Surrounding the houses were fields where the Akha grew vegetables and rice or raised pigs and chickens. In the center of the village there was a huge fire pit. Off to the side, a wooden tower rose high above the houses.
Men stopped their work in the fields to watch them as they approached. Children ventured from the village to gawk at them. Women came, too, dressed in indigo tunics they'd decorated with silver beads, coins, and shells. The sun gleamed off their silver headdresses.
Tanit spoke to them in Thai, and Caitlyn could tell that most of them understood him even though their own language was closer to Burmese. They smiled at Carlos and Caitlyn, eager to have tourists who might buy their embroidered handwork or silver jewelry. She smiled back, inwardly wincing at some of the women's teeth. They enjoyed chewing on betel nut leaves that had the unfortunate effect of staining their teeth reddish-black.
She listened carefully as they spoke to each other, so she could recall their language. She'd spent two weeks here several years ago and had become fluent at that time. She smiled when two women discussed how ugly her khaki fedora was. Children commented on the strange color of her hair and eyes, while a few men speculated that she'd been here before.
As the small crowd escorted them to the center of the village, Caitlyn spotted Ajay. He'd grown more frail and had lost more teeth, but his eyes were still sharp.
He approached her, smiling. "Pretty American lady," he said in their Burmese dialect. "You have returned."
She pressed her hands together and spoke in English. "How do you do? I'm Caitlyn." She bowed, and when her mouth was close to his ear, she whispered in his language, "Can I see you alone?"
His eyes widened. "Yes, of course." He motioned toward the silversmith shop.
"Carlos," she called to him, where he was standing close to Tanit. "I'm going to look at their hand-crafts."
He nodded, and she hurried toward the silver-smith shop with Ajay. "You remember me, then?" she said quietly in his language.
"Yes." His eyes twinkled as he opened the door for her. "You came before and sat in our tower with a radio so you could spy on the Burmese."
She winced. "'Spy' is such a strong word. I was conducting research on a possible incursion across the border."
He chuckled. "My people had to flee from Burma a hundred years ago. I was happy to help you spy on them."
She shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Okay, I was spying. How have you been, Ajay?"
"My people are happy. But very poor." He motioned toward the table filled with silver jewelry.
She could take a hint. She examined the beautiful items. "You nearly bankrupted me the last time I was here."
"Are you here to spy again?"
"No. I don't work for the government anymore. I'm helping the man who came with me. Carlos Panterra. He's searching for...something."
Ajay nodded with a wise look. "Aren't we all?"
"It's a little...unusual, and I'm not sure we can trust the guide who is with us. So I've been pretending not to understand any language other than English."
Ajay frowned. "You are deceiving him?"
"Well, yes. I'm worried he might have bad intentions toward Carlos."
"Ah." Ajay nodded. "So you are spying on him."
Again with the spying. "When we join the others, I'll be pretending not to understand anything. Our guide doesn't know that I've been here before, so I'll also be pretending not to know you."
"Hmm." Ajay crossed his arms, scowling.
"I'm just doing it to protect Carlos." She bit her bottom lip. "There's one more thing I should tell you. Carlos and I are pretending to be married."
Ajay's brows shot up. "Pretending?"
She felt her face grow warm. "It's...complicated."
"Of course it is. When you start deceiving people, it always gets complicated." He shook a finger at her. "It's like I always tell the children, once you start lying, it always comes back to bite you in the butt."
She grinned. "Don't worry. We'll be all right."
"We shall see."
She glanced up from the jewelry and wondered if she should be concerned about the mischievous gleam in his eyes. Ajay was a wily chieftain. No one in the village got away with anything he didn't know about.
Among the jewelry and headdresses, she spotted two engraved silver cats, each about eight inches long. They'd make good presents for the two were-panther boys. "Are these tigers or panthers?"
"Once you pay for them, they are whatever you want them to be."
She removed a handful of baht from the zippered pocket of her khaki pants and left it on the table. "Is that enough?"
"I believe they cost more when the buyer has secrets."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you threatening to tell on me?"
He laughed and slapped a hand against his thigh. "No, pretty spy lady. I'm just playing with you."
She grinned at him. "You are such a rascal, Ajay."
His eyes glittered. "You have no idea."
She picked up one of the silver panthers she'd just bought. "Have you seen any panthers around here?" When he pointed to the other one on the table, she groaned. "I mean real panthers. In the jungle."
He shrugged. "Not in several years. You're not hunting them, are you?"
"We're searching for...this will sound strange."
He chuckled. "Everything from you is strange, pretty lady."
"Have you ever heard of people who can change into animals?"
His eyes widened. "You are looking for such a people?"
"Yes." She dropped her backpack on the earthen floor and stuffed the two silver panthers inside. "What do you think?"
"I think...I am glad to have you back. You make life very interesting."
"And?"
He smiled. "We must celebrate your return with a feast. You will be our guests tonight."
"Thank you." Caitlyn followed him from the shop, wondering what the clever Ajay was up to.
By that evening Carlos was growing increasingly frustrated and impatient. He'd asked Tanit to question the villagers about any panther sightings in the area, but he wasn't getting any definitive answers. Some said there were tigers a few valleys to the north. Several men talked about seeing glowing golden eyes in the jungle at night. One guy insisted a giant cat had stolen his favorite pig two years earlier. A few women tried to sell him silk cloth embroidered with golden tigers and black panthers. Even Caitlyn added to his frustration by showing him two silver panthers she'd bought for Emiliano and Tiago.
