False Horizon (10 page)

Annja watched as the Guge people entered the long field carrying huge elaborate trays of fruits and vegetables that had been prepared in every conceivable manner. Big bowls of steaming white rice adorned the simple tables that had seats for hundreds of people. Annja realized with a start that she was desperately hungry. Her mouth watered and she fought to restrain herself.

Vanya and Guge seated themselves at the head table. Tuk, Annja noticed, chose to remain close to her and Mike. She smiled. It was a touching gesture of friendship. They were all placed at the head table.

A plate was put in front of her and platters of food were passed around. Annja helped herself to the meal and ate and drank her fill of peppers, carrots, rice and strange and wonderful-tasting plants and fruits she’d never seen before. She drank out of a cup filled with a fruity wine that quickly relaxed her and allowed her mind to open to the wonder of the scene before her.

The Guge people seemed genuinely ecstatic that Tuk had returned to his homeland. They kept approaching him and talking to him about his adventures in the outside world. Annja noticed that there were several women who made it apparent they thought he was quite handsome.

Mike sat next to her, eating his way through plate after plate of food. Annja looked at him. “Aren’t you full yet?”

“Not even close. I’m famished.”

“You’re healing. Your body knows it needs fuel for the repair process.” She glanced down at his torn pants. “How’s the leg?”

“Feels great. After they stitched me up, they put some type of balm on it that I think acts as a pain reliever.” He reached for another helping of food and looked at Annja. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s great,” she said. “I guess I’m just a little bit in awe of this place. It seems almost too amazing to be true.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve been here longer than you two and I’m still in shock.”

“Not that it’s affected your appetite,” Annja said with a laugh. “Apparently.”

Mike held up his hands. “I’m a growing boy. I need to have my strength, you know.”

“Yeah, I got that.” She looked at Tuk, who was talking with his parents again. “He looks so happy.”

Mike nodded. “Orphan suddenly finding out that his parents are still alive and that he’s going to be the king of some long-forgotten land? Yeah, I’d bet that would put a smile on my face, too.”

Annja nodded and reached for her glass of wine. Mike nudged her.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“You sure you’re okay?”

Annja sipped the wine. “Yeah. I don’t know. I’ve never known my own past. And I guess it’s kind of being brought up again seeing Tuk find his way back to his family. But I’m still searching for the answers I need.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m just jealous.”

“Anyone would be,” Mike said. “This is a pretty damned amazing thing to have happen. But I guess we’re lucky to be here, right?”

“And what about Tsing?”

“What about him?”

Annja looked at Mike. “Well, what happens after we leave this place? Tsing is going to want to know how we found our way here.”

“Who says he has to know?”

Annja frowned. “When we come walking back from that plane wreck with little to show for it, I don’t think he’s going to be the understanding type.”

Mike bit into a peach. “Maybe we don’t go back.”

Annja shook her head. “We can’t stay here, Mike. We don’t belong here. This isn’t our home.”

“Home is where the heart is,” Mike said.

“Thank you, Mr. Cliché.” Annja sighed. “Look, Mike, this was never my obsession. I signed on to help you find this place. But I never said I wanted to run away from the real world when we found it.”

“Run away? Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“If you want to stay here, then that’s exactly what it looks like.”

Mike frowned. “Annja, you don’t know everything that’s happened in my life since the last time we got together. A lot of crap came down on me. Not the least of which is my failing health.”

“Your cholesterol? That’s easily taken care of if you simply change your eating habits.”

Mike smiled but there seemed little mirth in it. “It’s not just my cholesterol, Annja.”

“Something else?”

Mike nodded. “I’m dying.”

“What?”

He put a hand on her arm. “This isn’t the time to bring it up. But the fact is, I have a very short time to live. I have an inoperable brain tumor. If they try to crack my skull and get it out, it will just kill me.”

Annja felt her throat swelling shut. “How long?”

Mike grinned. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know. It always seems to me like that’s just a death sentence right then and there. Doctors tell you that you’ve only got six months and, whammo, you drop dead at exactly six months. All I know is the tumor is there and it’s a ticking time bomb. And, eventually, I will die.”

“Eventually, we all die,” Annja said.

Mike nodded. “Granted. I would have liked a little more time, though. Say thirty years or so. Get married, have a few kids of my own. Would have been nice to have those experiences.”

“You could still have that.”

Mike shook his head. “I’m not that selfish. What would I do, go out and find someone to fall in love with me, have children and then crush their hearts when I kicked off? That would really make me something of a jerk.”

“It’s not selfish to want to be loved, Mike.”

