Trials in Walls of Ivy (Triskelion Trilogy Book 1)

by Deborah Jayne Pye

  We watched through the hidden cameras as the pair reached the bottom of the castle. With a sharp thump, Ash fired the grapple toward the crenelation. Through his microphone we could hear the clatter as it made contact. We all scanned the surveillance screens, searching for anyone who could have heard. I sucked in a breath as a figure running with a dog ran by on the path, close to their position. The moment stretched by as he continued to jog out of sight.

  They were clear for now.

  “Okay guys, you’re all clear. Remember to check each other’s harnesses before you go up,” I said, still uncomfortable with them going instead of me.

  “We know what we’re doing, Roz,” Bree protested.

  “Just do it. Please.” I watched as Bree pulled at Ash’s harness. She turned so Ash could check hers in return.

  “All clear, boss lady,” Ash said. “We’re ready when you are.”

  I took a deep breath and looked to Owen and Jay. “We ready?”

  “Everything’s rolling. It’s now or never,” Owen said, without taking his eyes from his screen.

  “Ash, Bree, all clear. You’re free to climb.” I sat back helplessly.

  They both grabbed a hold of the rope and pulled it taut. Like the perimeter wall, the walls of the castle were covered in ivy. Thick green patches of it made the walls appear spongy. Bree swore as her feet got tangled in the vines. My eyes fixed wide, unblinking as I watched her struggle to free her legs. She swung helplessly off the rope, kicking at the ivy snare.

  “Stupid. Fecking. Green stuff. You would think they would trim their bloody bushes.” Her voice buzzed through the little speaker.

  I slapped Jay over the back of his head as he sniggered.

  “Just take it slow. That’s it,” Ash whispered.

  I watched as he reached down to help pull her free. Within a few minutes of navigating the wall jungle, Ash was over the top. A few moments later, Bree followed.

  “Ash, can you set the camera so we can see you?” Jay asked, as he flicked from one screen to another.

  “Hang on,” Ash whispered, before his face appeared on the centre screen. “How’s that?”

  “Gorgeous.” Jay Said.

  “Do me,” Ash laughed, as he put two fingers up at Jay through the camera. He backed away to see Bree gathering the rope, winding it into position for their return journey.

  “Do you see anything?” I called, through the microphone. I scrutinised the screen, searching for something that could be the hidden object. The pathway they were stood on was a narrow strip of moss, with the parapet on one side and a domed roof in the centre.

  “Can’t see anything yet. Hang on,” Bree whispered, as she turned on a torch and walked around the dome, off camera. “Over here,” She called, a moment later. I watched helplessly as Ash ran over to join her.

  I stared at the motionless rooftop. Forgotten soggy leaves looked back at me through the abandoned camera.

  “What is it?” Ash, Bree, What is it?” I was standing over the screen, the microphone gripped in my hand. Ash ran back to the camera and picked it up. The world in the screen turned upside-down as we watched his feet walk around the dome. At the other side of the roof top, the world shifted again as he held the camera in place.

  “Your turn, Roz. What’s this mean?” Ash held the camera steady facing five pieces of paper. They were set out like dots on a die, each stuck to the parapet wall.

  “I can’t read them properly. What does that middle one say?”

  Ash didn’t hesitate. “The correct password is all you need. Which word will you keep?” The camera jolted and all view was lost.

  “What was that?” I heard Ash ask. I could see their feet walking in front of the camera, like it had been dropped to the ground.

  Jay lunged forward in his seat, searching the surveillance screens. “Can’t see anything… wait, there!” He pointed to the screen showing the base of the castle.

  There, in the corner was a figure, it was creeping slowly toward the wall Ash and Bree had just climbed. Cloaked in the darkness we created, the figure sauntered through the shadows along the perimeter of the castle, with no hesitation.

  “Ash, Bree, there’s someone coming. You need to keep down,” I shouted.

  “Shh, we know,” Bree whispered.

  We watched the surveillance screen, holding our breath. The figure circled the perimeter of the castle twice, before entering through the front door.

