The Mask of Destiny (35 page)

‘The golden rods,' Gerald said.

Green smiled. ‘What did you call them in India, Gerald? Cheap old relics?' Green snorted with delight. ‘They gave you quite the jolt. So they should. They are the key to everything. The key to
knowing
everything.'

Gerald had a sudden flash of understanding. ‘That's what you're after?' he said. ‘To see the future.'

‘Of course,' Green said. ‘Knowledge—the ambition of every cultured human.'

Gerald stared at him, horrified. ‘But if you see into the future, you can influence what's going to happen— you can change destinies.'

‘Yes,' Green said with a smirk. ‘I will be a god.'

The power of the Oracle in Green's hands—a man who had killed without hesitation. It was unthinkable.

‘That's why Emperor Theodosius sent Quintus and his sons here in the first place,' Green said. ‘To steal the secret of the Oracle.'

‘Yeah, and kill everybody in the town,' Gerald said with disgust.

‘I believe that was the plan. But my research shows that Quintus and his sons decided that the Oracle's power was too great to be trusted to anyone, particularly the emperor. So they made sure he would never get it.'

‘They weren't after the gold?' Gerald said.

‘Gerald, you've got to stop thinking in such base terms. This is about ultimate power. The Oracle was expecting your ancestors, of course. She knew what was coming. And she was prepared. Clea convinced Quintus to help with her plan. Together with the townsfolk they created a fake town, designed to look like it had been sacked. They then buried the real city, leaving the Oracle's secret safely inside. To make sure it was secure, the three brothers each took a golden rod in a locked casket and set off, never to see each other again. When the emperor found he'd been crossed, he sent my ancestor Octavius Viridian after them. As you know, he found Marcus in India and killed him. That's how Marcus's ring came to be mine.'

Gerald was astonished. His ancestors weren't murderers—they'd tried to protect the Oracle's secret.

Green slid one of the golden rods from the tube. ‘I will be the most powerful person in modern history. Presidents and kings will bow down to me, just as the mighty prostrated themselves to the Oracle in ancient times.' A look of ultimate greed shone in Green's eyes. ‘I just need one last thing before I fulfil my destiny.'

The lamplight played across the surface of the rod like fingers on a gilded flute.

‘I've asked you before Gerald, and I'll ask again. Tell me what you see, when I do this?' Green dropped his sword and grabbed Gerald by the hair. He held out the golden rod and laid it across Gerald's forehead.

Gerald's eyes shot wide. The cotton-wool fog inside his head ignited in an inferno. Gerald could see with absolute clarity. He tried not to tell Green what he saw, but he was compelled to speak.

‘There's a person.' Gerald could hear his own voice filling the room, as if it was someone else speaking. ‘Wearing a mask. The most powerful being on earth.'

Green whipped the rod away. Gerald collapsed to the floor with a colossal headache.

‘Perfect,' Green said. ‘Truly perfect.'

Gerald was on his hands and knees in the shallow pit, sucking in air. His head felt like it had been fried. ‘Where are Sam and Ruby?' he breathed. ‘And Nico?'

Green took the remaining rods from the tube and laid them at his feet. ‘They are with my niece, where they belong,' he said.

Gerald didn't understand. ‘Belong?'

‘Naturally. Charlotte and your friends have known each other for years. She used to babysit them.'

Gerald jolted his head. What was Green saying?

‘Gerald, you need to understand—neither fate nor coincidence brought you here. I did.'

Green paused to let the enormity of his words soak in.

‘I thought I could find this place by myself, Gerald. That's why I framed you for the murder—to get you out of the way. But your escape from the police forced a change in plan. And it worked in my favour. Have you ever tried fly-fishing, Gerald? You really should. Using wit and subterfuge to fool another creature is the most tremendous fun: to dangle something in front of its nose until it risks everything to take a bite. How do you think I found you so quickly in this place? How do you think I've been able to follow you all the way? In Glastonbury with the diamond casket? Then in India and France.'

