History Keepers 1: The Storm Begins (23 page)

They quickly removed eight trunks from the carriage roof and started searching through their contents. The first six they opened were devoted solely to Irina. She was obviously a woman of quite astonishing vanity. Two trunks contained her dresses, another two her shoes. All of the above contained endless detailing of fur, and a disgusted Charlie guessed that the Russian couple had made their fortune in the trade of ‘poor dead animals’. Another trunk contained jewellery and fans, and a sixth was full of exquisite china pots of powders and bottles of perfume. Most girls would have been in seventh heaven at this discovery, but Topaz was unimpressed: clothes and make-up held little magic for her.

The seventh trunk contained the entire wardrobe of Irina’s husband. Certainly there were fewer items, but each was just as beautifully crafted.

‘Nathan would have an absolute field day with all this,’ exclaimed Topaz as she took out a velvet cap adorned with a green peacock feather and put it on her head. ‘Does this colour enhance my eyes?’ she
said
in a shameless impersonation. ‘I rather think it makes them pop.’

Next Charlie retrieved a velvet doublet studded with emeralds. He held it up to his chest and pulled a face. ‘Too big for me. You’ll certainly have to be the husband,’ he said to Jake, ‘though I think you should anyway – you look more the part. I’ll have to be the driver.’

Charlie was right about Jake: although he was the same age as Charlie, he was a good two inches taller and had a certain confidence, a bearing that made him look the part. Charlie helped Jake into the doublet. It fitted him like a glove.

Topaz was impressed. ‘
Merveilleux
. You look like a prince.’

Jake bowed theatrically again.

‘Though try and keep it a bit more authentic this time,’ Charlie said wryly. ‘This is the real world, not musical theatre.’

Jake nodded seriously. Then a thought came to him: ‘Will I need to speak in Russian? That could be a problem.’

‘Fortunately the royal language is English – everyone is required to speak it. So just a Russian accent will suffice.’

‘What about Mina Schlitz and the others?’ Jake asked. ‘They’ll recognize me immediately.’

‘Don’t worry about that, either,’ said Charlie, producing the wallet that Jake had seen aboard the
Campana
. ‘Mr Volsky didn’t have a beard, but who knows that, apart from us?’ He opened the pouch, and his face lit up at the sight of his beloved beards and moustaches. He selected one of them and held it up to Jake’s face. ‘Ravishing,’ he said, shaking his head proudly.

Topaz was struggling with the catch on the final trunk. ‘This one’s locked for some reason.’

She took a pin from her hair, straightened it and introduced it into the lock. A moment later there was a click and Topaz lifted the lid; all three of them gasped at once.

It was full of treasure. On top was a velvet-lined tray with compartments like a specimen box, each one containing a large and beautifully cut jewel. Beneath this lay another tray of priceless diamonds, emeralds and rubies. Below that, a third, and a fourth. Finally, in a large compartment at the bottom, there were neatly stacked bundles of ancient banknotes and at least a dozen gold ingots.

‘Now, why on earth would they be carrying this amount of money around?’ Topaz pondered.

Charlie raised his eyebrows theatrically. ‘I have a feeling that this riddle, and all others, will be solved once we penetrate the walls of Castle Schwarzheim.’

21 I
NTO THE
L
ION’S
D
EN

HALF AN HOUR
later the Volskys’ carriage was rolling along the road towards Castle Schwarzheim’s imposing gatehouse. Charlie was driving, with Mr Drake perched on one of the trunks at his side. The former wore the black cloak and cap that he had found stuffed into a tiny trunk at the back of the coach, along with the driver’s other meagre possessions. He was wearing a blond beard that made him almost unrecognizable.

In the luxurious, silk-lined interior of the carriage Jake and Topaz sat side by side, impeccably dressed as the Russian millionaires. Topaz looked exquisite in her corseted gown and golden headpiece, but it was Jake who had undergone the most startling transformation: in his fine suit and neat moustache and beard, he looked every inch the dashing young tycoon.

‘Charlie,’ Topaz called out of the window, ‘I hate to say this, but I think it’s time Mr Drake went undercover.’

Charlie nodded reluctantly, opened the trunk and guided the parrot inside. ‘It won’t be for long,’ he assured him, giving him an extra-large handful of peanuts. ‘Quiet as you can, now.’ He felt awful shutting his pet in the dark – though for a handful of peanuts Mr Drake was happy to do anything his master asked of him.

