Oracles of Delphi Keep (36 page)

“People who subscribe to the idea of metaphysical attributes of crystals believe that there are certain individuals of powerful intuitive ability who can excite these molecules without using heat, that they can
will
them to vibrate, using their minds. The vibrations act as a sort of metronome. It is
believed that when this energized crystal is given to someone who has a physical malady, the crystal restores the body’s natural rhythms or creates some sort of medicinal effect.

“Laodamia called those intuitives who could create these rhythms from crystals Seekers, because she noticed that these Oracles were always seeking to bring out the power of the crystal they encountered.”

“So this Star isn’t really a star, then,” Ian observed, his hand subconsciously smoothing over the lump in his trouser pocket, where he carried Theo’s crystal. He couldn’t help wondering if maybe she was both the Seer and the Seeker in Laodamia’s prophecy. “It must be some kind of a crystal?”

The professor looked down at his notes again and barked a laugh. “I believe you’re quite right, Ian. The trouble is that the word ‘star’ is often used to describe many of the world’s most valuable diamonds and precious gemstones. I know of several, in fact, that are within the collection of the crown jewels, including the Great Star of Africa on the king’s scepter, which is also the second largest diamond in the world.”

“Do you think this Star that Laodamia wants us to find is one of the crown jewels?” asked Thatcher, and his expression suggested to Ian that he wasn’t at all pleased with the thought of nicking one of the crown jewels.

“I’ve no idea,” answered the professor with a sigh. “The prophecy states that we must look upon a beach, but I’ve never heard of anyone finding such a precious mineral there.” Ian immediately discounted the idea that maybe the crystal in his pocket was the Star. It had come to Theo from
her mother, not from the beach, and he thought that if her crystal was the Star, Laodamia wouldn’t be talking about quests and seekers; she would just refer to the gemstone and be done with it. “Like I said,” continued the professor, “much of this prophecy seems to make no sense.”

The room fell back into silence as the foursome considered again the lines from the poem. Suddenly, Carl’s face brightened. “Ian!” he said excitedly. “Do you think that part about the map and the trap and the cavern in the woods with the stairs could be that tunnel we found last Sunday? You know, because it doesn’t lead anywhere but to a wall? And that soldier—he certainly got trapped, didn’t he?”

Ian sucked in a breath and gave Carl a firm look, reminding the boy that the tunnel was a secret, but it was too late: the truth was out. Thatcher looked sharply at Carl and asked, “What tunnel and what soldier?”

“Er …,” said Carl.

“Um …,” said Ian, his mind racing to find a plausible response.

“Look here, lads,” said Thatcher, his tone stern. “If you two know of something within this prophecy that makes sense, we’d best hear it and hear it now.”

“Well,” said Carl, fidgeting with his cuff and looking at Ian, who nodded reluctantly. Carl might as well tell them the rest. “It’s just that we might have found the tunnel from the map that was pulled out of the box … you know, the tunnel that was left off Ian’s original map at the keep?”

The professor reached into his desk drawer and carefully pulled out the silver box. He opened the lid, extracted the
folded map, and unfolded it carefully; then, placing it in the center of his desk, he demanded, “Show me.”

Carl hopped off his chair and walked over to the desk. “It’s this one, right, Ian?” he asked over his shoulder.

Ian came to the desk and nodded. “That’s the one,” he mumbled. “We found it last Sunday, but I don’t expect to go there ever again,” he said quickly, thinking that he’d be in a load of trouble now unless he promised to quit his exploits.

Carl shivered. “I’ll certainly never go there again!” he said. “Not after what we found.”

“What did you find?” asked Thatcher. Ian could have thumped his friend on the head. Carl was making it worse before Ian had a chance to explain.

“It was horrible,” Carl said dramatically, oblivious to Ian’s discomfort. “We saw a skeleton sticking right out of the tunnel wall!”

“Skeleton?” gasped the professor, who looked to Ian for confirmation. “You found
human
remains?”

“Yes, sir,” said Ian with a frown, and he tried to put the professor at ease. “Carl and I are certain the remains are very old. They might even be the bones of a soldier who hid Laodamia’s treasure box in the cavern for me to find.”

“Why do you think the skeleton is a soldier?” asked Thatcher.

“Because there was a helmet next to the bones in the rock and it looked very old and covered in dust.”