‘What are you saying?'

‘Young Sam and Ruby have played their parts brilliantly. But surely you must have suspected.'

Again, Green paused, glaring down at the horror dawning on Gerald's face.

Then, as if he was thrusting his sword into Gerald's chest, Green rammed the point home. ‘Sam and Ruby have been working for me all along.'

Chapter 29

G
erald stared down at the dusty floor. Green's words were clear enough, but Gerald could make no sense of them.

Ruby and Sam…had betrayed him?

‘They were bait, Gerald. To get you to use your special talents to lead me here. And you swallowed it whole,' said Sir Mason Green.

Gerald couldn't accept what Green was saying. It was impossible. His head swam with memories of the past two months. ‘But you tried to kill Sam in the burial chamber under Beaconsfield,' Gerald said.

‘Convincing, wasn't it. And yet,' Green spread his arms wide, ‘here we are. Simple Sam, loyal Sam—leaving little messages along the way. Do you remember the pigeon post that you used in India? Sam slipped in an extra note for me. And Ruby…such a pretty girl, don't you agree? So resourceful. So convincing. I bet you thought she liked you. Maybe, even a little more than just liked you.'

‘You're lying!' Gerald cried. ‘Ruby would never deceive me.'

‘Really? How many times have you been on the brink of giving up this chase? Of going home and enjoying your massive fortune. A dozen times? More? And who has been the voice in your ear, urging you on? Giving you little hugs and words of encouragement.'

Gerald felt like Green was landing hammer blows to his temple. Could it be true? Could Ruby have been playing him for a fool from the very beginning? Gerald's mind shot back to when he'd first met Ruby and Sam. It was in the British Museum, when the thin man was dragging him away. Ruby had turned up out of nowhere, batting her eyelids and stealing him to safety. Then, time after time, when Gerald had been on the verge of giving up, Ruby was always there—with a smile, or a squeeze on the arm, or a peck on the cheek. A laugh and a kind word. There were times when she was the only reason he'd kept at it.

Green hovered over him. ‘Just last night at Charlotte's house, didn't you think it odd that you were the only one captured; that the others miraculously got away, only to come back just in time to rescue you?' Gerald screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to listen. ‘But not before Charlotte was able to give you a little taste of one of her marvellous medicines—just enough to help you find this place. Just enough for you to lead me here.'

Green was eyeing Gerald closely, watching his expression. ‘They deceived you, Gerald. It's amazing what money will convince some people to do.'

Gerald's mind was awash with memories, and with the pain of treachery. ‘It can't be true.' A sob caught in his throat. A tear budded in the corner of an eye and rolled down his cheek. His head slumped. After everything he had experienced, this was the hardest blow.

‘Come Gerald, don't take it to heart. People can be cruel. The secret is not to grow too attached to them. I never do.'

Gerald jumped to his feet, but Green had his sword in his hand. ‘Don't be foolish, Gerald.' The tip of the blade was at Gerald's throat. ‘You're in denial. You're feeling shock. Anger. Rejection. It's all perfectly natural. Sam and Ruby betrayed you. Accept it. Then do something about it.'

Gerald looked into Green's eyes. They were snake's eyes—cool, without emotion, calculating.

‘What do you mean?'

‘I have no further use for them,' Green said. ‘Take your revenge, Gerald.' Green's lips spread like he was part crocodile. ‘It's delicious.'

A lump the size of a golf ball lodged in Gerald's throat.

The old man shouted up the stairwell. Seconds later Ruby and Sam appeared in the doorway. They were laughing.

Gerald couldn't believe it. They were actually laughing.

‘Hi Gerald,' Ruby said brightly. ‘How have you been?' Sam sniggered behind her. It was as if they were drunk with victory.

Gerald couldn't look at them. His knees buckled. He thought he was going to be sick.

