The small group left the valley at sunrise. Mallory led, followed by Bierce, Tirseng, a few sherpas from the royal guard, and Annette. She took an instant dislike to the sherpas as they approached the hut that morning, and she could not shrug off the thought that these men should not be there. Smiling, she walked to the little man nearest her.
"Whew, monsieur, this should be exciting, non?" The guard ignored her. "Do you climb her much?...Oh, moi? What I know of this climbing you could keep right here!" The man glanced quickly at her upraised little finger, and sped up his walk to be rid of her. When they reached Bierce's hut, the little man made particular effort to stay well away from her while Ambrose retrieved the pistol from his trunk.

After a brief rest, the group followed the trail to the bottom of the cliff face. Annette's stomach churned as they crossed the river, keep walking. Afternoon came, and they reached the end of the trail. Falling rocks from the storm two nights before had obliterated the path before them.
"Right!" exclaimed Mallory. "This is where we start. Pair up and tie off. Ambrose, you and I will go with this lot. Annette, you tie up to Tirseng." She did as she was told, following the snowleopard was becomming second nature anymore.

They had scrambled over the loose rock and boulders for an eternity, it seemed, when Annette heard Ambrose shout, "There, up and to the right!" A human form clung to the rock face. If she could have, Annette would have sprouted wings right then and there, but as it was, she waited impatiently as the men planned their attack on the cliff-face. Mallory would anchor as Tirseng climbed up and over Curioso, dropping down to retrieve him.

Annette waited, every muscle tense, as Tirseng climbed. She felt her own fingers cramp at every impossible hold, and gasped at each attempt to climb yet higher. When he dropped down to the insignificant toe-hold that supported Curioso, she saw Curioso raise his head slightly as Tirseng tied him in. Alive!! At that moment, nothing else mattered. No uranium, no mad brothers, nothing.

Mallory watched his friend climb, feeling a small pang that he himself had not attempted it. It was better that he didn't. When he saw Tirseng start to come down with the man, he was nearly thrown off his feet by the scrambling Annette as she raced to the rock wall. He watched her, waiting with her face upturned, as the men reached the bottom of the wall. She reached up and pulled them both to her, crying out with joy as she first hugged Tirseng and then covered the other man's face with kisses. His next glance was at the sky. There would be no calm night like the night before, the storm clouds on the mountain promised at the very least, an inhospitable night for anyone left in the canyon.
"Come along now!" he shouted, "Back to camp before the weather changes" The party followed, with Annette and Tirseng cradling the weakened man between them. When they reached Mallory, he gasped. It couldn't be? His highness?

Mallory's mood had only darkened by the time they reached a small clearing that was suitable to camp in. A fire was built, the sherpas began cooking, and Annette sat busy, cooing over the man and wrapping his hands. Mallory called Tirseng to sit beside him at the fire, and the sherpa agreed. Heads together, they whispered.
"Who is this man? You say he is a friend of yours? Have you known him long?" started Mallory
"Yes, and a dear friend too.. I've know him since he was a boy."
"Well, frankly Snowleopard, when I saw you bring him round, I could have sworn for a minute that it was Prince Monatek himself..."
"I see..." replied the small man, realization creeping across his face. "Dominic..."

Sharply, a whisper came from behind them. "Dominic, Monatek...Lunatic is what I think!" The two men turned to see Annette crouched nearby. She crawled over, looking at Mallory, and asked "Well then, monsieur. What shall we do?"
Mallory glanced over at the sherpas, then at the sleeping form of Curioso before he replied, "At first light...run."

The howling winds that night woke Mallory from his slumber. He seemed startled that the others could remain asleep in the racket, then he saw that the flames of the fire weren't bent in the breeze....
"So this is how you would have it, eh, Mallory?"
George spun to see Prince Monatek at the edge of the campsite. Slowly the prince walked towards him. He didn't shout, but his voice rang in Mallory's ears despite the keening wind.
"I give you all of this, eternity in paradise, and you betray me?
Mallory stood stock-still, seeing the prince for who and what he was.
"You wanted to be in these mountains forever. Now you will be."
The black wind screamed through the dark, picking up the flailing body of George Mallory, and flinging him to the furthest reaches of the Himalayas.
The other travelers were lost in dreams.