Sacred Ground

by Alex Archer

  She paused next to the door, feeling her heart hammer inside her chest. She calmed her breathing, fighting back the wave of adrenaline that sought to galvanize her muscles. She would allow the torrent to come when she needed it and not a second before. If she gave in to the adrenaline too soon, it would burn through her replenished stores of energy in no time.

  And Annja didn’t think she was one hundred percent restored yet. She had to use her strength carefully.

  She summoned the sword and held it up in front of her, ready to swing and slash if need be.

  Another sound reached her ears and this one was much closer. Whoever, or whatever, approached the shelter was doing so very cautiously and stealthily. The footsteps were all placed so as not to mimic any set rhythm, but to appear more naturally chaotic, as if an animal was poking around outside.

  But Annja knew that even the most determined nocturnal animal would not have wasted so much time on these horribly frozen nights. They would have scampered about, rather than meandered the way these sounds seemed to.

  No, someone was deliberately trying to make her think that he was not a threat. When, in fact, he was.

  Annja figured it might be Dufresne. But then again, she didn’t really know the man. Perhaps he wasn’t as bad as he seemed. Maybe he’d been honestly concerned about the welfare of Hansen and Derek.

  Annja heard another slight noise. It was right outside the door. She looked down at the doorknob and saw it start to turn. She steeled herself and waited as the knob turned all the way in one direction and the latch clicked open.

  They paused then, probably waiting to see if Annja responded to the sound of the click. She counted off thirty seconds and then she felt the creep of cold air enter as the door opened a crack.

  She could feel the draft and a shadow fell across the door frame.

  Annja reached around, grabbed the person and shoved him to the floor in one smooth action. In the next instant she was astride him, jabbing the tip of her sword under his chin.

  27

  “Stop!”

  Annja paused for just a second. She wouldn’t have killed him anyway. At least not until she found out who was underneath her. She shifted and allowed a shaft of moonlight to break across the door of the shelter, illuminating the man.

  Dufresne.

  She frowned. Something hadn’t felt right about him when she saw him come through the main lodge doorway earlier today. And now, here was the proof that he was up to no good.

  “Should I just kill you now and save myself the trouble later?” she said.

  He shook his head. “What? No, don’t kill me. I meant you no harm. I just came to check on you.”

  “Check on me?” Annja smiled. “Is that what we’re calling it now? How utterly nonthreatening.”

  Dufresne tried to buck her off of him. “Let me up and I’ll prove it to you.”

  Annja held him fast. “You move and I’ll run you through. Why in the world would you be checking up on me? Does it look like I need a nursemaid?”

  Dufresne nodded. “You do. You’ve been unconscious for two days.”

  Annja leaned back as if she’d been struck by a solid jab. “Two days? I’ve been asleep that long?”

  “I wouldn’t call it sleep and neither did anyone else. Wishman tried to explain to us the exertion you underwent but I don’t know how many of us believed it.” Dufresne looked at the sword. “However, I must say the presence of that blade is quite convincing.”

  Annja frowned. Damn. She hadn’t wanted to brandish the thing unnecessarily. She got up from Dufresne and switched on the light. The miner pointed next to her bed and Annja could see that there were bowls of some sort of stew that sat untouched.

  “We tried to wake you up with food. It didn’t work.”

  “So, how come you’re the one checking up on me now? Why not Wishman or Godwin or someone else?”

  “It was my turn to pull a shift. Figures I’d be the fool who got you on the wake up. Guess I’m lucky to be alive.”

  Annja nodded. “Actually, you are. Very lucky. I didn’t trust you when I first saw you.”

  “And now?”

  Annja shrugged. “We’ll see.” She looked around the room. “I don’t feel as if I’ve slept for two days.” But she did feel remarkably well-rested. Her limbs felt loose and ready. It felt good to be back and refueled.

