Mariah Mundi and the Ghost Diamonds

by G. P. Taylor

  ‘So what happens when we die and come back to life?’ he asked nervously.

  ‘A simple ceremony. It will take place tonight and on my word you will be admitted. But remember – once the ritual is over you can never leave the Society. Some have tried and have not awoken on a new day.’

  Grimm coughed as if to clear his throat as the man walked across the room to the window. He stared out across the town. Before him was the Prince Regent and in the bay below was the Irenzee.

  ‘Such a strange way to travel. I always have thought that boats were never very good. I have a desire that one day we will master the air and be able to fly to wherever we desire. That would be a fine thing.’

  ‘Some of us already do,’ Grendel whispered to himself as he stared at a flame that appeared to have changed into the shape of a large bat. ‘I had a dream that I saw the sky filled with sharp black sticks that beat against the clouds and caused the thunder. Then a ball of light crashed to the earth and raised up the sea so that the land was engulfed by water.’

  ‘Do you dream often, Grendel?’ the man asked as he pulled the blind across the window to keep out the light.

  ‘Only when I am awake. I find sleep like death and do not wish to see either,’ Grendel replied as he took another reassuring sip of linctus.

  ‘Then,’ said the man, ‘I have changed my mind. Shall I take you both into my confidence?’

  ‘That would be a fine thing, sir,’ said Grimm, standing bolt upright as if summonsed by the King. ‘A fine thing indeed.’

  ‘Very well,’ said the man as he went to the desk in the corner of the room and tapped on its side to open a secret drawer. ‘I have here a plan of the hotel. What I search for was lost some time ago. You will have heard the rumour of the Ghost Diamonds?’ he asked.

  ‘Only in the Merchant Inn – late at night, when the old hag has stopped singing,’ Grendel replied.

  ‘Just a story, sir. I am sure of it,’ Grimm said as he tried to make light of what he said. ‘Seven men died for nothing – they couldn’t tell where the Ghost Diamonds were, for they were not there in the first place.’

  ‘A story, yes. A lie, no.’ The man looked out of the window quickly and then pulled down another blind. ‘Gormenberg knew of the location of the Ghost Diamonds and so do I … Help me find them and you –’

  There was a banging on the door of the house. The doorbell jangled frantically. The beating came again. It was urgent and violent, a bare hand rapping against the wood. From outside the room they could hear voices raised in alarm as the butler opened the door and Walpole stormed into the house.

  ‘Where is Master Templar?’ he asked as his feet pounded against the hall floor.

  A hand beat urgently on the locked parlour door.

  ‘Master Templar! Master Templar, they have escaped!’ Walpole shouted, out of breath.

  ‘Escaped?’ screamed the man as he unlocked the door and

  dragged Walpole inside before the fire. ‘Of whom do you speak, Walpole?’

  ‘Char- … Char- … Charity,’ he mumbled humbly as if the cold bit his lips. ‘And the boy. The trap failed.’

  ‘How?’ the man asked sharply.

  ‘We had them good and proper. Both together, just as you planned. I only have four Society men in Dean Prison and they worked well. We had the boy locked up with Charity and when I arrived they had gone. Dug themselves out of the place. Took out the wall brick by brick. They were chased to the sea. Couldn’t be found. Hope they are dead,’ Walpole said briskly as he sweated each word.

  ‘Can you be sure?’ asked the man.

  ‘No, Master Templar. They were tracked by the bloodhounds to the sea and then lost.’ Walpole looked at Grimm and Grendel as if they were responsible. He could see that Grendel had left this world and slept wide-eyed. Taking the snuffbox from his pocket he spread a line on the back of his hand and sniffed deeply. ‘We should find the girl,’ he went on. ‘The blind eye should be turned tomorrow and then we can have done with them all.’

  ‘And what of the Prince Regent?’ the man asked.

  ‘One of my detectives followed Lucius when he was talking with the boy – they don’t know what was said.’ Walpole looked at the Master Templar as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t in the presence of Grimm and Grendel.

  ‘You can speak. I have called them both to the Society of Truth. It will cost them more than their jobs if they break the oath,’ he said, and he drew a hand across his throat as if it were a knife.

