Hollow Earth

by John Barrowman

  ‘Matt, you can’t just call them up out of the blue and be like, “Oh, hey Auntie Vi, say, just a quick question, but did you know my mum was a crook?”’ Em protested. ‘You’ll terrify them.’

  Matt was already heading out of the kitchen. ‘That’s not what I’ll say,’ he said indignantly over his shoulder. ‘Besides, my call won’t be completely out of the blue. Simon talked to both of them yesterday and told them Mum was missing. I’ll just ask if she’s been in touch, and if they happen to know of anyone Mum might have trusted that we could call for information.’

  Em went back to scanning the paper. As she turned to the last page, a photograph of a woman being helped into a police car in Glasgow caught her eye. She was folding the page over to get a closer look at the picture when Matt returned to the kitchen and distracted her.

  ‘Violet sends her love,’ Matt said, settling back down at the kitchen table. ‘She hasn’t heard from Mum in weeks, but she did say something very interesting. After she spoke to Simon yesterday, she and Anthea remembered that two days ago, when they were helping a new tenant move into our old flat, they noticed that a pane of glass had been removed from the skylight. Aunt Violet says it must have happened when the flat was empty.’

  ‘So someone might have broken in through the roof?’ asked Em.

  Matt nodded.

  ‘Was anything stolen?’

  ‘That’s the odd thing,’ said Matt. ‘As far as they could tell, nothing was missing.’

  ‘Think it might have been your mum?’ signed Zach, getting up to load his dishes into the dishwasher.

  ‘That’s exactly what I’m thinking,’ said Em.

  ‘I did ask Aunt Violet if Mum had any friends we could contact,’ said Matt. ‘But she told me what we already knew. Mum kept herself to herself. The only friends she had were the few people she worked with at the galleries, and us. She said she had given a list of those names to Simon already.’

  Em sighed. ‘Too bad.’

  ‘I vote we stick with our original plan,’ Matt said. ‘Take advantage of the grown-ups being gone and see if we can find that horrible painting.’

  Zach smacked his spoon on the counter to get their attention. ‘If you two want to explore, I might go over to Era Mina to see if I can figure out what the man in that boat was looking for. Maybe he’s looking for the painting, too? Plus it wouldn’t hurt to check on our stuff in the cave either.’

  The caladrius’s vision of Zach floating injured in a tidal pool with the stranger beside him flashed across Matt’s mind. He shivered. ‘I don’t think we should split up,’ he said quickly. ‘Let’s pack lunch and all go over to the island. We could look for the painting later.’

  Em looked down at the photograph of the woman in Glasgow on the back page of the paper, while the boys cleared away the rest of the breakfast dishes. ‘Hey!’ she said, peering more closely. ‘Check out this picture.’

  ‘Isn’t that the woman we trapped in the quicksand yesterday?’ Matt asked, staring over Em’s shoulder.

  ‘It says here,’ skimmed Em, reading aloud, ‘that she was taken to hospital after she was found wandering around in Glasgow with no memory of who she was. The police are contacting authorities in the US because of her accent.’

  ‘She knew who she was when we were with her,’ signed Zach.

  ‘So someone must have done something to her mind,’ said Matt. ‘What’s it called when Guardians do that memory-wiping thing?’

  ‘Inspiriting,’ Em snapped at him. Typical Matt, forgetting important facts. ‘But you need to be a powerful Guardian to be able to wipe a person’s memory. Even Simon couldn’t inspirit like that.’

  ‘Maybe that’s what happened to Mum,’ Matt said suddenly. ‘Maybe somebody inspirited her!’

  FIFTY-FIVE

  The distant peaks of the islands of Kintyre and Bute looked majestic in the morning sunshine as the trio stood at the boathouse, pulling on their life jackets. But the brilliant beauty of the bay was in stark contrast to the growing disquiet the twins and Zach were feeling.

  ‘Try texting your dad again,’ Em suggested to Zach, setting his backpack and their fishing gear – a useful cover – inside the rowing boat.

  Matt looked at the Abbey’s speedboat. ‘What if—’ he began.

