Hurry. Hurry.

Warlord would know. He would find her.

Hurry ...What was that?

Karen skidded to a halt. She turned. The path stretched behind her, empty, rocky. She saw nothing but the line of the Himalayas etched against the sky, jagged, pristine, indifferent. She listened, but heard nothing but the ever-present wind, the thunder of a distant waterfall, the brief scream of a hawk overhead.

She might not like the mountains, but she knew how to run, and she knew how to hide.

So she needed to hurry.

She turned back with renewed intent, walking briskly between giant stones and through a high mountain meadow. The path dipped ... she heard the soft sound of a footfall ... she swung around again.

She scanned the meadow, and saw only the shadow of a high and distant cloud.

Nevertheless ... she would have sworn that some thing moved through the grass after her. Impossible. It must be the wind that rippled through the flowers.

Yet she would have sworn someone -- or something -- was watching her.

She turned back to her journey, walked around a corner, and skidded to a stop. 'Oh, help,' she whispered.

The path skittered along a cliff above and a two-hundred foot chasm below, and narrowed to only six inches of crumbling rock. Below the raging river chewed at the stones.

Taking a deep breath, she put her back against the cliff and inched forward, one foot over the other, eyes determinedly forward. She took deep, slow breaths. The cool breeze chilled the sheen of sweat on her face. She didn't want to faint. No, God, please, don't faint ...

Worse, fear made her hallucinate. She thought someone stood in front of her on the path. Someone who breathed hot breath on her neck.

With infinite care, she turned her head to the side.

Warlord stood there, tall and strong, fierce and furious.

No. Oh, no. It wasn't possible.

'You would face this ... rather than me?' he asked.

'What do you think?' Her insolence was instinctive -- and misplaced.

For deep in his eyes, red flared, and he said, 'I think you've made a terrible mistake.'

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Warmly,

Christina Dodd
http://www.christinadodd.com
For the Wild at Heart

New York Times bestselling author
INTO THE SHADOW
Book 3 of the acclaimed series, Darkness Chosen
On the shelves July 1!

Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world. - Dave Barry