Mike took a drink of wine. “However, my time is extremely limited. And personally, I can’t think of a place I’d rather be than here with these people. I mean, if you could choose how you wanted to go out, wouldn’t it be in a place like this? Surrounded by beauty and peace. Everything here is so utterly perfect.”

“I guess it is,” Annja said. “But I don’t want you to stay. I want you to come back with me.”

Mike grinned. “Now you’re being selfish.”

“Yes. I am.”

Mike hoisted his glass and they clinked them together. “At least I’m not the only one.”

Annja took a drink and then looked around the table. The party had lost all of the joy for her. She watched, as if peering in through a window, how Tuk and his people bonded.

Music started as the meal finished. More wine flowed and the people took to dancing all over the grass. Even Guge and Vanya enjoyed a few dances before sitting down again. At one point, Vanya looked over at Annja and smiled. Annja smiled back but she felt no happiness.

The idea that Mike would be dying soon felt like a hole had been torn in her heart. She’d lost close friends before, but this felt different. Mike was a different kind of man. He never expected anyone to understand what it was that drove him. He made no apologies for being who he was, and he was utterly comfortable in his own skin.

Annja respected that. And she respected what he had accomplished in his life. Barring the incident with Tsing, Mike had nothing to be embarrassed about. He pursued what he loved and did so with all the joy of a child.

Annja wished she had some more of that mirth in her own life. But that seemed to be a precious commodity. And somehow, the music that played around her tugged harder at her heartstrings than she cared for.

“Annja?”

She looked up and saw Guge standing there. She tried to smile but felt it die on her lips. “Hi.”

Guge’s eyes peered deep into hers. “Perhaps we could walk awhile?”

“Sure.” She rose and followed the king away from the party and back toward the grand staircase.

Guge smiled at her. “I’m afraid I’m not as young as I used to be. These celebrations tend to wear me out.”

“I see.”

“But what’s your excuse?”

“Sorry?”

He turned to her. “You wear the look of someone who has lost a friend.”

Annja sighed. “I guess in a way I just did.”

“Who? Surely not Tuk. He seems to have a genuine fondness for both you and your friend Mike.”

“It’s not Tuk,” Annja said. “It’s Mike.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently, he’s dying.”

Guge said nothing for a moment and then looked at her. “Surely it is not the injury to his leg?”

“No. He has a brain tumor. It’s a disease where something grows inside his head until it kills him.”

Guge nodded gravely. “I see. And there is nothing that the doctors in the outside world can do for him?”

“According to him, no. They’ve told him that it is inoperable. They can’t take it out for fear of killing him.”

“That is unfortunate,” Guge said.

“I don’t mean to be down during such a time of celebration,” Annja said. “He only just told me, though. It’s weird. I was so overjoyed to see him earlier and everything seemed so great. And now I feel like he’s already dead.”

Guge laid a hand on her arm. “He is most certainly not dead yet, Annja. And you should remember that.”

Annja nodded. “I know. I just can’t stop thinking about it. We’ve always been friends and now I’m not sure what to do.”

“That is the thing about the universe, my dear. It doesn’t succumb to the desires of the likes of us. It simply is. And the things we wish to change are the very things that often must happen. We simply don’t have the power to make the universe obey our whims.”

“Yes,” Annja said. “I know from experience it doesn’t listen to the likes of my desires, but that doesn’t stop me from trying again and again.”

“That’s because you are a human being,” Guge said. “And ours is always of the mind that we can control our destiny.”

“He’s just such a good person. I hear about the evil men that walk among us and wonder why the universe doesn’t take them?”

“The universe doesn’t distinguish between good and evil, per se. Only in certain incarnations will it see things in such a light. To the universe, evil and good simply exist. Neither is better than the other. They simply are.”

Annja sighed. “I wish it was easier than it is.”

“If it was easier, then we would have no chance to learn and evolve ourselves to a higher level of existence.”

Annja sat on the stairs and hugged her knees. “I don’t know how long he has. And he’s thinking that he doesn’t want to leave here to go back to his home. He’s entranced with this place.”

“We have noticed. You, however, don’t seem so.”

Annja smirked. “I’ve been told my destiny lies elsewhere.”

Guge nodded. “So it would seem. You carry a burden unlike any other outsider we have ever seen.”

“You have no idea,” Annja said.

Guge cleared his throat. “We will talk more of this in the coming days. But we must return to the party now.”

“Why?”

Guge’s brow furrowed. “Because I think Tuk has just received what the outside world calls a phone call.”

