Jewel of Atlantis Read Free

mission. Think only about the mission.” As they had a thousand times before, his boss’s departing words drifted through his mind. We found a book, Gray. The book, actually, titled Ra Dracas. It tells of dragons and vampires and other such nonsense, but the true message is hidden between the text, written in code.
    “The text about dragons and vampires is nonsense,” he mocked. Hindsight sucked major ass.
    Once we broke that code, his boss had added, we learned about the Jewel of Dunamis, a jewel so powerful it can be used to predict the future. A jewel so powerful it can show who’s lying and who’s speaking the truth. Whoever holds it will have the ability to destroy any enemy. Conquer any army.
    Small wonder his government wanted so desperately to own it.
    Gray was to find and steal this precious jewel, then bring it home. If his mission was compromised in any way, he was to destroy it so that no one else got their greedy hands on it.
    It was that simple.
    Simple? Yeah, about as simple as routine brain surgery. Gray paused briefly and sipped from his dwindling canteen of vitamin-enhanced water. The cool liquid sliddown his parched throat, offering a much-needed burst of energy before he jolted back into motion.
    For an eternity he pushed himself onward, never slowing, ever conscious of what awaited him if he didn’t find a spot to enable Operation KTB. His gaze darted to his wristwatch, the digital red light barely visible under the dirt and grime covering him. Twenty minutes until showtime, so he had to find a workable patch of land now. He scowled and—
    Watch out for the quicksand.
    His eyes jerked swiftly across his surroundings as he searched for the speaker, a woman. He didn’t duck for cover, didn’t stop walking, preferring instead to be mobile. Plus he didn’t want to scare her with any surprising movement. That’s how trigger-happy fingers were created.
    He did tighten his grip on the machete. The odds were fifty-fifty the woman had a weapon, and even higher that she’d actually use it. Still. A man couldn’t be too careful.
    Are you listening to me? I said, watch out for the quicksand!
    The husky, heavily accented female voice slammed into his mind once again, so richly sensual and commanding he acquired an instant, unwanted, and surprising hard-on—before he promptly began sinking into a large pool of quicksand.
    “What the hell?” Instinctively he attempted to raise his legs, which only caused him to sink farther and faster. He stilled and glared at the ground, watching it slowly rise, covering his feet…his ankles.
    Now you’ve done it. Exasperation clung to the edges of her words. She might even have added, Dumb ass, but he wasn’t sure. I tried to warn you.
    “Where are you?” he asked, using his gentlest, most reassuring tone as he eyed the lush green bushes circling him. The leaves here were thicker than any he’d ever encountered, barely moving in the gentle wind.
    There was no hint of person or clothing peeking from the shrubbery, still no rustle or snap to indicate movement. She’d tried to save him from the quicksand, so she hopefully meant him no harm. God knew he needed all the help he could get right now.
    “You can come out,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. You have my word.”
    Think for a moment, Gray. You don’t hear me with your ears, but with your mind.
    “How do you know my name?” he asked sharply. Then he blinked, shook his head, blinked again. The voice remained, echoing from each corridor of his brain. She was right. Her words were actually inside his mind.
    How was that possible?
    How the hell was that possible?
    “I’m schizo.” The statement burst from his mouth, too shocking and surreal to keep inside. “I’ve finally jumped over the ledge of sanity with thousand-pound weights tied to my ankles.” He’d seen some weird shit in his lifetime, and it had finally caught up with him.
    He should have known it would come in the form of a split