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Prologue

1991

The surface of Lake Tashi rippled with the cool breeze that swept down froe Anastasia Bransfield gazed out across sapphire water that gleae of the world, at a place where gods and legends seeotten

At forty-two, she had spent half her life as an archaeologist, preeminent in her field, and her work had taken her to some of the most remote and exotic locations in the world--not to erous Yet never had she visited a place e Lake Tashi stretched across a plateau fifteen thousand feet above sea level The air carried the chill from the mountains, yet it was clean and crisp and made her feel more alive than she had ever felt before

On the hillside above the lake, gusts of wind swirled small clouds of dirt up and away, as her tea was ru as a joint venture with the Archaeological Council of Tibet The region was controlled by the Chinese govern up the past, particularly sites that ht be considered holy--but Anastasia had received the blessing of both parties to lead the expedition Her reputation had won over the Chinese, so the museum people had counted on when they hired her

She stood at the base of the hill, taking her first official break of the day The excavation had been going quite well thus far They had exposed one structure that appeared to be a fairly large, co that would be quite uncharacteristic for a e thousands of years old--unless it was a palace It seemed they had found preliminary evidence that the theories behind the expedition were sound

Anastasia cared not at all

Only a few me for the palace of anyOr, more accurately, it wasn't all she'd come for If her own research held up, there was a reason none of the legends and stories about the village ever gave the sa, or his people There was a reason the breathtaking landscape around Lake Tashi was inhabited only by noe not far to the northwest, and a monastery on a mountainside to the east, there was a reason that no one had ever settled on the hills above the lake or on its shores

There were secrets here And there were those who did not want the dig to continue for fear of those secrets being unearthed In the fifteen weeks since they had begun, equiped or stolen, excavation sites had caved in even though she herself had seen to their safety and stability, and strange figures had been spotted sneaking around the encaineer, Frank Danovich, had adliht of a cave-in, and said the bastard was so ugly he was monstrous

Anastasia had asked him to elaborate, but Danovich had just knocked back a shot of rum and turned away She hadn't prodded him further Anastasia had dealt with her share of monsters As far as the rest of the world was concerned, she'd even been in love with one once upon a time

"What's your secret?" she whispered, gazing out across the brilliant blue water of Lake Tashi The histled down off the mountains, but carried no answer

Yet she had her suspicions

"Dr Bransfield!" a voice called from behind her

She turned and squinted With the angle of the sun co over the hill, even the brilare from her eyes She held up a hand to shade her face, and at last she could h path they had worn up the hillside to the dig site Rafe Mattei was a twenty-two-year-old archaeology student, one of a group that was having its first real field exposure on this expedition For a kid--at forty-two, she figured she'd earned the right to call him that--Rafe was a handsome man, tall and thin, with rich chocolate eyes

Anastasia tried not to think about him that way It helped that he called her Dr Bransfield; it reminded her that she herself wasn't a kid anymore

"Dr Bransfield!" he called again

Rafe nearly tripped as he reached the bottom of the hill His eyes ith excite run all the way down to fetch her

"What've we got, Rafe?" she asked, striding past hi the same path he had descended

He fell into step beside her without co you back We found it, Dr Bransfield The temple"

Anastasia stopped and turned to him Rafe searched her eyes, enthusiastic but still not quite sure what the significance of it all was How could he be? None of the students knehat she was really looking for--but Kyichu did A Tibetan who'd been living and teaching in London for years, Kyichu was the one who had convinced the Chinese governht his eleven-year-old daughter, Kora, along as an unofficial oal, but only after he had begun to guess at her purpose He thought her a dreaends, but Anastasia had insisted that every legend grew froht on the shore of Lake Tashi

"Is it part of the palace?" she asked

Rafe shook his head "Just next to it All they've excavated so far is the door There's writing on it, though A lot of writing"

Anastasia laughed softly She took off her Yankees cap and shook out her long, strawberry blond hair, feeling strangely freed by this news With a grin she grabbed Rafe's head in both hands, pulled him forward, and kissed his forehead

"That's the best news I've had in a year"

Shaking her head at her own caprice, she hurried up the hill, baseball cap crushed in her grip In truth, until she kneas written on that door, this discovery could be either good news, or a frustrating disappoints of the answers she sought

Together they hurried up the hillside Though she was in excellent physical condition, by the ti and had to stop to catch her breath She told herself it was the elevation and was pleased to see that Rafe see swirled away in the chill ed on the neck of her thick sweater, overheated from the climb

Students and other archaeologists on the team hovered around her as she ed her with questions, but she ignored the in the hillside ahead Equip for instructions

On the edge of the newly excavated hole, she fell to her knees The hole sloped down at a forty-five-degree angle The ladders had been laid downProfessor Kyichu stood in front of a stone door with one of the students Etched in the door were lines of characters froe of this land

"Han," Anastasia said

He turned and smiled up at her "That was fast"

"What does it say?"

Professor Kyichu nodded, his expression turning sole it We have found the legend that we sought

"We have found the Dragon King Pool"

On her knees, there in the dirt, Yankees cap still clutched in her hand, Anastasia could only grin She shook her head in amazement Moments like this--they made all of the tedium hile

"Have you translated the--" she began

A shout interrupted her, a voice calling her name Hers and Han Kyichu's