The Cloud Maker

The Abbot remained impassive. He inhaled slowly, a look of deep contemplation on his face.

‘You seek only to use him to fulfil your vision for our country,’ he said finally, his voice soft and free from any hint of recrimination. ‘You fail to understand that if we use the Chinese ways, if we succumb to the expedience of violence, we will become nothing more than a reflection of our enemies, a shadow of the same. Our path on the Wheel of Life will reverse, tainting all we have worked so long to protect.’

The Abbot’s eyes slowly focused on Rega.

‘Take my place, old friend, but I beg you to reconsider the path you intend to follow.’

Rega seemed lost in thought, his hands bunching into fists at his side.

‘This time, I will not stand by while our rooftops burn,’ he said, his voice harsh with emotion. ‘With the treasure and the boy, I finally have the power to overthrow the Chinese. Make no mistake, Abbot, the revolution will start from these very walls. From here, we will finally fight for our own country! ’

The Abbot exhaled a long, slow breath. ‘We might win our country, but we will lose our faith.’

From the far corner of the room one of Rega’s aides suddenly appeared. He took a couple of steps forward then paused.

‘The boy is not here.’

Rega swivelled round to face the Abbot again, anger rising within him.

‘Where have you hidden him?’ he demanded. ‘Tell me where he is or I will tear this monastery apart!’

There was silence in the chamber as the Abbot stared directly ahead, his expression unchanged.

‘You will not find him,’ he said quietly. ‘He has already gone from here.’

‘We shall see,’ Rega replied. Then, signalling to Drang, ‘Take the Abbot away. His enlightenment can only be hastened by joining the Perfect Life. Prepare the straps for his body and take his robes of office from him.’

Drang moved forward, his hands hesitating for the briefest of moments before hauling the Abbot to his feet. The old man’s legs struggled to find the ground as he was pulled across his own chamber.

As the procession swept out of the door, they passed Norbu lying on the floor. He stared up at them, eyes clouded by fear and confusion.

‘And what of him?’ Drang asked.

‘He is of no consequence. Throw the halfwit in with the other novices.’ Rega swept forward again. ‘Sound the assembly. I want every monk in this order before me within the hour.’

He had to win over the rest of the monks before Geltang would be truly his. Then he would find that precious boy.

Chapter 49

Luca raced down the stone steps of the monastery with Babu hugged under his right arm. The boy’s head jostled up and down to the same rhythm as the rucksack slung across his back as Luca took two stairs at a time, running headlong into the night.

Trying to keep up, Shara hurried down behind them with Bill gripping on to her shoulder for support. He grimaced, jaw clenching in pain as the fabric of his trousers chafed against the newly healed scars. But none of them stopped for a second. They had to get away from Geltang and into the safety of the mountains.

Luca reached the end of the stairway and continued at full tilt, his stride opening up as he broke into a full sprint on the gravel pathway. He followed the path down, winding towards the lowest reaches of the valley before he slowed and finally stopped. Sliding Babu down on to his feet, he bent forward, winded from the effort, and stared back at the towering facade of Geltang monastery. Grey in the moonlight, it loomed over them like a colossal tombstone.

There was a clattering of feet as Bill and Shara arrived, breathing hard.

‘Everyone OK?’ Luca asked. Both of them nodded, trying to catch their breath. ‘I think we can rest for a moment. We should be far enough away.’

While Shara and Babu sat down on a nearby boulder, Bill limped towards Luca, rubbing his hands gingerly down the back of his thigh. He could feel a small damp patch just above his knee where the scar had broken and a watery mix of blood and pus had oozed on to his trousers.

‘That wasn’t such a smart idea,’ he said, wincing from the dull throbbing in his legs.

‘Sorry, mate, I thought I saw someone coming towards us across the courtyard. I just ran.’

Bill nodded.

‘I saw them too.’

Bill stared across at Luca from under the brow of his fleece hat. It was pulled low over his forehead, casting deep shadow across his eyes. A thick beard now covered his jawline and his cheeks looked uncharacteristically hollow from the weight he had lost over the last week. Despite claiming to feel stronger, he still looked gaunt and tired.

Luca stared up into the night sky, distracted by a thick swathe of cloud that had drifted across the full moon. Reaching down into his rucksack, he pulled his head-torch from the side pouch. A moment later his face was bathed in a stark neon light which picked up the curls of vapour from his breath.

‘You think it’s safe to use these?’ he whispered.

Bill stared across at him, squinting under the glare.

‘Unless you want to fall down the side of the mountain, I don’t think we have much of a choice. There’s too much cloud tonight.’

Bill released his grip on his thigh, straightening his back.

‘I’m worried,’ he said, staring at Luca.

‘About your legs?’

‘No, not me. Them.’

With a nod of his head, he gestured towards Shara and Babu resting on a rock ten feet away. Shara was holding a leather water bottle, gently pouring the liquid into Babu’s open mouth. The child swallowed, then wiped his face with his sleeve. His small frame seemed to be engulfed by the heavy sheepskin jacket he was wearing, with only his little felt boots protruding underneath.

‘You heard what Shara said,’ Luca whispered, following Bill’s gaze. ‘We just have to get them to this shrine.’

‘Yeah, but why us?’

‘Because no one’s been there for nearly a hundred years and the shrine’s apparently halfway up the mountain. No one knows how bad the route’s going to be.’

Bill turned his back to Shara and Babu, lowering his voice further.

‘Jesus, Luca. Don’t you think things through? I’m not talking about the route. I mean why did the Abbot want us to go and not someone else from the monastery? If the boy’s so important, why hand him to a couple of strangers?’

‘I have thought it through,’ Luca answered defensively. ‘Geltang’s full of monks. Can you imagine Dorje traversing mountain passes in the middle of the bloody night!’

Bill exhaled heavily, sending a wash of vapour through the glow of the head-torch. Behind them Shara was standing up, getting ready to leave again. She pulled tight the hood of Babu’s jacket so that curls of hair stuck out across his cheeks. Bill watched them for a moment, then reached up to scratch his beard.

‘I know you gave Shara your word, but Chinese soldiers? This is dangerous shit, Luca. We shouldn’t even be here.’