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CLIVE CUSSLER

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START READING 01 02 03 04 05 06 SHADOW TYRANTS 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 S31 N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd i 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 TITLES BY 02 03 04 ® adventures sam and remi fargo adventures 05 (with Dirk Cussler) The Gray Ghost 06 Havana Storm (with Dirk Cussler) (with Robin Burcell) 07 Poseidon’s Arrow The Romanov Ransom 08 (with Dirk Cussler) (with Robin Burcell) 09 Crescent Dawn Pirate (with Robin Burcell) 10 (with Dirk Cussler) (with Russell Blake) 11 Arctic Drift (with Dirk Cussler) The Eye of Heaven 12 of Khan (with Dirk Cussler) (with Russell Blake) 13 Black Wind The Mayan Secrets 14 (with Dirk Cussler) (with Thomas Perry) 15 (with Thomas Perry) 16 (with Grant Blackwood) 17 Atlantis Found 18 (with Grant Blackwood) 19 20 (with Grant Blackwood) 21 22 isaac bell adventures 23 Treasure (with Justin Scott) 24 (with Justin Scott) 25 The Assassin (with Justin Scott) 26 Pacific Vortex! The Bootlegger (with Justin Scott) 27 Night Probe! (with Justin Scott) 28 Vixen 03 The Thief (with Justin Scott) 29 Raise the Titanic! The Race (with Justin Scott) 30 (with Justin Scott) 31S The Wrecker (with Justin Scott) 32N

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd ii 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 02 03 Mirage (with ) kurt austin adventures 04 The Jungle (with Jack Du Brul) novels from the numa® files 05 06 (with Graham Brown) (with Jack Du Brul) 07 (with Graham Brown) (with Jack Du Brul) 08 The Pharaoh’s Secret (with Graham Plague Ship (with Jack Du Brul) Brown) 09 Ghost Ship (with Jack Du Brul) 10 (with Graham Brown) (with Jack Du Brul) 11 Zero Hour (with Craig Dirgo) 12 (with Graham Brown) 13 The Storm (with Graham Brown) (with Craig Dirgo) 14 Devil’s Gate (with Graham Brown) 15 16 (with Paul Kemprecos) nonfiction The Navigator 17 Built for Adventure: The Classic (with Paul Kemprecos) Automobiles of Clive Cussler 18 Polar Shift and Dirk Pitt 19 (with Paul Kemprecos) Built to Thrill: More Classic 20 Lost City (with Paul Kemprecos) Automobiles from Clive Cussler 21 and Dirk Pitt (with Paul Kemprecos) The Sea Hunters 22 (with Paul Kemprecos) (with Craig Dirgo) 23 (with Paul Kemprecos) The Sea Hunters II 24 (with Craig Dirgo) (with Paul Kemprecos) 25 Clive Cussler and 26 Dirk Pitt Revealed (with Craig Dirgo) 27 oregon® files 28 (with Boyd Morrison) 29 children’s books The Emperor’s Revenge 30 (with Boyd Morrison) The Adventures of Vin Fiz S31 Piranha (with Boyd Morrison) The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd ii 6/7/18 8:16 PM 9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd iii 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 a n o v e l o f t h e o r e g o n ® f i l e s 02 03 04 05 06 SHADOW 07 08 09 TYRANTS 10 11 12 13 CLIVE CUSSLER 14 15 and Boyd Morrison 16 17 18 19 g. p. putnam’s sons 20 New York 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 S31 N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd iv 6/7/18 8:16 PM 9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd v 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 g. p. putnam’s sons Publishers Since 1838 08 An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 09 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 10 11 Copyright © 2018 by Sandecker, RLLLP 12 Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages 13 diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for 14 complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. 15 You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin 16 to continue to publish books for every reader.

17 Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data 18 [Insert CIP] 19 Printed in the United States of America 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 20 21 Book design by TK 22 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and 23 any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, 24 companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. 25 26 27 28 29 30 31S 32N