  ‘Very well,’ Walpole said as he looked at them both and sniffed the final fragments of snuff from his fingers. ‘I think Mr Zogel is not to be trusted. His miniscule friend is playing a

  game with us and I think he would deal with Charity directly and cut us from the chase. All I know is that the dwarf talks about a Midas Box.’

  ‘Why don’t you trust him?’ asked the man as he pulled the final blind on the window overlooking the Prince Regent.

  ‘It was something Lucius said when he came to see you. I was hiding. I saw the Duegard – the sign of the brotherhood, the thumb drawn across his throat as if it were a knife. What man would reveal such a secret without asking?’ Walpole asked.

  ‘What is it you’re saying?’ the man asked.

  ‘I don’t trust him. There is something wrong in the way he is with Zogel. My men have been watching. It’s as if Lucius is the one in control and Zogel just the puppet. On the pier, one of the sailors from the Irenzee told an informant that on the ship they only saw Lucius, and Zogel slept most of the time.’

  ‘Perhaps he hates the sea?’ Grendel quipped. ‘I cannot stand sea nor dry land and am only comforted by my linctus. It stops the spinning of the world.’

  ‘Perhaps all is not well with Zogel – there are rumours he is sick?’ the man asked as he smiled at Walpole.

  ‘That’s not all,’ Walpole went on. ‘One of his men was arrested last night on a minor charge in the Merchant Inn. The beer spoke on his behalf and opened his heart. Whilst in the cells he kept on shouting that the whole town would soon find out why they were here. Zogel had him collected and taken back to the ship by his own guard before I could speak to him.’

  ‘Do you think they know about the Ghost Diamonds?’ the man asked uneasily as he paced the room.

  ‘Whatever is known, Master Templar, our decree has to be completed soon. If we do not find what we are looking for then grand hail for us all and no help for the widow’s son.’ Walpole stood stiffly and raised both hands in the air to the Master Templar in the manner of giving him a secret sign.

  The man didn’t speak but answered sign for sign. He took his hand and drew it across his waist and then dropped his arm to the side and bowed.

  ‘So be it, Walpole. So be it. Grimm and Grendel shall know of what we do. The Ghost Diamonds have to be recovered. I have promised that they shall be returned. For that, we will all be well paid.’

  ‘I do this for different reasons, Master Templar,’ Walpole replied ever so humbly as he stooped his great, thin frame like an old greyhound. As he did so he scowled at Grimm and Grendel, doing so in such a way that the Master Templar could not see him.

  ‘That, Mr Walpole, is why I chose you. Your loyalty to the Society will not go unnoticed. And whilst we talk, what is our situation with Packavi?’

  ‘He is still useful, Master Templar. His actions are a distraction from the work we do. There is a fear in the town that he will strike again. They think it is a phantom or Spring-Heeled Jack. We add to the rumours for our own good. I have had word from the police in London. They are to close the case on the Whitechapel murders on the understanding that Packavi will not return. He did well for The Society.’

  ‘All in the service of the Queen … to keep her son’s follies secret. Packavi makes me nervous. There is something about him that chills what is left of my soul. Should the situation change I would like him eliminated.’ The Master Templar turned to Grimm and Grendel. ‘In the meantime, we must find the Ghost Diamonds. For th
at, we need to have access to the Prince Regent Hotel. We cannot search properly with subterfuge or by the cover of night.’

  ‘I could have the hotel closed down for reasons of evidence,’ Walpole suggested as Grimm stayed silent, feeling like a spectator to an act of malice.

  ‘Better still, Mr Walpole, could we not seize the building from Charity?’ the Master Templar asked.

  ‘How could you do that?’ asked Grimm as his heart leapt nervously in his chest. ‘It is not yours to take.’

  ‘If he died tragically while trying to escape from a charge of murder, then he forfeits his estate. The Prince Regent can be seized. All we would need is a writ of Charity’s death from the Mayor,’ the Master Templar said arrogantly.

  ‘But what he if wasn’t dead and was just hiding?’ Walpole asked eagerly.

