his two guides, Luca was the only one forced to angle his neck to one side.
The guides hurried on, while Luca felt a growing sense of dread build within him. Where was he being led? He’d already seen what these monks were capable of the previous night — a tormented soul, bound by leather straps in the darkness. For how long had that poor man been rotting down there? Luca could still picture his colourless face. And those eyes… They had just stared at him through the darkness with such desperate sadness.
Who was he? The last person to stumble accidentally on this secret monastery?
Luca felt the muscles on his arms tense involuntarily as he stared at the backs of his two guides. The only consolation was that they were little more than kids. He knew he could overpower them both if he needed to, but for now it was worth the gamble of following and obeying — more than anything, he desperately needed some answers.
The tunnel opened out into a high chamber where two pillars had been carved out of the natural rock, stretching twenty feet above their heads. Both were covered in gilded swastikas from top to bottom, covering the entire height of the pillar. As one of the guides reached across and picked up a burning torch from its stand, the patterns caught in the flickering light.
Using the base of the torch, the monk rapped twice on a door to the far side of the chamber. There was the sound of heavy metal runners being pulled back and, with a rush of air, the door creaked open on its hinges.
‘What’s in there?’ Luca whispered, feeling the pulse in his neck quicken. He threw a glance over his shoulder back the way they had come, wondering if he should make a break for it. Perhaps he had been foolish to have trusted the guides this far.
A young face appeared at the door and a figure stepped out towards them. It was a boy — about fourteen years old, but tall for his age. He moved awkwardly, with a hesitant shuffling of his feet. As he came closer, Luca realised there was nothing to fear from him. His brown eyes were timid and gentle, and he was smiling apprehensively.
‘Please,’ he said in a thick accent, sweeping his hand low and gesturing Luca inside.
‘What’s in there?’ Luca asked. He could see light glimmering beyond the door.
‘Please,’ the boy repeated, his English clearly limited to no more than a few words.
Retreating inside, he gestured for Luca to follow once again. Luca hesitated for a moment longer, fighting his natural instinct to flee, then ducked his head under the low doorway.
It was a large room, bright with colour and heat, and dazzling to the senses. Hundreds of miniature candles had been placed in long lines in alcoves along the walls. Wax welled from their sides, dripping on to the floor with an irregular beat.
Along the uninterrupted back wall, huge golden prayer wheels were lined up like sentinels. The cylinders towered towards the ceiling, the gold looking old and battered from use, while the sacred words etched into their sides were rubbed almost clean. On the far side of the room a large recess had been carved into the wall and was covered by a wide, translucent screen. At the centre of this was an enormous picture of the Buddha with piercing blue eyes. Despite the serene countenance of the face, there was something about those eyes that Luca found unnerving. They seemed to stare down at him wherever he positioned himself in the room.
Dorje stood to one side of the screen, his hands clasped behind his back.
‘You are in the presence of His Holiness the seventh Abbot of Geltang Monastery and High Lama of the Blue Order,’ Dorje intoned. His expression was deadly serious as he raised a finger towards Luca. ‘Do not presume to speak unless spoken to.’
Luca turned as the door behind him was slammed shut, the metal runners scraping noisily across the wood. He looked back towards the screen and could just pick out the outline of a figure seated on the ground behind. It was leaning forward, whispering to Dorje.
‘What were you searching for last night?’ he passed on, turning towards Luca.
‘Hey, wait a second! I saw stuff last night that…’
‘What were you searching for?’ Dorje repeated, his voice firmer.
Luca stared back for a moment, eyes boring into the monk.
‘I was looking for Bill. You satisfied?’
Luca took a step closer to the screen and suddenly registered movement, a shifting of the shadows just visible under the doors at the far end of the room. There were other people there, watching him. The Abbot’s guards?
He stopped about ten feet away from the screen.
‘Look, you haven’t allowed me to see him in all this time. And since he was barely breathing by the time we got here, I broke out last night to check whether he was all right.’
‘That is all you were looking for?’ Dorje asked.
‘What? That’s not enough for you?’ Luca snapped. ‘I don’t give a damn what’s going on at this monastery. I’ve got a right to see Bill.’
Whispering came from behind the screen and Dorje angled his head to listen then straightened up once again.
‘His Holiness understands your concern for your companion’s welfare and, once this meeting is concluded, has instructed me to take you to see him directly.’
‘Finally. Thank you,’ Luca said, hiding his surprise.
‘His Holiness also said that he is most relieved to hear your reason for venturing into the monastery alone. But again he asks — is this
Luca put his hands in his pockets, his fingers curling round the small lead seal he had taken. He inhaled deeply, the heat and billowing smoke from the candles searing his lungs.
‘Let’s stop these games, Dorje. I know that this is one of the sacred
Dorje remained very still, listening to every word he said.
‘I saw the statues, the gems… everything,’ Luca continued. ‘I know people have been trying to find this treasure for years, but you guys have got to understand something — we’re not here for any of that. We came to Tibet to climb the pyramid mountain. That’s all we were ever interested in and all we came to do. The only reason we’re even here now is because Bill got injured.’
He shrugged his shoulders.
‘If you are hiding treasure from the Chinese, then that’s your business. We’re climbers, Dorje. We like mountains. It’s that simple — snow and ice.’
Dorje nodded slowly, then added, ‘And how could you guarantee that you will not tell others the secret of this monastery, when you return to the outside world?’
Luca hesitated a moment. ‘I guess you would just have to trust us,’ he said finally.
Dorje nodded again. ‘Trust,’ he repeated, drawing the word out. ‘That is indeed a lot to ask. Especially when we have already seen what you do with our trust. Can we really allow you to leave, trusting to your word alone?’
‘Allow me to leave?’ Luca repeated in surprise.
He saw movement again behind the doors. It was slight, a person shifting from one foot to the other, but it was definitely there. He tried to see more clearly, but the flames of the candles were too bright. There was a sense of menace to those shadows under the door, as if they were poised to leap out at him.
For a moment Luca just stared at Dorje in silence, then he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out the seal.
‘Perhaps this will help,’ he said, offering it on the palm of his hand. ‘I took this last night. I’m sorry, but there were hundreds of them and I thought you wouldn’t notice.’
As Dorje craned his neck to see more clearly, a faint smile passed across his lips.
‘Perhaps we can learn to trust you, Mr Matthews,’ he said, the smile widening a little further. ‘Perhaps we can.’
He made a subtle movement with his right hand and a moment later the silhouettes lurking behind the far doors seemed to melt away completely. Luca felt the tension in the room lift, but his own expression remained unchanged. He had seen so much last night and they still had not answered a single one of his questions.
‘You talk about trust,’ he said, raising his chin defiantly, ‘yet you’ve got people tied up in the darkness. What
