The Flames of Time (Flames of Time Series Book 1)

by Peter Knyte

  ‘And we should accomplish all this without also seeming too practised?’ asked Androus, with more than a hint of doubt in his voice.

  ‘Yes, my friend,’ responded Harry, with an amused air, ‘but I know you’re far better at this kind of subterfuge, than you seem to be letting on. Need I tell our friends here about our trip to Cairo in… ‘26 was it?’

  That caused more than one or two smiles and quizzical looks from around the table, but Androus quickly dispelled any chance of the tale coming out, by graciously conceding the point and bringing the subject back to the present.

  Over the next few minutes we agreed the broad outline of what we would tell Luke’s accomplices, should we somehow enter into conversation with any of them, including what we were doing, how we’d met, and where we were going. All based around half-truths and the completely fabricated idea of a new archaeological theory that Androus and Harry were supposedly researching.

  It definitely wasn’t water-tight, but it was all we could manage by the time our table was ready, so it would have to do.

  The dining room was possibly the finest room in the whole hotel, with tall, fluted columns lining the walls, and the most exquisite chandeliers and lighting above immaculately laid tables and a mirror polished stone floor.

  We were one of the larger groups in the room, which seemed already full of contented diners, but it hadn’t taken too long to get the table, so we must have arrived at just the right moment.

  I was again struck by the opulence and comfort of this hotel by comparison with our former ‘home’ in Jerusalem, and wondered if in time this place might as easily come to feel the same.

  We’d ordered our wine, and had been talking and discussing the exquisite menu for half an hour or so when they arrived. I was just finalising my thoughts about the apetiser when Jean nudged my arm and indicated I should look down the room.

  Somehow it hadn’t occurred to me they might look different to when I’d seen them arrive at the hotel earlier on in the afternoon, but as I gazed down the room and saw them being lead to their table by the Maitre d’, I was simply awe struck. Individually I would quite happily have described each as a vision of beauty, but together. . . As they made their way across the dining room, their combined elegance and beauty gave them almost an air of the divine, condescending to walk amongst we poor mortals for but a few hours.

  Several times I had to stop myself from staring, so great was the transformation from earlier on in the afternoon I could hardly believe it, and looking around the table as they passed I could tell their appearance had much the same effect upon my companions.

  I glanced at Jean beside me, who noticing my look, turned toward me with a very quizzical smile upon his face.

  ‘It seems,’ he said musingly, after taking a sip of his wine, ‘we may have found the worthy opponents we so fervently desired.’

  I was just considering saying something in return when the Maitre d’ appeared between us, and addressed the table.

  ‘Gentlemen, please forgive my intrusion, but the group of young ladies, ask if they might join you for dinner this evening.’

  It felt like an electric shock had been passed through my body, so surprised was I. But as I reeled in momentary confusion it was Marlow who responded with perfect equanimity.

  ‘Not at all, please tell them we would be delighted to make their acquaintance.’

  So it was, almost in a daze I saw them join us, chairs and table settings were brought, introductions were offered, and within moments we were sat at the same table as our adversaries. Confidence and vivacity radiated from them, as they even chose to sit equally spaced between us around the table.

  Slowly my shock receded and I felt able to think again. Marlow had done our introductions, and was now saying something about us having travelled for a while and only just arrived in Corinth, Then it was their turn and Selene, who appeared to be the leader of their little group responded in her clear unaccented English.

  They were all apparently Italian, though I might never have guessed from their speech or manner, and were supposedly just travelling for the pleasure of it, indulging their passing interest in mythology and history, by exploring the less well known areas around each of the places they visited.

  I was sat beside Thea, who it seemed was the youngest of the group at just twenty-one. I was fairly sure it was she whom I’d seen start slightly, when they’d unexpectedly come face-to-face with Marlow earlier on in the day. And, as my wits returned, I realised rather un-chivalrously that as such, Thea might be a weak point we could use to find out more about these friends of Luke’s.

  Amongst the various introductions and chit-chat we somehow managed to order food, but just before we dispensed with the menus I was able to make a slightly closer study of our new dinner guests.

  Selene was certainly the most self-possessed of the group, and while perhaps not as conventionally beautiful as Thea, she was taller and more athletic in appearance. An impression enhanced by the black silk evening gown she was wearing, very low cut at the back and with a simple halter neck that showed off the toned alabaster skin or her long neck and shoulders. More striking though were her eyes, pale green and framed by her dark hair they had an almost haunting quality of stillness, a stillness I could see almost perfectly mirrored by Marlow sat just a couple of spaces over from her.

  Next there was Miriam, almost as tall as Selene, but where Selene was a moonlit night, Miriam was the sun warmed afternoon, golden complexioned with dark hazel eyes and shadow-filled wavy auburn hair. She had the lazy grace and broad knowing smile of a Cheshire cat wrapped in a gown of flowing violet satin and chiffon, she seemed to enthral Androus and Jean on either side of her almost immediately.

