The Illumination Read Online Free PDF

Prince of the Believers, a man who would unite all of Islam and bring all Muslims under his rule. Restoring the khalifate was the Guardians of the Khalifate’s ultimate goal.
    â€œWe must meet the deadline.” Siddiq lit a cigarette and tossed his monogrammed lighter on the coffee table. “There are only six days left until the summit.”
    â€œWe will meet this deadline, Siddiq.” Farshid Sabouri smiled. “Forty cylinders of C-4 explosives are already in the tunnel, and the last of the detonators will be secured tonight. Do you forget that it is my brother, Hasan, who has planned the entire operation? He has given me his assurance that his team has everything at the ready. That in six days the flames will outshine the sun.”
    At the mention of Hasan’s name, each of the men flinched, and Siddiq reflexively shielded his eyes. To cover the awkward moment, the Yemenite, Jalil Haddad, spoke up quickly. “And Hasan is sure the Israelis are none the wiser?”
    â€œEven were they to discover anything amiss they wouldn’t be able to stop us,” Sabouri sneered. “They will never find the tunnel in time. Everything will be in place when the president of the United States and the Secretary-General of the United Nations ascend the platform. And the world will be watching as they stand with smug, stupid smiles to witness the signing of the peace accord they think they’ve brokered.”
    The honeyed pastries, bowls of fruit, and pots of once steaming dark tea sat untouched on the glass-tiled coffee table.
    â€œAnd our Hamas brother, Mu’aayyad bin Khoury?” Wasif Al-Mehannadi, the Bahraini whose sister Fatima was married to Hasan, snorted. “The traitor who shook the hand of the Israeli prime minister and sold out his people?”
    There was a ripple of laughter.
    â€œThat faithless cur and his followers will know nothing until he is engulfed by the flames.” Sabouri frowned suddenly at the shrill interruption of his cell phone and reached into his pocket.
    He recognized the number at once. Aslam Hameed. It was a call he had to take.
    Hameed’s words came rapid-fire. Sabouri’s eyes brightened as he listened.
    When he pocketed the phone and turned back to the group, excitement thrummed through the voice of a man known throughout the Arab world for his legendary calm when everyone around him succumbed to turmoil.
    â€œGreat good news.”
    The other leaders of the Guardians of the Khalifah tensed, watching him.
    â€œThe Eye of Dawn has returned. It is a sign from Allah, as the mullahs declare:
The Eye of Dawn shall be a beacon heralding the triumph of Islam.
”
    As excited murmuring ran through the gathered men, Sabouri’s eyes glistened with triumph. “Even now, my brothers, Aslam Hameed and his men are pursuing it. In six days’ time, the Eye of Dawn will be the light of Islam.”

5
Baghdad
    Â 
    Â 
    Dana hit the windowsill headfirst. Red spots and dark pain pulsed in her eyes as she slid to the floor.
    Get up. Get up.
    But her limbs refused to respond to the urgent command that seemed to come from far away.
    Somehow she pushed herself to a sitting position. It seemed to take forever, just as it seemed to take forever for the contents of her tote to clatter to the floor while she watched her attacker shake it.
    He was huge, a human tank. Dressed in dark pants and a brown shirt, his head swathed in a darker brown
hijab
. Watching him paw through the jumble of her things, tossing aside tampons, her notebook, her maps, and her sunscreen, she fought back the urge to vomit. Her head was roaring now, throbbing like it never had before.
    Dizzy with the pain, she forced herself to stare up, up, at the immense figure now moving toward her, towering over her, his face hidden.
    She could see only his eyes. Liquid, seething, driven eyes the color of ink.
    â€œWhere is it?” he growled. “
The Eye of Dawn.
”
    â€œI