The Infinity Engines Books 1-3

by Andrew Hastie

  ‘We’re losing time you twat!’ Caitlin shouted at him.

  His face was a picture of idiotic indifference, as if he didn’t seem to care. Josh wanted to punch that ridiculous grin right off his face. Others in the team were complaining, pointing out that they were now going to be the last to leave. The courtyard was entirely deserted before he relinquished the key.

  Caitlin opened up the timeline, and her eyes grew wide. ‘No way.’

  ‘What?’ Josh asked while the others gathered around.

  Caitlin laughed and looked directly at Darkling — who still had that smug, all-knowing grin plastered on his face. She started walking towards one of the iron-barred doors.

  ‘What?’ repeated Josh.

  ‘It’s a trick. We’re already in the right timeframe,’ Caitlin said without looking back.

  ‘Yup,’ agreed Darkling.

  ‘You read that fast?’ Bentley said in astonishment.

  ‘Believe it, fatboy.’

  ‘Stop calling him that, his name’s Bentley,’ said a girl called Nin, who’d stepped in. She had a hard edge about her, and held herself like a warrior. Bentley blushed a little at her coming to his defence, but the warning seemed to have the desired effect on Darkling.

  Caitlin used the key in the door, and it opened with a satisfying click. Darkling and the twins congratulated each other as they barged their way past her to be first through the portal.

  The others followed them into the cool of a marbled antechamber; an impressive stateroom of one of the legendary Kings of Spain, designed to receive foreign ambassadors. Golden latticed windows spanned the entire length of the opposite wall, framing the view of a glittering turquoise sea. The room was a reflection of status, where every piece of decoration had been carefully selected to impress, from the golden serving spoons to the hand-woven tapestry that hung behind the plush throne — which was currently being occupied by Darkling. He had instantly gravitated to the royal seat and began ordering the others to search through the rest of the room.

  Josh and Caitlin were examining the silverware that had been elegantly arranged along a highly polished mahogany sideboard. ‘What was the trick with the key?’ Josh asked.

  ‘Sympathetic misdirection,’ she said, picking up a silver goblet engraved with hunting scenes. ‘The key had been imbued with all the traits of a much earlier version.’

  She took a grape from the impressive fruit sculpture, placed it under the goblet and pushed it away from them. ‘But it had been planted, taken back and dropped off a few centuries ago. It wasn’t that easy to detect, but it was there. Darkling may be an arse, but he certainly knows how to read a vestige.’ She slid a different goblet forward and lifted it up to reveal a grape, which she picked up and ate.

  Josh wasn’t quite sure that explained anything, other than she knew a few magic tricks. He was about to ask how she did it when the arrogant arse barked another set of orders at the other members of their team. A line formed as they began to bring him objects to check.

  ‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Josh asked under his breath.

  Caitlin tutted. ‘The next clue of course. This is a treasure hunt. Something in this room is out-of-place — masquerading as if it belongs.’

  The other members of the unit were running out of artefacts to examine. Darkling had vacated his throne and was busy rifling through the pages of an old book. Behind him the wall was painted to look as if there were more windows looking out on other parts of the bay, an optical illusion that made the room feel as though they were in a tower high above the sea. Mermaids and sea dragons swam in the cool azure waters and in the distance was an island with a white palace standing on it.

  Josh went to the real windows and compared the view. Out toward the shimmering horizon he could vaguely make out an island — it was too far to see any details. A brass telescope stood on a wooden tripod by one of the windows, and when he looked through it, he smiled.

  ‘Everybody stop!’

  They all turned to look at Josh.

  ‘You’re looking in the wrong place. It’s not here.’

  ‘Why’s that, genius?’ demanded Darkling, sounding like Josh’s superior.

  ‘It’s the view. Look down. There are twelve boats in the bay. Does that sound like a bit of a coincidence?’

  They all peered out of the windows. The bay was empty, and Darkling laughed. ‘No, there aren’t!’