  “You see that? They didn’t hesitate,” Jay shouted, pointing at the door on screen.

  “Yes, so?” Fern said, from close behind us.

  Jay huffed and shook his head. “So, it’s the middle of the night. What is that door doing unlocked? They had to have had a key, which means they’re staff.”

  “Which means Bree and Ash will be in big trouble if they get caught. And we will’ve failed this stupid test. Bree, Ash?” I whispered into the microphone.

  “Yeah?” Ash responded.

  “Whoever it is, they’ve gone into the building. They had a key. You need to move, now.”

  Ash picked up the camera and looked into it as he spoke. “Roz, I’m going to take the clues with us. We can work it out back at the house, okay?”

  “Good idea, just be…” My voice broke off as a wailing alarm ripped through the speaker. “Bree, Ash! Are you okay? What’s happening?” The camera blinked off.

  “Shit. Shit it all to hell!” Owen shouted. His fingertips frantically hammered the key board.

  “What?” I knelt on the floor beside him. “Are they alright?”

  “It’s not them. Some bloody idiot set off the fire alarm on the ground floor. It’s gone into emergency mode. It’s locked me out of the fecking system. I’ll have to hack in again, but that could take ages.” He threw the keyboard down to the coffee table. It clattered and slipped off the other side. “They’re on their own up there.”

  I stumbled across the floor to Jay’s set up. “You see them?”

  He shook his head in frustration as we searched the screens, each one growing darker by the second.

  “Jay, I can’t even make out the bushes anymore. You don’t think something’s happened to your cameras, do you? Do you think someone’s done something to stop us seeing?”

  Jay flicked from one screen to the other. “I don’t think they could have. I mean, they would have to know where they were.”

  We continued to watch the screens helplessly. The view had become so dark, we had no chance of seeing Bree and Ash even if they stood and waved.

  We all sucked in a breath of shock as the screens suddenly came alive with blue lights. The fire engines tore through the campus and pulled up in front of the castle. They charged into the building without hesitation.

  “Damn it, they’re gonna get caught,” Jay shouted. I was gripping his sleeve, my eyes fixed on the blue lights.

  Urgent bangs hammered the front door. I bolted upright and almost knocking Fern to the ground as I tore across the room, ripping the door open to see Bree and Ash panting on the doorstep. I pulled them both inside and flung my arms around Bree.

  “Alright, we’re fine,” She protested, shoving me away playfully.

  Without a thought, I turned to Ash and threw my arms around him too. He responded by wrapping his arms around my shoulders. His skin was hot inside his dew soaked cold clothes.

  “Sorry,” I said, as I realised what I had done.

  “Hey, no problem here,” he grinned. He didn’t let go for a long moment.

  A phone rang, breaking the silence. Fern fumbled to pull a mobile from her pocket. Without a word, she rushed from the room and out the door. We all watched through the window as she retreated across the grass, still in her slippers.

  “Doesn’t talk much, does she?” Ash laughed.

  “So, Roz. Why didn’t you tell us there would be others looking for this clue too?” Bree asked, as she opened a bottle of beer from the fridge.

  “What? We were told we had random tasks. I thought they would
be all different.”

  “Well, she set the fire alarm off and headed straight for the roof. Lucky we ducked into an office as she passed.” Bree chugged her beer between breaths and was already hunting in the fridge for a second.

  “Sounds like a good plan,” Owen said, “if she knew you had the cameras diverted, by setting the alarm and throwing it into emergency mode, you would get caught on camera.”

  “Lucky you had two nifty Wolves doing the dirty for you.” Ash winked at me, still glowing with the excitement of the night.

  I held up my hands, signalling stop. “Who knew I had cameras? Who set off the alarm?”

  “Spring. She was alone, from the look of it,” Bree said, “with the way the lights all went dark there as we were escaping, looked like she tried to shut everything down. Think our hacking cocked up her plan. Probably explain why she set off the alarm.”

