The Sword Series
by Andre Norton
Sword is Drawn, The ~ 1944;
The House of Norreys - those merchants of gems for over 300 years - faces its greatest crisis ever - the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The old Jonkheer lay dying in his bed when he called his grandson to be with him in the last hours of his life, and at this time young Loren van Norreys is entrusted with the future of Norreys. That future lies in the legendary Flower of Orange, a priceless baroque necklace that the Nazi scavengers burn to possess. It is up to Lorens to save the necklace and the House of Norreys. With the first encounter with the Nazi invaders, Lorens faces his challenge as THE SWORD IS DRAWN.
V--E Day and V-J Day are in the past, but the war is not over. Not for Lorens van Norreys, the new master of the House of Norreys, not as long Nazi criminals are still at large. And not for Lawrence Kane and Sam Marusaki, two former OSS men, not as long as there are Americans still missing in action. The Three of them quickly become entangled in a mystery - Norreys as he searches for a lost treasure and Lawrence and Marusaki as they search for a lost American flyer. Together they face cutthroat pirates in the thousand islands of Indonesia, then they battle an unknown foe on an island known as the Forbidden Place, an uncharted landfill mentioned only in legends and from which, it it said, not one has ever returned alive.
The House of Norreys has moved to America, and although the players have changed, the game is the same: gems, espionage, and adventure. Young Quinn Anders turns to Lorens van Norreys for help in finding out who killed his brother and why his brother was killed? What did the legendary Bishop's Menie have to do with his brother's death? Who had the remaining 12 statues in the set of 13 medieval knights and their leader, the Bishop-Prince Odacar? With Norreys aid but not his blessing, Anders sets out for the Netherlands on his quest for justice, and from the moment he land at the airport, he finds himself AT SWORDS' POINT.
Lorens van Norreys joins one Peter Lord on a quest to Mayapan in search of information about the death of Peter's brother and Emeralds of course. ~ This is an unfinished work by Andre that has been saved from the waste bin.