  Caitlin put her eye to the lens. ‘There are, just not in this time.’ She stepped back. ‘The telescope is a lensing device. We need to get down to the beach.’

  Darkling and the others all took turns in looking through the spyglass until they were satisfied, and then one of them found the door in the outer wall and they filed out down the narrow steps towards the bay.

  ‘Nice work,’ said Caitlin.

  And there it was, the smile in her eyes, the one he had walked a thousand years to see once more.

  34

  Beach

  The sea was calm when they reached the beach, crystal blue waves gently washing over the white sands. White gulls swooped across the bay, soaring along the line of cliffs on unseen thermal currents. Josh imagined what this place would be like in four-hundred years, no longer a smugglers cove, probably, but a holiday resort full of sunburned twenty-somethings sleeping off their hangovers.

  Darkling spread the team out along the shoreline looking for clues, or any remnant of a ship that could be used to locate them.

  The descent down the cliff path had not been easy for Bentley, and he’d struggled to keep up with the others — his face was flushed pink by the time he caught up with them.

  ‘When are the boats?’ he asked, panting heavily.

  Caitlin looked up at the position of the sun. ‘Pretty recent: they probably left on the morning tide.’

  ‘Bet you never thought you’d say that,’ Bentley said, smirking.

  A shout went up from further down the beach, where one of the twins was holding an empty bottle and pretending to drink out of it.

  The group gathered around Darkling, who held the bottle in one hand while waving the other one around. His eyes were closed, and Josh thought he looked like one of those daytime TV psychics hamming it up for his audience.

  ‘Crew of three, no four, came in yesterday — spent the night on the beach and left at dawn. They came from some island out over there.’ He pointed out in the general direction of where Josh guessed it would be — beyond the horizon.

  ‘We need to get to the island,’ Josh announced. ‘The crown is on the island.’

  ‘And how would you know that?’ snapped one of the twins, as if no one had given Josh the right to speak.

  ‘The mural on the wall was a kind of map, and there were sea dragons swimming towards the island,’ he replied, getting more than a few nods of appreciation from other members of the squad.

  Darkling was clearly annoyed at missing that clue. ‘So, Einstein, since you have all the answers, what do you suggest we do next?’

  Caitlin winked at Josh. Darkling was trying to reassert his authority.

  ‘Get to a boat,’ Josh said, taking the bottle out of his hand, its timeline unravelling the moment he touched it.

  He wove back through its recent past, to yesterday evening, and a warm fire on the beach and the feel of many hands passing the rum around as the crew each drank their share. He moved back further, finding it sat wrapped in hessian in the hold of the ship, then further still to a storehouse of a Portuguese brewery. Josh chose the cargo hold.

  ‘We wait in the hold until they come ashore and steal the boat,’ Josh said, holding the bottle out for everyone to touch.

  ‘Sound like a good plan?’ Caitlin asked the group, placing her hand on top of Josh’s. Darkling shrugged and grabbed the other end.

  35

  Boat

  The hold of the boat was cramped and reeked of rotting fish and bilge water. Between the wooden bulkheads, the members of Aries226 crouched silently, listening to t
he heavy tread of the crew’s footsteps as they went back and forth across the deck. They spoke in a deep, guttural language that Josh couldn’t understand, but from the tone of their voices he could tell they weren’t happy.

  The hold was full of supplies: salted fish, bottles of rum and hessian sacks stuffed with dates. Darkling took a bottle out of the straw and pulled the cork out with his teeth.

  ‘Dutch courage,’ he whispered, taking a drink.

  They passed it around, each taking a swig and trying not to cough as the harsh liquor scourged the back of their throats. The warmth of the rum helped to ease the cold, damp feeling that was creeping into their bones, but after they opened the second bottle, they all began to feel rather brave.

  After a long muscle-cramping hour, they heard the stones of the shore grate along the underside of the hull, followed by the sound of chains as the anchor was cast down. Everyone sighed with relief — Caitlin had to stifle a giggle when Bentley farted.

