Part 31 (2/2)

Nezuma also drew out his black-bladed tanto knife. At twelve inches, it was a wicked-looking blade capable of penetrating a car door or slicing a free-hanging rope in half. Nezuma had used this particular weapon numerous times to great effect.

He strode into the water, vaguely aware of how cold it was. If Annja Creed could withstand the water, then he was going to, as well. There would be no way he'd ever succ.u.mb to it when the American woman had already demonstrated her ability to withstand its temperatures.

They approached the waterfall.

”Shall I take point?” Shuko asked.

Nezuma looked at her. She'd dropped saying ”master.” It was another sign she was becoming complacent about their relations.h.i.+p. He shook his head. ”No. I'll go up first.”

He ducked under the falls and shuddered as the cold torrent hit him like a sack of bricks. The water came up to his thighs and he slogged through it, reaching the flat stone ledge where he'd seen Creed standing and doing some imitation of meditation.

Nezuma stood on it and looked up into the raging water. It blinded him for a moment until he adjusted his head position so the water hit only parts of his head and face, leaving his eyes alone.

About a hundred feet above him, he could see the dark outline of something oval. And above that, more similar-shaped entrances. That must be it.

He leaned out of the falls and saw Shuko. ”It's here.”

She came under with him and looked where he pointed. She nodded and had to shout over the roar of the water. ”But how do we reach it?”

Nezuma shook his head. ”I don't know.”

Shuko moved toward the back of the waterfall and pressed her hands against the smooth slabs that ran from high overhead to the floor of the pond below. Nezuma watched her work with her eyes closed and smiled. She was truly a gifted woman and an apt pupil.

It would be a shame to kill her, he decided.

”Master.”

He smiled. ”Yes?”

”I think we can scale the wall.”

Nezuma pursed his lips. ”Are you sure? We don't have the gear necessary for that and the challenge of the water rus.h.i.+ng over us.”

”We've got enough rope. I can try it first and secure anchor points. You can climb up next.”

Nezuma looked up. It was a long way to go. Any misstep would cost them their lives. The thought of departing this plane of existence without having recovered the dorje dorje did not sit well with Nezuma. ”I don't know,” he said. did not sit well with Nezuma. ”I don't know,” he said.

”It's the only way.”

She was right. Nezuma could see no other way to access the caves above. They would have to climb.

”All right, but go slowly. I don't want anything to happen to you.”

She smiled, looking like a beautiful mess as the water splashed down on her. ”I'll be fine.”

Nezuma tried to move out of her way. He'd still have to stay under the freezing water while she climbed so he could try to spot her in case something bad happened. He knew honestly, though, that if she fell, there'd be little chance of his catching her or otherwise saving her life.

Shuko must have known that, too. But the knowledge that she could die had never stopped her before, and Nezuma could see it wasn't about to give her pause now.

She slid her pack off and rummaged through the top pocket, drawing out a length of twisted nylon-and-hemp rope noted for its ability to withstand high weights and harsh conditions.

Nezuma frowned. This certainly qualified as harsh.

Shuko looped the rope around herself and then drew out a few anchors that she stowed on her belt. She looked at Nezuma.

”I don't know if I'll find anyplace to put these. Hammering them in could potentially alert whoever might be there.”

Nezuma nodded. ”Understood. Just do the best you can to show me how to follow your lead.”

”Your life is in my hands,” Shuko said smiling.

Nezuma grinned. ”Try not to let that power go to your head.”

Shuko gave him a quick peck on the lips and then felt her way to the back of the waterfall again. Nezuma watched as she found two footholds and then looked up, reaching for places to put her hands or fingers.

Nezuma had seen her climb enough times to know that if anyone was capable of scaling the back side of a waterfall, it was Shuko. Her name meant ”claw,” after all.

And if the universe willed it, they'd soon be in to those caves with the dorje dorje at long last in sight. at long last in sight.

32.

Annja's head throbbed much the same way her shoulder did-as if someone were using her to pound out a drumbeat over and over again. Her eyes popped open and she moaned as she tried to sit up but found she couldn't.

Ken was already awake and he smiled at her. She noticed that he was bound in strange ropes and started to say something about it when she finally realized they were both gagged.

She glanced around the room. They were on a stone floor. The walls were plain except for torches embedded in the rock and a tapestry that hung nearby featuring hundreds of small but angry-looking deities.

Annja followed Ken's eyes as he pointed out that they were not alone. The room was filled with about a dozen monks dressed in dark-brown-and-blue kimono robes and split-skirt hakama hakama that had been tied around their legs. They wore simple slippers, but what made them look ominous were the spears and swords they all carried. that had been tied around their legs. They wore simple slippers, but what made them look ominous were the spears and swords they all carried.

A pair of hands found Annja's ropes, and the tightness disappeared, followed by a renewed sense of pain as the throbbing increased in her shoulder and head. The hands also cut away her gag, and Annja spit it out on the floor.

She looked up and saw a face she thought she recognized. It was the strange monk who had fought the schoolgirl a.s.sa.s.sins in Osaka. But this time, he wasn't smiling. His face looked severe and the baldness of his head did little to make him look jolly.

He said a few words in j.a.panese to her, but Annja just shook her head. He noted and then cleared his throat. ”I thought perhaps you might speak j.a.panese considering who you're with and what you are looking for.”

”Sorry, no,” she said.

”No matter.”

Annja glanced at Ken, who was still trussed up. She looked back at the monk. ”What about my friend?”

He smiled. ”We have to be sure that he won't try to kill us when we cut him free. We know that he is exceptionally skilled in martial arts.”

Annja looked at Ken, who nodded once. ”He'll be fine,” Annja said.

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