As the carriage pulled up in the shadow of the gatehouse’s granite towers, Jake noticed Topaz’s eyes flicker nervously. Her hand went to her throat as if to control her tremulous breathing.

‘All right?’ he asked softly.

‘It’s funny,’ Topaz sighed. ‘You would think the fear would lessen over time, but it seems to get worse.’

One of the sentries strutted out of the lodge, held up his oversized hand and enquired, with a nod at them, as to the identity of the new arrivals.

‘Mikhail and Irina Volsky of Odessa,’ said Charlie in English – with a perfect Russian accent – and handed the guard their invitation to the summit.

The sentry examined it without expression, then looked through the carriage window and scrutinized the occupants through narrowed eyes. Jake and Topaz gazed back at him haughtily. At last he returned the invitation to Charlie and signalled to his accomplice in the tower. The creaking iron portcullis ascended and the carriage entered the vast walled estate of Castle Schwarzheim.

Jake looked out of the window. Rising up in front of him was a great mountain of rock, towering through ghostly swirls of mist to a sharp peak. At the summit, far in the distance and almost hidden in the gloom, stood Castle Schwarzheim, a dark grey silhouette.

As the road rose around the base of the mountain, Topaz spied something through the trees. ‘Down there! Look.’

Charlie stopped the carriage. Down below, where the Rhine snaked round to one side, lay a harbour set in a steep-sided inlet. Moored within it was a black galleon with shimmering red sails.

‘Our old friend the
Lindwurm
, if I’m not mistaken,’ said Charlie in an ominous voice. He took his telescope out of his pocket and peered through it. ‘Not a ship you forget in a hurry.’ He passed the
eyepiece
to Topaz, who studied the craft, pursing her lips.

‘What’s the
Lindwurm
?’ asked Jake.

‘Zeldt’s warship of choice,’ explained Charlie. ‘The legend goes that he stained her timbers with the blood of his enemies, which accounts for their luminous black hue. The
Lindwurm
takes its name from a creature of the deep, half snake, half dragon.’

Topaz passed the telescope to Jake and he surveyed the vessel. She was a handsome craft, splendid and awesome in equal measure. Her three gigantic red sails had the lustrous sheen of velvet. Emblazoned in the centre of each, in a yet deeper shade of crimson, was Zeldt’s symbol of a snake and a shield.

‘It looks like they’re getting ready to leave,’ said Jake, pointing to the guards loading crates onto the deck.

‘Not too soon, I hope,’ said Charlie as he cracked his whip, urging the horses on towards the castle.

The carriage zigzagged up and up. For stretches they would lose sight of the castle. Then, as they turned a corner, it would loom above them once again, each time a little closer and more distinct.

The weather started to change. Below, it had been a warm, sunny day. But now, halfway to the
mountain
’s peak, the air cooled and thinned. Charlie started to shiver.

Suddenly the horses stopped; one of them whinnied with fear, stamping its hooves and shaking its head.

‘What is it?’ Charlie asked the animal. He was perplexed: the road ahead was empty. The lid of the trunk next to him lifted slightly, and Mr Drake’s eyes darted keenly from side to side, also sensing danger.

Jake leaned out of the window, glimpsing movement amongst the trees. He peered into the darkness of the forest; a chill wind rustled through the branches. Then he caught sight of a darting shadow.

Charlie saw it at the same time; he gasped and dropped the reins.

The figure flew through the trees, its footsteps silenced by the mossy ground; it wore a pointed black hat and a long black gown billowed out behind. Fifty yards ahead, it left the trees and came to a stop on the road, its back to them.

Jake craned his neck out of the window to get a better look. He had seen people dressed as witches before, usually at Halloween, but everything about
this
figure had an eerie look of authenticity; the gown was torn and muddied, but the material was fine, with complicated patterns woven into its blackness.

The figure remained motionless. The horses continued to snort and stamp their hooves anxiously. Charlie slowly unsheathed his sword while, inside the carriage, Topaz’s sharp dagger was already drawn.

