Read The Curse of the Dragon God Online
Authors: Geoffrey Knight
Tags: #Mystery, #Suspense, #Adventure, #Gay
The Curse of the Dragon God (5 page)
“Blazing a flaming trail behind him, Fucanglong burst from the mountains in a terrible explosion of fire and smoke to claim the diamond, to protect it forever. For three days the dragon god and the witch were locked in a fierce battle, one that leveled mountains and destroyed cities, until eventually the witch sliced out one of Fucanglong’s eyes. But when she raised her dagger to finish him off, the dragon god seized the diamond from her and turned the young man’s bejeweled heart into a glittering stone eye for himself, so that he could see his enemy with clarity and purity. Fucanglong dealt the witch one last fatal blow with his mighty tail, but before she died, she looked into the diamond eye of the dragon god and said, ‘He who looks into your eye shall be cursed forever.’”
“Cursed with what?” Jake asked, his own heart turning to stone upon once again hearing that word.
“Cursed to always want…but never to have.”
Sen walked over to a wall of the boardroom and pressed a button. The entire wall began to slide away, revealing a two-way mirror overlooking the party below. Concealed behind the glass, Sen and the Professor’s boys watched on as hundreds of immaculately dressed men and exquisitely adorned women milled about on the floor below them, taking delicate sips of their champagne, staring with admiring eyes not at the stunning views over San Francisco through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but at the dozens upon dozens of glittering displays around them—a fortune in dazzling diamonds encased in glass.
In the center of the room, the majority of the partygoers had gathered, positioning themselves around a large, ceilinghigh display case concealed by black curtains. They knew what was behind it. The rumors had already circulated and the excitement was building, and even though none of them could see it yet, it seemed that Sen’s guests were already entranced by the spell of the Eye of Fucanglong.
Sen continued, “And so the curse began, fifteen hundred years ago. For centuries, blood has been spilled, men have died, feudal empires have waged war and destroyed each other, all because of the diamond. In 1936, my grandfather had made enough money with his mining company to purchase the diamond at an auction in Shanghai. He never once looked at it. He simply locked it away for fear of what it might do to him. He felt it was his duty to keep it safe from the world…and the world safe from it.”
“So why bring it out now?” Jake asked matter-of-factly. “If you’re worried about it, if your grandfather was so concerned about the curse, if so many people died, why tempt fate?”
Sen smiled sweetly, fondly. “My grandfather was a very superstitious man. I, on the other hand, am a businessman, one who appreciates traditional Chinese values without the hocus-pocus, and someone who appreciates true beauty. I’m not saying the curse is real or not, but I don’t believe in keeping something so beautiful, so exquisite, from the rest of the world. What was it Keats wrote?”
Jake surprised everyone by answering first. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
The Professor smiled. “You’re a curiosity, Jake Stone.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
At that moment, the door to the boardroom opened, and a handsome young Chinese man in his early twenties stuck his head in the door, sized up the room, then said, apologetically, “Oh, Uncle, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had guests.”
“It’s all right, Bradley. Gentlemen, this is my nephew, Bradley Zhang. He prefers a western interpretation of his name, and he’s no doubt here to tell me I’m running behind schedule.”
“Just doing my job, Uncle,” Bradley said with a smile.
Sen smiled back appreciatively. “Bradley looks after me, and he shares the number two position in the corporation alongside a prominent Harvard Business graduate, Chad Chambers, whom you’ll no doubt meet as soon as we’re done here. Bradley himself went to Yale. His pipe dream of becoming an Olympic ice skater took some time to snuff out, but eventually he saw the light—or should I say, the glimmer of diamonds.” Sen turned to Bradley and gave him a polite, yet authoritative, nod. “We’ll be finished here in a minute…if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, Uncle,” Bradley said, bowing courteously and closing the door behind him.
