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They bolted across the rugged terrain away from the monks’ army. The monks gave chase, joined by the warriors from the monastery. And then, from three sides, more and more warriors appeared, thousands of them, forcing Vladimir and Lucienne toward an opening between two mountains.

“Have you noticed what they’re trying to do?” Vladimir asked.

“They’re driving us toward the only opening. It could be a trap.”

“We can’t be picky right now, can we?” Vladimir said bitterly.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook, shooting dry glass and rocks toward them. Vladimir leapt, pushing her down as a large rock narrowly missed their faces.

Lucienne gazed up at Vladimir, now on top of her, his handsome face inches away. A lock of his tousled hair dropped to his forehead.Hot mess,she thought.

Vladimir held her gaze, a mischievous light glinting in his eyes.

“What was that?” Lucienne asked.

“Some kind of landslide maybe. I can’t believe this is happening. Now I get why they’re trying to drive us here.”

That reminded Lucienne. “You should get off me,” she said with a blush. “We should get going.”

“Indeed.” Vladimir shot to his feet with a grin, extending a hand to Lucienne. The two stumbled forward despite the shudder of the earth beneath them, trying desperately to distance themselves from the monks. Lucienne looked over her shoulder. The monks from all three sides threw themselves to the ground.

“They’re paying respect to some deity.”

“I hope they don’t get up too soon.”

The vibration from the ground stopped, like a giant deciding to rest. The monks got up and moved toward Vladimir and Lucienne. Their thunderous shouting resumed, echoing in valley and the mountains, making it seem like there were ten times more soldiers.

Lucienne’s face paled. “What are they saying?”

“They believe Bön demon will deliver us to them.” Vladimir yanked out his sanjiegun. “Go, Lucia. I can hold them for a while. Keep going north toward the river. When you get there, discard your outfit and take a bus to Lhasa. You’ll know how to get home from Lhasa.”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

“I said when the situation called for it, you’d have to leave me behind. Now that’s the situation,” Vladimir said urgently. “Get away from here!”

Lucienne stood firm, twirling her whip, and tilted her head to look at him defiantly. “Would you leave me if I asked you?”

“The scroll is of no use to me, but it’s why you came here. Isn’t it all you care about?”

“I need it to stop a war, but it isn’t all I care about,” Lucienne said. “I won’t leave you behind.”

Vladimir gazed at her. “You like me, Lucia, very much.” His eyes flowed with such tenderness that Lucienne craved to be in his arms, sharing his warmth like bathing in sunlight in her garden.

She reached for his hand and dragged him to run with her. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Blazek, but we stick together.”

With renewed spirit, they put more space between them and the monks. “Their age has finally caught up with them.” Vladimir laughed.

Lucienne laughed, too. Then they both stopped. Vladimir started cursing the monks and his own bad luck. Ten yards ahead of them lay a chasm nearly thirty feet wide. Vladimir stole a glance at Lucienne. She got the meaning. The men’s world record for distance jump was over twenty-nine feet. Vladimir could manage that distance, but could she?

Lucienne scanned the other side for something solid the grappling hook could hold onto, but all she saw was dried grass and small rocks. “At least there’s no hunting party on the other end,” she said drily, shoving her hand into her robe and pulling out the scroll holder. “Promise me you’ll get this to my grandfather.”

Vladimir’s hand gripped hers, stopping her. “Give it to him yourself!”

“I can’t jump that distance, you know that. This scroll is more than my life,” she said. “Take it and go.”

“Nothing is more than your life. Nothing willeverbe more than your life!” Vladimir’s callused hand tilted up Lucienne’s chin as he gazed down at her—one of the rare occasions that the careless Vladimir looked so livid. A dark storm gathered in his eyes, tainting them shadow green. “If you ever say the scroll is more than your life again, I swear I’ll burn it!”

“What happened to being practical? What about leaving me without a doubt when the situation calls?”