Phantom Prospect - Alex Archer [45]
She wasn’t sure that made much sense and it had to be addressed the next time she saw him.
Then there was the whole notion that some rival was actively searching for the crucifix that had once belonged to Joan of Arc. Annja felt a twang in her stomach at the thought of the woman whose sword she now owned.
No, that wasn’t it. Annja didn’t own the sword. If anything, the sword seemed to own her.
Regardless, what type of organization was this? Did they know about Annja and the sword? Or were they only after the crucifix? Being granted immortality was a fantastic concept and one that Annja wasn’t sure she could buy into, even knowing Roux and Garin had survived for centuries.
Of course, if someone had suggested that Joan of Arc’s sword could manifest itself at will in her hands, she would have told them they were nuts, too.
She desperately needed sleep.
Annja stretched and let the pillow cradle her head as she took a few more deep breaths and sank further into herself. She let her mind go blank as she often did when she was tired and worn out. She could feel her awareness soften and expand as she took each subsequent breath.
Who is the traitor?
She heard a noise first and then turned sharply.
Someone was trying to open her door.
The knob moved one way and then the other. But Annja had been sure to lock the door when she’d come in. And that meant whoever was trying to get in would either have to pick the lock or kick the door in.
Or they could just knock.
Annja smirked. She didn’t think they’d do that.
She slid out of the bed carefully and let her feet touch the floor before she shifted her weight any further. At least the floors don’t creak, she thought as she stood and padded over toward the door.
The doorknob kept rotating back and forth. She heard another sound from the other side. Metallic.
She frowned.
What were they doing? She thought she could hear a vague clicking or scraping sound.
They were picking the lock. As far as she was concerned, that ruled out the idea that someone friendly was on the other side of the door. If they weren’t knocking, then Annja wasn’t happy to see them.
She crept closer to the door and put her ear to the surface. She could almost hear the breathing on the other side. She could visualize the face of the person picking their way into her quarters and see the exertion. She could feel their desire to get into her room.
But why?
No sense wondering, she thought. She turned the lock and yanked the door hard. “Hi, there.”
18
Sheila stumbled into the room, lock picks in her hands. Annja caught her and pushed her up against the wall. “Want to tell me why you were breaking into my room?”
“I didn’t want to wake you.”
Annja frowned. “If Garin told you about me, then you should have known that I’m a pretty light sleeper.”
“You weren’t yesterday when I clocked you. You were way out of it then. I thought I could creep back in here and you’d be none the wiser.”
“At least until I woke up.” Annja frowned. “You got in touch with Garin already?”
Sheila nodded. “He wasn’t there, though. I had to leave a message.”
“He knows you’re on an operation and he’s not there to pick up?”
“We have a set window of contact. This wasn’t it. He won’t be available until then. I’ll have to call him back.”
Annja nodded. “So, let’s pretend that Garin says yes. Why don’t you go ahead and fill me in on the bad guys while we wait, huh?”
Sheila sat down on the chair in the room and faced Annja. “I really don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
Annja nodded, took a deep breath and summoned her sword. In an instant, it was in her hands, aimed right at Sheila’s throat.
Sheila’s eyes went wide and the color drained from her face. Annja smiled. “Pretty amazing, huh?”
Sheila nodded dumbly. “Garin told me it would be impressive, but I didn’t expect anything