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  THE ALBORAN CODEX

  Carter Devereux

  A Mystery Thriller

  Book 3

  By JC Ryan

  Copyright 2014 by J C Ryan

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.

  Your Free Gift

  As a way of saying thanks for your purchase, I’m offering you a free eBook if you join my newsletter here: JC Ryan Books

  MYSTERIES FROM THE ANCIENTS

  THOUGHT PROVOKING UNSOLVED ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERIES

  This book is exclusive to my readers. You will not find this book anywhere else.

  We spend a lot of time researching and documenting our past, yet there are still many questions left unanswered. Our ancestors left a lot of traces for us, and it seems that not all of them were ever meant to be understood. Despite our best efforts, they remain mysteries to this day.

  Inside you will find some of the most fascinating and thought-provoking facts about archaeological discoveries which still have no clear explanation.

  Read all about The Great Pyramid at Giza, The Piri Reis Map, Doomsday, Giant Geoglyphs, The Great Flood, Ancient Science and Mathematics, Human Flight, Pyramids, Fertility Stones and the Tower of Babel, Mysterious Tunnels and The Mystery of The Anasazi

  Don’t miss this opportunity to get this free eBook.

  Click Here to join the mailing list and get it now.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 - Judicial processes

  Chapter 2 - The Vice President’s way out

  Chapter 3 - Mayon and Aisha’s way out

  Chapter 4 - The Council of the Covenant of Nabatea

  Chapter 5 - One battle in the war

  Chapter 6 - Seven days is a long time

  Chapter 7 - Unwavering and stouthearted

  Chapter 8 - We will be free

  Chapter 9 - We didn’t win; we only survived

  Chapter 10 - Appropriate steps

  Chapter 11 - Consider her ways and be wise

  Chapter 12 - The strategy

  Chapter 13 - The human tail

  Chapter 14 - Back to business

  Chapter 15 - They’re inconvincible

  Chapter 16 - I took their advice

  Chapter 17 - It ain’t over till the fat lady sings

  Chapter 18 - Tala camp

  Chapter 19 - Sounds-like

  Chapter 20 - The new members

  Chapter 21 - Induction

  Chapter 22 - Close encounters

  Chapter 23 - Did you know . . .

  Chapter 24 - The million-dollar question

  Chapter 25 - The job offer

  Chapter 26 - The risk-reward ratio

  Chapter 27 - The wolves of war

  Chapter 28 - Wise counsel

  Chapter 29 - Double crossing

  Chapter 30 - Fix this immediately!

  Chapter 31 - In touch soon

  Chapter 32 - On the train to Paris

  Chapter 33 - One conclusion

  Chapter 34 - He didn’t answer Charlie

  Chapter 35 - The library of the giants

  Chapter 36 - Accepted

  Chapter 37 - A strange bedfellow

  Chapter 38 - The offer

  Chapter 39 - Where did you get this information?

  Chapter 40 - The conspirators

  Chapter 41 - The counteroffer

  Chapter 42 - Succumbed to human nature

  Chapter 43 - The biggest crisis

  Chapter 44 - Counter measures

  Chapter 45 - Where did they go?

  Chapter 46 - The hunt is on

  Chapter 47 - A new expedition in the cards

  Chapter 48 - Giantese

  Chapter 49 - Dolphinese

  Chapter 50 - Hold onto your skivvies

  Chapter 51 - Everything you thought you knew

  Chapter 52 - We can talk to them!

  Chapter 53 - Sir, I need a boat

  Chapter 54 - I will teach you

  Chapter 55 - Bit by agonizing bit

  Chapter 56 - We MUST have that information

  Chapter 57 - The battle of Freydís

  Chapter 58 - Religious experiences

  Chapter 59 - We have your men

  Chapter 60 - We speak English only

  Chapter 61 - Hot pursuit

  Chapter 62 - A funeral

  Chapter 63 - The preparations

  Chapter 64 - Set sail for the Strait of Gibraltar

  Chapter 65 - Into the Alboran Sea

  Chapter 66 - Contact

  Chapter 67 - Brainstorming

  Chapter 68 - Land-human caves

  Chapter 69 - Take over that dig

  Chapter 70 - In Memoria

  Chapter 71 - Diplomacy with a thud

  Chapter 72 - A first time for everything

  Chapter 73 - Earned a nice Scotch and a cigar

  Chapter 74 - The bunker

  Chapter 75 - The strangest cargo

  Chapter 76 - Permission to stand down, sir?

  Epilogue

  Also by JC Ryan

  About JC Ryan

  This is the third book in The Carter Devereux Mystery Thriller Series.

  Copyright 2016 by J C Ryan

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved.

  Your Free Gift

  As a way of saying thanks for your purchase, I’m offering you a free eBook if you join my newsletter here: JC Ryan Books

  MYSTERIES FROM THE ANCIENTS

  THOUGHT PROVOKING UNSOLVED ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERIES

  This book is exclusive to my readers. You will not find this book anywhere else.

