The Alchemist’s Secret

The Alchemist’s Secret
Scott Mariani

FROM THE INCREDIBLE #1 BESTSELLERBEN HOPE LIVES ON THE EDGE.A former élite member of the SAS, Ben is tortured by a tragedy from his past and now devotes his life to finding kidnapped children.When Ben is recruited to locate an ancient manuscript which could save a dying child, he embarks on the deadliest quest of his life.The document is alleged to contain the formula for the elixir of life, discovered by the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli decades before. But it soon becomes apparent that others are hunting this most precious of treasures - for far more evil ends.When the secrets of alchemy hidden within the pages remain impenetrable, Ben teams up with beautiful American scientist Dr Roberta Ryder to crack the code.It seems that everyone - from the Nazis during WW2 and powerful Catholic organisation Gladius Domini - wants to unearth the secrets of immortality.The trail leads Ben and Roberta from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc, where an astonishing secret has lain hidden for centuries…BEN HOPE is one of the most celebrated action adventure heroes ever and SCOTT MARIANI is one of the most successful home grown thriller writers of all time. Join the MILLIONS of readers who get breathless with anticipation when the countdown to the new Ben Hope thriller begins …

SCOTT MARIANI

The Alchemist’s Secret

Copyright (#uc71a4cde-6363-5445-aae4-d754f1febb46)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Avon

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

This ebook edition published by HarperCollins Publishers 2016

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers, 2008

Copyright © Scott Mariani 2008

Cover design © Henry Steadman 2016

Scott Mariani asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9781847560797

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007331475

Version: 2018-06-22

Dedication (#ulink_96166835-25e1-5ba5-b246-6d4e654f5216)

To Marco, Miriam and Luca

‘Seek, my Brother, without becoming discouraged;the task is hard, I know, but to conquer withoutdanger is to triumph without glory.’

The Alchemist Fulcanelli

Contents

Cover (#ucff242d0-331e-57fa-9561-015ec1c08445)

Title Page (#u509e61fc-ac60-59ab-915a-5c638c51b093)

Copyright (#ulink_df524b84-cc58-5dc1-83ed-a2456a69ece5)

Dedication (#ulink_47453a0a-73dc-574f-8529-81addd6659e9)

Epigraph

Chapter One (#ulink_45e20dc4-ec32-5c19-aa94-37e857c2ab20)

Chapter Two (#ulink_d625230a-43df-5515-bd68-fe980a79a10f)

Chapter Three (#ulink_94403e96-25ef-5235-a669-89b9d7dcbeb8)

Chapter Four (#ulink_5e8d621c-7026-5091-83bb-2905dfa670ac)

Chapter Five (#ulink_a6ad5234-5c09-5a07-ad39-868dd5bcbdf3)

Chapter Six (#ulink_1989a7d3-89ff-5f2c-b20d-41a2bd2cd11a)

Chapter Seven (#ulink_421ebdae-8011-58b9-91a3-1401d74fdfa8)

Chapter Eight (#ulink_a7d2a04f-a015-532c-954d-41db655d96d5)

Chapter Nine (#ulink_6a908980-ee0e-5088-a18c-1c9d87e7f800)

Chapter Ten (#ulink_6e16f62a-1668-5d88-ab8d-0b5b709c19f3)

Chapter Eleven (#ulink_c6609135-103c-5e23-9bb6-a913dab937d5)

Chapter Twelve (#ulink_d54a2c47-6576-5be2-9b6d-d170fb70c14e)

Chapter Thirteen (#ulink_dd303828-db6e-5bc6-8dc2-40d5ccf7d087)

Chapter Fourteen (#ulink_3d7c68d8-d1de-53df-b2cb-4a1d0547c2a5)

Chapter Fifteen (#ulink_35a8695b-79cd-5de4-8a10-c21a016b9618)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirty (#litres_trial_promo)