Alex Archer - Sacred Ground

Godwin shook his head. “I’m trying to keep us ahead of him, but I think we’ve got about two minutes before he runs over us.”

Derek had the map open on his lap, running his finger over the entire area. “There’s got to be something out here we can use.”

“I’m open to suggestions, Mr. Wainman,” Godwin said.

Annja stabbed at the map. “What’s that?”

Derek peered closer. “Looks like a small turnoff, actually. Probably not much more than an uphill slope if these contour lines are accurate.”

Annja nodded. “Should be about a mile from here.” She glanced at Godwin. “Can we make it?”

“Don’t know. I’ll try.” The truck surged ahead again and Annja felt the whole thing slide for a moment before Godwin steered slightly left and regained control. Behind them, the truck continued to loom large.

Through the bright sunlight, Annja could see the snow scattering in the slipstream of the truck as Godwin tried to pour on more speed. Annja stared out of the windshield, trying to spot the turnoff.

Derek shook his head. “He’s gaining on us!”

“We’re not going to make it,” Godwin said. “There’s not enough time.”

“We’ll make it,” Annja said. And then she pointed. “Look!”

A few hundred yards ahead, she could see the turnoff. It was a slope arcing up to the right off the ice road like some sort of higher bank on the frozen river. “Aim for it now, Godwin.”

The distance shrank between the huge rig behind them and the back of the SUV they drove. Godwin grunted as the mighty giant brushed their back bumper and sent them zipping farther ahead.

“Now!”

Godwin jerked the steering wheel and the SUV fishtailed onto the slope, carrying them off the ice road onto the turnoff. He slammed on the brakes and the SUV came to a rest. Behind them, the giant rig let out an angry horn blast and thundered on past them, soon disappearing in the brilliant sunshine.

Godwin took a deep breath and released his hold on the steering wheel. “Well, that was a bit too close for my liking.”

Derek clapped him on the shoulder. “That was a great bit of driving, my friend. I’ll make sure you’re given your due when we get back.”

“Thank you,” Godwin said. He glanced at Annja. “Are you all right?”

Annja nodded. “I’ll be fine as soon as we get the hell off of this ice road and I’m somewhere where I can control my own destiny.” She almost chuckled aloud at that thought. She hadn’t felt in control of her destiny ever since she’d come into possession of Joan of Arc’s mystical sword. But no one else needed to know that.

Derek looked out of the rear window. “The question is, did that big rig leave us or is it waiting somewhere farther down the ice road to ambush us?”

Godwin took the map and studied it. “Well, unfortunately, we’re going to have to get back on the road and follow it until our turnoff. There’s just no other way to reach the dig site.” He glanced at Annja. “I know, I know, I’m not crazy about this, either, but there’s no alternative.”

Annja nodded. “I know it.”

Godwin slid the truck into gear and backed down the turnoff until they were once again on the road. Then he slid the truck into Drive and started off again. “If it makes you feel any better,” he said, “I don’t think we’ll see that guy again.”

“Why not?” Annja said.

Godwin shrugged. “I’m not sure. Just a hunch.”

“Your hunches ever pan out?” Annja asked.

Godwin shrugged. “If they did, I would have won the lottery by now and retired to some place warmer than this.” He eyed her. “What about yours?”

Annja smiled. “Sometimes.”

“And you think that rig is waiting for us?”

Annja looked out of the windshield at the road ahead of them and calmed her breathing. She felt okay. And she thought that perhaps they might get through this part of the journey unscathed now.

“Actually, I think we’re good.”

Derek heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s a twofer, so I’ll accept it as gospel now.”

Godwin smirked and continued to drive. “Maybe that was another warning for us, huh?”

“Do you really think so?” Annja asked.

He shrugged. “First the assassin’s dagger, and then we almost get run over on the ice road. I’d say someone is trying very hard to keep us from reaching our destination, wouldn’t you?”

Annja sighed. “Maybe. But it’s only because I don’t have a better theory at this point.”

“Neither do I,” Derek said. “But who would be behind it?”

“Traditionalists in the Araktak perhaps,” Godwin said. “Maybe they’re less keen on seeing this deal go through than we realized.”

“Even with all they’d gain from it?” Derek asked. “Seems to me that would be rather stupid of them. They’d lose out on all of that money.”

“To them it’s probably not about the money at all,” Godwin said. “They’d see this relocation of the ancient burial grounds as an affront to everything their lineage has taught them to hold dear and respect. All the money in the world wouldn’t convince them of it being a good idea.”

“So, they’ll kill instead?” Derek asked.

Godwin nodded. “Some have probably killed for far less than that.”

Annja glanced at Godwin, but his face seemed set as he drove farther on the road. She wondered what gave him such intimate insight into the inner working of the Araktak. After all, hadn’t he said that they refused to claim him as one of their own?

“Did you have a lot of experience with them growing up?” she asked.

He looked at her. “The Araktak? No. Hardly any at all. We moved pretty much as soon as my father was kicked out of the tribe for marrying outside the clan. We headed south to Toronto and I grew up there. It’s a lot warmer. I think it fostered my love of summers.”

“So, why do you seem to know so much about the tribe if they never accepted you as one of them?”

“My father,” Godwin said. “He told me pretty much everything I’d need to know about them. The history, the traditions, that kind of thing. That’s why I was a natural choice for the company to use as its go-between.”

“And what was the reception like when you went there the first time?”

“Like the rest of the landscape. Icy and cold.”

Annja smiled. “And yet you persevered.”

“The Araktak don’t exactly live in luxurious surroundings. The kids need schooling. There needs to be a better standard of living. And if they’re sitting on a land filled with wealth, then they should have the opportunity to tap into that. If not for them, then at least for the generations that follow them. The deal with the company will enable them to have a great life for their children and children’s children. It wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make to come on board and help the company out.”

“You’re helping the Araktak, as well,” Annja said.

“Exactly.” Godwin shrugged. “When I first visited them, I saw a number of children playing in the snow. But they didn’t even have a ball to play with so they were kicking around snowballs. They were amazing kids, but they didn’t even have access to the kind of toys most kids do. I guess it made an impression on me.”

Derek clapped him on the shoulder again. “Good man. And with the deal we structured for them, their kids will have a great life. Most of the families will be millionaires when this is all over.”

“I hope they won’t lose their traditions in the process,” Annja said. “Because as nice as it is to give someone access to wealth and prosperity, it would be a shame to see an entire race of people lose its way over the lure of cash.”

“It’s happened before,” Godwin said. “I know this. But I also hope the elders of the tribe will be able to exert some degree of control of their people.”