  Dufresne shook his head. “Like I said, it didn’t look like sleep to any of us. Coma was what we thought. The agreement was that if you didn’t wake up in another day, we were going to drive you to the hospital and take our chances with the docs.”

  “Let me guess, Wishman said to wait.”

  “Yup. And he was right.” Dufresne sighed. “I don’t understand much of what these people do or say, but they seem to know about stuff like this. Creepy as it is. I mean, evil gods? How do you even begin to process that?”

  “Did you grow up Christian?”

  “Well, yeah. But I’m not really sure what I am now. Does that matter?”

  Annja shook her head. “No. The important thing is that if you recognize that there’s some sort of positive force in the universe, then you’ve also got to accept the idea that there is an equal and negative influence, as well. A lot of people can’t do that. And some of the fanatics would argue against it, as well.”

  “Guess that makes it all the easier for evil to take root, huh?” Dufresne rubbed his head. “Can’t say I ever thought I’d be involved in something like this, though. How did you do it?”

  “I have no idea,” Annja said.

  “And that…thing?”

  “The sword?” Annja frowned. “I’d really appreciate it if we kind of kept that between us, okay? The less people who know about its existence, the better off I’ll be in the long run. I don’t need the publicity, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, yeah, sure. No sweat.” Dufresne nodded. “It’s our secret. You got it, Annja.”

  “Thanks.” Annja thought about the stew nearby. She was ravenous. But the bowls looked old and she feared she would get sick if she ate any of it. “What time is it?”

  “Almost supper time.”

  Annja smiled. “Excellent. At least that means I can get some grub in my stomach. I’m dying of hunger here.”

  “Wishman has arranged a big meal. I think he knows you’re going to be waking up—er, he knew you would be anyway. I don’t know how. I don’t know much about what he knows.”

  Annja nodded at the door. “Let’s go.”

  Dufresne led her outside. She caught up with him and they walked side by side through the snow, which had fallen again in Annja’s absence. “Did you guys work everything out?”

  Dufresne nodded. “Yeah. Wishman and Godwin working together were quite persuasive, actually.”

  “They worked together?” Annja smiled in the looming darkness. “That must have been something to see.”

  “Yeah, they seemed to get along good, all right. At one point, Wishman actually clapped Godwin on the back. And from our end, Godwin ain’t a bad guy at all. We’ve known him for some time, so we took his words seriously.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  They stopped in front of the main lodge and the door opened abruptly. Wishman’s smiling face beamed out at Annja. “So, the mighty warrior has at last awakened.” He bowed to Annja and then looked deep in her eyes. “Welcome back, Friend of Bear, Slayer of Gods.”

  Annja almost blushed. “You know, ‘Annja’ will really suffice. The other thing there you’ve come up with is far too long and complicated to say.”

  “But it’s the truth.”

  “Yeah, but it’s also embarrassing as hell,” Annja said. “Slayer of Gods? Could you make me sound any more like the Terminator?”

  Wishman shrugged. “As you wish.” He stepped back and allowed Annja to enter. The main lodge was abuzz with noise and laughter. It was a far different sight than when Annja had last left it. Back then, the tension was palpable. Now, it was nowhere to be seen.<
br />
  “Things have certainly changed,” she said.

  Wishman nodded. “I am sometimes surprised that I still have so much to learn despite my advanced years. Sometimes it takes a moment of strife and upheaval to drive the lesson home.”

  “We’ve certainly had plenty of that.” Annja smiled. “But I hear things have worked themselves out?”

  “Yes,” Wishman said. “Your suggestion about Godwin was perfect. The young man worked out exceedingly well. And his objectivity was obvious to both sides. He made for the perfect bridge between our two people.”

  “What did you come up with?”

  Dufresne cleared his throat. “We’re willing to accept the notion that the deal was designed to get Wainman and Hansen into the burial mound and was never about the diamonds at all. In exchange, the Araktak have agreed to renegotiate the deal and enter into a partnership with us for ownership and exploration of the mine.”

