"Agreed," Annja said. "Have you seen or heard anything since you woke up?"

"Nothing. As I said, it has only been a few moments." Tuk glanced around the room. "Wherever we are, it is almost certainly not within the confines of the mountain, wouldn't you agree?"

"Unless the walls are rock and covered with that fabric." She leaned over to the closest wall and tried to see what was behind it. It felt solid enough, but didn't seem like a cave wall.

"I don't know. It could be anything. Metal, concrete, stonework. It's smooth, though."

Tuk looked around. Annja could see that he was mentally trying to process everything that had happened. She wondered if this was the first time he'd had his life thrown upside down. Annja smirked. Hang out with me, she thought, and it won't be your last.

She wondered if Mike had come through this same experience. That would certainly explain his disappearance. And hopefully, if he had, then whoever had brought them here-the yeti, she supposed-would help Mike with his injuries.

She had the sudden urge to get out of the room and see if Mike was indeed here. But how? There was no door anywhere in the room. She and Tuk seemed to be in yet another s.p.a.ce that had no exit. And, this time, it had no entrance, either.

At least the cave had had a way to get in and get out, small though it was, she thought. This place seems like a perfectly solid box.

Tuk pointed at the walls. "Where is the door?"

Annja nodded. "I was just noticing that myself."

He looked at her. "How is a thing like this even possible, Annja? I've seen a few strange things in my time, and this defies explanation."

Annja smiled. "I've seen plenty of strange things in my day, Tuk. And this still defies explanation." She fell silent and then heard something. A sound seemed to be coming from somewhere outside the box they were in.

"Do you hear that?"

Tuk glanced around and Annja saw him close his eyes to listen. He nodded. "Yes, what is it?"

"It almost sounds like music," Annja said.

"That is what I thought also," Tuk replied. "And it sounds as if it is coming closer to us."

"Maybe this means we're about to find out where we are," Annja said. "And, if so, maybe we can find Mike."

15.

Tuk listened as the music grew louder. It sounded unlike anything he'd ever heard before. What is this place? he wondered. And how does it exist?

The music stopped. There was a series of sounds that reminded Tuk of a bunch of locks being undone and then he heard something that reminded him of the hydraulic hisses he'd heard in Katmandu.

The walls of the room slowly pulled away.

Brilliant sunlight spilled into the room from all sides, blinding Tuk. He turned to Annja but she had her eyes firmly clamped shut, trying to ward off the intensity of the sun.

Warm air hit them, a lush tropical balminess that wrapped them in its embrace. Tuk heard Annja sigh contentedly as the last vestiges of the cold they'd borne with them seemed to evaporate in the suns.h.i.+ne.

Tuk allowed his eyes to open again and what he saw shocked him.

A long line of people stood looking at him. They wore a brilliant array of clothing woven with golden thread and bright colors. It had all the appearance of a parade that seemed to stretch as far as Tuk could see.

He knew it had to end somewhere, but the length of the parade wasn't what shocked him the most. It was the people themselves. Each of them was exactly the same size as him.

He scooted off of the pillows and came down the set of steps that appeared before him. Tuk stood in front of the first person in the parade, a man of his height and width whose eyes crinkled as a big wide smile broke out on his face.

"Welcome."

Tuk's heart raced. What was this magical place? And how was it that everyone here was the same height as him? He shook his head. "I am still dreaming."

The man's smile never wavered. "No. You are not dreaming."

"Then where am I?"

"Don't you know? You're home."

Tuk looked at the other members of the parade. All along the line, the faces shone with bright smiles of happiness. The music began again, but softly. From the depth of his soul, Tuk remembered the tune. He began humming along with it and tears welled up in his eyes, streaming down his face.

Annja came down the steps and stood next to him. "What's the matter? Are you all right?"

Tuk nodded through blurry vision. "I think I am now. Yes, I think so."

The man turned to Annja. "We welcome you to our kingdom, Annja Creed."

Tuk fought back a grin as he saw Annja's eyes widen. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

"We were told your name by your friend, who is here with us, as well," the man said. "Would you like to see him?"

"Mike is here?" Annja asked.

"Indeed. And it is a good thing he is," the man said. "Otherwise, we fear he would have expired a few hours ago. That would have caused you a great deal of distress, would it not?"

"Definitely," Annja said.

Tuk looked around the land they were in. A flight of birds soared aloft under a blazing sun and brilliant blue sky. Fruit trees of every type swayed in the balmy breeze. And he saw a stone path leading toward a series of structures farther away from where they stood. "This is Shangri-La?" he asked.

The man at the head of the parade smiled. "This is your home. You may call it whatever you wish. Names as such do not concern us as much as making sure all who enter our kingdom are treated with dignity and respect."

"Thank you," Tuk said. "But I have many questions."

"Which will all be answered in time," the man said. "But for now, you must accompany me to the royal court. There are others who would like to see you...again."

