The Soul Stealer

The Soul Stealer
Alex Archer

Their ultimate fear came true. And then things got worse.Annja Creed jumps at the chance to join a fellow archaeologist on a quest to find a relic. But she's not so thrilled about northern Siberia, where they are hoping to discover something buried in the long-undisturbed soil of Russia's frozen terrain. When they reach the town of Jakutsk, Annja is put off by its gray landscape and highly superstitious inhabitants. They claim they are being hunted. Then one of the villagers goes missing.The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth–and may have hit a dead end.

“So, what is this Khosadam thing anyway?” Annja asked.

“She’s a Siberian goddess,” Bob replied.

“As in a deity?” Annja shook her head. “You realize how ludicrous that sounds. They actually think there’s a goddess stalking them?”

“That would be my impression, yes.”

“What—did she get bored with heaven or Olympus or wherever she was hanging out?”

“She was kicked out of heaven, actually,” Bob said. “By her husband, of all people.”

Annja grinned. “One step forward for women’s rights.”

“Don’t misunderstand it. Ec banished her for being unfaithful. She liked to cavort with the lesser deities and sometimes even mortals. She has another name as well,” Bob said, leading them into the nearby café.

A wall of heat slammed into Annja as she walked through the door. She could smell burned coffee and some other scents she didn’t recognize. Despite her unease with the entire situation, her mouth watered and she realized she was ravenous. “What’s her other name?” she asked.

“Eater of souls.”

Titles in this series:

Destiny

Solomon’s Jar

The Spider Stone

The Chosen

Forbidden City

The Lost Scrolls

God of Thunder

Secret of the Slaves

Warrior Spirit

Serpent’s Kiss

Provenance

The Soul Stealer

Rogue Angel

The Soul Stealer

Alex Archer

www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jon Merz for his contribution to this work.

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