“Could you help me with it?” She unzipped the parka. “It’s still dislocated, and there’s a good deal of pain. Not as bad as the first time Kadmus did it.”
“Kadmus didn’t pop it back into the joint for you?”
“No, I did it myself the first time, but he dislocated it again. He liked the idea of constant reminder.”
“How did the dislocation happen in the first place?”
“He was using the ropes on me.”
Catherine’s gaze flew to her face. “Ropes?”
“He said it’s a torture he learned from the North Vietnamese. The arms are tied up and back until the elbows are forced together. It cut off circulation. The pain is excruciating, then he would rotate my arms until they dislocated.”
Catherine glanced away from her, trying to control her rage. She carefully pulled the parka off her. “Son of a bitch.”
“Oh, yes.” She unbuttoned her shirt. “Without question.”
“How did you manage to pop it back in by yourself? You have first-aid experience?”
“No, I’ve always thought I should go take a course. But then I kept putting it off.”
“Then how did you know?”
“Someone…” She grimaced with pain. “Told me … what to do.”
“Who?” Catherine was trying to keep her talking as she neared the final motion that would send it back into the socket. She could see the agony twisting Erin’s face. “Someone at the palace?”
“No.” She drew a deep breath.”Just do it.”
Catherine sent the bone back into the socket. Erin jerked, and cried out, “Cameron!”
“Are you okay?” Catherine asked. “I think it’s back in place.”
Erin nodded. “It will be fine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Catherine said. “Now give me your hand.” Catherine quickly unbound the crude wrapping around the index finger. “Not a compound fracture. That’s good.” She quickly splinted it, then rebandaged. “But it’s a bad break.”
“Kadmus bent it backwards until it broke.”
“You’ll have to have it rebroken and set when we get you to a hospital.” She sat back on her heels. “Anything else? You mentioned burns?”
“Five. Breasts and thighs. I can do that myself. Do you have salve?”
Catherine handed her antiseptic salve. “If you can handle it, I’d just as soon you do. I’m getting angry. I want to go back to the palace and see how much Kadmus can take before he—” She stopped and fought for control. “But that would be stupid, and we’re not going to give him any chance of getting his hands on you again.” She dug into the backpack again. “There are always nutrition bars in these backpacks. I think we need them.”
“Perhaps we should save them in case—”
“Now. You’ve gone through hell, and you need to stoke up.” Catherine found a bar and handed it to Erin. “There are several.” She made a face. “Evidently, my pilot, Caudell, wasn’t at all sure of the best-case scenario for which I was hoping. Finished with the salve?”
“Yes.” She handed the tube back to Catherine. “It feels very cooling.”
“Only the best for the Company. Of course, only the CIA would put you into a position where you might need meds.” Catherine had been trying to avoid looking at the vicious burns Erin was treating. It made her too furious. “Before you eat that bar, bundle up in that cold-weather gear I gave you. You need to layer quickly.”
Erin picked up one of the garments. “They appear so thin…”
“Space-age and high-tech and wonderfully efficient. The sleeping bags fold down to the size of a woman’s small purse.”
“Kind of James Bond stuff?”
“If James Bond ever got himself into a situation like this. He was always too slick. But I have to be able to move without freezing my ass off, and Venable always has a way to make sure I move. You should be careful to keep that shoulder as warm as possible. Dislocations are particularly susceptible to frostbite.” She laid out the two sleeping bags. “We should sleep as much as possible during the day while the temperature is higher. Even with high-tech gear, it will be hard to fight off the cold enough to sleep once the temp plummets.”
“When do you think we’ll be able to try to get off the mountain?”
“Maybe a day or two. I’ll go out tonight and scout out what’s happening in Kadmus’s kingdom. But we’ll play it by ear.” She looked at her. “But you’re the one who knew about the village and this cave. You may be able to tell me more than this map they gave me.”
“I knew about the village because I heard Kadmus talking about it.”
“And this cave?”
“Someone told me about it.”
Catherine’s brows rose. “When it’s been lost for decades? Were you familiar with this mountain before Kadmus brought you here?”
“No. The closest I’ve ever come is the village on Milchang, the next mountain. I did a story on their herd of goats—”
“Then how did you know about this cave? Who told you?”
“Does it make any difference? I knew, and we’re here. Isn’t that enough?”
Catherine looked at her with frustration. It was clear Erin didn’t want to reveal her source. “It would be enough if I could be sure that what you said was true about this place being forgotten for all that time. It wasn’t forgotten by the person who told you about it. I don’t want Kadmus to be able to tap into the same source.”
She shook her head. “He won’t be able to do that.”
“I hope not.” Catherine sat down and leaned back against the stone wall. She was suddenly bone tired. She had been going on sheer adrenaline for too long, and now that there was a break in the action, strength was beginning to ebb away from her. “To help you, I have to know everything, Erin. It’s dangerous to keep me in the dark.”
“I know it’s not fair,” Erin said quietly. “I’m sorry, Catherine. There are things I can’t talk about.”
“I’m sorry, too.” She paused. “Who is Cameron?”
Erin stiffened. “Cameron?”
“You asked me if it was Cameron who sent me when I showed up at your room at the palace. And that was the name you screamed just now when you were in pain.”
“Did I?” She shook her head. “I didn’t even realize it. I must trust you very much to have done that. I suppose it was an automatic—”
“I accept that. But I know you remember asking me if Cameron sent me to get you away from Kadmus.”
“Yes, I remember doing that.”
“So who is Cameron?”
She didn’t answer.
“Another blank wall?” Catherine asked wearily. “Okay, but you’re making things more difficult than they have to be.”
“You’re wrong. Difficult or not, my refusal to tell you about Cameron is exactly what it has to be. It can’t be any other way.”
“Then I’ll have to work around it.” She bit into her nutrition bar. “But if I find that your silence is putting me at a disadvantage, I’m not going to be pleased.” She changed the subject. “You’ve spent years here in Tibet. Can you think of anyone here who might be willing to help us?”
“No one I’d permit to do it. A day before you came, a boy from a village on the next mountain came to try to rescue me. I’d helped some of his distant family members at the earthquake site. So brave … so young.” She tried to steady her voice. “Kadmus shot him. His body is still in the courtyard below my window. I won’t let that happen again. I’m on my own.” She suddenly smiled. “No, I’m not on my own. I have you, Catherine.”
“Yes, you have me. But under the circumstances, it might be better if you have a few more people in your corner.”
“Better for you, too,” Erin said, troubled. “You wanted so much to get home to your son.”