Akropolis

by Catherine McCallum

  “Norika?” he said softly, not sure if he was imagining her presence. Please let it be her.

  She reached him and took his arm, turning him around. “We have to get out of here.”

  “How did you find me?” Nat said.

  She was steering him towards the jetty. “Kenji. He knew you’d be in St Annes after you disappeared from the garden.”

  “I lost you in the mist.”

  “I know. Let’s go.”

  He stopped. “We can’t move to the next stage until we solve the fourth diagram.”

  Norika looked at him in dismay. “We haven’t the time!”

  “We’ll make the time. I want to control our destination, I want to know where we’re going.”

  She shivered and grasped her arms. “I don’t feel safe here.”

  “We’ll be okay if we sit on the jetty facing the park. That way we can see anyone coming. The rock will warn us in time to make the portal.” He saw her look. “It won’t take long with both of us working on it.”

  They sat on the steps of the jetty under the park light. Nat opened the file of the fourth diagram and zoomed in on the drawing. It showed a corner of a roughly hewn stone structure with thick walls and a section of curved roof. The walls rested on a pedestal and the entire structure was tilted forward.

  “It’s something small,” Nat said, “The walls are too thick compared to the window openings to be part of a building. And there’s no glass. I’ve seen it somewhere but I can’t remember where.”

  “It’s a Japanese stone lantern,” said Norika. “It looks damaged‌—‌the stone is crumbled here at the corner, as if it’s fallen or been knocked over.”

  “The contemplation garden! It had stone lanterns at its entrance.”

  “Why would it be damaged?”

  “Because the drawing shows the lantern after the earthquake,” Nat said. “Our next destination must be a later timespace.”

  “Zoom out to show the symbols.” Norika studied the screen. “The numerals are Japanese. I’ll transcribe them.”

  “We don’t have much time.”

  “It’s a date I know by heart,” she said, “the date of the earthquake.” She said the numbers aloud as Nat keyed them in.

  A website opened: Rare Orchids of the World. They looked at it, puzzled.

  “The connection must be the Garden,” said Nat, already checking the menu. Images of various plants came up but none looked promising. He returned to the menu and followed a link to Sightings. “This is where we’ll find it.” He was scrolling through the thumbnails.

  “Stop,” Norika said, “there!”

  It was a black and white photo. The background was blurred but they could make out a section of the lantern half-covered in rubble. In the foreground a delicate white orchid grew from its base, the tracery of its flower in sharp contrast to the dark stone. Nat zoomed in on the lantern and they saw the corner was tilted at the same angle shown in the diagram.

  Norika read out the tag and description below the image:

  Habenaria radiata, White Egret Orchid. This beautiful rare orchid whose flower resembles an egret in flight, was discovered on the site of the renowned Garden of Kenji, destroyed in an earthquake last century. Each year photos reveal the plant flowering among the ruins. The orchid is too fragile to remove from the site and further development may yet destroy it.

  “I remember seeing it there,” Nat said.

  “You’ll see it again,” said Norika, “if we leave now.”

  They looked up sharply at the sound of a stone falling down the bank beyond the pool of light. The rock was humming. They scrambled to their feet and ran to the end of the jetty. Beyond them the sea was shimmering.

  As they jumped Nat clicked on the image.

  28

  Japan, 2013

  There was no flower. No grass or trees, or bridges over the lake.

  There was no lake.

  There was a flat wasteland of gravel and rocks, dug up and raked into mounds by massive excavators and other heavy machinery working loudly around them.

  A truck loaded with fill from one of the mounds passed them in thick dust and fumes on its way towards a high security fence. A gate opened as it approached and it drove through without stopping. It was followed by a second truck and after a while by a third, all with full loads.

  Nat and Norika were crouched behind one of the larger mounds. An excavator approached and they retreated further behind the mound out of the operator’s line of sight. As it grew near it dumped a load of gravel and debris on the other side.

  “It’s a construction site,” said Norika, “we can’t stay here.”

  The excavator reversed and moved away. They watched as it took another load from a partially cleared area a short distance to the south.

  “The timespace we’re in is earlier than our own, but not by much,” whispered Nat. “The excavator and trucks look older than the ones I’ve seen. The lantern must be buried somewhere close.”

  They heard the excavator returning and took a quick glance out from the side of the mound. As the machine moved forward it lowered its bucket and Nat had a view of its load. Jutting from the rubble was the broken lantern. He pulled Norika back out of sight.

  “The stone lantern‌—‌it’s in the bucket!”

  Norika looked doubtful. “Are you sure? It was only a second or two.”

  “We’re not here by chance. We’re meant to find the lantern. The site is being redeveloped. Right now is when debris from the earthquake is likely to be dug up.”

  “Well, if you’re right, here it comes now,” Norika said, as the bucket dumped its load in a deafening rush.

  “Watch where it lands,” Nat said above the noise.

  The operator swivelled the cabin to reverse the machine. Norika waited until the excavator had moved on, then made her way crouching to the side of the mound. “It should be buried just about here.”

