Library Of Gold

Under Yuri’s direction they were hustled through the airport and out through a special VIP door away from the general traffic. A black Mercedes limousine pulled into view just as they came out of the building.

“Where are you staying?” Yuri asked.

“The Marriott Grand Hotel on Tverskaya Street.”

“Of course.”

Yuri placed their roller bags in the trunk, opened the door of the Mercedes, waiting for Gianni and Annja to climb into the backseat before saying a few words to the driver. Turning back to Annja, he handed her his card. “The driver will take you directly to your hotel, Miss Creed, and the fare is taken care of, courtesy of the Federal Migration Service. If there is anything else I can do to make your stay more comfortable, you need only call.”

Annja thanked him and, as the driver pulled away from the curb, slipped Yuri’s card into her pocket.

You never knew when having a friend in the Russian immigration service could come in handy.

Chapter 7

The hotel was located on legendary Tverskaya Street in the heart of Moscow, within walking distance of Red Square. The driver took them there without delay and with a minimum of fuss. Upon checking in, they discovered that Sir Charles had reserved two adjoining executive-level rooms for them on the ninth floor, away from the hotel traffic.

The rooms were well appointed and spacious. From Annja’s window she could see the colorful spires of Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the long wall of the Kremlin itself. They wouldn’t have any trouble getting there in the morning. Annja quickly stowed the one bag she’d brought with her and then knocked on the door connecting her room to Gianni’s.

“It’s open,” he called.

Annja stepped inside to find him staring out the window at the Kremlin a few blocks away.

“I never thought I’d get this far,” he said wistfully, without taking his eyes off what was perhaps Russia’s most iconic building. Annja knew just how he felt. She’d been there herself, more times than she could count, when all the hard work had come together and she stood before the object of her search, wondering just how it was all going to turn out. She knew the mix of eagerness and doubt he had to be feeling because she was experiencing it, too. Tomorrow was going to be an important day for both of them.

“Shall we give Charles a call and let him know we’ve arrived?” she asked.

Gianni handed over the satellite phone Charles had given them. Annja made sure the speakerphone was activated and then placed the call.

“Any difficulties?” Charles asked, after they had exchanged pleasantries.

“No, no trouble here,” Annja told him, deciding that the encounter with her “number-one fan” was something he didn’t need to hear about for the time being.

“Good. Glad to hear that nonsense at the airport didn’t amount to anything.”

Gianni, 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.

Chapter 8

Up close, Annja could see five circular enamels set in the cover, one on each corner and a larger one in the center. All five were surrounded by wreathed inscriptions linked to one another in nielloed gold. The image in the center was that of the risen Christ, while those in the corners represented various saints praying or studying.