The History Keepers Circus Maximus (6 page)

‘What exactly is the inventions division?’ asked Jake.

‘Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,’ Chatterju chuckled. ‘I’m just a lowly scientist with a few crackpot ideas.’ Suddenly he looked agitated. ‘Where has that boy got to? Has he disappeared off again? He’s always disappearing!’

‘I’m here, Uncle, right behind you.’ A young boy stepped out.

‘Right behind me? Don’t be so impudent. Come here where I can see you.’

The boy did as he was told. He was about eleven, Jake guessed, with a face as warm as dark honey that looked as if it never stopped smiling.

‘I’m Amrit,’ he introduced himself cheerfully to Jake. ‘Dr Chatterju’s nephew.’

‘My assistant!’ Chatterju corrected him. ‘That’s what you are. And you’re very much on trial.’ With a roll of the eyes he confided to Jake, ‘He’s little more than a child but thinks he knows
everything
.’

There was a final influx of people into the room, including Jake’s mum, his dad – who was still half asleep and couldn’t stop yawning – and his aunt Rose. Behind them trotted Galliana’s greyhound, Olive, who immediately padded over to her place at the top of the table. A hush then descended as Galliana herself swept in and took her seat. Jake noticed that she was wearing her long navy cloak embroidered with motifs of clocks and phoenixes, and was holding a bundle of papers.

‘Is everyone present?’ she asked Jupitus.

‘All except Nathan Wylder and Oceane Noire. The former,’ Jupitus sighed, ‘is apparently working
off his frustration with some deep-sea fishing. Mademoiselle Noire is still dressing.’

‘So we won’t see her until the end of the century,’ Miriam chuckled to her husband.

‘We’ll have to start without them.’ Galliana spoke in a quick, business-like voice, looking around at all the faces. ‘We have two matters on the agenda: firstly, for those of you who are not up to speed, the mission to Stockholm was unsuccessful. The agents were intercepted by an enemy faction and the atomium consignment was lost.’

There was immediate uproar amongst those gathered, with shouts of:

‘
The whole consignment?
’

‘
How can that be?
’

‘
Who was responsible?
’

Jake shifted uncomfortably, aware of Jupitus’s narrowed eyes settling on him once again.

Galliana held up her hand. ‘The whys and wherefores of how this happened are irrelevant.’ She read from her notes: ‘
The perpetrator was in his late teens, five feet ten, blond Caucasian. He went by the name of the Leopard. Assisted by a dark-haired youth of a similar age
.’ Jake looked down. ‘Does this ring any bells?’ Galliana asked the group.
Nothing but blank faces. ‘Miss Wunderbar . . .?’

The stately woman in charge of the Library of Faces, beautifully dressed in the fashion of the 1690s, shook her head. ‘Nothing, I’m afraid,’ she announced in her curt Bavarian accent. ‘I’m in the process of a more detailed search of faces. Agent Chieverley is helping me.’

‘It goes without saying,’ Galliana continued, ‘that
anyone
who can shed any light on the matter should come forward immediately. This is of paramount importance. Now, to the second matter . . .’ She withdrew a piece of parchment from her bundle. ‘I received this message an hour ago, apparently sent from deep history.’

Jake craned his neck to see: he could just make out a very long series of symbols.

‘Obviously it was encoded in Hypoteca, which has been translated as follows.’ Galliana held up another scroll for all to see. This one contained more numbers, in larger, bolder type.

‘What’s Hypoteca?’ Jake whispered to Charlie.

‘It’s a cipher, a secret code, invented by Magnesia Hypoteca, the wife of one of the first commanders.’

Jake looked at the translated message: there were twenty-eight digits, nearly all numerals, divided into
four groups of eight – the order of which didn’t make any sense to him – followed by a single phrase of English:
Follow the shadow’s hand
.

‘Well, the numbers are obvious,’ Jupitus purred. ‘The first set refer to Topaz’s date of birth: the nineteenth of September 1356.’

‘Correct.’ Galliana nodded.

Jake remembered Topaz telling him that she had been born in a campaign tent during the Battle of Poitiers in the Hundred Years War. History Keepers could be born in all sorts of eras, depending where their parents were stationed – or travelling to – at the time.

‘The middle section,’ Jupitus continued, ‘presumably refers to geographical coordinates.’

