‘Beasts?’ asked Hammerstein, glancing round the room and fingering his holstered gun as if expecting some animal to jump out. Chase, watching through a small gap in the pile of rubble, tensed.
‘That’s the closest translation. Although I can’t imagine what kind of beasts would be terrorising them in Australia. Giant wombats, perhaps!’ He laughed, then looked back at the wall. ‘But these beasts, whatever they were, were dangerous enough to drive them out of this settlement. They sailed for many days, probably weeks, to . . . to “the land of wind and sand”.’ They all exchanged puzzled looks.
‘Are you sure that’s what it says?’ the white-haired man demanded.
‘Yes, I’m positive,’ said Ribbsley testily. He jabbed a finger at the inscription, Nina just able to see him indicate particular symbols from her awkward position. ‘Wind, sand, land. Absolutely unmistakable.’
Zamal scratched his beard thoughtfully. ‘Wind and sand. A desert.’
‘But that could be anywhere,’ Vogler said. ‘A journey of weeks by sea could have taken them to Asia, Arabia, even Africa.’
‘Let’s hope the rest of the text is more enlightening.’ Ribbsley read on. ‘They built a new home, a “great city” in a valley near the sea with “tiny mountains of fire” - well, that’s the symbol for a volcano, although I don’t know how one could be tiny.’ He scanned through several more lines. ‘I think you will definitely find this part fascinating. It says they lived in peace in their city for many years - until their god drove them out.’
‘Their god?’ asked Hammerstein.
‘It’s actually a concatenation of several words and symbols - literally, it reads “the one great tree”. I misunderstood the context in the title, but there’s nothing else it can mean here. A supreme being, one that punished them for . . . “giving the gift of God to the beasts”.’
As Ribbsley had expected, that aroused considerable interest in the other men. ‘What gift?’ said Zamal.
Ribbsley gave him a patronising sigh. ‘Perhaps if you’d let me finish, I might be able to tell you. Now, it says their god punished them by “taking the sea”, which I assume means a fall in sea level, so we should be able to match the date to the onset of an ice age, and sending wind and sand to kill the trees . . . and they had to leave the city before the wind and sand killed them too.’ A pause as he checked his laptop. ‘They tried to . . . “preserve”, I suppose, to preserve the city by closing . . . no, “sealing” the valley so the river would grow and be covered by . . . oh, what a surprise. Wind and sand. I must say, they did have the most banal and repetitive prose style.’
‘It sounds like they flooded their city,’ Hammerstein suggested. ‘Blocking a valley to make the river grow - they built a dam. What else does it say?’
‘It seems,’ said Ribbsley, ‘that after they left their city, they came back here. But not everyone made it - they lost a lot of people, and also . . . oh, Mr Zamal, I think you’ll appreciate this part. It says that during the voyage, they lost many of “the voices of the prophets”.’
The Arab looked stung. ‘Prophets?’
‘That’s what it says. Well, well. They have something in common with Islam after all!’
‘Blasphemy,’ growled Zamal. ‘They may have called them prophets, but they were not the servants of Allah.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Ribbsley, clearly amused at having found a way to rile him. ‘But it’s still an intriguing thought, isn’t it?’ He turned back to the text. ‘Once they made it back here, the beasts soon attacked. They tried to, ah . . . something about a “safe wall” - oh, of course. They tried to fortify the settlement. But there were too many of the beasts, so they . . . hmm. Interesting.’
‘What happened to them?’ Vogler asked. ‘Does it say where they went next?’
‘Wherever they meant to go, I don’t think they got very far.’ He raised his free hand, turning and sweeping it theatrically around the chamber. Nina squashed herself harder against the rubble, the pain increasing. ‘This seems to be where they made their last stand. The chamber is associated with something called “the tree of the gift” - apparently they couldn’t take it with them, so they buried it and left a message in the hope that their people might find it again in the future.’
Hammerstein pointed at the text. ‘Is that the message?’
‘So it seems. But there’s certainly no tree in here. As for what happened to the Veteres . . . well, that’s where the story ends. They never came back, so either they settled elsewhere - or were all killed trying to escape these beasts.’
‘But we know there definitely is another settlement,’ said Vogler. ‘Their city. If we can locate it, we can destroy it.’
