The Soul Stealer. Alex Archer

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СКАЧАТЬ heart hammered in her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to reach for the sword. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn’t in her hands. She tried again and then it hit her.

      The alley was too narrow to swing a sword.

      She almost yelped when the disembodied hand grabbed her around the ankle. She yanked her leg away and shot a kick into the hand. Someone on the ground grunted and she saw the hand retreat.

      This was not a place she wanted to stay any longer than necessary.

      The air around her grew heavy. Annja could feel his presence now, looming and drawing down the distance between them. She ducked down by the closest cardboard box and waited.

      The steam played tricks with her eyes. She thought she could see his body parting the mist like some ship on the sea. And then she saw his feet.

      Without even thinking about it, Annja launched herself at him, screaming as she did so. She collided with him, knocking him to the ground. He grunted and Annja felt a breath of air come out of his mouth as the wind was knocked out of him.

      She winced. Judging by the smell, he was a fan of onion bagels.

      He brought his hands up and twisted, trying to push her off him. She could see his left hand reaching for something in his coat. Annja chopped down with her fist onto his forearm, hoping his coat wasn’t thick enough to dull the blow.

      He grunted again and rolled.

      Annja slipped off him and scrambled to her feet, her hands held up high.

      As he came up, Annja lashed out with a roundhouse kick aimed at his temple. He ducked under it and punched up into the underside of her thigh. Annja jerked back, surprised that he seemed so nimble after being knocked to the ground. Again, he reached inside his coat. Annja ducked her head and flew at him, tackling him around the waist. Using her momentum, she brought them both back down to the ground.

      He was better prepared this time and as she landed, his hands were already trying to work the nerve clusters in her neck with his fingers. Annja could feel the sharp twinges as he dug his fingertips into the area under her ear.

      She slid away and got to her feet.

      “Stop!” the man shouted.

      Annja braced herself. The man got to his feet and held his hands up as if he was surrendering. “I mean you no harm,” he said.

      Annja frowned. “Really?”

      He gestured at his pocket. “Do you mind? I will prove that I am no threat to you.”

      “Go slow,” Annja said. “If I think you’re pulling a gun–”

      “No gun. Just a note,” he said.

      Annja watched as he fished a slip of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it and gingerly handed it to her. She took it and glanced down quickly at the words written on it.

      Annja, welcome to Magadan. Please follow Gregor.

      He will bring you to me.

      Regards,

       Bob

      Annja looked back up. “Gregor?”

      The man smiled. “Da.”

      Annja smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

       2

      Annja followed Gregor out of the alley and back into the open air of the city. He turned and wiped his brow with a smile. “Robert told me you might not be an easy woman to track down. He did not say anything about you not being easy to take down, however.”

      “You got the two-for-one deal,” Annja said. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

      Gregor stiffened. “You did not…hurt me.”

      “Of course,” Annja replied quickly.

      “You always react this way to people who are behind you?” Gregor asked.

      Annja grinned. “Past experience has taught me it’s better to go on the attack than wait for an ambush.”

      “You must have some sort of peculiar background for that to be your normal method of behavior.”

      “Nothing about my life has ever been normal,” Annja said. “Now, where’s Biker Bob?”

      Gregor nodded. “He waits for us nearby. A libation establishment that he prefers to occupy during his awake time.”

      “Never heard a bar called that before.” Annja smiled again. “Lead the way. I’ll follow you this time.”

      “Perhaps that would be best,” Gregor said. He walked ahead of Annja, navigating the twisting streets and the throngs of people who bustled here and there. Horns sounded as the afternoon turned into early evening and commuters rushed from factories and offices to head home.

      “This place gets busy in the evening, huh?” Annja noted.

      “This city is not a wonderful place to be at night. Most people go home quickly to their families and dream of a time when they might leave.”

      “How depressing.”

      Gregor stopped and looked at her. “Have you not noticed how sad this city is? How sad its inhabitants are, as well?”

      “It’s kind of hard not to notice,” Annja said.

      “What’s the problem? The weather?”

      Gregor shook his head. “This is the gateway to hell.”

      “That’s a bit extreme. Even some of the grungiest places on Earth have something to look forward to,” Annja said.

      Gregor shook his head and gestured at the concrete high-rises that surrounded them. “It is not my name for this place, but rather the people who lived here who called it that. There was a time when this truly was the gateway to hell. Millions of people came here first before journeying to the slave camps outside of the city to mine for gold under the Stalin regime. They say three million died in the mines at Kolyma.”

      “This was where the mine workers first came?”

      “ Da. Criminals, intellectuals, the poor—under Stalin, it did not matter what you were. If you were perceived as a threat, then you were shipped here to mine for gold. They used the railway to herd workers here first before dropping them off the face of the planet and into the very depths of hell itself.”

      “Amazing.” Annja sighed. “Good thing we don’t have Stalin to worry about any longer.”

      “The scars of those times will take a very long while to heal,” Gregor said. “My grandparents died in the mines. It is for me a very painful topic. One that is very close to my heart.”

      “Maybe they should have destroyed the city when the mines shut down,” Annja said.

      Gregor СКАЧАТЬ