by Petra James
TJ and Arkie looked at each other. The Book of Songs. It was in the palace.
As the candelight illuminated the walls filled with the ancient texts, the words of the clue blazed into Arkie’s brain:
A wall of everlasting words.
Where the voices of the past do cry.
Of course! The clue wasn’t talking about the Great Wall of China. It was talking about a library. This library. A wall of everlasting words was all around them. They were exactly where they needed to be.
And suddenly it all made sense.
‘Sing a song of eternal longing. That is where the truth does lie,’ she said.
Lu Sheng and Fu Su stared at her in confusion.
‘Where is it?’ she asked. ‘Where is the Book of Songs?’
‘The book is dangerous,’ snapped Lu Sheng. ‘You must never speak of it. Death courts all who mention its name.’
‘It is a matter of life and death,’ said Arkie. ‘My Mum and Dad’s. We need that scroll, Lu Sheng. Please. We’ve travelled a very long way for it. And we don’t want to take it. We only want to scan it.’
‘I am sorry for the fate of your parents,’ said Lu Sheng, ‘but the very existence of this scroll is —’
He was interrupted by a banging on the door.
‘OPEN UP,’ cried a gruff voice. ‘In the name of the Great Emperor.’
‘It’s the Imperial Guards,’ whispered Lu Sheng. ‘Quickly – follow me.’
He showed them a tunnel behind the library wall.
‘It leads to the outside of the palace,’ he said. ‘Make haste. Fu Su and I will detain the guards here as long as we can.’ He put his hand on Arkie’s shoulder. ‘I feel I can trust you, Arkie. So we will help you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Arkie. She knew they were risking their lives to save them.
She took a last glance at the wall of everlasting words. The Book of Songs was there somewhere; Lu Sheng was keeping it safe.
But I’ll be back for it, she said to herself.
TJ, Cleo and Arkie hurried through the tunnel. It was narrow and dark and the air was tight in their throats. Arkie was sure there were rats scurrying by their side. She could feel the brush of their long tails against her leg.
She tried not to think of the tight tunnel, the walls closing in on her, squishing her between them like a jam sandwich.
They came to a fork in the tunnel. ‘Right or left?’ said TJ.
‘Left,’ said Arkie, straining her eyes. ‘I think I can see a pinprick of light ahead.’
The light grew stronger as they ran towards it.
Arkie emerged from the dark tunnel with joy – her head finally free of panic.
TJ had just joined her when a deep voice spoke from behind, startling them.
‘What have we here?’ said a palace guard, bearing down on them with his sword drawn. ‘Two tunnel rats.’ He shouted at the guards with him.
‘SEIZE THEM!’
A Cage for Two
‘As cages go, you know, this one isn’t too bad,’ said TJ.
She was sitting in the lotus position on the floor. ‘Did you know that yoga originated in India but the Chinese adopted it too?’
‘How can you do yoga at a time like this?’ said Arkie, staring out through the bars. ‘We’re in big trouble. We’ve lost Cleo in the tunnel. And how are we going to get the Book of Songs now?’
‘So many questions,’ said TJ. ‘I’m trying to empty my mind. To see the truth. Confucius says: “Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.”’
‘What does that mean?’ said Arkie.
‘It’s deep,’ said TJ. ‘I’m still trying to work it out.’
‘I can hear footsteps,’ said Arkie. ‘Someone’s coming.’
The door opened and Fu Su walked in, carrying two bowls of rice. The guard by their cage tried to stop him approaching, but Fu Su waved him back.
‘I bring food for the prisoners,’ he said. ‘Stand aside.’
The guard bowed and stood by the door, watching them.
‘I am sorry to see you imprisoned,’ Fu Su said quietly, handing them the rice. ‘I do not believe it is just. I have remonstrated with my father but he will not listen to my words. He is blinded by his own beliefs and the poisoned view of the world Li Si feeds him. But Lu Sheng and I will help you. And do not worry about Cleo. She found her way back to the library when you were apprehended. We have a plan to —’
The door burst open before Fu Su could finish his sentence, and the Chief Advisor swept into the room, followed by several guards. When he saw Fu Su, his face flushed with anger.
