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Where did he go…?

Annja peered around the edge of the reef and the shadow was gone.

It really was almost as if the unknown figure had disappeared right off the coral reef.

What were the chances that he’d been taken by a shark? She shook her head. No, there’d be some sort of evidence of an attack. His oxygen tanks would be lying on the ocean floor. His weight belt would have been shredded.

Annja’s mouth went dry and she glanced down at her oxygen gauge.

It was running close to empty.

She needed to get back to the boat. But in the next instant, she knew where the shadow had vanished to.

He’d resurfaced.

The boat engine roared overhead, its sound muffled through the water, but Annja glanced up and saw the white foam as the boat suddenly shot back the way they had come out.

Leaving Annja all alone in the dark ocean.

Titles in this series:

Destiny

Solomon’s Jar

The Spider Stone

The Chosen

Forbidden City

The Lost Scrolls

God of Thunder

Secret of the Slaves

Warrior Spirit

Serpent’s Kiss

Provenance

The Soul Stealer

Gabriel’s Horn

The Golden Elephant

Swordsman’s Legacy

Polar Quest

Eternal Journey

Sacrifice

Seeker’s Curse

Footprints

Paradox

The Spirit Banner

Sacred Ground

The Bone Conjurer

Tribal Ways

The Dragon’s Mark

Phantom Prospect

Restless Soul

False Horizon

The Other Crowd

Tear of the Gods

The Oracle’s Message

Rogue Angel_™

The Oracle’s Message
Alex Archer

www.mirabooks.co.uk

THE LEGEND

…THE ENGLISH COMMANDER TOOK

JOAN’S SWORD AND RAISED IT HIGH.

The broadsword, plain and unadorned, gleamed in the firelight. He put the tip against the ground and his foot at the center of the blade. The broadsword shattered, fragments falling into the mud. The crowd surged forward, peasant and soldier, and snatched the shards from the trampled mud. The commander tossed the hilt deep into the crowd.

Smoke almost obscured Joan, but she continued praying till the end, until finally the flames climbed her body and she sagged against the restraints.

Joan of Arc died that fateful day in France, but her legend and sword are reborn….

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Epilogue

1

The turquoise waters of the South China Sea swirled into the flow of the Mindoro Strait and the Sulu Sea to the south, bobbing the small catamaran over gentle swells. The motion was almost hypnotizing to a very tired but very relaxed Annja Creed as she steered toward the GPS coordinates she’d punched in for a little-visited coral reef off the northeastern part of Palawan in the Philippines.

She’d fled New York City two days earlier, amid a stretch of work that had left her positively drained and eager for any excuse to leave town. Sharing a bottle of Santa Margherita pinot grigio with her good friend Bart McGilley, she’d remembered that she’d wanted to go diving in the Philippines for a long time. On her last trip there, the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf had cut that dream short by taking her hostage and Annja had seen a lot more of the tropical rain-forest jungles of the south than she ever wanted to see again.

In the wake of her experience, she’d found out that the government had rounded up a lot of the Abu Sayyaf followers and most experts considered the group fairly neutralized. Annja knew there was a chance they’d regroup, but for the time being, they were content to lie low.

And that seemed like enough of an opening for Annja.

The twenty-two-hour flight from New York with a brief layover in Osaka, Japan, had left her even more tired, but the thought of some alone time and diving at the little-known coral reef inspired her.

She’d flown from Manila to the southwest island of Palawan, jutting out into the South China Sea. She and her fellow tourists had landed on a small dusty airstrip that looked like it might have been used for smuggling, transferred to a jeepney—one of the gaudily decorated World War II U.S. Army jeeps that had been converted into buses—and bounced their way through a stretch of jungle down to a river.

On the river, a small boat snaked along the tributary until they emerged into a bay. Once there, they transferred to a larger boat that skimmed its way across the waves toward the island of Apulit. As they’d neared the shore, Annja heard music and saw the resort workers coming down to the beach strumming guitars and bearing trays of fruity drinks.

One sip told Annja that Club Noah was going to be an absolute delight. The tiny resort consisted of just forty cabanas perched on stilts over the gently lapping waves of the little U-shaped bay.

Annja spent her first few hours ditching the last remnants of her overly stressed world by having a few more of the incredibly refreshing and intoxicating fruity welcome drinks and by taking a long nap in a beach hammock. The breeze blowing in from the beach rocked the hammock and Annja had passed out. After a quiet evening exploring the beach and resort she retired to her cabana for a good night’s sleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she polished off a large breakfast and then made plans to rent a small boat and diving gear. The dive master had not wanted her to go off alone, but Annja had insisted and eventually handed him a hundred-dollar bill that convinced him.

She knew that diving alone wasn’t very safety conscious, but she’d done it enough times that she no longer felt worried about the possibility of something happening that she couldn’t resolve. She’d faced down danger enough times to know her own abilities. By 10:00 a.m. she was happily sailing out to the dive spot alone and on her own terms.