  I stood back, stunned. “How did she know? Do you think she knew who was already in there? I wonder if she got out.” I scrubbed my hands through my hair. Too many questions.

  “Ha, not likely.” Ash grabbed his bag and emptied the contents onto the table. “We got through the second floor window. Was the only way to get out passed the fire guys. We got the clue though. Which means, she didn’t.”

  He held up the five papers and laid them out on the floor in the same pattern, so we could all see. I put my hand on his arm and smiled in thanks. They had done so much for me tonight.

  The centre note was exactly what Ash had read: The correct password is all you need. Which word will you keep? The other four notes each held one word apiece: Windermere, Dove, Daffodil and Wordsworth. It was obvious that one of these words was the password which I needed to submit. This word was the secret which had been hidden. But which one?

  “This is all you, Roz,” Bree said, from the bottom of her third bottle. She seemed to be well on her way to checking out for the night. Or morning, as the sun had begun its slow climb in the distance.

  I paced the room in place of where Fern had left. The clues were here, I knew they had to be. I just needed a few more hours and a good night’s sleep to work it out, which I didn’t have.

  “Come on then, like before,” Owen called. “Talk it through. Which word is it?”

  Ash was kneeling over the papers, his face screwed in concentration. “It has to be Wordsworth. You said the first clue was his poem.”

  I pondered the idea, but shook my head. “No, it doesn’t connect to the rest. Why would we have to go to that much trouble? I already had the name Wordsworth.”

  Jay switched off the surveillance screens and turned to me. “Then what do we know? Wordsworth was a poet?”

  “He was English, lived in the lakes for a long time,” Ash said. “That connects to Windermere.”

  I picked up the four papers. “They all connect to him. So the clue must be somewhere else. Was there anything else up there?”

  “Nothing. Just moss and leaves,” Bree said, with a drunken giggle. “I was hoping to see some old arrow heads or something.”

  Jay laughed. “Arrow heads? Why would you see those on a university building?”

  “Well it is the keep.” Bree tried to get up, but Ash pushed her back down with ease and sat beside her. She scowled up at him, but stayed down. “It’s an old castle. What else were castles used for, other than fighting off invaders?”

  “I think you’ve had enough,” Ash said, as he took the bottle from her and drained it.

  “Hang on,” I said, coming to a stop mid pace, “they were hidden on the Keep roof. That’s it.” I jumped on the spot and laughed. “That’s it. The Keep.”

  “Roz, you numpty. Keep, isn’t one of the words,” Bree laughed, as she laid her head across Ash’s knee. He shoved her off playfully.

  I leaped over the settee and grabbed the first note. “Look. Which word will you keep?” I held it up for them all to see. “Don’t you get it?”

  They all looked to each other and shrugged. “Why don’t you enlighten us?” Owen asked.

  I groaned impatiently. “Wordsworth was English. The clue was hidden in the keep, which is a castle.” I nodded, waiting for them to get it. “An English man’s home is his castle.” I said the words slowly, waiting for them. “Oh, come on.”

  “Just fecking tell us!” Bree shouted.

  “Dove! He lived in Dove cottage. His home is his castle. Which word to keep. Get it?” My grin faltered as they all stared at me like I was losing it.

  Owen cleared his throat. “How on earth did you get to that?”

  “You think I’m wrong? I suppose I could be.”

  “No, I’m sure you’re right. I just don’t know how you managed to connect all that.” Owen smacked me in the arm playfully. “Hey, looks like you really are a super information gathering Mole. Who knew?”

  “Erm, thanks?” I smacked him back. “Right, now to just send it and we can get on with joining Bree in celebrations.” I ran up to my room to retrieve my laptop. The university logo fired up and I logged on to the Mole submission page.

  “Here goes nothing.”

  My fingers shook with impatience and adrenalin. With a deep calming breath, I slowly and deliberately typed Dove into the answer bar. I glanced up at my team as I pressed Enter.

  My heart stuttered. The screen flickered to blue.

  “What the bloody hell?” I screamed at the idle laptop.