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd vi 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 Cast of Characters 02 03 04 05 The Kalinga War 06 Ashoka the Terrible Mauryan Emperor. 07 08 Kathar Mauryan general. 09 Vit Ashoka’s younger brother. 10 11 12 The Corporation 13 Juan Cabrillo Chairman of the Corporation and captain of the 14 Oregon. 15 Max Hanley President of the Corporation, Juan’s second‑in‑­ 16 command, and chief engineer of the Oregon. 17 Linda Ross Vice president of operations for the Corporation and 18 U.S. Navy veteran. 19 Eddie Seng Director of shore operations for the Corporation and 20 former CIA agent. 21 Eric Stone Chief helmsman on the Oregon and U.S. Navy veteran. 22 Mark “Murph” Murphy Chief weapons officer on theOregon 23 and former U.S. military weapons designer. 24 Franklin “Linc” Lincoln Corporation operative and former U.S. 25 Navy SEAL. 26 Marion MacDougal “MacD” Lawless Corporation operative and 27 former U.S. Army Ranger. 28 Raven Malloy Corporation operative and former U.S. Army Mil‑ 29 itary Police investigator. 30 George “Gomez” Adams Helicopter pilot and drone operator on S31 the Oregon. N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd vi 6/7/18 8:16 PM 9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd vii 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 Hali Kasim Chief communications officer on theOregon . 02 Dr. Julia Huxley Chief medical officer on the Oregon. 03 Kevin Nixon Chief of the Oregon’s Magic Shop. 04 Maurice Chief steward on the Oregon. 05 Chuck “Tiny” Gunderson Chief ­fixed-​­wing pilot for the Corpo‑ 06 ration. 07 08 The Nine Unknown and Associates 09 10 Romir Mallik CEO of Orbital Ocean and descendent gifted with the cosmogony scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 11 12 Xavier Carlton CEO of Unlimited News International and de‑ scendent gifted with the propaganda scroll from the Scrolls of 13 Knowledge. 14 Jason Wakefield CEO of Vedor Telecom and descendent gifted 15 with the communication scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 16 Lionel Gupta CEO of OreDyne Systems and descendent gifted 17 with the alchemy scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 18 Melissa Valentine Internet search firm founder and descendent 19 gifted with the scroll about the mysteries of light from the 20 Scrolls of Knowledge. 21 Daniel Saidon CEO of Saidon Heavy Industries and descendent 22 gifted with the gravity scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 23 Pedro Neves Biotech executive and descendent gifted with the 24 scroll on diseases from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 25 Boris Volanski Head of military contracting firm and descendent 26 gifted with the physiology scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 27 Hans Schultz Swiss banker and descendent gifted with the sociol‑ 28 ogy scroll from the Scrolls of Knowledge. 29 Asad Torkan Brother‑in‑law of Romir Mallik. 30 31S Rasul Torkan Asad Torkan’s twin. 32N Natalie Taylor Assistant to Xavier Carlton.

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd viii 6/7/18 8:16 PM Missing plane victims 01 Lyla Dhawan Chief technology officer of Singular Solutions. 02 03 Adam Carlton Son of Xavier Carlton. 04 05 Central Intelligence Agency 06 Langston Overholt IV The Corporation’s CIA liaison. 07 08 Diego Garcia incident 09 Keith Tao Leader of Triton Star hijackers. 10 Major Jay Petkunas B‑1B bomber pilot. 11 12 Captain Hank Larsson B‑1B bomber copilot. 13 Lieutenant Colonel Barbara Goodman Air Force Global Position‑ 14 ing System commander. 15 Sergeant Joseph Brandt Camp Thunder Cove communications 16 operator. 17 18 Jhootha Island 19 Fyodor Yudin Warden. 20 21 Colossus 22 Chen Min Chief scientist. 23 24 India 25 26 General Arnav Ghosh Head of the Indian military’s weapons procurement. 27 28 Kiara Jain Bollywood actress. 29 Gautam Puri Kiara’s boyfriend. 30 Prisha Naidu Bollywood actress and friend of Kiara’s. S31 Samar Naidu Prisha’shusband. N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd viii 6/7/18 8:16 PM 9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd ix 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 02 03 04 05 06 SHADOW TYRANTS 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 S31 N32

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd x 6/7/18 8:16 PM 9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd xi 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 PROLOGUE 02 03 04 05 THE KINGDOM OF KALINGA 06 THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT 07 08 261 B.C. 09 10 The air reeked of smoke and burnt flesh. The army’s main encamp‑ 11 ment was on the other side of the destroyed city. The only sound 12 was the restless shuffling of hooves from the Imperial Guard’s 13 horses and the snapping of the Royal Lion banner in the breeze. 14 “How many dead?” Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Terrible 15 asked his top general, Kathar, who sat astride an ebony stallion 16 that contrasted with Ashoka’s brilliant white steed. 17 “It is a glorious victory, Excellency,” Kathar said. “We have 18 lost only ten thousand men during the entire campaign.” 19 For a week Ashoka rode through the nation he had conquered 20 and saw nothing but death and destruction. Now as they crested 21 the heavily forested hill overlooking the remains of Tosali, 22 ­Kalinga’s capital, he finally saw the true extent of his war to crush 23 the last kingdom on the subcontinent that refused to bow to his 24 rule. The entire city had been incinerated, and the fields were lit‑ 25 tered with corpses as far as the eye could see. 26 His army’s ten thousand casualties meant that one out of 27 ­every seven soldiers had been killed or wounded in battle. De‑ 28 spite the staggering numbers, it was still the mightiest force 29 south of the Himalayas, possibly in the whole world. No army 30 known could stand against him. But that was not his concern S31 right now. N32

