The King's Key (17 page)

‘You want a boost?' Whisker said. ‘Sure thing.'

Whisker cupped his paws together and Horace climbed up.

‘Come on, short stuff,' Ruby laughed, pulling Horace through the hole. ‘I've found you a high chair.'

Whisker hoisted himself up and helped the rest of the crew into a rectangular waiting room. Small doorways stood at either end. There was enough light shining through the hole for Whisker to make out the symbols.

The doorway closest to the hole carried a symbol of three descending stairs. Whisker guessed this doorway led to the blocked stairwell.

The furthest doorway was bathed in a pale green light. The symbol chiselled into the underside of its arch was neither a tunnel nor a set of stairs. It was a five-fingered paw print.

Mr Tribble pointed to the paw and gasped, ‘That symbol! I've seen it before. It's the right paw of royalty. If it's carved here, the doorway must lead to …'

‘The throne room,' Horace cried, dashing through the archway. Excitedly, Whisker scampered after him, entering the green-tinged interior of a glorious chamber.

The throne room was no ordinary room. It was the very heart of the citadel. Its circular wall rose up and up to the highest point of the stone tower. Small stairs jutted out from the stonework to form a narrow staircase spiralling up the wall.

Whisker immediately understood the reason for the strange green light. Dozens of small windows dotted the walls of the tower. Creepers and jungle vines covered the window openings, concealing the throne room from the world outside. Where the morning sun penetrated the dense foliage, evergreen leaves shone like stained glass shards on a moonlit night.

In the centre of the ancient room stood an enormous stone throne, supported by a pedestal with seven steps. The throne appeared to be carved from a single piece of white marble. Its high back was decorated with an engraved border of leaves, swirling around a crown. Two carved bananas served as armrests and the four legs of the throne resembled the limbs and paws of a giant ape.

Horace sat perched on the edge of the throne, waving his hook through the air like he was the pint-sized ruler of his own green universe.

‘Bow before my majesty,' he proclaimed flamboyantly. ‘And I will grant thee wishes three.'

Ruby shot Horace a look of exasperation . ‘Kings don't grant three wishes, you marble-headed midget! Genies grant three wishes.'

‘My majesty can do whatever my majesty wishes,' Horace replied indignantly.

‘Your majesty can get his royal rear end off that throne and help us find the key,' the Captain snapped.

‘Aye aye, Captain,' Horace squealed, falling off the throne.

The Captain reached the top step of the plinth and laid the Forgotten Map on the marble seat. The rest of the crew gathered around him.

The Captain read:

‘Here is our
throne
,' he stated, tapping a banana armrest. ‘And above us is the
air
.'

Six heads looked heavenwards to the distant roof of the tower, barely visible above them. One blowfly ascended into the lofty green void to explore.

‘Smudge will tell us if there's anything up there,' the Captain said confidently. ‘It's a long way to climb on a wild key-chase.'

‘At least we have stairs,' Ruby pointed out.

‘Crumbling stairs with no handrail,' Mr Tribble added sceptically.

‘There are plenty of vines to grip on to,' the Captain noted. ‘It's the lack of light I'm worried about.'

Eaton passed his lantern to the Captain.

The Captain smiled. ‘Thank you, Eaton. That should solve our problem.'

Smudge quickly returned from his aerial exploration.

‘And?' Horace asked in anticipation.

Smudge used three arms to form a circle in the air. He thrust his fourth arm through the centre of the circle and gave it a sharp twist to the right.

‘A key in a key hole,' Horace exclaimed. ‘The key must be here.'

Smudge nodded and stuck four arms into the air.

‘At the very top of the tower,' the Captain interpreted.

‘Good,' Ruby said, removing a candy cane from her backpack. ‘The walls slope inwards. The higher the key is, the easier it will be to reach.'

The Captain put his paw on Whisker's shoulder. ‘Perhaps we should let our master climber retrieve the key?'

‘We're a team,' Ruby said bluntly, clearly not wanting to miss out. ‘Aren't we, Whisker?'

‘Sure, Ruby,' Whisker replied, trying not to upset her.

‘And I'm the third musketeer,' Horace piped. ‘It's all for one and one of these tasty candy canes for me.' He grabbed a second candy cane from Ruby's backpack.

‘You lick it, you lose it!' Ruby snapped.

Horace moved the candy cane away from his mouth and Ruby handed the third candy cane to Whisker.

‘Take the string, too,' the Captain advised. ‘There are no safety nets this time.'

Ruby pulled out the ball of string and hooked it on her belt.

