The Babel Codex Read Online Free PDF

fragments of her sword and put it back together again. The second man, Garin Braden—a former initiate of Roux’s—had tried to prevent his mentor from making the sword whole. But in that, he had also failed.
    Annja had found the last piece of Joan of Arc’s sword, and somehow her hand had mended the shards into one, and she’d inherited a legacy she still didn’t understand. All she knew for certain was that since she had found the sword, her life had been filled with danger, like a lodestone that pulled her into battle, or brought battles to her.
    The sword wasn’t something she could handle inconspicuously, but its appearance had been a surprise to the man trying to kill her. He tried to stop and swivel his weapon at her again.
    Annja flicked the sword out, catching the man’s hand with the flat of the blade hard enough to slap the pistol from his fist. Bones snapped and she knew she’d broken most of his fingers. Desperate, he threw himself at her.
    Moving forward to meet her opponent, Annja struck the man in the face with her hand around the hilt. His head popped back and he staggered, then she finished him off by driving the hilt into his temple. Unconscious, he crumpled to the ground.
    Unfortunately, dealing with him had allowed the other pursuers to gain ground.
    Burris looked at the guy on the ground, then back up at Annja. “Nice sword. Where did you get it?”
    “One of the tables.”
    Burris started to look around, but the closest thing to them was a wooden cart filled with fresh melons and cabbages. Bullets from the men chasing them split open the melons, shredded the cabbage and dug splinters from the cart.
    Annja grabbed his shirt and jerked him into motion again, shoving him ahead of her. “Run!”
    She shoved him, causing him to almost stumble and fall, as bullets ricocheted off the wall beside them and blew holes through shop windows. Burris pounded feverishly along the sidewalk toward an awning-covered market where an old man was scrambling out of the way.
    Wooden barrels held half a dozen kinds of nuts, oranges, apples and pears. Racks of bright yellow bananas hung under the electric-blue awning that fluttered in the wind. Dried spices hung from strings, already tied off in bags or bundles for sale.
    As Burris reached the end of the awning, a camel shambled from the nearby alley and into his path. Burris slammed into the big animal, which looked at him like he was the most annoying thing it had ever seen.
    Even the camels understand Burris.
    Squawking, Burris flailed in an effort to keep his balance. The camel’s rider reached down and popped Burris on the head with his riding crop. Covering his head with his arms, Burris stepped back and blocked Annja just as their pursuers reached the other end of the long awning.
    Whirling around, Annja sliced through the wooden tent pole holding up the heavy awning. The bright blue fabric fell, pulled by the weight of the bananas and other goods tied to the frame. The men fired through the awning.
    Understanding that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the camel driver urged his mount into motion. Frightened and motivated, the ungainly animal wobbled out into the street and immediately caused a utility van to veer into an oncoming taxi. The clangor of shrieking metal filled the street and marketplace for a moment, then people began yelling.
    “Holy crap!” Burris stared out at the confusion as the camel waded through the stalled traffic.
    Annja shoved him into motion again, heading him down the alley toward the next street over. They dodged garbage bins and reached a smaller alley that split off from the main one. The new alley led behind shops that fronted both streets at either end of the alley they’d just quit.
    Burris sucked in air like he was about to die.
    Knowing the man wasn’t going to make it much farther, Annja told him to stop. As he bent over double to catch his breath, she released the sword and it immediately vanished back to