The Lost Sword

by Pitt, Darrell

  Hiro pursed his lips. ‘I was just offering,’ he said. ‘It appears very dangerous.’

  ‘As if I can’t see that!’ Jack forced himself to be calm. Yelling at Hiro wouldn’t achieve anything. ‘I appreciate the offer, but you wouldn’t survive five minutes up there.’

  ‘That ladder,’ Scarlet said, ‘is furthest from the centre, but it seems to be the only way to get to the middle. The hardest part will be the standalone posts.’

  Jack nodded. The posts were scary. Spearing straight up from the floor, he’d have to move from one to the next much like stepping stones to cross a river.

  ‘I think you’re right,’ Hiro said.

  ‘Jack,’ Scarlet said. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

  ‘We haven’t come this far to give up now.’

  He climbed the wooden ladder. How old is this thing, he wondered. A thousand years? He noticed his hands were shaking.

  Swallowing hard, Jack forced himself to climb. At the top, he took a deep breath as he walked across a plank that led to a pole.

  His heart was beating hard, but he knew he had to remain calm. Panicking won’t help. A plank overhead stretched across to another post. Gripping this, he edged himself across, landing nimbly on the top of a white post.

  I’m almost there, he thought. Just a few more—

  Suddenly the post swung wildly to the left. Jack bit back a cry as he was forced to step to another on his right, leaving the first to swing back to its original position. Glancing down, he saw two skeletons below.

  So that’s what happened to them.

  The white post was now out of reach. Going back was not an option, but now he was stranded tantalisingly close to the final stone column. There was another post in front, but stepping to it would still leave him six feet from the column. Giving up seemed to be the only option. He would have to use the post to slide down to the ground, but it was a long way and he’d be lucky not to break something.

  ‘Jack,’ Hiro’s voice came from below. ‘You must stay calm.’

  That’s easy for you to say!

  ‘I am,’ Jack said. ‘Does anyone have any ideas?’

  Silence. He experimentally placed a foot on the next post. It was solid, but still six feet from the main column. But there was a parchment, he could just glimpse it—on top of the pillar. But Jack still couldn’t make out the images.

  I’ve come a long way, he thought. But not far enough!

  A sound came from behind. ‘Jack?’

  It was Hiro. ‘Are you insane?’ Jack hissed. Hiro had followed the obstacle course and made it as far as the first of the twelve steps. ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘I used to climb a lot as a boy. I believe there is a way to do this, but we must work as a team. Can we do that?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Jack stared into Hiro’s eyes. He had to put away his feelings of jealousy if they stood any chance of making this work. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I’m positive.’

  ‘Good.’ Hiro explained his plan.

  ‘Hiro,’ Jack said, when he had finished. ‘That’s insane.’

  ‘We can do this.’

  Sighing, Jack moved to the next post, as Hiro crossed to the post Jack had just vacated. Jack locked his fingers together. ‘I’m ready,’ he said. ‘But this is still madness.’

  ‘It is sometimes a mad world.’

  Hiro stepped onto Jack’s interlocked hands, and Jack propelled him towards the stone column where Hiro grabbed the top edge. Now Jack was completely off balance—but that was part of the plan. Still hanging onto Hiro’s feet, Jack allowed himself to fall towards the column.

  Thwak!

  Hiro grunted. ‘Now climb up my body,’ he instructed.

  Jack didn’t need to be told twice. Within seconds he had used Hiro as a makeshift ladder to reach the top, pulling Hiro up after him.

  Wiping sweat from his face, Jack realised he was not only shaking badly, but was so dizzy he wanted to vomit.

  ‘Jack?’ Hiro said.

  ‘I’m all right. Just give me a minute.’

  Taking a few deep breaths, the dizziness slowly faded. It was only now he was able to look more closely at the parchment.

  ‘But it’s not actually a parchment,’ he said.

  ‘They’re carvings on the raised rock,’ Hiro confirmed. ‘Since we can’t move it, me must memorise them.’

  There were three images: a bird in flight, a perfect circle and a Japanese character.

  ‘They’re simple enough to remember,’ Jack said. ‘But how will we get down from here?’

  ‘That will be easy. The column is sinking.’

  Jack looked down. He hadn’t noticed they were slowly dropping down into the floor.

  A minute later it reached ground level and they walked back to Scarlet, who had been waiting anxiously on the other side.

  ‘Don’t ever do that to me again!’ she snapped. ‘Either of you!’

  ‘Do what?’ Jack asked.

  Scarlet hit him.

  There was a click, and the doors behind them swung open again.

  ‘It looks like we’re allowed to go,’ Hiro said.

  They donned their diving gear, re-entered the water and minutes later emerged on the beach to find Mr Doyle waiting.

  ‘Whatever happened to you?’ he cried. ‘I was worried sick!’