Tuk nearly jumped out of his seat when the tiny phone began vibrating in his pocket. He’d forgotten all about it in the rush to celebrate his homecoming. It was something he’d longed for for so long that this sudden reminder of the world he used to know at once shocked him and made him melancholy.

He excused himself from the table amid many startled glances, and walked away from the party, pulling the cell phone out of his pocket.

“Hello?”

“Tuk, where are you?”

Tuk glanced around at the lush valley. “I’m not exactly sure where I am, to be honest with you.”

“You’re not still by the plane, are you?”

“No, no. I found a cave for the three of us to take shelter in. We spent the night in it.” He paused. How was he going to put this in such a way that the man on the phone didn’t think he was completely insane. “But then something…happened.”

“What happened?”

“Mike was near death, but holding on. Annja and I slept, and in the middle of the night Mike disappeared.”

There was a pause on the phone. “He disappeared? How is that? He couldn’t have just gotten up and walked off. Not in his condition.”

“Yes, I know,” Tuk said. “We didn’t at the time, of course, and we searched frantically for him. But we couldn’t locate him.”

“So, he’s dead, then?”

“No. He’s alive and well.”

“You’re not making much sense, Tuk. I’m at Jomsom now and will be coming for you shortly. But I need you to tell me where you are exactly.”

Tuk sighed. “I understand, but it’s not as easy as that because I’m not sure where we are. I mean, I know where we are—I’m just not sure how we got here. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“All right, then. Where are you?”

“In a place called Shangri-La.”

Tuk heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. “I think you’d better explain yourself a bit more carefully, Tuk. And I sincerely hope you’re not lying to me.”

“Why would I do that?” Tuk asked. “After everything I’ve done already. I have no reason to lie.”

“Fair enough. Tell me what happened.”

“Annja and I searched the cave and came across two yeti.”

“Abominable snowmen?”

“Yes. I realize it sounds ridiculous but please hear me out.”

“I’m listening.”

“They were standing in the cave and then we smelled something like flowers. It was some type of gas. When we awoke, we were here in this beautiful land. I have no idea how we came to be here. One moment we were in the cave and the next we were here.”

“All right.”

“The thing is,” Tuk said, “this is apparently my home—where I’m from. I’m surrounded by people who look just like me.”

“You mean they’re small like you?”

“Yes, exactly that. And an outsider who broke the rules here apparently kidnapped me as a child. He took me out, which is how I came to be in Katmandu. He died, and I was left to my own devices. But I’m home now. It’s absolutely incredible.”

“I see.”

Tuk frowned. For some reason, he’d expected a different reaction from the man than what he seemed to be having. Tuk sighed. “I’m sorry if that disappoints you, but I am truly amazed at this place.”

“I have no doubt that you are, my friend.”

Tuk paused. “What is it? I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

After yet another silence, the man cleared his throat. “Do you remember what you told me about the woman in Tsing’s apartment? The one who rattled your nerves a good bit?”

Tuk shivered at the sudden recollection of her and her fingernails. “Yes. I remember.”

“I did some checking on her.”

“And?”

“It took me a considerable amount of time, but I managed to dig up a few things. I don’t think you’re going to like hearing any of them.”

Tuk looked across the way at the party still raging in full force. Katmandu and the penthouse infiltration seemed years ago and a world away from where he stood just then.

“Tell me.”

“The woman’s real name is Hsu Xiao. She is what is known as a Black Pole.”

“I’m not familiar with that term.”

“Most people aren’t. The term itself derives from Red Pole, which in Chinese Tongs is an enforcer. The leg breakers. If you owe them money and don’t pay, the Red Pole pays you a visit.”

“I see.”

“Hsu Xiao doesn’t break legs. She kills. She is—according to my sources, anyway—one of the most highly adept assassins in this part of the world. Her skills are highly prized.”

Tuk was alarmed. “It didn’t much appear that Tsing prized her lethal charms all that much.”

“That’s because Tsing doesn’t know what her true nature is. She has concealed it from him.”

“Why would she do that? Is she going to kill him?”

“No, I don’t think she is. If she were going to kill him, she would have done so already. She’s had plenty of opportunity to do so and hasn’t yet acted. This leads me to believe her real target isn’t Tsing at all.

“Then who? Which person would Chinese organized crime want to kill?”

“Well, that’s the other thing I discovered. She’s not working with any form of Chinese organized crime.”

“Then who is she working for?”

“The Communist Chinese government in Beijing. Hsu Xiao is a high-level operative for the intelligence service. She works exclusively in covert operations, liquidating targets of opportunity that her government deems acceptable.”

