breath locked in his chest.
‘Lóng de yáchıˇ – ga¯o pıˇnzhí.’ The small man pointed one long fingernail at the specimen, obviously satisfied with Schroder’s response.
‘Yes, yes . . . dragon’s teeth.’ He used English without thinking as he brought the fossil close to his face, studying it, mentally calculating, estimating, extrapolating. In his mind, he turned the fragment of a long dead creature into something living – he could see it in all its terrible glory. He held the relic above his head, standing on his toes to reach up above his six-foot-plus frame, adding another four feet to where the mouth would have been.
He heard the shopkeeper’s voice again. ‘Lóng de yáchıˇ. Guàiwù lóng de yáchıˇ!’
Schroder exhaled and lowered his arm. ‘Yes, best quality, but not a dragon. Something just as fantastic.’ He emptied his wallet onto the counter and leaned in towards the man.‘Zài naˇlıˇ?’ he asked. ‘Where?’
Present day
Alex was miles beneath the surface. He stared up at a shimmering mirage of blue light. He clamped his lips shut. Panic was a heartbeat away, and the more he tried to break free, the tighter he was trapped by the black coils of slimy rope that bound his
arms and legs, wrapped around his chest and coated his face. He was aware his burning lungs would soon give out, but he dared not open his mouth even to scream, as he knew the mucous-covered strands would find their way inside. He was dragged deeper down; his feet sinking into the primordial ooze of the lightless depths. With his last fragments of energy he sprang towards the surface. Last time, last chance – he needed to breathe; he wanted to live…
Alex Hunter, code named Arcadian, wakes up with no knowledge of who he is, in the care of a woman he doesn’t recognise, in a country not his own. But there is a calling deep within him, to return home to Black Mountain.
Formed a billion years ago, the Appalachian’s Black Mountain hosts a terrible legend. Only one elder remains to guard its long-forgotten, deadly secret and there is a fear that there is evil lurking again. Some hikers have gone missing, and the rescue team sent to search for them has not returned. Meanwhile, in nearby Ashville, Professor Matt Kearns is drawn into the mystery of an ancient artefact recovered from the mountainside, and an image too grotesque to be real.
A survivor is then found half-alive, covered in blood – blood revealed to be not quite human.
Alex must confront an age-old enemy of man and discover the truth about his past, and confront the horror that stalks the frozen mountain, and also the one haunting his very soul.
First published by Momentum in 2012
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © Greig Beck 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Arcadian Genesis
EPUB format: 9781743340820
Mobi format: 9781743340837
Cover design by Patrick Naoum
Edited by Gareth Beal
Proofread by Vanessa Lanaway
Macmillan Digital Australia: www.macmillandigital.com.au
To report a typographical error, please email [email protected]
Visit www.momentumbooks.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy books online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.
‘Lóng de yáchıˇ – ga¯o pıˇnzhí.’ The small man pointed one long fingernail at the specimen, obviously satisfied with Schroder’s response.
‘Yes, yes . . . dragon’s teeth.’ He used English without thinking as he brought the fossil close to his face, studying it, mentally calculating, estimating, extrapolating. In his mind, he turned the fragment of a long dead creature into something living – he could see it in all its terrible glory. He held the relic above his head, standing on his toes to reach up above his six-foot-plus frame, adding another four feet to where the mouth would have been.
He heard the shopkeeper’s voice again. ‘Lóng de yáchıˇ. Guàiwù lóng de yáchıˇ!’
Schroder exhaled and lowered his arm. ‘Yes, best quality, but not a dragon. Something just as fantastic.’ He emptied his wallet onto the counter and leaned in towards the man.‘Zài naˇlıˇ?’ he asked. ‘Where?’
Present day
Alex was miles beneath the surface. He stared up at a shimmering mirage of blue light. He clamped his lips shut. Panic was a heartbeat away, and the more he tried to break free, the tighter he was trapped by the black coils of slimy rope that bound his
arms and legs, wrapped around his chest and coated his face. He was aware his burning lungs would soon give out, but he dared not open his mouth even to scream, as he knew the mucous-covered strands would find their way inside. He was dragged deeper down; his feet sinking into the primordial ooze of the lightless depths. With his last fragments of energy he sprang towards the surface. Last time, last chance – he needed to breathe; he wanted to live…
Alex Hunter, code named Arcadian, wakes up with no knowledge of who he is, in the care of a woman he doesn’t recognise, in a country not his own. But there is a calling deep within him, to return home to Black Mountain.
Formed a billion years ago, the Appalachian’s Black Mountain hosts a terrible legend. Only one elder remains to guard its long-forgotten, deadly secret and there is a fear that there is evil lurking again. Some hikers have gone missing, and the rescue team sent to search for them has not returned. Meanwhile, in nearby Ashville, Professor Matt Kearns is drawn into the mystery of an ancient artefact recovered from the mountainside, and an image too grotesque to be real.
A survivor is then found half-alive, covered in blood – blood revealed to be not quite human.
Alex must confront an age-old enemy of man and discover the truth about his past, and confront the horror that stalks the frozen mountain, and also the one haunting his very soul.
First published by Momentum in 2012
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © Greig Beck 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Arcadian Genesis
EPUB format: 9781743340820
Mobi format: 9781743340837
Cover design by Patrick Naoum
Edited by Gareth Beal
Proofread by Vanessa Lanaway
Macmillan Digital Australia: www.macmillandigital.com.au
To report a typographical error, please email [email protected]
Visit www.momentumbooks.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy books online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.
Similar Books