  ‘No way,’ said Em at once. ‘The speedboat would draw way too much attention. You know we’re not allowed to drive it.’ Matt reluctantly lifted the rowing boat’s oars from their shelf, sliding them under the seats.

  ‘Nothing from Dad yet,’ Zach signed. ‘My texts are piling up. Even a phone call just goes through to his voicemail.’

  ‘Mara’s, too,’ said Matt, tapping the face of his watch to disconnect his attempted call.

  Em climbed into the boat. Matt settled behind her. Zach untied the rope, pushing the boat clear of the dock before climbing in next to Em.

  ‘Ready?’ asked Em.

  Zach nodded. ‘One day, we’re going to get in so much trouble for doing this.’

  Pulling a pad of paper from Zach’s backpack, Matt sketched their boat with the addition of a small outboard engine. Bursting into life in a flash of silver and blue, the motor morphed on to the wood behind Matt, who flipped up the tiller handle and steered them out into the bay.

  ‘It’s hard to believe that Simon and Mara could still be hanging out at a coffee shop,’ said Em.

  ‘Of course it’s not,’ said Matt. ‘Grown-ups can do strange things at the weirdest times, and whether we like it or not they keep secrets. They’re all up to something and don’t want us involved.’

  ‘That may be sort of true,’ Em admitted. ‘But when has Simon ever gone anywhere for longer than thirty minutes without checking in with us? That’s why he gave us these watches.’

  The water was choppy, forcing Matt to concentrate on his steering, while Em and Zach kept their eyes peeled for the coastguard or a local who might recognize them and know they were too young to operate a motorized vehicle of any kind.

  At last, Matt steered the boat around to a rocky inlet on the western shore of Era Mina and moored it in Monk’s Cove.

  ‘Do you hear that, Matt?’ said Em, cocking her head. ‘Sounds like circus music. It’s coming from the caves.’

  Matt’s eyes widened. ‘Someone’s discovered our hideout.’

  Once they’d explained the situation to Zach, the three of them waded ashore and headed for one of a series of caves that faced out to sea. A high-water mark indicated that most of the caves would be inaccessible at high tide.

  Tapping the face of his watch a couple of times, Zach signed, ‘We’ve got about four hours until today’s high tide. Should be enough to check it out.’

  He put on his helmet with its cave light attached to the front, grabbed a torch and flipped the backpack over his shoulders. The twins put on their helmets and followed Zach into the cave.

  They used the crevices and outcroppings to climb up inside the island. It wasn’t particularly high, but when there had been a lot of rain, like yesterday’s storm, it could be treacherous.

  Matt and I are still hearing music, Zach.

  Maybe we left music on last time we were here?

  Em doubted it. They were always extra cautious when they left their hideout, turning things off and sealing things up, never knowing when they’d be able to sneak back across to the island again. The adults knew they had been exploring Monk’s Cove on Era Mina, but had no idea how much of the network of caves they had staked out for themselves.

  The higher they climbed, the more Em’s uneasiness grew. Without warning, she stopped, causing Matt to crash into her.

  I feel something … we should go back.

  Hearing Em’s apprehension, Zach stopped and turned. Losing his balance for a second, he steadied himself against the slick wall, dropping his torch as he did. It clattered off the walls, landing with a splash in the tidal pool below.

  Now we definitely should go back. You’ve never dropped the light before, Zach.

 
‘What’s wrong, Em?’ asked Matt, as Zach started climbing back down towards them.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Em unhappily. ‘My stomach is flipping out, and the music is getting louder.’

  The vision of Zach in the tidal pool appeared again in Matt’s mind. This time he couldn’t stop it from lingering, which meant that Em saw the vision, too. She almost lost her grip on the cave wall.

  ‘Is that what the caladrius showed you? You said it was no big deal! Just that Zach got injured!’

  ‘Yes, but hear me out—’

  ‘The caladrius showed you an image of Zach drowning, and you still let him come to this cave? We’ve got to go back down and get out of here!’

  ‘He would have come without us,’ Matt shouted. ‘You know that. At least this way, we can do something … animate if we have to …’

  ‘Animate? Is that your answer to everything?’

  Angrily, Matt squeezed passed Em on the ledge. ‘Well, we’re not going back down. I want to know who’s up there.’