"Again?"

"Please," the man said. "It is better if you come with me. I a.s.sure you that all of your questions will soon be answered." The man gestured to Annja. "And she is anxious to be reunited with her friend, the one who calls himself Mike."

"You can take me to him now?" Annja asked.

"Indeed."

"Thank you!"

Tuk watched as the man made a simple gesture with his hand and the entire parade abruptly turned in the opposite direction. Tuk held up his hand. "Wait, what do I call you?"

The man smiled again. "My name is Prava. And I am honored to meet you at last, Tuk."

"You know my name, too?"

Prava nodded. "Come, let us proceed to the court where all will be revealed to you and your friends."

Tuk gestured for Annja to follow the parade and the two of them walked behind Prava and the others.

Tuk glanced at Annja, but she seemed just as mystified as he was. And what was it that Prava had said? "Home?" Did he mean that Tuk had once lived here? The tune they had played brought back a cloudy thought in Tuk's mind, but he couldn't clarify it. It seemed so utterly alien to him.

And yet...familiar.

"Do you know this place, Tuk?" Annja's eyes bore into him. "I heard what Prava said to you back there. About this being home. Well, is it?"

Tuk shook his head. "I do not know. I don't remember it, and yet the music they played...it was strangely known to me."

"You said you were an orphan."

"I am," Tuk said. "I mean, I thought my family was killed or they'd abandoned me, but I guess I don't really know."

Annja smiled. "If you're from this incredible place, then that's not the worst news you could have gotten, huh?"

Tuk laughed. "No, I guess not. And Mike is here. That's more good news."

"Sounds like they've saved his life," Annja said. "We'll be indebted to them for that."

"I don't think they would view it like that. I get the distinct impression they are motivated to help simply because it's the right thing to do."

Annja nodded. "I kind of got that impression, too."

Tuk turned back to the path they walked along. On either side of them, gleaming golden statues rose out of the lush gra.s.s. Strange faces and animals contorted and twisted together in a variety of poses and postures that reminded Tuk of some of the Tibetan Buddhist paintings he'd seen displayed in Katmandu.

The sunlight reflected off of the statues and dazzled his eyes. The music that swept them along sounded like a celebration tune and swept Tuk's soul into its joyful refrain.

He heard squeals from somewhere farther ahead and then saw a series of fountains spraying jets of crystal-clear water high in the air. Under the arcs of water, children splashed and played as the parade marched by. They waved to Tuk and he smiled in spite of himself, waving back.

"Seems like you're a popular guy here," Annja said.

Tuk shrugged. "I have no idea what's happening to me, but I am struck by an almost overpowering sensation that I have been here before."

"Is it possible this is your home?"

Tuk looked at her. "I suppose it is, but the question then becomes, when did it stop being my home? And for what reason?"

Annja shrugged. "Prava said we would find out when we got to the court. I take it there is someone we're having an audience with."

"I gathered the same," Tuk said. "To say I am beyond anxious would be a terrible understatement."

Annja nodded. "I know how you feel."

"Do you?"

"I'm an orphan, too, Tuk."

Tuk smiled. There was much about Annja he didn't understand. But what he did understand, he liked. She seemed to be a complicated woman with a fierce and pa.s.sionate heart. And he respected her loyalty toward her friend Mike. That was to be admired, especially when the rest of modern society seemed to care little for helping others unless they gained something from it.

"If this is indeed my home," Tuk said, "then you are forever welcome to call it your home, as well."

Annja smiled. "Thank you, Tuk. That's a very kind thing to say."

Tuk watched as they approached the structure ahead of them. He might have called it a temple or a castle, but it looked more like a combination of both. He could see a grand entrance capping off an approach of hundreds of steps that led skyward. Behind the structure, it looked like a mountain went clear up to the heavens.

Was that the mountain they'd been inside earlier?

Was the building they were entering a part of the mountain or was it the mountain itself?

Prava's voice was low. "Tuk, we must hurry now. The king awaits."

"King?"

Prava smiled. "Yes. I believe he's very anxious to meet with you and hear of your travels."

"My travels..." Tuk's voice trailed off. "This is all quite a marvel to me. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm a bit slow."

Prava shook his head. "You are responding exactly as we knew you would when you returned."

"I've been here before?"

Prava pointed. "Your answers are in the royal court. They are not for me to reveal to you. I do not have that right."

The parade drew to a halt in front of the grand staircase and parted into two columns. Prava nodded at Tuk and Annja to proceed. "You must ascend the stairs and take your place in the royal court now."

Tuk glanced at Annja. "I guess we go on without them."

Annja nodded. "Seems that way. You nervous?"

"I don't know what I am, honestly. I seem to be caught in the sway of a number of emotions right now. I suppose the best way to resolve this is to proceed and see where the answers lie."

"I agree," Annja said. "And maybe Mike is up there waiting for us, too."