Secret Breakers: The Power of Three (20 page)

‘And B was going on about her story and boys being more important than girls.’

Brodie knew Hunter was teasing but she was too intrigued to let him get to her.

‘Yes, Brodie was going on about a story. And the story said the dragon has to fly higher than the phoenix. She said that was the rule of the story. And in here …’ Tusia pointed up again at the impressive chandeliers. ‘Here the phoenixes are flying higher.’

‘And?’ mumbled Hunter.

‘So the clue said
she who is wrongly considered to fly lower than the rightful dragon
. We said it’s talking about where the dragon and the phoenix fly.’

‘And?’

‘And in here the dragon isn’t right. You see? It’s a play on words. The
rightful dragon
isn’t right. It’s too low down and the phoenix is too high.’

‘You think the light’s connected to the clue?’ said Hunter.

‘It could be. I mean, it’s a mistake, the position of the lights.’ Tusia turned to face Miss Tandari. ‘You said the designers of the Pavilion hadn’t been to India or China. They might’ve included pictures and ideas from the myths they heard and not quite got the details right. But Van der Essen. He was a myth master. You told us that. He was a specialist in ancient stories and so he’d have known the lights in this room were wrong.’

‘And so,’ cut in Brodie, catching Tusia’s train of thought, ‘perhaps he wanted us to see the light and connect it to the clue.’

‘OK,’ said Hunter. ‘So we make the connection. Now what?’

Brodie bit the inside of her lip. She tried to take the jumble of ideas bouncing in her head and line them up. ‘The “phoenix” we seek is somewhere in the Pavilion. And if we follow the clue from these lights then it’s high up. Above the dragons? Somewhere it shouldn’t be.’

‘Exactly!’ Tusia couldn’t have looked more relieved.

‘You think Van der Essen hid whatever we’re looking for in one of the phoenix chandeliers?’ asked Hunter.

Brodie didn’t. ‘It’s got to be safe and hidden but not somewhere people are going to look just by chance. But, it’s got to be higher than all the dragons we see.’

‘But there are dragons painted all over the place. You think the phoenix has got to be higher than all of them?’ Hunter asked, visibly bracing himself for another jab in the ribs.

Brodie wasn’t sure. It was a guess. But the position of the phoenix lights flying higher than the dragon made the guess seem sensible.

‘So where in this place is higher than all the dragons?’ said Tandi.

‘The sky itself ?’ said Hunter, who was obviously struggling to stick with the idea.

‘Well,’ began Tusia, who’d been busy flicking through the Pavilion guidebook, ‘what about in a room with a picture of the sky painted on the ceiling?’

‘Yes,’ answered Smithies, who was still looking at the chandeliers and had missed Tusia’s hunt through the guidebook. ‘If only we knew if there was such a room.’

Tusia flapped the open book in front of him. ‘There is, look,’ she said. ‘The saloon.’

Tusia was right. The ceiling of the saloon was domed and high and on its surface were painted swirling clouds against a cotton blue. A floor-to-ceiling gilt-edged mirror reflected back the many painted silk hangings which lined the walls, on top of silvered wallpaper. The room was round and crowded with furniture, an oval table supported by golden dolphins and several chairs covered with green buttoned satin.

‘In here then,’ Smithies said frantically. ‘You think the Professor hid the phoenix here in a room with a painted sky?’

Brodie looked around. ‘Maybe?’ she said desperately.

A guard sitting in the corner on an upright wooden chair nodded acknowledgement to them and, as if in an attempt to cover for their rather rushed entry to the room, Smithies smiled and engaged him in conversation. ‘Nice room,’ he said. ‘Very nice ceiling.’

The guard smiled knowledgeably. ‘Certainly is, sir.’ He stood up and puffed out his chest. ‘This room was the centre of the original design of the Pavilion when it was merely called the Marine Pavilion.’

‘Yes, fascinating,’ snapped Smithies, in a way suggesting it was anything but.

His impatience seemed to be lost on the guard, who’d obviously had little chance to share his information with anybody yet that day and needed to demonstrate his knowledge.

‘See, not many people know you’re standing now underneath the very central dome of the Pavilion.’ He glanced up at the sky pattern above him in such a way as to suggest he was responsible for placing the huge dome structure there himself.

‘And we can go up into this domed room then?’ asked Smithies, a look of concentration stretching across his face.

The guard paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. ‘No, sir. There’s no room in the dome of the Pavilion.’

Brodie stepped forward. ‘But I saw windows in the dome when I was outside.’

‘An observant one you’ve got yourself there,’ smiled the guard. ‘Not a lot of people notice that. Or even ask.’

‘So was there a room then, once?’ asked Tusia.

The guard was warming to his audience. ‘Story goes there was to be a terraced room up there. The most splendid room in all the palace.’

‘But there never was?’

The guard shook his head. ‘Our Prince was a one for the good things in life. By the time he was King he weighed twenty-three stone!’ He drew in a breath in a dramatic whistle. ‘He was so large he took to wearing corsets on his thighs as well as his stomach and without his corset, his belly reached down to his knees.’

Brodie was just trying to rid her mind of such a revolting image when Smithies spoke again. ‘And the relevance of this detail is what exactly?’

‘Well, because the King became so large, going upstairs became impossible for him. So the room in the dome of the building never got finished. Not proper like.’

A thought was formulating in Brodie’s mind. Half formed at the moment like a wisp of cloud. ‘So there’s a half-finished room above this false sky?’ she said.

The guard’s radio began to crackle and he drew it from his belt holster like a cowboy drawing a gun and began to fiddle with the knobs on the top. The crackling continued unabated and a woman’s voice blared out.

‘And this room? Or half-room?’ Miss Tandari asked anxiously. ‘How’d you get up there? If you could.’