  ‘Then we must make sure that we find him and do away with our problem,’ the Templar replied. ‘We have to find the Ghost Diamonds and have them restored to their rightful owner. If we cannot do that in two days then it is the end of The Society of Truth.’

  ‘And what if Zogel and the dwarf get in the way?’ Walpole asked curiously.

  ‘Then they too will meet the same fate as Captain Jack Charity,’ he replied.

  [ 20 ]

  The Ghost Diamonds

  DEEP in the cave, Mariah slept by the light of the storm lamps. Captain Charity kept guard by the entrance and listened to the sound of the sea as it echoed through the tunnel and into their hiding place. They had eaten well on a carton of ship biscuits and two mugs of Porto. The chase had exhausted Mariah and soon he had fallen asleep as his clothes steamed in the heat from the lamps.

  He dreamed much. The faces of Grimm and Grendel merged with those of Sacha and Packavi. In his terror he imagined being caught by Packavi and as he raised his gun to kill the assassin, the bullets dropped onto the floor without the power of the blast. They then turned into spiders and ran quickly away, fearful of what they were meant to do. Mariah then tried to escape, only to find his legs took him backwards, closer to his attacker than he was before.

  Charity watched him turn back and forth and moan in discontent as he dreamed. ‘We’ll get through all this,’ he said to Mariah, knowing the lad couldn’t hear his words and yet hoping they would reassure him. ‘Then we can get all the answers for your life – perhaps then, Mariah, you’ll have peace.’

  It was as he spoke his final words that Mariah woke up.

  ‘They’re coming to look for us,’ Mariah said sleepily, knowing they had to be the first words he said.

  ‘Just a dream, Mariah,’ Charity replied as he handed him another sea biscuit.

  ‘I saw them. I saw them clearly. Grimm and Grendel were with Walpole outside the Prince Regent – they were nailing a writ to the door,’ Mariah replied as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

  ‘Just a dream,’ Charity said again.

  ‘It was more than that. It was as if I was there. Walpole told them that the writ would do – until they could see Ebenezer Wolf,’ Mariah said.

  ‘Have you heard of the man they speak of?’ Charity asked, quite bemused.

  ‘Never before,’ Mariah replied.

  ‘Then your dream is of interest. Ebenezer Wolf is the Mayor. If this is more than a dream then it gives away what they could do,’ Charity said as his mind raced with the thought.

  ‘What?’ asked Mariah.

  ‘They intend to seize the hotel. Walpole can sign a writ of confiscation that lasts for three days, and after that the Mayor himself would have to agree and declare me dead. I would either have to appear to contest it or they could sell it by auction. Either way, they would have me.’ Charity tried to smile. ‘If your dream is true then it forces our hand. We should go to the Prince Regent and see for ourselves.’

  ‘But they could be outside searching for us,’ Mariah replied.

  ‘We shall not see the light of day until we are safe with Mister Quadlibett in his fine sweet shop in the vaults of the Market,’ Charity replied as he walked to the far wall and slid a wooden cupboard to one side.

  There, as if it had been cut into the wall, was a sliver-like

  crack in the solid rock. It vanished into the side of the cliff.

  ‘This has been here for a million years. It’s a volcanic fault line, Mariah. It takes us to the tunnels under the town and to Mister Quadilibett’s shop. This is the way the Ghosts would come and go and no one would ever see them.’

  ‘You know a lot about the smugglers, Captain,’ Mariah said. ‘More than one only engaged in honest trade.’

  ‘Then come with me and find out more. If your dream is something of the future we should not sit about in dingy circumstances.’

  Charity took the lamp and led on. There were steps inside the fault that went higher and then turned. In the lamplight Mariah could see that each one had been cut from the rock by flat chisels. Some were worn where many feet had trod before them. Soon Mariah could smell the sea. The rough walls of the passageway that had been hewn from the rock gave way to smooth stones built one on the other.

  From nearby Mariah could hear the sound of running water. He knew he was near to the town. Then all became familiar. He had been this way before. This was the passageway from Mister Quadlibett’s Vendorium to the harbour. There was soon the smell of the baker’s shop above them, filling the tunnel with a white mist of bread dust and the scent of fresh bread. In two turns he knew he would see the steps from the tunnel and there would be a door and then the storeroom of the shop.