The moment he was gone, Sen turned to the others in the room. “As you can see, the future of this company is in very good hands. The only question remaining is whose hands I shall leave it in—Mr. Chambers or my nephew? Who has the fortitude to ensure that this company grows from strength to strength toward a bright shining future? That’s assuming this company actually has a future. If these thefts continue…” Sen sighed before finishing his thought, then changed the subject altogether. “What is the time, by the way?”
Will, Jake, and Eden all checked their watches and began pressing buttons and turning dials. The Professor immediately sensed Sen’s curiosity in the boys’ fidgeting.
“Forgive them, Sen. Their watches are primarily used for global navigation. I have a tracking device inside me. It’s a long story, but one that’s come in handy on a number of occasions.” The Professor patted his stomach. “Thanks to what’s in here, my men can find me anywhere in the world.”
“What an amazing world we live in,” Sen marveled. “When I was a child, my mother would find me by ringing a bell.” There was a hint of sadness and loss in his voice.
The Professor rested his hand lightly on his old friend’s shoulder. “Everything’s going to be all right, Sen. We’ll find the people who are doing this, and we’ll stop them before they can do any harm to you or anybody else.”
There was a knock at the door then, and Shane briskly entered. He carried two manila folders in his hand. “I’ve got it,” he said.
“Ah, Shane. May I introduce Zhang Sen.” The two men shook hands as the Professor added, “Sen, I hope you don’t mind. I asked Shane to gather some information on your guests.”
“Your CI2, Chad Chambers, was extremely helpful,” Shane said.
“We’re all anxious to see this matter resolved,” Sen replied, nodding.
Shane placed the two manila folders on the table and opened one of them. “This is the guest list. Five hundred and eighty VIPs, dignitaries, politicians, business tycoons—”
“You make them sound like such a boring lot,” Sen joked uneasily. “These people are supposed to be my friends, my business partners. How could any of them want to steal from me?”
“Is there anyone on the list who hasn’t shown?” the Professor asked.
Shane flicked through the pages. “Everyone’s here and accounted for.”
Sen nodded with grace and humility. “My parties are indeed popular. I like to think I have a rather outstanding reputation as a host, but in all sincerity, I think it’s the lure of the diamonds. Nobody can resist being surrounded by them.”
“Wait a minute,” Shane interjected. “A guy named Richard Conrad hasn’t shown up yet.”
“I don’t expect he will,” Sen said. “He’s currently working on a project in Dubai.”
Jake rattled his brain. “I’ve heard of him. Richard Conrad, the British construction guy…”
Sen nodded once more. “Conrad Constructions, yes, that’s him. He’s only twenty-eight and already a self-made billionaire. He’s very, how do you say it…hands on. He’s also brash, but a smart young man and a trusted colleague nonetheless. He owns half the cranes in China and the Middle East, with more development sites on the way. We’ve been talking recently about future plans together. Plans I hope to unveil tonight. It’s a shame he couldn’t be here, but formalities bore him. He’s more the adventurous type.” Sen smiled. “But I’ve let the time run away from me again and duty calls. Gentlemen, shall we join the other guests?”
Jake led the way out of the room—almost like a bodyguard—followed by Sen, the Professor, Will, and Shane. Eden was the last to leave. He began to close the door to the boardroom behind him, then something stopped him. He turned and noticed the second folder still lying on the table, unopened. He backtracked into the boardroom, leaving the others to descend a wide swirling staircase from the mezzanine level to the party below.
Shane assisted the Professor down the stairs while Jake helped Sen.
At the foot of the stairs they were met by a dashing man in his late twenties. He was well built and fit perfectly into his expensive tuxedo. His short black hair was groomed with great care and precision, and his smooth white smile seemed to pick up the glint of every diamond in the room. “Sen, you’re late. Lucky for you, being late is back in fashion, and your diamonds, well, they were never out of fashion to begin with.”
Sen smiled back. “Gentlemen, please say hello to Chad Chambers, one of the brightest, most brutal businessmen I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.”
“I’m only brutal to be kind to the company,” Chad justified with a raised finger before shaking the Professor’s hand and introducing himself to Jake, Shane, and Will.