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01 Ashoka turned from the vast scene of carnage and stared at his 02 general. “I mean, how many have we slain?” 03 Kathar smiled, cruel and unremorseful about the savage anni‑ 04 hilation he had caused of a proud people. “My officers tell me that 05 we have wiped out one hundred thousand Kalingan soldiers. None 06 were spared. An equal number of civilians were either killed or 07 deported in the plunder after the battles. We have taught the world 08 a lesson. No one will dare defy us again.” 09 Ashoka did not return the smile. Instead of pride over his great 10 triumph, he felt a deep shame that had been festering for days. 11 Unwilling to become his subjects, the citizens of Kalinga had 12 fought to the last man, woman, and child. He’d heard tales of 13 entire villages committing suicide rather than suffer brutalization 14 by his rampaging army. 15 His empire now stretched from Persia to the Ganges Delta. 16 This ride was supposed to have been a survey of his monumental 17 achievement. Instead, it had become a trail of infamy, a testament 18 to his viciousness, and it was changing his view of the world in 19 profound ways. Ashoka knew he couldn’t let this be his lasting 20 legacy. 21 He deserved his title Ashoka the Terrible. He had done hideous 22 things to secure his reign as emperor. He’d killed ­ninety-​­nine of 23 his one hundred half brothers to prevent them from overthrowing 24 him, sparing only his younger brother Vit, his most trusted ad‑ 25 viser. He’d created a prison known as Ashoka’s Hell, where his 26 enemies endured every kind of torture imaginable. No inmate had 27 ever come out alive. 28 But all of that paled in comparison to the suffering he’d seen 29 over the past week’s ride. These were not betrayers and criminals. 30 The dead and exiled of Kalinga were noble soldiers fighting 31S for their homeland and its innocent civilians who only wanted to 32N live their lives in peace.

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Vit and his forces were scheduled to meet Ashoka today at 01 Kalinga’s capital to bring news from the rest of the country. But 02 what he’d seen already was enough to convince him to turn away 03 from further conquest and focus on improving the lives of his 04 subjects. 05 The rustle of leaves in the forest caused his guards to draw 06 their swords. Ashoka turned to see a filthy young woman in rag‑ 07 ged clothing emerge from the tree line. Tears were streaming down 08 her cheeks as she took in the holocaust her people had endured. 09 Then she turned and caught sight of the Emperor and his men. She 10 limped toward them. 11 “Kill this vermin,” Kathar casually said to one of the guards. 12 The guard raised his sword and readied to charge at her. 13 “Sheathe your weapons!” Ashoka ordered. “All of you!” 14 The guards instantly obeyed his command and put away their 15 swords. 16 Kathar narrowed his eyes at the Emperor. “Excellency?” 17 “No one will harm this woman.” 18 She staggered to a stop in front of him without a hint of 19 fear. Ashoka could see only sadness and defiance on her face. 20 She glanced at the Royal Lion on his banner and then stared 21 at him. 22 “Are you the Emperor Ashoka the Terrible? Are you the butcher 23 who has done this to my people?” She gestured with a weak and 24 trembling arm at the devastation below them. 25 “How dare you speak to His Excellency with such disrepect!” 26 Kathar yelled. “You ­will—” 27 Ashoka put up his hand and looked at the general. “Quiet. I 28 want to hear what she has to say.” He turned back to the woman. 29 “I am Ashoka. Are you from this city?” 30 She nodded. “Tasoli was my home.” S31 “Are you alone?” N32