  “What now?” Owen asked. He was already in the kitchen fishing out a beer.

  I held up the computer for him to see. “I got the blue screen of death! It was working until I tried to submit it.”

  He took the laptop from me and studied it for a moment. Within seconds he revived it. “Looks like they’re giving you another test. The site isn’t down, you just needed to get past the block.”

  “Another test? Is this ever going to end? How the hell do I get past a computer block?” I felt like crying. I was so close. But a computer block? I didn’t have a first clue how to get past one of those.

  Owen laughed. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. You’re the leader of a team, remember? Can’t you ask someone, say a good looking tech savvy guy, to submit it for you?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Please, oh tech savvy guy, could you submit it for me?”

  “You forgot the good looking bit,” he said, as he keyed the laptop. “Never forget to tell your favourite computer hacker how good looking he is.”

  “I won’t,” I replied.

  Bree erupted in laughter. Owen handed back the laptop with a flashing blue box in the centre of the screen. Submitted.

  “Oh, Owen. Thank you so much!”

  “No problem. Drinks are on you next time.” He slumped back in his chair.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I couldn’t wait. I was up, dressed and out the door before my alarm. The campus was just showing the signs of life as I walked toward Llamp’s office. The coffee shop doors were just opening, the staff of the library were making their way in. I laughed to myself as I realised how strange it was to walk these paths without the constant murmur of music from the ever present parties.

  My pace slowed as I grew closer to Llamp’s office. Two students were already stood patiently by her door. I was ridiculously early, therefore thought they must have been there all night since finishing their tasks. I hadn’t thought of doing that.

  I took my place and held my bag against my chest. This was the first real test. If I had passed and gotten through, my place here would be secured for the first year. At least I hoped it would. My mind raced over my conversation with Ash. What did happen with students who failed? The rules clearly stated that we were forbidden from talking about anything here. Even after we left we were committed to working for the government. So, what did happen to those who failed? I didn’t want to find out. I shifted on the spot self-consciously as a group of Mole students stood in line behind me.

  “Next,” Llamp’s tart voice called from the room. The door opened and a guy I had
yet to speak to came out. He was rubbing at his face with his sleeve, his eyes puffy and red. The girl in front of me entered the room and the line moved forward a step.

  I looked at my watch to see we were still half an hour early. This must have been yet another test. Did she want to see if we were eager or scold us for arriving too soon? Only a moment had passed when the girl opened the door and stormed from the room. Her expression was the vision of rage. I watched as she charged down the corridor, people dodging out of her way as she passed. The next girl took a shaking breath and entered the room. I was next.

  “Bit eager. You hoping to get brownie points by being first in line?” Spring shouted, as she came to stand by me at the head of the queue. “You’re going to fail this, you know.” She folded her arms and smirked at me.

  “Why do you say that?” I asked, keeping my voice strong. I wasn’t going to back down to her as I had seen so many do since we got here.

  “Oh, come on. Getting people to complete the task for you? You can’t honestly think you’re going to get away with it?” She looked behind me, clearly pleased with the audience. “Having two Wolves do the dirty work. And, if that wasn’t enough, you had a Shark and a Spider do the thinking for you!” She laughed audibly, flicking her long hair over her shoulder.

  I refused to look back as the echoing laughter ran through the queue behind me. I held my jaw clamped shut, refusing to ask her how she knew about Owen and Jay.

  The laughing stopped as the door of the room opened. We all held our breath as the girl came out confidently, smiling.

  I stepped forward to enter the room when Spring shoved me out of the way. “Hey,” I shouted. She smirked at me as she closed the door.

  My shoulder slumped against the cold wall. Almost there. Just a few minutes and it would all be over and done with. I looked down the queue and was shocked to see how many people were now waiting. Every person stood neatly in line, nervously watching the closed door. We were still too early for class, but it seemed we were all here.

  I leaned further forward to see Karissa. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She had to come soon if she wanted to pass. This had been the real first test. She was smart enough to know not everyone was going to pass.