Land of the Gods (Joe Hawke Book 11) by Rob Jones

Author:Rob Jones
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2018-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

*

The Oracle did not know how long he had been staring at the flame. Beneath a tendril of gray smoke, its iridescent curves bent and twisted in the otherwise darkened room. When the door opened and Salazar stepped into the inner sanctum, the flame flickered for a few seconds, fighting for its life against the breeze from the hall.

A deep breath in, and a longer, slower exhalation. Count to ten. Never let the rage rise.

“What do you want, my loyal servant?”

“They got the ring.”

He felt his eyes close. “Which one?”

“The one in Hawaii.”

Never let the rage rise.

“So now they have four of the rings and we have none?”

Salazar swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

They both heard the attempt to quell the rage in the Oracle’s long, heavy sigh. “How did this happen?”

“He climbed on board a moving aircraft as it rolled down the runway, opened the door with the emergency external lever and then shot his way inside the cockpit during its take-off.”

“And by he,” he growled, “you mean Josiah Hawke?”

“Of course. Benedict, Stefanus and Boaz are all dead.”

He opened his eyes and turned his wrinkled face to the nervous acolyte at his side. “Maybe I should induct him into the Order and get rid of the rest of you useless fools?”

“With all respect, sir…”

Everyone in the Order knew what the raised hand of the Oracle meant, and it meant immediate silence. To challenge the command would be suicide and both men in the room knew it.

“I like you Salazar. You are a good acolyte, a good, loyal servant. My loyal apprentice.”

“Yes, sir.”

“But don’t bring me any more news of failure or I will be forced to reconsider my evaluation of you.”

“Yes sir. I’m arranging more acolytes to pursue the rings as we speak.”

“Who?”

“Ignatius.”

“And his number two?”

“Absalom.”

“A good choice. Yin and yang, black and white. The ruthless, surgical cruelty and depraved genius of Ignatius, and the wild animal madness of Absalom. I am certain this combined force cannot fail me again.”

“No, sir. I am confident they will secure the location of the Citadel.”

The flame burned hard, now more than halfway through the thick, black candle on the desk. The old man felt his shoulders tighten a little as the tension in his muscles increased.

“Your words do not fill me with confidence, considering how poor your men have been at locating and securing the rings for us so far.”

“I will not fail you again, Oracle.”

“If you do, it will be your last failure.”

Salazar felt the temperature in the room drop as his leader delivered the icy reprimand. His skin crawled and his mouth dried up like dead wood as he fought to contain the terrible fear so easily struck into his heart by the monstrous man whose eyes he was avoiding at all costs.

The Oracle was not concerned by the prosaic concerns of his underling. Rising to his level in the Order came with many rewards, but also with many risks and upsetting the boss was chief among them.

He blew out the candle

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