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01 “You should know. Your armies murdered my father, my hus‑ 02 band, and my three brothers in battle.” 03 Kathar shouted at her, “They were not murdered! They died 04 because they refused our gracious offer to surrender and become 05 subjects of the Mauryan Empire! They were nothing more than 06 pathetic vermin to be wiped off the face of ­the—” 07 “Enough!” Ashoka dismounted to the surprise of his guards, 08 who immediately surrounded him and the woman as he ap‑ 09 proached her. 10 Ashoka took her hand. “Do you not have any family left?” 11 She shook her head. “My only son died of disease, and my 12 sisters and two daughters were violated before they were sent 13 away to become slaves. I escaped into the woods hoping to find 14 more of my people, but there are none. I am all that is left.” The 15 woman dropped to her knees and clutched STET at the Emperor’s 16 hand. “Please kill me.” 17 “Why should I do that? You are no threat to me or my men.” 18 “You have taken everything from me. I have nothing left to live 19 for. If I don’t starve first, I will suffer the fate of the other women.” 20 “I give you my word as supreme ruler of the Mauryan Empire 21 that no further harm will come to—”­ 22 Before Ashoka could finish, Kathar drew his sword, STET 23 causing the Emperor to jump back when he saw the flash of steel 24 out of the corner of his eye, and slashed the woman’s neck. She 25 gurgled blood and fell over, a look of calm and relief on her face 26 as she died. 27 Ashoka felt a warm trickle of liquid on his throat. He touched 28 the spot and felt a gash in his skin. When he pulled his hand away, 29 he saw that his fingers were covered in crimson. The wound wasn’t 30 deep, but the fact that it was there at all shocked him. If he hadn’t 31S moved so quickly, he would have been killed by the same blow 32N that struck down the woman.

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The general’s sword was now pointed at Ashoka’s chest. The 01 Emperor’s guards had already drawn their swords and were ready 02 to defend him, but they could see that the slightest movement 03 would doom their beloved leader. 04 “Kathar! You almost beheaded me!” 05 Kathar smiled and shrugged. “I underestimated your reflexes, 06 Excellency.” 07 “Are you saying you were trying to kill both of us?” 08 “She wasn’t bad to look at, but there are many more where she 09 came from. You, on the other ­hand . . .” Kathar shook his head. 10 “I can see how this war has changed you. You no longer strive for 11 the greatness of the empire. You have become weak.” 12 One of the guards inched closer, but Kathar pressed the tip of 13 his sword against Ashoka’s chest to stop him. 14 “If any of you come nearer, I will run him through.” 15 “If you do that,” Ashoka said, “you will be dead before I hit 16 the ground.” 17 “Possibly. But then I would be a hero of the empire.” 18 Ashoka could hear the sound of hooves approaching from the 19 forest. It had to be his brother Vit coming with his archers. If 20 Ashoka could delay Kathar just a little longer, Vit’s men could slay 21 him before his sword moved. 22 “Don’t you see that conquest is a fool’s errand?” Ashoka asked. 23 “What does it matter if we gain more land unless we improve the 24 lives of our subjects?” 25 “Because conquest is what will guarantee that our names will 26 be remembered throughout the ages,” Kathar said, his eyes wild 27 with the power he now held in his hands. “Alexander the Great 28 assembled the finest army in history, was never defeated in battle, 29 and ruled over the largest empire the world has ever known. Peo‑ 30 ple will be speaking his name until there are no people left.” S31 Ashoka nodded solemnly. “And then he died at ­thirty-​­three N32

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01 and his empire was torn apart in a series of civil wars. Don’t you 02 see that there’s another way?” 03 “This Buddhism you’ve been speaking about?” Kathar spat. “A 04 waste of time. With our armies, you could have been remembered 05 for even greater conquests. You could have ruled the known world. 06 I won’t let you throw this opportunity away. Maurya will know 07 greatness under my rule. I will be called Kathar the Magnificent. 08 History will remember my name, worshipping it even more than 09 Alexander’s.” 10 Ashoka looked around at his loyal guards. They would not let 11 Kathar get away with killing him. 12 “What makes you think you’ll live through the next few mo‑ 13 ments?” Ashoka asked calmly. 14 Kathar answered only with a grin. Horses emerged from the 15 forest, but they did not belong to Ashoka’s brother Vit. They were 16 Kathar’s most loyal soldiers, double the number of his guards. 17 They flanked Ashoka’s men, who were now hopelessly outmatched. 18 “I did not do this on a whim,” Kathar said. “I have been plan‑ 19 ning this for weeks, scouting out just the spot to ambush you and 20 your men. When I return with your body, I will tell your subjects 21 about how rebellious Kalingan traitors had cut you down. Who 22 else will they turn to but your most trusted general, who has de‑ 23 livered this great but tragic victory for the empire?” 24 “My brother will avenge me.” 25 “He will try. But he’s just as weak as you are. If I can defeat 26 you, he will prove no trouble at all.” 27 Kathar turned to one of his soldiers, who Ashoka recognized 28 as a top cavalry officer. 29 “You found them?” Kathar asked. 30 The officer nodded and took a satchel from his shoulder. He 31S removed a scroll and held it over his head for all to see. 32N “All nine,” the officer said.

