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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

But even if they didn’t see him, what the hell was he going to do?  He had no gun or weapon at all, against what—eight to ten men?

Nor did he have a plan, except to reach them in time.  Because if he were right about Saad’s intention of using Eshe, it would be too late to stop once the phenomenon began.

His only plan, his only hope, was that Angela and Townsend would be able to do what he told them to before he’d driven off in Mona’s car.

Find help.

Rickards took a deep breath, forced himself past the fear and took his foot off the brake, moving it to the accelerator and in one powerful motion, mashing it down.

The car’s front two wheels spun wildly before gaining traction and leaping forward over the rumbling dirt road. At the same time, Rickards turned off the headlights.

71

71

Another wave hit Saad, and he leaned forward in a violent bout of dry heaves, keeping his hand over his mouth and reaching for his rag to catch any blood.

“Sounds as if you’re not feeling very well,” said Mona from the back seat.

Saad didn’t respond.  Instead, he kept his head and goggles forward, running through his plan again.

He’d thought of everything.  The hiding of the money.  Amassing the children.  Safeguarding the secret book. And, of course, preparations for the binding—a careful protocol he would reveal to Khoury at the last minute before it happened.

In truth, it was his succession plan, more carefully planned and crafted than any other plan he had ever before developed, something to ensure his wealth and belongings remained for him, much like the pharaohs had done.

There was no way to know to whom it would ultimately go, either a boy or a girl.  The latter introduced more challenges in this part of the world, but it would still work.  The trust was airtight.  Even without knowing who it would be, Saad was confident in his failproof process to validate and transfer his wealth to the new inheritor through a careful process of cryptic codes and cognitive assessment until the trustees were forced to accept the results—even if they didn’t understand how or why.

And, of course, there was the security.  An independent and highly rated security team had been paid extraordinarily well from Saad’s trust to protect the child at all costs—not merely their health, but their sovereignty and control over Saad’s vast network of assets.

It was complicated, with a multitude of protections and hundreds of individuals standing to gain handsomely by keeping the child alive and in control of his empire.

Because in the end, who they would really be protecting was him.

He continued staring from the front seat in a last-ditch effort to find anything he’d overlooked.