Destroyers of the Lost Garden (The Lost Garden Trilogy Book 3)

DESTROYERS OF THE LOST GARDEN

An Evan Knight Adventure

#3

by

K.T. TOMB

Acclaim for K.T. Tomb:

“Epic and awesome!”

—
J.T. Cross
, bestselling author of
Beneath the Deep

“Now
this
is what I call adventure.
The Lost Garden
will leave you breathless!”

—
Summer Lee
, bestselling author of
Angel Heart

“The best adventure novel I’ve read in a long time. K.T. Tomb. I can’t wait to read the sequel. Count me a fan. A
big
fan.”

—
P.J. Day
,
bestselling author of
The Sunset Prophecy

“K.T. Tomb is a wonderful new voice in adventure fiction. I was enthralled by
The Lost Garden
...and you will be, too.”

—
Aiden James
,
bestselling author of
Plague of Coins

OTHER BOOKS BY K.T. TOMB

STANDALONE ADVENTURES

The Last Crusade

The Kraken

The Adventurers

The Swashbucklers

The Tempest

Ghosts of the Titanic

The Honeymooners

Curse of the Coins

Drums Along the Hudson

THE CHYNA STONE ADVENTURES

The Minoan Mask

The Mummy Codex

The Phoenician Falcon

The Babylonian Basilisk

The Aquitaine Armor

THE EVAN KNIGHT ADVENTURES

The Lost Garden

Keepers of the Lost Garden

Destroyers of the Lost Garden

THE PHOENIX QUEST ADVENTURES

The Hammer of Thor

The Spear of Destiny

The Lair of Beowulf

The Fountain of Youth

THE CASH CASSIDY ADVENTURES

The Holy Grail

The Lost Continent

The Lost City of Gold

THE ALPHA ADVENTURES

“A” is for Amethyst

“B” is for Bullion

“C” is for Crystal

SASQUATCH SERIES

Sasquatch

Sasquatch Found

THE ISLANDS THAT TIME FORGOT

Dinosaur Island

Ape Island

Snake Island

Destroyers of the Lost Garden

Published by K.T. Tomb

Copyright © 2014 by K.T. Tomb

All rights reserved.

Ebook Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

The author wishes to dedicate this book to the late

Robert Ludlum.

Previously in

Keepers of the Lost Garden

Geronimo Bismark joined our heroes Evan Knight and Jessima IL Eve on the journey to the Garden of Eden.

With the help of Yousef Omidi, the trio found a hidden tunnel with supplies. Evan started to assume that his theory about the destination of the Garden might actually lead them to it.

Alexey Konstantin and Sulna Obvesky literally consummated their partnership. Alexey was prepared for an all-out war, which is why he brought in some big guns.

The stage is set for the war for Eden in the Lost Garden trilogy.

Destroyers of the Lost Garden

Chapter One

Myora IL Eve paced nervously in the command center of the mountain complex. She felt the emotions of all her Daughters as they flowed through from them and into her consciousness. Some were anxious, others felt regret for knowing they would have to take lives to defend Eden, but one of Myora’s Daughters was a mystery. She masked her feelings.

Shala IL Eve showed no emotion as she watched the monitors. There was video surveillance on each level of the complex as well as just outside of the mountain.

The trucks they had spotted earlier were closer. The only sound that could be heard in the control center was the faint hum of the servers.

Of course, they also had a satellite link that allowed for continuous surveillance of the convoy and anything else that could possibly be considered a threat.

Myora placed her hand gently on her Daughter’s shoulder for reassurance.

“Fear not, Shala,” she said encouragingly. “I sense that Jessima IL Eve has the Chosen One and is en route. They have taken a less direct path than the one our enemy has chosen.”

“Why are
they
our enemy?” Shala queried. “Outsider? Yes. A Threat? Perhaps. But who decided that these particular people are dangerous?”

Myora tried to conceal her look of surprise at the question.

“My dear child, it is not our place to judge the outside world. It
is
our job to protect the Garden of Eden from those who would try to use the Tree of Life for their own purpose.”

Shala stood and faced her mother.

“And yet we bring an outsider here to protect Eden? How do we know that he has not been poisoned by the world? Can you say for sure that he won’t try to take the oil for himself?”

“Daughter! That is enough!” yelled the Mother Daughter.

Myora immediately placed both hands over her mouth. She was shocked and disappointed with herself for losing control for the first time in centuries.

“Forgive me, Daughter. It is a tense time for all of us and is seems that I am no exception. We are at a crossroads. I have seen great destruction coming to Eden. I have seen fire and blood, so much blood.”