She was roughly two miles offshore, and the tiny island sitting far off in the distance seemed a lot farther away than she’d expected it, too. Briefly, she reconsidered whether she should have brought the dive master along. But then she shrugged it off and set about readying herself for the dive.

Annja let the small anchor over the side and attached the dive flag to it so anyone coming near would know there were divers in the water. The last thing she wanted was a large boat steaming over her as she explored the area.

Annja stripped off the clothes she’d worn on the way out. The sun overhead blazed down and she felt the first beads of sweat starting to form along her hairline. It would be good to get into the water.

She strapped the weight belt around her waist and checked to make sure it was secure. A quick look at the oxygen tank gauge assured her that it hadn’t leaked since she’d checked it onshore. She slid into the gear and tightened the straps around her shoulders. The open-circuit gear was the most commonly used around the world and Annja had no problems checking to make sure the oxygen flow was good.

She slid a pair of flippers on her feet and put her face mask into the water, smearing the inside of the glass before settling the mask on her face. She checked the straps around her head and sucked in, testing the seal.

The catamaran bobbed in place and Annja sat on the edge of the far side of the boat, away from the anchor. Looking around, she could see a boat in the distance, but it was too far away to be of any concern to her.

Other than that, she was alone.

Here we go, she thought.

And with that, she leaned back and pitched over into the water.

She’d decided not to wear a diving suit, opting instead for just her one-piece bathing suit. She figured the water wouldn’t be too cold, and she was right. As the sea enveloped her, she felt its cooling effect on her body. But it was still at least seventy-five degrees, if not closer to eighty. She suspected there would be cooler currents and warmer currents, given the proximity of the island to three different bodies of water.

She blew out and tested all her seals. All good. She descended slowly. In this area, the water depth was only about fifty feet.

Immediately, she saw schools of brilliantly colored fish dart away from her. Pilot fish swam closer and in the distance she spotted clown fish zipping through the water.

About twenty feet below her, Annja made out a brilliant array of bright pink coral. Her eyes widened when she saw the lush life swirling around the structure. A moray eel seemed to sense her approach and ducked back inside after opening its mouth and showing her a wide array of needle-sharp teeth.

I wouldn’t want to get a hand caught on any of those, she thought.

She allowed the weight belt to pull her down, only occasionally kicking her flippers. The tug of the current moved her gradually to the side and Annja had to right herself to keep on the level heading she wanted.

Unlike a lot of coral reefs, the one Annja now approached was classified as a small table reef, meaning it was mostly isolated and didn’t have a lagoon nearby. As she descended farther, Annja could see the incredible biodiversity present. Starfish littered one side of the reef, while saddleback butterfly fish with their distinctive black markings on their backs wove and dodged nearby.

A school of triggerfish passed close by, each one seeming to inspect Annja as if she was some unknown intruder.

Annja spotted more clown fish and marveled at the brilliant orange of their scales.

A dark shape passed in the periphery of her vision and Annja’s heart beat faster for a moment until she turned.

She spotted a grouper.

Annja considered them to be an ugly fish, the way they floated through the darker waters, with their mouths opening and closing and their dead eyes locked on to whatever they happened to be swimming toward.

If she hadn’t known better, she might have felt a twinge of fear. But groupers, for all their horrid appearance, presented no threat. And Annja had a sharp diver’s knife strapped low on her right leg, just in case.

She almost laughed. And if that didn’t work, she thought, she could simply bring her sword out. She felt sure that would take care of pretty much any threat the sea could throw at her.

Her breathing had settled down nicely, her inhalations coming slow and steady as she felt the last of her cares slip away for the moment. This was what she’d wanted for so long and to think that she was finally there, drinking it all in. Annja had left the rest of the world above and behind her.

She felt great.

She drifted deeper and could see the powder-white sand on the floor of the ocean where it met the edge of the coral reef. As she suspected, the water was a little cooler there, and she moved back toward the warmer waters, aware that she’d have to make sure she didn’t stay too long. She knew she’d risk hypothermia if her core temperature came down too much.

This dive was about reconnaissance, anyway. She had just wanted to get out and find the reef, take note of some of its features and then prepare to come back over the next few days for more investigative work. Documenting this reef and its life would make for a fun project and it would totally take her mind off the work she’d left back in New York City.

She blew out a stream of bubbles that floated skyward. She glanced up and saw the bright sunlight filtering down toward where she bobbed close by the edge of the coral.

A school of powder-blue surgeonfish seemed to be buzzing close by a section of coral and Annja could see they were dining on the algae that had encrusted one portion of the reef.

The levels of life here were simply amazing. Annja could see how coral reefs accounted for so many of the ocean’s species cohabitating in close proximity to one another. The reefs themselves supplied a level of food that brought small fish. And the small fish attracted larger fish that dined on them.

And so it went up the food chain.

Right to the apex predators.

Annja steered herself left and saw the sharp spikes of a crimson-colored crown of thorns starfish atop an outcropping of coral. The notoriously voracious starfish dined on the coral and Annja wondered how long it would take to reduce the outcropping until it was level with the rest of the reef.

