Out of that shared conviction was conceived the idea of a joint venture intended to preserve two treasures for the Fatherland."
"Your guardians let themselves in for quite a gamble," Raeburn said, toying with the dregs of his tea. "If that sub was supposedly bound for Brazil, something must have gone seriously wrong in transit."
The abbot paused to replenish his bowl from the teapot, avoiding Raeburn's eyes - why?
"Possibly," he conceded. "Perhaps merely a change of plans. But that hardly matters now."
"No, I suppose not." Watching the other man closely, Raeburn added, "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Rinpoche, but once you've given me the location of this sub of yours, what's to prevent me from taking the whole hoard, diamonds, scrolls, and all?"
"My assurance," said the abbot, "that you would not survive the attempt."
"Indeed."
Dorje stared at him long and hard before continuing.
"Do not provoke me, Gyatso," he murmured. "I think and hope that you are intelligent enough to realize your own limitations where you are dealing with me. Content yourself with what I am offering you in diamonds. I assure you, even a quarter of the trove will suffice to set you up in splendor for the rest of your life, with ample means to expand your personal operations far beyond your present scope. The manuscripts, on the other hand, would be of no use to you, for you lack the transmission of power to unlock their secrets. To tamper with them in ignorance would be to court a fate worse than that which befell your Head-Master."
Seeing Raeburn silent, he relaxed a measure of his severity. "I shall send Nagpo and Kurkar with you. As you have already observed, their talents are not inconsiderable. Beyond that, you are free to choose your own men, so long as they all are Westerners and not likely to call attention to themselves."
Raeburn sat very still, fingertips drumming lightly on the rim of his empty cup.
"You say that this sea cave is in Ireland?" he said. "Your men have no doubt that the sub is there, and that it's intact?"
"This is not an exercise to vex you, Francis," the abbot said sharply. "You will be provided with detailed maps, and Nagpo and Kurkar will meet you there. I suggest that you approach by boat, and that you plan to make a direct transfer of the cargo from the sub."
"I thought you said it wasn't accessible by sea," Raeburn said.
"It will be. My two dagger-masters are quite capable of blasting open the cave so that the sub can pull out at high tide."
"Whoa! Wait just a minute! No one said anything about moving the sub!"
"I am saying it now," Dorje replied. "Kurkar reports the hull appeared sound. One of the fuel tanks has ruptured, but there will be enough remaining to run the diesels."
"This is ridiculous," Raeburn muttered. "Even if the sub were entirely seaworthy, I couldn't run it alone! Even to run on the surface, I'd need at least a skeleton crew."
"And you shall have one." The abbot's smile was very cold. "They have been at their posts for nearly fifty years."
For the first time, Raeburn felt real fear clutch at his entrails.
"What are you saying?" he whispered. When Dorje only stared at him, he ventured, "Surely you aren't seriously proposing to reanimate the dead?"
The abbot reproved him with a superior look. "Not 1, but it can be done, as you are well aware. You need not act so incredulous. One of your own followers performed a similar operation, I believe, on a corpse far longer dead than these, who yielded up their lives a mere half-century ago."
Through his shock, Raeburn was more than a little surprised and not especially pleased to discover how well-informed his rival was about his doings. The operation in question had actually been performed by one of his more promising lieutenants - highly successful, for what it was, and of course Raeburn himself had trained Geddes - but the subject had been one man, not an entire submarine crew - even a "skeleton" one.
"That was different," he said defensively. "Only information was required. We didn't need him to do anything."
Dorje dismissed this objection with a wave of his green-gloved hand.
' 'Be at ease, Gyatso. You need not concern yourself with this aspect of the undertaking. Go now and begin working out your requirements for opening the submarine and conveying its cargo to safety. You will be provided with whatever you need by way of resources and communication. By tomorrow, you must be ready to put your preparations into operation."
"Tomorrow? What's the hurry?"
For the first time since the outset of their conversation, Raeburn thought he could detect a hint of uncertainty behind the other's maddeningly self-confident fa9ade.
"The portents regarding this venture are auspicious at present," Dorje said, "but there are certain indications of instability if we wait too long to act. I have been warned of enemies afoot - servants of the Light, with the will and perhaps the knowledge to meddle to some constructive purpose, if we do not take advantage of the moment. I have waited nearly the whole of this present lifetime to reclaim this legacy!" he concluded with sudden sharpness. "I do not intend to allow anyone or anything to cheat me out of it."
He levelled a long look at Raeburn. "Have you ever before had dealings with anyone who might be described as a Hunter? "
Raeburn stiffened slightly, his right thumb nervously fingering his Lynx ring as a queasy chill went up his spine. "Why do you ask?"
"It was a symbol cast up to us in the midst of divining the outcome of this venture," the abbot replied, his eyes narrowing as he searched Raeburn's face. "In attempting to interpret the significance of the sign, my seer spoke of a longtime adversary who must be killed if he cannot be eluded."
Raeburn's jaw clenched, and a venomous expression crossed his face.
"That's very interesting," he said softly. "The group that defeated the Head-Master goes by the name of the Hunting Lodge. Their Master Huntsman is a man called Adam Sinclair."
"You have encountered him yourself, then?" "Only indirectly," said Raeburn, "but that doesn't alter the fact that he's cost me a lot of trouble in the past. If he's in any way involved in this affair, I will welcome the chance to even the score."
Chapter Twenty-Four
"CAN you tell us what kind of resistance we might encounter?'' Adam had asked Lama Tseten Rinpoche.
And when Tseten did not immediately answer, Peregrine stirred uneasily, no longer able to contain himself.
"Please, Rinpoche,'" he dared to whisper. "You can't just send us in blind. This is way beyond our experience - mine, at least. How do we protect ourselves against this black Phurba magic?"
The old lama ventured a faint smile before answering, settling back a little as Jigme began translating his reply.
"Patience, youngling. I was about to speak of that. It is certain that Green Gloves will send his dagger priests to secure the false Termas. They will be capable of wielding vast amounts of power, commanding demonic forces beyond your imagination.
"Countering such power is a matter of separating the wielder of the magic from his protectors, so that he is vulnerable to attack by his own demons. The Western magic resident in your chief is equal to the task, dagger to dagger. Dr. Sinclair knows - though he does not know that he knows."
This cryptic observation drew a questioning look from Adam, but instead of speaking, Tseten reached out and took him by the right hand. The old man's touch sent a faint electrical shock tingling up Adam's arm, accompanied by an almost irresistible compulsion to let fall all defenses where the venerable lama was concerned.