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Authors: Alex Archer
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his sword, off us. You know some thugs we could hire to stand guard while we work?”
“Not particularly. The night guardsman has a day job. You?”
The image of Garin Braden’s growling mug popped into Annja’s brain. “Nope. Guess we’ll have to hope the evil eye suffices.”
Chapter 5
It was high noon. Annja sat at the edge of the pit and tilted back the remainder of the warm water from a canteen. Luke spread out a small canvas tarp in preparation for laying their work on it. They had decided to lift only the skull because that was the most valuable part. The rest of the skeleton would have to wait until they could put in another two or three days of digging. Foremost, they wanted to protect the skull and brick from being stolen.
The Gypsy leader had situated himself at the base of an oak tree not thirty feet from the pit. He hadn’t said much, but his keen dark eyes had crept along Annja’s skin all day. He wasn’t going to let them walk away with the skull, she suspected. But then, what did she know? That he was sitting aside, allowing them to do their work, did impress her. And confused her.
What was his story? He’d stood on the side of the angry villagers, and yet now he had settled in and was content to allow them to do what he’d vowed could never happen—remove bones from the site. Of course, she hadn’t wandered over to see if his lowered head included closed eyelids. Was he napping? If so, they had to hurry.
“You ready?” Luke asked, and she turned her attention back to the task at hand.
They’d dug under the skull, leaving a good two inches of soil to support the fragile bone and make lifting it out easier.
“Do you find our silent sentinel disturbing?” Annja asked as they worked.
“More interesting, actually. He’s been sleeping most of the day.”
“No, he hasn’t, he’s—” At a look to the tree she could see that the man’s head was bowed and his eyes closed. “Then we’d best work quickly before he starts taking inventory.”
The skull, filled with dirt, and the brick weighed about four pounds, Annja decided as she placed it on the tarp. Luke then carefully wrapped it and tied it firmly with twine before gesturing she hold the plastic bag open to keep it all together.
“Did you encounter that man when you were here a year ago?” she asked, remembering now Luke was not new to the area.
“Not that I recall. And I certainly would remember a character like him, diamonds in his ears, sword and all. But I do know the encampment on the other side of the forest. I was only able to interview one person from there who was willing to give me any information on the troubles her son had had in the school. And that was only because she was moving in a week, and wasn’t afraid of retaliation. Gypsies are secretive and don’t trust easily. They are misunderstood. That’s the reason for the mistrust.”
“You seem like a man who can gain another person’s trust easily. Your voice has just the right amount of authority.”
“And yours has an interesting cadence,” he offered with an eye-crinkling grin. “Brooklyn.”
“You know my history from watching the show.”
“You have me there, but I do like it. Your voice, that is. You, uh...” He wiped a hand over his chin and looked aside, then shook his head as if dismissing something he didn’t know how to say.
“What?” she prompted, suspecting from his inability to meet her gaze head-on what he might have wanted to ask. No sense in making it easy for him. She did have her standards. “Do I dance with the Gypsies at night around the campfire while you’re not looking?”
That made him chuckle. “No, Annja, I was wondering if you were, well—are you seeing anyone right now?”
“Not at the moment.”
“I suppose relationships are difficult with your travel schedule.”
“A challenge. But I do enjoy challenges.”
He tilted his head. “You must get propositioned a lot.”
“Not nearly as much as
“Not particularly. The night guardsman has a day job. You?”
The image of Garin Braden’s growling mug popped into Annja’s brain. “Nope. Guess we’ll have to hope the evil eye suffices.”
Chapter 5
It was high noon. Annja sat at the edge of the pit and tilted back the remainder of the warm water from a canteen. Luke spread out a small canvas tarp in preparation for laying their work on it. They had decided to lift only the skull because that was the most valuable part. The rest of the skeleton would have to wait until they could put in another two or three days of digging. Foremost, they wanted to protect the skull and brick from being stolen.
The Gypsy leader had situated himself at the base of an oak tree not thirty feet from the pit. He hadn’t said much, but his keen dark eyes had crept along Annja’s skin all day. He wasn’t going to let them walk away with the skull, she suspected. But then, what did she know? That he was sitting aside, allowing them to do their work, did impress her. And confused her.
What was his story? He’d stood on the side of the angry villagers, and yet now he had settled in and was content to allow them to do what he’d vowed could never happen—remove bones from the site. Of course, she hadn’t wandered over to see if his lowered head included closed eyelids. Was he napping? If so, they had to hurry.
“You ready?” Luke asked, and she turned her attention back to the task at hand.
They’d dug under the skull, leaving a good two inches of soil to support the fragile bone and make lifting it out easier.
“Do you find our silent sentinel disturbing?” Annja asked as they worked.
“More interesting, actually. He’s been sleeping most of the day.”
“No, he hasn’t, he’s—” At a look to the tree she could see that the man’s head was bowed and his eyes closed. “Then we’d best work quickly before he starts taking inventory.”
The skull, filled with dirt, and the brick weighed about four pounds, Annja decided as she placed it on the tarp. Luke then carefully wrapped it and tied it firmly with twine before gesturing she hold the plastic bag open to keep it all together.
“Did you encounter that man when you were here a year ago?” she asked, remembering now Luke was not new to the area.
“Not that I recall. And I certainly would remember a character like him, diamonds in his ears, sword and all. But I do know the encampment on the other side of the forest. I was only able to interview one person from there who was willing to give me any information on the troubles her son had had in the school. And that was only because she was moving in a week, and wasn’t afraid of retaliation. Gypsies are secretive and don’t trust easily. They are misunderstood. That’s the reason for the mistrust.”
“You seem like a man who can gain another person’s trust easily. Your voice has just the right amount of authority.”
“And yours has an interesting cadence,” he offered with an eye-crinkling grin. “Brooklyn.”
“You know my history from watching the show.”
“You have me there, but I do like it. Your voice, that is. You, uh...” He wiped a hand over his chin and looked aside, then shook his head as if dismissing something he didn’t know how to say.
“What?” she prompted, suspecting from his inability to meet her gaze head-on what he might have wanted to ask. No sense in making it easy for him. She did have her standards. “Do I dance with the Gypsies at night around the campfire while you’re not looking?”
That made him chuckle. “No, Annja, I was wondering if you were, well—are you seeing anyone right now?”
“Not at the moment.”
“I suppose relationships are difficult with your travel schedule.”
“A challenge. But I do enjoy challenges.”
He tilted his head. “You must get propositioned a lot.”
“Not nearly as much as
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