The Golem of Prague: A Hiram Kane Action Thriller Novella

By Steven Moore

One ancient myth. One crazed Neo-Nazi. One chance at redemption.

Hiram Kane is in Prague to visit his friend and mentor, Professor John Haines, when a deranged Neo-Nazi kidnaps a dozen innocent Jewish children. 
Kane and Haines suddenly find themselves drawn into a deadly race against time to save the victims, before the psychopathic modern-day monster twists an ancient Jewish myth to her wildly unhinged and nefarious desires.
Innocents will die. That is inevitable. The question is, how many can Hiram Kane save?
The Golem of Prague is an exciting new intro novella to the bestselling Hiram Kane action thriller series. For fans of Russell Blake and Clive Cussler, Steven Moore’s latest offering will leave you breathless.
To delve into the globetrotting world of Hiram Kane, buy your copy of The Golem of Prague, today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: CONDOR PUBLISHING
• Release date: Dec 21, 2018

Book preview

The Golem of Prague

Steven Moore

The Golem of Prague

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A Hiram Kane Action Thriller

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By

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Steven Moore

Prologue

Please don’t hurt the children, pleaded Judith Anderson, their teacher. They’re just kids.

Shut up. Do as I say and they will not be hurt, the woman lied. Just keep moving.

At gunpoint, the woman hustled the eight terrified middle school-aged children and their raven-haired teacher down the dark, damp corridor deep beneath the walls of Prague Castle. The children were on a late afternoon field trip from their English Academy, and their teacher Judith had brought them to the castle for a little fun beyond the confines of the classroom. They’d arrived deliberately late to avoid the day’s crowds. What happened next was nothing short of a whirlwind of terror.

They were exploring St. Vitus Cathedral and were practicing their English, reading the engravings on the walls in a quiet corner of the nave, when suddenly from out of nowhere a woman appeared. She was smiling, and wore an official-looking badge that read ‘Cathedral Guide’. She approached, and in a kindly voice, she asked Judith, in first English and then Czech, if the kids would like to visit the secret room, a room so secret most of Prague’s citizens had never heard of it.

No tourists have ever been inside, she added with a wink, tempting the foreign teacher.

Well, I don’t know, Judith replied. It wasn’t part of the strict schedule and Judith Anderson was nothing if not a stickler for the rules. But the kids had heard the offer from the guide, and had all chimed in with great enthusiasm they would like to visit the mysterious room. Their pleas to their teacher grew in volume, and rather than cause a scene Judith reluctantly agreed. Besides, she loved a little adventure herself, and the woman was an official guide of the cathedral, after all.

Okay then, yes please. We will take you up on your offer, she said, adding, "Děkuji." Thank you.

Very good, Miss... ?

Miss Anderson. Call me Judith.

The guide’s eyes suddenly narrowed to slits, as if she had been personally insulted. She sucked in a sharp breath, and for a second it looked as if she might even bare her teeth. Somehow Judith missed the fearsome expression in the gloom of the cathedral, and the guide quickly recovered her composure. 

"Well, nemáš zač, Judith." You’re welcome.

The guide offered a curt nod, then turned to the kids. Okay, children. I will take you into the secret room, but you must promise to be quiet. It is so secret, we don’t want everyone to learn about it, do we. Do you all agree?

They all nodded their assent, and the guide smiled again. It was forced. Easier than I thought, she mused, and moments later she was leading them towards a large statue in the very far corner of the expansive nave. Behind the statue they found a door, one that couldn’t be seen by anyone unless they knew it existed there. From her pocket she produced a large key, and in a second had deftly unlocked the ancient wooden door.

Judith was suddenly hit with a rush of cool, damp air from the newly-opened door, and a flutter of trepidation twisted in her gut. Sensing her concern, the guide said, It is okay, Judith, this door doesn’t get opened very often. It is fine. Turning to the children, and stepping behind them to corral them towards the door, she said, Okay, who wants to go first? But no sooner had she said that than the children, led by a bigger, tubby boy at the front, were disappearing through the doorway and into the darkness.

Turning back to Judith, she smiled once more, and said, Well, it looks like you have no choice. Let’s go.

Judith returned the smile, but it was laced with a touch of something like fear as she followed after the children. She had taken just a few steps into the damp corridor, when the guide closed the door behind them with a thud, plunging them all into darkness. One girl screamed, though the thick, ancient walls absorbed the sound. Then a torch came on, illuminating the old passage. Judith let out a sigh of relief.

Okay, let us move quietly into the tunnel, said the female guide, who looked like a gargoyle in the dancing beams of the powerful torch. Go. Now!

She hustled past the kids to the front of the small procession and urged them forward. Come on, children, nothing to be afraid of. It is exciting, isn’t it?

And despite herself, Judith had to agree that it was indeed exciting... much more fun than taking rubbings of the stones in the cathedral above. She recalled when her father used to take her to castles and dungeons while on holiday at home in England as a youngster, and that thrill of being somewhere so ancient, where so many things had happened and historical kings and queens might just have walked those very same steps... well, she relished it, and Judith was glad her students were getting the chance to do the same. It’s