She heard the faint sound of a motor and glanced up toward the water’s surface. Perhaps the boat she’d spotted in the distance earlier had moved closer. She thought she spotted a dark shape closer to the surface, but dismissed it as a shadow.

It was probably caused by a cloud, she thought.

She turned her attention back to the reef.

Long spindly tendrils of sea grass waved to and fro as the current moved it about. Annja spotted smaller clown fish threading their way through the stalks, no doubt trying to use it to hide themselves from predators.

I wish I’d brought my camera, she thought then. The images in front of her face were truly incredible.

Still, there’d be time enough for that. She had a week at the Club Noah resort before she’d be forced to return to the hustle and bustle of her daily existence.

That was seven days away, though. And she didn’t want to spend her time thinking of what the return to her world would do to her outlook on life.

No, she was here now and that was what was most important.

She turned back toward where she’d been watching the clown fish. But the little guys were gone.

She drew closer to the sea grass and peered inside.

She spotted a clown fish huddled farther back, closer to the wall of coral that was behind it.

Annja frowned. Is it me that’s got him spooked?

The answer to her question came a moment later as a jackfish shot past her face mask, through the sea grass and gobbled up the poor clown fish. Annja saw the blur of movement, but had hardly enough time to register the effect.

One second, the clown fish was there; the next, it was simply gone.

The jackfish didn’t hang around, either.

Life on the reef, she thought. Everyone’s got to eat.

Annja looked around again. She realized the motor noise had stopped, but she didn’t see any other anchors leading down to the bottom. Just hers. So there was no one else in the area.

She felt a sense of unease she couldn’t explain. She checked her oxygen gauge and saw she still had plenty left.

A moment later she felt herself torpedoed from behind and thrust into the sharp coral face itself.

2

The impact of the blow from behind sent Annja into the coral face-first. Her mask came loose and slipped off.

Annja slammed her eyes shut and took a breath.

What the hell hit me?

She flailed about in the water, feeling around for her mask. Calm down, she told herself, it’s here somewhere. She felt to the right and found the mask.

Bringing it over her head, she started purging the water from it by sucking in air through her regulator and then blowing out through her nose, hoping she could get the water level down so she could at least open her eyes.

She sensed the movement around her and fought to keep herself from panicking; her heart thundered in her chest as she kept purging the mask.

And then she felt the water level drop below her lids and she risked opening her eyes.

A dark maw of razor-sharp teeth filled her view.

Annja jerked herself to the side as the giant body shot past her. In her periphery, she saw the dark vertical stripes and now her pulse raced.

A tiger shark.

They called them the garbage cans of the deep. Annja’s brain ran down the laundry list of facts she knew about them. Galeocerdo cuvier in Latin, they were one of the most dangerous sharks in the ocean, second only to the great white. They were predators, and dozens of human deaths had been attributed to them over the years. They were well known in the South Pacific and the waters of the Philippines, although Annja hadn’t thought there’d be much chance of one being here near the reef.

That would account for the lack of other sharks around the reef, though, she thought. Normally, there’d be other species—especially reef sharks, blacktips and others more at home near the coral.

This guy must have frightened them off.

And now, getting some distance from her pursuer, Annja could see why. The shark was massive, at least fourteen feet running from the tip of its blunt snout to the notch in its tail.

She took another breath and kept blowing out through her nose, clearing more of the water from her mask. She’d need her eyesight in order to get out of this scrape unscathed.

The tiger shark swam in lazy circles around the reef, but always kept Annja in his vision.

She ran her hand down her right leg and freed the knife from its sheath. The serrated edge could cut into the tough shark hide without much problem. But in order to do that, Annja would have to get close.

Really close.

She took another few breaths and then watched as the shark suddenly turned and shot away from the reef, its dark striped form vanishing as it gained distance from the reef.

Was it gone?

Annja frowned. She’d heard about this particular tactic before. The tiger shark would sometimes leave, hoping to entice its target into the open only to return and attack more violently than before.

I’ve got time, Annja thought. And I won’t fall for that move.

She kept her back to the coral and the knife up in front of her. After two minutes of bobbing in the water, she was forced to confront the idea that maybe the shark had grown bored and left.

Annja looked around the reef. Some of the smaller fish had returned. But the jacks and grouper were nowhere to be seen. And there were no turtles anywhere close by, either.

A dark shape shot past her and she knew the tiger shark was back. It had gone overhead, close, and Annja had ducked down to avoid it.

It turned itself around and she marveled at how perfectly streamlined its body was. It looked like a banking fighter jet as it came in closer again. Its eyes never left her, but Annja had found a reasonable spot from which she could defend herself, if necessary.

If you’re going to attack me, she thought, you’ll have to commit and come in.

That would give her the opening she’d need to take it on.

But fourteen feet worth of apex predator wasn’t an even match, she decided. The tiger shark could cut her in half without much effort.

Suddenly the knife looked pitifully small in her hand.

Annja sensed the attack instead of seeing it. The shark shot straight at her, coming in hard and fast, seemingly unconcerned about the coral.

Or the knife.

