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

by Peter Knyte

  The swimming and diving of the previous day had given me more than a few aches in my muscles, but it was nothing serious and by the time I got to the ground floor I could already feel my limbs loosening up. I was just beginning to consider what to have for breakfast as I approached the dining room, when I noticed through one of the windows at the front of the hotel, the arrival of the two large motorcars which Selene and her companions had arrived in two days earlier. But there was no sign of the three young women, which meant the cars must just be arriving to pick them up.

  I didn’t have much time, and fleetingly considered skulking away to some quiet corner to simply watch their departure. It occurred to me though, that if they were about to leave they could hardly corner me for very long, and even if they did my friends would also soon arrive. So spotting them in the dining room, I picked up a daily newspaper, as though anticipating being by myself, then feigned to notice them as I strolled across the room, and went over to say hello.

  They’d obviously finished their breakfast, and were sat with coffee, clearly waiting for their cars to arrive. I couldn’t help but notice they were in their outdoor attire again, though now after having seen them in their evening gowns, they appeared distinctly less boyish, and much more reminiscent of the elegant and adventurous Amelia Earhart.

  ‘Why good morning to you too Mr Whitaker,’ was Miriam’s sunny greeting, ‘how nice to see you again, we missed you yesterday.’

  ‘Ah yes Ms Sabbadini,’ I responded with perhaps a little too much emphasis for the time of the day, ‘I’m afraid my friends rather exacted their revenge upon me yesterday for daring to call them… dusty, and we arrived back a little too late to dine at the hotel.’

  ‘Such cruelty,’ Selene interjected with an equal measure of mock theatricality. ‘I hope you at least found something worthwhile for all your efforts.’

  ‘Alas no,’ I responded, ‘though as I predicted, we did seem to discover a great many rocks. And yourselves? Did you have a pleasant days… exploring?’

  I was expecting to see one or other of their drivers coming across the room at any moment, and was keeping a weather eye out for him when I spotted Luke enter the dining room and look around. On an impulse I decided to try and cause a bit of trouble, so waved to attract his attention and bring him over to ‘meet’ his accomplices.

  ‘Ah, how fortunate,’ I said affably, and being careful not to let anything else show in my eyes. ‘Here is the friend we mentioned the other night, a fellow countryman of yours, who was feeling a little run down and not up to joining us for dinner.

  ‘Here he is. Luke come and meet the three young ladies we told you about yesterday morning, the ones you missed while you were feeling under the weather.

  ‘Ms Galanis, Ms Sabbadini, Ms Autieri, may in introduce another one of my good friends Mr Luke Cassanelli, not only one of your countrymen, but also from Rome and an intrepid hunter of dusty rocks like myself.’

  We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes during which I watched them all like a good-natured hawk, especially Thea and Luke who I suspected were the two weakest links. But there was very little that gave them away. Luke was a little stiff both physically and conversationally, while Thea looked a little nervous for a moment or two, but Selene and Miriam were completely at their ease, easily picking up and juggling the conversation until the others had a chance to recover.

  A moment later and the Maître d appeared to inform the ladies their cars had arrived. This was closely followed by Harry, which put the shoe on the other foot for a few heartbeats, as I waved to bring him over, hoping that he wouldn’t show too much surprise or interest at seeing Luke and his accomplices together.

  But my concern proved unfounded as unflappable Harry walked over without batting an eyelid and moved straight into extolling his pleasure at seeing Selene, Miriam and Thea again, especially in the company of Luke, after he’d missed the opportunity to meet them the other night.

  A few more moments idle chat and the young women took their leave, crossing paths with Peter on their way out, before finally making it to their cars. I was itching to get rid of Luke so I could talk to Harry and Peter about the effect of bringing them together, but there really wasn’t that much to tell, so I decided not to try and engineer the situation.

  Jean was bit slower at coming down than everyone else, which delayed us by a short while, but he didn’t want much to eat, so it wasn’t all that long before we could once more take to the open water and continue our searching. We finished off our search of the southern shoreline before moving on to examine the headland right at the toe of the horseshoe, and then on the following day the more distant northern shore. We even ran into Selene and her group on one occasion, as we were searching the headland, but all was politeness, and we simply waved from the boat and went on our way, as did they.

  After another two days of searching, we were beginning to run out of ideas, when the weather turned nasty again, and we were once more confined to the land. There wasn’t a great deal we could do cooped up in the hotel, so I took the opportunity to do a bit of reading and some writing. Eventually getting a bit bored of my room, I thought I’d pop down and see the concierge, to ask if he could recommend anything in the way of wet weather entertainment. Unfortunately just as I got there he was busy dealing with another guest looking for somewhere interesting to go for lunch, so I indicated I would wait and, while he dealt with the issue at hand, I gazed about looking for something to distract me until he was finished. On a whim I moved over to look at a tropical fish tank stood in a corner of the foyer beside a few comfortable chairs.

