We Are Not Eaten by Yaks by C. Alexander London Page A

that banquet.”
    â€œRight.”
    The twins knew that Sir Edmund collected rare creatures the way some people collect stamps or playing cards or action figures. Sometimes he hunted them and hung their stuffed heads on his wall, sometimes he sold them, and sometimes he kept them in his zoo. His hobby was a lot more dangerous than collecting playing cards.
    â€œHe could easily have dropped that yeti in front of us, ready to attack,” Celia said.
    â€œI think so too,” Oliver said, and held up the collar. It had a symbol engraved on it: a scroll locked in chains.
    â€œWhich means we must be on the right track to finding those tablets,” said Celia.
    â€œWe better get cable if we survive this.”
    â€œYeah,” she answered.
    â€œAt least we have Lama Norbu and his gun for protection.”
    â€œNot really, children, I am sorry,” Lama Norbu said, suddenly standing beside them.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe gun is not real,” he said. “That is why you did not hit the creature when you shot at it, Oliver. We Buddhists do not believe in violence, so a real gun, whose only purpose is to kill, would be unthinkable. This weapon fires blessings, loud ones.”
    He smiled and showed them his “bullets.” Each one was carved with elaborate symbols and images of angry-looking Buddhas sitting on lotus flowers.
    â€œThe symbols represent the mantra I told you about, om mani padme hum , and the pictures are of the wrathful Buddha, who is angry at the suffering of the world and destroys pain and death with his anger. The bullets do not fire, they just sound like it, like fireworks, so that even as I seem violent, I am actually firing blessings into the sky, showering my enemies with wisdom and kindness.”
    â€œSo I blessed that monster?” Oliver said with relief.
    â€œExactly,” Lama Norbu said. “You did a double good deed by saving our lives and blessing the yeti.”
    â€œSo, if it hadn’t been afraid of the exploding blessings . . .” Celia wondered.
    â€œWe would surely have all been eaten.” Lama Norbu smiled. “That is why we must find a place to rest for the night. We cannot wander the canyon after dark.”
    â€œBecause of other monsters?” asked Oliver, nervous. He was sure Sir Edmund had worse than the abominable snowman planned for them.
    â€œNot monsters,” said Lama Norbu. “We who are pure of heart have nothing to fear from the monsters of the hidden lands. People present much more of a problem for us. There are bandits in these forests.”
    â€œBandits!” cried Celia. Bandits had hijacked the plane on Love at 30,000 Feet , and she never forgot the way they shouted and threatened to throw the Duchess in Business Class out of the window. Now that Celia herself had fallen out of an airplane, she knew that it was not the most pleasant experience. “We should definitely not walk after dark,” she agreed.
    She picked their mother’s note up off the ground and shoved it into their backpack. Their father was clearly too excited to carry their only clue. Who knew when he’d go chasing after some dangerous animal again?
    â€œWhere should we camp?” Dr. Navel asked. “A cave? A lean-to?” He sounded very excited about a cave or a lean-to. He loved sleeping in uncomfortable places. We should not be surprised to learn that Celia and Oliver did not share his excitement.
    â€œHow about down there?” Lama Norbu said, pointing to the slope just below them.
    There was a circle of small round huts less than two hundred yards away. A large fire burned in the center of the circle, and a group of women were squatting around it.
    There were several unusual things about this camp, but Celia only noticed one: the largest hut had a satellite dish attached to its roof, and wires snaked from it into the little building. With a satellite dish, you could pick up channels from all over the