Part 32 (2/2)
Eiji grinned. ”That is another side effect of the tea you just drank. It makes you rather hungry.”
Annja looked at him. ”What the heck did I just drink-cannabis tea?”
”Of course not.” Eiji watched her eat. ”But it is a potent appet.i.te stimulant. Such a thing is necessary anyway for you to recover.”
Ken ate, as well, but Annja could see he wasn't very hungry. ”You okay?”
He nodded. ”How many people have come here pretending to be the rightful heir to my family's name?” he asked Eiji.
The monk sipped his tea. ”Probably twenty since I've been here.”
”That many?” Ken shook his head. ”I never realized it would attract so many people.”
”The lure of power is extremely strong,” Eiji said. ”The promise of wealth and fame is sometimes too much for someone to handle and they retreat to the lesser realms of deceit and greed.”
”When did you get here?” Annja asked.
”A long time ago,” Eiji said. ”I came from Nepal.”
”Nepal?”
Eiji nodded. ”We are not without our own support systems. There are other monasteries like us scattered around the globe. In the remotest areas, we find homes and methods for preserving our particular traditions.”
”What are those traditions?” Annja asked.
”We are warrior monks,” Eiji said. ”We do not follow the same path as so many of our supposed brethren. We eat meat, and we practice martial arts. That alone makes us unique.”
”And here in j.a.pan, are you the only monastery?” she asked.
”North in Hokkaido there is another. Again, built within the mountains where we have access to fresh water and clean air. The monastery in Nepal is built near Everest. My brother Siben is the head monk there.”
”It's fascinating,” Annja said, ”to think that there are still secret societies like this alive and functioning.”
Eiji shrugged. ”We make no attempts to influence the world. We are charged with merely preserving our own traditions.” He glanced at Ken. ”And sometimes, we are tasked with other things, like the protection of precious relics.”
”How did that happen?” Annja asked.
”We weren't always isolated and remote like this. Far back in history, we were one of the oldest sects operating in j.a.pan and elsewhere. Leaders looked to us for wisdom and guidance. But as j.a.pan and other places fell apart through domestic and civil unrest, their reliance on us s.h.i.+fted to reliance on might and greed. We recognized what was coming and decided the best way to preserve our own destiny would be to simply disappear into the annals of history.”
”And you've been here ever since?” Annja asked.
”Not here, per se. There have been other monasteries. But warlords and various other factions destroyed those. We retreated higher and higher and into more remote areas, until we at last found places that could protect us as much as we protected the places.”
”You protect the places, too?”
Eiji's eyes twinkled. ”The legend of the kappa kappa swamp vampire is one of our finest. The howls you heard outside-they did a good job, did they not?” swamp vampire is one of our finest. The howls you heard outside-they did a good job, did they not?”
Annja laughed. ”Definitely.”
”We are guardians of the land. This place is vital to our survival, and nowadays we are vital for its survival, as well.”
Ken looked up. ”What happened to all the people who claimed to be me?”
Eiji shrugged. ”They died, of course.”
”You killed them?” Annja asked.
Eiji laughed. ”Of course not. We didn't have to kill them. We simply showed them how to get the vajra vajra. Their greed and deceit took care of the rest.”
”How so?” Ken asked.
Eiji leaned forward and patted his leg. ”You'll find out soon enough.”
33.
Nezuma gritted his teeth and pulled himself farther up the rope as the waterfall crashed down on his shoulders. At the very top, he saw Shuko's hand reach for him and he grabbed it, finally hauling himself over the ledge and into the cave entrance.
”That was a challenge,” he said around gulps of breath.
Shuko nodded. ”It was probably the most difficult climb I've ever undertaken. I wasn't sure I could do it. But at least we're here now.”
The cave they sat in was about four feet high, impossible to stand in, but easy enough to traverse by crawling. The rock walls seemed smooth. Nezuma ran his hand along the cool stone and shook his head. ”Do you really think this is the way in?”
Shuko shrugged. ”I haven't had a chance to explore farther in. My goal was to get here, find an anchor for the rope and then get you up here.”
Nezuma watched her open the dry bag and check the weapons. She nodded and then handed Nezuma his UMP while she fixed the strap on the G-36. ”They're fine. No trace of water damage at all.”
Nezuma accepted the gun from her and smiled. ”Excellent.”
Shuko crawled forward a distance. ”Seems okay. But you never know-No!” She screamed and Nezuma heard the sound of something zipping by his head. He ducked as blades shot past his head.
Shuko moaned from farther up. Nezuma eased himself forward as fast as he felt he was able to. The presence of what could only be b.o.o.by traps frightened him.
Shuko lay on her side, gasping through her mouth. The sound of her breathing was high-pitched and rattled. Nezuma scrambled over her.
”What happened?”
She pointed. ”Blade...it caught me in the top of my chest.”
Nezuma looked at the injury. If she'd ducked her head, it might have caught her directly in the face, but since she was looking up, it had sliced into her chest and embedded itself into her lung.
Already, her breathing rasped and sputtered. Pinkish red foam bubbled out of her mouth. Shuko gripped Nezuma's hands.
”I'm sorry, master.”
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