Meri waited at the airport for her plane to start boarding. Two hours ago she had graduated from High School. Her party was probably still going on. A letter had arrived for her, with a ticket for the next flight to Tibet and a note that said only; "Now." She didn’t have to fake feeling ill. Instead of resting in her room, she had written a letter to her parents that she hoped would explain everything, and had run away from home.

She couldn’t sleep at all during the long plane ride. When the plane finally landed and officers stopped her, she hoped that they were going to put her back on the plane and send her home. For a while that seemed to be what they would actually do, until they escorted her outside and put her in the back seat of an old station wagon. The rear compartment was literally filled to bursting with bags and packages.

The driver turned around and looked at her. "Would you mind rolling up your left sleeve?"

She nervously began to roll up her sleeve. "Why?"

"Show me the mark."

She held her arm out so he could see the circular golden mark on her arm. "There."

"Yes. You are the one." He said. "That bundle beside you is from the Ancient Master." He added as he started driving.

She broke the string easily with one of her claws. Inside were a heavy coat and overpants made of thick white fur. "What kind of fur is this?"

"Yeti." The driver said. "You should get some sleep, you look tired."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she tugged the pants on over her clothes.

"Nang-Ai village." He said. "Trust me, it’ll be a much shorter trip if you get some sleep."

The coat was so warm and soft that she couldn’t help falling asleep. She was finally jarred awake by a very deep rut in the road. Yawning, she looked out the window. The mountains they were driving through were larger than anything she had ever seen. "Wow." She whispered.

"You awake back there?"

"Yeah. Where are we?"

"Near the Mouth of the Earth Dragon."

"The what?"

"The plateau we’re headed for is called the Earth Dragon’s Plateau. The pass to get up to the village is called it’s mouth."

"Oh."

"We’ll be there in about half an hour."

She looked out the window for the rest of the trip. She could see the village as they drove up to the top of the plateau, barely in time to see the sun setting. "What’s that?"

"Where?"

"I thought I saw a building on the side of that mountain over there."

"You saw the Castle of the Ancient Master."

"Who’s that?"

"He’s the one you’re supposed to go and see."

She looked again. "You’re kidding. There’s no way I can climb a mountain like that."

He laughed. "You’ll be able to walk up. It’s a long walk, but if you hurry you’ll make it before nightfall."

"What happens at night?"

"You’d freeze to death up there."

"Sorry I asked." She said.

"It’s too late to start today. Tonight you’ll be the Mayor’s guest, and leave tomorrow." He said as he stopped the car in front of the largest of the huts. "Go in. I have to get the car unloaded."

She stumbled on the steps just inside the door, and almost fell into the large room. A pit filled with orange-red coals provided both heat and light for the occupants. A human male sitting on the far side of the pit motioned for her to come over. "I welcome you." He said as she walked over. "Be seated."

"Thank you sir."

"You must pardon me for not rising." He pulled off the furs that had been covering his legs, showing that his left leg was bandaged and in a splint. "I broke my leg yesterday."

"I’m sorry sir." She helped him cover his leg again. "How did it happen?"

"I tried to climb up to the Ancient Master’s castle, but on the first trail I fell."

"How awful."

"It was my own fault. No one can climb that mountain without his permission."

Meri’s heart fell. Was that how she was going to die?, frozen on the side of some nameless mountain? "How many people have tried?"

"Who can say?" He asked. "Most are turned away by the mountain itself. The last one to succeed is now the Master’s apprentice. The last one before him was over ninety years ago, when my grandfather was a young man."

"Ninety years? How old is the Ancient Master?"

"No one knows. This village was settled almost a thousand years ago, and the Ancient Master’s Castle was there before that. But enough,… You must eat, and rest." He clapped his hands and people began to bring in dishes and bowls full of food. Musicians started playing and some people even started dancing. Meri could see that only a few of the villagers were humans, most were either cats or dogs, there was even a family of Siberian tigers. "Why do you look so surprised?" The mayor asked.

"It’s just, where I’m from, there’s been some bad feelings between humans and furries."

"Hating someone because of what they look like is foolish. These mountains, they have no tolerance for the foolish." He said. "Now eat. You will need your strength for tomorrow."