  Finally and sat between myself and Marlow was the slighter younger but strikingly beautiful Thea. Shorter than the other two, she was the dawn. With pale blonde hair and large blue eyes, she wore an exquisitely embroidered gown of ivory taffeta. There was an element of innocence about Thea that I found quite disarming, especially when she smiled. In fact I think it was only the fact that she was far more interested in Marlow that saved me from becoming completely besotted.

  Our food arrived, and we ate and talked, often about such random subjects, the news and gossip of the day, travel, literature, music, but in and amongst that intoxicating mix of eloquence and charming conversation, my wits occasionally alerted me to the more probing, less innocuous questions. What our plans were, interests, where else we’d visited, how often we wrote to family or friends. It was so subtly done, I honestly don’t think any of us would’ve noticed had we not already been on our guard, and even then I still wasn’t sure we weren’t giving more away than we intended.

  Our conversations fractured and split a hundred different ways during the course of the evening, so I wasn’t always able to follow what was being said, but even so, I occasionally caught the sound of our own return fire. It was equally subtle and unobtrusive, more side arms than artillery, and from time to time I think our questions and queries might’ve come close to the mark. But a miss as they say is as good as a mile, and before too long I realised we were outmatched and lucky to be holding our line together.

  Somehow we managed to make it through the meal without tripping over our rehearsed story too many times, but our interlocutors were only too happy to retire back to the bar with us, where even the sparse cover offered by the meal would no longer be present. I was beginning to feel despondent about the prospect of us being cornered in some way or another, and was sorely tempted to quit the field, and leave the ongoing campaign to my friends. But then as the rain once more hammered against the windows, I started to think about some of the other adversities we’d come through together. The brigand attack outside Uruk, the torrential downpour in Kenya, the overland trip to Zimbabwe, not to mention the various trials and tests along the way. For some reason the foolishness of my own thoughts suddenly struck me. I was honestly afraid of what I might inadvertently say to three charmin
g and beautiful young women. When a few months ago I’d been on foot in the African bush, having to wait and hope that some of the most dangerous animals on the planet would just pass by. And suddenly I couldn’t help but smile.

  ‘You seem amused Mr Whitaker,’ was Selene’s, sudden and rather unexpected comment to me. ‘Is it a private thought, or perhaps something you might consider sharing were I to offer you an English penny in exchange?’

  I’d suddenly become the centre of attention, but whereas a few minutes before I would’ve been terrified at the prospect, now I let my self-amusement fill me, and as I did so allowed myself a little Jean-style mischief into the deal.

  ‘Ah Ms Autieri, you have indeed caught me out,’ was my slightly melodramatic response, ‘and now of course I shall have to share my thoughts or you will think me very rude.

  ‘I was just thinking,’ I continued with another dramatic pause, ‘that here I am, near to one of the most charming ancient sites in the world. The very location, I believe you were saying during dinner, where the daughter of the Titan Oceanus, stepped forth from the sea and founded the ancient city upon which Corinth was later built…

  ‘Of course, I’m here to stumble around with my dusty academic fellows, expecting to find only rocks and with luck the suggestion of antiquity. Yet our path crosses that of three beautiful young ladies, possessed of such sophistication and elegance as to suggest their direct descent from that same goddess who first founded this place. In brief I smile because l had no idea archaeology could be so rewarding.’

  It was a truly grotesque piece of flattery, worthy of Jean himself, but it was accepted with much good humour, even drawing a delightful smile from the irrepressibly tranquil Selene. It also reduced the conversation to mere light-headed conviviality, with much mock indignation from Harry and Androus at being described as dusty, and many equally barbed enquiries from both my friends and Luke’s accomplices as to what I was drinking, and how much of it I’d already had.

  In no time the evening seemed to have passed, and it was time to retire, Thea was the first to excuse herself, closely followed by Miriam and Selene. But it was as they were leaving, saying good night to each of us, that I noticed Marlow and Selene finally coming eye to eye. I’d actually had a few drinks by that point, but as their two gazes finally met long enough to linger upon one another, I could almost feel time slowing. I wasn’t aware of either of them speaking, but for a moment their eyes just seemed to lock upon one another. I don’t think anything could have withstood that combined gaze, even the legendary Gorgon would have had to look away, but finally Marlow kissed the hand Selene had proffered to him, and received her smile again in return.

  A few minutes later, after we’d finished our drinks we also decided to retire for the evening, and it was as we were making our way upstairs and I was walking alongside Jean, that I saw him smiling.

  ‘You are quite the dark horse mon ami,’ he said chuckling quietly. ‘One moment I think you are almost drowning in the conversation, the next you effortlessly gather all the attention to yourself, and deliver the most elegant coup de grâce to the inquisition. It was all I could do not to applaud you.’

  With that we’d reached the landing and it was time to bid one another good night. I didn’t explain to Jean just how close he’d come to the truth, or for that matter how close I’d come to being overwhelmed, for that night I was happy to just enjoy the moment.

  CHAPTER 17 – DREAMS AND VISIONS

  I slept deep and well that night, roused only once by a tumultuous display of thunder and lightning that seemed stuck over the bay in front of the hotel, but after watching the crimson tinged light-show from my bedroom window for a few minutes I returned to bed and once again fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

  It was a glorious morning when I next awoke, with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see, and the calm untroubled waters of the bay showing no sign of the previous day and night’s tempestuous weather.

