He looked around at the spa.r.s.e room. It resembled a prison cell. Overhead, a single light illuminated the room behind what looked to be a Plexiglas housing. This suddenly didn't look very much like Shangri-La.

Had he come across some kind of gap in time and s.p.a.ce and he was back on the other side in some strange location? This certainly wasn't the mountain cave they'd come through.

So where was he?

He paced off the room, confirming in his own mind the measurements. Other than the light fixture, there was nothing else in the room with him. Tuk was, for all intents and purposes, in a perfectly square stone box.

His mind raced. Surely his own father hadn't done this to him, had he? He felt like a prisoner and he was rapidly suspecting that he'd somehow been betrayed. Was everything a hoax here? Was this place just a fraud? And if it was, then that meant that Annja and Mike were in serious trouble.

He pounded on one of the walls but found it as solid as he thought it might be. His hand came away badly sc.r.a.ped. Tuk sucked it for a moment and then sat down on the floor, trying to make sense of things.

Garin was obviously attempting to get in touch with him again. But why? Had he learned something that would help? Or was he calling to see if Tuk had managed to find a way for Garin to cross over?

Either way, things didn't look good.

Tuk leaned against the wall and folded his arms. Nothing made sense except for the fact that he'd pa.s.sed through a doorway and into some type of prison cell, cut off from his friends, and seemingly at the mercy of his so-called father.

Perhaps his father didn't really want him back, after all. Maybe Tuk was a threat to his rule.

No.

Tuk shook his head. His father was old. Guge himself had said how happy they were about his return.

But why?

If that was how they showed their happiness, then things were truly askew.

Tuk examined his hand again and made sure that the bleeding was minimal. It wouldn't need any medical attention, but it hurt for the time being.

"You shouldn't have punched the wall like that."

Tuk looked up and saw that a section of the stone wall had slid back, revealing a piece of Plexiglas. It looked to be some type of observation window. And Tuk couldn't see beyond the one-way gla.s.s into the other room.

"Father?"

He heard laughter. "He still thinks you're his father."

"Who is that?" Tuk got to his feet, feeling his heart thunder in his chest. Now they were mocking him. He felt his face redden at the thought of it.

"Sit down, little man. Sit down and listen."

Tuk sat, still feeling furious.

"It's a shame you had to be so curious about things. We were hoping you would hold out long enough for us to complete what we're working on here."

"I only asked a question," Tuk said.

"Yes, but you asked the question we didn't want you to ask. Don't you see? And now you're paying the price for that curiosity."

"Where is my father?"

More laughter sounded. Tuk got back to his feet. "Stop laughing at me!"

He heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. Guge. "I'm here, Tuk. What can I do for you?"

"You can explain yourself. All of this. Tell me what is going on here. I want to know."

"Yes, I know you want to know. The thing is, I can't tell you just yet. I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more patient. When everything is done, you will be allowed to see it."

Tuk stopped. "I will?"

"Certainly."

Tuk didn't like the tone of his voice. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch...son."

Tuk frowned. "You're not my father."

"Oh, now don't take it so personally. It was important for us to make you feel welcome when you first arrived. After all, it wouldn't do to have you come here and not roll out the welcome mat."

"Why, though? You could have just left us alone in the cave on the mountain."

"No. Unfortunately, as much as we would have liked doing just that, we couldn't leave you there."

"Why?"

"Because the woman you are with is far more adept at ferreting out things than we would like. And inevitably you would have located the pa.s.sageway that bridges us with the mountain entrance."

"So you took us over with the intention of doing what?"

"Sending your friends back on their way when the one called Mike was healed. And keeping you here."

"Why keep me?"

"We have our reasons."

Tuk sighed. "Well, now you've got me. Are you going to let Annja and Mike go?"

"I'm afraid things have progressed beyond us being able to do that now."

"Why?"

"Your cell phone for one. Who is the man you are speaking with on the other end of the line?"

"None of your business."

"Tsk, tsk, Tuk, that's no way to treat your friends."

Tuk sniffed. "Friends...right."

"We need to know. We must ensure the secret is still safe. Does he know where you are?"

Tuk frowned. "I don't even know where I am. How would I be able to communicate anything to him?"

"All right."

Tuk rubbed his hand. "So how long are you going to keep me here?"

"Just a little while more."

"My friends aren't going to stand for this. Once they see that I've gone, they're going to start asking questions."

"Yes, Annja is already being somewhat troublesome."

Tuk smiled. You have no idea what she's capable of, he thought. "Oh, really?"

"Indeed. And we have another problem."

"Good."

"Don't be like that, Tuk. This can all go so much smoother if you simply cooperate and answer our questions. If you do that for us, we'll make sure your time with us is relatively comfortable. And painless."

"You're going to torture me if I don't talk? How refres.h.i.+ngly original."

"Torture tends not to work that well. The results are usually mixed. Unpredictable, even. But there are other alternatives."

Tuk frowned. "I'm not answering any more of your questions."

"Where is Mike?"

Tuk looked back at the one-way Plexiglas. "You lost him?" He couldn't help it and a smile broke out across his face. "That's fantastic. You guys must be so proud of yourselves."

"Tuk, this isn't helping us."

"You are absolutely correct. It's not helping you. And you can bet there's more where that came from."

Another voice spoke now but it wasn't directed at Tuk. "This is getting us nowhere. I told you he wouldn't cooperate."

Guge's voice broke into a different language. Tuk frowned. Mandarin Chinese. He heard the tones and had spent enough time around some of the Chinese transplants in Katmandu that he knew how the language sounded even if he didn't understand a word.

The conversation continued for several minutes and sounded quite heated. Tuk leaned back against the wall with a smug look on his face. Good, he thought, let them get annoyed with me.

"Tuk."

"What?"

"My comrade here thinks we would be better served if we simply started making you as uncomfortable as possible right now. He thinks I am wasting my time trying to talk to you like a civilized human being."

"Maybe you are."

"Don't say that, Tuk. Things can grow truly unpleasant here. You have no idea how enterprising some of my colleagues can be. And I mean that in the worst possible way."

Tuk sighed. "I'm done helping you. Until I get some answers, I'm not saying a thing."

"Where is Mike, Tuk?"

"I don't know. And that's an honest answer. Seriously. I will give that one to you for no charge."

"Where is he?"

Tuk patted the stone walls of his cell. "You guys are about as thick as this wall, aren't you? I just told you the truth. I don't know where he is. The last I saw of him was right after Annja spoke to him and he went off in a huff about something. I don't know anything else."

Guge and his colleague exchanged another battery of Chinese conversation. Back and forth for a minute this time and then, finally, Guge's voice came back on.

"All right, Tuk. That's fine for now. We will see if your story checks out. If I were you, I'd spend my time praying that it does."

"Really?"

"Oh, most definitely. Because if we find out you've been lying to us, there's going to be little I can do to stop my colleagues from exerting themselves upon you in a most terrible fas.h.i.+on."

Tuk bunched his knees up and leaned his head back against the wall. "I have nothing to hide. I've told you the truth."

"Let us hope so."

"How soon can I get out of here?"

"I told you. When we are finished. Not a moment before that time."

"And then you'll let me go?"

There was a pause. "We never said anything about letting you go, Tuk."

"I'm no use to you here. Let me go back to Katmandu. Or better yet, let me leave the country. I've got a little money. I can go anywhere. Trust me, I'm no bother to you here."

"You won't be a bother."

"Absolutely not."

"Well, there's one thing we agree on, Tuk."

Tuk nodded. "Good."

"Unfortunately, we don't agree on how to make sure that you do disappear."

"I just told you that I can vanish."

"It's too risky, my little friend."