Charlotte followed Ruby and Sam into the chamber. She held her ivory hairpin in one hand. ‘You will behave, won't you, Gerald?' she said. She tapped Ruby and Sam on the shoulder. ‘Come, children. Sit by me.'

Ruby smiled up at Charlotte and nodded like an obedient puppy. ‘Okay,' she said. Charlotte sat between Ruby and Sam on the far side of the shallow pit. Sam whispered something to Ruby and she burst into giggles. Gerald had to look away.

Green sheathed his sword and crouched down. He picked up one of the three golden rods and carefully held it by its ends. Then he twisted his hands. Gerald watched in amazement as the rod telescoped outwards, extending to about a metre in length. The intricate engraving on its surface transformed to reveal the image of a python twisted around it.

Green's eyes shone at the golden shaft balanced in his hands. ‘Did you know, Gerald,' he said, ‘that a three legged stool will never wobble?'

Gerald edged back to the lip of the pit and sat down. ‘What are you talking about?'

Green laid the extended rod on the floor, and Gerald noticed three notches in the stonework by his feet. They formed a large triangle.

‘The mystery surrounding the Oracle of Delphi has confounded scholars for centuries,' Green said. He extended the second rod with a turn of his wrists and placed it by the first. ‘You may have heard that the temple was situated over a fault in the earth and would fill with gas, sending the Oracle into a drugged frenzy.' Green picked up the last rod and unlocked it with a twist. He placed it with the other two: three identical poles, each decorated with a twirled snake. ‘I think the gas was actually a trap for intruders. It's what sent you off to sleep, Gerald. If I hadn't opened a vent you would have quietly asphyxiated. No, the true power of the Oracle resides in these three legs.'

‘They're legs?' Gerald said. ‘Legs of what?'

Green fixed him with a steady stare. ‘The Oracle's chair, of course. The holy tripod of legend. The ultimate seat of power.'

Green picked up the rods and slotted each of them in turn into the three notches in the floor. Their tops came together to create a tripod. The moment the third rod fell into place, a low rumble sounded from deep beneath the shallow pit. Three fine cracks appeared in the stone floor, connecting the base of the tripod. A triangular paving stone sank, revealing a hole in the ground.

Green reached into its depths and his face lit up with the thrill of discovery. He pulled two objects from the fissure in the earth. ‘The Oracle would sit on this saddle atop the tripod,' he said. He held up a jewel-encrusted seat, which he fitted onto the apex of the golden rods. ‘And she would wear this to see the secrets of the future.' Green held a gilded mask, moulded to fit above the nose and entirely cover the eyes.

Gerald couldn't believe the look of absolute desire on Green's face. Across the pit, Charlotte straightened. Her eyes were fixed on the object in Green's hand.

‘The Oracle's mask,' Green whispered, his eyes reflecting the dance of gold light from the mask cupped in his hands. ‘It would blind her to this room, but open her eyes to all eternity.'

Green dragged his gaze away from the mask and locked onto Gerald.

‘And now, it is mine.'

He crossed to Gerald's side and hauled him up by the shirtfront. ‘This is where you get your revenge, Gerald. The power locked in this mask is unlike anything known to this world. Such power is dangerous. For over a thousand years only women held the role of Oracle. There must have been a reason for that, so I'm not taking any chances.' Green looked to Charlotte and dropped his voice so that only Gerald could hear. ‘My niece has graciously volunteered to be the first Oracle of the modern day. Through her, I will see all. But I want to test it first. And that's where Miss Valentine comes into play.'

Gerald's eyes paused for a second on Ruby's face. A knot of hate twisted in his gut.

Green nodded at his niece.

Charlotte stood and held out a hand to Ruby. ‘Come along,' she said. ‘We've got a surprise for you.'

Ruby rose unsteadily to her feet and grinned at Sam. ‘I love surprises,' she said.

Gerald frowned at her. What was she on about?

‘Put her on the tripod,' Green instructed.