‘Ah, Fu Su,’ he said, twisting his lips into a hollow smile. ‘I see you take pity on our prisoners. But your pity is misplaced. I would advise Your Imperial Highness to withdraw. Immediately. This matter does not concern you. The Emperor has demanded to see the prisoners.’
‘And I would advise you to remember who you are speaking to, Chief Advisor,’ said Fu Su. ‘Do not forget that I will be Emperor one day.’
He bowed to Arkie and TJ, and left the room.
‘The Emperor’s displeasure is great,’ said Li Si, his face still angry as he watched Fu Su leave. ‘He does not expect his guests to ferret through his palace in the night.’
He moved closer and spoke through the bars. ‘And I am not a fool,’ he said. ‘You may have confused the Emperor with your claims but I know you are not who you say you are. While the Emperor clings to the hope of immortality, he is also startled by shadows. He sees his enemies everywhere. And he does not care to be deceived. Life and death are the inevitable yin yang of our existence. As you have lived, soon must you die.’
He signalled to the guards, and they began to wheel the cage out of the room and along the palace halls.
‘I don’t think the Chief Advisor buys our Immortal story,’ said TJ as they rattled through the palace.
‘Let’s just hope Fu Su, Lu Sheng and Cleo can get us out of this,’ said Arkie.
Arkie and TJ were wheeled into the Emperor’s chamber. The Emperor was reclining on a low bed, surrounded by silk cushions. His servants were bustling around him, preparing tea.
‘Last night, as the dying call of the thrush heralded a song of sleep,’ said the Emperor, ‘I had a dream.’ He closed his eyes as if trying to conjure sleep and the dream once more. ‘A giant koi – the most noble of fish – leapt from the water, his skin shimmering with red scales. His eye was bold, and he fixed it upon me.’ The Emperor opened his eyes. ‘It is a sign,’ he said. ‘A sign the Immortals are calling me to their palace.’ He pointed at Arkie. ‘If you are indeed an Immortal, you will know the way to Mount Penglai – the home of the Immortals. It is my command that you will lead us there. I am ready to take my place among them.’ He sighed with pleasure at the thought. Then his words became hard. ‘If you are not an Immortal, you will die before the sun rises on the second day of our journey.’
The Chief Advisor smiled at the Emperor’s words.
‘And you, pet,’ the Emperor pointed to TJ, ‘shall suffer the same fate.’
The Chief Advisor’s smile grew wider.
The Emperor waved his hand to dismiss them. ‘We leave for Mount Penglai at first light. Now take them away. I need to rest before the journey.’
Arkie and TJ were silent as they were wheeled back to their room.
They waited until the guards had left before they spoke.
‘The Immortals were said to live on a group of five islands in the Bohai Sea, which includes Penglai,’ said TJ. ‘Bohai Sea is on the coast of northeastern and north China.’
‘Great. So we’re going on a journey to a place that doesn’t exist to find people who don’t exist,’ said Arkie.
‘That’s a pretty accurate summation of the situation,’ said TJ.
‘But there is an easy solution,’ said Arkie.
‘There is?’ said TJ.
‘We know the Book of Songs is in the library. Can’t we just timeslip there, scan it and timeslip back to BL
UR?’ said Arkie.
‘Well, ordinarily, that would be a really good idea,’ said TJ, blushing.
‘Define “ordinarily”,’ said Arkie.
‘We can’t timeslip just at the moment,’ said TJ.
‘And that’s because . . .’ said Arkie.
TJ took a big breath and spoke in a rush. ‘Because maybe someone pre-programmed our return timeslip for 12 pm tomorrow. I think.’
‘WHAT,’ said Arkie. ‘Why would someone do that?’
‘Well, I was trying to be organised and think ahead and I got confused with the time zones on TimeSlip and I didn’t know you were going to be an Immortal and we’d get thrown in this horrible cage and have to go on a journey to find the secret of eternal life.’
‘So we just have to make sure we don’t die before noon tomorrow,’ said Arkie.
‘Yes, that would be helpful,’ said TJ. ‘Sorry, Arkie.’
