The Sword of Doom: James Acton Thrillers, #39

By J. Robert Kennedy

"James Acton: A little bit of Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones!"

FROM USA TODAY & MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR J. ROBERT KENNEDY

POSSESSING THE SWORD OF DOOM HAS MEANT DEATH THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
AND TODAY, JAMES ACTON STANDS ACCUSED OF STEALING IT.

 

What is now known as the Goujian Sword is wielded by the king of Yue, and the king alone. Whoever possesses it rules the kingdom, and when it is lost in battle, King Goujian pursues those who captured it across the kingdom and beyond in a desperate attempt to retrieve it and maintain power.

 

He fails.

 

And thousands of years later, archaeology professors James Acton and Laura Palmer are witness to an exchange of historical importance—the handing over of the long-lost sword, held for generations by the royal family of Bhutan. In an attempt to forge better relations with their Chinese neighbors, the king of the tiny country has decided to return the sword, a source of great national pride to China.

 

There's only one problem.

 

It's a fake.

 

Acton and his wife are accused of stealing the original and replacing it with a replica, and are relentlessly pursued across the globe by a Chinese government determined to possess what they believe is rightfully theirs.

 

No matter the cost.

 

In The Sword of Doom, award-winning USA Today and multi-million copy bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy delivers an action-packed thriller that will have you burning through the pages late into the night. If you enjoy fast-paced adventures in the style of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, and James Rollins, then you'll love this thrilling tale of archaeological intrigue.

 

Get your copy of The Sword of Doom today, and discover whether James Acton can break the curse and survive what so many throughout history haven't…
 

About the James Acton Thrillers:

 

★★★★★ "James Acton: A little bit of Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones!"

 

Though this book is part of the James Acton Thrillers series, it is written as a standalone novel and can be enjoyed without having read any other installments.

 

★★★★★ "Non-stop action that is impossible to put down."

 

The James Acton Thrillers series and its spin-offs, the Dylan Kane Thrillers, the Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers, and the Just Jack Thrillers, span over 60 novels and have sold millions of copies. If you love non-stop action and intrigue with a healthy dose of humor, try James Acton today!

 

★★★★★ "A great blend of history and current headlines."
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: UnderMill Press
• Release date: Sep 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223660620

J. Robert Kennedy

With millions of books sold, award-winning and USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure novelist based upon combined sales. He is a full-time writer and the author of over seventy international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers.

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Award winning and USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has sold millions of books, and is now giving some away for free! Join The Insider’s Club to be notified when new books are released, and as a thank you, get his 5 book Starter Library for free along with other bonus materials available nowhere else!

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BOOKS BY J. ROBERT KENNEDY

Please click here for the intended reading order.

* Also available in audio

The Templar Detective Thrillers

The Templar Detective

The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress

The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret

The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist

The Templar Detective and the Code Breaker

The Templar Detective and the Black Scourge

The Templar Detective and the Lost Children

The Templar Detective and the Satanic Whisper

The Just Jack Thrillers

You Don't Know Jack

Jack Be Nimble

The James Acton Thrillers

The Protocol *

Brass Monkey *

Broken Dove

The Templar’s Relic

Flags of Sin

The Arab Fall

The Circle of Eight

The Venice Code

Pompeii’s Ghosts

Amazon Burning

The Riddle

Blood Relics

Sins of the Titanic

Saint Peter’s Soldiers

The Thirteenth Legion

Raging Sun

Wages of Sin

Wrath of the Gods

The Templar’s Revenge

The Nazi’s Engineer

Atlantis Lost

The Cylon Curse

The Viking Deception

Keepers of the Lost Ark

The Tomb of Genghis Khan

The Manila Deception

The Fourth Bible

Embassy of the Empire

Armageddon

No Good Deed

The Last Soviet

Lake of Bones

Fatal Reunion

The Resurrection Tablet

The Antarctica Incident

The Ghosts of Paris

No More Secrets

The Curse of Imhotep

The Sword of Doom

The Heretics Bible

The Dylan Kane Thrillers

Rogue Operator *

Containment Failure *

Cold Warriors *

Death to America

Black Widow

The Agenda

Retribution

State Sanctioned

Extraordinary Rendition

Red Eagle

The Messenger

The Defector

The Mole

The Arsenal

The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers

Payback

Infidels

The Lazarus Moment

Kill Chain

Forgotten

The Cuban Incident

Rampage

Inside the Wire

Charlie Foxtrot

A Price Too High

The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries

Depraved Difference

Tick Tock

The Redeemer

The Kriminalinspektor Wolfgang Vogel Mysteries

The Colonel’s Wife

Sins of the Child

Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series

The Turned

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

The Novel

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Acknowledgments

Sample of Next Book

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About the Author

Also by the Author

For Bob Barker.

