Tiger Spring

Tygra stared at the stack of papers on the table not knowing where to begin. With his uncle Trel no longer a threat, the days had flowed into an unending river of duties as new challenges occupied his mind. Being a mystic in training, he had spent many hours in the temple of Mrísena honing his healing techniques. Although Talitha had taught him well, a variety of teachers had helped him to improve swiftly. They also worked with him to move beyond the grief he had carried for his aunt Kalyn'ri and the fallen innocents of the house of Trel.

Under his aunt Te'sara's decree, he had spent time in the company of a white tigress who had the aura sight like his mother. Elma was not a mystic, but she could pinpoint the disruptions of the body with great skill. Working with her proved more difficult, for his power to see the aura had developed unevenly. Perhaps it was because of fear. Some with the special gift eventually lost their sight. To see the world only in splotches of color against unending blackness held no appeal for him. That Elma could see clearly gave him hope that the rare affliction would not touch him.

Although Lion-o had many of his own clan to advise him, the youth still favored his advice. This work he performed willingly and with pride. His attention drifted back to the papers. The plans for the fields needed little work. He hoped the seeds for the bio-engineered plants, which provided the necessary protein supplement for the population, would germinate easily.

The citizenry had adapted well to their new homes. That the shorter seasons of Third Earth might effect Thunderan biology was something he still wished to evaluate. He reached for the medical reports. Females were coming into fertility at rates higher than expected. Many had chosen to act upon their desires. Swelling bellies would soon abound on the streets of Lion-o's city. According to his calculations, Talitha would soon reach fertility again. He wondered whether she might have already crossed into that state. Her scent seemed to have enriched in spiciness. She was on temple duty for the next seven suns, and so, he could not judge if the change existed, or was just his wishful thinking. At night he burned with her touch in erotic dreams, and his desires had deepened to a frustrating level. He could not guess whether she would chose pregnancy. It was a matter they had avoided discussing before her departure, and he had no wish to intrude upon her mind despite his curiosity.

The cottage walls closed in on him. He pushed aside the additional matters he needed to address as a new clan lord. Fresh air was the remedy to his lethargy and prickliness, he decided, setting aside his reading glasses.

A brisk breeze reminded him that winter had not quite finished with the Felinari despite the date on the calendar. Tygra wandered around his awakening garden. The architect was unsure of when he noticed the first tiny shoots that heralded the coming of spring. He knelt to examine some plants. The world prepared for new life. He straightened, brushing the dirt from his trousers. He reached for the sun, grateful to stretch. He continued to move in a slow, methodical manner in a routine Talitha practiced every morning. He had generally neglected exercise. Now he carried extra weight as the price of his laziness. He had to admit that he had ignored mirrors, but his tightening clothes demanded that he address his poundage. If Panthro were to see his softness, he feared that he would never get any sleep. The warrior would have him running with the guard at every free moment until he had regained his fighting form.

A muscle in his abdomen cramped. Cursing his lack of fitness, Tygra tried to work through the ache, but to his dismay, it only grew. Suddenly he was on his knees grabbing fruitlessly at the sharp pain in his gut. The daylight dimmed, and the bewildered architect sank into darkness.

*****

There was soup on the boil. Tygra awakened. A light blanket covered his nakedness. He sat on the large, ugly chair he kept by the hearth. The shadows of afternoon stretched across the living room of the cottage. He glanced at the person beside the fireplace. "If you are wondering about your clothes, you soiled them," Tir'shan announced with nonchalance. The mystic ladled soup from the cooking pot into a deep bowl. "You'll need to eat this," he added firmly. "Stay where you are. I will bring it to you."

"No need," Tygra answered as he stood. He swayed with the room, and dropped back onto the chair.

"I warned you," the giant complained. He placed the bowl on a side table, and dragged it carefully over to Tygra.

The architect studied his hands. They were shaking slightly.

"Would you like me to feed you?"

The question was an innocent one, but Tygra snapped, "No."

"Suit yourself." The mystic pulled up another chair and took his place at the table. "Anymore pain?" he asked.

As much as he wished it, Tygra could not form a biting reply. "No!"

Tir'shan said softly to him, "Talitha has stopped bleeding, but we have yet to ascertain why she hemorrhaged."

"Fifty demons!" the architect gasped.

Tir'shan worried the border of his blue sleeve. "She was in early fertility, Tygra. You were not too...rough with her, were you?"

She could not have been pregnant! The architect could not speak in his defense. The shocking news brought tears to his eyes. With all of their duties, they had not joined for some suns. The lack of intimacy had certainly whipped his desire into wild peaks.

"Forgive me," Tir'shan said as he stood. "I have been a fool to have thought that of you." The mystic paced by the fireplace, the hem of his robe brushing the stones gently. "She may have miscarried, Tygra. We are not certain of that, or even if she remains in her cycle. Tomorrow, when she is stronger, we will examine her in the Circle. That will give us the answers we need, so do not fret."

"I want to see her," Tygra demanded, not bothering to refute Tir'shan's assessment.

The giant sighed. "I told Te'sara that you would say that, but she would not listen. Our leader insists that you stay here for now."

Mustering his strength Tygra managed to stand, although unsteadily. "I am leaving for the temple of Mrísena now!"

"Than you should put on some clothes," his accomplice replied warmly.

*****

Tygra had kept watch at Talitha's side all night. With dawn approaching he prayed he could stay awake during her healing. He studied his mate. Her breathing was regular and strong, and her sleep was deep. The mystics had aided her slumber, of that he was certain. He surmised that her lack of consciousness would also prevent him from physically responding to her healing through their bond, a blessing for them both.