Annja shot up and brought the knife down, embedding it on the top of the shark’s snout. It jerked once, wrenched the knife free from Annja’s hand and then swam away, a thin tendril of blood trailing behind.

Annja sucked in air and tried to still her hammering heart.

She glanced down and more worry seeped into her as her oxygen gauge showed that she’d have to surface soon.

That would mean leaving the relative protection of the reef.

Overhead, her boat looked far away.

And small.

Annja looked around, but the shark had vanished again. I hope that knife hurts like hell, she thought.

The level on her gauge continued to drop.

Annja was going to have to make a run for it.

I’m not doing this alone, she thought.

She summoned the mystical sword she’d somehow inherited from Joan of Arc, and the gleaming blade was snug in her hands, right where she wanted it to be.

She looked around but couldn’t see the tiger shark anywhere.

It was time to go but the problem was that on the ascent she’d have to rise no faster than her air bubbles. To rush it, she’d be risking the bends—when her body couldn’t get rid of the nitrogen in her blood. That could be as fatal as being attacked by the shark. She was only in about fifty feet of water, but she still had to maintain proper protocol.

That meant she’d be exposed for what would feel like an awfully long time.

But the level of oxygen she had was dwindling and she’d have to go for it, regardless of the risk from the shark.

Another quick glance and Annja kicked off, her fins churning behind her as she rose from the coral reef.

Instantly, she felt the presence of the shark, as if it’d been waiting behind the coral for her to show herself.

It came fast as Annja drifted higher.

She could see the rows of teeth in its mouth as it came toward her like a missile. Annja brought the sword up in front of her and swiped it through the water. It felt like she was moving in slow motion, though, cutting through the liquid of the ocean.

Still, it sliced into the tiger’s snout before the shark suddenly backed away and shot back down toward the reef.

Annja turned her eyes up and judged she was perhaps halfway to the surface. Her bubbles rose faster than she did, but only just. Annja didn’t want to remain underwater any longer than necessary.

The grim expression of the dive master lurked in her memory. She could hear his scolding now, telling her how foolish she’d been to go diving alone. Annja frowned. Maybe it had been foolish, but maybe she’d needed to do it.

She looked back just in time to see the tiger shark lurking near the seafloor. Annja’s diving knife still poked out of the top of its snout. Annja wondered if the shark would spend the rest of its days with that blade permanently planted there.

She kicked some more and cut the distance to the surface. Her heart was thundering and Annja tasted stale air.

Her tank was almost empty.

She glanced back and scarcely had time to bring the sword up as the shark rammed into her again.

Her regulator was knocked free and Annja had only a second to grab the last gulp of air before the hose was ripped away by the rush of movement.

Annja tried to put it back in her mouth but the hose was torn open. A slow stream of bubbles was being released from the tank on her back.

So much for that, she thought.

Annja shrugged one side of her straps free and then the other.

The tank fell down toward the reef, trailing the last bits of air behind it.

Annja jerked around and saw that the tiger shark was level with her at a distance of maybe fifty feet.

She brought the sword up in front of her.

The tiger shark’s eyes seemed to register the threat but cared little about it. Annja was on the menu and it meant to finish this.

It glided at her so smoothly that Annja barely registered the movement, so streamlined was the shark’s body that it caused no disturbance in the water. All that did register was the fact that the shark suddenly seemed to grow in size.

Time slowed.

Annja marveled at the magnificence of the creature coming to try to kill her. The teeth so perfectly suited for cracking sea-turtle shells were also perfect for shredding human skin and bone.

And then it seemed to gather more speed.

Annja readied herself and felt her body take over. She cut up, stabbing right at the tiger shark, and plunged the sword straight into the shark’s nose. She knew that all sharks had sophisticated electrical sensory systems in their snouts, and she hoped by attacking it so savagely the shark would virtually short-circuit.

The effect was instantaneous. The shark seemed to stand straight up on its tail in the water and then jerked back, freeing itself from Annja’s sword. A dark flow of blood spilled into the water, clouding Annja’s vision.

And then the shark turned and shot away, trailing blood behind it.

Annja looked overhead and saw she was only eight feet below the surface. She kicked, surfaced and gasped air into her starved lungs.

Her boat bobbed on a swell a few yards away and she clawed through the surf toward it, willing the sword away to the otherwhere with the power of her mind.

As she reached the catamaran, she felt herself rise up as something struck the boat from below.

The shark hadn’t fled, after all.

Damn, Annja thought.

Disregarding the boat, she ducked back under the surface and saw the tiger shark, grievously wounded, circling around, preparing for another attack.

Annja summoned her sword and waited.

The shark had a look that told her it would attack her until one of them was dead.

There would be no quarter.

Annja steeled herself and the shark came at her, moving with an almost supernatural level of speed through the water.

Annja bent backward as the shark’s jaws snapped close by her head. She saw its belly pass over her face and plunged the sword as far as it would go into the underside of the massive beast.

The blade cut deep, scoring a line across the belly. Entrails slipped out while blood spewed into the ocean around her, turning everything dark and cloudy.

