page1 (1/2)
PROLOGUE
NORTHERN AREAS, PAKISTAN
FRIDAY, MAY 18
8:10 AM
A BULLET ZIPPED PAST COTTON MALONE HE DOVE TO THE rocky ground and sought what cover the sparse poplars offered Cassiopeia Vitt did the sa a boulder large enough to provide the two of them protection
More shots came their way
“This is getting serious,” Cassiopeia said
“You think?”
Their trek had, so far, been uneventful The greatest congregation of towering peaks on the planet surrounded the, in the extreion—or the Northern Areas of Pakistan, depending on whoainst a hotly disputed border
Which explained the soldiers
“They’re not Chinese,” she said “I caught a glimpse Definitely Pakistanis”
Jagged, snowy sulaciers, patches of green-black forest, and lush valleys The Hied here This was the land of black wolves and blue poppies, ibex and snow leopards Where fairies congregated, Malone recalled one ancient observer noting Possibly even the inspiration behind Jari-la A paradise for trekkers, climbers, rafters, and skiers Unfortunately, India and Pakistan both claiovernion for decades
“They seem to knohere we’re headed,” she said
“That thought occurred to me, too” So he had to add, “I told you he was trouble”
They were dressed in leather jackets, jeans, and boots Though they were ht thousand feet above sea level, the air was surprisingly rees, he estimated Luckily, both of theazines
“We have to go that way” He pointed behind thee”
He searched his eidetic brain for what they needed Yesterday, he’d studied the local geography and noted that this slice of earth, which wasn’t er than New Jersey, was once called Hunza, a princely state for over nine hundred years, whose independence finally evaporated in the 1970s The fair-skinned and light-eyed locals claimed to be descendants of soldiers in Alexander the Great’s aro Who knew? The land had remained isolated for centuries, until the 1980s, when the Karakorah and connected China to Pakistan
“We have to trust that he’ll handle it,” she finally said
“That was your call, not o first I’ll cover”
He gripped the Chinese double-action pistol Not a bad weapon Fifteen rounds, fairly accurate Cassiopeia prepared herself, too He liked that about her—ready for any situation TheySpanish Arab definitely intrigued him
She scampered off toward a stand of junipers
He aimed the pistol across the boulder and readied hiht, in the toe, he caught the gli aimed around a tree trunk
He fired
The barrel disappeared
He decided to use thethe boulder between himself and their pursuers
He reached her and they both raced forward, using more trees as cover
Sharp bursts of rifle fire echoed Bullets pinged around them
The trail twisted out of the trees and rose in a steep but cli walls of loose boulders Not much cover here, but they had no choice Beyond the trail, he spied canyons so deep and sheer that light could enter only at high noon A gorge dropped away to their right, and they ran along its edge Bright sun blazed on the far side, dulled by black mountain slate A hundred feet beloater rushed and tuh into the air
They clambered up the steep embankment
He spotted the bridge
Exactly where they’d been told
Not ht between boulders on each end, horizontal timbers fastened on top, connected by thick heled over the river
Cassiopeia reached the top of the trail “We have to cross”
He didn’t like that prospect, but she was right Their destination was on the far side
Gunfire echoed in the distance and he glanced behind them
No soldiers
Which bothered him
“Maybe he’s leading them away,” she said
His distrust made him defensive, but there was no tiun into his pocket Cassiopeia did the sae
He followed
The boards vibrated from the rush of water below He estimated less than a hundred feet to the other side, but they’d be suspended in open air with zero cover, ht Another trail could be seen on the far side, leading across loose gravel into h, carved in the rock face beyond the trail—a Buddhist ie, just as they’d been told
Cassiopeia turned back toward hie has seen better days”
“I hope it has at least one more left”
She gripped the twisted ropes that held the span aloft