The man stepped forward, cut a hole in the net and reached inside. Jake shrank away from his foetid breath. All their weapons were collected up – except for one broken arrowhead that Jake had managed to conceal in his palm.
Suddenly, behind the judge’s dais, Jake caught sight of Madame Fang. She stood there waiting while Xi reapplied his lipstick. Jake glared at him, teeth clenched, nose snarling.
‘So,’ Xi said finally, ‘welcome to our great first emperor’s secret palace. If anyone was in any doubt that the Chinese were the cleverest people in history, they need only come here.’ He swept his hand around the room. ‘It’s eighteen hundred years old and built under the sea – and it still survives, as if it went up only yesterday!’ He came closer and grinned at Topaz. ‘You’re quite clever, aren’t you? Cleverer than that halfwit next to you. Did you know that Qin had built this palace?’ Topaz made no reply. ‘Half a million people were washed away during its construction; some exploded from the pressure, eyes popping out . . . such a pleasure to watch. But what do half a million slaves matter, when this splendour is the result?’
Jake struggled uselessly against the ropes.
‘I am in awe of the great Qin,’ Xi carried on. ‘I still honour his traditions.’ He nodded to the de capitated guards. ‘Mere mortals aren’t allowed in – though these four were kind enough to convey me here. No, no, what if they were to speak of its location . . .? We’re a compact group here: Nanny, myself – and our trusty eunuch, of course.’ Xi patted the giant’s arm fondly as he whispered to his captives, ‘He’s my executioner, but don’t expect much in the way of conversation – I had his tongue removed.’ He cackled again. ‘Yes, just us three. And ten thousand statues, of course.’
Xi sliced his sword through the rope that held them aloft and they crashed to the floor.
‘Bring them . . .’ Xi strode off towards another set of doors, throwing them open. Madame Fang followed him into a wide, stately corridor.
The eunuch carelessly dragged Jake and Topaz across the floor in their wake, heads and limbs bumping into walls and doorways as they went. As they proceeded, lights came on as if by magic in an endless series of shell-shaped sconces. Jake scanned every inch of space, looking for clues as to where Philip might be.
They passed hundreds more statues – an entire imperial court. Stone soldiers guarded every entrance; pages, squires and attendants went about their duties, frozen in time. They passed a room where the empress and her ladies-in-waiting were being dressed by their maids; in another a motionless dance was taking place.
At last they came to a doorway from where steps led down into the largest chamber yet. Xi waited at the foot of them. ‘Qin built this palace to control the seas, just as he controlled the land,’ he purred, running his tongue around his mouth. ‘But I’m going to do it so much better.’
Jake and Topaz were kicked down the stairs, thump, thump, thump, and Fang closed the door behind them.
‘Where is he? Where’s my little one?’ Xi rushed over to an enormous glass tank in the middle of the room and took out an octopus. He put it around his neck like a scarf, and the tentacles clamped onto his face. ‘You missed me, didn’t you? And your sister? Next time I’ll bring her back from London, I promise. Careful of Daddy’s make-up,’ he said as the octopus’s suckers brushed over his lips. He held it and kissed it on its beaky mouth, then put it back in the tank. He turned to his prisoners. ‘Let’s make things a little more comfortable,’ he said, producing a knife and ripping open the net so that Jake and Topaz spilled out onto the floor. ‘If you try and escape, fish will eat you – it’s as simple as that.’ He clapped his hands in delight and did a pirouette. ‘So what do you think of the place?’ When they made no response, Xi kicked Jake hard in the stomach. ‘Get up, History Keeper,’ he sneered.
Eyes blazing, Jake got to his feet, still clutching the arrowhead. Topaz stood up next to him, while the eunuch watched over them, a machete in each hand.
Looking around, they realized that they were in Xi Xiang’s war room. In front of them, four colossal arched windows looked out across the dark sea bed. Along one wall, from floor to ceiling, there was an ancient mirror framed by a frieze of snaking sea creatures. In front of this, a row of empty cages fixed to the floor looked like something from a medieval torture chamber.