‘You're the lantern boy, Horace,' she ordered. ‘Make sure we have enough light at all times. Widen the beam if you have to – and make sure you keep up.'

Mr Tribble pointed to the key-shaped hole on the map. ‘Now remember what you're looking for. A three-toothed key, presumably made from a dense metal.'

‘Yeah, yeah,' Horace mumbled, fiddling with the mirrors on the lantern. ‘We've all seen keys before.'

Ruby didn't respond. She was already halfway to the stairs. Whisker took one last look at the map and scampered after her.

The three rats ascended the stairs at a brisk pace. Ruby led the way. Whisker stayed a safe distance behind her and Horace trailed at the rear, counting steps in a sing-song whisper. Smudge buzzed around the three rats, occasionally pointing out a cracked stair or a potential tripping hazard.

As Whisker climbed higher, he felt his chest pounding with excitement. It wasn't the key that set his heart racing, and it wasn't the treasure. It was the thought of his parents and sister. With every step he felt himself drawing closer to them. He imagined he was a pilgrim climbing to the top of a sacred mountain where the answer to one question awaited him –
Where are they?
He struggled to remain focused.

Get a grip,
he told himself.
There is no sacred mountain
.
There's only a tower and a key. The key leads to a treasure. The treasure leads to … something.
All he could do was hope. He thought about the engraving on the palace step.
Wisdom and wealth …
What if wisdom and wealth were the secret treasures? Could wisdom find his family? Could wealth buy his answer? What if he had to choose …?

A loud shout from Ruby interrupted Whisker's thoughts.

‘LOOK!' she cried, raising her candy cane into the air. ‘Up there.'

Whisker stopped and stared. High above him, and dangling from the end of a rusty chain, hung a golden key. It shimmered like a distant star in the light of the lantern.

The rats hurried higher, eager to reach their prize. The walls sloped inwards as the roof of the tower came into view. The Captain and the mice were now distant specks far below.

Whisker drew level with the key. It hovered silently in the air, begging to be touched.

‘The King's Key,' he marvelled.

Ruby tried to reach the key with the end of the candy cane. Even with her arm fully extended, the key was well beyond reach.

‘We need to go higher,' Horace puffed, reaching the two rats. ‘We can reel in the chain from a step closer to the roof.'

‘We can't,' Ruby said in frustration. ‘The stairs end here.'

‘Oh,' Horace said, looking up at the stair-less wall. ‘It's good we have a grappling hook.'

Ruby gave him a rare smile. ‘Good thinking, Horace. I knew there was a reason we brought you along.'

Horace and Whisker handed Ruby their candy canes and she began tying them together with the string. While he waited, Whisker examined the chain more closely. It was fastened to a round keystone in the centre of the roof. The bottom of the chain joined a gold ring, looping through a small hole in the handle of the key. Whisker saw no visible joins in any of the links.

‘The key and the chain are fused together,' he said, perplexed.

‘Nothing a few hard tugs won't fix,' Ruby muttered, unconcerned. ‘One of those rusty links is sure to give way.' She held up the grappling hook. ‘I've plaited the string so it's triple strength. Once I've hooked the key, I'll need you boys to pull as hard as you can without falling down the stairs.'

‘Alright,' Whisker agreed. ‘But we'd better warn the Captain and the mice first. No one wants a rusty chain falling on their head.'

Smudge disappeared below to give the warning, Horace lowered his lantern and Whisker braced himself against the wall.

‘Here goes,' Ruby cried, swinging the grappling hook behind her back.

She projected it forward, releasing her grip. The grappling hook curved in a wide arc across the tower, striking the key with a
CLINK
. Whisker saw the four golden teeth of the key flash in the lantern light as the key swung backwards.

The grappling hook slipped from its hold and tumbled down. There was a faint grinding sound followed by a
CRACK
as the grappling hook hit the wall. The three rats sighed with disappointment and pulled the hook onto the top step.

Ruby prepared for a second throw and swung the hook behind her.

‘Wait for the key to stop moving,' Horace squeaked.

Ruby let out an impatient groan and lowered the rope.

Mesmerised, Whisker watched the key swing back and forth, slowing down with every pass. He heard the faint grinding sound again.

It must be the chain,
he told himself.

Ruby grew restless and raised the grappling hook. Whisker continued to stare at the key, hypnotised by its rhythm. His whole body began to sway – back and forth, side to side. His eyes fixed on the golden teeth of the key. As they moved in front of him, he saw them transform into ancient symbols … letters … numbers –
Numbers!

‘WAIT!' Whisker yelled.

But it was too late. Ruby had thrown.