The Oracle's Message. Alex Archer
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sat up and saw another couple of men sitting in the boat looking at her with a mixture of amusement and concern. “I’m on your boat, I take it?”
Hans nodded. “We saw the commotion in the water, saw your diving flag and wondered if you might be in some sort of danger.”
Annja shrugged. “Tiger shark.”
Hans started. “A tiger shark? You’re sure?”
“I know those stripes, Hans. Trust me.”
“How did you get away?”
Annja shook her head. “I didn’t. I killed him instead.”
That brought a low murmur from the other men on the boat. Hans smiled. “How large was the shark?”
“Probably fourteen feet. Give or take a few inches.”
“And you killed it? With what?”
Annja almost said something about the sword but caught herself. “I had a diver’s knife with me.”
“That must have been some knife,” Hans said.
“I stabbed the shark in the head with it over and over until it died.”
“You’re quite a remarkable woman, Annja.”
“I don’t feel so remarkable right now.” Annja groaned. The bobbing of the boat, which wouldn’t have bothered her if she’d been uninjured, now made her intensely nauseous.
Hans moved out of the way just in time as Annja rushed forward and vomited into the sea. After heaving a few more times, she leaned back and wiped her mouth. “Got any more of that water?”
Hans handed her the bottle and held up his hand. “Perhaps you shouldn’t drink it quite so fast this time.”
Annja nodded. “Yeah, that would be good idea.” She swirled the water around in her mouth and then spat it out along with the taste of bile. She took another sip and tried to hand the bottle back to Hans.
But the German only held up his hand. “That’s fine. You can keep that bottle. We have more.”
Annja smiled. “Not into sharing with the damsel in distress?”
Hans shrugged. “Well, ordinarily, I would not mind. But seeing as you have just, uh, purged…”
“Yeah,” Annja said. “I don’t blame you.”
Hans leaned closer. “Where is the person who was diving with you?”
Annja shook her head. “It was just me.”
“You? Alone?”
“Yeah.”
Hans whistled. “You are either incredibly brave or rather foolish.”
Annja eyed him. “Probably a little of both. But I’m an expert diver. I didn’t see anything wrong with going it alone.”
Hans shook his head. “Anything can happen under the waves. As you found out. I hate to think what would have happened to you if we hadn’t been in the area.”
“I would have died,” Annja said.
Hans looked at her. But seeing nothing in Annja’s face that betrayed a sense of weakness, he merely sighed. “I think that would have been a shame.”
“I agree,” Annja said. She glanced around the boat. Oxygen tanks, regulators and fins were stacked neatly nearby. “You guys going diving, too?”
“We were.”
“Were?”
“Well, before we found you. Our diving plans will now take on a secondary importance until we determine you are safe.”
“I’m safe.”
Hans pointed at her head. “I would rather have a medical doctor make that decision, Annja.”
Annja frowned. “I know my limitations, Hans. I’ll be all right.”
“Still.” Hans smiled. “You are on my boat right now. And I shall make the decisions. Now, you’re free to stay aboard, accept my hospitality and the ride back to the resort. You’re staying at Club Noah, I presume?”
“I am.”
“Excellent. In that case, we can take you right into the medical facility. I know the doctor there quite well.”
Annja sighed. “I don’t have a choice here, do I?”
“Not unless you’d like to jump overboard and swim back.”
Hans had a smile on his face, but Annja saw there was no way he was going to budge on his decision. She shrugged. “What the hell.” At least he seemed to genuinely be concerned about her. That was a nice change.
Hans said something quickly and quietly to another man on board and the engine churned beneath their feet. Instantly, the boat swung around and zipped back toward the resort.
Despite her nausea, Annja found the sea spray and breeze a welcoming relief. She might have a concussion, she decided. And if that was the case, she did need to get checked out.
Hans pointed ahead of them and Annja saw the resort looming. The ship’s engine downshifted and the boat slowed as they neared the shore. Hans said something else in German to the driver, who guided the boat up toward the dock close to the medical facility.
Annja groaned as she saw the dive master coming down the dock. As he noticed the boat approaching, he squinted, saw Annja and then frowned.
“Great,” Annja said. “Here comes the ‘I told you so.’”
Hans stepped out on the dock and helped Annja ashore. She turned and watched the dive master striding toward her, his tanned bald head gleaming.
“What happened, Miss Creed?”
“I had a run-in with a tiger shark.”
That brought him up short. “Tiger shark? In these waters?”
Annja frowned. “They’re all over the place around these parts. Nothing unusual about that.”
But the dive master shook his head. “We don’t usually see them around here. For some reason they tend to avoid the area. Most of our sharks are blacktip and reef.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about the tiger shark anymore,” Annja said. “I killed him.”
“You did?”
Hans laughed. “I was just as amazed as you, my friend.”
The dive master seemed to remember what he’d come to do and pointed a finger at Annja. “I told you not to go diving alone, didn’t I? You could have been killed out there and no one would have known it.”
“I would have known,” Annja said. She nodded contritely. “But yes, you did warn me and I ignored your advice. I’m sorry. It was wrong and don’t think that I’ll be doing it again. I’m not in a rush to repeat that particular mistake.”
The dive master seemed marginally mollified. “Well…good.”
Hans put a hand under Annja’s elbow. “We need to get her to the doctor, however. Annja knocked her head on a piece of her catamaran—”
“What happened to the boat?” the dive master asked.
“The tiger shark rammed it. It’s gone,” Annja said.
“Good Lord.”
Annja grinned. “Think of how I felt.”
“You said you killed him?”
“Yes.”
The dive master turned and walked away. “Well, at least that’s done.”
Annja