The tank that housed the octopus was the size of a small swimming pool. Stone islands shaped like the continents – Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas – rose clear of the water in the centre. It was a map of the world. Hundreds of minuscule galleons bobbed on the surface, scale models of ships complete with masts, sails and rigging. Some had fallen onto the floor and been flattened underfoot.
Between the pool and the four windows stood another throne, this one so encrusted with jewels it looked like a big toy. Next to it there was a control panel, fitted with various buttons and levers. Jake started when he saw the golden revolver lying casually beside it: Philip’s other gun – exactly as depicted in his drawing, with its curving dragon shape and long, slender barrel.
‘Shall we light up the sea?’ Xi said, pulling one of the levers on the control panel. More floodlights, much brighter ones, began to illuminate the ocean floor, coming on one after another, stretching for miles into the distance and bringing the underwater world to life. It was rich with vivid colours of emerald, coral and amethyst, and alive with swirling schools of fish.
‘Ingenious, isn’t it? Light and power provided by natural gas from the sea. In a moment, Nanny is going to give us a little show out there. It concerns one of these,’ he said, pointing to the model ships in the pool.
Xi continued his tour of the room. ‘And that, behind you, is Qin’s looking glass. The world has no idea that the mirror was his invention too – the vulgar Romans always laid claim to it. Look at it!’ He took Jake by the shoulders and propelled him towards it, whispering in his ear, ‘They say that when you look into it, you can see your past.’ He pushed Jake’s face into the glass. ‘What can you see, you uncouth boy? Can you see your trivial life? The tribulations of your sad story?’ The third eye blinked slowly at Jake and his voice grew quieter still, his tongue darting like a lizard’s between his teeth. ‘Can you see your brother?’
Jake lashed out at Xi’s neck with the arrowhead. Xi cried out as he lunged again, this time aiming for his deformed eye. Xi swung round and kicked Jake hard between the legs, while the giant grabbed him around the neck with his fat white fingers and Madame Fang took hold of Topaz. Xi kicked the boy over and over again.
‘Cage them!’ he spat, throwing off his armoured tunic and inspecting his wound. Jake and Topaz were forced into separate cages.
‘Nanny, it’s time,’ Xi said, clicking his fingers at her.
Jake’s heart pounded as he braced himself for the worst, but Fang merely nodded, climbed the stairs, unlocked the door and left. Xi returned to the pool, scooped up his octopus and sat on his throne, sulking as his pet stroked his face with its tentacles. Gradually he grew calmer and sank down into his seat.
Fifteen minutes passed as he gazed out at the underwater view; then he leaned forward. ‘Here she is,’ he said.
The windows darkened as a vast shape approached, blocking the view entirely. At first Jake couldn’t make it out, but then he realized what it was: a giant squid. The egg-shaped body glowed with light, its eight limbs undulating as it moved. Jake shook his head. How could Xi control such a thing? It defied all logic. Then he saw that the beast was man-made, forged in steel. Its tentacles were lengths of jointed metal, attached to a glass cockpit in the centre.
‘Isn’t Nanny the cleverest girl on earth!’ Xi shrieked excitedly, jumping up and waving at the driver in control of the beast. His pet octopus gestured with its tentacles in agreement. The mechanical squid drew closer until its outline filled all four windows. Fang’s shadow nodded back at her commander, then guided the machine out to sea again. It motored south towards the deep part of the ocean.
‘Lower the lights,’ Xi
ordered, and the mute giant turned a dial until the lanterns around the room grew dim.
Now the underwater vista came into sharper focus. In the distance they saw the hull of a ship bound for China. Gradually, Fang ascended towards the surface to intercept it.
Jake and Topaz watched as the two shapes came together, the squid’s tentacles enveloping the vessel. For a while the two moved as one, before they separated again, the destroyer’s tentacles folding up as it came away.
The ship floundered on, slowly sinking, turning onto its side as it went. Its three sails spread out, ghostlike, as they were dragged underwater. Tiny shapes flowed out of the sinking vessel, and Jake suddenly realized that these were people. The destruction of the ship looked unreal, graceful almost, but he could imagine the cries of the sailors as they were sucked down into the vortex. As the ship hit the sea bed, the hull split silently in two. The mechanical squid lingered for a while, hovering above its conquest, before turning and gliding back towards the palace.
