The Oracle's Message
Men would do anything for it…but one woman will determine its fateSteeped in legend, the Pearl of Palawan has a history marked by destruction, vengeance and love. But more important, the mythical black pearl is rumored to grant a power long coveted by mankind–immortality. It is a power men would risk dying to achieve.Sun, sand and scuba diving in the Philippines certainly sounded like an ideal vacation. But after a way-too-close-for-comfort encounter with a tiger shark, archaeologist Annja Creed finds herself drawn into a group of German divers. They are treasure hunters searching for the fabled pearl. Out of curiosity, Annja accompanies them. But when an old friend of hers turns up unexpectedly, she finds herself torn between her past and new acquaintances.The race is on to possess the pearl. But no one realizes the true nature of the artifact, or the danger it poses to them all.
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Where did he go�
Annja peered around the edge of the reef and the shadow was gone.
It really was almost as if the unknown figure had disappeared right off the coral reef.
What were the chances that heâd been taken by a shark? She shook her head. No, thereâd be some sort of evidence of an attack. His oxygen tanks would be lying on the ocean floor. His weight belt would have been shredded.
Annjaâs mouth went dry and she glanced down at her oxygen gauge.
It was running close to empty.
She needed to get back to the boat. But in the next instant, she knew where the shadow had vanished to.
Heâd resurfaced.
The boat engine roared overhead, its sound muffled through the water, but Annja glanced up and saw the white foam as the boat suddenly shot back the way they had come out.
Leaving Annja all alone in the dark ocean.
Titles in this series:
Destiny
Solomonâs Jar
The Spider Stone
The Chosen
Forbidden City
The Lost Scrolls
God of Thunder
Secret of the Slaves
Warrior Spirit
Serpentâs Kiss
Provenance
The Soul Stealer
Gabrielâs Horn
The Golden Elephant
Swordsmanâs Legacy
Polar Quest
Eternal Journey
Sacrifice
Seekerâs Curse
Footprints
Paradox
The Spirit Banner
Sacred Ground
The Bone Conjurer
Tribal Ways
The Dragonâs Mark
Phantom Prospect
Restless Soul
False Horizon
The Other Crowd
Tear of the Gods
The Oracleâs Message
Rogue Angel>â¢
THE LEGEND
â¦THE ENGLISH COMMANDER TOOK
JOANâS SWORD AND RAISED IT HIGH.
The broadsword, plain and unadorned, gleamed in the firelight. He put the tip against the ground and his foot at the center of the blade. The broadsword shattered, fragments falling into the mud. The crowd surged forward, peasant and soldier, and snatched the shards from the trampled mud. The commander tossed the hilt deep into the crowd.
Smoke almost obscured Joan, but she continued praying till the end, until finally the flames climbed her body and she sagged against the restraints.
Joan of Arc died that fateful day in France, but her legend and sword are rebornâ¦.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
1
The turquoise waters of the South China Sea swirled into the flow of the Mindoro Strait and the Sulu Sea to the south, bobbing the small catamaran over gentle swells. The motion was almost hypnotizing to a very tired but very relaxed Annja Creed as she steered toward the GPS coordinates sheâd punched in for a little-visited coral reef off the northeastern part of Palawan in the Philippines.
Sheâd fled New York City two days earlier, amid a stretch of work that had left her positively drained and eager for any excuse to leave town. Sharing a bottle of Santa Margherita pinot grigio with her good friend Bart McGilley, sheâd remembered that sheâd wanted to go diving in the Philippines for a long time. On her last trip there, the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf had cut that dream short by taking her hostage and Annja had seen a lot more of the tropical rain-forest jungles of the south than she ever wanted to see again.
In the wake of her experience, sheâd found out that the government had rounded up a lot of the Abu Sayyaf followers and most experts considered the group fairly neutralized. Annja knew there was a chance theyâd regroup, but for the time being, they were content to lie low.
And that seemed like enough of an opening for Annja.
The twenty-two-hour flight from New York with a brief layover in Osaka, Japan, had left her even more tired, but the thought of some alone time and diving at the little-known coral reef inspired her.
Sheâd flown from Manila to the southwest island of Palawan, jutting out into the South China Sea. She and her fellow tourists had landed on a small dusty airstrip that looked like it might have been used for smuggling, transferred to a jeepneyâone of the gaudily decorated World War II U.S. Army jeeps that had been converted into busesâand bounced their way through a stretch of jungle down to a river.
On the river, a small boat snaked along the tributary until they emerged into a bay. Once there, they transferred to a larger boat that skimmed its way across the waves toward the island of Apulit. As theyâd neared the shore, Annja heard music and saw the resort workers coming down to the beach strumming guitars and bearing trays of fruity drinks.
One sip told Annja that Club Noah was going to be an absolute delight. The tiny resort consisted of just forty cabanas perched on stilts over the gently lapping waves of the little U-shaped bay.
Annja spent her first few hours ditching the last remnants of her overly stressed world by having a few more of the incredibly refreshing and intoxicating fruity welcome drinks and by taking a long nap in a beach hammock. The breeze blowing in from the beach rocked the hammock and Annja had passed out. After a quiet evening exploring the beach and resort she retired to her cabana for a good nightâs sleep.
