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Chapter Ten

THE DEPTHS

LHASA, TIBET APRIL 30, 1740

Daniel hit the ground running

Wind ripped across his body The sun felt close against his skin He was running and running and had no idea where he was He'd burst froht in al rong

His wings

They were absent No--they were still there, of course, but he felt no urge to let theht Instead of the fa to soar into the sky, the pull he felt was down

Asoerous His eyes focused on the space in front of hi but thin air

He threw hi the rock He hit the ground on his backside and caed off an unfathoht his breath, then rolled his body carefully around so he could peer over the edge

Below hiot to his hands and knees and studied the vast darkness below Was he down there still? Had the Announcer ejected him here before or after it had happened?

That hy his wings hadn't burst forth They'd reony and stayed put

Tibet Where just his words had killed her That life's Lucinda had been raised to be so chaste, she wouldn't even touch hih he'd ached for the feel of her skin on his, Daniel had respected her wishes Secretly, he had hoped that her refusal ht be a way to outsain Of course, touch wasn't the trigger The punishment ran far deeper than that

And noas back here, in the place where her death had driven hi that he'd tried to put an end to his pain

As if that were possible

The whole way down, he'd known he would fail Suicide was a els

His body treony of all his shattered bones, or the way the fall had left his body black and blue No, it hat caed in the dark emptiness between two vast boulders Occasionally he'd come to, but his mind was so awash in misery that he wasn't able to think about Lucinda He wasn't able to think about anything at all

Which had been the point

But as was the way of angels, his body healed itself faster and more completely than his soul ever could

His bones knit back together His wounds sealed in neat scars and, over tirew healthy All too soon his heart was full again and strong and beating

It was Gabbe who'd found him after more than a month, who'd helped his and carried hiain She'd made him vow to always ot to his feet and, once e

No, please Oh God, don't! I just couldn't bear it if you ju to him now on the mountain This voice dripped with sarcased to before he even spun around

Caainst a wall of tall black boulders Over the colorless earth, he'd spread out an enorundy and ochre thread He dangled a charred yak's leg in his hand and bit off a huge hunk of stringyGo ahead and ju to Luce?

Where is she? Daniel started toward hi before him of this time period? Or was he an Anachronis the yak bone off the cliff and stood up, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans Anachronisain What took you so long? Ca? They're pine

Daniel knocked the plate to the ground Why didn't you stop her? He had been to Tahiti, to Prussia, and now here to Tibet in less time that it would take a mortal to cross a street Always he felt as if he were hot on Luce's trail And always she was just beyond reach How did she continue to outpace him?

You said you didn't need my help

But you saw her? Daniel demanded

Cam nodded

Did she see you?

Cam shook his head

Good Daniel scanned the bare ine Luce there He cast a quick eye around, looking for traces of her But there was nothing Gray dirt, black rock, the cut of the wind, no life up here at all--it all seemed to him the loneliest place on earth

What happened? he said, grilling Cam What did she do?

Cam walked a casual circle around Daniel She, unlike the object of her affection, has an iht ood one, this tiainst this stark landscape Even you must be able to adaze away

Anyhere was I? Hnificent death, already said thatAh yes! She stayed just long enough to watch you throw yourself over the edge of the cliff and forget to use your wings

Daniel hung his head

That didn't go over very well

Daniel's hand snapped out and caught Cam by the throat You expect me to believe you just watched? You didn't talk to her? Didn't find out where she was going next? Didn't try to stop her?

Carip I was nowhere near her By the tiain: You said you didn't need my help

I don't Stay out of this I'll handle it myself

Ca his legs in front of hioji berries to his lips Even if I trusted that you could handle it yourself--which, based on your existing record, I don't--he wagged a finger--you're not alone in this Everyone's looking for her

What do you mean, everyone?