Annja imagined that she heard a deep rumbling gasp from the shark and then it simply turned over and slipped away from her.

Dead.

She watched it sink down to the ocean floor. Instead of Annja being its dinner tonight, the tiger shark would be dinner for the smaller fish around the reef.

Annja nodded grimly. There was no joy in killing the magnificent beast, but she’d had no choice.

She turned toward the surface and broke through, again taking a deep breath of air. She turned toward her boat, but misjudged the distance. In the choppy water she was thrust forward and knocked her head on part of the catamaran.

She saw stars and felt blackness rushing for her.

Her final thought before she slipped under the waves was that at least she’d killed the tiger shark.

Somehow, death by drowning seemed better than being eaten by a shark.

3

She heard voices. That was enough to tell her she wasn’t underwater.

But was she dead?

“Miss?”

She opened an eye and found a tanned, handsome face staring into her own. Judging by the scar on his cheek, he’d seen some sort of fighting at one point in his life. But there was an eagerness in his expression that told her he was very concerned.

She tried to speak but coughed instead. A bottle of water found its way to her lips and she took a greedy gulp, coughing some more and letting the better part of it dribble all over her face.

“Easy, easy.” His voice was strong and soothing.

Annja smiled. “I guess I’m not dead, after all.”

“Almost. But not quite.”

Annja propped herself up on one elbow and saw she was in a boat, one much larger than her catamaran. “What happened to my boat?”

“It sunk.”

Annja frowned and then remembered that the tiger shark had rammed the pitifully small catamaran. And when she’d surfaced after killing the shark, she must have hit her head against a piece of it. She felt her head and found the large bruise. She winced at the touch as pain sliced through her body.

“You’ll need to get that looked at, I suspect.”

Annja touched the spot again. The skin was bloated, swollen, and felt a little mushy to the touch. But she thought it was probably nothing worse than a bad knock. “I’ll be all right.”

“For a moment, you weren’t.”

She looked into his eyes and then smiled. “My name’s Annja.”

“Hans.”

“You’re German?” She could hear the accent now.

“I am.”

Annja sat up and saw another couple of men sitting in the boat looking at her with a mixture of amusement and concern. “I’m on your boat, I take it?”

Hans nodded. “We saw the commotion in the water, saw your diving flag and wondered if you might be in some sort of danger.”

Annja shrugged. “Tiger shark.”

Hans started. “A tiger shark? You’re sure?”

“I know those stripes, Hans. Trust me.”

“How did you get away?”

Annja shook her head. “I didn’t. I killed him instead.”

That brought a low murmur from the other men on the boat. Hans smiled. “How large was the shark?”

“Probably fourteen feet. Give or take a few inches.”

“And you killed it? With what?”

Annja almost said something about the sword but caught herself. “I had a diver’s knife with me.”

“That must have been some knife,” Hans said.

“I stabbed the shark in the head with it over and over until it died.”

“You’re quite a remarkable woman, Annja.”

“I don’t feel so remarkable right now.” Annja groaned. The bobbing of the boat, which wouldn’t have bothered her if she’d been uninjured, now made her intensely nauseous.

Hans moved out of the way just in time as Annja rushed forward and vomited into the sea. After heaving a few more times, she leaned back and wiped her mouth. “Got any more of that water?”

Hans handed her the bottle and held up his hand. “Perhaps you shouldn’t drink it quite so fast this time.”

Annja nodded. “Yeah, that would be good idea.” She swirled the water around in her mouth and then spat it out along with the taste of bile. She took another sip and tried to hand the bottle back to Hans.

But the German only held up his hand. “That’s fine. You can keep that bottle. We have more.”

Annja smiled. “Not into sharing with the damsel in distress?”

Hans shrugged. “Well, ordinarily, I would not mind. But seeing as you have just, uh, purged…”

“Yeah,” Annja said. “I don’t blame you.”

Hans leaned closer. “Where is the person who was diving with you?”

Annja shook her head. “It was just me.”

“You? Alone?”

“Yeah.”

Hans whistled. “You are either incredibly brave or rather foolish.”

Annja eyed him. “Probably a little of both. But I’m an expert diver. I didn’t see anything wrong with going it alone.”

Hans shook his head. “Anything can happen under the waves. As you found out. I hate to think what would have happened to you if we hadn’t been in the area.”

“I would have died,” Annja said.

Hans looked at her. But seeing nothing in Annja’s face that betrayed a sense of weakness, he merely sighed. “I think that would have been a shame.”

“I agree,” Annja said. She glanced around the boat. Oxygen tanks, regulators and fins were stacked neatly nearby. “You guys going diving, too?”

“We were.”

“Were?”

“Well, before we found you. Our diving plans will now take on a secondary importance until we determine you are safe.”

“I’m safe.”

Hans pointed at her head. “I would rather have a medical doctor make that decision, Annja.”

Annja frowned. “I know my limitations, Hans. I’ll be all right.”

“Still.” Hans smiled. “You are on my boat right now. And I shall make the decisions. Now, you’re free to stay aboard, accept my hospitality and the ride back to the resort. You’re staying at Club Noah, I presume?”