  “Equal ownership?” Annja smiled. “That wasn’t something I expected to hear.”

  Dufresne shrugged. “Well, you never know unless you try, right? And we were the ones who suddenly found ourselves unemployed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We called back to company headquarters, or what we thought was company headquarters, only to be told the entire board of directors actually consisted of Wainman and Hansen. And no one seemed to know where they were.”

  Annja frowned. “The entire company was a sham?”

  “We don’t know. What we do know is that without a board, the company has no real future and will most likely be dissolved.”

  “Yeah, but what about the deal already in place?”

  Dufresne pointed at Godwin. “Turns out the young guy there has some powerful connections in the legal world. He made a few phone calls on our satellite phone and in turn, his friends got us out of the original deal. The Araktak will pay back the money and we’re free to enter into a new agreement.”

  “It was that simple?”

  Dufresne shrugged. “Well, not quite, but at the end of the day, Godwin managed to get it all worked out. Me? I’m a miner, not a lawyer, so I’m not clear on all the conditions and whatnot. But what matters is that we have a new deal and a new reason to celebrate. The guys and I have better jobs now doing what we do best—digging rock.”

  “And we will still benefit from the mine itself,” Wishman said.

  “Once the remainder of the bodies are properly transported to the new burial area closer to the Araktak community,” Dufresne said. “That was a mandatory part of the deal.”

  “Good,” Annja said. “So that gives us plenty of time now?”

  “It should,” Wishman said. “We would like to get started as soon as possible, obviously, but traditions come first. And thankfully, Dufresne and his men seem willing to work with us on that.”

  “Well, sure. We’ve all got family we’ve buried before. We wouldn’t want someone rushing us if we suddenly had to move them.”

  “That’s the understanding that was missing from the original deal,” Annja said. “Nice job, guys.”

  “It was Godwin mostly,” Wishman said. “He really has proven himself incredibly valuable.”

  “You can tell me all about it over dinner,” Annja said. “I’m starving. I hear I’ve been out for two days.”

  Wishman smiled. “Well, you did have a lot of resting to do. I alone was unconcerned. But the men insisted on caring for you. It was quite touching, actually.”

  “Big bunch of softies, the lot of you.”

  Wishman led her over to the main table that had been set with a wide range of fresh meats. Annja looked around and whistled. “You’ve been busy hunting, haven’t you?”

  “Well, someone had to be ready for when you decided to grace us with your presence again,” a voice said.

  Annja looked up into Godwin’s face. He smiled at her and Annja felt a warmth come over her. “Hey, you.”

  “How you feeling?”

  Annja shrugged. “Rested. Good. Overall, pretty damned glad I checked out for a forty-eight-hour furlough.”

  “Leaving us completely worried, mind you.” Godwin winked. “Wishman was most concerned out of all of us.”

  “You speak lies, Godwin,” Wishman said with a slight smile. “I alone had the faith to know Annja would be fine.”

  “If you call nonstop pacing in front of her bed ‘faith,’ then yeah.”

  Annja looked at Wishman. “You held a vigil over my bed?”

  Wishman shrugged. “Just for a few minutes.”

  “Hours,” Godwin said. “We finally managed to pry him away from your side and set up shifts. But it seemed to be touch and go there for a while. I thought you’d manage to make it somehow. After all, I saw how you handled that raging rig on the river.”

  Annja eyed him. “You saw that? I thought the tire had blocked your view.”

  He laughed. “How could I have missed that? I just didn’t say anything since it seemed like you didn’t want the attention.”

  “I didn’t.” Annja paused. “Thanks.”

  “Forget it. Let me get you a plate.” Godwin handed her one and Annja heaped a pile of meats and assorted fixings on it until it felt heavy on her hands. She made her way to sit down and all the men smiled at her. She noted that the Araktak warriors and the miners all seemed to be back and in good spirits again. Although, this time, no one was passing around any whiskey.

  They had indeed learned from the last time.