Priceless.

Ten years of reforms; the state is rich, the warriors well-rewarded. The soldiers charge in the face of arrows like thirsty men heading for drink.

Records of the Grand Historian a.k.a Shiji

Circa 91 BC

We have to admit a hard truth.  We must admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want to have a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jinping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get it done.  We must not continue it and we must not return to it.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo

July 23, 2020

PREFACE

The black market for stolen art is massive. It is estimated to be approximately $10 billion per year and growing. This includes stolen paintings and sculptures, looted artifacts from war zones, and items that the academic world has no idea even exist.

Artifacts that have never made it out of private collections.

Over the years, some of these collections have been opened to academics and the public, revealing stunning finds, others have been liberated by law enforcement.

More recently, many countries, once sources of incredible finds now enjoyed by museumgoers the world over, have been demanding the return of what they consider to have been looted.

So, what would happen if one of these private collections was finally opened to the world, and a long-lost artifact few knew existed was returned to a belligerent country with a history of flaunting international law, and that artifact turned out to be a fake?

Mayhem for an innocent archaeology couple.

1 |

Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters

Langley, Virginia

CIA Analyst Supervisor Chris Leroux stood at his station in the heart of the state-of-the-art operations center he was in charge of, his hands clasped behind his head as he stared at the live satellite footage from Cairo. Three of the vehicles they were monitoring broke off their pursuit, suddenly heading west instead of north where their target SUV continued. What the hell are they doing?

His second-in-command, Sonya Tong, peered at her screen. The road they’re now on is four lanes. It’s gonna move a hell of a lot quicker than that two-lane road the professor’s just turned onto.

It looks like the Chinese have a better guide than the professors, said the team’s tech wunderkind Randy Child, spinning in his chair.

Leroux disagreed. I wouldn’t be so sure of that. It’s always easier to pick a more optimal route when you’re in pursuit. He shook his head as the Egyptian police escorting the Chinese security team rapidly overtook the professors just two streets down from them. If they could get far enough ahead, they could cut up and block them. He adjusted his headset. Professor Acton, can you hear me?

Yeah, I’m here.

Your pursuers have broken off and have taken an alternate route. They’re overtaking you to your south. If they get too far ahead, they’ll be able to cut north and block you off.

Acton cursed. We’re going as fast as we can, but this damn street festival has people everywhere. I don’t think we’re gonna be able to get out of this.

If they do catch you, just surrender to them. We’ll work from the diplomatic side to get you free.

That’s assuming the Chinese haven’t already killed us or taken us back to Beijing.

Tong waved her hand and pointed at the map that showed the Egyptians and Chinese had turned north.

Professor, they’re going to have you cut off in less than two minutes. You need to clear the next intersection before they arrive.

Acton relayed the information to the others when someone cursed and gunfire broke out.

Leroux spun toward Tong. What the hell’s going on? Are they under attack?

2 |

Kingdom of Min

466 BC

P repare yourselves!

Zhang Fei’s heart, already pounding fiercely, kicked into an even higher gear at the shout from their commander. This was war. This was a fight for their very survival. If they failed here today, the women, the children, the elderly left behind in the farms and villages they all called home would be slaughtered and worse. The women would be raped, children taken as slaves, the elderly massacred. And once the pillaging was over and their king had surrendered, those that survived would live under the banner of a new leader, a man so feared, every man gathered to oppose him would rather die than fall under his rule.

King Goujian, ruler of the Kingdom of Yue, his position guaranteed by divine right as he possessed the Sword of Leadership, was vicious, brutal. He led with an iron fist and showed no mercy to his enemies, and for reasons unknown, he had set his sights on their tiny kingdom. The man’s thirst for conquest was legendary, and Fei assumed they were a target simply because they were easy prey. Messengers had been sent to surrounding kingdoms calling for help, beseeching the others yet to feel the wrath of Yue to join the fight in the hopes that a united force might oppose the belligerent kingdom.

Yet they wouldn’t arrive in time.

This battle was happening now, and the massive force cresting the ridge had him close to passing out from fear.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him. Breathe! It was his best friend, Shu Bao. Breathe, or you’re going to be of no use to us!

