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.Tell Seymour to find a Vedic scholar who can translate it for him.Tell him to first study the part after the Battle of Kurukshetra.”“My uncle knows Sanskrit.”“Can he read most Vedic scriptures?”“That’s all he does in his spare time.”“Perfect.Put him and Seymour together.”Shanti is curious.She’s from India, after all—she knows about the battle.“Is the book about Krishna?” she asks.“Parts of it are.Have Seymour read you those parts, but only those parts.Otherwise, I want him to keep its contents private.” I pause.“Now go get ready.The helicopter is already on its way.It will set down for a moment—you’d better be ready to jump aboard.”There are tears in Shanti’s eyes.“I feel you’re in danger.Why can’t you come with me?”“There are some things in life that get worse the more you run from them.This is one of those.That’s all I can tell you.Now get dressed and packed, I’ll walk you to the helicopter.”I try to read while Shanti packs, but I’m too anxious.Stepping outside, I visually scan the area and listen for the sound of Telar heartbeats.The moon shines bright on the snowy mountaintops.The air is utterly silent.I hear nothing and wonder if I’m overreacting to Krishna’s secrets.My head says yes, my heart says no.Somehow, I’m convinced, the Telar know about this book and want a copy of it.I hear the helicopter before I see it.The pilot is skilled.He swoops around a mountain and lands at the end of our road beside the lake.I’m the one who insisted on an immediate landing and takeoff, in case someone unseen should wish to interrupt Shanti’s escape.I whisper Seymour’s cell number in her ear and make sure she memorizes it.I don’t let her write it down.“I love you,” Shanti says as she hugs me good-bye.“You are love, child.” It hurts to let her go, as much as it hurt to see Teri leave.The helicopter rises and vanishes into the night.The pilot has orders to call me when Shanti is safe on the jet.Back inside, I begin reading again.I finish the book two hours after dawn, in time to keep my promise to Reinhart.Feeling tired from the intense night, I take a cab up to the Pratchli.True to his word, the hotel owner is at the front desk at eight o’clock.He smiles when he sees me.“Did you enjoy it?” he asks.“It’s very interesting.”“Ha! There’s no way you read it all in one night.”“I’m not saying I read every word.”Reinhart gestures to a young couple waiting for his help.“I’m busy at the moment, Lara.Can you find the vault without me?”“Sure.” I turn toward the stairs that lead to the basements.“Take a flashlight!” he calls after me.“And please don’t lock it in the vault.Fair is fair—it’s my turn to have a peek.”“I hear you,” I call back, although I’m not going to listen.Following the creaking stairway down three levels, I eventually reach the suite where Yaksha wrote the book.It appears the same as yesterday, except the vault is wide open.I place the manuscript inside and close the door and spin the gold dial.At the same time, I hear a click from the direction of the hallway.I find the door to the suite closed.Locked.A tiny TV monitor comes to life beside the door.Reinhart stands outside the door.His voice comes through a speaker.“Not very sporting of you.Locking the book back in the vault.”“Is that why you’ve locked me inside here?”“No,” he replies, and I notice he’s lost his Swiss accent.So many things become clear to me in that instant.The pacemaker he wore—just part of his disguise.“You’re Telar,” I whisper.TWENTYThey leave me alone for two days.I spend the time giving my cage a thorough but useless examination.Behind every wall is the same metal alloy that was used to make Numbria’s handcuffs.The door itself is composed of the metal, although they wisely hid that fact from me by covering it with a layer of varnished oak.The smell of the varnish kept me from smelling the alloy.They thought of everything.Yet a part of me is not surprised I’ve been captured.Coming to Arosa, I knew it was likely.As Paula said, the fact Numbria had her home address on her was no accident.I’m just happy I sent Shanti away when I did.I pray all my friends are safe.I find myself thinking of Krishna a lot.Perhaps because I feel I have reached the end of the line.From reading Yaksha’s book—and I read every single word of it—I have a clear idea how formidable the Telar are.They do whatever is necessary for their survival, and they appear devoid of any moral conscience.Except for Umara, the female Telar Yaksha married and had a son with.According to his story, she was the kindest person Yaksha ever met.He loved her, he said, as much as he loved me.It’s childish, I know, but I feel jealous of Umara.Yet those were my favorite parts of Yaksha’s book.I read them with great relish.A few times, actually.At the end of my second day in captivity, the suite lights go on.I have a visitor.His name is Haru.He is Umara’s brother.Indeed, he’s the ruler of what the Telar call the Source.He’s the one responsible for the death of Umara and her son, a boy Yaksha named Keshava.If Yaksha’s tale is accurate, Haru had the two burned alive.It seems Haru didn’t approve of Telar marrying outside their own kind.Haru is an odd duck.He’s squat and heavily muscled.His torso is 50 percent longer than his legs.He has black hair, which he wears short, and copper skin that smells of exotic oils.His skin is unlined, but his nose and mouth are big even for his large head.His dark eyes are small and beady, always staring, probing.He sits before me on a stool, four guards at his back.They carry rifles that look like lasers [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]