The black form slowly turned its head. The face – what could be seen of it – was oddly beautiful: through the pale layers of transluscent skin, a network of blue veins pulsed. For a second the eyes made contact with Charlie’s; then the figure flew off again. The occupants of the carriage watched as it darted through the trees as if pulled by an invisible thread. In the distance it met up with two similar dark shadows. All three looked round at the carriage one last time, then fled into the wood until they were out of sight.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Charlie and Topaz re-sheathed their weapons.

‘Nothing to be frightened of – they’re basically glorified scarecrows,’ said Charlie, trying for nonchalance, although his heart was thumping.

‘Scarecrows?’ questioned Jake.

‘An old medieval custom. Rich landowners use them to scare off intruders. They’re just actors.’

‘Still, I don’t fancy seeing the full performance,’ said Jake.

As the track led them closer to the peak, it steepened dramatically and the temperature dropped further still. The horses were again apprehensive, and Charlie had to encourage them in a bright, breezy voice that failed to mask his growing sense of unease. Out of the window Jake could see the edge of the precipice just below. Some rocks disappeared into the cloudy void.

As they came round the final bend, Castle Schwarzheim loomed into sight in all its terrifying glory. It looked as solid as the mountain itself; an immense puzzle of towers, turrets and stone staircases soaring up into the cloud. Jake noticed a succession of gargoyles jutting out from the closest tower. There were beasts of every kind: dragons, two-headed gorgons and fierce monkeys, mouths wide, as if silently screaming. The whole scene reminded Jake of another favourite painting of his – a tableau of high Victorian gothic: riders approaching a windswept castle, walls luminous in the twilight.

The horses struggled up the last stretch, until finally the carriage rolled through an archway into a large courtyard.

Jake gazed with keen interest at the sights that greeted him. A few other vehicles had recently arrived, the bright, rich liveries contrasting with the sombre granite of their surroundings. Their finely dressed occupants were being helped down by castle servants, all of whom wore the familiar red cloaks of Zeldt’s army. The new arrivals were offered cups of hot spiced wine served on pewter trays. They took them and drank, paying no heed to those who served them.

‘I find it strange,’ Topaz observed, ‘that whole families have been invited.’ She was referring to a group of people descending from another carriage. A youngish couple were accompanied not only by their two sulky-looking daughters, but also an ancient lady, evidently the girls’ grandmother. The grand old lady studied her surroundings as the luggage was unloaded and taken off into the castle.

During the ascent, Charlie had slowly become accustomed to the cold, but Jake and Topaz did not notice the dramatic change in the weather until they
set
foot on the cobbles. It was positively wintry: the occasional flake of snow drifted by.

‘Good afternoon, welcome to Castle Schwarzheim,’ a voice announced in English. It belonged to a red-cloaked attendant – a blue-eyed Teutonic beauty with a smile as tight as the blonde braids knotted across her head. Jake found himself involuntarily checking his fake beard and moustache as she continued, ‘I trust your journey was satisfactory. Mikhail and Irina Volsky of Odessa, if I’m not mistaken?’

‘How did you know?’ answered Topaz, also in English but with a perfect Russian accent.

‘By the coat of arms on your carriage, of course,’ the girl replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ‘You are in the east tower, in the Suite Charlemagne. Dinner is at seven in the banqueting hall. Enjoy your stay.’

Another carriage rolled into the courtyard, and the German goddess smiled insincerely and took her leave. Jake and Topaz watched her retreat.

‘Friendly.’ Jake was dazzled by her cool confidence.

‘As a box of snakes,’ commented Topaz.

‘Don’t look now,’ muttered Charlie as he started
to
unload the luggage from the roof, ‘but there’s another box of snakes. Eleven o’clock.’

Jake and Topaz turned nonchalantly and glimpsed a figure on the first-floor balcony. It was Mina Schlitz, coolly surveying the scene below her.

‘She doesn’t frighten me,’ Topaz murmured. ‘It’s all an act.’

She and Jake were shown across the courtyard. Charlie followed behind, doing his best to balance the large collection of cases. He was conscious of poor Mr Drake rattling around in one of the trunks – so much so that he tripped and dropped everything. Two servants came to his rescue.

Jake couldn’t resist teasing: ‘He’s new. We’re just breaking him in. It’s so difficult to find the staff these days.’

Charlie shook his head and muttered under his breath, ‘I offered to play this part – I think I deserve a little respect at least.’