The sound of running feet drew nearer. Don Alanzo and three guards were pushing their way through the crowd. Will backed away slowly, preparing to run.
‘You saved my life,’ Lucia interjected. ‘Let me now save yours.’ Will eyed her suspiciously. ‘We have a boat-’
‘Why should I trust you? Anyone who desires this box cannot be wholly pure of heart.’
‘We have to get it out of the hands of our enemies,’ Church said.
‘An Englishman?’ Will was surprised by Church’s accent. ‘Then you stand against Philip of Spain.’ He thought rapidly before nodding. ‘Lay on. But the box remains with me, and my sword will make sharp argument with any who disagree.’
6
Rowing hard, they reached their vessel moored out in the lagoon ahead of Don Alanzo and his men, and set sail immediately. Will exuded an air of extreme confidence and bonhomie, but Church could tell it masked the steely nature of someone who never let down their guard.
After introductions had been made, Jerzy and Tom set about the steering and navigation with an inordinate amount of bickering that drove Church and Will below deck to find peace.
Lounging in a hammock with one leg trailing, Will observed Church with a wry eye. ‘It was you who removed the guards from the entrance to the Palazzo Ducale,’ he said.
‘Lucia. She has skill with certain potions and brews.’
‘And she can deliver them with unerring aim, for who could refuse that one.’ Will grinned. ‘So you thought you would let my men do all the hard work and then step in at the last to take the box.’
‘That’s about the size of it.’
‘Bravo. A man after my own heart. Then I will ask, who are you and why do you want my box? You spoke of thwarting the enemy, but you are not in the queen’s employ, unless I am very mistaken.’
‘You are opposed to King Philip of Spain, who wants Elizabeth removed from the throne and England returned to the fold of Catholicism.’ Church knew it was a period of great intrigue that had started when Henry VIII had turned his back on Rome and formed of the Church of England. ‘My enemy is greater than that.’
Will was puzzled. ‘France?’
‘Greater than any country. My enemy controls kings and queens. They attempted to control Rome many years ago. They may well now be controlling Philip of Spain.’
‘To what end?’
Church chose his words carefully. ‘Power that crosses all borders.’
Will nodded. He could understand this. ‘I am a good judge and you seem like a man of character. I would ask, then, why I have not heard of this enemy, for it is my business to be the queen’s eyes across the world.’
‘A spy,’ Church noted. Will said nothing. ‘The enemy operates in the shadows … the best way to control. They are the Army of the Ten Billion Spiders-’
Church expected Will to mock, but the spy grew intrigued. ‘Spiders? That is their totem? I saw what appeared to be a spider on Don Alanzo’s neck, here.’ He tapped his nape.
‘That’s how they control people. I don’t know how it works, but once the spider has been attached, the person does exactly what the Enemy wants but still appears perfectly normal on the surface.’
Will considered this, but didn’t dismiss it out of hand. ‘And how did you know my men and I were here this eve to steal the box? Do you spy upon the spies, or was it happenstance — one of God’s games?’
Church told Will of Tom’s glimpse of the future. He laughed. ‘The dour one is the hero of the Scots? Why, he would cut his own foot off if you gave him a sword! You spin a strange tale, Master Churchill. I may not wholly believe you, but then I consort with a man who speaks with angels and uses the elixir vitae to change base metal into gold.’
‘And how did you find out about the box?’
‘Why, from that self-same friend of angels — Doctor John Dee. You have heard of him, of course.’
Church knew Dee had been a controversial figure with a reputation as a black magician and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I. But Church guessed Will’s association with the man was due to Dee’s work as one of England’s senior spies, who always signed his communiques ‘007’. In between spy missions and magic, he had invented ciphers, introduced the English-speaking world to Euclidean geometry and developed state-of-the-art navigational techniques. But Church was sure that by this year he had fallen on hard times.
‘Isn’t he out of favour with the court?’ Church asked.
‘He is out of favour with the God-fearing men and women of England who have increasingly taken it upon themselves to hang many a black magician or witch, or those they perceive as such, without recourse to the magistrate. Nor is he in favour with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who keeps an eye out for God in this world,’ Will added sarcastically. ‘Dee now spends his time abroad, in the employ of rich men, desperately seeking his fortune.’
‘But he still carries out the queen’s work?’
Will smiled. ‘Dee received word of the box from I know not where. And I was dispatched to retrieve it for England. I am to return it to Dee.’
‘And Dee says it contains a plague?’
‘Dee says. Only Dee would know.’
‘Then we’d better ask him, hadn’t we?’ Church said. ‘Where is he?’
7
In the distance, the Carpathian Mountains soared up, black and threatening. In contrast, Krakow stood beautiful and cultured beneath a cloudless night sky lit by a crescent moon. It was a good time to be in the thriving metropolis, which was experiencing a golden age at the centre of a prosperous kingdom that stretched from the Black Sea to the Baltic.
Grand gothic buildings loomed over Church and Tom as they waited for Will in the twisting streets at the heart of the medieval town centre.
‘This is an amazing place.’ Church examined the architecture, which appeared more alive than in the carefully preserved modern context in which he had previously encountered the city. ‘You’ve got people travelling here from all over Europe to experience the culture, education and religion and then taking what they’ve learned back with them. Can’t you feel something special in the air?’
Tom grunted non-committally. He still ached from the long journey in the coach that Will had commissioned.
On reflection, Church realised he was sensing more than just the rarefied atmosphere of the city. ‘The Blue Fire is here,’ he noted. ‘I can feel it the same way I did at Boskawen-Un and in Italy.’
‘Of course,’ Tom said superciliously. ‘You may know a great deal with your hindsight on the history of the world, but clearly you do not know everything. Legend has it that a dragon with fiery breath was roused from his slumbers in the caverns beneath where the castle stands. King Krak, who tamed the dragon, founded the city here.’
‘A metaphor.’
Tom snorted. ‘You think the Blue Fire is a big secret known only to such wise and adept personages as yourself. The truth about it, and the places where it is strongest, is written large in the old stories. If you are clever enough to know where to look.’
‘Do you think that’s why Dee came here?’
‘I think he is a powerful and knowledgeable man who has, perhaps, been using the energy unconsciously.’
Every now and then Church glimpsed a hidden store of knowledge in Tom, secrets and mysteries that made his agenda difficult to read.
‘You must have learned a great deal while you were in the Court of the Yearning Heart,’ Church said.
‘She encouraged me to learn.’ Tom’s tone suggested dark depths that Church could not fathom.
‘Not a wholly enjoyable experience, then?’
‘Under the queen’s orders I was dissected down to the smallest part of me and then put back together, complete with my new abilities.’ The horror of his experiences shadowed his face. ‘My torment is beyond imagination.’
‘The Tuatha De Danann are arrogant and cruel, but I’ve never known them-’