The Hour of the Dragon , Red Nails , Shadows in Zamboula

Fiction & Literature, Anthologies, Action Suspense
Cover of the book The Hour of the Dragon , Red Nails , Shadows in Zamboula by Robert Ervin Howard, AP Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Ervin Howard ISBN: 1230000246105
Publisher: AP Books Publication: June 11, 2014
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Robert Ervin Howard
ISBN: 1230000246105
Publisher: AP Books
Publication: June 11, 2014
Imprint:
Language: English

Chapter 1: O Sleeper, Awake!

 

THE LONG TAPERS flickered, sending the black shadows wavering along the walls, and the velvet tapestries rippled. Yet there was no wind in the chamber. Four men stood about the ebony table on which lay the green sarcophagus that gleamed like carven jade. In the upraised right hand of each man a curious black candle burned with a weird greenish light. Outside was night and a lost wind moaning among the black trees.

 

Inside the chamber was tense silence, and the wavering of the shadows, while four pairs of eyes, burning with intensity, were fixed on the long green case across which cryptic hieroglyphics writhed, as if lent life and movement by the unsteady light. The man at the foot of the sarcophagus leaned over it and moved his candle as if he were writing with a pen, inscribing a mystic symbol' in the air. Then he set down the candle in its black gold stick at the foot of the case, and, mumbling some formula unintelligible to his companions, he thrust a broad white hand into his fur-trimmed robe. When he brought it forth again it was as if he cupped in his palm a ball of living fire.

 

The other three drew in their breath sharply, and the dark, powerful man who stood at the head of the sarcophagus whispered: "The Heart of Ahriman!" The other lifted a quick hand for silence. Somewhere a dog began howling dolefully, and a stealthy step padded outside the barred and bolted door. But none looked aside from the mummy-case over which the man in the ermine-trimmed robe was now moving the great flaming jewel while he muttered an incantation that was old when Atlantis sank. The glare of the gem dazzled their eyes, so that they could not be sure of what they saw; but with a splintering crash, the carven lid of the sarcophagus burst outward as if from some irresistible pressure applied from within, and the four men, bending eagerly forward, saw the occupant -- a huddled, withered, wizened shape, with dried brown limbs like dead wood showing through moldering bandages.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Chapter 1: O Sleeper, Awake!

 

THE LONG TAPERS flickered, sending the black shadows wavering along the walls, and the velvet tapestries rippled. Yet there was no wind in the chamber. Four men stood about the ebony table on which lay the green sarcophagus that gleamed like carven jade. In the upraised right hand of each man a curious black candle burned with a weird greenish light. Outside was night and a lost wind moaning among the black trees.

 

Inside the chamber was tense silence, and the wavering of the shadows, while four pairs of eyes, burning with intensity, were fixed on the long green case across which cryptic hieroglyphics writhed, as if lent life and movement by the unsteady light. The man at the foot of the sarcophagus leaned over it and moved his candle as if he were writing with a pen, inscribing a mystic symbol' in the air. Then he set down the candle in its black gold stick at the foot of the case, and, mumbling some formula unintelligible to his companions, he thrust a broad white hand into his fur-trimmed robe. When he brought it forth again it was as if he cupped in his palm a ball of living fire.

 

The other three drew in their breath sharply, and the dark, powerful man who stood at the head of the sarcophagus whispered: "The Heart of Ahriman!" The other lifted a quick hand for silence. Somewhere a dog began howling dolefully, and a stealthy step padded outside the barred and bolted door. But none looked aside from the mummy-case over which the man in the ermine-trimmed robe was now moving the great flaming jewel while he muttered an incantation that was old when Atlantis sank. The glare of the gem dazzled their eyes, so that they could not be sure of what they saw; but with a splintering crash, the carven lid of the sarcophagus burst outward as if from some irresistible pressure applied from within, and the four men, bending eagerly forward, saw the occupant -- a huddled, withered, wizened shape, with dried brown limbs like dead wood showing through moldering bandages.

More books from Action Suspense

Cover of the book Sacred and Profane Love by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Old Hollow by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Bound by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book No Man's Land by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Lukundoo and Other Stories by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Kingdom Come by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Reptilia by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Sick Transit by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Red Mercury by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Cabin Fever by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book The Mysterious Village by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Die Schatzinsel by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Sky Raiders by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Scorpio Ablaze by Robert Ervin Howard
Cover of the book Raum-Zeit Anomalie by Robert Ervin Howard
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy