The Project 01 - White Jade by Alex Lukeman Read Free Book Online Page A

t know that. Now shut up and let ' s get going. Remember your training. Noodles, you go that way. Stay low and work around to the back of the house. Chung, you come with me. We ' ll circle to the right and approach the front from the side. If it ' s the woman, we go in and take her. If there ' s anyone else, take them too. Remember, any trouble, don ' t kill the woman. "
    The three men moved toward the house.

Chapter T hirteen

    Carter and Selena had been inside the house for half an hour. T he windows were open . A light breeze push ed the stale air away.
    A large, oriental rug covered the wooden floor in the main room with an intricate pattern of blues and reds. A l ong brown leather sectional couch and two chairs were grouped in front of a fireplace built from rounded river stones.
    The living area and kitchen were separated by a wide granite countertop with a swirling pattern of light and dark colors. A ceiling fan turned above an antique French country kitchen table. The back door opened out by the refrigerator. A hall ran to the right of the living area to a bath and bedrooms.
    He sat down at the table with the package. Selena o pened a bottle of wine and took two glasses from a cabinet over the counter . She took a seat across from him and poured.
    " This is a nice wine , Silver Oak. You like Cab? "
    " Yes . Ready to take a look at this? "
    " Let ' s do it. "
    Carter sipped the wine . He took out his knife and cut away the wrappings of the package. A dark, wooden box appeared.
    " That ' s the box for the book. It was on my uncle ' s desk. "
    He opened the box. The book was about eighteen inches long and ten inches wide. The covers were cracked, stained wood, with the remains of red-colored cords that had once bound the flat pieces together. He lifted away the wooden cover. The writing on the page was meaningless to him .
    " That ' s Sanskrit , " she said. " This page is in Devanagari. The calligraphy and style suggest it was written around 1200 CE. The rest of the Sanskrit part is in Rgvedic . That's a much older form. This page was added at a later date. "
    " You can read it? "
    " Yes . T he language is one I studied for years. "
    " What does it say? " He tugged at his bandaged ear .
    " It's a prayer to the Compassionate Buddha, sort of an introduction. That ' s typical for a Buddhist text . B ut this isn ' t a Buddhist work . T he scribe says it should be studied for its medical knowledge but not taken at face value. The text of the book predates Buddhism. "
    Nick turned the page over with the blade of his knife. Selena moved her finger across the writing.
" Now we ' re looking at the older script. This word here means treasure. This one means journey, or trip. This one means map. And this one is ' endless life ' . These words here translate as ' Golden Garuda ' . So the book is called 'The Golden Garuda' and contains directions for finding the treasure of endless life . "
    " What ' s a garuda? "
    " It ' s a big, mythical bird, like an eagle on steroids , sometimes half man, half bird. It first shows up in the Vedas . Those are the earliest recorded Indian religious teachings, around 1700 BCE. "
    The next page was an elaborate anatomical diagram of a naked man squatting down and looking over his shoulder at a s tylized sun. It was recognizable, but in a style far from modern drawings.
    " That ' s a diagram of the circulation of the blood, drawn centuries before Harvey discovered it in the West. "
    He took another sip of wine. She bent over and pointed at the next page.
    " This page is a warning. This word means danger or calamity. T here ' s a sentence about guarding or hiding something . I can ' t quite make it out, there ' s damage, but it refers to a great king or emperor. "
    " The Chinese emperor? "
    " Maybe. From what I can see, the whole passage says danger awaits anyone who pursues the information in this book. "
    There was the sound of a car outside.
    Nick looked at Selena. " You expecting anyone? "
    " No.