Meanwhile, the village chieftain, Ajay, insisted they stay the night and join them for a feast at sundown. They gathered around the fire in the center of the village. He and Caitlyn sat cross-legged on woven mats of bamboo close to Ajay, who lounged regally in the one chair. The fire crackled, and smoke curled up into a cloudless sky of brilliant stars. Mosquitoes buzzed about. Caitlyn coated her arms and neck with more insect repellent, then passed him the tube.The feast was delicious but dragged on forever. Some of the dishes were so hot, he and Caitlyn drank nearly a gallon of tea. At the end of the meal, a platter of exotic fruits was passed about the circle of villagers. As everyone enjoyed their fruit, Ajay droned on and on in a monotonous voice.
About five minutes into Ajay's speech, Carlos leaned close to Caitlyn and whispered, "I need to relieve myself."
"Me, too," she muttered under her breath. "But we have to wait for him to finish."
After another five minutes Ajay finished, and the villagers applauded and shouted praise.
Caitlyn rose to her feet, pressed her hands together and murmured, "Restroom?"
Tanit translated into Thai, and Ajay pointed toward an outhouse far across the village by the rice field.
"I'll take you." Carlos jumped to his feet and escorted her across the village.
"I tried the outhouse this afternoon," she muttered. "It scares me more than the jungle."
"Then let's find some bushes." He led her toward the line of trees in the distance. "What was the speech that Ajay was giving?"
"He was reciting the list of his ancestors by memory. The Akha can go back many generations."
"Interesting," Carlos grumbled, "but we haven't learned a damned thing about any panthers in the area."
"You have to give it time. These are a proud and independent people. They're not going to tell you everything right off the bat. Besides, it's a good thing that they want us to hang around for a while. If there are any big cats nearby, they'll be drawn to me." She cast a wary eye at the jungle. "I hope they don't show up while I'm using the bathroom."
Carlos walked past a few trees, then found a large tree with a clump of bushes around it. "This looks like a good spot. You go first."
She glanced up at the tree. "What if there's something up there and it drops down on me?"
He peered up at the tree. "I don't see anything."
"There could be a snake or a spider."
"Then you'd probably pee in your pants."
"It's not funny," she hissed. "I can't do this unless I know it's safe."
He groaned. "Okay. I'll check the tree."
"How?"
"Just don't freak out and scream, okay? I don't want to draw attention." He concentrated, and a shimmer began on his hands, then ran up his arms. Claws sprang from his fingertips, then black fur sprouted from his skin. His hands turned into paws and his arms shifted into the front legs of a panther.
Caitlyn gasped.
"Shh," he warned her, then leaped onto the tree. His claws dug into the bark, and he climbed to the first set of branches. Some birds scattered, flying away.
He searched the tree while Caitlyn stood below, gawking at him. He jumped down, landing lightly on his feet while his arms returned to normal. "There's nothing there."
She didn't answer. She was looking away from him with a worried expression.
"What's wrong now?" he asked.
"I thought I heard something." She pointed to a clump of bushes next to a big boulder. "Over there."
"I'll check it out. You do your business." He ran toward the bushes, drawing a knife from his belt.
Nothing was there. He breathed deeply, but couldn't make out the scent of an animal. It smelled more like roasted chicken and bananas, which meant the person who had hidden here had also attended the feast. Merda. Someone other than Caitlyn might have seen him partially shift.
He went ahead and relieved himself, then returned to Caitlyn.
She was refastening her khaki trousers. "All done." She wedged her knife back into her belt.
"Me, too."
"Did you find anything behind those bushes?"
"No." He escorted her back to the campfire. He looked amongst the villagers but couldn't tell if anyone was missing.
A few of the adults grabbed him and Caitlyn by the arms and gently directed them to sit on silk pillows in front of Ajay.
"What's going on?" Carlos whispered.
"I don't know." Caitlyn tilted her head to listen as Ajay talked. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she grew pale.
Carlos glanced around but couldn't see anything dangerous. Ajay was grinning, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Meanwhile, Caitlyn was sitting stiffly with her hands clutched together. Her knuckles were white with tension, though she was carefully keeping her face blank.
Then a group of Akha women whisked her off to a house.
He stood to follow, but some men grabbed him and insisted he and Tanit drink with them. It was some kind of liquor, strong enough to peel varnish off furniture.
With his head reeling, Carlos stumbled with the men as they escorted him to a house on stilts. Tanit struggled to climb the ladder, falling off twice before he managed to make it inside. Meanwhile, the men insisted Carlos put on a baggy pair of blue pants. Since he didn't know how to argue with them, he complied. There was no matching shirt, just a pair of sandals.
"Interesting tattoo." Tanit motioned to the inked panther around his neck, then hiccuped.
"Do you know what's going on?" Carlos asked him.
"Celebration for you and - " Tanit collapsed on the floor.
"Great." Carlos grabbed his knives and revolver as the village men escorted him out. They led him to another house and urged him to climb the ladder.
He entered a small room, dimly lit with a lantern in the far corner. Fragrant flowers were strewn all over the floor. The light gleamed off the silver headdress of a woman sitting on a pallet. He stiffened. Were the villagers offering him one of their women for the night?
He retreated a step. "I'm terribly sorry, but - "
"Carlos, it's me." Caitlyn pulled the headdress off and set it on the floor next to the pallet.
"Oh, thank God." He set his weapons on the floor. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. They dunked me in a vat of cold water, then stuck me in this robe."
"They made me change, too." He glanced about the tiny house. The pallet was narrow. Too narrow. "Maybe I should bunk down with some of the village guys tonight."
"They expect you to stay here."
"It's kinda small."
"It's..." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm afraid this is their equivalent of a honeymoon suite."
He blinked. "Oh, I guess you told Ajay we were pretending to be married."