Mother Daughter lowered her head. She could no longer fend off her tears.

It was Shala’s turn to comfort.

“You see it all, don’t you, Mother Daughter?”

Her words seemed cold and uncaring as she continued, “Being immortal can be a blessing and a curse. For the first several hundred years, it was a blessing. Now we are held like prisoners in a place that never changes. We are forced to watch the outside world change from century to century and we are unable to do anything but watch. We see all the wonderful things this world has to offer, but we cannot touch and experience any of it for ourselves.”

Myora backed away from her Daughter. She was in shock.

“How dare you, Shala! We are not entitled to anything but a life of servitude! That is our mission!”

“That’s right, Mother!” Shala screamed. “Our mission! One of eternal servitude! Yet two sisters went out into the world! Two!”

Myora’s self-control was now gone.

“Why is it that you feel compelled to question your destiny? We were not born into the world of men! We have a purpose above all else! You are ungrateful and disrespectful; not just to me, but to God and Eve herself!”

Shala’s expression changed. She showed her anger.

“Ramallah and Jessima were sent to retrieve the Chosen One. Instead of them…
it should have been me.”

Myora, the Mother Daughter, experienced an emotion that she had hoped she would never feel; at least not to the extreme that she felt it then.

Fear.

“Oh dear Daughter, no,” Myora said, as she wept. “Do you know who you sound like?”

Shala smiled as she straightened her stance.

“Call me what you will, Mother Daughter. That will not change the fact that you know I’m right. Do you think I am similar to Lucifer? Or am I reminding you of your sister? Perhaps then I should prove you right. I wouldn’t want to correct you.”

Shala went to the computer and quickly typed something in. She then held her finger over the
Enter
button. “I hope you’re prepared for what comes next, Mother Daughter.”

Shala pressed the button and looked around with anticipation.

There were intermittent glitches in each computer screen. Myora looked closely as the computer screen showed that some systems were going offline. The link to the satellite was also gone.

As more mechanical and electronic systems went offline, Myora saw Shala run out of the control room. Myora realized what Shala had done.

She kneeled down in the control room while alarms started to sound. Red lights were flashing as the Mother Daughter closed her eyes. She needed to contact all of her Daughters at once. There was only one way she could accomplish that task.

She pictured each Daughter clearly as she spoke to them through her mind.

Daughters. The Mountain of God is in distress. We have been betrayed. Some sort of computer virus has been uploaded into our entire system. I believe it is shutting down all of our defenses as well as everything else. All of the access doors are also controlled electronically so I suggest retreating to the Garden. Otherwise we could be trapped inside. Beware of Sh…

The remainder of Mother Daughters’ message was never received.

***

Calaya IL Eve was the last of the Daughters to exit the Mountain of God fortress. She got out just in time to see the large metal door slide into place and close; locking securely.

All of the Daughters had made it out from whatever part of the fortress they were in when Mother Daughter had warned them. They stood in shock and looked at each other for an answer to what had just happened. All of the Daughters were dressed in brown sleeveless tunic tops and black shorts. They each wore Egyptian style black leather sandals with straps that snaked up their legs and stopped at the calves.

“Did Mother Daughter manage to get herself out?” questioned Calaya, as she broke the silence.

Shala just stood there and watched the door as if she expected Mother Daughter to open it. She pictured the accusing finger of her leader singling her out for her betrayal.

There was no movement at the door or anywhere around it.

Shala breathed a little easier, while still pretending to show concern for Mother Daughter.

“I don’t know,” she squeaked.

She had to choke back a few tears. Maybe she was feeling the loss. Maybe she was just afraid of what would happen to her, if her sisters found out what she did. She had to cover her tracks. “She tried to warn us of something before her message was cut off.”

“A betrayal,” said Ellisia, in a reproving tone in her voice. “Beware of someone or something with ‘SH” as the first two letters.”

Shala turned to face what she thought was her accuser.

“Ellisia. There are a lot of things that Mother Daughter could have been referring to.”

“Maybe,
Shala,
” Ellisia replied.

“We don’t have time for this,” Tallia interjected. “We need to find a way out for Mother Daughter. I suggest that we pick four or five able bodies and do just that, while the rest of us search Eden for anything we can use as a weapon.”

Calaya had just realized that all of their supplies, armor, and weapons were inside the fortress.

“We are warriors. We can use what God provides.”

“Speaking of God…” Shala continued, “…someone should lead us in prayer.”