The Prize: Unlimited Power

Six adrenalin junkies who call themselves the Daredevils Club hold the fate of the world in their hands. In an ancient undersea cavern, one of them, oil man Frik van Alman, discovers a set of stones that are unlike anything else on Earth. Fitted together, the stones form an object that promises limitless free energy for the world.

After a terrified scientist scatters the pieces, the club members race to retrieve them. Each knows that whoever reassembles the unique device will have unlimited power at his or her fingertips. Can anyone be trusted?

In a thrilling adventure that stretches from deep beneath the Caribbean to the penthouses of Las Vegas, friend battles friend for control of the Artifact.

Review

" Artifact is fun, exotic, and fast. The only part of the ending you'll guess is that it's good. And the characters are as exotic and fascinating as its settings, and the story itself."
--New York Times bestselling author Larry Bond

“A fascinating page-turner with enough spellbinding intrigue to last until the authors’ next tale. Full of action with terrific characters and a fast moving plot.”
--New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler on Artifact

"Artifact is fun, exotic, and fast. The only part of the ending you'll guess is that it's good." (New York Times bestselling author Larry Bond)

"A fascinating page-turner with enough spellbinding intrigue to last . . . Full of action with terrific characters and a fast moving plot." (New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler)

About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has had more than 30 novels on national and international bestseller lists, including the Dune prequels he coauthors with Brian Herbert. He lives in rural Colorado.

Janet Berliner is the Bram Stoker award-winning author of many novels and editor of fine anthologies, including Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn. She lives in Las Vegas.

Matthew J. Costello is the award-winning author of many novels. He is also a bestselling game designer, including the acclaimed Doom 3. He lives north of New York City.

F. Paul Wilson, recognized as a Grand Master at the 2005 World Horror Convention, is the author of many bestselling novels, including the Repairman Jack series. The winner of two Prometheus Awards for Best Libertarian fiction, he lives in New Jersey.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Force like No Other

Paul rotated the assembly back, felt the chill again, and then the bulb flared, sixty watts climbing to one hundred. All the lamps in the room seemed to have doubled their wattage. The overhead fan whined and jittered, sounding as if it was about to take off.

He heard Frik gasp. "What the hell?"

"Check out the Bunsens," Paul said, keeping his eye on the telltale piece.
"They're almost out."

Paul lowered the assembly, and the light dimmed, the Bunsen flames grew.

Frik stared at it. "That's doing it?"

Paul nodded.

"Free energy?" Frik said, still pale. "No such thing as free energy. No such thing as free anything."

"And there's one more thing you should know."

Frik looked at him bleakly. "I don't know if I can handle another revelation right now. But go ahead."

Paul held up the assembly. "I don't think this is all of it. It looks like there's a piece missing."

Deep in a tomblike cavern along the ocean floor lies a secret that has remained hidden from humanity. Until now. . .

An Oilstar drilling rig off the coast of Venezuela in the Dragon's Mouth channel has pierced an underwater cavern and brings to the surface four stones unlike anything on this earth. Frik Van Alman, the tough-as-nails maverick head of Oilstar realizes immediately that they represent an extraordinary opportunity . . .and a terrible danger. His superstitious native crew, already uneasy working in the infamous waterway, refuse to dive in search of a fifth stone, and when Frik's lab chief tests them, the results confirm Frik's hunch: when these four stones are connected they hint at a power source that could revolutionize the world's energy production. And, Frik realizes, such a revolution would put him and all other oil companies out of business.

Before he can plot his next move, his lab chief Paul Trujold, fearing the greed and calculation in Frik's eyes, sends the stones to safer hands. One of the stones lands in the hands of Paul's daughter, Selene Trujold, the leader of an ecological action trying to halt Frik's drilling and the damage it's causing to the Caribbean ecology.

Frik and Trujold meet in the lab after Paul has sent away the stones, and an accident badly burns them both, killing Paul before Frik can find out what he's done with the find. Desperate to reclaim the stones and determined to find the fifth piece of the puzzle, Frik enlists the aid of the Daredevils Club, a select few risk-taking thrill seekers of whom Frik is one, who meet every New Year's Eve to compare bold new stories of the past year's exploits. Their members are a disparate bunch, including a doctor, Arthur Marryshow, whose greatest risk is healing those who risk their lives in political hotspots; Ray Arno, a stuntman turned demolitions expert; Simon Brousseau, an expert deep-sea diver; and Joshua Keene and Terris McKendry, a bickering best-buddies tandem experienced in undercover operations requiring strength, expertise with weapons, and nerves of steel.

At the next New Year's Eve meeting, Frik proposes a mission: collect all five stones and return them to him. Along with the rest of the daredevils is Peta Whyte, Marryshow's protegé, not officially a member, but more than qualified by her role in planning and effecting Arthur's escape from prison on her native Grenada sixteen years before, when she was but sixteen. She attends in Arthur's place, for he's been killed, victim of a terrorist bombing just blocks from their Times Square rendezvous.

The Daredevils embark on an adventure that takes them along the coast of Venezuela, from stealth jungle raids to deep-sea dives, from the haunts of Latin American power brokers to the camp of eco-terrorists. A fast-paced, thrill-a-minute hunt challenges the loyalties of the daredevils, as they become pawns in a deadly game of deceit and betrayal. After all the adrenaline rushes and spilt blood, the remaining members of the Daredevils Club gather once again on the following New Year's Eve, this time in Las Vegas, for one final confrontation, as Frik slips the five stones into place. . . as the unthinkable is created.