The Three Secret Cities

by Matthew Reilly

  He handed Iolanthe an iPad with Google Maps on it.

  She quickly brought up a spot on the Italian coast.

  ‘The Knights of the Golden Eight reside here, in a castle near Naples known as Castille Aragonese: Aragon Castle. If they captured your friend, then they were contracted to take him alive, too. Trust me, the Knights much prefer killing their targets. But if their commission was to capture him, then they will be keeping him at Aragon Castle for presentation to their employer.’

  ‘And who would that be?’ Jack asked. ‘If we know who hired them, we might be able to get some leverage that way.’

  Iolanthe said, ‘For over two thousand years, the Knights of the Golden Eight—or as some call them, the Blood Knights of Ischia or the Knights of the Round Table—have been the hired assassins of the royal world, killers with no patron or master. Myth and legend has portrayed them as unwaveringly chivalrous and loyal, but myth and legend inadvertently reversed the details. The Knights are unwavering, sure, but only in the execution of a paid task.’

  Jack said, ‘For which they’re paid in land?’

  ‘Correct. Vast swathes of land. The Knights own the entire southwestern coast of Italy from Naples to Messina, large portions of Nigeria and Morocco, and all of Ethiopia. They prefer regions rich in minerals so they can exploit them.

  ‘What all this means is that whoever hired the Knights is probably someone very senior, most likely a king or a wealthy lord. Someone with the authority to give the Knights a very sizeable plot of land. We’re talking a region the size of a small country.’

  ‘Why so large?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Because a contract to kill the fifth greatest warrior and capture his adopted daughter—you, the Oracle of Siwa—is momentous,’ Iolanthe said. ‘Forget your friend, Albert; he’s just a minor bonus. You two are very big fish and a mission the Knights would relish.’

  ‘Their employer. Could it be your brother, Orlando?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Possibly,’ Iolanthe said. ‘My brother has used the Knights before. But, then, if the Slave King is also after you, Orlando might just leave the task to him. Don’t forget, you upset a lot of people at the Games, Jack, so it could be anyone.’

  ‘It’s hard enough finding and solving the Mysteries,’ Jack said. ‘Doing it with two sets of assholes hunting me makes it a lot harder. Can we take that castle? Storm it?’

  Iolanthe gave him a look. ‘Others have tried to take back loved ones captured by the Knights. None have succeeded.’

  Jack bit his lip. ‘Will they kill Alby?’

  ‘The Knights won’t,’ Iolanthe said. ‘Given that the commission was to capture him and Lily alive, I would imagine it is their employer who would like the opportunity to kill them both. If Albert isn’t already dead, it can’t be long till he is.’

  Jack threw a worried glance at Lily.

  He shifted gears. ‘What about Hades? His brother Yago caught him and took him to that royal prison.’

  ‘Erebus,’ Iolanthe said softly, reverently. ‘If Hades has been taken by the royal jailer, then he is even more lost than your friend being held by the Knights. The location of the prison at Erebus is one of the royal world’s most closely guarded secrets. Once you go to Erebus, you do not leave. And no-one can rescue you because no-one knows where it is.’

  ‘Do you have any ideas?’ Jack asked.

  Iolanthe shrugged elaborately. ‘Rumours about the location of the royal prison have existed for centuries: some say it is buried underneath a fortress on Malta; others in Crete; some say it is the labyrinth at Knossos; others say that Troy was not a city at all but actually the prison and that Agamemnon’s famed siege of it was an attempt to break out his brother’s wife after she was imprisoned there. Most believe that Erebus is somewhere in the Mediterranean, but beyond that, its location is a mystery.’

  She shook her head.

  ‘You would do well to forget Hades. Once someone goes to Erebus, they are never seen again.’

  ‘Okay, then,’ Jack said, ‘confirm a few other things for us. Like this papyrus, which I’m told was kept in your Hall of Royal Records for many years.’

  Jack placed a photo on the table in front of Iolanthe. It was the shot of the Zeus Papyrus that he had taken in Hades’s vault in New York. The papyrus read:

  When mighty Hercules won the Games for me, my prize was an army, an indomitable force of men of bronze, to guard me on my sacred mission to the Three Secret Cities.

