The Midas Legacy (Wilde/Chase 12) (10 page)

Amaanat and Rudra brought them to an egg-like space with a low table at its centre, plain plates already set upon it. ‘Please, sit,’ the abbot said, gesturing towards cushions on the floor. ‘We will bring food, and tea.’ His eyes met Nina’s. ‘Then I imagine you are impatient to see what has brought you here.’

Rudra spoke for the first time, his English more clumsy. ‘You have already broken promise,’ he said. He was calm on the surface, but obviously holding in anger. ‘You promise not to tell anyone you come here. But you bring others with you!’

‘Eddie’s my husband,’ Nina replied. ‘What I know, he knows.’

‘Plus there was no way I was letting her come here by herself,’ Eddie added, giving the younger man a steely glare. ‘Anything could’ve happened to her. Which is why I asked Jayesh to come along too.’ He nodded at his stone-faced friend. ‘He speaks the language, so if anything funny goes on, he’ll let us know.’

Rudra frowned, about to say more, but Amaanat waved him to silence and smiled. ‘There is no need to worry, Mr Chase. Or you, Dr Wilde. I believe you will honour your promise of secrecy. You will understand why the Midas Cave is best kept from the rest of the world. It was a mistake for our order to have shown it to outsiders at all, but at the time they believed it justified.’

‘Why?’ Nina asked.

Rather than reply, he rang a small bell. Two more monks entered, one bearing a tray of fruits and vegetables, the other an ornately decorated teapot and five cups. ‘Please, eat and drink,’ said Amaanat. ‘Then I shall give you the answers you seek.’

9

Nina ate her meal as quickly as politeness allowed, waiting impatiently for the others to finish. Finally Amaanat sipped the last of his tea and rang the bell, and the monks returned to take away the empty trays and crockery. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

‘It is our honour to provide for our guests,’ the abbot replied. ‘Now, if you are ready, I shall show you our monastery.’

‘I’m definitely ready.’ She stood, the men following suit.

Amaanat led them back through the rocky passages to the debate house, going through the door opposite the courtyard entrance. Beyond was a long hallway lit by hundreds of candles. The floor was old polished wood, a red carpet running down its centre between two ranks of prayer wheels: metal cylinders inscribed with Ranjana calligraphy. Tapestries depicting scenes and figures from Buddhist mythology hung from the walls behind them. ‘Are you a spiritual person, Dr Wilde?’ asked the abbot.

‘Not particularly,’ said Nina, slightly uncomfortable with the question. ‘I’m concerned with finding tangible truths. The intangible, the spiritual . . . it’s something I can’t really connect to. I guess I’m a rationalist.’

‘And there is nothing wrong with that,’ Amaanat said. ‘Without rationality, what are we but primal animals? But a mind that is not open to the possibility of there being more to the world than what we can see and touch seems . . . 
imprisoned
, in a cell of its own making.’ He carefully rotated one of the wheels, whispering under his breath, then another as he walked along. ‘Perhaps you should try.’

She turned the same wheel as the abbot. It made a faint singing sound as the metal points of the hubs rubbed against their mounts, but the experience left her unchanged, and unmoved. ‘Sorry, but it didn’t do anything for me.’

Amaanat was not offended; rather, amused. ‘Then you should start with something smaller.’ He indicated a rack containing miniature prayer wheels on handles, each about the size of a tennis racquet.

‘Or you could try that one,’ Eddie suggested. At the passage’s far end was a prayer wheel far larger than any of its companions, almost as tall as the Yorkshireman. ‘Spinning that thing should put you in tune with the universe.’

‘Either that or exhaust me,’ she replied. They continued along the hallway, both monks turning more wheels as they went. Even Jayesh joined in, shooting Eddie a look as if daring him to comment. His friend merely grinned.

They passed a window. Eddie glanced through it, seeing that their yaks had been tethered to a ramshackle hitching post outside the monastery’s wall. ‘Will they be okay there?’

‘If the weather turns, we will bring them inside,’ said the abbot. ‘Do not worry, they will be fed.’

The exit at the hall’s far end led into a large building, a staircase ascending to a higher floor, but Amaanat instead indicated another flight going down. The level below was colder and darker. A stone passage used for storage ran back beneath the prayer wheel hall, countless boxes and sacks lining the walls. However, the abbot turned in the opposite direction, bringing them to a pair of doors. The one to the side was ajar. Nina glanced through, seeing metal cylinders in the shadows: gas canisters.

Amaanat stopped at the other, heavier door ahead and rapped on it. A muffled voice came from inside. The old monk replied, and a hefty bolt was drawn back. ‘In here, Dr Wilde,’ he said, ‘you will find your answers.’ He opened the door.