“I am.”

“Excellent. In that case, we can take you right into the medical facility. I know the doctor there quite well.”

Annja sighed. “I don’t have a choice here, do I?”

“Not unless you’d like to jump overboard and swim back.”

Hans had a smile on his face, but Annja saw there was no way he was going to budge on his decision. She shrugged. “What the hell.” At least he seemed to genuinely be concerned about her. That was a nice change.

Hans said something quickly and quietly to another man on board and the engine churned beneath their feet. Instantly, the boat swung around and zipped back toward the resort.

Despite her nausea, Annja found the sea spray and breeze a welcoming relief. She might have a concussion, she decided. And if that was the case, she did need to get checked out.

Hans pointed ahead of them and Annja saw the resort looming. The ship’s engine downshifted and the boat slowed as they neared the shore. Hans said something else in German to the driver, who guided the boat up toward the dock close to the medical facility.

Annja groaned as she saw the dive master coming down the dock. As he noticed the boat approaching, he squinted, saw Annja and then frowned.

“Great,” Annja said. “Here comes the ‘I told you so.’”

Hans stepped out on the dock and helped Annja ashore. She turned and watched the dive master striding toward her, his tanned bald head gleaming.

“What happened, Miss Creed?”

“I had a run-in with a tiger shark.”

That brought him up short. “Tiger shark? In these waters?”

Annja frowned. “They’re all over the place around these parts. Nothing unusual about that.”

But the dive master shook his head. “We don’t usually see them around here. For some reason they tend to avoid the area. Most of our sharks are blacktip and reef.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about the tiger shark anymore,” Annja said. “I killed him.”

“You did?”

Hans laughed. “I was just as amazed as you, my friend.”

The dive master seemed to remember what he’d come to do and pointed a finger at Annja. “I told you not to go diving alone, didn’t I? You could have been killed out there and no one would have known it.”

“I would have known,” Annja said. She nodded contritely. “But yes, you did warn me and I ignored your advice. I’m sorry. It was wrong and don’t think that I’ll be doing it again. I’m not in a rush to repeat that particular mistake.”

The dive master seemed marginally mollified. “Well…good.”

Hans put a hand under Annja’s elbow. “We need to get her to the doctor, however. Annja knocked her head on a piece of her catamaran—”

“What happened to the boat?” the dive master asked.

“The tiger shark rammed it. It’s gone,” Annja said.

“Good Lord.”

Annja grinned. “Think of how I felt.”

“You said you killed him?”

“Yes.”

The dive master turned and walked away. “Well, at least that’s done.”

Annja glanced at Hans. “I think he was more concerned about the boat than he was about me.”

“I think you’re right.”

Annja took a deep breath and felt her legs go wobbly. “Whoa.”

Hans caught her arm. “Easy, Annja. We need to get you inside. You can’t stay out here in this blazing sunlight. It isn’t good for your condition.”

He guided her up the ramp toward the main path and then steered her into the doctor’s office.

A dark-skinned Filipino rushed over as soon as he heard them enter. “What happened?”

Annja winced as her head throbbed. “Hit my head on a part of the boat.”

Hans took over and told the doctor what had happened. The man introduced himself as Dr. Tiko. He grabbed a pen-light and peered into Annja’s eyes for a few seconds. Annja winced as the light pierced her brain. “Damn.”

Dr. Tiko stepped back. “A mild concussion, I think. Not too serious, although right now she probably doesn’t feel all that well,” he said to Hans. He glanced at Annja. “Do you, Miss Creed?”

“No, I don’t feel very well at all.”

Dr. Tiko gestured for Hans to help him and they got Annja up onto one of the beds in the facility. Dr. Tiko covered her with the sheet and then checked Annja’s blood pressure and pulse. “You need to rest. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t want to rest,” Annja said. “I just need a few minutes to get myself back together.”

But Hans put a firm hand on her shoulder and kept her from getting up. “Annja, I will have to insist that you stay here and let Dr. Tiko take care of you.”

“Last I checked, we’re not on your boat anymore.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Then I don’t have to do what you say,” Annja said.

Hans shrugged. “That’s true. I would prefer it if you stayed here, though. After all, it would be a shame to see any lasting harm come to you.”

Annja sighed. “Well, okay, since you put it like that.”

Hans looked at Dr. Tiko. “You’ll stay here with her?”

“As long as it takes to make sure she’s okay.”

“All right, then.” Hans looked at Annja. “I’ll come back later to check on you, if that’s acceptable to you.”

“It’s acceptable.”

Hans smiled. “Good.”

“You’re going back out there, aren’t you?”

Hans nodded. “We didn’t get a chance to complete our dive when we ran into you.”

“Thank you for bringing me back here and not listening to me being stubborn.”

Hans smiled again. “My pleasure. Now rest, Annja. I will see you later. And then we can talk further.”

Annja watched him go and, in another minute, she felt the blackness swallow her up whole.

4

Annja awoke several hours later, feeling only a dull throb where once her head had thundered. Dr. Tiko sat quietly at his desk, typing onto a computer and only noticed Annja was awake when she moved and the sheet fell away.