The professor was eyeing them eagerly. “What kind of helmet?”

“Well,” said Ian, “it looked a bit like an egg, and I believe it was made out of bronze.”

The professor hurried to his bookcase and began running his fingers over the spines of the books jammed into the shelving. After a few moments he pulled out a volume and flipped it open. Bringing it back to the desk, he turned it around to show Ian and Carl.

Ian studied the black-and-white photograph of a helmet in the book but he shook his head. “That’s close,” he said, “but the one we found is a bit higher at the point, and the nose plate is thicker.”

Carl nodded in agreement and the professor paused before taking the book and flipping a few pages forward. He lowered it so that the boys could see.

“That’s it!” said Carl excitedly. “That’s the helmet we saw in the tunnel!”

The professor sat down abruptly in his chair. “You’re certain?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Carl with confidence. “We can show you where it is, if you’d like, and you can see for yourself.”

Thatcher picked up the book and read the title aloud: “‘Armor of the Ancient Greeks.’”

“Yes,” said the professor. “The one the boys have identified belonged to the era of Laodamia—roughly 1400 BC—and not to the era of the writing on the wall you discovered in the first tunnel, which I’ve already dated to be about a thousand years later—400 BC.”

“How are both possible?” asked Thatcher, scratching his head.

“I’ve no idea,” said the professor, “but I mean to find out.” Turning to Ian and Carl, he said, “Boys, you will take
me to this tunnel immediately! I must see this helmet for myself.”

“Oh, it’s no longer there,” said Carl. “We hid it in some rocks just outside the woods.”

The professor looked aghast. “You mean to tell me it’s being
exposed
to the elements?”

“No,” said Ian, hurrying to reassure him. “The rocks are protecting it and we added some grass and twigs to give it extra protection.”

“Then we shouldn’t wait for a good rainstorm to corrode it,” said the professor, standing up and reaching for the thick sweater draped around his chair. “And I shall want to see this skeleton as well.”

“Now?” Thatcher asked, glancing at his watch as the professor shrugged into his sweater and waddled stiffly toward the door.

“Yes, now!” said the professor. “Come, come, there’s no time to waste!”

Ian hung back, his eyes darting to the scroll’s translation, still on the professor’s desk. “Sir!” he called to the older man before he could disappear down the hallway.

“Yes?” the professor said over his shoulder.

“Might I bring the translation along with us to study on the train?”

The professor waved his hand impatiently. “Yes, yes,” he said, “just hurry along with it!”

Ian leaned over the professor’s desk and grabbed the piece of paper before dashing out of the room to catch up with Carl and Thatcher, who was handing the boys their
coats. “Quickly now,” he said as his eye went to the door and the professor, who was already halfway down the steps.

“What about Theo and Madam Dimbleby?” asked Carl in alarm as they hurried out the door. Ian realized abruptly what they hadn’t considered—that rushing back to the keep would mean leaving the pair behind.

His worry was short-lived, however, when they all heard a “Yoo-hoo!” echoing down the street. The four turned and saw the headmistress and Theo hurrying toward them. They paused in front of the group, and before anyone else could get in a word, the professor announced, “We’re on our way back to Dover. The boys have discovered some remains within a new tunnel they explored last weekend and I’ll want to take a look before it gets dark.”

Madam Dimbleby’s mouth fell open and her gaze turned to Ian. He gulped and began to offer some kind of an explanation but she cut him off with “Well, professor, let us not dally here. It’s off to the train station, then!”

“Uh-oh,” murmured Carl as she turned away. “I believe we’re going to be in a load of trouble when we get back to the keep.”

“Gee, mate, you
think
?” Ian said crossly as Theo joined them.

“What’s the professor talking about?” asked Theo.

“I’ll explain on the train,” said Ian glumly. “Come on. They’re waiting for us.” And he set off after the adults, his thoughts dark and his mood grim. It seemed to Ian that only a short while before, his life had been rather uncomplicated. Now it felt quite out of control, especially with dark beasts,
cryptic prophecies, and evil people about. On the walk back to the station, Ian couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for himself, but then he realized as they boarded the train that he had only himself to blame. After all, he’d been the one to disobey rules and start this awful mess in the first place.

