Tuk grinned. "Sorry."

Annja looked at the party. Mike had noticed the two of them were missing out on the festivities and seemed intent to wander over. Annja glanced back at Tuk. "I don't think we should talk too much about this with anyone else."

"I agree."

"It's just that it might make people upset. If something happens, then we'll deal with it."

"With your sword?"

Annja smiled. "Maybe. And don't you dream of mentioning that to anyone, either."

"Especially, I'm a.s.suming, Garin?"

Annja shrugged. "Nah, he already knows about it. Too late to keep that secret from him." She took a breath. "In the meantime, you have to figure out how to get Garin over here."

"I'll speak with my father," Tuk said. "I'm certain he will tell me what we need to know."

"He seemed to know all about your phone call," Annja said. "I'd be curious as to how he pulled off that trick."

"Maybe I'll ask him that, too."

"You do that."

"And if it's true what he says, that there is indeed an a.s.sa.s.sin headed here at the behest of the Communist Chinese? What then?"

Annja shrugged. "Then she and I will just have to have a serious talk."

21.

"You guys okay?"

Tuk had wandered off to find his father and Mike had come across the field. In the background, the music continued to play and Annja wondered how long it would carry on for.

She nodded. "Just going over some things."

"Was that a cell phone I saw in Tuk's hand?"

Annja smiled. "Yes, it was. Apparently, the little guy had it with him the entire time."

Mike frowned. "You mean we could have been rescued before all of this?"

"I doubt it, actually. There would have been no way to get a team in for us with the storm coming down. And I believe that Tuk would have used it to do just that if he thought there was enough time."

"Who was he talking to?"

Annja smirked. "An old friend of mine. Of sorts. I guess he thought I was in some kind of danger and asked Tuk to keep an eye on me."

"Tuk was your guardian angel?"

"Seems to have been, yes." Annja shrugged. "Although, I'm still not quite sure what he might have been protecting me from. And that's the bone of contention right now."

"What is?"

"There is apparently something much bigger going on than any of us realized." Annja sighed. "And it shows signs of infecting this place if what I just heard is to be believed."

"Are you kidding me? How would it impact this place? It's like an unspoiled paradise here." The expression on Mike's face betrayed his sudden worry and apprehension.

Annja tried to calm him down. "Mike, I know that you're loving this place, but we aren't the only ones who have been looking for it."

"I know that," Mike said. "People have been searching for Shangri-La since it was written about all those years ago. It's a given that others would want to find it. And yet, somehow I don't think they'll be able to."

Annja shook her head. "I wish that was the case, but I think it's safe to say that right now there is a very concerted effort to discover exactly how to access this valley from the outside world. And the people involved in that hunt are anything but friendly."

"Are you talking about Tsing? I didn't get the idea that he wanted to destroy this place. I thought maybe he wanted to come and live here in seclusion. Maybe find a cure for that weird vampire condition of his."

"I'm not necessarily talking about Tsing," Annja said. "I'm thinking about the Communist Chinese. I just don't know all of the details yet and, until I do, I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do. This doesn't look like the kind of place you could easily defend." Annja swept her hand up, pointing out that they were in a valley bordered on all sides by mountains. If someone invaded they would immediately hold the high ground and therefore the strategic advantage.

"Maybe it doesn't need defending," Mike said. "It's been able to remain hidden here for years. Maybe that is its best defense."

"That was also before satellite technology," Annja said. "And despite what Guge might say, I'm not ready to believe that it's invisible to what we have flying around the earth. Someone knows about this place or they will soon enough. And when that happens, there's going to be a rush to get here and exploit whatever natural resources they have."

"Probably the geothermal ones," Mike said. "Hot springs and underground vents that could produce this type of environment would be badly sought by governments around the world."

Annja nodded. "And the Chinese have one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, coupled with a real energy crisis. Even being able to tap into this place to help them offset the energy requirements of Tibet would be a boon and a ma.s.sive savings for them."

"You think that's it? That they want to channel the geothermal heat out of here to run power in Tibet?"

Annja shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know. I just got handed all of this information and I'm still processing it. If I had to guess, I'd say they're as likely to grab the entire Mustang province as they would be to just take over this valley. But we've also got a very real geographical dilemma here."

"Which is?"

Annja looked at him. "We don't know which side of the border we're on. We were straddling it when we were in the mountain. Presumably we're someplace else now, but where exactly? I don't think Guge and Vanya have the latest maps to show us. And if it turns out that we're on the Tibetan side, then we are, in effect, in Chinese territory. They could literally do anything to this place and suffer no repercussions."

"And we'd be screwed," Mike said.

"Definitely," Annja replied.

Mike looked around and let out a huge sigh. "Isn't it always like this? Doesn't it just suck that you think you finally find something amazing-something that has driven you your entire life. I read James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon Lost Horizon when I was just eight years old and it captivated me so entirely that my life was devoted to this even before I knew it would be." He shook his head. "And now at last, when I'm on the threshold of my own lost horizon, I find the place of my dreams, only to have to come to grips with the idea that it may be taken away from me." when I was just eight years old and it captivated me so entirely that my life was devoted to this even before I knew it would be." He shook his head. "And now at last, when I'm on the threshold of my own lost horizon, I find the place of my dreams, only to have to come to grips with the idea that it may be taken away from me."

Annja put a hand on his arm. "Mike, I don't think we should jump to any drastic conclusions yet. Like I said, I'm still processing the information I was just given."