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Ashoka felt a chill at seeing one of the nine sacred Scrolls of 01 Knowledge, representing the collected intelligence of the best 02 minds in his kingdom. The fact that the scrolls were here had to 03 mean the Librarian was dead, and now Kathar had everything he 04 needed to rule with absolute power. 05 Kathar turned back to Ashoka and smiled. “Maybe you now 06 realize that I missed you on purpose before, to give time for my 07 men to arrive. I was keeping you alive until I made sure the scrolls 08 were in my hands. Since they are, you are no longer necessary. 09 Your dynasty ends here. Now.” 10 Kathar raised his sword for the killing blow as his soldiers 11 charged toward the Imperial Guard. 12 Ashoka wasn’t going to make it easy for him. He crouched 13 down and twisted to his side as the sword came down, striking his 14 shoulder. The leather armor absorbed part of the blow, but the 15 blade cut deeply into his muscle. 16 Ignoring the pain, he stood to run, but Kathar had the advantage 17 of height and speed astride his horse. The general drew his sword 18 back for another swing, a maniacal look of bloodlust in his eyes. 19 Among the din of clashing swords, snorting horses, and 20 screams of dying men, Ashoka heard the distinctive sound of an 21 arrow whizzing by. It struck Kathar’s hand, and he cried out as he 22 dropped the sword. 23 With a look of fury, Kathar wrenched the arrow from his palm 24 and looked in the direction it had come from. Ashoka followed his 25 gaze and saw Vit and his archers stampeding toward them, arrows 26 flying from their bows. A quarter of Kathar’s men went down in 27 the first volley. 28 Seeing that his defeat was imminent, Kathar wheeled his horse 29 around and charged the cavalry officer holding the satchel. He 30 snatched it away and yelled, “Make sure no one follows me.” S31 Then he whipped his horse and galloped into the forest. N32

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01 Ashoka wasn’t going to let him get away so easily, not with the 02 Scrolls of Knowledge. As long as Kathar had those, he would be 03 a dire threat to Ashoka’s plans for his country’s new era. 04 Ashoka leaped onto his horse and drew his sword with his 05 uninjured arm. Despite his brother’s calls to get to safety, he fol‑ 06 lowed his betrayer. 07 Kathar was the better fighter, but Ashoka was a superior 08 ­horseman. Instead of taking the clear path through forest where 09 he could have used his horse’s speed to escape, Kathar was weav‑ 10 ing through the thick stand of trees in an effort to lose any 11 ­pursuers. 12 But Ashoka wasn’t fooled. He could spot Kathar’s trail of bro‑ 13 ken branches and trampled underbrush as he rode, taking what‑ 14 ever shortcuts he could to close the distance. 15 Finally, he spotted the bright silver buckles on Kathar’s armor 16 flickering in and out of view. Ashoka raced to the side and paral‑ 17 leled his course, drawing nearer with every moment. 18 Kathar realized he was being followed and drew his dagger. In 19 desperation, he threw it at Ashoka, but it sank into a tree that 20 came between them. 21 Seeing his chance, Ashoka cut his horse through a narrow alley 22 between the trees and drew alongside Kathar. He raised his sword 23 and swung with all his might. 24 The sword met nothing but air. 25 Kathar had leaped from his horse to avoid the blow and ca‑ 26 reened into a tree. He bounced off it and came to rest on the 27 ground. The scrolls tumbled from the satchel and scattered across 28 the forest floor. 29 Ashoka turned around and dismounted, his sword held in 30 front of him as he approached the kneeling general, who was 31S shuddering with pain. 32N Ashoka knew it was a trick. He circled around until he was

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directly behind Kathar and put the tip of his sword to the base of 01 the general’s neck. 02 “Drop the knife.” 03 Kathar stopped trembling and chuckled. The knife he’d been 04 holding in his good hand dropped to the ground. 05 “Now stand.” 06 Kathar got to his feet and turned around. 07 “You won’t kill me,” he said with a wicked grin. 08 “Why not?” 09 “Because of this Buddhist faith you’ve been talking about con‑ 10 verting our entire country to. It doesn’t allow killing. I know. I’ve 11 been hearing about it for weeks now. From you.” 12 “You’re right,” Ashoka said. “I have been thinking about or‑ 13 dering all my subjects to follow the ways of the Buddha. And your 14 betrayal only confirms that it is the right thing to do. Killing only 15 begets more killing. If you’d had your way, your rule would have 16 been built on terror and death.” 17 “You know that’s the only way to build a dynasty.” 18 Ashoka shook his head. “There’s another way. As long as I’m 19 alive, we will take a different path.” 20 Galloping hooves approached, and Ashoka could see that Vit, 21 a fine tracker, had followed their trail. He pulled his horse to a 22 stop beside them. 23 “Are you all right, brother?” Vit asked. 24 Ashoka nodded. “But I wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t come 25 along at the right time. Gather up the scrolls.” 26 Vit got off his horse and began collecting the parchments to 27 put them back in the satchel. 28 “This piece of garbage must have killed the Librarian to get 29 these,” Vit said. “Who will be the new one? Tell me and I’ll 30 take them to him.” He walked over with all of the scrolls secure S31 in the pouch. N32