  ‘We are fine, Mr Doyle,’ Hiro said.

  ‘But we found out that Hiro can probably compete in the next Olympics,’ Jack said.

  Hiro stifled a smile. ‘I’d forgotten how much I loved climbing trees,’ he said.

  ‘We discovered the next clue,’ Scarlet told Mr Doyle.

  Jack described the pictures. Mr Doyle took out a piece of paper and Hiro drew the images. He then pointed at the Japanese character. ‘That means inside,’ he said.

  ‘Inside,’ Mr Doyle mused. ‘So we have all the pieces of the clue.’

  ‘Now we just need to work out what they mean,’ Jack said.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘If you haven’t been amazed already,’ Einstein said, ‘I’m sure you’ll be astonished by what we have on this afternoon.’

  Jack was beginning to feel that he’d had about all the astonishment he could take. He was exhausted: the last thing he wanted was to sit in a room listening to scientists.

  Half an hour later, he and the others were in a seminar in what used to be the prison chapel. A scientist by the name of Dr Hardy was describing the latest advancements made in deep-sea diving.

  ‘The jellyfish can swim to great depths without being crushed by the water pressure,’ he said. ‘It truly is a miracle of evolution—and now we have engineered our very own jellyfish diving suits.’

  Hardy pointed to a chart.

  ‘We have made a number of alterations to its anatomy,’ he said. ‘The first is its size. The creature is now so large that it encompasses a fully grown man, protecting him from the crushing pres
sure at great depths.’

  ‘The suit has a breathing tube that, when placed in a human mouth, instinctively searches for the trachea. It then synthesizes oxygen from the water that it delivers to the wearer.

  ‘And, finally, we have added an enzyme that allows the wearer to see in virtual darkness. Light penetration decreases substantially the deeper one goes. The jellysuit allows the wearer to see at any depth.’

  Jack glanced at Scarlet. She had turned green.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

  ‘Not really,’ Scarlet confessed. ‘I choked on a piece of apple when I was a child and I’ve had a phobia ever since about things being stuck in my throat.’

  One of the scientists spoke up. ‘Can we really trust a creature as inhuman as a jellyfish?’ he asked.

  ‘Actually,’ Hardy said, ‘we’ve found that a symbiotic relationship is created between the diver and the creature. It’s both a blessing and a curse. The jellysuit “bonds” with the diver, and oxygen is transported more effectively with each use. But there is a downside. We’ve found that only one person can wear the same suit – it won’t work on different people.’

  As the talk concluded, Hardy received a standing ovation. Jack walked from the chapel with images flashing in his head. A person can dive to any part of the ocean.

  He tugged at Mr Doyle’s arm. ‘Just think,’ he said. ‘People will be able to breathe like fish.’

  Mr Doyle nodded. ‘It’s truly incredible,’ he said. ‘This biomechanical revolution will change the world. I can see why the Metalists have been so intent on stopping the Darwinists.’

  They made their way back to their rooms. Under most circumstances, Jack would have found them gloomy, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about diving to the bottom of the ocean.

  It was now evening and Mr Doyle suggested skipping dinner in favour of an early night.

  Before going to his room, Jack found himself cornered by Scarlet. She had a couple of books in her arms.

  ‘I bought you a present,’ she said.

  ‘Ninety-Nine Ninjas!’ Jack exclaimed.

  ‘It’s to replace the copy you lost in the fire.’

  Jack looked at the cover of the second book. ‘The Adventure of the Talking Cat,’ he read.

  ‘It opens with a wonderful battle scene,’ Scarlet said, ‘where Brinkie is about to be killed by a four-armed gorilla. She is saved at the last moment by Mr Fluffypants.’

  ‘Mr Fluffypants?’

  ‘Her cat,’ Scarlet explained. ‘Named after her great uncle Ebenezer Fluffypants.’

  Thanking her again, Jack staggered to his bed. He took off his green coat, but was too exhausted to change into pyjamas. He fell asleep almost instantly.

  When he opened his eyes again, the night had passed and the cell was filled with early morning light. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, the fragment of a dream still stuck inside his head.

  There was something in my dream, he thought.

  ‘Bazookas,’ he murmured.

  It sounded like Mr Doyle and Scarlet were already up and about.

  Jack stumbled down to Mr Doyle’s room to find Scarlet regaling him with an account of one of the Brinkie Buckeridge books.

  ‘—so the murder was committed with an icicle!’ Scarlet was saying. ‘Have you ever heard of such a thing?’

  ‘What an original idea,’ Mr Doyle murmured. ‘Ah, Jack. You’re finally up.’

  ‘The engraving back at Star Beach wasn’t just of any bird,’ Jack told them. ‘It was a heron.’

  Mr Doyle frowned. ‘A heron,’ he said. ‘I believe you’re right. We’re meeting Hiro for breakfast. We’ll see if he has anything to add.’