‘I guess it could be worse,’ said Arkie. ‘We’ve got friends on the outside and an emperor who really wants to believe I’m immortal.’
I hope that’s enough, she thought.
Travelling North
It was the morning of their journey.
The sun was glimpsing through the clouds as the guards led Arkie and TJ to the front of the Grand Hall. They were both stiff and cranky from sleeping on the floor of the cage all night.
This is as bad as bad can be, thought Arkie. How are we ever going to get back to the library?
The guards tied them together roughly and lifted them onto a cart, while the servants around them loaded food and supplies for the trip.
The Imperial entourage emerged from the palace a few minutes later. The Emperor was carried out on a litter by his guards and placed in a gleaming gold carriage. An identical gold carriage stood next to it.
‘The Emperor has two carriages to trick his enemies,’ said TJ. ‘His servants will move him from one to the other throughout the trip so his enemies won’t know which one he is in.’
‘Can you see Fu Su or Lu Sheng?’ said Arkie, searching the faces of those around them.
‘No, but I bet they won’t be far away,’ said TJ.
The Emperor leaned forwards in his carriage. ‘Untie the prisoners,’ he said.
‘But Your Majesty,’ said Li Si, ‘is that advisable?’
‘Do you question my command, Chief Advisor?’ said the Emperor.
‘No, Your Majesty,’ stammered Li Si. ‘I merely seek to reassure the Heavenly Son that his guides will be secure for the journey.’
‘I do not wish the Immortals to think I have mistreated one of their own,’ said the Emperor.
‘As Your Majesty wishes,’ said Li Si. He nodded to one of the guards and he cut Arkie and TJ’s ropes.
‘One step closer to freedom,’ said TJ, rubbing her raw wrists.
‘We’ve still got a mountain to climb,’ said Arkie as they left Xianyang to find the palace of the Immortals. The sun climbed higher in the sky as the procession wound slowly along the roads.
The motion of the cart lulled Arkie into a restless sleep. She was with her parents on a treasure hunt in the Adriatic Sea, diving for a 16th-century shipwreck laden with the loot of Mediterranean pirates.
Her mother was about to help her from the water – Arkie was reaching out for her hand – when the cart hit a stone and Arkie jolted awake.
‘Did you hear that?’ said TJ.
‘What?’ said Arkie, momentarily confused. The dream had been so vivid, her mother so real.
‘There’s a dog barking,’ said TJ.
‘Dogs are always barking,’ said Arkie, rubbing her eyes.
‘Not this one,’ said TJ. ‘I’d know that bark anyway. It’s Cleo. It’s her “get ready because something’s about to happen” bark: 2 long, 1 short-short. I taught her a variation of Morse Code. I call it Cleo Code.’
Arkie sat up and looked around. She was fully awake now.
‘Are you sure?’ she said.
‘Absolutely,’ said TJ. ‘And I think I can guess what’s going to happen next,’ she said, pointing ahead.
Arkie followed TJ’s gaze. ‘Am I seeing triple or are there really three gold carriages now?’ she said.
‘Another one just joined the procession,’ said TJ. ‘No one noticed because we were rounding a bend so there wasn’t a clear view of the whole procession. I think we’re looking at a variation of the old three-card shuffle.’
‘The what?’ said Arkie.
‘It’s a game my grandad taught me,’ said TJ. ‘The dealer has three cards but only one of the cards is the one the player wants. So the dealer rearranges the cards quickly to confuse the player who doesn’t know which card is which. The player then has to pick the card they think is the right one.’
‘So three gold carriages,’ said Arkie, ‘but only one carriage has the Emperor.’
‘Exactly. But which one? I bet there’ll be some kind of diversion and we only need a moment of confusion to escape. The three-carriage shuffle could give us just that.’
As they rounded the next corner, one of the gold carriages suddenly took off at speed – the horses spooked and running wildly.
Everyone looked at the remaining two carriages in confusion. Which was which? Where was the Emperor?
‘After that carriage,’ cried Li Si. ‘Guard the Emperor. Find the perpetrators.’
The guards were in disarray. The Chief Advisor had issued three commands. But which should they do first?
