Rogue Angel - Polar Quest Part 7

Not much time. But she'd survived on less.

Trevor poked his head in again. "You need anything else for the night, Annja? Or are you all set?"

Annja smiled. "Just need some rest now, Trevor. But thanks."

"My pleasure."

"And thanks for all your help just now. I really appreciate it."

He nodded. "I'm going to fix the lock on your door so it locks as I shut it. That way you don't have to get out of bed, okay?"

"Okay."

"Rest well."

Annja closed her eyes and listened as the door clicked shut. Trevor tested the doork.n.o.b outside and couldn't open the door. Annja turned and set the alarm, then reached for the light switch closest to her bed and managed to find it without putting herself into too much pain.

She slumped back on the bed.

She lay there in the dark thinking. What would make two guys want to kill her so soon after meeting her? Annja smirked. Yes, she thought, my personality can be abrasive when I want it to be. But was that all there was? Or was there another reason why she'd been marked for death so quickly? Why would someone want her out of the way this fast? She'd only just arrived in town and someone was measuring her for a coffin.

It didn't make sense.

Unless Zach's necklace was more of a threat than they thought.

But to whom? And why?

I need to rest, Annja told herself. And I need my ribs to heal fast or else I won't be much good on the site.

She took a deep breath and sank into herself. In her mind's eye, Annja could see the sword hovering in s.p.a.ce, waiting to be used. Annja reached for it and touched the handle. A jolt of energy seemed to surge through her body as it always did when she prepared to unsheathe the blade.

The dull glow extended from the sword blade up her hands and wrists now. Annja watched it spread farther. Can I will this to cover my body? she wondered. On cue, the glow spread farther up her arms until she could feel the p.r.i.c.kliness of its energy encompa.s.sing her entire upper torso. Annja willed it farther down toward her cracked rib. The energy seemed to vibrate and then pulse.

Annja continued to breathe deeply, feeling the sword's energy flow through her entire body now like the pulsing effect she'd heard mentioned in relation to ki ki energy in j.a.pan. energy in j.a.pan.

The sword glowed brighter and the energy seemed to increase.

Annja could feel a more powerful flow rus.h.i.+ng through her body. She started to sweat and then s.h.i.+ver as alternating currents flowed through her.

And then the glow of the sword started to diminish.

She opened her eyes in the darkness of her room. Her side didn't ache nearly as much as it had only moments before. Perhaps her pain medicine was finally kicking in.

Or perhaps the sword had helped heal her.

It wouldn't be the first time she'd been aided by the mystical blade. Or by the strange plane of existence where it resided.

Thank G.o.d I have that, Annja thought. Otherwise, there was no telling how much of a liability she'd be to Zach and Dave on the mountain.

She yawned and took a deep breath.

It was time to sleep.

And time was already ticking toward her three-o'clock wake-up call. The last thing she wanted was to be sleepy tomorrow when they set out.

She had a lot of questions for Zach.

And she intended to get some answers.

"JUST A CRACKED RIB."

"That's what I heard."

"For all that trouble and you only managed to bust her rib up? What's the point of doing something if you can't even manage to carry it out all the way through?"

"We tried."

"You didn't try hard enough. And now you've got the marshal's attention, haven't you?"

The man from the bar listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, well, he'll get a bunch of descriptions. We could be any two guys down here."

"In the summer, that would be fine. But how many people are in town right now?"

"Maybe two hundred."

"Exactly my point, you idiot. Two hundred lowers the odds substantially, doesn't it? All the marshal needs is one good description and at the very least, he'll want to talk to you."

"He can't hold us on any charge, though. No one saw us try to take her out. No witnesses."

He heard a sigh on the telephone. "That doesn't matter. You've drawn attention to yourselves. And the marshal will be keeping an eye out now for potential troublemakers."

"We can take her right now. Go to her place and break in. I know where she's staying."

"The idea, you louse, was to make it look like an accident, albeit a bizarre one. Now you want to go charging in and just kill her? That's not exactly the most intelligent thing to do, now, is it?"

"I guess not."

He heard another sigh. "You guess not. How wonderful."

"So what do you want us to do, then?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? But I thought-"

"No," said the voice in his ear. "You didn't think. You didn't think at all. And that's why this simple little matter has suddenly become infinitely more complicated than it ever had to be. You and your partner there will do nothing more against her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tomorrow, when she and the two others leave, you will follow them. Covertly, mind you. I don't want them knowing you're tracking them."