  Not only had the weather improved, but somehow I’d got away scot-free from the previous evening’s over indulgence, clear headed, bright-eyed and feeling thoroughly refreshed. Unfortunately with the improved weather also came the suspicion that it was going to be an interesting day if Luke and his accomplices had anything to do with it. But it was too nice a morning to worry about such things before they happened, so putting them out of my head I got ready for the day ahead.

  I was washed and dressed in no time, eager to get out and about in the fresh air, and was quite pleased to find everyone else had already headed down to breakfast. I suspected they’d gone down without rousing me because they expected I’d be a little the worse for wear, which just added to my pleasure when I strolled into the dining room full of beans and with a hearty appetite.

  There was much good-humoured banter round the table as I settled down to some hot coffee and poached eggs. All censored for Luke’s ears of course, and all to the benefit of my previously non-existent roguish reputation. And then with an ease and simplicity, that proved my suspicions completely unfounded we were setting off once more on our search.

  Because we thought the location we sought was going to be close to the sea, we’d decided to start our search using Stephanos’ boat. From there we could travel quickly and comfortably up and down the coast, using the dinghy to land or get a closer look at the cliffs and shallows.

  With no sign of Selene and her companions we simply strolled down to the boat and after setting sail in our own time, headed a couple of miles down the coast to the first point we’d identified on the maps.

  The Gulf of Corinth was like a giant horse-shoe as far as we were concerned, with the opening between the heels representing the far western end of the gulf, and the toe of the shoe representing the east where the canal and ruins of ancient Corinth were located.

  One of the main pieces of evidence we had from the account of Alcathos, was his description of the great white escarpment that lay directly behind the ancient city. It was an impressive curved cliff face of pale limestone visible from miles away to the north west and west. But just to the north, slightly beyond the canal a substantial headland jutted straight into the gulf, hiding the pale cliff face from view for half of the northern shoreline. This when combined with some of the other references in the scroll, conveniently narrowed our search area to the southern coast of the gulf, a little bit of the headland, and a couple of areas on the slightly more distant northern shore.

  As soon as we got under sail I could feel my eagerness and enthusiasm returning, something I don’t think I’d really experienced since we’d found out about the betrayal. But I was still on my guard, and when the situation permitted, I took the opportunity to observe Luke for any tell-tale signs of nerves or furtive behaviour.

  Now as we made our way along the coast he seemed relaxed and at ease, his normal-self even. But of course that probably meant we were doing what Luke and his accomplices wanted and therefore he felt he could relax.

  It was a pleasant, if fruitless day. We made extensive searches of several areas of coastline, either using the dinghy, walking the craggy shoreline or scanning it with binoculars from the boat. All the while, making various positional checks from the boat to confirm lines of sight and directions of light throughout the day. We also scanned the shallows where we could, in case of changing water levels, or other evidence that might have been lost through the constant earthquake activity in the region. Even doing a little diving, which to our credit, resulted in quite a few interesting odds and ends, all far too modern to be of any real value: A few bits of pottery, some engineering parts, a pair of spectacles.

  Of course our own diving and swimming was nothing by comparison with that of the local children, as was amply demonstrated by one group of young boys and girls who we encountered hurling themselves off a small cliff into the azure water below. The situation becoming more concerning for us, and more entertaining for them, when one the boys didn’t immediately appear back at the surface. But just as we wer
e getting ready to go in after him, he appeared again smiling and laughing atop the cliff face, having swum underwater and unobserved by us through a natural arch of stone, and then surreptitiously clambering up some back route to his comrades above. It was a neat trick, which they demonstrated to us again with huge smiles on their faces by swimming back and forth under the arch like a playful school of fish.

  It was a long day, but we’d got a lot done, and while tired and in need of a hearty meal it seemed like a good start, with some honest progress, even if only to rule out a few places.

  The day was getting on a bit by the time we got back, and when we finally made it down for dinner after getting cleaned up the sociable aspect of dining was definitely running a distant second to the need for something to eat. So rather than wait for a table at the hotel we decided to eat out at a nearby restaurant recommended by the concierge. Of course it turned out to be a French restaurant, run by another one of Jean’s irrepressible countrymen, which inevitably lead to all manner of deliberation, exaggeration and enthusiasm from Jean, and it being very nearly midnight by the time we took our leave to make our way back to the hotel and much needed beds.

  As a consequence we had neither sight or sound of Selene and her companions, and had inadvertently probably also prevented Luke from being able to contact them too. Not that I had any illusions about things staying that way, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they would be thinking.

  The following morning was again warm and bright with barely a cloud in the sky. I was the first one up, so took my turn to rouse the others on my way downstairs, Luke was already moving around and answered his door straight away. While Jean, slightly the worse for the previous evening’s enthusiasm was a little more sluggish than usual. When I’d given them all a call and received an answer of one form or another, I headed on down to the dining room for breakfast.