by K. T. Tomb
Jess nodded. Knight and Geronimo remained silent as they exchanged glances.
This was Jess’s show now.
Yousef waved for them to follow him as he went deeper into his ornate vending area. When they arrived at Yousef’s storage room, he pulled some old tapestries down from one wall. There was a seam in the shape of a doorway embedded into the wall. He held one finger to his lips as he pushed on the upper left and right corners of the seam at the same time.
The solid stone slab moved easily inward to reveal a secret passage lit by several strings of Christmas lights strung carelessly down the passage.
As soon as all of them were safely inside, Yousef picked up a large tapestry and hung it over the opening. He then went inside the passage and pressed on the other side of the slab in the exact manner that he did when he’d opened it.
The slab moved back into place.
Yousef breathed a sigh of relief as Knight’s patience wore off. “I understand why the—”
“Shh!” Yousef got in Knight’s face, clearly angry. “You are not welcome here, Americans! I only talk to the Cherubim! No Americans!”
Cherubim.
Knight thought that he and Jess were the only ones to know her as a Cherubim.
How much does Yousef know?
Jess smiled a reassuring smile at Knight as she gently placed her hands on his chest. “It’s all right. You have to remember, Evan Knight, that you are an outsider and a hated American here.”
“Well, I should have seen that one coming,” groaned Geronimo.
“You, too, Geronimo. Please let me handle this with Yousef.” Jess looked at Yousef.
“Please tell us what you have for us, Yousef Omidi.”
Yousef sneered at Knight. “I have a cache of weapons at the end of this passage. There are three backpacks filled with provisions and supplies. There are also passports with different names so that you will be able to leave Iran, should you survive.”
Jess’s and Knight’s eyes met in a gaze that expressed concern for each other’s welfare. There was a sparkle of what Knight thought could have been love.
Love for him.
A love that they had for each other.
This just started to become real.
The only question was whether they would live long enough to fully express their love.
Yousef continued as he pointed down the barely lit passage. “This will take you to a path that will lead to Mount Sahand.”
Knight recognized that name.
He snapped out of his thoughts of Jess and realized that all of his research might have been correct. According to his research, Mount Sahand was one of the mountains that had walled in the Garden of Eden.
They were close.
He could feel it.
Jess hugged Yousef, while carefully avoiding his beard of surprises. “Thank you, Yousef Omidi. You and your family will be blessed for your assistance to the Daughters.”
Yousef wiped a tear from his eye and headed back to the door. They all watched as the stone slab closed one final time, leaving them alone in the passage.
Geronimo looked down the passage. “I don’t understand, Jess. That guy believes in Allah. Why did he just help someone who believes in God?”
Jess blatantly showed her disappointment. “You assume that two people cannot work together because of different beliefs? I would expect a friend of the Chosen One’s to see things as they are, not as the world has chosen for you to see! Whether you choose to believe in Allah, God, Buddha or whoever, it is the fact that we believe in a higher power that unites us! I call shame on you, Geronimo. Now, let us proceed.”
Knight couldn’t hold in his laughter as Geronimo stood in shock.
Didn’t know she had it in her.
Chapter Fifteen
The passage appeared shorter than it was.
The smell of mildew became more evident as the passage became damp.
They walked in two inches of water until they spotted a wooden plank propped between the walls. Geronimo checked to make sure that the Christmas lights were far enough off of the ground and away from the water.
Supported on the thick plank were three backpacks and two black duffel bags.
Knight handed a backpack to Jess and Geronimo and kept one for himself. He put it on without checking inside.
His curiosity was focused on what was inside the duffel bags. He carefully unzipped the closest one and peered inside.
***
The Soufian Cement Company seemed all but desolate, as the jeep that contained Sulna and Alexey approached the rear of the building.
An overly nervous Iranian man was pacing in front of the loading dock as the jeep came to a stop.
It took a lot to impress Alexey Konstantin.
The fact that this 1.5 million-ton, cement-producing plant was shut down by one man, did just that.
The impatient man was extremely thin. He usually tugged on his beard when he was nervous.
He couldn’t stop tugging now.
Alexey exited the jeep and marveled at the size of the cement plant. His excitement was expressed in his first words to the Iranian.
“Simply amazing! I would hire you in an instant! How could one man have possibly shut down a plant this size?”
The Iranian’s eyes darted back and forth as if he were expecting trouble. “I have no time for pleasantries! The bomb threat I called in will not keep the doors closed for long. I had to wait until the military completely searched the building before I could store your items. It will be any day now when they decide to open it back up.”
Sulna stepped close to the Iranian.
He was immediately repulsed by her smell.
