The Path Read Free Page B

Holy Ground and into battle. MacLeod had followed Paulus’s career, and although he had not
     yet won the Nobel Peace Prize, there were many, MacLeod among them, who thought he should.
    Paulus began to introduce the people behind him. They were civic and religious leaders from the city who, like himself, were
     known for their advocacy of world peace, human rights, hunger relief, and other social/moral causes. It was an impressive
     lineup, but Duncan’s attention was fixed on the man in the center who sat with his head quietly bowed.
    Only once during the long introductions did the Dalai Lama look up. His eyes scanned quickly across the audience until they
     met and locked with MacLeod’s. In that instant Duncan knew he had been recognized.
    Up on the stage, the Dalai Lama bowed his head, but his mind was far from silent. He had felt MacLeod’s aura from the moment
     he walked into the arena; its strength and vibrance, so well remembered, had drawn his eyes unerringly to its owner’s face.
    “Like attracts like,” the Dalai Lama knew modern science would say. With his contemporary education and world travels, he
     had been exposed to the laws of physics in ways his predecessors had never dreamed existed. But in spite of the scientific
     knowledge he had gained over the years, he knew there was more at work here than one type of immortality recognizing another.
     He knew it now the same way he had known it two hundred years before when the eighth Dalai Lama, whose spirit he carried,
     had first met Duncan MacLeod.
    Once more, the holy man raised his eyes slightly, looking out through the tops of his glasses over the crowd. So many people.
     He could feel their collective goodwill, and from some their doubts, swirling around him like warm and living breath. Over
     them all, the presence of MacLeod shone like a beacon through the fog.
    As their eyes met, the Dalai Lama gave a small, internal nod.
You have grown
, the Tibetan leader thought,
but there is still much unfinished between us. Do you feel it, too, Duncan MacLeod? After so long a time, how much of Tibet
     do you remember?
    Duncan tried to keep his mind on each of the speakers. As interesting as they were, MacLeod’s attention continually drifted
     back to the Dalai Lama. Often he found his gaze returned. But there was no expression, however small, that revealed the religious
     leader’s emotion. Each time their eyes met, the Dalai Lama would bow his head again, leaving Duncan to wonder what he read
     in those dark eyes, what, if any, signal he was receiving.
    At last the Dalai Lama came to the microphone. In spite of his heavy accent and quiet voice, he proved to be a consummate
     speaker. Like the predecessor MacLeod had known, this Dalai Lama had the gift of drawing his listeners in and making each
     one of them feel an important part of the whole, as if their personal involvement was the key to ultimate success. It was
     a gift modern politicians should envy.
    Peace through Compassion
was the Dalai Lama’s theme and, for Duncan, listening to him was like going back in time. These were the same words, just
     a different voice speaking them, and despite the accented English coming out of the microphone, the slightly uncomfortable
     seats, and the modern surroundings, MacLeod had only to close his eyes halfway for the man on the stage to transform into
     the Dalai Lama Duncan had known so well.
    A touch on his arm brought Duncan’s thoughts back to the present. Standing beside him was one of the stadium’s security guards.
     The sight made his stomach tighten; he was certain he would be asked to leave.
    At least he knew now what expression he had read on the Dalai Lama’s face. The friendship they had once known was indeed to
     remain buried in the past. There would be no healing of misunderstandings, no regrets laid to rest.
    Well, Duncan would accept the Dalai Lama’s wishes now, as he had two hundred years ago. He was about to stand, ready to leave,