  I also received the Mysteries: wondrous visions seared into my mind as I stood inside the obelisk, including two odes regarding the two trials to be overcome.

  THE TRIAL OF THE CITIES

  No oceans.

  No clouds.

  No rivers.

  No rain.

  The world a wasteland

  of misery and pain.

  THE TRIAL OF THE MOUNTAINS

  Five iron mountains. Five bladed keys. Five doors, forever locked.

  But mark you, only those who survive the Fall,

  May enter the supreme labyrinth

  And look upon the face of the Omega.

  The Mysteries guided me through the first trial. That trial required me to take the Three Immortal Weapons to the Three Secret Cities, empower the weapons at them, and, thus empowered, perform the sacred ritual with the weapons at the Altar of the Cosmos before the next rising of Sagittarius over the Sun.

  Let all who follow in my footsteps know: the journey to the Three Secret Cities begins at the end.

  The second trial only begins once the first is completed —

  ‘You know this papyrus?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘We calculated the “next rising of Sagittarius over the Sun”: when radio waves from the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A-star will pass through the Earth and shoot down the path created by the Hydra Galaxy.’

  ‘How long have we got?’ Iolanthe asked simply.

  ‘It happens on 1 December, at 8:05 p.m. GMT,’ Jack said. ‘Which means we had seven days, but that was two days ago. Now we have only five days to find the Three Immortal Weapons, empower them at the Secret Cities and then use them in some ritual at the Altar of the Cosmos. Do you know what empowering involves? And anything about the ritual and the Altar?’

  Iolanthe said, ‘Empowering involves placing a special kind of blue gemstone on each of the weapons. The blue gems are kept at each city, in their innermost chambers.

  ‘As for the Altar of the Cosmos, it’s a very ancient legend. It is mentioned in mythologies from all over the world, from Meso-American cultures like the Olmecs and Incans to Greek, Egyptian and Viking legends. It is said to be an altar the size of a mountain.’

  ‘The size of a mountain?’ Lily said.

  ‘If it’s that big, wouldn’t it have been found already?’ Zoe asked.

  Iolanthe said, ‘Some say it already has. Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa is a prime candidate: it has many hidden chambers within its volcanic core. Mount Olympus in Greece is another, for obvious reasons. Personally, I like Mont Blanc in France. Apparently, buried within it rocky core is a strange hollow structure that dates back over five thousand years. Once, when I politely asked to inspect it, the then King of Land—my own father—would not let me.’

  ‘Do the four kings know where it is?’

  Iolanthe said, ‘No, just the Land King, since it resides in his domain. On his accession to his throne, the new king is told the location of the Altar.’

  Jack gave her a look. ‘Come on, Iolanthe. I would imagine the Keeper of the Royal Records must come across slivers of information on topics like this from time to time.’

  Iolanthe returned his look with interest.

  She pulled a weathered file from the stack of documents and scrolls that she and the others had taken from the Hall of Records on their way out.


  The file was stamped: K.E.O.

  ‘What does “K.E.O.” stand for?’ Lily asked.

  ‘“King’s Eyes Only”,’ Iolanthe said. ‘It’s the only file of this kind I’ve ever seen. I discovered it in a bunch of boxes filled with secret cables that were hastily brought to St Michael’s Mount during the dying days of World War II. Cables between royals and fleeing Nazis. In the rush, this K.E.O. report must have got caught among them. Of course, I couldn’t resist looking at it.’

  She opened the file. It was empty save for a single slip of worn paper. It was titled:

  K.E.O. REPORT

  CORPS OF ROYAL ENGINEERS

  178th TUNNELLING COMPANY

  12 May 1942

  Your Majesty,

  During our excavations of Arrow Street an unusual chamber was found. It appears to be the holy chamber of the Altar. Photographs are enclosed.

  The men who found it were duly executed.

  Brigadier James Conn Jr

  Chief Royal Engineer

  Iolanthe said, ‘It’s the only thing I’ve ever found referring to the Altar.’

  ‘“The men who found it were duly executed”,’ Jack read. ‘He reports it so casually.’