I
an was first on the train and he moved down away from the door in search of an empty berth. Finding one near the front, he sat down moodily As he stared out the window, he soon became aware of someone hovering close by He turned to see Carl standing in the aisle, looking shyly at the seat next to Ian. “Can I sit there?” he asked meekly.

Ian sighed tiredly and attempted a smile. “Sure, mate, have a seat.”

Theo, who must have followed Carl, took a seat across from the boys and looked expectantly at Ian. “Out with it,” she ordered as the train doors closed and the locomotive began to roll out of the station. “And don’t leave
anything
out.” For the rest of the train ride back to Dover, Ian and Carl explained all that had happened in the newly discovered tunnel, and repeated what the professor had told them about the clay pots at Grimspound, Laodamia, the legend of Demogorgon, and the Oracle’s prophecies. “Show me this prophecy from the box,” Theo demanded, and Ian pulled it out of his coat pocket.

After studying it for a long, quiet moment, Theo mused, “Now I understand.”

“What?” asked Carl. “If you mean you understand the prophecy, Theo, that’s fantastic, because our lot didn’t have a clue!”

“Not all of it,” Theo admitted. “Just a few parts.”

“Which ones?” asked Ian, leaning forward to peer upside down at the paper in her hands.

“Well, this part about a Star. When we were finishing up with Lady Arbuthnot, I kept hearing the words ‘The Star of Licorice’ running round my head.”

“The Star of
Licorice
?” said Carl with a laugh. “You must be joking!”

“No,” said Theo stiffly. “I’m actually not.”

Ian scratched his head thoughtfully. He couldn’t imagine a precious gemstone being given the name of a candy, but he had too much respect for Theo’s abilities to dismiss it. “I expect we’ll find out soon enough what it’s all about.”

Theo glared at Carl, her feelings clearly bruised by his scoffing remark. “Sorry,” he said when he realized he’d offended her. “It’s just a bit odd, you know?”

“And all of this other business of beasts, oracles, Druid sorcerers, prophecies, and hidden tunnels isn’t?” she snapped.

Carl cleared his throat. “Good point,” he said.

Ian saw that Theo was working herself into a good huff, and attempted to change the subject by asking, “What else made sense to you, Theo?”

She scowled one last time at Carl and said, “That bit about the Seeker … Yesterday I was helping Agatha look for her shoe—you know how that girl loses everything?” Ian
nodded. “Well, while I was looking under her bed, I had a bit of déjà vu, you know where you think you’ve done what you’re doing before?” Again, Ian nodded and Theo continued. “But I knew I wasn’t remembering looking for Agatha’s shoe. It was the oddest feeling, like I was remembering something that hadn’t even happened yet, and it involved crawling around in the dark and there was this sensation that I was looking for something with a boy. …” Theo’s voice trailed off as if she was thinking back on it, unable to put the event into words.

“What boy?” asked Ian.

“I don’t know his name,” she said, her face serious. “But I do know he had brown skin and there was a mark on his hand.”

“What kind of a mark?” asked Carl, and Ian was relieved to see that he’d lost his mocking expression.

Theo closed her eyes. “It was very odd,” she said softly, “like a birthmark on his right hand, but it was clearly shaped like a diamond.”

“A diamond?” Ian repeated, thinking about what the professor had said about the crown jewels.

“Yes, a diamond,” Theo said firmly. “That’s all I remember, and it was really only the flash of an image in my mind’s eye.”

“Does anyone at the keep have brown skin and a mark on his hand?” Carl asked Ian.

Ian shook his head. “No one I know of,” he said. “Jasper’s skin is a little darker than ours. Do you suppose it’s him, Theo?”

Theo frowned. “No, I don’t believe it’s anyone I’ve
met yet,” she said. “But I do believe we might all discover him soon.”

“How do you know that?” asked Carl.

“Because when I said it out loud just now, it felt right,” Theo answered simply.

Carl scrunched up his face and looked at Ian. He obviously didn’t know what to make of that. Ian shrugged and just then the conductor came down their row and said, “Dover Station in ten minutes!”

Ian folded the prophecy and tucked it back into his coat pocket, where it nestled against the cool steel of his pocket torch, knife, and compass, which went everywhere with him these days.

He then turned toward the window to gaze out at the passing terrain, and saw something so surprising that it made him gasp.