  We spend a lot of time researching and documenting our past, yet there are still many questions left unanswered. Our ancestors left a lot of traces for us, and it seems that not all of them were ever meant to be understood. Despite our best efforts, they remain mysteries to this day.

  Inside you will find some of the most fascinating and thought-provoking facts about archaeological discoveries which still have no clear explanation.

  Read all about The Great Pyramid at Giza, The Piri Reis Map, Doomsday, Giant Geoglyphs, The Great Flood, Ancient Science and Mathematics, Human Flight, Pyramids, Fertility Stones, the Tower of Babel, Mysterious Tunnels, The Mystery of The Anasazi and much more.

  Don’t miss this opportunity to get this free eBook. Click Here to join the mailing list and get it now.

  Prologue

  1897 BC—Twelve mighty princes

  It was a time to celebrate. Today was Isaac’s weaning, her firstborn’s second birthday. He had survived the fragile stage of infancy and could now eat solid food rather than being breastfed. He would live a long and healthy life. But Sarah was quiet. She heard the music, saw the people eating, drinking, and laughing, but her insides were steaming — and had been for a long time.

  Oh, how I rue the day I gave that slave woman to Abraham to produce an offspring for him. I was seventy-five and Abraham was eighty-five — how was I to know it was even possible to bear my own child at ninety? And now look at this. My slave is insolent, and her son thinks he is the heir. It must be Hagar who’s putting him up to that.

  She was startled out of her rever
ie by Isaac’s wailing. Ishmael was dancing around the little boy, mocking and scaring him with a knife. This is the final straw. This slave woman and her son must go. Now! Both of them. I’ve had enough of their impudence.

  She moved to pick up the terrified Isaac and place him on her hip, then turned and shouted at Ishmael, “You are fourteen years old. You should know better than to scare a little two-year-old. Leave Isaac alone. I never want to see you near him again! Ever.”

  Isaac’s jeering smile disappeared from his face. He turned and with sagging shoulders walked away to find Hagar.

  “This has to end today,” Sarah said to herself. “God told Abraham to change my name from Sarai to Sarah? Abraham told me God said, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and she will give you a son by her. I will bless her; she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’” (Genesis 17:15-16)

  Abraham saw the thundercloud on Sarah’s face where she stood with Isaac on her hip. He excused himself from the men and walked over to her. “Sarah, what is wrong? This is a time to be happy and to be celebrating. Why the anger on your face?”

  “When we were living at the well of Beer-lahai-roi, Hagar absconded, but then she came back. I don’t know why she came back, but it would have been better if she had just stayed away. She is trouble and nothing but since she gave you that child,” Sarah said.

  “You know why she came back, Sarah. God told her to do so. She went away because you were treating her harshly.”

  Sarah’s eyes were blistering when she answered, “Yes, that may be so, but look at it now. She despises me, and Ishmael is incessantly insulting and scaring Isaac. I’ve had enough,” Sarah hissed. “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” (Genesis 21:10)

  “Sarah! I can never do that. Ishmael is my son. I can’t send them away.”

  “God’s promise was made to Isaac, not to Ishmael. Isaac is your only heir, not that slave’s son,” she snapped.

  Abraham knew better than to argue with Sarah. Once she made up her mind, she became an immovable force. “Let’s discuss this later,” he said and turned away.

  Later that afternoon, when the festivities were over and the guests had left, Abraham took a long stroll into the field. He had no idea what to do. Ishmael was his son, his own blood. How could he send him away? He climbed up a hill and watched the sun sinking below the horizon in the west. The desert was silent; it was as if everything in nature stopped and went quiet to watch as the sun slowly disappeared.

  Then he heard the voice of God. “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also because he is your offspring.” (Genesis 21:12)

  It was dark when Abraham returned and began preparing. Early the next morning, he called Hagar and Ishmael to his tent.

  It was with sadness he said, “Hagar, God spoke to me about you and Ishmael, and you can no longer live with us. You and Ishmael must go away from here and find another place to live.”

  Hagar was shaken. “How can you do this, Abraham? This is our son. He is your firstborn. How can you just cut us off from you? What will become of us? How can you throw your own blood away?”

  “Hagar, I have asked God to bless Ishmael and He said to me, ‘And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve mighty princes, and I will make him into a great nation.’” (Genesis 17:20)

  Hagar had tears in her eyes as she looked at Abraham, but she knew this was how it was to be. Nothing would change his mind.

  In silence, Abraham took the skin-bags with food and water and set them on her shoulders. He looked to Ishmael and handed him a small wooden box wrapped in skin. “Ishmael, keep this with you always. It contains God’s promise to you.”

  Abraham wiped the tears from his eyes, took a step back, and said, “He who has protected and blessed me will bless and protect you.”

