Library Of Gold. Alex Archer

clearly amused, glanced in her direction.

      Their employer was well connected, indeed, if he’d heard about that already, she thought. Have to remember that in the future.

      His point made, Charles went on. “I’ve arranged for you to meet an old colleague of mind, Semyon Petrescu, at the Cathedral of the Annunciation tomorrow afternoon. He is the curator of the rare book collection housed there and he has graciously agreed to give you a few hours to examine the Gospel of Gold. He thinks you’re doing research for a thesis, so let’s keep him in the dark about our true purpose, all right?”

      “Thesis. Got it.” She had no idea what kind of thesis she was supposed to be writing, but she was sure she’d figure something out when the time came. Charles went on, providing the details of where and when they were to meet his colleague, which Gianni jotted down on the notepad next to the phone. After instructing them to call in tomorrow after visiting the cathedral, their employer bid them goodbye and disconnected the call.

      Back in her room, Annja washed up, changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. Despite the couple of hours’ sleep she’d grabbed aboard the plane, she was asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.

      * * *

      THE NEXT DAY ANNJA was up with the sunrise, the effect of the long flight lost in her enthusiasm for the search to come. She pulled on a T-shirt and sweats, pushed the coffee table and chair back against the wall to clear some space in the middle of the room and then reached into the otherwhere for her sword.

      The broadsword slid smoothly into existence, appearing with the speed of thought, the hilt fitting her palm as if it was specially made for her and her alone. The weapon was finely balanced and in the time she’d carried it she’d become very skilled with it. That didn’t stop her from practicing, which was just what she intended to do now.

      She spent the next forty-five minutes working through a variety of sword katas, stylized sequences of moves designed to mimic the attack and defense response of an actual sword fight. The physical practice allowed the motions to settle into her muscle memory so that they would be there at her beck and call when she needed them.

      After her workout, she called down to room service and had them deliver a breakfast of bacon and eggs, which she ate with relish. Then she showered, dressed and was at her laptop doing additional background research on the cathedral when Gianni knocked on her door.

      They left the hotel and walked down the street toward the Kremlin. From her morning’s research, Annja knew that the Cathedral of the Annunciation had been built by Ivan the Terrible’s grandfather, Grand Duke Ivan III, as part of his general expansion of the Kremlin. It was smaller than the other two grand cathedrals that were nearby, but from the time of Ivan the Terrible’s coronation as czar of Russia, the royal family had worshipped, gotten married and baptized their children inside the walls of this cathedral. Even after the capital had been moved to Saint Petersburg, the cathedral had continued to play an important role in the lives of the royal family.

      It was a fitting place to begin their search for the library.

      The official entrance to the Kremlin was through the Savior’s Gate, located in the base of the gothic-turreted Spasskaya Tower. A small crowd of tourists were gathered outside, taking pictures of the clock hanging high above on the tower’s face, and Annja and Gianni were forced to thread their way through them to reach the entrance where a guard was checking IDs.

      Annja noted several people crossing themselves and doffing their hats as they passed through the gates and she was reminded of how the tower was reputed to be possessed with miraculous powers and would supposedly protect the Kremlin from enemy invasion. Horses passing through its gates were said to shy in fear, and legend had it that Napoleon’s own horse had reared in fright when he’d tried to enter without showing his respect.

      They handed their passports to the guard when it was their turn and told him they had an appointment to see Dr. Petrescu. The guard gave them visitor badges and let them through.

      The cathedral was located on the southwest corner of Cathedral Square, where it was directly connected to the main building of the Grand Kremlin Palace complex. Its nine golden domes shone in the morning sun as they approached, their glow reflecting off the white limestone facades beneath. They entered through the doors decorated with gold foil at the top of the south staircase as they’d been instructed, Annja cataloging the fact that it was this staircase, rather than the eastern one, that had been added by Ivan the Terrible in 1570.

      Another guard sat behind a desk just inside the doors and they repeated their goal to him. He picked up the phone, made a quick call and then asked them to wait. A few minutes later a man came down the hall toward them, dressed in a dark suit and tie. Given the lines on his face and his thinning gray hair, Annja guessed he was in his early sixties. He smiled as he saw them and when he got closer extended his hand.

      “I am Semyon Petrescu and, unless my instincts are off, you must be Ms. Creed and Mr. Travino.”

      They shook hands.

      “Sir Charles tells me you’re interested in taking a look at the Gospel of Gold, is that right?” Semyon asked as he ushered them past the guard and headed back down the hall in the direction he’d come.

      “It is,” Annja replied, stepping in beside their host and letting Gianni bring up the rear. “I’m gathering data for a thesis on the decorative art and illuminated manuscripts of sixteenth-century religious texts, a study that wouldn’t be complete without a section on the Gospel of Gold.”

      Annja was confident her knowledge of the subject would be enough to provide a convincing cover for them and hoped all the while that Semyon wouldn’t ask Gianni any questions. Thankfully he didn’t, and by the time they reached the room where they were to examine the almost five-hundred-year-old manuscript, Annja and Semyon were chatting like old friends.

      The examination room was typical of those she’d used at other facilities, just a small square room with a table in the center and decent lighting overhead. A metal case rested on the tabletop, two pairs of white cotton gloves lying beside it. A surveillance camera hung from the ceiling in one corner.

      Their host led them over to the table and then went around to the opposite side. He took his own pair of white gloves out of his pocket and pulled them on, indicating with a nod that they should do the same.

      “A few reminders,” he said as he turned the case toward him and punched the combination into the keypad lock set in the top. “Gloves must be worn at all times and photography of any kind, with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Written transcripts of the entire volume are available, complete with reproductions of the artwork, and I can have one of these made available to you should you need it.”

      He said something else after that, but Annja didn’t hear it, her attention riveted on the gold-and-jewel-encrusted tome he lifted out of the specimen case and set on the table in front of them.

      The Gospel of Gold.

      It was an oversize book, long and wide like an accountant’s ledger, and several inches thick. The cover was filigree gold, inset with uncut precious gems—topazes, tourmalines and sapphires from the looks of them. It drew her forward like a moth to a flame.

      “Amazing, isn’t it?” Semyon asked.

      It certainly was.