  Half an hour later, while eating spinach salad and miso soup, they told Hiro of Jack’s revelation.

  Hiro’s eyes lit up. ‘A heron,’ he said. ‘Himeji Castle is white and often called White Heron Castle, because it has been likened to a bird taking flight.’

  ‘We will go there this morning,’ Mr Doyle said.

  After breakfast they were heading for their dragonfly when they met with Dr Einstein.

  ‘Ignatius,’ he said. ‘You’re not leaving, are you?’

  ‘We were planning on heading out.’

  ‘Please be careful. There are probably still Metalists about who would like nothing more than to cause harm to the guest of honour.’

  Mr Doyle promised he would watch his step.

  Climbing aboard the dragonfly, they were soon high over Tokyo. The weather had turned sultry and it looked like another storm was on the way.

  ‘We often have typhoons at this time of the year,’ Hiro said. ‘We’re lucky one hasn’t arrived yet.’

  ‘Is a typhoon a type of storm?’ Jack asked.

  ‘It is a tropical cyclone. Sometimes the winds are very powerful, hundreds of miles per hour at times.’ Hiro adjusted the steering of the dragonfly. ‘They used to do enormous damage, but Tokyo is well equipped to deal with them these days.’

  Over the next few hours, Mr Doyle stared out the window, deep in thought. At one point, he mentioned to them that a dragonfly seemed to be trailing them, but he lost sight of it. Finally, Hiro leant forward, pointing.

  ‘There’s the castle,’ he said.

  Jack peered down to see a squarish hill crowded with white buildings, and cherry and maple trees, surrounded by a moat.

  ‘I didn’t know Japan had any castles,’ he said. ‘I thought they were only in Europe.’

  ‘Japan has a long, feudal history,’ Hiro explained. ‘An emperor controlled Japan until the twelfth century. Then a series of battles broke out, resulting in Japan being divided into smaller territories. Feudal lords controlled each territory with peasants providing manpower for their land and armies.’

  ‘Europe operated in the same fashion for centuries,’ Mr Doyle remarked.

  Hiro brought the dragonfly down into an empty car park. The castle was made up of a main tower and three smaller ones, all white in colour with steeply pitched grey roofs. The main tower appeared to be a lookout.

  It had once been a grand old building, but was now derelict and abandoned.

  ‘That’s fortunate for us,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘It means we can take a look around without being disturbed.’

  Crossing to a gate, Mr Doyle quickly had it open with the aid of his lock pick. Ahead lay a courtyard, surrounded by cherry blossoms devoid of flowers.

  ‘Now we need to work out the next part of the puzzle,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘We have a circle and the Japanese character for inside.’

  ‘Inside could mean anything,’ Scarlet said.

  ‘What about the circle?’ Jack asked, gazing about. ‘Everything here looks square.’

  Mr Doyle sighed. ‘I suggest we begin a systematic—’

  He got no further as a shot rang out, ricocheting off the wall near to Jack’s ear.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ‘Run!’ Mr Doyle yelled.

  Jack grabbed Scarlet’s hand and they raced across the courtyard to
a nearby doorway. Glancing back, he saw a group of men in grey trench coats break from thick shrubs.

  Mr Doyle was right, Jack realised. They were being followed.

  Mr Doyle and Hiro had disappeared through a doorway on the other side of the courtyard.

  We should have stayed together, Jack thought.

  But it was too late now. The square paving stones deadened their footsteps as Jack and Scarlet ran down an adjacent corridor. More shots rang out in the distance and Jack heard the distinctive blast of Mr Doyle’s gun, Clarabelle.

  ‘Do you think Mr Doyle will be all right?’ Scarlet asked.

  ‘He’s a resourceful man.’

  They weaved through the castle, all the while hearing men shouting in German. Finally, Jack dragged Scarlet into an enclosure as a Nazi cautiously passed by, a gun in hand.

  Jack sprang up behind him. ‘Looking for us?’ he asked, and decked him with a haymaker punch. He handed the soldier’s gun to Scarlet. ‘Hold onto this,’ he said. ‘Just in case.’

  They soon reached an outer empty courtyard. Nobody had followed. In the middle of the courtyard was a low brick enclosure. Jack hurried over and saw it contained a deep well.

  ‘This is no time for sightseeing,’ Scarlet said.

  ‘Actually, I’m having an idea. You remember the second part of the puzzle?’

  ‘The circle?’

  ‘What if it’s a well?’

  Scarlet peered down. ‘It could be, I suppose,’ she said.

  ‘And the third part of the puzzle would fit, too.’

  ‘The Japanese character for inside?’ Scarlet stared into the hole. ‘But how would anyone get down?’

  Jack peered at the stonework. ‘I can do it,’ he said.

  ‘You can also fall and break every bone in your body.’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’m sure I can get down. I just need to be careful.’