  A man’s voice called to them from the mouth of their cave several metres further up.

  ‘Are you planning on arguing for much longer? Because I wouldn’t mind a sandwich if you have one, and I’d rather not have to climb down to get it.’

  FIFTY-SIX

  Zach climbed over the lip of the hideout first. Reaching above his head, he pulled a cord attached to a string of lights, which blazed into life. The twins hoisted themselves into the cave directly behind Zach. The stranger they had followed with the caladrius stood in front of them, a torch hanging by his side.

  ‘You shot me!’ said Matt in shock.

  The stranger held up his hands. ‘In my defence, I shot an animation. Impressive piece of work, by the way. Although I’m sure you realize how dangerous and stupid it was to animate something that distinctive in public.’

  ‘Did you know how much it was going to hurt me when you shot it?’ yelled Matt. The stranger shrugged. ‘Maybe you needed to know what being hurt like that felt like.’

  Matt lunged at the stranger, but Zach and Em held him back.

  Matt, wait. He looks familiar. Can we at least find out who he is and what he wants before you try to pummel him?

  ‘I like what you’ve done with the place,’ said the man, walking carefully across the slick, uneven floor to a couch where a rolled-up sleeping bag, a bike helmet and a black saddlebags were stacked. ‘It wasn’t too bad spending the night here, apart from the damp and the smell of rotting fish. There was certainly lots to entertain myself with.’

  The old couch faced two long trestle tables shoved together, the kind their mum and Mara used in their studios. But instead of art supplies, the tables held a desk-top computer, an array of open circuit boards, dismantled hard drives and at least two games systems.

  ‘I can only imagine how you got all this gear up here,’ the stranger added.

  They smiled sheepishly.

  ‘So who are you?’ asked Matt, doing his best to control his anger.

  ‘We met a couple of months ago, don’t you remember? My name is Vaughn.’ The man sank back into the couch, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

  The man in front of them had not shaved in a while; his hair was longer and unkempt, and his dishevelled clothes were very different from the sharp suit he’d been wearing when they saw him last. But Em remembered him now. ‘Vaughn!’ she exclaimed. ‘Mum’s friend from Covent Garden.’

  Zach looked perplexed, but Matt’s face cleared. ‘Do you know where Mum is?’ he asked at once.

  Vaughn shook his head. ‘But I do have some theories about what could have happened to her. That’s why I came up from London. I’m sorry about your grandpa. He was a close friend of my mum’s, too. They trained together here at the Abbey when Renard was a student.’

  I believe him.

  Hard to imagine any girl not.

  Em scowled at her brother.

  ‘So how did you find us?’ asked Matt, unfolding a deckchair before dropping into it.

  Vaughn grinned. ‘When I was wandering around the island yesterday, I found the cable you’d rigged up to steal power from the Abbey. That’s what led me here. Ingenious.’

  ‘That was Zach’s idea,’ said Em proudly.

  Zach acknowledged the compliment with a nod, finding a spot to sit where he could read the conversation more easily.

  ‘Well done, Zach,’ Vaughn signed. ‘So I assume the main breaker is under the dock?’

  Looking surprised at Vaughn’s adept use of sign language, Zach nodded again.

  ‘You’re too young to remember me, Zach,’ Vaughn said, ‘but I was living at the Abbey when your dad first brought you here. We all learned sign language together.’

  ‘So did you know my mum, too?’ Zach signed eagerly.

  Zach’s question shocked the twins. Their friend had never said more than a few words about his mum; the most they knew was that she’d died when he was born.

  ‘I didn’t. Renard had only recently recruited your dad to join him at the Abbey. You came as a package.’

  ‘So were you the one playing the circus music?’ Zach asked.

  Vaughn lifted a small violin-like instrument from under his sleeping bag. ‘It’s a hurdy-gurdy,’ he explained, letting the tinkling sound fill the cave. ‘Do you remember when you last heard this, Matt?’

  ‘Covent Garden,’ said Matt, nodding. ‘You thought the hurdy-gurdy man was trying to kidnap me.’