Annja was still in her bathing suit and felt dry, sun baked and in desperate need of a shower. Dr. Tiko came over with a glass of water.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better.”

He eyed her. “Really?”

Annja smiled. “Why is it that no one seems to believe what I tell them around here?”

Dr. Tiko shrugged. “I don’t know, Miss Creed. It could be because you made a rather silly mistake earlier that could have easily killed you.”

Annja held up her hand. “All right, I admitted my mistake. I don’t need to be treated like a teenager.” She took a sip of the water Dr. Tiko offered and marveled at how much easier it went down now.

“That’s good stuff.”

Dr. Tiko nodded. “Well, I’m pleased to see you’re feeling better. I’ve watched you while you were asleep and took your vitals at varying points throughout. I suspect you’ll have a bit of a headache for a while, but nothing too serious.”

“So I can go?”

He smiled. “I suspect you’d like to get changed. Maybe have a bite to eat?”

Annja hadn’t thought about food, but Dr. Tiko’s suggestion made her stomach rumble and she nodded with a grin. “Now that you mention it, I’m famished.”

Dr. Tiko stepped back. “All right, I can discharge you. But if your headache worsens, I want you to promise that you’ll come right back here and see me. If I’m not here, just call the main desk and they’ll page me. I live here at the resort, so it’s no trouble whatsoever.”

“Thank you.”

Annja stepped down, momentarily concerned that she might still feel wobbly, but her legs felt much stronger now. She stepped out of the doctor’s office and saw that evening had settled in. Out on the sea, the sun was already gone, leaving behind only a blaze of reds and pinks as sunset turned into an inky darkness.

Annja walked the smooth paved path back to her cabana and stepped inside. She’d left the window open and a strong breeze blew in, chilling her.

First order of business, she thought, a hot shower.

It felt wonderful ditching the bathing suit and even better feeling the water sweep away the dried salt crystals that had clung to her skin. She’d gotten a bit of sun, but nothing like a burn, which would have made the day all the more painful.

As she conditioned her hair, she took a moment to luxuriate in the scent of the lavender and rose petals, feeling a renewed sense of hunger.

At last, she stepped out of the shower, wrapped herself in a towel and walked out of the bathroom.

Under her door, someone had slipped a piece of paper. Annja squatted down, not trusting her head to suddenly bend over. She picked it up.

“Please join us for dinner. Hans.”

Annja smiled. There was only one place to get a meal at Club Noah and that was at the main administration building at the curve of the U that laid out the resort. The building, while not large, housed offices and various amenities. As well, it led to the large pavilion where the meals were served for resort guests. A massive thatched roof kept the pavilion sheltered, but it was open on three sides, inviting the ocean breezes to give diners the feeling of being almost one with nature.

She stepped into a white tropical gauzy cotton dress after applying just a hint of makeup. Annja never went overboard, but she figured a little bit tonight couldn’t hurt. She wanted everyone to realize she was fine and healthy. And there was the fact that Hans was rather a handsome man. No sense showing up looking like she’d just suffered a concussion.

Ten minutes later, she stepped out of her cabana and locked the door, sliding the key into her clutch. She walked down the path toward the pavilion. Night at Club Noah was as magical a time as any. The torches lighting the pathway cast long flickering shadows and the sea breezes kept the mosquitoes at bay.

She passed a set of stairs carved into the side of the mountain that towered over the resort. At the top, on one side was a tribute to the Virgin Mary and on the other was an open-air bar where resort guests could grab a late-night cocktail. Unfortunately, as Annja had discovered, the mosquitoes loved to hang out there and the resort staff didn’t seem to have any idea how to keep them away.

Annja passed several resort workers who said hello to her and asked how she was feeling. Club Noah was small enough that every staff member knew who was staying at the resort at any given time. Annja loved the personalized sense of care that she found here. A friend of hers had recommended this place and she could see why he had.

As she approached the pavilion, Annja could hear the sounds of diners and the clink of glasses and silverware. She stepped into the pavilion and looked around.

“Annja.”

She turned and found herself looking at Hans, who had swapped his diving gear for a lightweight shirt and linen pants. He wore sandals and looked like he’d only recently shaved. She could smell the brace of aftershave on him and found she quite liked it.

“Hi.”

“You’re feeling better?”

Annja touched the side of her head. “A little bit of a headache, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Hans smiled. “I’d say there appears to be very little that you cannot handle. I’m quite impressed with you.”

“Thank you.” Annja glanced around and saw the buffet table laid out with a suckling pig the Filipinos called lechón. On other platters were a wide array of fresh seafood, noodles, fresh carved beef and chicken and much more.

Hans noticed her staring and smiled. “I take it your appetite has returned?”

“In spades,” Annja said.

“Allow me to help you,” Hans said. He escorted her to the buffet table and handed her a plate, then got one for himself. “Are you familiar with the lechón?”

Annja nodded. “I’ve had it once before.”

