Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga #1)(15)

After taking some time to think about the pros and cons, I felt my excitement for the trip melt away my nerves. I really would like to go to India and see Ren settled on the tiger reserve. It would be an opportunity to do something that I’d never get the chance to do again.

I walked back to the tiger cage and found Mr. Kadam already there. He was alone and appeared to be talking quietly to the tiger again.

I guess he likes talking to tigers as much as I do.

Just inside the door, I paused. ‘Mr. Kadam? My foster parents would like to meet you and wanted me to invite you to my birthday celebration tonight. They’re bringing cake and ice cream after the eve-ning performance. Can you come?’

His face lit up with a radiant, delighted smile. ‘Wonderful! I would love to come to your party!’

‘Don’t get too excited. They’re likely to bring soy ice cream and gluten-free, sugar-free cupcakes.’ I laughed.

After speaking to him, I called my family to finalize the plans.



Sarah, Mike, and the kids came early to watch the show and were thoroughly impressed with Ren’s performance. They loved meeting everyone. Mr. Kadam was polite and charming and told them that it would be impossible to accomplish his task without my help.

‘I assure you that we will be in constant communication and Kelsey can call you at any time,’ he said.

Mr. Davis later added his two cents. ‘Kelsey is more than capable of doing the job as Mr. Kadam defines it. It’s essentially the same thing she’s been doing at the circus for the past two weeks. Plus it will be a great experience. I wish I could go myself.’

We all had a great time, and it was fun having a circus party. Sarah even brought normal cupcakes and my favorite brand of ice cream. It might not have been a typical eighteenth birthday, but I was content to just be with my foster family, my new friends at the circus, and my carton of Tillamook Mudslide.

After the festivities, Sarah and Mike pulled me aside and reminded me to touch base with them often during my trip to India. They could see on my face that I was determined to go, and they immediately felt as comfortable with Mr. Kadam as I did. I hugged them excitedly and went to share the good news.

Mr. Kadam beamed a happy smile and said, ‘Now, Miss Kelsey, it will take me approximately one week to arrange the transportation. I will also need to obtain a copy of your birth certificate from your guardians and arrange traveling papers for both the tiger and yourself. My plan is to leave tomorrow morning and return as soon as I have the necessary documents.’

Later, as he prepared to leave, Mr. Kadam walked over to shake my hand and held it for a minute, saying, ‘Thank you very much for your help. You have assuaged my fears and given hope to a disillusioned old man that has anticipated only calamity and disappointment.’ He squeezed my hand, patted it, and stepped quickly out the door.

With the day’s excitement behind us, I went to visit Ren. ‘Here. I snuck in a cupcake. Probably not on your tiger diet, but you might as well celebrate too, huh?’

He gently took the cupcake from my outstretched hand, swallowed it in one gulp, and then started licking frosting off my fingers. I giggled and went to wash my hand.

‘I wonder what Mr. Kadam was talking about. Calamity? Assuaged fears? He’s a bit dramatic. Wouldn’t you agree?’

I yawned and scratched him behind the ear, grinning as he leaned his head into my palm. ‘Well, I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed. We’ll have a fun trip together, won’t we?’

Stifling another yawn, I made sure he had enough water, then turned off the lights, shut the door, and headed to bed.



The next morning, I got up early to check on the tiger. I opened the doors and headed down to his cage, but found the door was open. He wasn’t there!

‘Ren? Where are you?’

I heard a noise behind me and turned around to find him lying on a pile of hay outside his cage.

‘Ren! How on earth did you get out? Mr. Davis is going to kill me! I’m sure I locked your cage door last night!’

The tiger got up and shook himself, getting most of the hay off his fur, and walked lazily over to me. It was then I realized I was alone in a barn with an uncaged tiger. I was scared out of my mind, but it was too late to head back out of the barn. Mr. Davis taught me never to look away from big cats, so I stuck out my chin, put my hands on my hips, and sternly ordered him back to his cage. The odd thing was that he seemed to understand what I wanted him to do. He walked past me, rubbed his side against my leg, and . . . obeyed! He padded slowly over to the ramp, flicked his tail back and forth while watching me, and was up and through the door in two great leaps.

I hurried over to close the door and, when it finally shut, let out a long breath. After getting his water and food for the day, I set off in search of Mr. Davis to break the news.

Mr. Davis took it pretty well considering that a tiger was loose. He was surprised that I was more concerned for Ren’s safety than my own. He assured me that I’d done the right thing and was even impressed by how I’d handled it calmly. I told him that I would be more careful and make sure that the cage was always latched properly. Still, I was certain that I hadn’t inadvertently left the cage unlocked.



The next week sped by in a blur. Mr. Kadam didn’t reappear until the evening of Ren’s last performance. He approached and asked if he could meet with me after dinner.