  ‘Royal secrets are worth more than the lives of a few common soldiers,’ Iolanthe said.

  Lily took a photo of the document with her phone and uploaded it to their secure server in the Cloud.

  ‘Any idea where this Arrow Street can be found?’ she asked.

  ‘None,’ Iolanthe said. ‘Chloe and I worked on it for a week. We found a number of Arrow Streets in cities around the world, but all our inquiries led to nothing. That said—’

  She hesitated.

  ‘Go on,’ Jack said.

  ‘There’s one other thing about the Altar of the Cosmos. In some places, it is known as the Altar for the Rebirth of the Cosmos.’

  ‘And?’ Zoe asked.

  Mae’s eyes narrowed. ‘The ritual. You’re thinking of the Mayans and the Aztecs?’

  ‘I am.’ Iolanthe nodded. ‘In historical matters, words have meaning. Specific meaning. The phrase “Rebirth of the Cosmos” occurs a lot in Meso-American cultures, in particular those of the Mayans and the Aztecs. To pay for the sun to be reborn every morning, both famously practised human sacrifice. Very gruesome human sacrifice.’

  Julius said, ‘You think the ritual to be performed at the Altar of the Cosmos requires some sort of human sacrifice?’

  ‘I don’t know for certain, but I’m thinking that’s a possibility, yes,’ Iolanthe said.

  ‘Just what we need,’ Jack scowled. ‘That said, unless we find the cities, the Altar is moot, so let’s move on. What about the poem? No oceans, no clouds, rivers and all that. Any idea what that means?’

  ‘It is punishment,’ Iolanthe said simply. ‘Punishment for our failure to complete the first trial. If humankind proves to be unworthy, then the Earth must not only be extinguished, it must suffer.’

  ‘Suffer?’ Lily said.

  Iolanthe nodded. ‘There will be no sudden explosion or flash of light and everybody just drops dead. Oh, no. This is a warning. A warning of what will occur if we fail. I do not know how it will happen, but I interpret this poem as an image of the world turned dry, transformed into a desolate wasteland incapable of sustaining life.’

  The group fell silent.

  ‘Good God . . .’ Mae said quietly.

  Jack said, ‘The three weapons. Hades told us that the first is a sword, the blade known as Caliburn or Excalibur, and that it has long been held by the Land Kingdom. Is this Orlando’s focus? Has he gone to the first city with the Sword?’

  ‘That’s correct.’ Iolanthe nodded. ‘To enter each city, he must first go to its watchtower where he will meet its watchman. Now that he knows Thule is the first city, he will go there. According to several ancient sources, it’s in Iceland.’

  ‘Wait,’ Mae said, ‘you know the locations of the three cities?’

  ‘Just Thule,’ Iolanthe said. ‘The legend of the city of Ultima Thule is a very Anglo-Saxon one, so there’s a lot of information about it in British, Norse and Roman records, alongside tales of Merlin, King Arthur and the druids.’

  Lily said, ‘But Orlando hasn’t seen the full triangular tablet. He doesn’t know that by going to Thule, he will set in motion mechanisms at the other two cities, Ra and Atlas. In his haste, he could kill us all.’

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell us about the watchman of Atlas, the magi in charge of it. The one called Sphinx.’

  Iolanthe looked hard at Jack. ‘Sphinx is indeed the guardian of the City of Atlas, although not by choice. Sphinx is my cousin: our fathers were brothers. In recent years, I have seen him irregularly, mainly at royal weddings in Europe. He is rich beyond measure, but his role as the watchman of Atlas is a solitary one. And his relationship with my brother is complicated.’

  Jack said, ‘The weapon that must be taken to Atlas is the Mace of Poseidon, which rests in Poseidon’s tomb. As far as we know, that’s never been found. Correct?’

  ‘Correct,’ Iolanthe said.

  ‘And the last city, El Dorado. Any idea of its location?’

  ‘I fear I do not know where Ra is. Somewhere in South America.’

  ‘How else can we find the cities then?’ Jack asked. ‘Are there any records or maps?’