‘After I’ve the chance to explore it,’ Ribbsley said, closing his laptop. ‘That was our deal. I may not be able to share it with the world, but at least I’ll have discovered something nobody else has ever seen. Not even Nina Wilde.’
Nina’s heart almost stopped at the unexpected mention of her name. She was terrified that Ribbsley had spotted her, but then he continued: ‘Of course, we have to find it first, which means working out exactly where this “land of wind and sand” is.’ A pause, then a camera flash lit the room, followed by another as Ribbsley photographed sections of the inscription. Behind him, Vogler and Hammerstein traded suggestions as to the location.
Chase, meanwhile, overheard another conversation as Zamal and the American, standing near the hole in the wall, conversed in low voices. ‘Once he learns where the city is,’ said Zamal, ‘his job will be done. And then . . . you can kill his woman.’
‘That’ll make my boss very happy,’ the white-haired man replied.
‘And you too?’
‘I wouldn’t say happy. But there’ll be some . . . job satisfaction.’
Zamal smirked, then looked round as Ribbsley finished taking his photographs. ‘That should be enough to work from for now,’ the professor announced. ‘But now, gentlemen, perhaps I could finally be allowed to have some supper?’
‘I have no objections,’ said Vogler. ‘And I don’t think the Triumvirate needs to call a vote.’ Hammerstein shook his head, while Zamal merely shrugged.
‘Excellent. Then if you don’t mind, I’ll go and find out what Fortnum & Mason have in store for me tonight.’ The laptop under his arm, Ribbsley crossed the chamber and climbed out through the hole. The others followed him.
Nina waited as long as she could bear, then jumped up, flapping at the object embedded in her backside. ‘My ass, my ass!’ she hissed through gritted teeth as she hopped about in pain. ‘There’s something stuck in my ass!’
‘Ah, you never want to try new things,’ Chase whispered jovially as he glanced through the hole to make sure the men had left, then came over.
‘Get it out, get the damn thing out!’ She let out a keening moan. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a needle.’ He reached for it. ‘Hold still, let me just . . .’
She stifled a shriek as he tugged it out, her eyes flooding with tears. ‘Oh, ow, son of a fuck, oww!’
‘It’s a big one,’ said Chase, holding up the bloodied needle, a good four inches long, to show her.
‘And it’s been in here for thousands of years! I’ve probably caught some extinct disease off it.’
He patted her arm. ‘I’ll give you a jab when we get back to the Landie. But we need to go - I heard them say that as soon as Del Monte finds this city, they’re going to kill his girlfriend. We’ve got to rescue her.’
‘How? He’ll be with her by now!’
‘I’ll come up with something.’ He moved back to the hole. Nina started to follow, then picked up the two clay cylinders that Ribbsley had examined. ‘What’re you doing?’ Chase asked impatiently.
‘Ribbsley translated the text on them.’
‘So?’
‘So, it’ll give me something to work from - I’ve got to try to translate the rest of the inscription before he does!’ She dropped both cylinders into a pocket and joined him. Nobody
was outside, the way clear.
They retraced their path through the camp. The two mechanics had joined the other men in their evening meal - and so, Chase saw as they climbed cautiously from the trench, had the three Covenant leaders, the white-haired man . . . and Ribbsley. ‘Come on, hurry up,’ he said as they reached the parked vehicles. ‘We can grab his girlfriend and make a run for it before he gets back.’
Nina still wasn’t convinced of the wisdom of the rescue mission, but said nothing. They reached the Winnebago, which had lights on inside it. Chase tried to peek through a window, but the curtains were drawn. ‘Okay, wait here,’ he told Nina. ‘I’ll go in and get her. If anyone looks like they’re coming this way, knock on the door.’
‘And then what?’
‘One step at a time. Back in a tick.’ He opened the side door and darted inside.
The Winnebago’s interior was large enough to be divided into individual rooms. Chase found himself in a well-appointed lounge, an expensive hamper open on a table. There was a wine-bottle-sized space amongst the contents, so he guessed Ribbsley had gone to get a corkscrew, or ice.
Which meant he would be back very soon.