He took his scarf and wrapped it around his nose and mouth. “By Allah! I was told of you, but nothing could prepare me for that smell!”
Sulna grabbed him and drew him in closer. “We have no time for this! What do you need from us?”
The Iranian pulled away from Sulna’s grasp and unlocked the huge double doors to the plant. The metal door creaked as the Iranian struggled to open it.
As the door slowly moved outward, Sulna and Alexey gazed upon the very thing that might sway the war in their favor.
There were two box-shaped tanks with steel-welded turrets.
Alexey’s confidence rose to insurmountable levels.
The Iranian smiled at his success of hiding the tanks. “They are Zulfiqar MBTs.”
Sulna looked puzzled. “MBTs?”
“Main battle tanks.” The Iranian continued his description. “They are 36 tons each with a diesel engine, giving them a 21.7 horsepower per-ton ratio. It takes a crew of three to operate, but these are modified to work with no less than two people. There are several soldiers with you who can operate the Zulfiqar, so you won’t have any problems there. The user manuals are inside each tank.”
The Iranian addressed Alexey. “I need to know where to take your items. Where do I meet you with them?”
Alexey’s surprise confused the Iranian. “What do you mean? I was under the impression that we would take them now.”
“That’s impossible!” Sulna took over. “There is no way that we can take those things with us. Just like there is no way that we can take the trucks into Eden. Do you have some paper and a pen or pencil?”
The Iranian ran around the side of the building to his motorcycle. He looked through the storage compartment and found what Sulna had requested. He then ran back to Sulna and gave her the paper and pen.
She placed the paper on the hood of the jeep and then looked around to get her bearings. She started to draw a map. A map that led to the entrance of Eden.
Alexey glared at the Iranian, who continued to pace. “You obviously need someone else to help you bring them to the designated area. These people had better be trustworthy.”
The Iranian showed his disgust. “You do not worry about who I get to help me! They are my responsibility! We will meet you wherever the stinky woman tells us to meet.
”
Sulna pushed the paper and pen into the Iranian’s face. He grabbed them and ran to his motorcycle.
Sulna and Alexey returned to their jeep.
Alexey smiled. “We actually have a chance of winning this war.”
He started driving as Sulna looked at the surrounding mountains. He decided that he had better calm her down.
He still needed her.
“Sulna. My breath is always taken away by the majestic beauty of the mountains. Of course, they pale in comparison to your beauty.”
She ignored him as she continued to stare away from him.
“All is in readiness, my dear. We have the upper hand.” Alexey felt confident.
He got Sulna’s attention.
She turned to him with fury in her eyes.
“Do you think this is a game, Alexey? Are you pleased, even though you have no idea what we are going into?”
Alexey tried to hide his contempt for her. “Why are you so cynical all the time? Do you not see how far we have come? It is only with the pairing of you and me that this could come about. You, with your knowledge of Eden and me, with my knowledge of everything else.”
She had had enough.
“Do you believe this will be a walk in the park, Alexey? Do you honestly believe that no matter how well prepared we are, it will be easy? These are warriors that we will be fighting! While you were sucking on your mother’s teat, they were training to defend their home! When you were starting your first business venture, each and every one of the Daughters of Eve had already accumulated more knowledge about computers and technology than one thousand of the smartest men and women in the world could ever retain! Their fighting power individually is amazing enough, but together, they are a legion! You are smug behind the fact that we have artillery and weapons and yet, no matter how many times I explain what we are up against, you still fool yourself into believing that we will just waltz into Eden and claim the Tree of Life without so much as a struggle!”
Alexey’s smile faded and he stayed quiet as they rejoined the trucks.
Alexey and Sulna got out of the jeep. Colonel Sharif embraced Alexey and then got into the jeep and drove back to Tabriz.
As he drove out of sight, Alexey thought about the colonel becoming a martyr. He laughed it off as he and Sulna got into the cab of the lead Neynava truck.
The driver acted as if they weren’t even there. He was doing as he was instructed.
Only talk if they talk to you.
Alexey’s positive feelings about the upcoming battle were deflated as quickly as it took for Sulna to give her speech.
He had hoped that he wouldn’t have to talk to her again until they reached their destination, but he knew that was impossible.
“Sulna. Do us both a favor and let the driver know where we are headed.”
She immediately leaned in close to the driver. She looked back at Alexey and then started whispering into the driver’s ear. She then leaned back in her seat.
“You will not take this from me, woman!” Alexey did not like the way that she had consistently treated him.
He was no minion.
I am Alexey Konstantin!
He would not be pushed around by anyone… not even her!
“Sulna, or whoever you decide to call yourself! I am tired of this game of cat and mouse! You must realize by now that I am no underling to be pushed around! I am a Konstantin!”
