Mughal bloodline ends in murder. Famous gemstone holds the secret.
Set in modern day India with the last living relative of the Mughal rulers runs low on cash. She is forced to bring into the light a famous gemstone, the Tashi Beryl, that hold the secret of great wealth. The problems is it attracts very determined and stealthy thieves that will stop at nothing to unlock the legend found in the stone. She is murdered and the stone disappears. Rupert Donaldson and James Hathaway are hired to follow the bloodlines and bring in the criminals. The case expodes into a manhunt that encompasses the Silk Road to China as the legend reveals more than just treasure - it effects the lives of the survivors that are part of the legend.
Excerpt
Competing curry aromas permeated the small enclosure, demarcations in the air, the envoys of one's family. The tanginess, mixed with fine clay dust, coaxed the nose of a frail man, who was pushed into a dark corner of the room, to twitch.
- * -
Outside, the sun was digging into the dry soil of the Punjab. Soon it would be too dark to complete his mission.
- * -
A high velocity hiss stretched across the empty well house and pierced the man's neck. A dart with a fluffy crimson ball on one end sent a charge of chemical nerve agent into his bloodstream.
- * -
The man clutched the window still, suspended for a few seconds. Throttled air in his throat weakly lost its pressure. He fell back...
- * -
A hand reached in the front window, seaching until it found the open cavity. The hand plucked the stone from its nest, and then quickly vanished. A shadowy lump dodged between bushes and behind palms, while merging into the darkening ebb of twilight.
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