Fei sucked in a deep breath, followed by several more, the focus he had lost quickly regained, once again revealing the horror that lay before him. It wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare. In reality, this would be his last day on Earth. This would be the last day on Earth for all of them. There was no possible way their small ragtag army of peasants and farmers could oppose the professional, well-trained, and experienced troops marching toward them.

Are you all right?

Fei nodded. I am now, thanks. You?

I think I shit my pants a few minutes ago.

Fei took an exaggerated look at his friend’s behind. Well, it doesn’t show. Nothing’s leaking yet.

Bao laughed, slapping his friend on his back. I think what I’m going to miss most is your sense of humor.

I’m going to miss your sister most.

Bao grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, shaking him before letting go and giving him a hug, his eyes filling with tears. Nothing would have thrilled me more than for you to be my brother-in-law. And it breaks my heart to think of what might happen to my sister when we fail here today.

Fei wiped his eyes dry as he pictured his beloved Yuan ravaged by the evil that lay before them. Fei embraced Bao for what would likely be the last time, the two of them inseparable since childhood. They were, in every sense of the word, brothers except for blood, and even there they were somewhat related, pretty much everyone in the area a distant cousin of some sort. They would fight to the death here today in a futile effort to protect those they loved, but the true horror would be saved for those who survived.

And it crushed him.

Look! someone shouted, and everyone spun.

Fei’s heart leaped as he grabbed Bao’s arm, shaking it in disbelief. Please tell me my eyes don’t deceive me.

They don’t, my friend, for if they do, then mine lie as well.

Cheers erupted from their small force and Fei joined in as hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers marching under the banner of the Kingdom of Han hurried to join them. Fei embraced his friend once again, both of them smiling for the first time since they had received word that the forces of Yue were marching on them.

We might yet live to see our families again!

3 |

Lingkana Palace

Thimphu, Bhutan

Present Day, One Day Earlier

E xquisite!

Archaeology Professor James Acton agreed with his wife’s assessment. The sword they were examining was indeed exquisite, but it was also curious. He was privileged to have seen the Sword of Goujian, an ancient Chinese blade believed to have been forged over 2500 years ago. It had been discovered 60 years ago, but it wasn’t the design of it that was of interest, it was the condition.

Several swords of this design had been discovered, and they all shared a single, remarkable trait. All were mostly bronze, and all appeared as if forged recently. There was no rust. The blades weren’t tarnished. All of them after millennia were in near-perfect condition, as was this one, previously unknown to the academic world.

Acton’s wife, Archaeology Professor Laura Palmer, turned to their host, Sonam Choden, the curator of the King of Bhutan’s private collection. Do we know its pedigree?

To a point. Our records, of course, are very sketchy from back then, but the various royal families responsible for this collection over thousands of years took their duty seriously. The records have been copied by each new curator by hand as one of their first duties. It not only introduces us to the entire collection, but it preserves the records from generation to generation. This practice wasn’t begun for at least a thousand years after this particular item was collected. However, much of the initial record was preserved. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell us much. All we know is when it was added to the collection approximately 2500 years ago, and that timing, of course, is interesting.

Acton’s head bobbed. It’s around the time that King Goujian ruled.

You know your history, professor.

Acton shrugged with a smirk. I try.

Well, this you might find interesting. After the new king opened his private collection to the academic world, we’ve been identifying objects that might be of cultural significance to countries that, shall we say, it might be in our best interest to be on the good side of.

Laura smiled as she leaned in closer to the sword. "I think if China knew you had this, you’d be praying you were on their good side. They’d do nothing to stop at getting their hands on this. These swords are a matter of national pride, and they don’t like their antiquities being taken by other countries."

This is true. So, when I realized what this sword actually was, I reconciled the old calendar of our region with the Chinese calendar of the time and discovered something rather remarkable.

This piqued Acton’s interest, and he tore his eyes away from the intricately carved blade. What did you find?

That this sword was gifted to our king, or rather the king of this region at the time, the same year and perhaps even the same month that King Goujian died.

Acton was disappointed. That could just be a coincidence.

It could. However, I’ve since translated this engraving. He pointed at the blade just below the hilt, ten symbols visible as if etched yesterday.

Acton and Laura both leaned in. Ten symbols. Interesting. The Sword of Goujian has eight.

