The Green Lama: Unbound (The Green Lama Legacy Book 3) Read Free Page A

vigilante’ and I’m not sure how he does half the crap I’ve seen him do.”
    “Radioactive salts,” Ken said matter-of-factly, topping it off with an affirmative nod. He held one hand over his cup, moving his fingers as if he were sprinkling sugar into his coffee. “He puts it in his water and drinks it. Makes him strong. He’s even got a special batch that can make him fly.”
    “Heal people too,” Caraway added, tapping his chest with the knuckle of his thumb.
    Ken gave Caraway a sideways glance. “Oh, yeah, I remember that, the golem almost killed you.”
    “Thanks for the reminder. You know, I was there, right?”
    Ken shrugged. “I’m so hung over right now, let’s just be impressed I’m standing up, okay?”
    Caraway grunted a laugh. “Hell, I’m pretty sure I would’ve died a dozen times if it weren’t for that Buddhist bastard. Every time I think I’m done, he appears out of the shadows. Lama ex Machina .” He sipped thoughtfully at his coffee. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the army?”
    Ken looked out toward the sunrise, his inebriated grin shrinking. He looked thinner than Caraway remembered, his eyes a bit more guarded, sadder. “Honorably discharged,” he admitted after a moment.
    “Couldn’t keep up?” Caraway chided.
    “Wasn’t meant to be,” Ken replied mournfully with a distant look Caraway recognized as heartbreak. “Time to step back into the real world.” He waved his hand at the horizon. “If you could call this reality. So it’s back to the stage.” He paused to clear his throat. “Just landed the lead role in the new Broadway show On Your Toes .”
    “Can I ask you something that’s been bugging me for a few years now?” Caraway asked after a period of weighted silence. “No offense or nothing, but why does the Green Lama have an actor working with him?”
    Ken shrugged. “Hell if I know. Jean and I met the guy on a ship from Los Angeles and for whatever reason we just jumped at the chance to help him. Hell, the first time I ever spoke to him, he was hiding in a baggage room. Who in their right mind would listen to a guy hiding in a baggage room?” Ken sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”
    Caraway checked his watch. “Five minutes to five in the morning.”
    “Christ on a cross!” he exclaimed, massaging his eyes. “I wonder if Gary and Evangl ever had to deal with this sort of crap too.”
    “ Om! Ma-ni Pad-me Hum! ”
    “Speak of the devil,” Caraway murmured as they turned to find the Green Lama standing solemnly behind them. For all they knew he could have been there for several minutes, listening to their whole conversation, which, Caraway silently admitted, wasn’t all that surprising.
    “Lieutenant Caraway, Mr. Clayton,” the Green Lama said in greeting, his voice strained and hoarse. Caraway couldn’t help but notice that the Green Lama’s face, though shadowed by his large hood, appeared almost Native American, noticeably different from his more Caucasian appearance several weeks prior, which itself was a change from the Asian man he had seen a few days before that. Most striking, however, were the deep pockets seated beneath the Green Lama’s blazing eyes.
    Ken raised his coffee in a mock toast. “Lama.”
    “Thank you both for coming here on such short notice and at such an early hour.”
    “Could we get right to the point?” Caraway said testily. “I’ve got a wife at my apartment seriously considering a return to single life, so can we get this over with quickly?”
    The Green Lama gave him a terse nod in acknowledgment. “Mr. Clayton, you will recall at the conclusion of our recent exploits with the golem the discovery of a second Jade Tablet.”
    “How could I forget?” Ken sighed.
    “As of two hours ago, the Tablet, just as it did for Rabbi Brickman, revealed to me a glimpse of the future. And while these visions were unclear…” the Green Lama grimaced. He closed his eyes, as if he were trying to