Topaz, who had been watching in horror, started mumbling curses, rattling her cage in fury. ‘Vous êtes le diable. Vous allez souffrir d’une mort inimaginable.’
Xi wasn’t listening. He clapped his thin hands in joy and did a waltz around the room with his octopus. Then he went to the window, giggling and talking to himself as he watched his monster return.
As it approached, Jake saw that there was a corpse skewered on one of its tentacles: a sailor from the ship, mouth wide open, eyes frozen.
The beast carried on towards a docking bay at the side of the palace, and a few minutes later there was a distant clanking of metal. After another pause, footsteps approached, and Fang stepped into the room.
Xi got down on his knees and kissed her hand. ‘No one murders like Nanny does!’
He went over to the pool, set his pet down in the South Pacific and waggled his finger over the fleet of miniature ships, looking for one in particular. Finally he found it and threw it on the floor, stamping it underfoot. It scrunched like a beetle and he shrieked with laughter.
Jake looked around at the other flattened maquettes – at least ten of them – and realized they must all be ships that Xi had sunk. This was horrific enough, but a hundred more craft remained bobbing in the pool.
Xi’s master plan was now clear: he had an underwater palace beneath the busiest trade routes the world had ever known. In this region of the South China Sea, in the seventeenth century, vessels crisscrossed from Europe to Asia and from Asia to the New World and back again in an endless loop; vessels from Britain, Holland, Spain, Arabia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Brazil and hundreds more countries . . . The fortunes of the entire world, present and future, were tied up in this ceaseless movement.
Topaz shook her head. ‘You’re going to destroy all those?’ she said, looking at the pool. ‘C’est ça?’
Xi giggled. ‘I would happily sink every last one – but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.’ His lips tightened and his good eyes narrowed as the third one opened wide. He spoke in a whisper. ‘Very soon everyone will start doing our job for us – by destroying each other. And I have a feeling that the catalyst will be this ship here . . .’
He turned back to the pool and selected another model; one of the largest. Even in miniature, Jake recognized its distinct yellow sails: it was the Chinese emperor’s flagship, which they had seen in Canton.
‘Tomorrow morning at eight a.m., the imperial fleet sets off on its vulgar tour of neighbouring lands, showing off their big ships,’ Xi added. ‘But their voyage is already doomed. The sovereign’s favourite son will perish, along with all the royal court.’ He paused to appreciate his cleverness. ‘A letter – composed by me, of course, but apparently written and signed by all the European trading nations – will arrive in Peking, claiming responsibility in retaliation for their own losses. War will break out – world war, east versus west.’ Again he lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘It will be the end of seas. The end of everything.’
Now Jake and Topaz had put all the pieces of the puzzle together: the destruction of the galleons in London and Amsterdam; the commission to build warships in China – followed by a mammoth battle waged by the most powerful factions of the day. They knew enough history to understand that it would result not just in terrible loss of life and the cessation of trade; it would also stop the exchange of ideas. Kingdoms would become isolated, paranoid. Progress would stall.
Jake suddenly remembered the mural of the Lazuli Serpent in London: an ancient tide stone at the bottom of the sea, a crystal so dreadful that it could destroy the world.
‘Anyway’ – Xi clapped his hands and turned back to his prisoners – ‘that’s enough talking. Let’s get you two eaten, shall we?’ He skipped over to the control panel and pushed a button. A trapdoor beneath Topaz flipped open and she let out a little gasp as she dropped through the hole.
‘Noooo!’ Jake cried. Topaz called back, but her voice grew more distant as she was carried away. There was the sound of splashing, followed by a far-off scream.
‘No palace would be complete without a maze,’ Xi tittered, ‘and a water maze is even more thrilling. Brace yourselves for a truly gory drama.’
He pushed another button and the floor gave way beneath Jake, but he clung onto the bars, his feet dangling. Below him, he could see nothing but darkness.