Nobody was in the front of the RV, and he could see that the bathroom was unoccupied, which left another door at the rear of the lounge - the bedroom. He went to it, turned the handle, stepped inside—
And froze in shock.
The blonde woman on the bed stared back at him in equal surprise, but recovered more quickly. ‘Hello, Eddie,’ said Sophia Blackwood.
15
‘Sophia,’ said Chase, ‘what the fuck are you doing here?’ ‘I might ask you the same,’ she replied, her near-flawless face - its only imperfection a scar across one cheek, courtesy of Nina - and aristocratic voice exactly as he remembered them, despite the very different hairstyle. ‘Although rather less coarsely.’
‘No, I mean what are you doing here, still breathing?’
‘It’s a long story.’ She changed position, revealing that her hands were still cuffed behind her back - and attached to a short chain fixed to the bed. ‘I’d tell it to you, but I’m not exactly sitting comfortably.’
‘Didn’t know you were into bondage.’
Sophia gave him a once very familiar look of annoyance. ‘It’s hardly by choice. My, ah, associates have this funny idea that given half a chance, I’d try to escape.’
‘Or kill them.’
‘That would be the other half of the chance.’ She rattled the chain. ‘I assume you came in here looking for someone to rescue. Don’t stop on my account.’
Chase laughed mockingly to cover the whirling confusion of his feelings. ‘Yeah, right. Last time I saw you, you shot me with a poison dart!’
‘Yes, I thought you might bring that up. Would it help if I said I was really very sorry?’
A noise - Nina rapping on the door. ‘Shit! Someone’s coming.’
Sophia rattled the chain again, now with a calculating smile. ‘It’d be terrible if I shouted to the entire camp that you were here.’
‘I could just kill you.’
‘Cold-blooded murder of a defenceless woman? Not really your style.’
Now it was his turn to smile, icily. ‘I’ve got a piece of paper that says you’re already dead. I’d just be making it official.’
Another knock, more frantic, then the Winnebago’s door opened and Nina rushed inside. ‘Eddie, what’re you doing?’ she said, seeing him in the bedroom and hurrying over. ‘Ribbsley’s—Gah!’
‘Nina as well?’ said Sophia, arching an eyebrow. ‘Quite the reunion we’ve got going on.’
‘You told me she was dead!’ Nina spluttered to Chase.
‘Yeah, looks like they were a bit quick with the death certificate. Where’s Ribbsley?’
‘On his way back!’ She tugged at his arm. ‘Come on, we’ve got to go!’
Sophia shook the chain once more. ‘A-hem.’
Nina stared at her. ‘Are you kidding me?’
‘If you don’t, I’ll raise the alarm.’
‘Too late now anyway,’ said Chase, hearing movement outside. He pulled Nina into the bedroom and shut the door. A moment later, they felt the Winnebago shift on its suspension as someone entered the lounge.
‘Oh, Sophia,’ called Ribbsley in a sing-song voice, ‘I’m ba-ack! Sorry about the wait, but I needed to get some more ice. Still, pleasures are greatest in the anticipation, as the saying goes.’ He opened the bedroom door—
Chase yanked him inside. The ice bucket he was carrying fell to the floor, ice cubes scattering as the champagne bottle in it bounced across the room. Chase drew back his other fist to punch him.
‘Don’t hurt him!’ Sophia ordered, concern in her voice. Chase gave her a surprised look, but lowered his hand.
Ribbsley stared at Chase in fear, then saw Nina behind him. His eyes widened. ‘Dr Wilde?’
Nina stepped round Chase - and punched Ribbsley square in the face. ‘That was for telling the Covenant about the photos of the tablet, you son of a bitch! A friend of mine almost died because of you.’ She moved back, eyeing Sophia. ‘Okay, now will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here? Starting with why you’re still alive?’
‘I have Gabriel to thank for that,’ Sophia said, looking at Ribbsley as he clutched his nose. ‘The Covenant needed him to translate the text and lead the expedition to find this place. He had a condition - for me to be freed from Guantánamo. Since the Covenant have influence over certain people in high places, they were able to arrange it.’ She glanced at Chase. ‘How exactly did they do it?’
‘They showed me a body with half its face missing and said it was you,’ he said grimly. ‘They must have found someone who looked a lot like you - then killed her to take your place.’