A wave of heat hit Nina as she stepped through. The large stone-walled chamber contained a roaring furnace, seething blue flames being fed by propane tanks. Molten metal glowed in a ceramic crucible sitting above the fire. The sweating monk who had let them in bowed, then quickly returned to it. He used a set of iron tongs to lift the crucible and carefully pour its contents into a mould. Sparks spat as the glutinous liquid filled the rectangular space.

Eddie and Nina exchanged surprised looks. Neither needed to be a metallurgist to realise what he was making.

A gold bar.

Shelves on the rear wall bore more bricks of the precious metal. ‘What’s all this?’ Eddie asked. ‘I’m guessing you haven’t taken a vow of poverty.’

‘We pay for the upkeep of the monastery by crafting jewellery and sculptures,’ Amaanat explained, crossing the room. He drew a key on a chain around his neck from his robes and unlocked another, smaller door. ‘Until they are taken by yak train to be sold, they are kept in here. Along with . . . other valuable items. Please, enter.’

Nina went in. The room was dark, until the monk switched on a light and she saw what he meant. ‘Oh, wow.’

More shelves lined the walls. The smaller items upon them were carefully wrapped in soft cloth, but the larger ones were on proud display.

Serene faces gazed back at her, figures of the Buddha ranging from six inches to almost three feet tall. All were made from exquisitely worked metal, some inset with precious stones. Even under the glare of the single overhead bulb, they gleamed warmly as if illuminated from within. ‘These are beautiful,’ she said.

‘Thank you,’ Amaanat replied. ‘All are made by hand. I do not wish to boast, but our monks are very skilled.’

‘You’re not kidding.’ She examined one more closely. ‘Are they all made of gold?’

‘They are. Our work is highly regarded. It is how we are able to keep the monastery alive.’ He smiled. ‘We do not receive many visitors in such a remote place, so donations are rare. But you have not come here to see what we make.’ The humour disappeared from his face, replaced by earnest respect. ‘You have come to see this.’

The abbot went to a squat metal chest in the furthest corner of the room. He used a second key to open a padlock, then Rudra helped him raise the heavy lid.

Inside was something tightly shrouded in red velvet, a shape resembling a book. Amaanat stood back as Rudra lifted it out and placed it on a table. Nina moved closer, watching as he gently peeled open the cloth.

She knew the item’s origin immediately. The distinctive colour of the metal, tinged a deeper red than the golden Buddhas, was proof enough. ‘It’s from Atlantis,’ she gasped. ‘That’s orichalcum.’

Amaanat fully removed the velvet. ‘This is our oldest relic – older even than the Buddha himself. It was left many thousands of years ago by an explorer and general.’

‘Talonor,’ said Nina.

‘Yes.’

‘May I take a closer look?’

‘Please do.’

Nina took out her phone, drawing a suspicious look from Rudra, and switched on its flashlight to get a clearer view. Like the Secret Codex, the book’s pages were sheets of metal, Atlantean text inscribed upon them.

‘Can you read it?’ asked Eddie.

‘Some of it,’ she said. ‘It’s . . . a marker, I suppose, Talonor’s equivalent of leaving a plaque on the moon. It says that he and— Midas!’ she gasped on picking out a name. ‘This says Midas! He really did travel with Talonor.’ She read on. Some parts of the text were beyond even her ability to translate, while others were mere statistics: the number of men on the expedition, distances travelled, supplies consumed and other minutiae. That was not what interested her, though, and she reached to turn the page before hesitating. ‘Can I touch it?’

‘It is metal. You will not hurt it,’ Amaanat replied.

All the same, she did so gingerly, trying to leave as few marks from her fingertips as possible. The next page turned out to be more of the same, a dry account of how Talonor’s expedition had reached this place. But even here she picked out nuggets of interest. The Atlantean had definitely been searching for something specific; there were references to his dealing with local tribes, questioning them for knowledge of . . . ‘A furnace?’ she muttered.

Eddie glanced back into the hot room. ‘What about it?’

‘No, not here. Talonor was looking for what he calls a furnace, but it was obviously something very special.’ She became aware that neither of the two monks had responded to her words; while Amaanat’s expression was studiously neutral, there was a hint of what she thought might be worry behind Rudra’s attempt to match it. ‘You know what it is, don’t you?’ she asked the abbot. ‘You know why Talonor came here – and what he found.’

‘All the answers you require are to be found here,’ Amaanat told her, indicating the metal book.

‘All the ones I need, maybe, but what about the ones I
want
?’ The old man’s face remained an impenetrable blank. Annoyed, Nina read on. The text became less dry, more intriguing, as it returned to the subject of exploration, but still it did not give her any more insight, until—

‘The cave!’ she exclaimed. ‘It’s here! Talonor found a cave on the mountain, and it had something to do with this furnace he was looking for. He named it the Midas Cave in honour of Midas’s . . . sacrifice, this says. His sacrifice in service of the empire. Something very important to him was lost in finding the cave.’ She continued to scan the ancient text. ‘It doesn’t say what, though. They returned to Atlantis – it even says which route they planned to take! – intending to come back with “the Crucible”.’

