Ayesha: The Return of She (She #2)

In this sequel to She, Horace Holly & his ward Leo Vincey once again embark on a quest to find the mysterious woman known as Ayesha. Knowing that She is no longer in Africa, they go east, eventually reaching a lamasery in the mountains of Tibet. The abbot warns them against continuing, but they press on & discover an ancient city named Kaloon, which is ruled by the evil Khan Rassen & his imperious wife, the Khania Atene. Near the city is a huge volcano, wherein lives the Hesea, the Priestess of Hes, & her servants. Leo becomes the center of a conflict between Atene & the Hesea, both of whom desire him.

Excerpt: [...] Now we were in country where, so far as I could learn, no European had ever set a foot. In a part of the vast land called Turkestan there is a great lake named Balhkash, of which we visited the shores. Two hundred miles or so to the westward is a range of mighty mountains marked on the maps as Arkarty-Tau, on which we spent a year, and five hundred or so to the eastward are other mountains called Cherga, whither we journeyed at last, having explored the triple ranges of the Tau.[...]