‘Really? She must have been a very good likeness if she was able to fool you.’ Sophia’s expression revealed nothing more than mild interest at the revelation.
Nina was more emotional. ‘You don’t care that some innocent woman was murdered to get you out of jail? No, of course you don’t. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.’
‘Except him, apparently,’ Chase said, pushing Ribbsley into a corner. ‘Why’s he so special, Sophia?’
‘Why do you think, Eddie?’ Sophia asked. ‘He loves me. He has done for years, ever since I was his student at Cambridge.’
‘Eddie?’ said Ribbsley, regarding Chase with a look now less of fear than of distaste. ‘Eddie Chase?’
Chase grinned at him and nodded. ‘’Ow do?’
‘This?’ Ribbsley cried, his Rhodesian accent growing stronger as he became more agitated. ‘This is the man you left me to marry? This, this . . . thug?’
‘Prefer “yob” myself,’ said Chase mildly.
Ribbsley ignored him. ‘I cannot believe this, Sophia! What on earth could you possibly have seen in him? He’s just some crude, uneducated, loutish . . . Neanderthal!’
‘Hey!’ Nina snapped. ‘You’re talking about my fiancé, asshole!’
He sneered at her. ‘Ah, that famous New York charm. That explains what you see in him, I suppose. You’re about on a par in terms of class.’
‘Oh, do be quiet, Gabriel,’ Sophia chided. He looked stung. ‘Nina, I assume you’re here looking for the same thing as Gabriel and the Covenant - the lost civilisation of the Veteres.’ She sighed. ‘Such a pretentious name. But the thing is, Gabriel has a rather considerable advantage. He knows their language, and you don’t. But if you free me . . . I can give you a way to negate that advantage instantly. Because I know it too.’
‘Sophia!’ said Ribbsley, horrified. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Sorry, darling, but I need to put my best interests first.’ She looked back at Nina and Chase. ‘There’s another reason why I’d prefer you to find it before the Covenant. The moment Gabriel’s job is done . . . they’ll kill me.’
‘She’s right,’ said Chase. ‘I heard that white-haired bloke talking about it.’
‘
Wouldn’t that be a shame,’ Nina muttered.
‘They won’t,’ said Ribbsley, pushing out his chest. ‘I won’t let them.’
Sophia sighed. ‘For God’s sake, Gabriel. Are you really that full of yourself ? If it ever got out that I’d been spirited from Guantánamo and was still alive, it would spark the biggest witch-hunt in American history. And you know where it would end.’ She gave him a meaningful look. ‘So once you find what the Covenant are looking for, Callum will kill me.’
‘Callum!’ Nina exclaimed, the memory finally coming to her. ‘I knew I’d seen him before. Eddie, don’t you remember? At the US embassy in London - he was one of the guys working with Jack Mitchell!’
The name and face connected for Chase too. ‘But I thought he worked for DARPA?’
‘Jack lied about working for them, so maybe this guy did too.’
‘You already know him? My my, such a small world,’ said Sophia sarcastically. ‘But no, he doesn’t work for DARPA. His name’s Michael Callum, and he handles very, very black operations for certain parts of the American government. But now you see why I’m extremely motivated to help you. I’m already officially dead - I’d prefer not to be that way for real.’
Nina almost laughed. ‘Do you seriously think that I want to help you? You tried to kill us and nuke New York!’
‘Oh, you’re not still holding a grudge about that, are you?’ Sophia sighed. ‘Besides, you need me. Do you want to spend fifteen years puzzling out the Veteres language, like Gabriel did, or would you like a head start?’
‘Sophia, don’t do this,’ Ribbsley warned. Chase shoved him back against the wall. ‘I can protect you!’
‘Sorry, Gabriel, but Eddie can do a much better job.’ She addressed Nina again. ‘I can also tell you everything I know about the Covenant. I can help you . . . if you help me.’
‘Bollocks to that,’ said Chase. ‘We can’t trust you. Besides, Nina’ll be able to figure all this out without any help.’ He glanced over his shoulder at her. ‘Nina?’
She stood in silence, regarding Sophia with a calculating expression. ‘Nina!’ Chase repeated. ‘Hang on, you’re not seriously thinking about saying yes, are you?’