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01 “I am not naming a new librarian,” Ashoka said. “Kathar has 02 proven that it is too dangerous to keep them all together. Vit, I 03 want you to find nine unknown men, common men who have 04 shown themselves to be good and loyal. Each of them will be 05 tasked with safeguarding one of the Scrolls of Knowledge to keep 06 any single man from using them to conquer the world.” 07 “It will be done,” Vit replied. Then he looked at Kathar with 08 contempt. “And what about him?” 09 Ashoka took a step closer to Kathar and laid the sword along 10 his neck. “My first order of the new age will be to strike this trai‑ 11 tor’s name from all scrolls and etchings. If anyone speaks his name 12 aloud, they will be banished from the country.” He looked at 13 Kathar with pity. “By the end of this growing season, no one will 14 remember your name. You will be lost to history forever. It will be 15 as if you never existed.” 16 For the first time, Kathar’s smug expression faltered before 17 he made another halfhearted attempt at bravado. “But I am still 18 here. My followers are numerous and my soldiers loyal. They will 19 rise against you and rescue me from your prison.” 20 “No, they won’t.” Ashoka raised his sword. 21 Kathar gaped at him. It was the only time the general had ever 22 shown fear. “But the ways of the Buddha! They don’t allow 23 killing!” 24 “You’re right,” Ashoka said. “From this point on, I will decree 25 no living thing, human or animal, shall be killed for punishment 26 or sacrifice. From this point on. It is my duty and responsibility to 27 make sure that you, who are without a name, are the last.” 28 Ashoka brought down the sword. 29 30 31S 32N

9780735219069_Shadow_TX.indd 10 6/7/18 8:16 PM 01 ONE 02 03 04 05 OVER THE ARABIAN SEA 06 07 Present day, eighteen months ago 08 09 “Don’t tell anyone,” Adam Carlton whispered as he glanced over 10 his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. “I’m not supposed 11 to take you down there.” 12 Lyla Dhawan knew his dramatic gesture was all for show. 13 They were alone in the airplane’s palatial rear lounge, with its 14 mahogany tables and ­Gucci-​­embossed sofas. Although the ­double-​ 15 ­decker Airbus A380 was gigantic and could carry more than eight 16 hundred passengers when fitted out as an airliner, this plane cur‑ 17 rently held fewer than one hundred people. Most of them were in 18 the luxurious forward bars, enjoying the ­free-​­flowing champagne 19 and snacking on expensive caviar. 20 Lyla still didn’t know why she’d been one of the lucky few in‑ 21 vited onto Xavier Carlton’s private jet, but she jumped at a 22 once‑in‑a‑lifetime experience. Fending off advances from one of 23 the billionaire’s sons almost made her wish she’d reconsidered. 24 However, his offer was intriguing. 25 “You mean, we can go down and see the cargo hold?” she 26 asked. 27 Carlton nodded, downed the rest of his ­hundred-​­year-​­old 28 scotch, and leaned in closer, practically purring, in his British ac‑ 29 cent, “Have you ever seen a Bugatti Chiron?” 30 The reek of alcohol on his breath almost made Lyla gag. She S31 shook her head. N32

