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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

Curious, he stepped back and studied the floor, bending down into a crouched position.  Examining the corner more closely, he placed two fingers then the palm of his hand on it and pushed.

Nothing.

With a modest frown, he touched his fingertips to the corner’s edge and found several grains of loose sand.  Silently, Ayrton rose again and returned his body weight to the small rise. Once again, he felt something; the faintest sensation of movement.

He stepped back and continued staring for a moment, then gradually turned his head to look for a tool and spotted a large rectangular wooden box near the tomb’s entrance.

Striding back to the opening, Ayrton retrieved a rusted iron pry bar from the box and marched back down the passageway.

He now noticed the stone slab was one of the smaller pieces in the floor, though still large and heavy, taking him several tries to attain a grip with the bar’s open claw.  When he had purchase, he leaned against the tool with his entire body.

The slab moved.

It took several more tools before he could raise the thick stone enough to glimpse a large opening beneath, a deep cavity with what appeared to be a box approximately four square feet in size and at just over a foot and a half deep. The wooden container appeared to be in notably better condition than the other items removed from the tomb.

Lifting it out and reaching for another, smaller bar, Ayrton gripped one edge of the wood and pried it up with a screech and a small burst of shattered wooden pieces.

Removing the lid revealed a bundled square object carefully wrapped in familiar gray fabric exposing a thick leatherbound book with hundreds of papyrus-inked pages when unraveled.

44

44

Dr. Layla Abo was sitting quietly in her seat with her dark head lowered, slowly scrolling through pages of evaluation data on her phone, completely tuning out the roaring sound of the aircraft.

In front of her, filling the rest of the private cabin, sat all six children—three boys and three girls.  Together, they averaged eight-and-a-half years old.  They were respectful and obedient, either peering out through their windows or directly at the seatbacks in front of them.

Except for Eshe.

She could see the man sitting at the front of the cabin, but not the woman, unless she leaned into the aisle where she could then glimpse the doctor’s dark hair as she looked down and read.

The young girl didn’t know what to make of the female doctor or the man next to her, whose face didn’t seem to be capable of any expression at all.