The Phoenix Ascent: An Action-Packed Short Story

By Nathan M Farrugia

One man versus an army.

Can a rogue alchemist turn the tides of war?

The Mongol army is storming China, devastating everything in its path. Their mission: recovery of an artifact with otherworldly powers. Their General will stop at nothing to recover it.

Zhu is an alchemist in the wrong place at the right time.

He has the artifact ... and an assassin’s blade at his throat.

And he’s the only person who can beat them.

Can Zhu keep the deadly relic out of the General’s hands? Or will he hand ultimate power to a madman?

You’ll love this action-packed short story by USA Today bestseller Nathan M. Farrugia.

What readers are saying:

★★★★★ "I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. Nathan Farrugia is in a class by himself. You can’t help but enjoy this adventure."

★★★★★ "What an amazing series. Plenty of action, thrills, gut-wrenching pace, cool weapons/gadgets and well written story."

★★★★★ "Can I give this book 10 stars? It kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last!"

★★★★★ "The Fifth Column series is a tour de force. This amazing series deserves a 5 star review."

★★★★★ "Really humorous, lots of action and the characters are so much fun. Loved it. Fast-paced, entertaining read."

★★★★★ "I picked up a copy of The Chimera Vector thinking it would be a standard adventure novel. I was wrong. From the sands of the Middle East to the streets of New York, Nathan Farrugia has taken the techno-action/spy novel pioneered by David Morrell and given it steroids."

★★★★★ "Farrugia weaves an amazing tale of power, deceit and double crosses. Espionage at its finest, intrigue that will tighten your gut and light every nerve on fire, The Chimera Vector goes far beyond science fiction and becomes a fast-paced mystery-thriller that defies early detection of where we are headed."

★★★★★ "This is going down as one of the best series I've read. And that's saying something. Filled with intense action with enough sci-fi and thriller to make me grin like I found the girl of my dreams."

★★★★★ "Loved it. High paced action thriller it definitely is. You think you know where it is going then the plot twists again. It really kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next."

★★★★★ "An excellent fast paced series that merges science, science fiction and adventure in one well written read that will make it impossible to put down."

★★★★★ "Oh. Wow. What a book. I found The Chimera Vector to be well written, thoroughly entertaining, and at times unbearably suspenseful. I was literally holding my breath."

★★★★★ "All the action that I really enjoyed in the first one and hoped would continue... the sequel blew that out of the ballpark. Amazing book, even better than the first, if that's possible! Love all the characters.”

★★★★★ “Be warned! This series is totally addictive. Don’t start this unless you’re ready for a wild action-packed ride."

About the author

Nathan M. Farrugia is an Australian technothriller writer, and author of the USA Today bestselling Helix and Fifth Column series. Nathan is known for placing himself in dangerous situations, including climbing rooftops in Russia and being hunted by special forces trackers in the United States. He studies Systema, a little-known martial art and former secret of Russian special forces.
Beyond his army training, Nathan has trained under USMC, SEAL team, Spetsnaz and Defence Intelligence instructors, and the wilderness and tracking skills of the Chiricahua Apache scouts and Australian Aboriginals.
Nathan is currently in Malta, co-writing the sequel to the critically acclaimed video game Metro Exodus

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anomaly Press
• Release date: Oct 9, 2014

Book preview

The Phoenix Ascent

Nathan M Farrugia

Anomaly Press

Contents

The Phoenix Ascent

By Nathan M. Farrugia

About Nathan M. Farrugia

Credits

The Phoenix Ascent

Kaifeng, Northern China

February 26, 1233

‘Your saber looks sharp,’ Zhu said.

‘I’m sure you say that to all the royal guards,’ the woman said, holding the saber to his throat.

She had confronted him while they were alone in his study. He was housed in the royal palace and could summon the royal guard for help. Except she was the royal guard.

‘Your elixir,’ she said. ‘Is it here?’

He looked past her pointed saber and noticed the lamellar armor under her thin robes. Hundreds of laced bronze scales, sharp and angular, like her face.

‘I have more than one elixir,’ he said. ‘I’m pretty good, you know. Plague, persuasion, passion, forgetting. And you could … ask without the saber.’

‘The saber speeds things up.’ She pressed it against his skin.

‘Look, if you’re here for the immortality elixir, I’ll tell you what I tell everyone else: it doesn’t work.’

Zhu knew that once you were in the crosshairs of the royal guard, your life was over. They were the dynasty’s most formidable intelligence agency, charged with specialized tasks that ranged from subverting revolutionary factions to personally guarding the crimson-robed emperor. Men would disappear for questioning and never return.

‘I don’t care for your immortality elixir,’ she said.

He hadn’t see that one coming. ‘Then what are you here for?’

His table was covered in notes on rock samples, illuminated by the flame of his bronze oil lamp. His satchel lay next to it. His three elixirs were already secured inside, in the sheaths he’d woven himself so they wouldn’t rattle or break.

‘The stone from the sky. The elixir you made from it.’

‘The—’

‘Phoenix,’ she said.

‘What business do you have with it?’

‘The capital is under attack. My business is to escort you.’

He stepped back, bumping the table and