"Then what?"

"Follow them out to the dig site. Make sure they get there intact and that nothing happens to them."

The man frowned. "You want us to make sure they're okay?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand."

"Obviously. You get them out there intact. Once they're on the site, their attention will be focused elsewhere."

"Okay."

"At which point," the voice on the phone said, "I will be able to ensure none of them ever returns to McMurdo Station."

8.

When Annja's alarm clock erupted at three o'clock, she moaned and wanted nothing more than to slam the snooze bar down and sleep for another year. Her dreams had been mostly scattered images of her past adventures and how many injuries she'd sustained throughout them. It felt as if she'd been reliving the greatest hits of her past rather than enjoying the deep levels of sleep that would heal her.

Despite the reckless smorgasbord of dreams, Annja woke with her rib feeling much better than it had when she'd gone to sleep. She probed around the injury and decided that it must not have been as bad as she'd feared.

"That's something, anyway," she said to herself as she gingerly got out of bed. Her feet touched the warm carpet and she padded into the bathroom.

Once there, she carefully stripped off the tape around her midsection. The deep purple that had colored the bruised area last night was now a light yellow. Annja frowned. Was it really possible that the sword had healed her?

She started the water for her bath and watched the clouds of steam fill up the bathroom. Annja added some soap and waited as the bubbles blossomed in the water, rapidly filling the entire tub.

She took a deep breath and finished stripping off the rest of her clothes. She felt as if she had thousands of miles of road grunge on her. She hadn't bathed in over a day and was certain that she must have a peculiar array of scents wafting about even now.

The bathroom was filled with steam when she finally turned off the spigot. She looked at the bubbly surface and then eased herself into the bath. The water greeted her like a warm blanket and she slid all the way into the tub, letting the water cover her.

The scent of the lavender soap filled the air as the bubbles began popping from her movements in the water. She lathered up and felt as if she were molting a layer of grimy skin.

When she was done she stepped from the tub and wrapped a towel around her head and a plush robe around herself. At the mirror, she wiped off the condensation and then checked herself over. She looked fatigued, but she was rapidly waking up. She ran a brush through her moist hair and noticed there was a hair dryer plugged into a wall-mounted unit.

Annja laughed. Probably not the smartest thing to do, go running outside with wet hair. She took the hair dryer and used it until she was satisfied that her hair was completely dry.

She put on some moisturizer that contained a bit of sunblock. She knew the harsh environment would be hard on her skin.

Back in her bedroom, Annja let the robe slide to the floor and stepped into a pair of thermal underwear. Not exactly glamorous, she thought, checking herself out in the mirror. Over the thermals, she added a turtleneck s.h.i.+rt and then a flannel s.h.i.+rt on top of that before pulling on her flannel-lined jeans. She slid two pairs of thick woolen socks over her feet and then stood again.

She felt a lot thicker now.

And hungry.

The wings she'd eaten last night hadn't done much to relieve her hunger. She poked her head out of the bedroom and wondered if the rooming house had a galley kitchen where she could find some food.

Annja wandered downstairs. A couple of people slept on couches. Beyond the sitting room, she could just make out the kitchen. The lights were on and someone moved around inside it.

Trevor.

"You're up early," she said.

He grinned. "Good morning to you, too. How you feeling today?"

"Actually, not all that bad."

Trevor looked shocked. "Really? A busted rib would set a lot of people on their heels for a few weeks. But you're okay, huh?"

"It's only cracked and I guess it wasn't as bad as we thought."

"That so?"

Annja shrugged.

He gestured at the stove. "You hungry?"

"Starving."

"There's oatmeal. I just made a batch. It's as fresh as we get it down here. Coffee's in the pot. Help yourself."

"Thanks." Annja got herself a bowl and a mug and scooped some oatmeal into the bowl. As she poured herself a cup of coffee, Trevor came back and handed her a bottle of maple syrup.

"Not sure if you like it-"

"I do."

He nodded. "Here you go, then."

Annja poured some on her oatmeal and then followed Trevor out to a small laminate table. She sat and started right in on the oatmeal.

Trevor watched her for a few minutes without saying anything. Finally, he cleared his throat. "You're up awfully early."

Annja nodded. "I'm headed out this morning."

"When?"