Tuk’s stomach ached. “It still doesn’t explain why she would be at Tsing’s penthouse. Who would she be after and why would she be there?”

“I’m not quite sure yet.” The man paused. “I have another question to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“How are the people there?”

Tuk smiled. “They’re absolutely marvelous. It’s like one big family here. My parents rule this kingdom and I am apparently the heir to the throne.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Needless to say, I’m a bit overwhelmed by the entire affair, as you can imagine.”

The man laughed a little. “Yes, yes, I can see how you would be. I would urge you to be careful, however.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Hsu Xiao is no longer in Katmandu.”

Tuk frowned. “Then where in the world is she?”

“That, my friend, is the problem. No one seems to know where she is. She has quietly and subtly gone to ground and vanished. I don’t know if she was recalled to Beijing or if she is somewhere close by.”

Tuk shook his head. “Well, why would she be interested in me, anyway? I’ve had no interaction with her or her superiors. I shouldn’t even be on their radar. I’m insignificant to them.”

“Are you really?”

“Of course.”

“Perhaps Hsu Xiao was positioned near Tsing for the purpose of discovering the location of Shangri-La. It’s no surprise that the Chinese government has long sought to strengthen its grip on this region. When it took over Tibet in the fifties, it made no pretext about its ambitions to squash the spiritual kingdoms in this area of the world since it saw them as an affront to Communism.”

Tuk gulped. “You think Shangri-La might come under attack?”

“I’m not saying it could, but I’m also not going to lie to you and say it won’t happen.”

“This is all so bizarre,” Tuk said. “I felt positive the outside world could be kept at bay.”

“I doubt that very much, Tuk. It would only be a matter of time before your kingdom is discovered. And you wouldn’t be able to count on anyone for assistance. Especially if the Chinese enter with a big enough force to seize control and eradicate anyone they don’t approve of.”

“Eradicate?”

“Your people might become extinct, Tuk.”

“My God.”

“Are you aware of what side of the border you’re on right now?”

“You mean the Nepali or Tibetan?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“I don’t know.”

“Here’s the deal. You’re in an area of Nepal that juts into Tibetan territory. It’s like a middle finger in the face of the Chinese. They would like nothing better than to simply take that finger and break it in half by annexing the entirety of Mustang. And they would certainly have no problem doing so. They have a sizable force in Lhasa that they could mobilize and get into the region within forty-eight hours at the maximum. That’s not nearly enough time to evacuate your people, is it?”

“I don’t know,” Tuk said. “I wouldn’t think it would be.”

“So your position is extremely delicate. If I know the Chinese, they are going to doggedly pursue the idea of locating your kingdom, if that is indeed what Hsu Xiao is after. And when they find it, they will simply crush the entire valley.”

“What can we do to stop it?”

“I don’t know if we can do anything, my friend. The odds are that the Chinese already have people in that region searching.”

“How do you know this?”

“You said a missile brought your plane down, right?”

“Yes.”

“No doubt it was fired from a soldier on the ground. And if Hsu Xiao radioed them to let them know the tail numbers on your plane—Tsing’s plane—then they would have been able to positively identify you and take you out as they attempted to do.”

“But no one followed up and made sure we were dead.”

“Well, perhaps you crash-landed away from them and they couldn’t reach you. Look, Tuk, I’m not saying this is exactly what happened. But I’m saying there exists a real danger here. And I hate having to be the one who tells you, but I owe you the truth.”

“Are you coming here?”

“As soon as I can. But you need to find out how I can actually get there. I can’t do much from this side.”

Tuk caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Annja striding down the steps and headed in his direction.

“Annja sees me on the phone.”

“Does she really?”

“And she doesn’t look pleased.”

“No doubt she thinks you were holding out on her and Mike. Don’t worry about it. She’ll get her cool back soon enough.”

But Annja looked hot enough to fry an egg on, Tuk thought. And she was going to grab the phone from him. He could just tell from the way she stalked across the grass.

“I think she wants a word with you,” he said into the phone.

“Oh, dear,” the man said. “Well, better hand her the phone, then. Put it on speaker first, though.”

“Tuk!”

Tuk turned and smiled at Annja. “Hi, I was just—”

Annja grabbed the phone. “You had a phone this entire time and you never said anything? How dare you hold that back from us.”

Tuk shook his head. “I wanted to tell you, really, I did.”

Annja held up her hand. “We’ll discuss it later.” She looked at the phone. “Now, who is this exactly?”

Tuk looked at the phone. For a moment, no sound emerged and he wondered if he had hit the speaker button. Then, at last, he heard the man’s voice.

“Hello, Annja. It’s been a while.”