  Annja sat down and started to eat when Godwin came over and sat next to her. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he said quietly.

  “Me, too.”

  Godwin pointed at the plate. “Eat your fill. Then we have other things to discuss.”

  Annja frowned. “Things? I thought I’d be leaving soon.”

  Godwin shook his head. “Oh, there’s a lot more that we need to talk about. A lot more.”

  28

  Annja finished her meal in quiet, wondering what Godwin had mentioned about there being more stuff to talk about. What could he be referring to? she wondered as she chewed thoughtfully on the piece of game. After all, she’d expected to wake up, perhaps party a little with the boys and then figure out a way to hitch a lift back to Inuvik and from there head back home. Right about now, Brooklyn was looking like a fantastic place to be.

  But Godwin had other plans apparently. And as Annja sat there munching away, she watched the flow and energy of the room. Something had changed and it was palpable. Godwin’s natural charisma seemed to have taken over. It put people at ease and endeared him without a lot of effort on his part.

  He was now a much different person than the quiet driver who had trucked them north to this point. Out from behind the shadow of Derek Wainman, Godwin was very much his own man. And one to be reckoned with, Annja thought. She found his presence slightly intoxicating and wondered if she was infatuated with him or just another victim of his beaming personality.

  He glanced over at her a few times and in each instance, a sly grin winked out for a brief second before being withdrawn again. It was like someone dangling a piece of yarn in front of a kitten. Every time Annja tried to smile back, he would be just out of reach.

  The hell with it, she thought. He’ll be over here soon enough. No sense looking like a silly schoolgirl trying to flirt with him.

  She finished her plate of food and got up to throw the scraps away. As she crossed the floor, she spied Wishman holding conference with Nyaktuk. They were deep in conversation and the expression on Nyaktuk’s face seemed far grimmer than the environment warranted.

  Annja sidled over and nudged Wishman. “Is everything all right? You two look like you’re holding a war council or something like that.”

  Wishman smiled. “It doesn’t concern you anymore, Annja. After everything you’ve done for us, we wouldn’t dream of burdening you further with our problems.”

  “What problems could you have? Last I checked you had a brand-new deal, still owned this
land and have nothing but a bright future ahead of you. How could there anything troubling about that?”

  Wishman shrugged. “There are…loose ends.”

  Annja paused. Derek and Hansen. That had to be it. “They’re gone. I don’t know why you’d even waste your time trying to find them now. Maybe the woods got them. It’s not exactly friendly out there, you know.”

  “None of the trucks were missing,” Nyaktuk said. “Which means they have journeyed elsewhere on foot.”

  Annja eyed him. “Let me guess—you want to go after them.”

  Nyaktuk nodded. “We cannot let them escape.”

  Wishman held up his hand to stop Annja before she could protest. “I know what you’re thinking, Annja. And you’re right. We have a wonderful thing here and should do nothing to jeopardize it. But we cannot let those two men escape. If we do so, they will simply come back another day and try their luck with us again.”

  “Is this more about being proactive or another useless act of machismo? If this is going to be one of those jaunts, you can count me out right now.”

  “After everything you’ve witnessed about the Araktak, do you really believe that we would conduct ourselves like that?” Wishman smiled but it was cold. “We must find them and take them if we are to have the peace we so richly deserve.”

  Annja frowned. “We’ll see.”

  She turned and found Godwin approaching her. He nodded at Wishman and Nyaktuk. “Do you mind if I steal her away from you for a few minutes?”

  “As if I belong to them,” Annja said. She elbowed Godwin and got him to walk with her. “What’s on your mind?”

  They walked toward an unoccupied corner of the lodge and Godwin folded his arms. “Are you in a hurry to get out of here?”

  “I’m thinking yes, but I know you have something else in store for me. Don’t you?”

  He smiled and Annja found herself drawn to him as if seeing him for the first time. “It would be nice if you could hang around for a time,” he said.

  “Why?”