‘Indeed,’ replied Galliana. ‘In this case, an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea called Vulcano. And the final set presumably indicate the historical date the message came from.’

‘Sorry – I haven’t got my glasses on,’ Rose piped up. ‘What
is
the historical date?’

Jake was also dying to know – he could not read it from his end of the room, either.

‘The tenth of May,’ Galliana said, then added in a sombre voice, ‘
AD
27.’ Some of the agents glanced
anxiously at each other as she continued, ‘The date would make sense as we have recently picked up a quantity of Meslith chatter linking those coordinates with Agata Zeldt – a figure who has been silent for years.’

Now there were gasps around the table. Alan accidentally dropped his coffee cup into his saucer with a clatter.

Jake felt his stomach flip. He had heard all about the diabolical Agata on his mission to Venice. She was, in Charlie’s words,
The most evil woman in history
; the monster who, as a child, had tried to drown her elder brother in a freezing lake; who had taught her maid a lesson by forcing her to sit naked on a throne of red-hot iron until she burned to death. She was also – and this was the most disturbing fact of all – Topaz’s
real
mother. Of course, Topaz had disowned her completely – at the age of five she’d had the strength of mind to defect to Point Zero – but they were related by blood.

Rose put up her hand. ‘Does anyone know what
follow the shadow’s hand
means?’

It was clear from the blank faces that no one had a clue.

‘And, more to the point,’ said Jupitus, ‘how do
we know it has actually come from Topaz? Perhaps Agata sent it herself—’

The double doors flew open. ‘Sorry – I came as soon as I heard!’ Nathan strode into the room. The sight of him brought an amazed smile to Jake’s face: his clothes and hair were dripping wet, a rope and a harpoon hung from his shoulder and he carried a dead swordfish in one hand and a conger eel in the other, the latter trailing across the floor behind him. ‘I hope I haven’t missed too much; the conger was particularly tricky to land.’

‘He has no shame,’ Charlie muttered in horror, looking at the dead fish. ‘No shame at all.’

‘These may look grisly,’ Nathan announced, chuckling at all the squeamish faces, ‘but they’ll make a change from roast chicken.’

Galliana groaned wearily. ‘Thank you, Agent Wylder. Most thoughtful . . . Now, if you would put them down and take a seat . . .’

Nathan deposited his catch on a side table. ‘By the way,’ he said, ignoring the invitation and going over to the window, ‘is there any reason why there’s an elephant wandering around on the pier? For a while I thought I was imagining things, that it couldn’t possibly be real, until it – how can I put
this politely? – until it dispensed a particularly noxious parcel, which I can assure you was very real –
way
too real for early Tuesday morning.’

‘It belongs to Oceane Noire,’ Galliana snapped. ‘If you had read the daily communiqué, you would know. Now sit down!’

Nathan looked shame-faced and took a seat next to Jupitus. ‘So, news from Topaz, I hear.’ He flashed his smile as he looked at the list of numbers, understanding their relevance immediately. ‘Good gracious, she
is
a long way away. Are we sure it came from her?’

Galliana took a calming deep breath and addressed everyone. ‘The fact of the matter is, though the use of the Hypoteca code would suggest that it is authentic, we have no
absolute
guarantee that this was written by Topaz. But that said, given that she would contact us only when she had
absolutely vital
information concerning the enemy – that was her original brief – I have decided to send a team to these coordinates to investigate. It goes without saying that travelling back one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-three years to
AD
27 is an extremely gruelling undertaking so I can send only those of first-rate valour.’ Galliana took a deep
breath. ‘I assign Nathan Wylder—’

‘
Qui est le champion?!
’ Nathan punched the air. His French accent was truly appalling.

‘– and Charlie Chieverley.’ Charlie just nodded soberly. ‘Group leader—’

‘I assume will be myself?’ Nathan interrupted. ‘– will be Jupitus Cole,’ Galliana finished her sentence.

There was another round of murmurs. Jupitus coolly took a sip of coffee. Some of the older agents around the table – Dr Chatterju, and Signor Gondolfino, the head costumier, in particular – glanced at him with a hint of envy: once a keeper’s valour had matured, he or she was rarely invited on the type of exciting mission they had taken part in when they were young.

Nathan put his hand up. ‘Commander . . . is it not somewhat unusual to send an agent of Mr Cole’s’ – he chose the word carefully – ‘
experience
on a mission so far back in time?’

