaw as his eyes glittered. Plans change. It seems that your brother would like to take my daughter for his bride. He has promised me certain remunerations if I help him achieve that goal.

The prince turned his attention to Yesubai, who, with cheeks aflame, assumed a demure, submissive pose with her head bowed. His arranged marriage to Yesubai was supposed to have ushered in an era of peace between the two kingdoms. He had been away for the last four months overseeing military operations on the far side of the empire and had left his brother to watch over the kingdom.

I guess Kishan was watching a little bit more than just the kingdom.

The prisoner strode fearlessly forward, faced Lokesh, and called out, You have fooled us all. You are like a coiled cobra that has been hiding in his basket, waiting for the moment to strike.

He widened his glance to include his brother and his fiance. Dont you see? Your actions have freed the viper, and we are bitten. His poison now runs through our blood, destroying everything.

Lokesh laughed disdainfully and spoke, If you agree to surrender your piece of the Damon Amulet, I might be persuaded to allow you to live.

To live? I thought we were bartering for my bride.

Im afraid your rights as a betrothed husband have been usurped. Perhaps I havent been clear. Your brother will have Yesubai.

The prisoner clenched his jaw, and said simply, My fathers armies would destroy you if you killed me.

Lokesh laughed. He certainly would not destroy Kishans new family. We will simply placate your dear father and tell him that you were the victim of an unfortunate accident.

He stroked his short, stippled beard and then clarified, Of course, you understand, that even should I allow you live, I will rule both kingdoms. Lokesh smiled. If you defy me I will forcibly remove your piece of the amulet.

Kishan leaned toward Lokesh and protested stiffly, I thought we had an arrangement. I only brought my brother to you because you swore that you would not kill him! You were to take the amulet. Thats all.

Lokesh shot out his hand as quickly as a snake and grabbed Kishans wrist. You should have learned by now that I take whatever I want. If you would prefer the view from where your brother is standing, I would be happy to accommodate you.

Kishan shifted in his chair but kept silent.

Lokesh continued. No? Very well, I have now amended our former arrangement. Your brother will be killed if he does not comply with my wishes, and you will never marry my daughter unless you hand over your piece of the amulet to me as well. This private arrangement of ours can easily be revoked, and I can have Yesubai married to a different mana man of my