  ‘Does everyone in this town know of this place?’ Mariah asked as he walked in Charity’s shadow.

  ‘There are a few who are familiar with what goes on,’ Charity said softly as they approached the entrance to the shop.

  ‘And the Ghost Diamonds – what is the truth of them?’ Mariah asked.

  ‘I know little of them. I was in Africa. From what I was told by Smutch, seven barrels were taken from a ship and brought

  into the caves. The smugglers had arranged to be paid the next night. When they went to the rendezvous, Inspector Walpole and the militia from the castle were waiting. The men were arrested.’

  ‘But they didn’t say where the diamonds were – they were offered a pardon, Sacha told me,’ Mariah replied quickly.

  ‘They couldn’t say because they didn’t know,’ Charity said, his voice determined. ‘Someone had gone to the hiding place and taken every barrel. All the smugglers thought they had done was bring in Porto. When Walpole began asking about diamonds none of them knew what he was talking about.’ He paused momentarily and stared at Mariah. ‘The men were murdered because of their own ignorance. They were double-crossed.’

  ‘By who?’ Mariah asked.

  ‘I have heard it said that it was Gormenberg,’ Charity replied as he took the steps to the secret entrance of the shop one by one.

  ‘So why can’t we look for the diamonds ourselves?’ asked Mariah.

  ‘We have to find out who killed the guests at the Prince Regent. I have a feeling that the two may be linked in some way. It was strange for Zogel to arrive the night they were killed.’

  ‘He couldn’t have done it – he was at sea on his boat,’ said Mariah.

  ‘Perhaps they were killed so they couldn’t meet with him,’ Charity replied. ‘This was not just a chance attack. Everything was planned meticulously. If a meeting had been arranged between Zogel and the others, then someone was desperate to see it stopped and get me out of the way.’

  ‘But Zogel wants the Prince Regent,’ Mariah said.

  ‘That is what his companion has told you. Zogel could have any hotel in the world and there has to be something far more

  that he wants than just another spa in a northern town on a craggy outcrop in the German Ocean. We need to be at the Prince Regent and I need a change of clothes.’

  Charity tapped three times on the door and then waited before he tapped again. Mariah could hear shuffling in the room above. It was as if whoever was inside had
to move large, heavy objects from the doorway. Charity smiled at Mariah, his face lined with the shadows of the lamp. It reminded Mariah of the day he had seen his father for the last time at Southampton dock before he had been taken to the Colonial School. There was something strong in his eyes. Mariah could see it easily. It was as if circumstances could not change the light within his heart.

  ‘My father said the eyes are the window of the soul.’ Mariah found himself saying the words out loud for no reason.

  ‘Your father was right, Mariah. Always look at the eyes. In some they are dead and lifeless – as if the essence of the man has been robbed from him. In others they are alive with the fire of life,’ Charity replied as he tapped again on the door.

  ‘What will happen to us?’ Mariah asked, fearing the worst but not wanting Charity to know how scared he really was.

  ‘Never fear that which can destroy the body – only that which can take the soul,’ Charity said. He dimmed the wick of the lamp, plunging the tunnel to a thick and murky black.

  The door opened. A small candle flickered as the face appeared.

  ‘Who is it?’ asked a voice as the face stared into the darkness.

  ‘Not ghost – but men of the sea – in business against the king with rum from far away,’ Charity said, using the secret words of greeting known only to true Ghosts.

  ‘And what name do the men have?’ the voice asked as he held the candle higher.

  ‘We have no name but that of our ship,’ Charity replied.

  ‘And what be that?’ the voice questioned.

  ‘Dignity and truth,’ Charity said as he stepped forward.

  ‘Can’t be,’ said the voice in fear, as the door was slammed shut. ‘Dignity and truth are dead. It is the news of the town. Go away or tell me who you really are.’

  ‘’Tis I, Jack Charity. Quadlibett, open the door.’ Charity pressed on the door.

  ‘Back with you – I have a gun and I will use it. Charity is dead – don’t joke with me,’ Quadlibett replied like an angry rat, and there came the sound of boxes being stacked against the door.