Tiger Prince

"Then what satisfaction would I receive?"

He smiled. "I'm a ru

"Is it an interesting story?"

"At the time it was harrowing rather than interesting. I was nineteen and still had a few lessons to learn." He began to deal the cards. "But I'll make it entertaining tor you."

She was sure he would do that. He would amuse and intrigue, cloaking the grimness of the tale in glittering eloquence, but perhaps she might catch glimpses of that younger, more vulnerable Ruel.

"Well?" Ruel picked up his cards.

She had never felt more confident or sure of her own strength of will than she had these past days. He could no longer hurt her, so why shouldn't she satisfy her curiosity about him?

"Why not?" She moved across the room toward him. "As you say, it will pass the time."

"Jane is with Ruel at the summerhouse," Margaret said as she watched Kartauk pack the sand around the mold of Ian's seal.

"Oh?" He raised a shaggy brow. "And is that troubling your stern Scottish morality?"

"No, though I suppose it should. I'm afraid he's going to hurt her."

"Leave them alone, Margaret. You can't save the world."

"Only a heathen does not try to change bad to good." She wearily shook her head. "But sometimes the fines become blurred, don't they?"

"Good God, I believe I detect a softening in that rigid backbone. Jane's not nearly so vulnerable as she used to be, and she and Ruel must play out what's between them in their own way and time. Neither of them would thank you for interfering."

"Ruel is—"

"Many things," Kartauk interrupted. "And will be many more before he is fully formed. It will be interesting to watch."

"You don't think he's wicked?"

"Ruel?" He shook his head. "I don't doubt he believes he is, but he doesn't know the meaning of wickedness."

"And you do?"

"Oh, yes, I studied under a master."

"Abdar?"

He nodded. "A true and complete monster."

It was the first time he had made more than a passing mention of Abdar. She asked curiously, "Then why did you stay so long with him?"

"My work was principally done for his father, the maharajah, and I had little to do with Abdar until the year before I left the palace. Then the maharajah became interested in his railroad and Abdar received permission to have my services put at his disposal." He shrugged. "After six months I decided I could stomach no more and departed."

"What work did you do for him?"

"I did a statue of his favorite goddess, Kali. It was quite a splendid effort."

"Kali?"

"The goddess of destruction. Abdar regards himself as her true son, sent to earth to do her work." His lips set grimly. "But he also believes that his power must be constantly fed. That's why he needed me;"

"To create statues?"

"No." He paused. "Masks."

"Masks?"

"Masks of gold." He turned to look at her. "Are you sure you wish to hear this? It's not a pretty tale."

"Yes, go on."

"Abdar believes his power is strengthened by the emotion of those around him, and the stronger the soul, the more powerful emotion to feed on. But emotions are fleeting and Abdar grew more and more irritated. He decided he needed to stabilize the emotion, freeze it so that he could draw on it at any time." He lifted a brow. "And what better method to freeze an emotion than death?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"You wanted to hear it. Abdar believed if he could capture that last tremendous burst of emotion and energy, he could draw it into himself."

"Death masks," she whispered. "He had you create death masks?"

"I did three for him. The first was of one of his concubines, a young woman named Mirad. Her body was brought to me early one morning by Pachtal, and I was told the woman had died during the night of a seizure and Abdar wished a mask in gold to remember her by. It had to be of gold because it was the purest and most immortal of metals. I made the mask. Actually, it turned out very well. The woman was beautiful and her expression sad but serene.

A week later Pachtal brought me another dead woman with the same story. This mask was much harder to do. The muscles of her face were twisted, frozen in an expression of pain and terror."

"Another death so soon?"

"I found it odd as well, but I didn't allow myself the indulgence of questioning him. The third body that was brought to me was that of a young boy no more than eleven or twelve, and his face—" His lips thi

"An hour later Abdar paid me a visit and told me that I would make his masks and ask no questions or he would cut off my hands. I was to be the divine tool of Kali and create him masks with which to surround himself so that he could look on them and draw their energy into himself."

"He murdered them?" she whispered.

"Oh yes, with Pachtal's help. Pachtal experimented with various poisons to get the exact effect Abdar wanted. Abdar told me he had decided that pain gave the greatest explosion of energy, so he had Pachtal accommodate him with a poison that induced the required result."

She felt sick. "You're right. They are monsters. And Ruel believes Abdar will come here?"

He nodded. "That's why he's working so hard to be prepared for him. He wants to bring a final end to Abdar."

Her gaze searched his face. "That is why you came to Ci

"I admit I think the world would be a brighter place without him. I'm tired of hiding my glorious light under a basket." He met her gaze. "But that's not why I came."

"Then why did—" She inhaled sharply. Another precipice. These days it seemed every word and gesture could become fraught with danger in the space of a heartbeat. It was a moment before she could look back down at the mold in the box. "When do we pour the gold?"

"Soon." He said slowly. "It's unwise to lack patience in these matters even when it's difficult to wait."

Ruel's gaze narrowed on Jane's face. "You're bluffing." He spread out his hand. "Two kings. Call."

Jane threw down her cards in disgust. "How did you know? I thought I was getting better."

"You are." He gathered up the cards. "No outward signs. If I hadn't known you, I might have been fooled."

"Then how did you know, blast it."

"Instinct. With some people you can sense their tension. It's nothing you can put your finger on."

Well, he could certainly sense her emotions, she thought ruefully. She had won only four games out of the many they had played in the past day and a half. It should have been an exasperating experience, and yet for some reason she had not found it so. "Instinct? You can't be that good. I probably twitched an eyebrow or something. I'll watch it next time. Deal."

He set the cards on the table. "Later. Time for your nap."

"I'm not tired. Deal."

"Later," he repeated. "Right now you rest."