  They waited another ten minutes until the sounds of the men faded into the waves. Darkling slowly opened the hatch and sent the twins out to check the coast was clear.

  The boat was theirs. They followed Darkling’s silent signals, moving into positions across the deck. The drunken shouts from the crew’s camp on the beach reminded them to stay low and keep below the gunwhale.

  It took three of them nearly half an hour to work out how to ditch the anchor. The chain slipped silently into the water, and the boat drifted out on the ebbing tide.

  As the beach receded into darkness, Josh watched the fires and the other boats carefully. He guessed it wouldn’t take long for Dalton to work out the trick, and as he strained his eyes into the night he saw a fight break out on the shore — silhouettes wrestled in front of the flames. One team had gone for a more direct approach while another boat slipped silently away from its moorings.

  ‘Does anyone actually have any experience of sailing one of these?’ Bentley asked once the fires were nothing more than pins of light. The rest of the group sat around on the deck, marvelling at the star-filled sky.

  ‘Or navigate at night?’ Caitlin added, admiring the view.

  Darkling stood at the wheel, attempting to look like he knew what he was doing. Without any sail, the currents were determining their direction.

  ‘I do,’ said a younger boy whose name tag read ARAMAND. ‘The star navigation thing I mean. I have no idea about sailing.’

  ‘Great!’ Darkling sneered, turning to look at Josh. ‘So, what’s the next part of this brilliant plan?’

  Josh had always been good with maps — his mind had a way with directions. Instinctively, he knew they were off-course and that the island was east of their heading. There was a light breeze that would put them back on track if they could get some sail up.

  Caitlin inspected the ropes of the rigging with an intensity that Josh knew only too well — she was weaving, studying the history of the equipment, exploring how past sailors had handled the boat and learning how it was used.

  ‘You got it?’ he asked.

  ‘Nearly, just running through it one more time.’ Her voice was distant, dream-like. She stared through him, her eyes unfocused, glazed, looking at something that wasn’t there.

  Her skin was bewitching in the silver light of the moon. Josh found himself moving the hair away from her face where the wind caught it.

  ‘Okay?’ she said, shrinking away from his touch.

  ‘Yeah. You had something in your hair,’ Josh lied, hoping his blushes were hidden by the night.

  ‘Darkling, bring Tweedledee and Tweedledum over here. I need to explain this, and I’d rather only do it once,’ shouted Caitlin to the boys at the other end of the boat.

  36

  The Island Of The Day Before

  The palace was a shimmering white edifice that glittered like a pearl in the dawn light. As the boat sliced effortlessly through the water towards the island, it reminded Josh of his auntie’s wedding cake, built in columned tiers, the white marble glistening like icing sugar — that cake had lasted nearly as long as her marriage.

  Josh took over the wheel before dawn after Darkling threw up for the second time. It seemed that Josh wasn’t the only one who didn’t get on with the sea. Although, in his case, steering the ship actually seemed to calm the motion sickness, and Josh was actually beginning to enjoy himself as he watched the morning break over the horizon.

  The others were either sleeping or talking amongst themselves, hunkered down in the bow and out of the cool breeze.

  Slowly, the rest of the island appeared out of the sea mist. Josh shook Aramand, who had fallen asleep against the wheel housing. The boy grinned at the sight of the palace. Josh nodded his appreciation, and Aramand took it as a signal to stand down and join the others.

  Caitlin walked over to Josh with a sleepy look in her eyes. She was eating dates and offered him one.

  Josh shook his head.

  ‘It’s the only thing I could find to eat that doesn’t smell rank. They’re really good,’ she insisted, shoving a small hessian bag under his nose.

  Josh had never really been into exotic food, and wasn’t particularly interested in any kind of fruit beyond the odd apple. Grapes reminded him too much of hospitals, and there was something about the texture of bananas that made him want to gag. The truth was that they had never really been able to afford such luxuries — he’d certainly never tasted a date.

