it’s my family’s history. How could I not look into it?’
‘Yeah, I suppose,’ he said, with reluctance. ‘Well . . . go on then.’
‘Go on then, what?’
He jerked a thumb at the desk. ‘Go and do what you want to do. I can tell you’re absolutely desperate to get started.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘If I don’t let you, you’ll probably explode, and then I’ll have to clean up the mess.’
She scurried past him towards the desk, pausing to kiss the top of his shaved head. ‘Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best husband ever?’
‘I’ll remind you of that next time I want something,’ Eddie told her, smirking.
She opened her laptop and went straight to her email. Lola’s message contained the promised login instructions. Quickly clicking through, she soon had access to what she sought.
The Secret Codex.
The IHA had already done most of the translation work, amongst other things producing a list of the places where Talonor’s forces had established outposts. This was the reason for the agency’s secrecy; were the translations freely available, some locations – ports, peaks, passes – would be readily identifiable today, allowing anyone to set them as landmarks that could be used to find, and raid, potentially priceless archaeological sites.
Right now, though, Nina was only interested in identifying one of them: the Midas Cave. Atlantis, the greatest, richest, most powerful empire of pre-history, had not sent Talonor on his missions of discovery simply out of imperial greed, the endless need for more . He had been tasked with searching for something specific.
And now she was going to find out what it was – and where.
7
‘That should be it,’ Nina muttered, comparing the satellite image on her laptop’s screen with her mother’s annotated map. ‘That has to be it. So . . . why isn’t it?’
‘Why isn’t what?’ said an irritable voice behind her.
She turned to see Eddie, carrying a yawning Macy, enter the lounge. ‘Why isn’t the Midas Cave where it ought to be?’ she replied, frustrated. ‘I located mountain peaks that match the bearings Tobias took, as well as my mom’s work and the records of Talonor’s journey from the Secret Codex. And I also factored in shifts in magnetic north over time, the Atlantean measurement and numerical system, even the video you got of that map in the temple, and everything I know about the region’s history. It all points to the cave being here .’ She jabbed at a point on the map. ‘But it can’t be!’
‘What’s Mommy talking about?’ Macy asked, concerned.
‘Before you were born, this is what she used to do,’ Eddie told her. ‘ All the time . She’d get so involved in some archaeological bol— thing that she’d forget to do other stuff. Like sleeping.’
‘I know it’s late, but I needed to—’ Nina checked the laptop’s on-screen clock and gasped. ‘Wait, it’s morning?’
‘Yeah, it’s morning!’ said her husband sarcastically. ‘You didn’t come to bed!’
‘No, that can’t be right. I don’t feel tired.’
Eddie regarded an empty mug beside the computer. ‘How many coffees did you have?’
‘I dunno, three, four? Oh. Yeah, that might explain it. Oh my God, I can’t believe I worked through the whole night!’
‘Is Mommy okay?’ Macy whispered to Eddie. ‘She’s talking weird.’
‘She does that,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s get you some brekkie. Hopefully she’ll have sorted herself out by then.’ He headed for the kitchen with his daughter.
Nina followed. ‘But I should have found it, that’s the thing. In the Secret Codex, Talonor says the Midas Cave is on what the locals called Dragon Mountain. There’s a place in Nepal that’s sometimes called that even today, and it’s exactly where the cave should be. But it can’t be, because the only possible route up the mountain has a monastery on it – the same one my mother wrote to. Tobias couldn’t have missed
‘Yeah, I suppose,’ he said, with reluctance. ‘Well . . . go on then.’
‘Go on then, what?’
He jerked a thumb at the desk. ‘Go and do what you want to do. I can tell you’re absolutely desperate to get started.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘If I don’t let you, you’ll probably explode, and then I’ll have to clean up the mess.’
She scurried past him towards the desk, pausing to kiss the top of his shaved head. ‘Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best husband ever?’
‘I’ll remind you of that next time I want something,’ Eddie told her, smirking.
She opened her laptop and went straight to her email. Lola’s message contained the promised login instructions. Quickly clicking through, she soon had access to what she sought.
The Secret Codex.
The IHA had already done most of the translation work, amongst other things producing a list of the places where Talonor’s forces had established outposts. This was the reason for the agency’s secrecy; were the translations freely available, some locations – ports, peaks, passes – would be readily identifiable today, allowing anyone to set them as landmarks that could be used to find, and raid, potentially priceless archaeological sites.
Right now, though, Nina was only interested in identifying one of them: the Midas Cave. Atlantis, the greatest, richest, most powerful empire of pre-history, had not sent Talonor on his missions of discovery simply out of imperial greed, the endless need for more . He had been tasked with searching for something specific.
And now she was going to find out what it was – and where.
7
‘That should be it,’ Nina muttered, comparing the satellite image on her laptop’s screen with her mother’s annotated map. ‘That has to be it. So . . . why isn’t it?’
‘Why isn’t what?’ said an irritable voice behind her.
She turned to see Eddie, carrying a yawning Macy, enter the lounge. ‘Why isn’t the Midas Cave where it ought to be?’ she replied, frustrated. ‘I located mountain peaks that match the bearings Tobias took, as well as my mom’s work and the records of Talonor’s journey from the Secret Codex. And I also factored in shifts in magnetic north over time, the Atlantean measurement and numerical system, even the video you got of that map in the temple, and everything I know about the region’s history. It all points to the cave being here .’ She jabbed at a point on the map. ‘But it can’t be!’
‘What’s Mommy talking about?’ Macy asked, concerned.
‘Before you were born, this is what she used to do,’ Eddie told her. ‘ All the time . She’d get so involved in some archaeological bol— thing that she’d forget to do other stuff. Like sleeping.’
‘I know it’s late, but I needed to—’ Nina checked the laptop’s on-screen clock and gasped. ‘Wait, it’s morning?’
‘Yeah, it’s morning!’ said her husband sarcastically. ‘You didn’t come to bed!’
‘No, that can’t be right. I don’t feel tired.’
Eddie regarded an empty mug beside the computer. ‘How many coffees did you have?’
‘I dunno, three, four? Oh. Yeah, that might explain it. Oh my God, I can’t believe I worked through the whole night!’
‘Is Mommy okay?’ Macy whispered to Eddie. ‘She’s talking weird.’
‘She does that,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s get you some brekkie. Hopefully she’ll have sorted herself out by then.’ He headed for the kitchen with his daughter.
Nina followed. ‘But I should have found it, that’s the thing. In the Secret Codex, Talonor says the Midas Cave is on what the locals called Dragon Mountain. There’s a place in Nepal that’s sometimes called that even today, and it’s exactly where the cave should be. But it can’t be, because the only possible route up the mountain has a monastery on it – the same one my mother wrote to. Tobias couldn’t have missed
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