‘Really?’ Xi said, coming over as Jake’s hands slipped. ‘That’s so touching; he doesn’t want to leave us. We understand: we are rather fun, aren’t we? But we’re busy now, Jake Djones . . . so much to do. Nanny will be setting off again in no time, and she abhors killing on an empty stomach.’ Still smiling, he kicked Jake’s whitened knuckles. ‘Say goodbye,’ he said, nodding at Jake’s reflection in the mirror, then jabbed his heel hard into Jake’s fingers. There was a nasty crack, but still he clung on, every sinew stretching.
Xi stopped smiling. ‘You’re being stupid now. Don’t you need to go and find your friend?’ He was about to kick out again – but Jake took a deep breath, let go of the bars and fell into the void.
22 WATER TORTURE
HE PLUNGED INTO darkness. Soon his feet hit a sloping wall. He slid down the slimy stone, then plummeted through the air, catching a glimpse of a cavernous space before he finally struck water – hard.
It was hot – he swallowed a mouthful – and he felt creatures moving around him: fish slipping through his shirt and his trousers, biting with sharp little teeth. He shot up, breaking the surface, hearing himself scream. He tried to reach a ledge above him, but it was too high. He felt a sharp pain in his heel and looked down to see a long brown fish like a pike. Jake launched himself upwards again, and this time he caught hold of the ledge and pulled himself up onto a rocky shelf.
He stood there panting, his bites stinging, and looked around, eyes slowly growing accustomed to the gloom. He was at the intersection of three cavernous tunnels that led in different directions, rising or falling and twisting and turning. Spread out along them were many more pools, all different sizes and shapes. Water dripped everywhere.
‘Topaz!’ he cried out. ‘Topaz, can you hear me?’ His voice echoed into distant, unseen spaces. This hell he was in, this maze, as Xi had called it, seemed to be as large as the palace itself. ‘Topaz!’ he called again.
Finally a reply came, so far away that he could barely hear it: ‘Jake?’ He tried to work out which passage it was coming from. ‘Jake . . . I’m trapped.’
‘I’m going to try and find you,’ he shouted back, selecting the widest of the three tunnels. He edged round the side of another pool that disappeared into a chamber beyond. This one was stuffed with fat, round fish covered in sharp spikes. Sensing his presence, one of them suddenly puffed up to its full size.
Jake called out to Topaz again, to check that he was going the right way. ‘Here . . .’ There was a tremble in her voice. He quickened his pace, vaulting up and down steps, over the ponds if he could, but wading or swimming through them where he had no choice. He quickly
became used to the many sharp-toothed creatures.
He came to another intersection of three tunnels and called out again. Topaz’s voice echoed back to him, closer now, as if she was in a deep chamber. Jake took a passage that led directly to a wide pool that blocked his path completely. On the steps leading down into it sprawled a human skeleton, one hand reaching out. The upper half was intact – but everything from the knees down was missing.
Jake looked into the pool. It was perfectly still; nothing stirred. But was it safe to go in?
He picked up the thigh-bone of the skeleton and carefully poked it into the water. The surface bubbled and seethed as a school of plump little fishes flocked around, trying to bite it. Jake quickly pulled it out, but a couple of fish were still clinging on. He shook them free, their jaws still snapping ferociously. Piranhas . . . Jake had seen them before, and he knew that they worked as a pack, stripping flesh from anything that lived. He flicked them back into the water. Realizing that it might be a useful weapon, he kept hold of the thigh-bone, wielding it like a sword. ‘Better than nothing,’ he said to himself, taking the largest of the arm bones as well, and stuffing them both into his belt.
Suddenly there was a rumble from above. Jake looked up and saw one of the decapitated guards dropping down a narrow chute and crashing into the pool. Another corpse followed soon after; then the third and fourth. As the fish set upon them, making the water boil, four heads followed, one gliding by with its eyes fixed on Jake. In they dropped, plop, plop, plop, plop.
He turned, ran back to the intersection and saw that the next passage twisted round in a similar direction to the first. He went along it, calling again to Topaz. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Not going anywhere,’ her voice came back; but then she let out a little scream.
‘What happened?’
‘There are jellyfish,’ she replied. ‘I’m trying to keep away.’
History Keepers: Nightship to China Page 20