She had a hard time eating anything, and found that she couldn’t enjoy the festivities around her. She excused herself by saying that she needed some fresh air, and stepped outside. She could see a couple of lights up in the castle on the mountain. "Are you all right?"

She turned around to see that the tiger female had followed her out. "Yeah, fine."

"You are not a good liar." The big cat replied. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Now stop that. I helped my mother raise my three brothers and that means I know when someone’s keeping a secret."

"I made a promise. I promised to give up my life to save someone else’s. That’s why I’m here." She sniffed, then added softly. "To die…"

"And you think that you’ll die on your way up the mountain?"

"Or when I get there."

"That cannot be. Even the most inexperienced climber has never died up there. The Ancient Master would never permit it."

"What about the apprentice?" She asked. "What do you know about him?"

"Everything." Was the response. "He’s my baby brother."

Meri cleared her throat. "Sorry."

"He was the one who told us you were coming. He said that the Ancient Master had called for you. He even knew what time Lu-Ye should be at the airport."

"Then he should know that I’ve never climbed a mountain in my life. I haven’t even climbed a tree since I was ten."

"You’ll be able to walk up, the snow will leave the trails for the ones chosen by the Master."

"Do you really think so?"

"My brother said they did." She put her hand on Meri’s shoulder. "Come back inside. There’s no sense in worrying about this now."

The next morning she was escorted to the base of the mountain by the entire village. By noon she had reached the second of the three ‘trails’, a long cavern that went under a glacier on the side of the mountain. The climb was dangerous because of the water from ice that had melted under the glacier’s own weight. By the time she got out it was almost dark, and she was soaking wet. Clouds overhead were already starting to send down small flakes.

She hurried up the trail as fast as she dared, not only to beat the storm, but also to try to keep warm. Now that both her overclothes and fur were wet, they provided no protection from the bitterly cold winds. Her hands and feet were numb by the time she could see the castle. A stone hidden in the snow sent her falling against the side of the mountain. She tried to stand up but her leg wouldn’t support her weight. She tried to crawl forward. "Help." Her voice was so weak that even she could barely hear it. Exhausted and scared, she started to cry.

"Meri…"

She tried to open her eyes, but they had already frozen shut. "L-Lazarus?"

"Do not be afraid."

"I don’t want to die like this." She whispered.

"And you will not."

Someone picked her up. The last thing she remembered before passing out was being carried into the castle. There was no way for her to tell how long she had slept, but she woke up covered with thick white furs. A fire pit nearby had kept her warm while she slept. In the next room she could hear two people talking, one was fairly young, the other sounded very, very old. "Apprentice, what is it that bothers you?" The old voice asked.

"Master, the one I found, is female."

"And?"

"Should she be allowed in here? She is an outsider, as well as being female."

"She is also something else."

"What Master?"

"She is awake." He started talking in a louder voice. "Young lady, you will find robe beside your bed. If you feel strong enough, please put on and join us."

She looked around and saw an orange-red robe beside the bed. Putting it on proved to be difficult, since her ankle hurt too much to stand on. Once dressed she managed to hop out to the other room. The younger voice belonged to a large tiger. The old voice belonged to a very old cat, one who seemed frail and unable to stand because of his extremely advanced age. His whiskers were as long as her arm, and his fur had long ago turned white. She tried to bow while standing on her one good foot. "Hello, Sir."

"Hello Meri." The old cat said, bowing his head. "I am the Ancient Master, this is my apprentice, Sergi Catspaw. I have been waiting for you. Come closer." She limped over to him. "You are hurt."

"I think I twisted my ankle." She said softly.

He looked at her with his pale yellow eyes. "And yet still you tried to carry on."

"Yes sir."

"Sit, please."

"Thank you." Although sitting on the floor was difficult, it let her take her weight off of her injured foot.

"You believe you are going to die here." He said.

"Yes sir."

"Master?" Sergi asked.

"The deal you made is known to me. The man you knew as Lazarus will be returned to you, as was promised. And the manner of your death will be made known to you." He said. "Allow me, please, to see leg which brings you pain."

She stretched out her leg so the Ancient Master could see her swollen ankle. "I think it’s just a sprain."

