Read The Bones Of Odin (Matt Drake 1) for Free Online

biggest interest is the Viking longboat, one of the finest ever discovered, and its renowned notoriety.”
    “Meaning?” Kennedy paused at the top of the steps, a reed against the storm as many pairs of feet tramped around her.
    “The anomaly presented by its age. It predates Viking history.”
    “Well, that’s interesting.”
    “I know. It’s displayed on the lower ground floor of the Denon Wing, near some Egyptian . . . C optic . . . Ptolemaic . . . bollocks . .  .bollocks . . . whatever. It’s this way.”
    The wide, polished corridors gleamed all around them as they merged with the throng. Locals and tourists of all ages filled the grand old space and brought it to life during the day. One could only guess as to its tomb-like, eerie nature through the night.
    At that moment there was a thunderous boom, like a concrete wall collapsing. They all paused. Drake turned to Ben.
    “Wait here, Ben. Give us half an hour. We’ll find you.” He paused, then added, “If they evacuate, then wait as close to the glass pyramid as you can.”
    He didn’t wait for an answer. Ben was fully aware of the danger. Drake watched him shake his mobile free and hit a speed-dial number. That’d be Mum or Dad or sis. He motioned to Kennedy, and they proceeded carefully down the spiral staircase towards the lower ground floor. As they started towards the room that housed the Viking exhibition, people were starting to rush out. A thick cloud billowed behind them.
    “Run!” A guy who looked like a Hollister model shouted. “There’s dudes with guns in there!”
    Drake stopped at the door and risked a look inside. Total chaos greeted him. A scene from a Michael Bay action movie, only weirder. He counted eight guys in camouflage gear, with face-masks and machine-guns, clambering into the biggest Viking longboat he’d ever seen. Behind them, in an act of unbelievable recklessness, a smoking hole had been blasted through the side of the museum.
    These guys were crazy. What gave them their edge was that they possessed the shocking directness of fanaticism. Blowing entrances into buildings and firing rockets into crowds seemed to be their norm. No wonder they’d chased Ben and him around Paris earlier. Car chases were probably just their wind-down-before-bed activity.
    Kennedy put a hand on his shoulder and peered around him. “Jeez.”
    “Proves we’re on the right track. Now we just need to get close to their Commander.”
    “I ain’t getting close to any of those wankers. ” She swore with a surprisingly good English accent.
    “Cute. But I gotta find a way to get us off their shit list.”
    Drake noticed more civilians running towards the exit. The Germans weren’t even watching them, just confidently executing their plan.
    “Come on.” Drake slipped around the door frame into the room. They used the perimeter exhibits for cover and padded their way as close to proceedings as was safe.
    “Beeile dich!” someone shouted urgently.
    “Something about a ‘hurry’. Drake said. “Bloody bastards will have to be quick. The Louvre must be high on the French response list.”
    One of the Germans shouted something else, and held up a slab of stone the size of a dinner tray. It looked heavy. The soldier was beckoning two others to help unload it from the longboat.
    “Clearly not SAS,” Drake commented.
    “Or American,” Kennedy noted. “I used to have a Marine boyfriend who could’ve tucked that trinket under his foreskin.”
    Drake choked a little. “Nice image. Thanks for contributing. Look.” He nodded towards the gap in the wall where a masked man dressed all in white had just appeared.
    “Same guy who robbed the Shield in York. Probably.”
    The man briefly examined the sculpture, then nodded in approval and turned to his Commander. “Time to . . ..”
    Gunfire erupted outside. The Germans froze for a second, seemingly to stare at each other in confusion. Then bullets ripped through the room and everyone dived for