‘Your mum talked about that,’ he reminded her.

She nodded. ‘And whatever it is, it was incredibly important to them – it was the entire reason Talonor was sent out to search the world in the first place. It seems their own furnace was dying, so they needed a replacement.’

‘Well, if you’ve got a crucible, a furnace is a pretty good place to put it.’

‘But what were they putting
in
it?’ She faced Amaanat. ‘You know. I can tell.’

It took all Rudra’s self-restraint not to respond with anger at the accusation, but the old man merely bowed his head. ‘You may believe what you wish. But there is nothing more for you to see here.’

‘And what about the Midas Cave itself? You said you’d show it to me.’

‘I said no such thing. All I said was that your questions would be answered. Now they are. You have finished the task your mother set herself, and learned that Talonor of Atlantis did indeed once travel to this place.’ A small smile. ‘Your quest is over.’

His calm denial infuriated Nina. ‘My mother? You’re going to bring up my mother? Okay, let me do the same: she died because of you!’

‘You dare!’ barked Rudra, stepping towards her. Eddie moved to intercede, but Amaanat had already held up a hand. Scowling, the young monk retreated slightly.

The abbot fixed Nina with a level gaze. ‘We cannot be held responsible for the actions of others. Your mother’s loss was tragic, but we had no part in it.’

‘Didn’t you?’ She retrieved an item from a pocket: the letter Laura had received from the monastery, inside a protective plastic envelope. ‘She wrote to you asking about the Midas Cave – not directly, but you knew what she was after. You
knew
. And you lied to her!’ She held it up in front of Amaanat’s face, pointing out his signature. ‘You, personally, lied to her. You didn’t tell her anything about the cave, or Tobias Garde’s visit, or that Talonor had ever been here.’

The monk’s eyes flicked over the typewritten text. He was again expressionless, but now to cover his surprise at being presented with his own words over four decades on. ‘She did not ask about them,’ he said after a pause, ‘so I could not have replied about them.’

‘Semantic
bullshit
!’ Even Eddie was startled by her explosion. ‘Everything in this letter was deliberately intended to make her think Detsen monastery was the wrong place. And because of that, she died. If you had told her the truth, and she’d seen this,’ she gestured at Talonor’s record, ‘it would have told her and my father how to find Atlantis. Talonor’s route back would have led them right to it – and they would have found it forty years ago! But instead they spent the rest of their lives searching, until they got too close and were
murdered
for it. That happened because of
you
, Amaanat. You may not have pulled the trigger personally, but you put them in front of a firing squad!’

Rudra’s voice was barely above a growl. ‘You will leave. Now.’ He clenched both fists.

Eddie squared up to him. ‘Guess we’ll see how far your whole non-violence thing goes, won’t we?’ Jayesh, who had remained near the door, moved to join him.

‘There will be no violence,’ said Amaanat firmly. He stared at Rudra. ‘There will
not
.’ The younger man shrank back, ashamed.

‘I don’t want violence,’ Nina insisted. ‘I just want answers. Where is the Midas Cave, and what’s inside it? What did my ancestor see in there?’

Amaanat closed his eyes, drawing in a slow breath before answering. ‘The monks of Detsen monastery have kept the Midas Cave a secret because to reveal it will bring only violence. What it holds will spark the greed of every unenlightened person in the world.’

‘So pretty much everyone,’ said Eddie.

‘This is why we cannot show it to you,’ the abbot went on. ‘It is too dangerous. You cannot be trusted.’

‘
I
can’t be trusted?’ Nina snapped. ‘You do know what I’ve done for the past ten years, right?’

‘Of course. You discovered archaeological sites – and showed them to the world.’

‘That was only half my job. The other half was
keeping them secret
. The IHA’s purpose isn’t just to find lost wonders; it’s also to protect them. Sometimes to keep them out of the hands of greedy, unenlightened people, but other times because what we found was too dangerous to be revealed. I’m not going to tell you what they are, for obvious reasons, but I’ve made discoveries that would make the Midas Cave look as big a threat as a wet bath sponge.’

‘You do not know anything,’ snarled Rudra.

‘No? How about you let me decide that?’ She took a breath of her own, trying to calm herself. ‘Look, I may not work for the IHA any more, but I still share the same values. I want to find the hidden treasures of the past, and show them to the world . . . but only if it’s safe to do so. There are some secrets that have to be kept. I know that for a fact, because I’m keeping them.’

Conflict was clear on the old man’s features. ‘Will you give your word of honour that you will keep
this
secret?’