Hans grinned. “Then you may as well have never had it before. They do an amazing pig roast here. Look at the way the skin simply falls away from the moist meat. It’s incredible.”

Annja pointed. “You’d better put that on my plate, then, or I may dive in right here.”

He laughed and heaped a serving on her plate before helping himself to some.

When they’d finished at the buffet table, Hans nodded toward a longer table where four men sat around it eating. “Please join us.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“And who else would you eat with?”

She smiled. “Well, I haven’t really met anyone else here yet.”

“Exactly. So it’s settled, then.”

Annja smiled, but found herself warming up to Hans despite his somewhat overbearing attitude. She guessed he might be somewhat protective of her since he’d rescued her earlier. May as well go along with it for now, she reasoned. If it got to be too much later, she could educate him on how she could take care of herself.

Hans led her to the table and Annja noticed there were two unoccupied chairs. Hans put his plate down by one and then held Annja’s chair out so she could sit down.

She glanced at him as she did so. “You are aware that chivalry is an endangered species, right?”

“Endangered, perhaps, but not yet extinct.”

Annja looked across the table and saw the faces of the other men who had been on the boat earlier. “Nice to see you all again.”

They smiled and asked if she was feeling better. But one man, older than anyone else, remained silent until at last Hans cleared his throat.

“Annja, I would very much like to introduce you to the head of our little group here, Joachim Spier.”

Annja leveled her gaze on the older man, who regarded her with warm blue eyes and a thin smile. “Herr Spier.”

He stood and held out his hand. Annja shook it and found it was surprisingly strong. “It is my sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance, Annja Creed. When Hans told me about you earlier, I could scarcely believe our luck.”

Annja glanced at Hans. “Luck?”

Spier smiled broadly as he sat down. “Imagine, the great Annja Creed—famed archaeologist and pursuer of history’s monsters. What would the chances be of us both being at this glorious resort at the same time?”

Annja smiled. “Apparently better than either of us would have dared to think.”

“Indeed,” Spier said, nodding. “Indeed.” He leaned back. “But please, do not let me interrupt you. Hans has told me of your tremendous ordeals of earlier today and you must certainly be hungry. When you have dined some, then perhaps we can all discuss…things.”

Annja didn’t need any more coaxing and took advantage of Spier’s pause to enjoy the food before her. As Hans had suggested, the lechón was even more delicious than she remembered it being. The crispy pigskin concealed a delightfully moist meat underneath, buffered by an almost gelatinous thin layer of fat that made each mouthful even better than the last.

She helped herself to a lot of water and then grudgingly accepted a small glass of white wine when Hans offered. “Not too much, I don’t want to have to pay another visit to Dr. Tiko tonight.”

That brought a round of laughter from the table and Annja found herself enjoying the company of the German men more and more. They all talked animatedly in heavily accented English about diving in the area. Annja appreciated the fact that they refrained from switching back to German—mostly, she assumed, for her benefit.

Finally, she set her silverware down and lifted her glass of wine to her lips. The cold liquid tasted incredible and she leaned forward. “Thank you for giving me some time, Herr Spier. I was pretty hungry.”

Spier nodded. “I can see that. It’s a good sign given your earlier state, I should think. Nothing like a hearty appetite to set one on the road back to full strength.” He lifted his glass and nodded in Annja’s direction. “To your health.”

“Cheers.”

The men all laughed and toasted one another and then drank again. When Annja set her glass back down, she felt Hans eyeing her. She turned and smiled at him.

Spier spoke up. “Perhaps now that we have all dined, we might speak of other things than just the wonderful nature of the meals they serve here, eh?”

“Absolutely,” Annja said.

“What brings you to Club Noah?” Spier asked.

Annja shrugged. “A much-needed rest. I’m burned out. I’ve been crisscrossing the world for years and haven’t taken nearly enough time for myself lately. My workload in New York was getting to be too much, so I decided on a whim to simply drop everything and come here.”

Spier nodded. “You are a woman of action.”

“Some have said that, yes.”

“Excellent. I respect that immensely. And if it were only based on your reputation and from what I have observed watching that television show that you are on, I would have surmised much the same.”

“Thank you.”

Spier waved his hand. “It is not worthless praise, by any means. And there is never shame in being proud of your accomplishments, of which you have a great many.”

“Well, I’m pleased you think so.”

“I know so,” Spier said. “You’ve done much for the world of archaeology and history. You ought to be commended for the service you’ve given to mankind.”

“I’m hardly worthy of that,” Annja said. Too much praise made her uncomfortable.

Spier noted her discomfort and smiled. “Suffice it to say that we are extremely happy to have you in our presence here, Annja. Very happy indeed.”

“And what brings you all to the Philippines?” Annja asked. “Just a vacation, perhaps?”

Spier lowered his voice and shook his head. “We have come here for a much more grand purpose than mere relaxation.”

“Really?”

He drew closer to Annja. She could see the depth of his eyes and found herself almost hypnotized by them as he drew her into his conspiratorial attitude. “We seek a treasure rumored to be in this very area.”

Annja perked up. “Treasure?”

“They call it the Pearl of Palawan.”