‘If you’re referring to his age,’ Galliana replied, ‘Mr Cole tested his valour only yesterday and his scores were off the chart – even better than yours.’

At this point Jupitus couldn’t hide his sly smile. Try as she might, Rose was unable to conceal her
admiration. Nathan was silenced: even he wouldn’t dare put up a fight against the venerable keeper.

‘You will sail tonight on the
Hippocampus
, a Roman merchant ship—’

‘The
Hippocampus
 . . .’ Jake repeated the name to himself; it sounded intriguing, familiar.

‘Tonight?’ Nathan interrupted. ‘Any reason we can’t get going immediately?’

‘A compelling reason, yes,’ Galliana answered drily. ‘The
Hippocampus
will not be delivered from the Calais workshop until late afternoon.’

‘I get you,’ Nathan said. ‘They’re souping it up – good to hear!’

Galliana looked down, indicating points on the map. ‘You will take the Brest horizon point, vault to Sardinia East, and from there make your way to the Aeolian Islands. Your final destination is the islet of Vulcano. Is that clear?’

‘Crystal,’ Nathan replied.

Everyone else murmured their agreement – everyone except Jake, who stared solemnly at the floor. The first time he had attended a meeting, he had put up his hand and volunteered to join the mission to Venice. His offer had been flatly rejected, humiliatingly so. He knew that if he
suggested joining
this
expedition, the rebuff – given the importance of the mission, the huge time span to be crossed, not to mention his failure in Stockholm – would be more resounding still. Despite this, his thirst for adventure, his need to be – at the very least – part of the mission to save Topaz was too strong. He tentatively raised his arm and spoke in the deepest voice he could muster. ‘May I say something, Commander?’

There was an uncomfortable shifting amongst the History Keepers. Miriam looked at her son apprehensively. Charlie occupied himself by reaching for another brioche. Jupitus went so far as to roll his eyes heavenward.

‘Commander, I am aware that I have brought dishonour to this service.’ Jake turned to the rest of the room. ‘I should tell you all now that it was I, and no one else, who was responsible for losing the atomium in Stockholm.’

There were more murmurs.

‘I disobeyed orders and made a mistake for which I will never forgive myself – not until I have somehow, someday, put the situation right again.’ He took a deep breath and saw that his mother was becoming increasingly anxious. ‘I am aware also
that this is a very hazardous and crucial assignment for which I am sure you consider me unworthy, but I beg you to offer me one last chance to prove myself. If you send me on this mission, I promise I will not let you down—’

‘This is ridiculous!’ interjected Jupitus, getting to his feet to make his point. ‘Not just ridiculous – insulting! It shows a total lack of respect for the work that we do here.’

‘Calm down, Jupitus – don’t get your knickers in a twist,’ Rose retorted, protective of her nephew.

‘I am perfectly calm!’ Jupitus hissed, then carried on, ‘This secret service has operated for decades, for
centuries
, with strict tried-and-tested systems. No agent ever goes out in the field until he has had the most intense and thorough training. Then this
boy
appears and thinks he can do everything by his own rules. He already contravened orders by stowing away on the Venetian mission—’

‘And as a result’ – Alan was now ready to join the fray – ‘did more to stop Zeldt than anyone else!’

‘He then pushes his way onto the Stockholm operation’ – Jupitus continued his diatribe – ‘turns it into a farce, threatens our very existence, and now has the gall to stand here and volunteer again. If he
was working for Zeldt himself, he couldn’t make a better job of destroying us.’

Now nearly everyone in the room got caught up in the argument, all voicing their opinions loudly. Galliana did not interrupt, but listened judiciously.

Nathan leaned over towards her. ‘Commander, would you allow me to say something? I may be able to resolve this.’ Galliana nodded her consent.

‘Listen . . .’ He stood up. ‘Listen to me, everyone.’ When he wanted to be serious, Nathan – with a charm and authority beyond his years – was able to command respect. The keepers quietened down. ‘Maybe Mr Cole is right, maybe Jake has disobeyed orders in the past, but I can tell you that he acted impeccably in Italy and Germany – even in Sweden. As I have already informed the commander, he warned us of an impending threat, and tragically I paid no heed. I envy his natural flair for what we do.’