Laura folded her arms and pinched her chin. If I recall, six of the Sword of Goujian’s symbols were translated to mean ‘The King of Yue made this sword for his personal use.’ The other two were thought to be the name of that particular king. Are any of those symbols on this sword?

Yes. The first eight match exactly those on the Sword of Goujian.

Have you translated the other two? asked Acton.

I have.

And what do they mean?

It’s a curse of death for the unworthy.

Acton took an involuntary step back. What do you think it means?

My research suggests that objects from that era were sometimes inscribed with this curse when they were believed to hold mystical powers and were only meant to be wielded by those of royal blood.

So, what you’re saying is it’s like Thor’s hammer?

Laura swatted him. Choden smiled slightly, shaking his head. No. Thor’s hammer, I don’t believe, promised death if the unworthy touched it. This does.

Acton eyed him. Have you touched it?

The man chuckled. On many occasions, and yet here I stand.

Laura patted him on the shoulder. Then you must have royal blood.

Funny you should mention that.

The door opened and a young man entered, saying something in Dzongkha, the official language of Bhutan. Choden gave an abrupt acknowledgment and squared his shoulders as the young man left. He was clearly tense.

Problem? asked Acton.

I hope not. The Chinese delegation has just arrived. I must go greet our guests. He waved an arm around the room at the other artifacts. Please feel free to look around, though I beg of you not to touch anything. He bowed and left the room.

Acton reached out and touched the ancient blade with the tip of his index finger. Laura batted it away. Must you tempt fate?

He gave her a look. Don’t tell me you believe in curses now?

I don’t. But if the Chinese find out you, an unworthy soul, touched their precious sword, they may decide you need to die.

Acton stared at his fingertip, second thoughts as to the wisdom of what he had just done running through his head. Maybe we should leave. I doubt the Chinese would be too happy to know we, of all people, were left alone with a piece of their cultural history.

Laura took his hand and headed for the door. The first wise decision you’ve made all day.

He grinned at her. I think my decision to join you in the shower this morning was a capital idea. She swayed her hips and his grin spread. Don’t get me started, woman. You know I’ll finish it.

She winked at him. I’m counting on it.

4 |

Kingdom of Min

466 BC

Zhang Fei thrust his spear forward, piercing the stomach of his enemy. The man cried out in agony, gripping the flame-hardened wood. Fei yanked it free, stepping over the man as he collapsed, already picking out his next target. They were losing this battle, but it was going far better than any of them had hoped with the arrival of the Han troops. If they could hold out long enough, word had been shared that the Kingdom of Chu had also sent a large contingent and were expected to arrive before nightfall.

The kingdoms were uniting against the belligerent Yue.

Bao fought beside him, so many of their friends already fallen, he had stopped counting. It was too depressing. But every breath he continued to take was one more as a free man, and as long as he remained free, so did his home. All they had to do was hold out long enough and the day could be theirs. He was no longer concerned with saving himself. All that mattered was that the kingdom survived so his beloved Yuan would be safe.

He tried not to think of what that meant, her going on without him. She was beautiful, funny, a hard worker. She would find a mate without any difficulty. He just prayed to the gods that whoever she did end up with loved her as much as he did, and gave her the life she deserved.

He parried a thrust then countered with one of his own, catching his opponent in the shoulder as Bao lunged, finishing the man off.

Bao smacked Fei on the shoulder, pointing ahead with his spear. Do you see that?

What? Fei squinted through the mayhem. You mean the man on the horse?

No, the men surrounding him.

Fei peered ahead, counting eight or nine soldiers on horseback, all surrounding one man who appeared no different than any other, other than the fact he was afforded such protection. What about them?

Look at the emblem on their chest.

Fei couldn’t make it out. I can’t see it. What is it?

It’s the Imperial Guard.

Fei thrust again, Bao joining him, dispatching another of the enemy to the great beyond. So, they’re Imperial Guard. It makes sense that their king would be here so they would be as well.

You don’t understand. The Imperial Guard only protects the king. They don’t fight unless the king is threatened.

Fei was too preoccupied to puzzle out whatever it was his friend had already. A sword swung at him from his left and he ducked, shoving his spear upward and catching the man in his side. He groaned, dropping his sword, and Bao buried the tip of his spear in the fallen enemy’s throat. Just tell me whatever it is you’ve figured out. I don’t have time for games.

If you expect to marry my sister, you’re going to have to be a hell of a lot smarter than you are today.

Fei gave his friend a look. You and I both know your sister’s the smart one.

Clearly. Bao jabbed a finger