27

A steady drumming in her head woke her. Annja groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Fortunately, bright lights that might have made her wince didn’t greet her. Instead, she woke in total darkness.

She couldn’t move.

I’m on my back. Tied down? She flexed her wrists and found them bound somehow, as were her legs.

Her parka had vanished, but she still had her sweater and pants on. She shivered, aware that she was cold.

But where was she?

Annja closed her eyes again, straining her ears for any sound that might help her figure out her location. But she heard very little.

No wind. No sounds of shutters banging into the sides of windows.

Am I underground?

A thought came at her. Maybe Khosadam had knocked her out and dragged her back into the root cellar. Maybe Annja was going to be the next meal.

No, I killed that thing, she recalled.

Whoever had knocked her out, it wasn’t Khosadam.

But who did that leave? Father Jakob? Annja sighed. The old priest didn’t seem a likely candidate. He could barely move earlier when she and Gregor had come up from the root cellar. His body was old and looked racked with arthritis.

Gregor?

It wouldn’t be the first time a guy had double-crossed her.

In the darkness, Annja couldn’t see what bound her hands and feet. She worked her fingers, trying to get at the knots, but it was impossible. Someone who knew how to restrain humans had bound her wrists. Another sign that it was probably Gregor.

Bastard!

Annja shook her head. And to think, I almost slept with him. God knows what would have happened if I had.

She listened again. Now that her ears had adjusted a little bit more to her environment, she could pick up small sounds. And from what she heard, it definitely seemed likely that she was somewhere underground.

But where?

She and Gregor had explored the cave in the mountains that led to the tunnel to the root cellar and up into the back of the church. Was it possible that an entire network existed? And that it ran under the town?

Annja thought about it. It made sense. Considering the history of the area, perhaps there’d been some sort of underground railroad set up for refugees from the Kolyma mines. Maybe workers who fled hid out under the town.

And if there was an underground network, then that might explain how Gregor had disappeared. Maybe there was a secret entrance into the tunnels from the inn itself.

Annja nodded. It could happen.

But how did Gregor know about it? And how did he know where to look? He was with Bob and Annja for most of the time except at night. And Annja didn’t know if that would be enough time to discover the secret entrance.

More to the point, why would Gregor be doing this? What did he hope to gain from it all? Was he working on another agenda entirely?

I’ve got to get out of here, she thought. There’s got to be something I can do to loosen these bonds and slip out. If Gregor is behind this, then I don’t trust him to keep me alive much longer.

Especially since he knows about the sword.

Annja slumped back. He knows about it. Why the hell did I take it out when he was around? Gregor knowing she had the sword meant he would make damned sure that she couldn’t bring her hands together and grab it from wherever it waited.

She heard a sound in the darkness. Annja stiffened. Was someone in the room with her? Was it Gregor? Was he here already to kill her?

Annja waited, straining her eyes to see. But the room was absolutely dark and she couldn’t see anything at all.

Another noise, which sounded like someone shifting. Annja’s throat felt dry again, although the steady drumming in her head seemed to be waning.

“Hello?” she called out.

It came out as a croak, but Annja felt better at least making a noise. She wasn’t going to be surprised again on this trip. Better to let them know she knew they were there.

“Hello?” she called out.

“Ughhh.”

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“Annja?”

Annja stopped. It couldn’t be. There was no way.

“Bob?”

He chuckled but it came out sounding weird.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Annja’s eyes felt burning hot and sticky. “It can’t be…. I saw you…. You died in my arms!”

“I thought so, too. I guess we were wrong,” he said.

Annja shook her head. “How can this be? Where are we?”

“I don’t know. I woke up a few hours ago, felt like hell and then someone came in and gave me something. I passed out again.”

“Are you in a bed?”

“I think so, but I’ve got some straps around me. I can’t move.”

“I’m tied down, too,” she said.

“Damn.”

Annja looked over in the darkness. “I was devastated when you died. I thought…”

“I know,” Bob said. “I can’t believe this isn’t heaven or hell. I thought for sure I was a goner.”

“You were. That’s what I don’t understand. I checked your body. It seems impossible that I’m speaking to you right now.”

“Maybe we’re both dead,” Bob offered.

Annja smiled. “Thanks for cheering me up.”

“Just a thought.”

“What’s the last thing you remember before waking up here?” she asked.

Bob paused. “I was in your arms. I remember it being very cold. And then I think I just saw blackness coming for me. That was it.”

“Any pain?”

“Surprisingly no. And the next thing I knew, I was here.”

Annja sighed. “Well, we can’t stay like this. We’ve got to get out of here before whoever did this comes back and decides to kill us for good.”

“Maybe they don’t want us dead,” Bob said.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know—I’m just thinking out loud here. But if I was already dead and gone, why would someone save me like this? You’d think they’d just want me out of the way, right?”

“Maybe.”

“No, it makes sense, think about it. I could be dead right now, but I’m not. And clearly whoever took me also took you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re not dead yet, either.”

Annja frowned. He made a good point. When they’d knocked her out, they could have easily killed her right then and there.

But they hadn’t.

“What do you think they want?” Annja asked.

“I don’t know, but clearly us being alive is a vital part of it.”

Annja licked her lips. If they were being kept alive for a reason, that meant there might be a chance for escape. Good. As soon as their captors made a mistake, Annja would be right there to capitalize on it.

“I guess things will get interesting from here on out, huh?” Annja said.

“Sure looks that way,” Bob replied. “Although part of me wishes it ended back there in the cave.”

“Why do you say that?”

Bob chuckled in the darkness. “I kind of liked going out like that. A dig on a remote site. Surrounded by legends and strange creatures. A mighty gun battle. You gotta admit, that’s a pretty kick-ass way to go out.”

Annja smiled. “I think you just wanted the glory.”

“Just imagine the play I’d get with that up in heaven.”

“You could have gone to hell,” Annja pointed out.

“I suppose, but I guess it wasn’t my time to find out,” he said.

Annja took a deep breath. Bob, alive! She never would have thought it possible. But here it was. “I think Gregor might be behind this,” she said seriously.

“What makes you think that?”

Annja pursed her lips. “It’s just a feeling, I guess. Like how he wasn’t honest with us about being an intelligence operative and all that.”

Bob laughed. “Poor Gregor. He really is a nice guy and all. He’s not as smart as he thinks he is, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I knew he was a spy.”

“You did?”

“Of course.”

Annja shook her head. “Thanks for letting me in on the secret.”

“Don’t be upset, Annja. I couldn’t tell you. I needed you thinking him weird from the start. It would make the ruse all the better.”

“What ruse?”

“I’ve been feeding him false information. While Gregor has been thinking he’s wormed classified data out of me, he’s actually been getting bogus material supplied to me by the government.”

“You just keep unloading surprise after surprise on me,” Annja said.

“They knew about Gregor a while back. My brother contacted me about it and we set up a plan. Gregor’s a nice guy and I’m genuinely fond of him, but the whole thing has been a setup.”

“Wow.”

“We decided the best way to really seal the deal was to bring you in on this dig. You’re naturally suspicious of everyone, anyway.”

“I am?”

“Sure. So, Gregor wouldn’t suspect a thing. And it worked perfectly.”

“Up until you died,” Annja said.

“Nah, that just helped things even more.”

Annja smirked. “You’re an amazing man, Bob.”

A noise in front of them made them both stop talking. It sounded like a bolt being drawn back on a door. Someone was coming.