Maze of Death

by Philip Caveney

  ‘It’s a funny thing,’ said Ethan, ‘but I don’t know any rich man who does stuff like that. I guess at the end of the day, it’s his money and he has a right to spend it on whatever he wants.’ He gestured around at the incredible room in which they were sitting. ‘You have to admit, this is pretty amazing.’

  Coates shook his head. ‘I don’t know why I waste my breath,’ he said. ‘Wolfe might have you two fooled, but I’ve got my beady eye on him.’

  ‘Poor Mr Wolfe,’ said Alec, and he and Ethan laughed.

  ‘Yes, go on, mock me,’ said Coates. ‘We’ll see if you’re still laughing this time tomorrow.’

  The three companions spent the next half-hour lounging around in the comfortable room and chatting amiably. But then Lee appeared in the doorway and they saw that he had forsaken his more usual clothing for a black tunic, a long cloak and leather sandals. Clearly Wolfe wasn’t the only one who liked to wear traditional clothing.

  Lee bowed politely, but his expression was blank. ‘Mr Wolfe sent me to fetch you,’ he said quietly. ‘Lunch is ready.’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A Strange Welcome

  ONCE LEE HAD collected the rest of the group he led them back downstairs and through a series of rooms, until they found themselves in the opulent andron, where a long table had been set out with goblets of wine and plates heaped with tasty Greek delicacies. Wolfe and Ariadne were already seated at each end of the table in what could only be described as a pair of thrones, high-backed wooden seats with elaborate gold decoration. Wolfe directed his guests to gilded couches that ran along both sides of the table.

  ‘Welcome,’ he said. ‘Please, don’t stand on ceremony. Make yourselves comfortable and help yourselves.’

  Alec was still rather full after the hearty breakfast he’d eaten back at the taverna, but he took a seat and picked at a few of the tempting plates set out in front of him. He was more than happy to pour himself a glass from a jug of cool orange juice, while the others sipped at goblets of red wine. Ethan in particular drank as heartily as he always did, draining his first goblet and helping himself to another.

  Alec noticed that Ariadne did not seem to have any appetite. She sat forlornly opposite her father, her head bowed, staring at her empty plate as though she dearly wished to be somewhere else. Alec found himself wondering again about the cryptic note she had given him and told himself he must look for an opportunity to speak to her in private.

  ‘So, Mr Wolfe . . . what about the archaeological treasures you spoke of?’ asked the professor, nibbling on a piece of pitta bread spread with hummus and sipping at his goblet of wine.

  Wolfe waved a hand at his surroundings. ‘Professor, they are all around you,’ he said. ‘When I first came to this island as a young man, this was just a labyrinth of foundations, a series of low walls sticking up out of the rock. I decided there and then that one day I would own this island and I would restore the ruin to its former glory. I have devoted my life to that very task. Everything you see around you is built upon the original foundations. I have not made one compromise: everything you see is one hundred per cent authentic.’

  Stephen frowned. ‘But there are many who would say that ancient remains should be left as they were found,’ he argued. ‘For the archaeologists of the world, returning ancient ruins to their former glory is not acceptable. Nobody really knows what this place would have looked like in its heyday, so surely all you’ve done here is mere conjecture?’

  ‘A king must have his palace,’ said Wolfe, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Unfortunately, the world is full of faint-hearted fools who cannot understand a man with true vision. That’s why I kept this whole project a secret from the world. As soon as I saw this place, I knew that this was the true home of King Minos . . . not that pathetic collection of dwellings at Knossos. You are now sitting in his palace.’

  Alec shook his head. ‘But, Mr Wolfe, you talk about him as if he was a real person. Everyone knows that King Minos was just a legend.’

  Wolfe leaned forward across the table, his eyes glittering with a fierce intensity. ‘That’s what the scholars would have you believe,’ he said. ‘But what if I told you that I have found proof here on this island that King Minos was an actual historical character? And what if I said that I believe myself to be his reincarnation?’

  There was a brief silence. Then Coates spoke. ‘Mr Wolfe, you’re Scottish. I think it hardly likely you could be a descendant of—’

  ‘I didn’t say descendant,’ snapped Wolfe. ‘I said “reincarnation”. It’s a different thing entirely.’