The guard hesitated, distracted by his radio. ‘Well, not a lot of people know there’s a fair bit of this pavilion that’s hidden. Kept from view, you see. Servant’s corridors, tunnels. And …’ The female screeched over the airwaves again. ‘Sorry. If you just let me take this.’

Brodie looked frantically at Smithies as the guard lifted the radio to his ear. The female voice continued.

‘Please. If you don’t mind,’ said Smithies, his eyes now so wide Brodie was sure they’d tumble from their sockets. ‘We’d reach this half-finished room how exactly?’

The guard lowered his radio. ‘Stairs,’ he said. ‘Hidden stairs.’

‘Brilliant!’ yelped Tusia, who then stuffed her hand into her mouth in an attempt to look more discreet.

The group turned and was hurrying from the saloon when the guard called to them. ‘My radio,’ he said, ‘front desk just called me on my radio, so as I could let you know the other teacher from your school has just arrived.’

Brodie’s blood seemed to run like cold water through her body.

A vein on Smithies’ forehead began to pulse.

Hunter let out a quiet moan.

‘Front desk says Miss Vernan is glad you managed to make it down here so quickly.’ Smithies eyes darkened as the guard added, ‘And she’s brought some friends and they’re looking forward to catching up with you.’

Smithies stumbled to a halt. The guidebook fell from his fingers. ‘Of all those in the Chamber. Of all those who’d want to stop us,’ he said darkly. ‘I should’ve guessed it’d be her.’

‘There’s nothing for it. We’ll have to face her.’ Smithies’ face was grave and his brow was creased into deep worry lines.

‘What, and give up the search?’ Hunter gasped.

‘But if we continue, and are successful, then we lead her straight to the phoenix, and she’ll take it from us and we’ll never know the truth Van der Essen wanted us to know.’

‘We could split up,’ Miss Tandari whispered nervously. ‘Some of us stall her while the rest keep searching.’

Smithies looked behind him down the long gallery. It was empty but he could hear voices. People getting nearer. ‘You lot go,’ he said and there was a sorrow mixed with steely determination in his eyes. ‘You find the phoenix and I’ll hold Kerrith back.’

Miss Tandari reached out for his arm. ‘You’re sure?’

‘This was always about the power of youth, wasn’t it?’ Smithies said wistfully. ‘Now go. Before it’s too late.’

Brodie turned but Tusia stood rooted to the spot. ‘I’ll stay,’ she said. ‘I can help make things safer for the rest of you. Provide a distraction. A Petulova speciality,’ she added.

Before the others could argue she began to make a wailing noise. A sort of guttural gasping. Then she bent herself in two, clutching at her stomach. ‘Panic attack,’ she squeaked, winking beneath the fall of auburn hair. ‘Need help. Lots of help.’

Smithies swung into action. ‘Give her space, please. Lots of space. Poor girl can’t breathe.’ And taking her cue from his outstretched hand, Miss Tandari grabbed Brodie and Hunter by the arm, ducked below the view of the guard and began to run.

Behind them Brodie could hear continued wailing, the guard calling frantically into his radio for assistance and new voices in the saloon.

With a glance over her shoulder Brodie saw Tusia sprawled across the Axminister carpet. She was breathing fast into a brown paper bag Smithies had thrust into her hands. And she was positioned perfectly, across the open doorway, cleverly preventing anyone from getting past her into the room beyond.

‘Shape and space,’ Brodie called to Hunter. ‘It’s “her thing”.’

Hunter nodded, leading the way.

‘We’ve only a few moments,’ Miss Tandari gasped as they ran. ‘Vernan won’t want to break with her story about being a teacher from Pembroke or the guards’ll be suspicious. So she’s trapped for a while. But Smithies won’t be able to hold her back for long. Everything depends on speed.’

The three of them stormed down the long gallery beneath the skylight picture of the thunder dragons. A curling stairway, with bamboo balustrades, took them to the second level past a room painted poppy red, before they came to another long gallery whose walls were painted vivid azure blue. There were no windows but two huge daylights painted with swooping dragons and large winged bats. One wall was lined with doorways. Beside each panelled door stretched tall blue marble columns topped with wooden statues of fierce mythical beasts which Brodie sensed were keeping guard.

Miss Tandari stopped, panting, and pressed her hand to her side.

‘The doors,’ said Hunter urgently. ‘Maybe one of these doors leads to the secret stairs.’

Miss Tandari looked along the line of wall. Above each doorway, painted in scarlet, were Chinese characters. Snatches of Chinese writing. She rubbed her temples, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

‘So which one?’ Brodie hissed, wondering desperately if Tusia’s distraction was still holding Vernan back. ‘How d’we know which door?’

‘We try them,’ said Miss Tandari, lurching forward.

‘Hold on,’ called Hunter, grabbing her arm. ‘Wait. Look.’ He pointed up at the Chinese writing above the doors. ‘It’s wrong,’ he muttered, ‘like the phoenix flying too high.’

‘What d’you mean?’ asked Brodie, hopping from one foot to the other and not at all encouraged by the look of concentration on Hunter’s face.

‘My parents made me study Chinese writing once, in an attempt to distract me from my maths obsession. It didn’t work,’ he said proudly. ‘Do you have any idea how many different figures there are in ancient Chinese writings?’ he said.

Brodie’s hopping was getting rather vigorous. ‘Ermm. If this reminiscing isn’t going to get us up to the roof room then …’

Hunter nodded an apology. ‘Yep. Sorry. Anyway, I didn’t learn much but I picked up enough to know the characters are wrong.’ He wrinkled his forehead.

‘You’d expect the phrases above the doors to say something clever or suggest a good luck wish, but these don’t.’