He began to massage her ankle gently. "Bones are not broken, you will be fine."

Sergi gasped. "Master should…"

He was silenced by a single look from the Ancient Master. "Please excuse him. Attitude of apprentice is result of many wasted hours watching kung-fu movies. Have never seen such things, but from behavior of student, must believe that all they do is fall on knees before master and avoid women. Most of my humble efforts of teaching have been to convince him that these are not required of my students." He stopped rubbing her ankle and gave it a pat. "Now stand."

She got up carefully, waiting to feel a twinge of pain. "M-my ankle, it doesn’t hurt."

"Now, apprentice will take you to kitchen, that you may eat."

"Thank you Sir." She said with a bow.

"This way." He led her down a flight of stairs to a very old kitchen. A cauldron of rice was cooking over a fire pit. He took a ladle and filled a bowl for her. "Here."

She took the bowl. "Is, uh, is this all there is?"

He nodded. "But there’s a lot of it. I’ve been eating it for almost five months now, and I feel fine. More of the Master’s magic, I suppose."

She took a spoon and tasted the rice. "Not bad."

"Do me a favor, will you?"

"What?"

"See if you can get the Master to eat. I haven’t gotten him to eat a thing for three days.

"Nothing?"

"Not a single grain."

She nodded. "I’ll try my best." She took the bowl back up to the Master’s chamber. He was sitting right where he had been before, but now he was reading from a large scroll. "Master?"

"Yes, young one?"

"Would you share my meal with me?"

He smiled. "As I have so often told my apprentice, food satisfies but one form of hunger." He raised the scroll slightly. "This sustains me. It is my food and drink."

It was clear she’d have to try to try a different approach. "It would make me happy if you ate."

The scroll rolled itself back up and flew to one of the corners of the room. "As you wish."

She managed to get him to eat the bowl of rice. "I’ll get some more."

"As you say in the west; ‘take your time’."

Sergi met her as she started back to the kitchen. "I tried that." He said. "But it didn’t work for me. What did you do that I didn’t?"

"He’s your master, but I’m his guest. It would have been a great disgrace to him if he had made me sad by refusing to eat with me."

"Apprentice."

Sergi looked over his shoulder, then started up the stairs. When he stood in front of his teacher, he bowed. "Yes Master?"

"When you have finished your studies for the day, you will go down the Tunnels of the Dragon and bring word to the village that our guest is safe."

"Yes Master."

"And you will remain in village until morning."

"Master? Why must I do that?"

"In morning, young lady will write letter to parents, I will send down to village, you will take to Katmandu and mail."

"But why Master?"

"Apprentice, I begin to suspect you were born with extra ‘why’ chromosome." He said dryly. "Letter will help parents not to worry. Parents feel better, young lady will feel better."

"Master, why are you so worried about her?"

"For same reason I worry about you. I care."

"But Master, with all due respect, surely she is a distraction."

"With good fortune, study and time, you may one day be ready to replace me when I pass from this world. Upon you will fall the responsibility to defend this world from the shadow forces of the netherworld and their thirst for greed, cruelty and oppression." They looked at each other. "But you are not nearly ready. You promise to protect, yet so little do you know of what you will be protecting. Someday soon you must go out into that world and experience it."

Sergi’s voice was soft. "Yes Master."

"Now return to your studies. There is much left for you to learn."

"Yes Master."

Day gave way to evening, and as evening faded into night, Meri approached the Ancient Master. "Master, you wanted to see me?"

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "For longer than you could have imagined."

"I’m sorry. I came as soon as Sergi told me you wanted to see me."

"There is much you are now to be told. Come with me." He stood up and started to walk to one of the many doors in the room.

Meri gasped. "Master, I,… I thought…"

"That I was an invalid?, unable to walk?"

She bowed her head. "Yes sir."

"That is not entirely incorrect." He said. "Come along, there is much to do."

