Tiger's Promise Read Online Free PDF Page B

farther, but I guessed only an hour had passed since I retired.
     The soft breeze carried the scent of jasmine, and I heard the unmistakable sound of
     water. A series of steps led upward from my balcony, and I suddenly realized that
     the king’s hanging garden might be just a few steps away.
    Glancing around, I willed myself invisible and, with the moon lighting my way, stepped,
     hidden, into the night.

Three
Blush
    Following the sound of the water, I crept silently up the stairs. Guards were posted
     on the parapets, but they didn’t even glance in my direction. The grit under my feet
     and the breeze on my bare skin made me feel alive. My pulse quickened as I ascended
     to the level of the guards. With a little exploration, I found another set of stairs
     not too far from where the first set ended. On the side of the stairwell, a small
     waterfall tumbled down the wall from overhead. I knew it must be coming from the hanging
     garden so I climbed higher.
    Now three levels above the sleeping chamber I’d been assigned to, I paused at a wide
     balcony and looked out over the moonlit city. Most of the lamps had been snuffed out
     for the evening, but there was enough light remaining from torches, fires, and candles
     around the buildings in the city that the dark structures below looked like they were
     lit with fireflies. As beautiful a view as it was, I was after something else.
    Quietly making my way around the corridor, I found no other set of stairs. Instead
     there were several doors. Nervous about testing them, I placed my hand on each and
     listened quietly before opening them. The first had stairs leading down. The second
     held various weapons—arrows, bows, shields, and spears. The third door was the heaviest
     and opened with a loud creak. I froze, hoping no one heard.
    When there was no telltale sign of heavy boots headed my way, I slipped inside the
     darkened doorway and found another set of stairs going up. I hesitated, thinking I
     might lose my way back, but my desire to see the garden pulled me forward, and I went
     up one step and another until I emerged at the end of a tunnel. Moonlight and the
     smell of water and green living things beckoned me forward.
    I rushed ahead and stepped through an open archway into paradise. During the day,
     the gardens must have been breathtaking, but at night, lit only by stars and moonbeams,
     the garden was magical. Each dark alcove whispered of secrets waiting for me to discover
     them.
    Rumors were that the king had wooed his late bride on the manicured paths while walking
     among the murmuring foliage. It was easy to picture a courting couple wandering beneath
     the trees, taking advantage of the enchanting concealment they offered.
    Moving deeper into the garden, I noted the thick stone pillars supported tier after
     tier of greenery that rose above me in steps like a theater. On the left was a multi-leveled
     terrace threaded through with delicate little vines. On the right was a gallery of
     living art with arched doorways leading down to other levels.
    On each echelon, there were carved statues, trickling fountains, towers of hanging
     plants, and even living sculptures made of greenery. Though there were no torches
     to offer light, the rays of the moon penetrated the leafy canopy well enough that
     I could notice nearly every detail.
    A stone walkway appeared to circumnavigate the entire garden. Around it was recently
     turned soil, dark and nutrient-rich. Crouching down, I pressed my hand into the soft
     stuff. I couldn’t find the stone floor that would support such a weight, but judging
     from the size of the trees, the largest of which had trunks wider than I was tall,
     the ceiling holding the garden must be very thick indeed, perhaps twenty feet or more.
    In the center of the garden was a massive fountain of such magnificence I spent the
     better part of an hour running my hands over the carved figures and through the water.
     Curious, I followed