Restless Soul - Alex Archer [58]
She wanted to talk about the treasure he’d taken, but stayed silent on the matter.
“Lu?”
His eyes fluttered open and a loopy grin splayed across his face. He might as well have been drunk for all the motor coordination he had. Another line of drool spilled down.
She talked fast, wanting to get all the information out before he fell back asleep, and praying he could retain some of it. She explained about the two dead boys, about the one surviving gunman and about Zakkarat leaving last night on the motorcycle. As much as she wanted to go to the authorities right this very moment, her more immediate concern was Zakkarat…and after that the skull bowl.
“The authorities after I find Zakkarat,” she said. “If I can find him. But maybe if you’re feeling better, you could—”
“Get to a city?” His words were thick and slightly slurred. “I would do that, Annja. And I will meet you back at our cabin.”
“Yes. Fine.”
“About that sword…”
Her eyes went wide.
“I saw you with the sword again. On the side of the mountain, before we crossed the river. It had blood on it, and you used it to cut through vines. You obviously did not know I saw you with it. A beautiful, old sword. European?”
“You’re mistaken—” she tried.
“I saw it again when you killed one of the gunmen yesterday. It was yesterday, was it not? Things are blurry.” He blinked and tried to wipe away his drool. “A beautiful, old sword, though not so beautiful as you. Disappeared into thin air, I saw it. An invisible sword. A woman who heals amazingly fast and who carries an invisible sword. A magical woman.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Listen, Lu. Yes, there is magic in the world. I suppose you could call it that. I heal quickly. I’m blessed.” There was no other explanation for her ability to mend so rapidly. “There are just some things beyond the realm of normalcy. Yes, there is a sword. I can’t explain it.” I won’t explain it, she thought. “Maybe later.”
He nodded groggily. “Some things defy explanation, beautiful Annja. Your secret, whatever it is, tell me later. I will keep it.”
“We’ve all seen things on digs that defy explanation,” she said. “You have secrets. We all have secrets.”
She backed toward the door, reluctant to leave him in this condition. “You’re safe, Lu,” she told herself. “Zakkarat isn’t.”
“You go find Zakkarat, my remarkable, beautiful Annja with the invisible sword.” The loopy grin got wider. “I think I will have me a little more sleep. Just a few more minutes. Then I will go to the city and find the police and tell them all about the machine guns and the gold. I will—”
He was snoring again, a gentle, sonorous sound that Annja found pleasing.
“A little more sleep for you,” she said. “And a lot more speed for me.” She hurried to find Doc, who loaned her a net sling bag for her camera…and told her the bag was just like a few Zakkarat had borrowed the previous evening.
Doc had securely tied the gunman to the table.
“That foul man is not going anywhere,” he told Annja. “And if he wiggles too much, I’ve got two or three more doses of tranquilizer left that I can give him. He’ll stay put until your friend Lu brings the authorities—whatever authorities police this part of Thailand. I’ve got some stuff to rouse Lu and get him moving.” He tipped his head. “I’ve never run afoul of the law, Annja, so I don’t know much about such things, getting the police and all, don’t you know.”
“My boots, Doc. Do you know where they are?”
“Washed, I said. Where?” He shrugged. “I don’t know about such things, either. Sorry. I was taking care of my patients. Not their belongings.”
Annja thanked him and raced down the path that she’d taken into the village, thinking perhaps the retired veterinarian didn’t at all mind administering ox tranquilizers to people. Had he dosed her with it, too?
It wasn’t difficult to find the motorcycle tracks. It obviously had still been raining when Zakkarat left, but it hadn’t been raining quite enough to obliterate the wheel marks. The depression was filled with water, but the edges of the tracks were drying under the