As they shouted and banged into each other, Arkie and TJ heard a short, long-long bark. It was Cleo Code for: JUMP NOW.
In a flash, Arkie and TJ stood up and leapt off the back of the cart into the trees.
Fu Su, Lu Sheng and Cleo were waiting for them.
free free free free free free
They ran deep into the cover of the trees.
‘That was the greatest rescue,’ said Arkie. ‘But where did you get the third gold carriage?’
‘The Emperor has many gold carriages,’ said Lu Sheng. ‘We just borrowed one for the occasion.’
‘Ah, so he who seeks to fool his enemies becomes himself the fool,’ said TJ, nodding.
‘Confucius?’ said Arkie.
‘No,’ said TJ. ‘Me.’
Lu Sheng smiled at TJ. ‘I’m afraid we don’t have much time,’ he said.
‘We don’t need much,’ said TJ. ‘By my calculations and the height of the sun in the sky, TimeSlip should be zoning in on us in a few minutes. So no time for long and emotional farewells.’
‘Goodbye, TJ,’ said Lu Sheng. ‘It has been an honour to meet you.’
TJ bowed to Lu Sheng. ‘I hope you’ll be okay,’ she said.
‘Life at court has always been dangerous,’ said Lu Sheng. ‘But I think I will visit my brother in the country. Far from the court and its intrigues. Safe to continue learning from the ancients. As Confucius says: “You cannot open a book without learning something.” And there is much to know.’
Fu Su handed Arkie a scroll. ‘This is for you, Arkie,’ he said. ‘So you can “scan” it. My father cannot see the value of this but I know that you can. I know that you treasure it as we do.’
Arkie unwrapped the parcel. It was the Book of Songs. Treasure No. 2.
‘Thank you, Fu Su,’ said Arkie, scanning the scroll quickly with DATAMAX. ‘This means everything to me.’ She smiled at him as she handed the scroll back. ‘I’ll never forget you.’
‘I won’t forget you either,’ said TJ. ‘But we really have to leave now. Come on, Cleo. Bye, Fu Su. Thanks for everything.’
Arkie, Cleo and TJ stood side by side as TimeSlip encapsulated them.
‘Prepare to dematerialise,’ said TJ.
The last thing they saw was Fu Su and Lu Sheng, bowing low to them.
When Fu Su and Lu Sheng looked up, Arkie, TJ and Cleo had vanished.
Debrief
‘So the First Emperor did achieve immortality in many ways,’ said Arkie as they sped home across the world in BLUR. ‘Mo
re than two thousand years later, we’re still learning about him, especially with the discovery of his tomb.’
‘I think he just wanted to be around to hear everyone talking about him,’ said TJ. ‘His dynasty was one of the shortest in history. But why do you think the kidnappers wanted the Book of Songs?’
‘It’s a very precious treasure,’ said Arkie. ‘DATAMAX says it’s one of the oldest collections of traditional Chinese poems. Something like this is priceless in the archaeological world.’
She downloaded the scan of the Book of Songs from DATAMAX and sent it as a jpeg to: [email protected]
She received a reply immediately.
Treasure No. 2 verified and credit registered in treasure bank.
Await instructions.
Do not attempt further communication.
I don’t want to talk to you anyway, thought Arkie, as exhaustion crept through her.
‘Hungry?’ said TJ.
‘Always,’ said Arkie.
‘Chinese takeaway?’ said TJ.
Arkie nodded and settled back into her seat. As she stretched out, she felt something tucked into the seat behind her, digging into her back. She reached down and pulled out a silver envelope.
‘TJ,’ she said.
‘Yeah?’ said TJ who had flicked BLUR onto automatic pilot and was reading the chapter on Supersonic Aerodynamics in BLUR’s manual.
‘I think I’ve just found the third clue,’ said Arkie.
TJ dropped the manual on her lap. ‘You’ve WHAT?’ she said. ‘Where?’
‘It was in my seat,’ said Arkie, holding up the envelope.
‘But how can that even be possible?’ said TJ.
Arkie clenched the envelope. ‘Someone has been here,’ she said.
‘Someone has broken into BLUR!’
In Real Life