Alexey waited for Sulna to hit him, or at least yell at him.
She did neither.
She was abnormally calm.
This frightened him more than when she yelled.
She turned to her partner. “I am not interested in who you are, Alexey. I don’t care where you were born or what your favorite television program is. I know you think we are lovers now, because of one mistake on my part. We are not. Although I do not need to respect where you come from, you need to respect where I come from. I am tired of explaining things to you like a child, Alexey. You know what the mission is and still, you cry and complain that you are not being respected. If we succeed, then you will gain all of the respect that you could ever desire. Until then I would ask, no, I demand, that you shut the fuck up!”
Alexey decided to calm himself. He knew there would be a time and a place to vent. “What about the Tree, Sulna? All of this anger won’t help you in our mission to secure the Tree.”
“The Tree, Alexey? The Tree is but a small part of my plan. We will secure the Tree. My overall plan is much bigger than that. Why do you think I told you we needed an army? It wasn’t just because of the magnitude of our opposition.” Her eyes turned black.
“What do you mean? I am bringing the army to capture the Tree and to defeat the Daughters,” he said, trying to control his anger.
“We will defeat the Daughters, Mr. Konstantin,” she said coolly, holding his gaze with her own. “And capture the precious Tree.” She paused and looked away. “But make no mistake, Alexey. I intend to burn it all to the ground. I want nothing less than the total destruction of the Garden of Eden...”
The End
The adventure continues in:
Destroyers of the Lost Garden
Return to the Table of Contents
DESTROYERS OF THE LOST GARDEN
by
K.T. TOMB
An Evan Knight Adventure #3
Acclaim for K.T. Tomb:
“Epic and awesome!”
—J.T. Cross, bestselling author of Beneath the Deep
“Now this is what I call adventure. The Lost Garden will leave you breathless!”
—Summer Lee, bestselling author of Angel Heart
“The best adventure novel I’ve read in a long time. K.T. Tomb. I can’t wait to read the sequel. Count me a fan. A big fan.”
—P.J. Day, bestselling author of The Sunset Prophecy
“K.T. Tomb is a wonderful new voice in adventure fiction. I was enthralled by The Lost Garden... and you will be, too.”
—Aiden James, bestselling author of Immortal Plague
Other Books by K.T. Tomb
STANDALONE NOVELS
The Queen’s Vampire
Tyrannosaurus Knights
Monster
Little Wolf
The Dragon and the Witch
Jerusalem Gold
Drums Along the Hudson
Curse of the Coins
Ghosts of the Titanic
The Honeymooners
The Tempest
The Swashbucklers
The Adventurers
The Kraken
The Last Crusade
CHYNA STONE ADVENTURES
The Minoan Mask
The Mummy Codex
The Phoenician Falcon
The Babylonian Basilisk
The Aquitaine Armor
The Ivory Bow
The Rosary Riddle
The Jeweled Crown
PHOENIX QUEST ADVENTURES
The Hammer of Thor
The Spear of Destiny
The Lair of Beowulf
The Fountain of Youth
The Ark of the Covenant
The Seal of Solomon
The Shroud of Turin
NICK CAINE ADVENTURES
Map of the Masons
Mountains of the Moon
Order of the Cyclops
Labyrinth of the Minotaur
SASQUATCH SERIES
Sasquatch
Sasquatch Found
Bigfoot Mountain
The Snow Giants
Kingdom of the Yeti
CASH CASSIDY ADVENTURES
The Holy Grail
The Lost Continent
The Lost City of Gold
The Falcon Cloak
The Jaguar God
THE ALPHA ADVENTURES
“A” is for Amethyst
“B” is for Bullion
“C” is for Crystal
“D” is for Diamond
EVAN KNIGHT ADVENTURES
The Lost Gar
den
Keepers of the Lost Garden
Destroyers of the Lost Garden
ISLANDS THAT TIME FORGOT
Dinosaur Island
Ape Island
Snake Island
SHORT STORIES
Here Be Dragons
The Sands of Time
Destroyers of the Lost Garden
Published by K.T. Tomb
Copyright © 2014 by K.T. Tomb
All rights reserved.
Ebook Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Destroyers of the Lost Garden
Chapter One
Myora IL Eve paced the command center of the mountain complex.
What was coming at them was nothing like what had come at them before. The emotions of all of her Daughters flowed from them and into her consciousness. It was a bit overwhelming. While many were anxious, others felt regret for knowing they would have to take lives to defend Eden. The fact that all of those emotions weighed so heavily upon her made the fact that the masked feelings of the Daughter sitting in the control room with her all the more mysterious and disconcerting.