  ‘Go on. You haven’t eaten for eight hours. You need to have something.’

  As he went to protest again, she popped one into his mouth. The taste of the sun-ripened fruit exploded across his tongue. He’d never eaten anything quite like it — it was delicious.

  Caitlin turned to the island, and sighed. ‘It’s so beautiful, and sad. Don’t you think?’

  ‘Why sad?’ Josh asked, taking another date.

  ‘It’s an Alcazar, a Muslim fortress. The King had it converted to a mausoleum for his Queen, Isabella. She was supposed to have been the most beautiful woman in all of Spain — she died in childbirth.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’

  ‘Books can be used for more than just holding a door open.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Nothing, it’s just something my grandfather used to say.’

  Through the clearing mists, Josh could make out the ivy-covered avenues of the lower terraces. Overgrown, unkempt gardens, whose attendants had long since died, had spread unhindered over the clean white marble, the vines slowly claiming the stone. It was a haunted place, a memorial to a forgotten time — the only living things left were the birds that circled the domed spires.

  ‘What do you think the next clue will be?’ asked Josh, turning the wheel towards the quay.

  ‘No idea,’ she said with a shrug, ‘but it looks like we’re not the first.’

  There was already another boat moored on the dock. Someone had hung a makeshift flag from its mast, and on it was the insignia for Gemini.

  ‘Bloody Dalton,’ Caitlin cursed under her breath.

  Inside, the building was cold — really cold, the kind that chilled you to the bone. Shafts of sunlight made feeble attempts to shine through the broken roof, but the marble and stone kept the temperature down at the point of involuntary shivering — like being outside on a frosty winter’s morning without a coat.

  Now back on solid ground, Darkling had recovered enough to take his usual place at the head of the party. They followed him into the wide open space of the entrance hall.

  High above, a flock of exotically coloured birds wheeled, flying in formation below the painted angels of the domed ceilings. The floor was slick with years of accumulated droppings, and the smell was overpowering.

  Bentley began to cough and wheeze as he slipped and slid on the dirty tiles.

  ‘What’s wrong now?’ snapped Darkling.

  ‘Birds — I’m allergic.’ Bentley coughed, pulling out a small glass vial and shoving the narrow end up his nose.

&nbs
p; Darkling just rolled his eyes and walked off.

  ‘Bentley, why exactly do you want to be a Dreadnought?’ Josh asked.

  ‘Because everyone said I couldn’t do it,’ Bentley declared between fits of coughing. ‘I wanted to prove them wrong.’

  Josh patted Bentley on the back. He could relate to that. He’d always hated it when someone told him he couldn’t do something.

  They reached the atrium. It was a grand open space like a cathedral, and towering over them was a tall, golden effigy of Queen Isabella. The words “Quos valde ámas numquam vere moriuntur” were carved into its base. The team spread out around the statue, each inspecting a part of it for clues.

  ‘Anyone know what that means?’ Darkling pointed at the Latin.

  Fey was staring at the words. ‘It’s something along the lines of: “Those whom you deeply love never truly die,” but there’s a misspelling on the word “love”, an accent where there shouldn’t be one.’

  Josh examined the carved letters. He touched the cold stone of the accented letter and felt it shift slightly under his hand. ‘I think it’s a button or a catch.’ It moved inwards as he increased the pressure.

  There were grinding noises from below the floor, a rumbling that could be felt through their boots as the statue’s base rotated through ninety degrees to expose a secret entrance beneath and a staircase that descended into darkness.

  ‘Guess we found the crypt,’ said Bentley.

  37

  Tombwalk

  The stairs spiralled deep into the rock, ending in a network of natural catacombs far below the palace. The old king had them carved into a baroque labyrinth of tombs and vaults.

  ‘The graveyard of Kings,’ whispered Caitlin, passing a wall of stone tombs. ‘The island has been used as a burial ground by generations of Castilian monarchy. There’s more than one Queen buried down here, but Isabella is by far the most interesting.’