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01 “Fastest car in the world,” Carlton said. “Worth three million 02 dollars even before I added the solid gold trim. I brought it from 03 London to see what it can do on the desert roads. Obviously, I 04 can’t take you for a drive, but you can sit in it. The leather is the 05 softest you’ll ever feel.” 06 She managed not to roll her eyes. Lyla couldn’t care less about 07 cars, and his constant bragging was getting on her nerves. But she 08 didn’t know when she would get another opportunity to tour the 09 cargo area of an A380. She was a pilot herself, logging more than 10 six hundred hours in ­twin-​­engine prop planes back in San Jose, 11 , so going down to see the hold was like getting a back‑ 12 stage pass to Disneyland. Her only hesitation was the thought of 13 being alone with this jerk. 14 “That’s quite a tempting offer,” Lyla said. “Maybe some of the 15 other guests would like to see it, too.” 16 Not that she couldn’t fend him off if he got handsy. He was 17 short and decidedly out of shape, while she was taller than he was 18 and could deadlift two hundred pounds thanks to regular Cross‑ 19 Fit classes. The bigger concern was that she would offend him and 20 torpedo any future contracts with his father’s company. 21 Like all of the other passengers on board for this extravagant 22 meet and greet, Lyla was a computer company executive visiting 23 Dubai for the TechNext trade show. As the chief technology offi‑ 24 cer of Singular Solutions, she was attending the convention to help 25 pitch her firm’s groundbreaking pattern recognition software to 26 customers around the world. So far they’d signed contracts for 27 fifty million dollars, but Carlton’s massive media corporation, Un‑ 28 limited News International, could double that figure with the 29 stroke of a pen. 30 When Lyla suggested they bring others with them, Carlton 31S scowled and sat back. 32N “If you don’t want to see my car, just say so,” he huffed.

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“No, I really do,” Lyla said with a smile. She stood up, smooth‑ 01 ing the skirt of her black cocktail dress. “Quick! Before anyone 02 knows I’m getting a private tour.” 03 Carlton grinned and nearly leaped to his feet. “I promise you 04 won’t regret it. The Chiron is almost as beautiful as you are.” 05 “Lead the way.” 06 He took her to a tiny elevator, and they both squeezed in, Carl‑ 07 ton smiling up at her as they descended. 08 “Are you from America originally?” he asked. 09 “California, born and raised. My parents are from New Delhi.” 10 “I’ve been to India many times. My father has a villa outside 11 of Mumbai.” 12 “I never got to thank him for the invitation to this event.” 13 “Unfortunately, he couldn’t be here. He had an urgent matter 14 to attend to in Dubai.” 15 The elevator opened, and Carlton escorted her out into a small 16 storage area before showing her through the door into the main 17 hold. He froze at the sight that met them. 18 The vast cargo area was completely empty. 19 Carlton wheezed a couple of times, then yelled, “Where is my 20 car! I saw it loaded onto the plane last night before we took off 21 from England! When I find out ­who—” 22 Without warning, the airplane suddenly plunged into a dive, 23 sending both of them soaring toward the ceiling. Floating ten feet 24 above the floor, they flailed for a few moments. Then the jet rap‑ 25 idly reversed course, slamming them down. 26 Lyla landed on flat metal, but Carlton wasn’t so lucky. His 27 head smashed into a bare stanchion that should have been holding 28 down his car. 29 She got to her feet and rushed over to him. Blood pooled 30 around his head. He was unconscious but breathing. S31 With a frantic search of the storage area, she found some cloth N32

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01 towels and took them back to the cargo hold. She propped up 02 Carlton’s head with two towels before pressing the third against 03 the wound. 04 Yelling for help was useless. The hold was too isolated for any‑ 05 one to hear her. She would have to leave him alone so she could 06 get him medical attention. 07 She ran back to the elevator and had to wait for what seemed 08 like forever for its return. The glacial ascent was agonizing. 09 When she reached the main deck, she sprinted forward through 10 the rear lounge, past the conference room and into the piano bar, 11 which was eerily silent. She gasped when she saw why. 12 All of the passengers were seated with emergency oxygen masks 13 over their faces. Each of them was slumped over, their eyes closed. 14 Lyla approached the nearest woman with dread. She put a fin‑ 15 ger to the woman’s throat and sighed with relief when she felt a 16 pulse. She tried two more passengers. Though comatose, they 17 were all alive. 18 She nearly panicked, then it occurred to her the situation might 19 have been caused by an explosive decompression, which would 20 explain the plane’s sudden dive. 21 But she quickly dismissed the idea. Not only would she have 22 felt the frigid air from outside even if the tear in the fuselage had 23 occurred on the upper level, but she would have also fallen uncon‑ 24 scious herself seconds after reaching the main deck. 25 She checked two more rooms and found the same chilling 26 sight: all of the passengers and crew with masks on and out cold. 27 Lyla wasn’t an expert on large airliners. Flying was just a 28 ­hobby—​­her only one—­ ​­a chance to get away from the stress of her 29 job for a few hours a week where work emails couldn’t reach her. 30 Even better, her mother couldn’t call to berate her for not having 31S a husband at the advanced age of ­thirty-​­one. 32N She knew everything that could go wrong with a Cessna