  Iolanthe said, ‘I know of one ancient map—of a sort—that shows the locations of the cities. It is held by the Cult of Amon-Ra.’

  ‘The Catholic Church,’ Lily said.

  ‘Yes. The map once sat atop their holiest shrine, the obelisk in St Peter’s Square, out in front of the Vatican in Rome.’

  ‘On top of the obelisk?’ Mae said.

  ‘The obelisk in St Peter’s Square is the oldest and most sacred one to have been taken from Egypt,’ Iolanthe said. ‘It is rumoured to be over four thousand years old but no-one knows for sure. It is also the only obelisk in the world to have been surmounted by a small metal sphere.’

  This was true, Jack knew. Many had wondered about the little sphere on top of the mighty obelisk.

  ‘That mysterious sphere already sat atop the obelisk when it was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula in 37 A.D.,’ Iolanthe explained. ‘But it was removed in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V and replaced with a brass forgery. The original sits safely inside an air-sealed vault deep within the Vatican—alongside other historical treasures—and if you look closely at it, you will see that it shows an image of the Earth as seen from space.’

  ‘But that’s impossible,’ Zoe said. ‘How could the Egyptians build such a thing?’

  ‘They didn’t,’ Iolanthe said. ‘Others did. I have seen it, although it was only a fleeting glimpse. In addition to continents and oceans, clearly marked and labelled on that metal globe are the locations of the three cities and the five iron peaks.’

  Jack grimaced. ‘Which means Cardinal Mendoza knows the locations of all of them.’

  ‘Yes,’ Iolanthe said, seeing Jack’s face fall. ‘But having said that, I know of someone else who claimed to have found the three cities.’

  ‘Who?’ Jack sat upright. ‘Can we meet him?’

  ‘You can’t meet him, because he’s been dead for five hundred years.’

  ‘Who are you talking about?’

  ‘Why, the greatest seafarer in British history,’ Iolanthe said. ‘Sir Francis Drake.’

  ‘Francis Drake?’ Jack repeated.

  Drake was, quite simply, a legend: the great British sailor who circumnavigated the world in the late 1570s and whose fleet famously defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, but not before he’d finished his game of lawn bowls. To the British of the time, he was an unqualified hero. To the Spanish—whom Drake hated with a passion—he was a ruthless pirate.

  Loyal to his queen, daring to a fault, and possessed of a
famous sense of humour, he was arguably history’s greatest swashbuckler.

  ‘One of the perks of being Keeper of the Royal Records,’ Iolanthe said, ‘is that I get to read the correspondence between some of history’s most remarkable figures. One such letter was sent from Sir Francis Drake to Queen Elizabeth I—the famous Virgin Queen—about a secret mission she had sent him on late in his life.’

  Iolanthe grabbed one of the leather-bound volumes she had taken from the Hall of Records and pulled from it a sheet of weathered brown parchment.

  On it was a handwritten message, written in a flowery script.

  ‘Drake died in mysterious circumstances off the coast of Panama in 1596,’ Iolanthe said. ‘He was reputedly buried at sea in a lead coffin near Portobelo. That coffin, despite much searching, has never been found. This is the last letter that he sent back to Elizabeth before his disappearance.’

  Jack read the five-hundred-year-old letter:

  My Queen,

  I have taken ill with the fever. I cannot get back. I doubt I will survive the next five days.

  But know that I found them—all three of them—as you commanded. Their locations will be buried at sea with me in a lead coffin here in Portobelo.

  As I approach my last sunrise, I remain forever,

  Your loyal servant,

  Drake

  Jack looked at Iolanthe questioningly. ‘Elizabeth sent Drake in search of the Three Secret Cities?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And he found them.’

  ‘So it would seem.’

  Jack stood. ‘Mum, take Iolanthe and find Drake’s coffin. Call Nobody. He has a place in Barbados. He can help you out with a submersible, which you might need. I’m guessing that Drake’s reference to Portobelo, Panama, is a code for some other place in or around that region, so it’s a good place to start.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Mae asked.

  ‘Where else?’ Jack said. ‘I’m going to get Alby—’

  The sound of police sirens cut him off.