  Alec and Ethan exchanged glances. Suddenly, Wolfe didn’t seem anything like as welcoming as he had a moment ago. There was something in his eyes that seemed to glitter with an intense light.

  ‘It was all here, Mr Coates. The palace . . . the arena . . . even the labyrinth, just as the ancient stories described it.’

  ‘The stories say that the labyrinth was in Crete,’ Alec reminded him.

  Wolfe nodded. ‘They do. But it’s my belief that this island was once part of the kingdom of Crete . . . that this was King Minos’s palace and that his captives were brought here to meet their fate in the labyrinth.’

  There was a deep silence while everyone considered his words. Finally it was Professor Isherwood who spoke. ‘Forgive me,’ he said, ‘but that does sound preposterous. You appear to be mixing up ancient mythology with historical fact.’

  ‘In many cases, they are the same thing,’ insisted Wolfe. ‘Many so-called myths have been proven to have a basis in fact. This is no exception. It was all here. All I had to do was provide the money to bring it back, like a phoenix from the ashes, and to take my rightful place upon the throne.’

  Alec looked across the table at Ariadne, and for a moment, she raised her gaze to look at him. The expression in her eyes was one of concern. But then, as he looked at her, her face seemed to slip briefly in and out of focus. Alec shook his head. He was feeling a little dizzy. As he stared, Ariadne got up from her seat and walked out of the room, her head bowed.

  ‘You must forgive my daughter,’ said Wolfe. ‘She doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite today.’

  To Alec, it seemed as though his words were echoing slightly.

  ‘We were talking on the boat,’ said Coates warily. ‘We were wondering how a man could amass the kind of fortune it would take to buy an island, never mind create something like this. Would it be impertinent to enquire what line of business you were in before . . . before . . .’ Coates broke off and looked at the goblet of wine he had just been drinking. ‘I say,’ he said, ‘I feel rather strange.’

  ‘It would be impertinent,’ said Wolfe, ignoring the last remark. ‘But since you have the bad taste to ask me, I’m quite happy to tell you the truth. The Great War was difficult for most people, but for some it was a goldmine. For weapons manufacturers, like myself, it was the key to undreamed-of wealth.’

  Ellen stared at him. ‘You made your fortune from selling . . . weapons?’ She set down her goblet rather awkwardly and it fell over, spilling a pool of red wine on the tabletop. She stared at it in dismay.

  ‘That’s correct, Miss McBride. Mustard gas was one of my biggest successes, along with shells for heavy guns. But the biggest sellers were, of course, my rifles. I sold millions of them to armies all across the world . . . even to nations that were at war with each other.’ He smiled coldly. ‘Amazing to think that all the devastation that my products wreaked upon the world has resulted in something as beautiful as this.’ He gestured around him.

  ‘But that . . . that’s immoral,’ said the professor. ‘I was under the impression that you were an . . . honourable man. Well, I won’t be a part of such a thing.’ He tried to stand up, but couldn’t seem to keep his balance and had to put a hand on the table to stop himself from falling. Stephen stood up too and put a protective arm around his father’s shoulders, but he also looked unsteady. He lifted a hand to his forehead, which was covered with a sheen of sweat.<
br />
  Alec looked at Ethan, who was sitting beside him. He was gazing into his own goblet of wine as a terrible realization set in. ‘You . . . skunk,’ he snarled. ‘What’ve you . . . done to us?’

  ‘I’ve done nothing,’ said Wolfe, grinning now, and even though his face was slipping in and out of focus, Alec could see that there was real madness in his expression. ‘I invited you to eat and drink and that is what you have done. Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have enjoyed the meal very much.’

  ‘Why, you . . .’ Ethan reached for his gun, but somehow, his usually sure grip failed him and the Colt clattered to the floor. He slumped back in his seat and then tipped slowly sideways. He slipped off the couch and fell in a sprawl onto the ground.