  The main part of the lantern lay on its side, one corner buried in the mound. The roof was in two pieces next to it. They dug frantically to free it, aware they were now in full view of the excavator when it returned.

  “Let’s move‌—‌the excavator will be back any minute,” said Norika.

  “You go. Stay out of sight. I want to check the roof.”

  Norika retreated behind the mound. She heard the excavator coming and moved out to warn him. “Leave it, Nat!”

  “Almost there,” he said. “There’s something wedged in a crevice in the roof.”

  “Let it go. We have to move!”

  “Got it!” said Nat. Clutching his find he turned and they both scrambled around the base of the mound as the excavator came into view.

  They stayed in place until the machine had left, then on a mute signal they sprinted from the mound towards the fence, where an outgoing truck had just cleared the gate. As the automatic gate started to swing shut they slipped through the gap and ran straight on to a busy road, ignoring the shouts behind them, avoiding cyclists and cars, crossing into a grid of narrow crowded streets and not stopping until they were well clear of the site.

  “Is it the map?” Norika said over the lunchtime clatter.

  They were sitting inside a crowded noodle bar, still catching their breath after the run. Norika had found coins in her pack which the woman at the front accepted as payment for two steaming bowls of noodles and vegetables.

  Nat took out the parchment and carefully unfolded it. “This is it, the fourth segment.” He raised his phone to scan it then stopped.

  “What?” Norika said.

  Nat frowned. “Something’s not right. This segment shows the contemplation garden with one stone lantern at the entrance. I remember two lanterns, one on either side of the path.”

  “What difference does it make?”

  “Remember what Seb wrote? The fourth map segment is misleading. That’s why he sent us to Declan. We have to make sure the map is accurate. Kenji said the priests were careful to protect their knowle
dge.”

  “The pop-up book! We can compare them.”

  Nat had already opened the file and was tracking the main path to where it branched to the contemplation garden. “Two lanterns! There are two stone lanterns shown here.”

  “Could one have been removed from the garden before the map was drawn?”

  “I was in the garden on the day of the earthquake. Both lanterns were there. It means the map is wrong. There must be an alternative segment somewhere, the correct one.” He zoomed in on the lanterns and studied them. “These lanterns look identical but they’re not. The one to the east has a different roofline from the one we found.”

  “So, back to the site?” Norika said, disheartened.

  “That’s the only place the other lantern could be.” Nat lowered his voice. “We’ll have to go in after dark. It’s risky but there’s no other way.”

  “How can we work out the position of the second lantern from where the first was dug up?”

  “We need a point of reference,” said Nat, “a landmark or something. We won’t have much time. There were two mountains straight ahead in the distance, one directly in front of the other, when I stood with Kenji on the path. I can remember exactly how they appeared, and if there’s enough moonlight I’m sure I could find the line of path.”

  “We’d better hope for a full moon then,” said Norika.

  The moon was near enough to full and low in the sky when they returned to the site. After crossing the road they stood outside the closed security gates, looking through the wire at the wasteland where the Garden of Kenji had once flourished.

  What would Kenji think of it now, Nat thought.

  He felt uneasy. The site was guarded. Sheds were located at both entrances and the gates were patrolled. He doubted they’d have enough time to find the lantern undetected, working without the noise and cover of the excavators. There was no opening in the fence and nowhere safe to climb it. He wished Sabine were there to help them.

  On the horizon glowing blue under the moonlight were the mountains, in a direct line from where they stood. If they followed the line of path they would eventually reach the section between the lanterns.

  Three large mounds were in view through the fence. “One of those mounds is the one we hid behind,” Nat whispered. “We’re so close.” He slumped down against the fence to think. “If we could only reach the Network, we’d have help. There must be a Descendant somewhere around here.”

  Norika hesitated. “There is. Me. I’m a Descendant. While we were separated I discovered I can change form.”

  He stared at her. “How? And to what?”

  She turned. Where she’d stood was the most graceful bird Nat had ever seen‌—‌tall and grey-blue, with a long, slender neck and a delicately curved beak.

  He scrambled to his feet. “You’re a bird?”

  Her reply flowed through his mind. “A blue heron. I’ve always been both, even when I didn’t know it. It’s like a place you know exists even though you’ve never been there.”

  “Can all Descendants transform?”

  “Many don’t know how to. Or they don’t want to.”

  He smiled. “Whatever, you’re a beautiful bird.” He knew she was smiling back.

  “In any case, a bird is what’s needed now,” she said, “and there’s another Descendant who can help us.”

  They heard the sound of a dog barking. “Tell me later,” Nat said, “Find the mound and an opening in the fence where I can get through.”

  She spread her wings, lifted gracefully from the ground and took silent flight over the fence. He watched her climb, transfixed at the sight of her against the moonlit mountain. She touched down behind the nearest mound and took off again, searching for the right one. Eventually she landed out of sight.

  He waited, his eyes on the place where she had come down. He heard the dog bark again and saw in the distance a guard leading it towards the mound, the dog straining on the lead. As they came nearer the guard released the lead and the dog ran free, glad of the diversion of an unknown scent. Nat watched as it disappeared behind the mound.

