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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

Inside, the small fortress’s interior was modest, housing little more than chairs around a table upon which rested several battery-operated lanterns charged on the way to the madhbah.  There was also a total absence of even a single window in the two-inch-thick lead walls, with the sole opening being its heavy door that swung outward into the night air.

It was crude but was a reliable harbor from a devastating phenomenon that would last precisely thirty-three minutes.

***

Sitting on the floor of the lead house, Mona rested against one of the cool metal walls, her ankles and wrists still bound. She stared up at the group of men in quiet desperation, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

All she knew was that Eshe was nowhere to be seen.  Nor was Saad, nor his top henchman.  But Badawi was there—the man who’d attacked them in the parking lot, along with the second man who was now standing right next to him.

All of them were apparently waiting for something.

In loud, crunching steps, Khoury, Saad and the girl marched over the field of glass pieces toward the ancient altar.

Upon reaching it, Saad paused and peered inside through one of the holes in which pieces of stone had long since crumbled away, now resting in a pebbled heap on the ground.

It was just as Saad remembered it from when he’d been here decades ago, while still performing the christening himself.  And in the middle of the hand-built structure rested the long horizontal stone slab, deeply worn with old, faded leather straps hanging in the still air.

73

73

Rickards couldn’t see a damned thing.

Through the moon’s limited glow, he couldn’t avoid hole after hole in the roughly strewn dirt road.  At forty miles per hour, every one felt like an attack on the car’s cheap suspension.

Behind him, the rear window was now entirely covered in a veil of thick dust, leaving the only visibility forward and to the side.

He twisted the knob again, trying to spray water over the windshield and wipers, leaving it only modestly cleaner and barely helpful given the endless darkness before him.

Suddenly, another severe dip resulted in a loud bang of the car’s undercarriage as the entire vehicle shuddered in response.

Rickards had no idea how far away he still was or how long the small car would last.

74

74

After strapping the screaming girl to the stone slab, Khoury watched as Saad readied himself on the other end, easing himself down onto his back with his head less than a half-meter from the child’s dark hair.

Through an open stone window, Khoury peered out into the darkness, watching a faint glimmer of light surface far into the distance.

The phenomenon had begun.

The light would take thirty-three minutes to build, approaching section by section and growing ever brighter until reaching the epicenter.