  Alec sat there, looking round in dismay. All the strength seemed to have gone out of him and he couldn’t even manage to get to his feet. As he watched, the professor flopped head-down into his plate of unfinished food. Stephen tried to walk around the table towards Wolfe but his legs gave way beneath him and he tumbled to the floor and lay still. Then there was a crash as Ellen slipped sideways and disappeared from sight beneath the table. That left Coates, sitting there, staring accusingly across the table at Alec. ‘Oh no,’ he murmured. ‘What . . . what have you . . . got us into now?’ With that, his big square chin dropped forward onto his chest and his metal goblet fell from his hand onto the marble tiles.

  Alec managed to lift his gaze to Wolfe, though it took considerable effort. He was smiling at Alec and he lifted a big juicy grape to his lips and popped it into his mouth. ‘No point in fighting it,’ he said. ‘Have a little rest.’ His smile deepened. ‘You’re going to need it.’

  And then Alec’s eyelids came down like a pair of heavy metal shutters and he slid into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Wake-up Call

  ALEC WOKE GRADUALLY, coming slowly back to his senses like a swimmer surfacing from a deep pool of water. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw that he was sitting on an earth floor, slumped against a wall in a dark chamber lit only by the light of a single hurricane lamp. He was somewhat surprised to see that his legs were bare and his feet were encased in a pair of leather sandals. He then realized that he was dressed in a chiton – a light woollen tunic of the kind favoured by the ancient Greeks. A wide leather belt encircled his waist. As his senses returned, he also realized that there was something around his neck, and he lifted a hand to touch it. It felt like a thick band of metal. He put his fingers under the edge of the metal and tried pulling at it, hoping that he might be able to break it open.

  ‘Forget it, kid,’ said a familiar voice from beside him. ‘We’ve spent the last twenty minutes trying to get these things off, but they won’t budge. They seem to be locked.’ Alec turned his head to see Ethan and Coates sitting on a stone bench a short distance away. They too were dressed in ancient Greek style and had the metal bands around their necks.

  Alec struggled to get himself upright, but he was still dizzy and had to put one hand against the wall to support himself. He managed to stagger the short distance to the bench and sat down heavily. ‘How long have I been out?’ he groaned.

  ‘Impossible to say,’ said Coates. ‘We seem to be underground, but I’ve no idea what time of the day or night it is.’

  Alec shook his head, trying to dispel the last traces of dizziness. He leaned closer to Coates and examined the thick band of metal around his valet’s neck. It appeared to be made of a series of jointed sections, the edges of the metal fitting so closely together, he could see no way of prising the thing apart, even if he’d had a tool that might have done the job. He couldn’t even see a place where a key might fit. ‘What are these things?’ he asked.

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ said Ethan, ‘but whatever they are, I’d say they ain’t good news.’ He looked down at his bare legs. ‘And why are we dressed like characters out of the Bible?’

  ‘This is depressingly familiar,’ said Coates grimly. ‘Last time we were in this situation, we were waiting to be sacrificed by Aztecs. Lord only knows what that maniac Wolfe has in store for us. I told you there was something fishy about him.’

  ‘He seemed all right to begin with,’ protested Alec.

  Coates fixed him with a look. ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned, Master Alec, it’s that you are the worst possible judge of character. The next time you decide we should change our travel plans, remind me to ignore you.’

  Alec hung his head as he realized that, once again, he had led them into terrible trouble. ‘It was Ariadne,’ he said. ‘When we were at Knossos, she . . . she handed me a piece of paper with HELP ME written on it.’

  ‘Oh, well thank you for sharing that information,’ said Coates. ‘It might have been better if you’d mentioned that before we set off for this godforsaken place.’

  ‘If I’d done that, you wouldn’t have let me come.’

  ‘Too right I wouldn’t! For goodness’ sake, Master Alec, when will you ever learn to exercise caution before you act?’

  ‘Never mind about the bickering,’ said Ethan testily. ‘We need to find something to prise these stupid necklaces off.’

  ‘I wouldn’t try that if I were you,’ said a voice from a short distance away.

  Alec and his companions looked up in surprise. Ethan took hold of the hurricane lamp and held it out. Alec could see now that the far wall was barred like a cell and that a figure was sitting on a wooden chair on the other side of the bars. Ethan got up to walk closer and the others followed him. As the light illuminated the figure in the chair, Alec saw that it was Lee. He was just sitting there, his face as expressionless as ever.

  ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ demanded Ethan.

  Lee stared back at him. ‘I think you know,’ he said. ‘You were drugged. Now you are prisoners. No mystery.’

  It was the most words that Alec had ever heard the man say at one time. He found himself thinking that Lee must have overheard what he’d just said about Ariadne’s note. It was probably irrational but even in the midst of such danger, he hated the idea of getting her into trouble with her father.

  ‘Where are the others?’ demanded Coates.

  ‘They are prisoners too,’ said Lee. ‘There are other cells down here.’

  There was a silence then, as they stared through the bars at Lee.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Alec, at last. ‘Why have you done this?’

  ‘Just following orders,’ said Lee, as though it was of no importance to him.

  ‘Mr Wolfe’s orders?’ asked Coates, and Lee nodded. ‘Why is that no great surprise, I wonder? And what are his reasons for treating us in this outrageous fashion?’

  Lee shrugged. ‘I do not know. I never question orders. I do as I am told.’

  ‘Well, I demand that you let us out of here,’ said Coates. ‘Immediately.’

  ‘I intend to,’ said Lee.

  ‘Then we’ll be free to go?’ asked Ethan.

  ‘Not exactly. First, I need to show something to you. I need to show you why it would be futile to try and escape.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ asked Alec.

  ‘This,’ said Lee, and he slipped one hand beneath his tunic. There was a clicking sound from beside Alec and he turned in surprise to look at Coates. The valet gave a gasp and lifted a hand to his neck. Alec saw to his horror that the metal necklace was somehow shrinking in on itself, the jointed sections moving smoothly together. Coates was being strangled. He tried to prise the sections apart with his hands but he could do nothing to stop the slow, inexorable tightening.

  ‘Coates!’ Alec also tried to get his fingers round the device, but his efforts were useless, and he could see that the valet’s face was darkening as the steel collar began to shut off his supply of air. Coates dropped to his knees and began making hideous choking sounds.

  Alec looked through the bars at Lee. ‘Turn it off,’ he said. ‘Please, you’re killing him!’

>   ‘I must first have promise that when I let you out, you will behave yourselves. Remember, you will obey every order or this can happen to any one of you.’

  ‘We promise,’ snapped Ethan. ‘Just turn the damned thing off!’

  Coates had fallen onto his back now and was writhing in agony, his eyes bulging in their sockets, his mouth open, gasping for breath. Lee was just watching him, without the faintest trace of concern.

  ‘Please,’ begged Alec. ‘We’ll do whatever you say.’

  Lee gave the slightest of nods. He moved his hand beneath his tunic and there was a brief hiss of air. The collar began to expand again and Coates coughed violently as the air returned to his lungs.

  Alec dropped down beside him. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

  The valet nodded, but for the moment was unable to speak.

  Ethan remained by the bars, glaring at Lee. ‘What’s this all about?’ he growled. ‘What have we ever done to Wolfe to make him treat us like this?’

  ‘You must ask him,’ suggested Lee. ‘He requests your presence for the first task. The boy must come too. Mr Coates we leave to recover.’

  Again his hand moved slightly and the door of the cell slid smoothly open. Lee got up from his seat. ‘Come,’ he said, beckoning impatiently.

  Ethan stepped out of the cell and Alec, after giving Coates’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, got up and followed him. The barred door slid shut behind them.

  ‘Follow me,’ instructed Lee, and they did as they were told. He led them along a grey stone corridor to a flight of steps and began to climb them, not bothering to look back to see if they were following. Alec gave Ethan an enquiring glance, but the American just looked back at him blankly. For the moment, at least, it seemed he had no plan.

  They reached the top of the stairs where a bearded man in a bronze helmet and Greek armour was standing guard by a heavy wooden door, a two-handed sword at the ready. He nodded to Lee and swung open the door. Lee and his prisoners stepped out into blazing sunlight, and Alec had to lift a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden glare. From the position of the sun, Alec realized it was early morning and that they must have slept a whole afternoon and night away. He could see Wolfe’s palace over to his right, but Lee walked in the opposite direction. He strode along a gravel path down a hill that led through a small grove of olive trees.