  ‘He would have, given the chance,’ said Vaughn. ‘But I should add that he was actually a she disguised very well, and someone who’d been watching you both for a long time.’

  ‘Who?’ said Matt and Em at once.

  Before Vaughn could answer, the children’s three watches beeped in unison.

  ‘You can’t possibly get a mobile signal inside this hillside,’ said Vaughn, frowning at the sound. ‘At least, not a real one.’

  The twins looked at their watches. The same instant message flashed on each of them.

  Come home immediately. Something’s happened to Simon.

  Matt looked at Em. Em looked at Zach. Zach’s hands sketched four letters.

  ‘Mara!’

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  Zach grabbed his backpack and put on his helmet at once. Quickly, he headed to the cave opening with Matt and Em right behind him.

  ‘Before you go rushing off back to the Abbey at Mara’s beck and call,’ said Vaughn urgently, ‘you need to know something. It’s important!’

  The twins stopped. Unable to hear Vaughn’s plea, Zach had already disappeared down into the tunnel.

  ‘Don’t trust Mara. I found this hurdy-gurdy in her room. She was watching you in London that day, dressed up as a street musician. It was probably the easiest way to follow you all since your mum would have recognized her. I think she may even have been in the National Gallery earlier. Mara is not who you think she is.’

  Em didn’t know what to make of this. ‘We really have to go,’ she said hesitantly. ‘If something’s happened to Simon, we need to be there. He’s been like a dad to us. But will you wait for us here so we can talk later?’

  ‘I’ll wait,’ Vaughn said. ‘But promise me one thing. Be wary of Mara, okay? Trust your Guardian instincts.’

  ‘Are you coming or not, Em?’ Matt demanded, looking over the lip of the tunnel to where Zach was already far into his descent.

  Vaughn grabbed Em’s hand.

  ‘Your grandfather was the one who sent me to work in London when you all fled Auchinmurn,’ he said. ‘My mission was to keep an eye on you, Matt and your mum. With Sandie missing and Renard hurt, you may need me. I think Mara may have something to do with your mum’s disappearance.’

  Em knew Matt had stopped his descent and was listening. After finding the envelope in Mara’s room last night, their suspicions about her had grown.

  ‘Mara was once very close to your dad,’ Vaughn explained. ‘She may even still be in love with him. I don’t think she’s ever for
given your mum for his disappearance.’

  ‘But even if that’s true,’ said Em, ‘why would she want to hurt Grandpa or us?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Vaughn confessed. ‘It’s one of the reasons that I had to return to Scotland when I heard your mum was missing. While I was in London spying on the Council of Guardians for Renard – yes, that was part of my job description too – I learned that Mara was doing the same here on Auchinmurn for someone else. I thought it was Sir Charles Wren, but now I’m not sure. You know I’m telling you the truth.’ His piercing green eyes held Em’s transfixed gaze. ‘Don’t you?’

  The twins said nothing all the way down the rocky ledges. Although it was a climb they’d made often, they had never had to make it with quite so much adrenaline raging through their bodies. Silence was preferable to slipping.

  Zach was waiting for them at the bottom.

  ‘What took you so long?’

  Quickly, Em brought him up to speed.

  ‘Let’s not jump to conclusions,’ signed Zach. His own anxiety about his dad was mounting, and he could sense Em’s deepening dread.

  ‘And how do we know we can trust this guy anyway?’ Matt demanded. ‘He did shoot me, you know.’

  ‘Well, he was right about one thing,’ signed Zach. ‘No true signal or instant message could have got to us in the cave. It must have been—’

  ‘An animation,’ said the twins together, realizing at once that it was the only answer.

  ‘But who animated it?’ Em said. ‘Mara, or someone else?’

  The three of them splashed through the rising water and out on to the beach, where they had to shield their eyes from the blinding daylight for a few minutes before getting into their boat.

  Zach sat in front, the spray soaking his face and hair as Matt gunned the small engine. Every few seconds, Zach checked his watch for messages and sent more texts to his dad’s mobile. Clutching Matt’s drawing of the outboard motor tightly in her hand, Em tried to smile reassuringly at Zach.

  Your dad will be okay.

  But she knew he sensed that she was far from reassured.