  Hagar and Ishmael went away into the Desert of Beersheba. They wandered without direction with nowhere to go, and finally the water in the skin-bag was gone. Hagar had squeezed the last few drops onto Ishmael’s cracked lips. “My son and I will die in this wilderness.”

  She was weak and parched when she placed Ishmael in the shade of a bush, walked a bowshot away, sat down, and moaned softly. “I cannot watch the boy die.”

  “What is the matter, Hagar?” (Genesis 21:17)

  The voice startled her. “Am I hallucinating?” she whispered to herself.

  But then the voice was there again. “Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” (Genesis 21:17)

  And then the voice was gone and the desert silence returned.

  She was bewildered. What… who was that?

  Her head cleared as she took a deep breath. Looking around, she saw what seemed like the rim of a well. That was not there before. Or was it? Why haven’t I seen it?

  She stood and walked to it — it was a well. And there was water in it! Then she remembered Abraham’s parting words to her and Ishmael.

  “It must have been the angel of God who spoke to me just now,” she thought.

  She cupped her hands and drank, then filled the skin-bag and ran back to her son. Propping his head, she helped him drink. His whimpering stopped, and he looked around.

  Hagar spoke softly to Ishmael. “My son, your name means ‘God will hear’ and today God has heard me. I am the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. You, Ishmael, are a prince; you are of noble descent. I will get you a wife from the house of the Pharaoh, and you are going to be the father of a great nation. It will be as God has promised to your father, Abraham; twelve mighty princes will you beget.”

  1774 BC—He was gathered to his people

  Ishmael’s hair and beard were white as snow, his eyes were hazy, his hands were shaking, and his skin bore witness of 137 years’ of desert life. His breathing was labored when he spoke to his wife.

  “Aisha, my days have been numbered; my time to be gathered to my father, Abraham, and my ancestors has come. You must send a message to my children to come to me without delay.” Aisha nodded and left to summon the messengers.

  A few days before the full moon, Ishmael’s twelve sons, Nebajoth, Hadad, Dumah, Adbeel, Mibsam, Tema, Naphish, Mishma, Jetur, Massa, Kedar, Kedemah, and his daughter, Basemath, also known as Mahalath, who was married to Esau, the son of Isaac, stood around his bed. They were sad. It was obvious that their father had reached the end of his days. (Genesis 25:12-16)

  Ishmael’s voice was soft and gruff as he spoke.

  “My days on the earth have come to an end. God had blessed me as He had promised my father Abraham, your grandfather. God has given me twelve mighty princes and a beautiful princess, Basemath.

  “God made His promise to your grandmother, Hagar, before I was born. It was by a fountain of water in the wilderness, on the way to Shur, when God’s angel said to her:

  “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. (Genesis 16:10)

  “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’” (Genesis 16:12)

  Ishmael took a deep breath, a sip of water, and continued, “And that is how it was. I am Ishmael - ‘God will hear’- and I have been a wild man. Everyone was against me, and I was against everyone. But despite my wild nature, God has kept His promise and blessed me.

  “I was a boy of fourteen when my mother and I arrived in the Desert of Paran. We had
nothing, only water and a little food. I am now 137 years old, and my twelve sons are ruling my kingdom from Havilah to Shur.” (from Assyria to the border of Egypt)

  He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. His children stared at the old patriarch, the strong man, the archer, the man who knew the desert, the warrior, and the conqueror; the man who formed them and set them in their ways. What was it going to be like without him?

  Slowly Ishmael opened his eyes again. “You must all now go outside and wait there. I will call you in one by one so I can give you my blessing, starting with Nebajoth. Then when I die, you must bury me next to my mother, Hagar, in Makkah.”

  All of them except Nebajoth bowed and left.

  “Come closer, Nebajoth,” Ishmael whispered.

  Nebajoth went to his father’s bed and knelt. Ishmael placed his right hand on Nebajoth’s head and said, “Nebajoth, you are my firstborn, the sign of the strength of my youth, shining in honor, outrivaling in power.

  “Your grandmother was a princess from the house of the Pharaoh. You are a Prince, and you will be nobody’s slave.

  “You will draw water from the desert, trade from the east to the west, and you will become the father of a great nation.”

  Nebajoth had to lean in close to his father to hear his faltering voice.

  Ishmael continued, “Under the bed is a small box wrapped in skin, given to me by my father, Abraham. It is now yours. Keep it with you always. You and your offspring are the heirs of the promise in that box.”

  Tears were streaming down Nebajoth’s face when he left Ishmael’s tent.

  One by one, the rest of his children entered and received their father’s blessing.

  “Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.” (Genesis 25: 17-18)

  Modern-day Paris, France

  It was 11:05 when the electronic double doors slid apart. A woman stepped into the opulent chamber ten stories below the house located on the bank of the River Seine in the 3rd Arrondissement (district) of Paris. She wore no jewelry — her white dress trimmed in gold was more than enough to strike a stately figure — the epitome of elegance.