Mike sighed again. "What's the point anymore? Where is the harmony in the universe that would allow a place like this to blossom only to stub it out and wreck the happiness it provides to so many people?"

"I don't know that there is any universal justice," Annja said. "Despite what people think and believe. Sometimes it really does seem like the bad guys get to win and the good guys go home without the ball."

"It shouldn't be like that," Mike said. "And you can bet that when I get to whatever afterlife awaits me, I'm going to have some really hard questions for the people in charge."

Annja smiled. "I don't doubt it at all."

Mike pointed at the party, which was finally beginning to show signs of breaking up. Dozens of people were now clearing the tables and carting off chairs to some other locale. "These people seem to have lived in peace and prosperity for years, only rarely coming into contact with the outside world. How is that now they're in jeopardy?"

"I don't know," Annja said. "I just don't know."

Mike shook his head. "That's not a good enough explanation, Annja. And it's not one I can accept."

Annja watched him storm off. She took a deep breath. She couldn't blame Mike for feeling this way. With a brain tumor growing in his head and only a matter of time before his last days on the planet, all he wanted was to find a peaceful place to spend his final moments.

And now that seemed to have no chance of happening.

Annja wandered away from the party and back to the grand staircase. There she sat and looked up at the sky. She could see the stars twinkling above her head and had to wonder exactly where she was. And why was this place in danger, now of all times?

Her gut response didn't make her feel any better. What if Shangri-La was being threatened as a direct result of events set into motion by Mike? What if his lifelong obsession had enabled the possibility of Shangri-La's very extinction? By being so driven to find this place, Mike might have unleashed the very forces that will lead to its downfall.

Annja frowned. And she might be helping them, too. Just by agreeing to tag along on this adventure, Annja could be just as culpable in the demise as Mike.

Wonderful, she thought. Now I'm destroying whole worlds instead of just evil people. I'm really embracing my inner destructor.

"You look troubled."

Annja looked up and saw Vanya approaching her. For an older woman, she looked remarkably vibrant. Her skin seemed to glow almost translucently in the twilight. And her smile radiated a peace and warmth that Annja found comforting.

"I suppose I am," Annja said.

"Here? Of all places? You've managed to be troubled about something?"

Annja nodded. "Trust me, if anyone can find something to be troubled about, it's me."

"Surely not by desire, though."

Annja shook her head. "Nope. Trouble seems to find me wherever I am. I don't go looking for it, but it seems drawn to me."

"Very often trouble finds us not because we are bad people, but because we have the opportunity to help set things right. Perhaps instead of focusing on why trouble always finds you, you should focus on the good you've been able to do when put to the challenge."

Annja smiled. "I appreciate that, but I sometimes question whether I've been able to do any good at all. Or are my efforts merely wasted breaths in the universe. It's impossible for me to know for certain."

"Does it matter?"

Annja looked at her. "What do you mean? Of course it matters."

Vanya shook her head. "I don't think you believe that. You don't act as a force for good simply because you want to be recognized for it. That doesn't really even matter to you."

Annja shrugged. "Possibly..."

"Your actions in this world bear out a destiny you have been born to. You are where you are supposed to be for that very reason. Our personal agendas have little to do with the nature of our divine purpose."

Annja looked at her. "You truly believe that?"

"We all have a part to play, Annja. No one role is more important than any other. We are all interconnected and therefore reliant on one another. Even those who may never know us by name or by face will still find that our journey through this universe is not taken alone, but in the breadth of a complete human experience."

"We're all in this together, in other words."

Vanya nodded. "That is an easier way of putting it, yes."

"And if you knew that something bad was going to potentially happen, what would you do about it?"

Vanya smiled. "There exists in everything and every one of us the potential for anything to happen at any time. Potential is simply misguided energy careering around. It is only when that potential is harnessed and then focused into something that we can decide for certain if it is good or evil."

Annja sighed again. "I suppose I could stand to wait a little longer before I make certain decisions."

"It sounds," Vanya said, "as though you have already started making those decisions."

Maybe I have, Annja thought.

"The universe is a quirky thing," Vanya said. "It simply goes on oblivious to whatever our personal desires may be. The real way to impact the universe is not to wish and pray for good things to happen."

"A whole lot of people are going to be pretty disappointed in that statement," Annja said with a grin.

"If you want to change the universe, then you must set things in motion starting at the most basic level. Waiting and then trying to change what already began years or centuries before will not be enough to impact the course of the future. By that point, it is already too late."

"But how do you know when to start?"

Vanya smiled. "We are always at the starting point of something, somewhere. The real trick is knowing where you are at any given moment. Find out the answer to that, and then you will become truly unstoppable."

"Have you figured it out yet?"

"Me?" Vanya laughed. "Oh, no. I imagine that will take me many more lifetimes to understand. Perhaps then I will escape the wheel. Until such time, I will be back to learn more and continue to evolve."

"You don't seem disappointed."

"Why be disappointed? Time is a function of humanity. The rest of the universe doesn't seem to care how long something takes or whether things are on schedule or not. It simply continues, regardless. So, too, will my personal evolution. When it is time for me to move on, I shall."

Annja smiled. "Thanks for your help."

"It is my pleasure. Thank you for bringing my son home."

"My pleasure."

Vanya drifted away, leaving Annja to ponder a lot more than what she'd started with.