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­twin-​­prop Corsair, but the Airbus was far more complicated. 01 Something might have malfunctioned in the emergency oxygen 02 system, but she had no idea what that could be. A better question 03 was why they were wearing the masks in the first place if the air 04 in the plane was breathable. 05 Lyla looked out a window and saw nothing but the sun shining 06 through scattered clouds on the calm water below, but they should 07 have stayed over the Saudi Arabian Desert for the duration of the 08 flight. They were out of range for an ordinary mobile phone, and 09 the odds of finding a satellite phone on board were minuscule. She 10 had to get into the cockpit. If the pilots were on the same oxygen 11 system, they might be unconscious as well, but she could radio a 12 Mayday and get help from someone on the ground. She couldn’t 13 land this plane, but the controls were so highly automated these 14 days that someone at air traffic control in Dubai should able to 15 talk her through getting them back to the airport safely. 16 When she got to the cockpit door, it closed and locked. No one 17 answered her pounding fist. She desperately tried to wrench it 18 open, but it was a secure door. Since 9/​11, all aircraft had been 19 built with stronger cockpit doors and locking mechanisms con‑ 20 trolled by the pilots to prevent terrorists from gaining access. It 21 also meant that if the pilots were incapacitated, no one could get 22 inside. 23 Lyla examined the door. She noticed a keypad with a red 24 light beside it and realized there might be a way inside. She re‑ 25 membered reading that there was a code the flight attendants 26 could use to access the cockpit in a medical emergency as long as 27 the pilots hadn’t disabled it from inside, as they would during a 28 terrorist event. 29 They had to keep a code like that nearby so all the flight atten‑ 30 dants could find it quickly. She rooted through the food lockers in S31 the front galley and found what she was looking for: a piece of N32

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01 paper taped to the inside of the cabinet door with a six­ -​­digit num‑ 02 ber written on it. The Arabic text above the number was unread‑ 03 able, but it had to be it. 04 Lyla punched the number into the keypad, and the light turned 05 green with a beep. She was overjoyed as she flung the door open. 06 Her happiness vanished when she saw the pilot slumped back 07 in his chair, a small bullet hole in his right temple. 08 The copilot, however, was very much alive. She flinched and 09 instinctively put up her hands when he turned around and pointed 10 a small pistol at her. 11 “Who are you?” he demanded. 12 “­No . . . no one,” she stammered. “Just a passenger. Lyla 13 Dhawan.” 14 “Where did you come from?” 15 “I was in the hold with Adam Carlton when we hit the turbu‑ 16 lence.” 17 “Where is he?” 18 “He hit his head. He’s badly injured.” 19 “How did you get in here?” 20 “The access code. It was on a piece of paper.” 21 He got up from his seat. “Show me.” 22 He kept the gun on her the whole time as she showed him 23 where it was in the galley. He yanked the paper off the door, 24 crumpled it up, and shoved it into his pocket. 25 He motioned with his pistol for her to return the cockpit. After 26 shutting the door behind him, he got back into his chair and told 27 her to sit in the jump seat. 28 “Belt yourself in,” he said while glancing at his watch. 29 Lyla let out a sob of relief. He wasn’t going to kill her. She 30 snapped the seat belt together. 31S “Now put on the mask.” He pointed to the one hanging next 32N to her.

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The thought of all the unconscious passengers flashed in her 01 mind. “Why?” 02 He held up the pistol and pointed it at her head. 03 “Do it.” 04 She had no choice. The dead pilot was evidence that he wouldn’t 05 hesitate to pull the trigger. 06 She fit the mask over her face but tried to keep it as loose as 07 possible. 08 The copilot looked at his watch again and then at her. “No. 09 Tighter.” 10 Reluctantly, she pulled the straps taut. Within seconds, she 11 started to feel herself get ­light-​­headed. There had to be some kind 12 of knockout gas in the emergency oxygen system. 13 “Why are you doing this?” she shouted through the mask, but 14 the copilot ignored her. 15 He looked to his right, then shielded his eyes with one hand. A 16 moment later, a blinding flash lit up the cockpit. 17 Immediately after that, the copilot pushed his control joystick 18 forward. The huge airplane nosed into a steep dive. 19 Lyla tried to unbuckle herself so she could stop the maniac 20 from killing them all, but her muscles were like jelly. She couldn’t 21 feel her fingers, and her mind was a muddled haze. She had the 22 sudden hope that this was all just a nightmare, that none of it was 23 truly happening. 24 Then she looked through the front windows as they emerged 25 from a cloud bank. No sky was visible. Only ocean. 26 They were going down, and there was nothing she could do to 27 prevent it. Then, mercifully, she tumbled into darkness. 28 29 30 S31 N32

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AMAZON

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BOOKS-A-MILLION

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ON SALE SEPTEMBER 11, 2018