you to contact him and play a little game with him.’
‘Of course. Is that all?’
‘Yes.’
With a strong push, Elise rolled him over onto his back and mounted him once more. She was almost as insatiable as he was. Knowing that he would soon have Lev Strauss where the Ayatollah and Colonel Davari had failed filled Von Volker’s blood with passion. His immediate response surprised Elise, but she laughed, positioned him better, and started to ride.
13
Scholar’s Rock Temple
Himalaya Mountains
People’s Republic of China
July 27, 2011
Steam from the bath rose around Lourds as he lay back and tried to figure out what he was missing from the mysterious cavern and the scholar’s rocks left by the immigrants from Jiahu. Something was there, pulling at the edges of his thoughts but never quite manifesting.
It was maddening.
At least the monks hadn’t sworn off all creature comforts in the temple. They believed in bathing and bathing well. They’d carved baths from stone that were just deep enough for a man to sink down into. Shamar had said it was a trade-off with the outside world. People donated supplies to the temple more readily if they could get a warm bath and have private sleeping quarters. The meager guest quarters hadn’t been enough for the whole expedition. Even though Lourds hadn’t asked for special treatment, he certainly hadn’t turned it down when it was offered.
He luxuriated in the hot water. A stone oven in the center of the room provided heat. All he had to do was step out of the tub long enough to fill a copper kettle with water from the bath and reheat it. For the moment, the water was wonderful.
He took a breath and slid down into the tub till the water closed over his head. He closed his eyes and let the hot water soak into him. He felt sleepy and knew that he would do well to crawl into bed on the other side of the room when he got out. He was already feeling pruny, like he had spent far too much time in here …
And suddenly, just like that, it all made sense.
Lourds couldn’t see in the darkness. He opened the stone oven, burned his fingertips enough to smart, and fed in a few pieces of wood. The orange glow brightened and pushed back the darkness. He spotted his pants, went to them, and started pulling them on.
Once his boots were on, Lourds fisted his shirt and headed for the door. Out in the hallway, he trotted over to Hu’s quarters across the narrow stone hall. He rapped on the door. ‘David. It’s me. Time to get up.’ He rapped on the door again. ‘David.’
Hu’s door opened and the professor filled it, standing there in Hawaiian boxer briefs, bedhead, and a perplexed expression. ‘Thomas? What’s going on?
Lourds took a deep breath and tried to control the excitement that filled him. ‘We were wrong about the scholar’s rock room. I was wrong about it.’
‘What?’
‘The room. That’s what’s wrong. All of it. There’s no way those people went roaming about the countryside for those scholar’s rocks. And no way they could have smoothed them like that with hand tools. I should have thought of it sooner. My only excuse is that I was too tired to think properly. Grab some lights and help me wake the others. We’re going to need help.’
‘Mate, I hope you’re right about the big reveal. We’re wasting a lot of our generator fuel lighting this place.’ Rory didn’t look happy or convinced.
Lourds studied the room as the BBC production crew, Gelu and his Sherpas who had stayed to enjoy the respite, and the monks hung lights around the room. They’d put most of them on the east wall, where Lourds felt confident they would find the room’s secret.
‘Get your cameraman over here.’ Lourds ran his fingers through his hair and reseated his hat. ‘I only want to explain this once.’
One of the young monks pointed and whispered. ‘Cowboy.’
Lourds grinned at that and shot the young monk with a forefinger pistol.
The monk laughed, then
‘Of course. Is that all?’
‘Yes.’
With a strong push, Elise rolled him over onto his back and mounted him once more. She was almost as insatiable as he was. Knowing that he would soon have Lev Strauss where the Ayatollah and Colonel Davari had failed filled Von Volker’s blood with passion. His immediate response surprised Elise, but she laughed, positioned him better, and started to ride.
13
Scholar’s Rock Temple
Himalaya Mountains
People’s Republic of China
July 27, 2011
Steam from the bath rose around Lourds as he lay back and tried to figure out what he was missing from the mysterious cavern and the scholar’s rocks left by the immigrants from Jiahu. Something was there, pulling at the edges of his thoughts but never quite manifesting.
It was maddening.
At least the monks hadn’t sworn off all creature comforts in the temple. They believed in bathing and bathing well. They’d carved baths from stone that were just deep enough for a man to sink down into. Shamar had said it was a trade-off with the outside world. People donated supplies to the temple more readily if they could get a warm bath and have private sleeping quarters. The meager guest quarters hadn’t been enough for the whole expedition. Even though Lourds hadn’t asked for special treatment, he certainly hadn’t turned it down when it was offered.
He luxuriated in the hot water. A stone oven in the center of the room provided heat. All he had to do was step out of the tub long enough to fill a copper kettle with water from the bath and reheat it. For the moment, the water was wonderful.
He took a breath and slid down into the tub till the water closed over his head. He closed his eyes and let the hot water soak into him. He felt sleepy and knew that he would do well to crawl into bed on the other side of the room when he got out. He was already feeling pruny, like he had spent far too much time in here …
And suddenly, just like that, it all made sense.
Lourds couldn’t see in the darkness. He opened the stone oven, burned his fingertips enough to smart, and fed in a few pieces of wood. The orange glow brightened and pushed back the darkness. He spotted his pants, went to them, and started pulling them on.
Once his boots were on, Lourds fisted his shirt and headed for the door. Out in the hallway, he trotted over to Hu’s quarters across the narrow stone hall. He rapped on the door. ‘David. It’s me. Time to get up.’ He rapped on the door again. ‘David.’
Hu’s door opened and the professor filled it, standing there in Hawaiian boxer briefs, bedhead, and a perplexed expression. ‘Thomas? What’s going on?
Lourds took a deep breath and tried to control the excitement that filled him. ‘We were wrong about the scholar’s rock room. I was wrong about it.’
‘What?’
‘The room. That’s what’s wrong. All of it. There’s no way those people went roaming about the countryside for those scholar’s rocks. And no way they could have smoothed them like that with hand tools. I should have thought of it sooner. My only excuse is that I was too tired to think properly. Grab some lights and help me wake the others. We’re going to need help.’
‘Mate, I hope you’re right about the big reveal. We’re wasting a lot of our generator fuel lighting this place.’ Rory didn’t look happy or convinced.
Lourds studied the room as the BBC production crew, Gelu and his Sherpas who had stayed to enjoy the respite, and the monks hung lights around the room. They’d put most of them on the east wall, where Lourds felt confident they would find the room’s secret.
‘Get your cameraman over here.’ Lourds ran his fingers through his hair and reseated his hat. ‘I only want to explain this once.’
One of the young monks pointed and whispered. ‘Cowboy.’
Lourds grinned at that and shot the young monk with a forefinger pistol.
The monk laughed, then
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