  I’d never been much of a fan of fish tanks back in England, they’d always seemed remarkably dark, unattractive things, full of dull, bored looking fish. But this one, by comparison, was a corker. Not only because it was so large and well kept, but also because of the variety and number of shimmering bright-coloured, energetic fish within. There was even a small forest of underwater plants and a couple of rocks for the inhabitants to play in and amongst. But it was as I watched the fish swimming around the rocks that they really caught my attention. One of the rocks was obviously a bit hollow underneath and I could see some of the smaller fish swimming in and out from underneath it, leaving the bigger fish to go around the outside. I don’t know why, but the hidden route beneath the rock seemed such a curious thing to think of putting into a fish tank, that I bent down to see if I could see anything more of it. As I did so, I was surprised to see the dark underside of the rock, was actually quite well lit with reflected light from a window on the far side of the tank. And that there was even a small silvery air pocket, at which the fish would occasionally gulp as they passed.

  It was like an electric charge had been passed through my body, and I stood up rather too suddenly, my head reeling as I tried to grasp the idea that had suddenly leapt into my brain. I don’t know how long I just stood staring at those fish, until eventually I became aware of someone talking to me, and pulled myself together. It was the concierge, politely asking what it was he could help me with.

  I apologised, saying something about it being a fascinating fish tank, and eventually managed to recall and form the question I’d originally come down to ask him about. There wasn’t much in the nearby city worth venturing out into the rain for, but he did suggest a small art gallery and studio, that wasn’t too far away, and which one of the other guests had recently visited and then recommended. I thanked him, doubtless still seeming terribly distracted, and then went to find the others, to run my sudden inspiration past them.

  I found Peter on the stairs on my way back up. As it happened he was looking for someone to play cards with, and I’d caught him before he’d found anyone else. We managed to find a quiet spot, and I ran the idea past him that the place we were looking for could be a cave with an entrance below sea level, like the famous Blue Grotto at Capri.

  He knew a bit more about geology than I, and thought it a distinct possibility, especially with the type of
rock found around and about the gulf. But of course had no idea how we might find such a place, especially if the entrance was wholly submerged, and not partly visible as it was in Capri.

  This would explain why Selene and her companions wouldn’t have found the place, even with the considerable head start they’d had on us. But of course now, the difficulty would be in figuring out how we could search for such a thing without letting Luke know, and hence without turning the search into a simple race.

  We needed to discuss this with some of the others, but again, without making Luke suspicious. Between the two of us we quickly hatched a plan. Peter and I would split up, and then I would find Luke and ask him if he’d like to accompany me to the art gallery I’d just found out about from the concierge. If Luke said yes, then Peter would say he wasn’t interested, and while we were out he would discuss the idea with anyone else who hadn’t wanted to go. If Luke said no, then we’d simply leave him to it, and find a café or bar along the way.

  I was fairly sure Jean would be interested in going, and now as I went off to find Luke, I wished we’d arranged some kind of signal, so we could let one another know when we had something to talk about that we didn’t want Luke around for. Maybe I’d suggest it if Luke decided to stay behind.

  I finally caught up with Luke in one of the bars having a coffee with Selene and Thea. Now they’d officially met of course they could meet openly without attracting any undue attention. They saw me coming from a mile off, so there was no chance of catching them unawares, but we’d seen quite a bit of one another over the previous couple of days, what with dinner in the evenings and the like. And obviously we’d run into one another around and about the hotel when we were all rained off, so it was unlikely anyone was going to slip up now anyway.

  I put the proposal to them all, though didn’t perhaps sell it as well as I might, made all the less convincing by a heavy downpour just at that moment too, and Selene’s very astute question about whether I was sure the place would even be open in such weather.

  They wavered for a minute or two, I suspected more out of politeness than any real interest, and then declined.

  That gave me a free hand, and after searching out the others, including Peter, we decided to split into two camps so as not to arouse too much attention. Myself, Jean and Marlow would head out to the gallery, while Peter, Androus and Harry would find somewhere to discuss things at the hotel.

  CHAPTER 18 – TIME AND TIDE

  As it turned out the gallery was not only open, but also a wonderful place to shelter from the rain. We’d been dropped off by one of the hotel cars, and upon discovering it open, sent the car back with instructions to return for us later in the afternoon.

  Away from the rain and inside the gallery it was a positive treasure-trove of local art. Watercolours, sketches, a few oils and some locally crafted items, driftwood scrimshaw, decorative pottery and the odd sculpted piece. Better still the gallery owner was also a working artist who, while originally from Spain, had walked and studied the local area intensively. He was only too willing to show us around, especially after discovering a fellow enthusiast in Jean, and to explain the different pieces he had for sale, as well as the localities that they featured or were inspired by.

  Unfortunately though, whilst the gallery was thoroughly charming in every way, we had business to attend to and there was nowhere for us to discuss the issues at hand. But having spent an hour or so looking around the gallery, we imposed upon the owner to recommend somewhere we could get a bite of lunch, before we went on to examine the rest of his stock later.

  We found the place he recommended without any difficulty, a small but friendly little bistro, serving some of the delicious local delicacies along with strong black coffee. I was also delighted to discover the mint tea I’d become so accustomed to in Jerusalem, but here served in ornate little glasses.

  We settled into a quiet corner and then got down to business.

