Messiah: The First Judgement (Chronicles of Brothers) Read Online Free PDF Page B

treaty with the Hashemite Kingdom. The royal household of Jordan has kept its priceless treasures hidden from the prying eyes of the outside world, confined behind these walls, in these crypts. We are deeply indebted to your sister-in-law’s uncle’ – she hesitated – ‘and, of course, to you.’
    Safwat, her chief of security, walked towards the princess. He was lean and clean cut.
    ‘Your Majesty,’ he spoke in a low voice in clipped Arabic tones. ‘Your helicopter arrives in fifteen minutes.’ She nodded in acknowledgement, then turned to Nick. ‘Follow me.’
    She walked briskly back into the antechamber and turned left down a narrow, dimly lit tunnel.
    ‘Your English is impeccable, Your Highness,’ Nick said. ‘I read that you were educated at Oxford.’
    ‘Ancient history and classical archaeology.’
    Nick followed closely behind, keeping pace with her through the narrow winding corridors. He could distinguish the faint aroma of myrrh.
    ‘An English education ... like your father...’
    ‘Ah,’ the princess replied, ‘but you, like us, are not British, either, Mr De Vere. Let me see...’ Her English accent carried only the faintest Arabic inflection. ‘You were born in Washington, DC, into the De Vere dynasty. Your father was named American ambassador to the United Kingdom five years after you were born. You grew up in Great Britain – Regent’s Park, to be precise. Educated at Gordonstoun, studied serious archaeology at Cambridge, Mensa IQ, gifted, your Achilles’ heel drugs and a playboy lifestyle. Black sheep of the family, trust fund frozen. Your eldest brother, Jason De Vere, US media tycoon extraordinaire, owns a third of the Western world’s television and newspaper empires.
    ‘Middle brother, Adrian De Vere, youngest prime minister of the United Kingdom and newly appointed president of the United States of Europe; Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
    ‘In 2014 you were involved in an accident in which your eldest brother’s daughter was permanently crippled. You were the driver; you were inebriated at the time. Jason De Vere has not talked to you from that day on.’
    Nick glared in the direction of the princess’s fast disappearing back.
    ‘You contracted AIDS four years ago. Adrian De Vere paid for the best treatments in Switzerland, London and the Mayo Clinic, but alas, in the past five months, your body has not responded favourably to any of the treatments.’
    Nick fought to control the rage building inside him at this prying teenage royal. ‘My private life is no concern of...’
    ‘You are a fool , Nicholas De Vere,’ she interrupted sharply. ‘Since your brother’s stellar political ascent, your entire family has been under every government’s close surveillance: Interpol, Europol, the CIA, M16, Mossad, SAVAMA, the FSB, and the Jordanian secret service – all are watching you.’
    She turned abruptly sharp right down into a small dank stairway. Nick followed.
    ‘My brother, the crown prince, and I meet with your brother and the United Arab Nations next month in Damascus for the signing of the greatest peace accord in the twenty-first century. For the first time, we are all at the same table: China, North Korea, Europe, the Pan-Arab Union, the United States, Russia, and Israel. There may finally be peace in our time.’
    She turned towards him in the stairwell. ‘We have granted your access to continue your study of the annals. However, Lawrence St Cartier asked me to return a favour – strictly business. You wished to see the cross that is spoken of in the annals?’
    Nick drew a deep breath; all his anger instantaneously evaporated.
    ‘The cross exists, then?’
    Nick stepped towards the princess, a strange glitter in his eyes. ‘Oh, yes, Nicholas De Vere, it exists...’
    The princess walked briskly down the damp stone stairs.
    ‘Legend has it that it possesses strange healing powers.’ Nick’s voice echoed after the disappearing princess. He clambered down the