"It's time."

He had not heard Tir'shan enter the room. The giant scooped up the sleeping white tigress from the bed as easily as a cloth doll. Dutifully Tygra followed him down to the healing chamber.

"You must wait outside."

"No!" Tygra snapped.

"The Circle cannot do its work with you present. You would be a distraction we cannot afford."

"But--"

"It is also Te'sara's order, and if you ever hope to take the mystic oath, you would do well to heed the word of our council leader."

Tygra felt the strength behind Tir'shan's sky blue eyes. He had not adequately rested. As much as he wished to protest, the architect lowered his head in submission.

"That's wise," Tir'shan replied. "With me as the purifier of the power of our best mystics, and Te'sara as the power channel, you have nothing to fear, Tygra. You will be laughing with Talitha by this afternoon, and your only concern may be whether you wish to sire a cub."

The tiger sat on the cold stone floor, his legs having grown too heavy to stand. He prayed to Mrísena as Tir'shan disappeared into the darkened healing chamber. Giving up the fight, Tygra finally drifted off to sleep.

*****

A manicured path cut through a garden laden with sweet smelling blossoms of purple and white. The sky was a pleasing swath of blue pebbled with clouds. A gentle breeze played with his chest fur. Tygra smiled as he entered a clearing. The sun warmed the black fabric of his o'ba'ti and the leather straps of his sandals. He reclined on the grass, and ran his fingers through the clear water filling a tiled pool. Golden fish scattered. You're too small to eat, he thought with amusement.

*You might try this.*

* Talitha!* Her rainbow o'ba'ti shifted color as she approached carrying a basket, which he hoped contained his favorite delicacies. She set the basket by the pool, then rested beside him. Her spicy scent competed with the aromas of a feast, a double-edged sword.

The architect reached for her graceful hand. The sky darkened. He watched her skin decompose. He cast himself into the blackness of the void to forget and to escape.

*****

Somewhere in eternity he found himself again, and remembered what he had seen. The screams came easily now. Blows suddenly stung his face, silencing him. Tygra grabbed the offending hand, prepared to snap it off at the wrist. "Enough!" the warrior woman shouted.

"Willa!" Tygra exclaimed, letting her go. He pulled himself off a chair. How had he gotten into another section of the temple? He noted the growing shadows of afternoon filtering through a colored glass window. "What in the seven hells happened to the day?"

"I was too late to warn them," the dark-haired warrior said, standing beside him.

Sinking fear filled his stomach. "Talitha...."

"Is alive, and resting, as your bond should attest. It was Te'sara and Tir'shan who took the brunt of Mumm-Ra's evil."

Tygra leaned against the stone wall. He ran his fingers through his mane in confusion, the last vestiges of sleep still tarnishing his mind. He reached for his mate with his thoughts, and confirmed what Willa had told him. Satisfied of his lover's safety, he shifted his attention to the plight of the mystics. "My aunt, and Tir'shan--"

"Have already recovered. The others in the Circle saw to them quickly."

He began to speak, but Willa silenced him with a gesture. "Permission has been given. You must come back with me to the village of the warrior women for an explanation. A journey awaits."

*****

Twilight came to the forest. From Willa's house high in the canopy, Tygra followed the night as it crept across the sky.

"I know it is difficult to believe that Mumm-Rana cannot help, but that is how it is," Willa said. She spread a map across a wicker table. "The priestess felt Talitha's pain, and tried to transport me to the temple before the healing. She knew there would be backlash from their approach. Unfortunately, she was distracted by other problems. Many think Meryt ineffectual, but she fights the Evil One almost every moment of her existence across the planes of reality. Seti would cause greater harm were it not for her constant struggles."

The architect left the balcony and sidled up to the warrior woman. Candles cast soft light. "The dagger conjured by Mumm-Ra, and wielded by Slythe to kill your daughter and injure your mate so many moons ago, left a taint deeply hidden in Talitha's womb. Meryt's magic cannot remove it. It is an evil seed that only needed the renewed flow of fertility to activate it. Left unchecked, the cancer within Talitha will devour her. The mystics terminated Talitha's current cycle of fertility, which forced the seed back into dormancy. However, they could not destroy it. Only the Guardians have magic strong enough to undo Mumm-Ra's spell because they come from the stars.

"The Guardians. We know a little about them from obscure references in the books of the unicorn keepers. Cheetara thought they might be legends. Are you telling me that they are real?" Tygra asked, wondering what other secrets the warrior women held.

Willa nodded gravely. "Life would have ended on this world centuries ago were it not for their intervention. As it happened, many new life forms arose because of them." She pointed to a spot on her map. "Those of us entrusted with this knowledge are few. Talitha must go to their domain to be healed. Only their touch can remove the taint."

Tygra traced the letters and lines on the papyrus. "It is south of the Lair, but quite a distance away."

"Indeed. The path through the forest is treacherous. That is why I will guide you both. But there is also another matter: the Oath."

"Oath?"

"The Sanctuary is hidden. All who enter must take the oath, and bear the mark. Where the Guardians still dwell must remain a secret for the benefit of all."

"When can we leave?"

"As I have said before, whether mystic leader or king, permission has been granted by those in authority who now also have the secret. The decision of when to begin the journey is up to you."

"No," the architect replied thoughtfully. "Talitha, who carries the dark, must decide."