Centuries of dust covered the floor of the halls he led her through. "Master, where are…"

"We are going to the top of the mountain, or to the bottom of the sky, depending on your point of view. Thousands of years ago the balance of this universe was disturbed, and a terrible creature was unleashed on this world. Then you came along, and the balance was restored. Past, present and future met, lives were forever changed." He stopped to pull open a small iron door, revealing a wall of snow blocking their way. With three mystic words and a single brushing gesture, he summoned a wind that blew centuries of packed snow and ice off the top of the mountain. "For fifteen thousand years the High Priests of Mu had watched over the demon that their ancestors had sealed. In the end, only the Ancient Master remained. Weakened by the centuries of his overlong life, he could only watch as the demon escaped—and became something else. With the threat gone, the Ancient Master released himself from the constraints of his body and became one with the Universe. The story might have ended there, had you not said; ‘please, bring him back to me.’ Your love for Lazarus touched the heart of the Dark Lord, and revealed to him your future, as his bride. Yes, when you pass on from this life—from old age, I assure you—you will become that silver-haired goddess." He led her out, where the golden emblem of Numair had been carved into a stone dais.

"If the Ancient Master is dead, then who are you?"

He stepped onto the dais, standing boldly in the center of the bladed eye. "I am he who witnessed all this. From the past as a mortal, from the present as that which lives between life and death, and from the future, as the eternal Keeper of the Power of Chaos." The circle began to shine, sending a curtain of golden light into the night sky. The Ancient Master raised his hands to the sky as if he could gather the stars themselves. "The secrets of my captors are now mine to pass on to those who are worthy. I stand before you as Lazarus, reborn!"

The entire top of the mountain seemed to shake. Meri fell to the ground, covering her head and praying that it would all be over quickly. When everything went silent, she looked around. Where an old cat had stood, there was now a young one, with charcoal gray fur and sharp yellow eyes. "L-Lazarus?"

He stepped off the dais and helped her up. "Actually, my name was Myron." He confessed. "But I like Lazarus a lot better."

"So do I."

He put his arm around her and they started back down the stairs. "Tomorrow you should write to your parents."

"What should I say?" She could hear the door closing behind them.

"What do they know so far?"

"That I made a promise and I had to leave right away."

"That’s all?"

"M-hm."

"All right, tell them that you’ve been accepted to be a student at a prestigious school here in Tibet."

"Sounds good."

"And that you’ve got a crush on one of the teachers."

"Okay."

"And that it’s the best sex you’ve ever had."

"I…" She stopped and looked at him. "You are ill—do you know that?"

"What?"

"I am not going to say that."

"Why not?"

"Two reasons. First, I’m still a virgin."

"Ergo any sex is the best sex you’ve ever had."

"Second, if I wrote that, my parents would drag me off by my tail."

"That sounds kind of kinky." He said.

"Are you sure that the demon half of you didn’t win?"

"If it had, I wouldn’t be asking you to marry me."

She looked at him. "Are you, asking me to marry you?"

He took her hands. "I can’t go on without you, and I’m not sure I’d really want to try. I can’t leave these mountains for very long, and life here isn’t what you’re used to. There’s no electricity, no computers or internet. If you marry me, all I can promise you is that I’ll use all my powers to make you happy."

"But, we won’t grow old together, will we?" She asked. "You’re the replacement for the Ancient Master. How many centuries did he live?"

He shook his head. "But I will grow old. Sergi is young, and quite frankly, a lot greener than I’d prefer, but he will be ready to take my place as Ancient Master eventually."

"So we have a chance at living a normal life?"

"Yes we do. We can live down in the village with our children."

"How many children?"

"Ten."

"Ten!?" She asked in surprise.

He nodded. "I’ve always dreamed of starting a baseball team."

She looked at him. "You’re crazy."

"Well we can certainly try, can’t we?" He asked. "You’d better get some rest. In the morning you write your letter and we’ll go get married."

"Gee, I always dreamed of a big ceremony."

"An entire village will be there."

"Could we wait until my parents can be there?"

"If that’s what you want."

She looked up at him. "Yes, it is."

He kissed her on the forehead. "Then we will wait. When you decide it’s time, we’ll tell your parents you want to get married and invite them to the wedding."

She smiled. "Thank you." They walked back out into the audience chamber. "What will you tell Sergi about your new appearance?"

"The truth, of course." He said. "Now, go get some rest."

"All right."

After she left he picked up the scroll he had been reading earlier. As he started reading he lifted up his legs, floating in midair. Meri’s love had lifted him above the cares of this world.