“Kind to the company? Or kind to your career?” Sen remarked jokingly.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little ambition,” Chad replied with a smirk.
“Absolutely not,” Sen agreed. To the others he said, “Chad’s a very goal-driven individual.”
“Goal being the operative word,” Chad happily explained. “My philosophy on achieving anything is simple. Determine your goal first, then work through the steps backward to reach that goal. Now gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us. The main event is about to commence.”
With a confident strut, Chad disappeared into the crowd, leading Sen toward the large veiled display in the center of the room.
Shane turned to the Professor, Jake, and Will. “If there’s any trouble going down I suggest we split up.”
“Where’s Eden?” Jake asked.
Will looked around. “He must be back in the boardroom. I’ll get him.”
He crossed the floor, weaving his way past socialites and celebrities, until he reached the foot of the stairs leading back up to the mezzanine. He hurried up the first two steps before someone snagged his arm from behind. He spun around to see the concerned face of Bradley Zhang.
“I need to talk to you,” he said. Without waiting for a reply he grabbed Will by the wrist and quickly whisked him through the crowd, leading him to an out-of-the-way spot under the staircase.
Moving through the crowd, Sen received kisses and handshakes until he and Chad arrived at the black curtains of the hidden display. A suave smile fixed itself upon Chad’s lips as he took a diamond-encrusted pen from his pocket and a champagne flute from a passing waiter and tapped pen to glass. “Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention.” Heads turned, as the guests quieted and gathered around them. “May I present your host, owner of the Zhang Diamond Corporation, Mr. Zhang Sen.”
Applause filled the room.
Upstairs in the boardroom, Eden opened the second folder. It was a list of company employees. Slowly his finger slid down the page, his eyes scanning over each individual name, first printed in Chinese, then in English. He wasn’t at all sure what he was looking for—until he saw it.
Downstairs, Jake discreetly made his way through the applauding guests, looking from face to face, searching for a suspicious sideways glance or a bead of anxious sweat on someone’s brow. Shane stayed close to the Professor, watching as a small, beautiful Chinese woman in a slender red dress walked to the front of the crowd, straight up to Chad, and slipped her arm in his. Her red lips, a dazzling match to her dress, curled into a seductive smile as she whispered something in Chad’s ear.
Standing before the veiled display case, Sen bowed modestly to the applause. “Thank you all for the warm reception, and thank you for coming. Some people say that the Zhang Diamond Corporation’s expansion into the United States is all about money—”
“Did you see the price tag on my wife’s necklace?” heckled one Southern gentleman good-naturedly.
The other partygoers shared the joke, but laughed even harder when the charming Chad piped up, “You bought your beautiful wife a necklace with a price tag? Darling, your husband’s a cheapskate!”
Beneath the mezzanine stairs, Will’s brow creased with unease. “You need to talk? About what?”
“I think this is deeper than just the stolen diamonds,” Bradley whispered fearfully.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure. All I know is, I’m on the outside. But whatever’s happening
is
on the inside. I think something terrible is going to happen. Something that will change
everything
. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
is
on the inside. I think something terrible is going to happen. Something that will change
everything
. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
Upstairs in the boardroom, Eden grabbed the piece of paper from the folder and ran to the two-way window overlooking the party, frantically scanning the crowd.
“As I was saying,” Sen said, “some may believe that the Zhang Diamond Corporation’s expansion to American shores is all about money. I believe it’s about common goals. Common dreams. And unlimited potential. I promise to surpass all other diamond-producing nations, to shun the corruption of others, and build a brand-new world industry based on smart business, fair trade, equal rights for all, and the most beautiful product in the world. And to make sure there is a guardian of that promise, I’m proud to announce tonight that my dragon—the very symbol of my family’s hard work and success—has found a new home. And although my empire’s protector is himself protected behind three inches of bulletproof glass, it is with great pleasure that I announce that his new home is here, in San Francisco’s Zhang Diamond Tower. A new dawn has arrived!”
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