  ‘Of course!’ was Marlow’s immediate response when I suggested the idea of a submersed cave. ‘With the more moderate climate of this area the shelter provided by the cave would be of less importance than the inaccessibility created by the water. He may even have lived outside and kept the presence of the cave entirely secret.’

  ‘Alternatively,’ responded Jean, ‘it may just be that the level of the water has risen slightly, or the shore subsided, and what was once open to the air is now no longer.

  ‘In any event,’ he continued, ‘the coast is an obvious place to find a cave. Did we not see the young children jumping off the rocks and swimming through some hidden passage, in order to amuse themselves at our concern.’

  ‘If we think it’s plausible that there is a cave with an underwater entrance’ I asked, ‘then the question must surely be, how do we go about searching for it without Luke realising what we’re doing?’

  It was a tricky question, but as we discussed it, with the benefit of having now examined most of the coast, we began to put together a few ideas about where and how we should take another look.

  For a start we could ask Androus to take another look at the scroll translation, just in case the wording might convey some additional meaning when considered alongside the idea of an underwater cave. At the same time we could re-examine those sites we’d originally short-listed, but we could do it when the light would give us the best chance of seeing the submerged rock or the pale sand of the sea floor. We probably wouldn’t be able to see the cave itself, but it might be enough to limit the number of dives we might have to do to check it out, and that should prevent Luke from guessing what we were really up to.

  With a working plan, we finished our lunch and, stopping off at the gallery, finished our tour with the purchase of a few small items. I even thought Marlow was going to be tempted for a minute when he seemed to get lost in a wonderful sunset seascape showing the gulf from the headland. But like every other sunset he seemed content to view it only once and then wait for the next. It often amazed me just how much he seemed to enjoy that same evening ritual. Always the sunset and never its rise, forever bathing only in the fading light.

  The weather was just as filthy and horrible when the car turned up to collect us as when it had left, and after our excursion I found I was only too happy to be returning to the bright light of our hotel and all its many comforts. I hadn’t bought much from the gallery, as I didn’t really have much of an eye for such things. But I did find a wonderful pocket sized photograph that I thought would make a nice memento, and which showed the modern city and in particular our hotel in the lowering light and long shadows of a late Mediterranean afternoon. But it was Jean who predictably found the greatest treasures, which he duly brought back to enjoy and show off before sending them on.

  It was an easy matter to catch up with Peter, Androus and Harry once we got back, and to compare notes on how to progress our search. They’d also discussed and re-examining the translation but had been a bit stumped about how to take the search any further. But after hearing our idea, Harry did suggest a rather splendid fabrication we could use to explain our new approach. Namely that we were starting the search over again, but this time we were going to try and re-enact the conditions mentioned in the scroll, particularly the time of day and the light.

  Once we got going it was only a few hours work to draw up a map showing the direction of light at the different times of day. All the same, by the time we’d finished adjusting the information to account for the different time of year, and for each of the locations, the sheer amount of information had become quite overwhelming, and needed a better grasp of geometry than mine to properly understand.

  Of course while we could map the direction and rough angle of light at the different times of day, it was all but impossible to match that detail to the surrounding hills and mountains. The height of these could probably add twenty minutes or half an hour on to the dawn in places, and meant we could still have quite a bit work to do when we got out there.

  We
staged a mock decision-making meeting later on in the day for Luke’s benefit, in a corner of one of the hotel bars. Initially talking in slightly demoralised tones about our lack of success, and then seemingly coming up with the cover story suggested by Harry. We’d agreed to be a bit cagey about the prospect at first, with some of us pretending not to be convinced by the merits of such an approach, only to be talked around later on.

  Most interestingly, the cover story we were using to explain our search was obviously something that Luke didn’t want us to do, because he again started to become obstructive and agitated at the prospect. And then of course it hit me, this must be the approach that Selene and her companions were actually using, which was why we kept missing them in the mornings, and why they were occasionally so late in returning. They were already checking different locations at the different times of day mentioned in the scroll, to see how the evidence matched.

  It might have only been the cover story we were using to prevent them from guessing the real focus of our search, but it clearly indicated that Selene and her friends were as determined as we were, and not about to easily give up.

  And then another idea fell into place for me. For the entire time we’d been in Corinth, Selene and her companions had been focusing their efforts on the headland to the north of the city. We’d seen them there several times and had even come close enough to wave on one occasion. Now the thought occurred to me. Suppose their search was more advanced than ours, and by some means they’d narrowed the search area down to the headland. It was time for me to try out one of the new signals I’d suggested to the others, when any of us wanted to talk about something without Luke. We hadn’t discussed using it when we wanted everyone to play along, but I was hoping they’d get the message and do exactly that.

  We’d agreed three or four signals, to fit the different kinds of situation we might find ourselves in. From pretending to have a stone in a shoe, or to have lost or dropped a hotel key, to the one I was just about to use, which was to pretend my watch had stopped at the very specific time of quarter to three. There was no flicker of recognition from anyone, as I went through the motions, which is as it should have been. But then while supposedly correcting my watch, I dropped the point I wanted to make into the conversation.