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David Wood

Curse of the Pharaoh: A Brock Stone Adventure

Praise for David Wood!

“What an adventure! A great read that provides lots of action, and thoughtful insight into strange realms that are sometimes best left unexplored.” Paul Kemprecos, author of Cool Blue Tomb and the NUMA Files

“Excellent pulp adventure in the mold of Doc Savage. Took me back in the best way to books I loved when I was a kid!”- Terry Mixon, author of the Empire of Bones Saga

“Rip roaring action from start to finish. Wit and humor throughout. Just one question — how soon until the next one? Because I can’t wait.” Graham Brown, author of Shadows of the Midnight Sun

“Intrigue, suspense, monsters, and treasure hunters. What more could you want? David’s knocked it out of the park with this one!” Nick Thacker- author of The Enigma Strain

“A twisty tale of adventure and intrigue that never lets up and never lets go!” Robert Masello, author of The Einstein Prophecy

“A page-turning yarn blending high action, Biblical speculation, ancient secrets, and nasty creatures. Indiana Jones better watch his back!” Jeremy Robinson, author of SecondWorld

“Mr. Wood has mixed speculative history with our modern day pursuit of truth, he has created a story that thrills and makes one think beyond the boundaries of mere fiction and enter the world of ‘why not’?” David Lynn Golemon, Author of the Event Group series

“Let there be no confusion: David Wood is the next Clive Cussler. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop until the last mystery plays out in the final line.” Edward G. Talbot, author of 2012: The Fifth World

“I like my thrillers with lots of explosions, global locations and a mystery where I learn something new. Wood delivers!” J.F. Penn, author of Desecration

Curse of the Pharaoh

A Brock Stone Adventure

Cover art by Drazenka Kimpel

This is a work of fiction. All characters are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Books by David Wood

The Dane Maddock Adventures

Blue Descent

Dourado

Cibola

Quest

Icefall

Buccaneer

Atlantis

Ark

Xibalba

Loch

Solomon Key

Contest

Serpent

Eden Quest

Desert Gold

Dane and Bones Origins

Freedom

Hell Ship

Splashdown

Dead Ice

Liberty

Electra

Amber

Justice

Treasure of the Dead

Bloodstorm

Dane Maddock Universe

Berserk

Maug

Elementals

Cavern

Devil’s Face

Herald

Brainwash

The Tomb

Shasta

Legends

Golden Dragon

Emerald Dragon

Baal (forthcoming)

Destination: Rio

Destination: Luxor

Destination: Sofia

Bones Bonebrake Adventures

Primitive

The Book of Bones

Skin and Bones

Venom

Lair of the Sea Witch

Brock Stone Adventures

Arena of Souls

Track of the Beast

Curse of the Pharaoh

Jade Ihara Adventures (with Sean Ellis)

Oracle

Changeling

Exile

Myrmidon Files with Sean Ellis

Destiny

Mystic

Jake Crowley Adventures (with Alan Baxter)

Sanctum

Blood Codex

Anubis Key

Revenant

Sam Aston Investigations (with Alan Baxter)

Primordial

Overlord

Crocalypse

Stand-Alone Novels

Into the Woods (with David S. Wood)

The Zombie-Driven Life

You Suck

Callsign: Queen (with Jeremy Robinson)

Dark Rite (with Alan Baxter)

Writing as Finn Gray

Aquaria Falling

Aquaria Burning

The Gate

Writing as David Debord
The Absent Gods Trilogy

The Silver Serpent

Keeper of the Mists

The Gates of Iron

The Impostor Prince (with Ryan A. Span)

Neptune’s Key

1 News at the Newspaper

Trinity Paige stared out across the crowded bullpen of the Washington Scribe and contemplated murder. The incessant clacking of typewriter keys and loud chatter among her colleagues filled her ears with a monotonous drone. She swatted at a trail of cigarette smoke that drifted past and glared at the sheet of paper in front of her. Crossed off were all her best ideas for her next investigative report. Written beneath them were her editor’s suggestions, all related to fashion, cooking, or gardening.

Trinity rolled her eyes. Her editor didn’t seem to understand this was 1932, not 1732. At the far end of the room, something caught her eye. A shock of red hair, coming toward her, was just visible above the men that filled the room. She knew who was coming before the tall, skinny form of Alex English broke through the throng of reporters. A mechanical wiz and an inventor, Alex was the best friend of Trinity’s longtime gentleman friend, Brock Stone.

“I was in the city. Thought I’d drop by.” Alex pulled up a chair, took a seat, and propped his feet on the corner of Trinity’s desk. His pant legs rode up, revealing mismatched argyle socks.

“Do you mind?” Trinity’s sharp reproval was all it took to make Alex sit up straight and mind his manners.

“So, what’s buzzing?” Alex asked.

“My new editor has rejected all of my latest pitches, except for those he took and handed off to his toadies.” She held up her notepad. “He suggested I do a piece on fashionable hats.”

“Give me a boater any day. Keeps the sunbeams off your beak.” Alex tapped his nose with the tip of the hook that had taken the place of his missing left hand and grinned knowingly.

“I’ll be sure to include that in my column.” Trinity thrust a pencil into the sharpener and cranked furiously, imagining the pencil was her editor’s finger, or some other body part. “Everyone keeps telling me how fortunate I am to even have this job, as if I don’t have the same qualifications as my male colleagues, and I have seen more of the world than any of them.” A few months earlier, Trinity and her friends had uncovered a secret lab where the Illuminati and their Nazi cohorts conducted horrible human experiments.

“You might want to try a pen,” Alex said.

Trinity looked down to see that she had ground the pencil to a nub. She held it up, stared at it for a moment, then tossed it into the wastebasket.

“It’s unfair. Just when I had earned the respect of my previous editor, he went and had himself a massive heart attack.”

“The nerve of the man.” Alex took a newspaper from inside his coat, unfolded it, and began to read.

“And now, my new editor thinks I’m only good for puff pieces.”

Alex didn’t reply. He turned the page and let out a low whistle. “If you want to write a story about hats, I suggest you begin at the Natural History Museum. Magda Fischer has arranged for a private viewing of the Orion Crowley exhibit. Well, her rich boyfriend arranged it.”

“Spoiled celebrities,” Trinity muttered. Magdalena “Magda” Fischer was a popular actress from Austria. With her golden tresses and big blue eyes, she was regarded by many as the most beautiful woman in the world. Trinity couldn’t see it. “And what does that have to do with hats?”