Chapter 1

The following characters appear in the first few chapters:

Mike Barnett

Master Sergeant (MSG) Special Forces, Retired, 6’-3” tall, 220 pounds, 37 years old, brown hair, blue eyes.

Chanthra

Thai, Amulet teacher, 5’-2” tall, 108 pounds, 34C-22-32, 22 years old, long lustrous black hair, brown eyes, very cute.

Yuang

House-girl, 5’-0’’ tall, 98 pounds, 32-20- 30, 17 years old, long black hair, brown eyes, a bit plain looking

Master Sergeant Sunsarn

Master Sergeant 1st Class, custodian of the Ranger Museum, 5’-7’’ tall, 140 pounds, 48 years old, black hair going gray, brown eyes, appeared in Amulets V

Ratana

Sunsarn’s wife, a decedent of the original Ratana, 5’-2’’ tall, 112 pounds, 34C-24-34, 42 years old, long black hair, brown eyes, also appeared in Amulets V

Captain Paribetra

Thai Army Ranger, Suenee’s cousin from Amulets II, III, and IV, 5’-10” tall, 145 pounds, 28 years old, black hair, brown eyes, he has been promoted in the intervening years, he appeared as a major character in Amulets III and IV

Lergong Pengdith

Captain, Thai Army Rangers, 5’-8” tall, 135 pounds, 35 years old, black hair, brown eyes, Appeared in Amulets IV

tuk-tuk

A small three-wheeled vehicle with a two cycle engine. There is a driver’s seat in the front and a wide passenger seat over the rear wheels. It has a roof, but it has open sides. (Google Tuk Tuk to see pictures.)

We checked out of the guest house the next morning, the 30th of April, and paid the bill. Chanthra had arranged a rented car again, and we filled the trunk and part of the back seat with our things and the items that we had purchased at the PX. (See Amulets V, chapter 18) We were on our way back to Korat and retirement by 10:00 that morning. We had only been on the road a short time when my amulet warmed up, and a voice in my head told me, “You don’t really think that you are finished yet, do you?”

We arrived at our new house in Korat by noon. Chanthra paid the driver after he had helped us unload our things and carry them into the house. The rest of that day and part of the next several days were spent getting settled. There was some furniture in the house, but not enough for us to live there comfortably. We also needed to get propane for the stove and the shower unit. The water and the electric had already been turned on by the landlord.

We went out to eat that evening, as there was no food in the house except what we had brought with us. We spent a very quiet night in the house. The bed was hard, but we had slept on hard beds before. I still had my poncho liner and mosquito net. We had also found a large air mattress in the PX. It was a big help as far as sleeping went that night.

“We have many things to buy to make it easier to live here,” Chanthra reminded me before we went to sleep that night following some hugging and kissing.

“It’s a good thing that there is money in the bank. We will be able to buy everything that we need immediately,” I told her.

“Yes, but we must bargain to get the best price. The merchants will want to overcharge us because you are a Fa-rung,” she reminded me. Being the end of April, it wasn’t too hot yet in Korat, and we spent a comfortable night.

We awoke reasonably early the next morning. Not as early as when we had stayed at the Wats, or when I had troops to train but early enough. There were presently no roosters to awaken us early either.

After taking care of our morning preparations and dressing, we found a young woman sitting outside of our front door when we left to go to breakfast.

“Sawat Dee, Ka,” the young woman said with a respectful wai and a bow.

“Sawat Dee, Ka,” Chanthra answered with a wai. “Is there something I can do for you?” she asked next.

“No, Ka. Last night I had a strange dream. It directed me to come to this house early this morning. It said that you are looking for a house-girl, Ka,” the young woman told her. Chanthra tilted her head to the side for a few seconds on hearing this before smiling at the young woman.

“What is your name, Ka?” she asked.

“I am called Yuang, Ka,” the young woman told her. Chanthra turned to me then.

“My Mike, this is Yuang. The Amulets have sent her here to be our house-girl,” she told me.

“You’re sure?” I asked just to check.

“Yes, the Amulets spoke to me when I asked about her,” Chanthra told me. This caused a sudden reaction in the young woman, who threw herself down on the ground with her forehead touching the dirt.

“Forgive me, Pee. I didn’t know that you are a holy woman,” she begged in a frightened voice. Chanthra stooped down and helped the young woman up.

“I am not a holy woman, Yuang. I am only a simple teacher of the Amulets. Sometimes, they speak to me when they have something for me, or my husband, Mike, to do. We are retired from the Military now and will be living here. We will need a house-girl to take care of the house during times when we must be away. Additionally, I will be teaching classes on the Amulets at a Wat once we are settled,” Chanthra told her.

“Are you still interested in the job of house-girl?” she asked following that.

“Yes, Pee. I have been a house-girl for several years, but those I worked for previously wanted me to have sex with them. I couldn’t do that,” she said in a distressed voice.

“Do not worry, we will not be seeking sex with you, but perhaps after a time, the Amulets will find a nice young man for you, as they did for our previous house-girl, but that was a long way from here and now,” Chanthra assured her.

“Have you eaten today?” she asked her next.

“No, not today, Pee,” Yuang answered, but I thought that it may have been more than one day since she had eaten.

“Come with us. We are going to eat, and then do some shopping. Do you have some things to leave here?” Chanthra asked her.

“Only a few things, Pee,” the young woman answered and retrieved a small bundle of clothing from the side of the road.

“Put your things in the front room for now and come with us to eat. Later, you can put them in your room,” Chanthra directed her. I unlocked the door so she could put her things inside. She had seemed a bit surprised that she would have a room of her own.

We walked toward the market in Korat, as it was still early and hadn’t heated up yet. It was sure to be hotter by the time we returned.

At the restaurant we chose, Chanthra ordered breakfast for all of us. Yuang was surprised when she received a meal even larger than the ones that Chanthra had ordered for us.

“Thank you, Pee,” she said in an embarrassed voice.

“We couldn’t have our new house-girl passing out on the way home from a lack of food,” Chanthra told her with a smile, as obviously she too had realized that Yuang hadn’t eaten much lately. She did eat every bit of her breakfast, though I didn’t know where a small thin girl like her put all of it. Following breakfast, we went shopping.

Over the next ten days, we obtained the things necessary to make the house livable. It being 1970, we didn’t need to worry about water being delivered, or the stable being cleaned out, as we had no stable or horses as we’d had at our house in 1855. (see Amulets V) It also wasn’t necessary to go to the market daily as we had a refrigerator plus electricity for it and the lights. There was also a gas stove and a water heater for showers. The water pressure wasn’t always sufficient to use it, however. Chanthra and Yuang had even started a small garden behind the house.

Mainly though what we did was relax. Yuang proved to be a competent and conscientious house-girl and had the meals ready on time. She and Chanthra did go to the market twice a week. Chanthra had also checked out several of the Wats in Korat to select one where she would be teaching eventually but was in no hurry to start. We hadn’t been here quite two weeks when she came to me one morning with a question.