  He held his breath, straining to see through the wire.

  Something was running fast and heavy, directly towards him. Why hadn’t the rock warned him? As the sound came closer he realised it was the dog. In fright he leaped back from the fence as it came to a halt on the other side.

  The dog had a low, deep voice. “There’s an opening in the fence just down from here. The wire’s been cut but you’ll need to force it apart to get through.”

  With the fence between them, the dog led the way. Nat kept alongside him to the opening. It took a minute to bend the wire back. He squeezed through to the other side and crouched low, following the dog silently to the far mound. The guard was nowhere to be seen.

  Norika, no longer the blue heron, stood there waiting for them. “Argos is here to help us,” she said to Nat. “I knew he was somewhere nearby.” They heard the guard calling the dog from a distance.

  “Don’t worry,” said Argos, “he won’t find us, but we need to hurry.”

  Nat moved fast, pacing the track, aligning the mountains, checking. “This is it,” he whispered, “exactly as I remember. We’re on the path now.” He tracked back from the mound to where the excavator had dug up the first lantern, and paced along the same line. “The second lantern should be about here.” From his pack he took a small tool and started to dig while Norika kept watch. Nothing but dirt showed under the trowel.

  Norika whispered urgently, “Nat, the orchid!”

  Nat turned and saw the orchid from the website, glowing in the moonlight out of the rubble a short distance from them. He ran to it and started digging near its base. The lantern was close to the surface and he let out a sigh of relief. “This is it, the right roofline.” He ran his hand underneath the curve of roof until he found the crevice he was looking for. “And here’s the correct map segment.” He gently worked the parchment loose from its hiding place.

  “I’ll cover you while you get back to the fence,” Argos said.

  “Thanks for your help,” said Nat. “We’ll repay the favour some time.”

  Back along the track they saw the guard approaching the mound from the other side. Argos gave a low growl and the guard stopped, alerted to the possibility of trouble. He turned, confused, as Argos barked from a new direction and then from another. The guard shouted into the night at the dog’s defiance.

  As the barking increased Nat and Norika broke into a run and were at the fence before the guard caught up with Argos. As they pushed through the wire, they heard the dog yelp in pain.

  Norika turned back, but Nat held her arm.

  “Leave it!” he said, aware of the rising fear in his voice. “Argos is strong, he can deal with the guard. He wouldn’t want us to risk our lives.”

  Norika shook off his hold. “Argos was here to help us. We should go to him!”

  There was silence from the other side of the fence. Nat said uncertainly, “Argos will be okay.” His heart was fast with fear.

  Norika stared at him and turned away. As they stood there, undecided, Argos let out a long, low howl of pain.

  They froze in shock.

  Nat recovered first and moved quickly. “Stay here! Wait for me.”

  He pushed back through the fence and ran crouching and darting towards the sound. The guard had tied Argos to a corner of the shed near the gate and was kicking him. The dog lay on the ground, still conscious, absorbing the blows, shuddering with an involuntary whimper as the boot connected. He saw Nat and gave a flicker of recognition.

  Nat picked up a rock and ran forward, holding it high in both hands.

  Turning too late, the guard tried to block him as Nat brought the rock down on his head. The guard staggered a short distance and fell to his knees, stunned.

  Nat ran to Argos and released the lead. The dog was too wounded to rise, and after a few attempts to help him Nat released his hold. The guard had recov
ered and was rising unsteadily to his feet. He saw Nat and started slowly towards him, removing his gun from its holster. Holding down the fear in his stomach, Nat stood ready in front of Argos.

  His phone buzzed, he fumbled for it.

  Click here.

  He knelt by Argos with his arm around the dog before they both vanished, leaving the guard looking in disbelief at an empty lead.

  29

  NGC-1097, from the Dome

  “Argos, you have done well.”

  Nat turned to where he thought the voice had come from but there was no one in the room other than himself and Argos, who stood fully recovered beside him.

  They were in some kind of pod-like room with curved luminous walls and a massive dome revealing a night sky full of stars and unfamiliar constellations. The three planets he saw were too large to be viewed from Earth.

  If he wasn’t seeing them from Earth, then where was he?

  The voice continued. “Nathaniel, welcome to the Committee of the First Transition.” He waited, wary.

  “I am Nike.” A pause. “We meet again.”

  It took Nat a second to make the connection. “Nike?” he said. “My Nike?”

  Nike laughed, a soft laugh. “You have learned to communicate with me since we last met.”

  “It is you!” said Nat. His mood lifted. Nike had survived.

  Nike hesitated. The warmth of his greeting had surprised her, but caution was required. The boy formed alliances too easily‌—‌he would suffer for it. She would need to disappoint him.

  She kept her tone cool and remote. “This may be our last meeting, Nathaniel. If you face the next Committee, you will face a new leader.”

  Nat waited, frowning, uncertain.

  Her voice softened. “I’ve been following your journey.”

  “Where is Norika?” said Nat. “Why am I here?”

  “The Committee is interested in you‌—‌and your brother. We depend on your success.” She hesitated. “Trust no one.”