The Bloodline Cipher (31 page)

Luck that could run out at any time.

Jonah skidded to a halt at the sound of running footsteps ahead, coming their way. He motioned to Maya to hide in an alcove in the wall, while he did the same on the opposite side.

They needn't have worried. The Scribe ran straight past them, his robes soiled and bloody, a dark-haired woman trailing behind him. ‘Saitou's got guards on the perimeter,' the Scribe was saying. ‘We'll get back-up …'

‘Looks like things have kicked off in there,' said Jonah.

‘Come on,' said Maya simply.

They hurried along the tunnel, the rattle of gunfire echoing weirdly as they grew closer. Jonah swore under his breath. He knew Coldhardt's plan now, and flying bullets weren't a part of it.

More people fled past them. Jonah followed Maya to the tunnel's end, looked out into the arena – and almost hurled his guts. It was a massacre. Dead ahead, facing away from them, Street was firing an M16 in deranged, screaming sweeps. Corpses lay scattered like the blood-spattered flowers, and Jonah was afraid to study them too closely for fear of recognising someone he cared for. Bree was yelling something, sat astride Con, who struggled beneath her. And close to Jonah's right, about the only guard left standing was firing at the thrones. He saw someone hiding out down there.

‘Motti,' he breathed, a sense of helpless panic rising. ‘What can we do?'

‘Want to know a secret?' Maya looked at Jonah, her eyes dust-grey. ‘Follow me quickly, while Bree and Street are distracted …'

I'm going to die, I'm going to die
, Jonah thought, tearing after Maya, terrified that any moment Street would turn and the bullets would tear into them too. He watched as Maya ran up behind the guard and jabbed her fingertip against his neck, while striking him around his kidney with the flat of her other hand.

She can do it too
. Jonah just stared.
Saitou's trick
.

The guard froze, still clutching the gun but apparently unable to fire it. Then Maya raced on towards the thrones, and Jonah hared after her. They reached Motti, chucking themselves behind the thrones.

Jonah stared at her, shaken up. ‘Just who the hell
are
you, Maya?'

‘Skip it,' said Motti, sparing Jonah the tiniest nod in greeting. ‘Right now, how the hell are we gonna save our family?'

Body tensed, still hugging the ground and straining against the cuffs, Tye couldn't help but wonder if she was already dead and this was her hell – the gunfire going on for ever.
He's got to run out of ammo soon
, she told herself.
He's
got
to
.

Then the firing broke off. Bree's bellow filled the ringing silence that followed. ‘Street, for the last time – put down the gun!'

Street lowered the rifle. He looked exhausted, his breath coming in ragged gasps. ‘Can't … bloody see …'

‘Give me the gun and
I'll
kill Coldhardt!'

‘No!' That was Con. Tye raised her head cautiously and saw her friend flat on her back, writhing underneath Bree, trying to stop the girl from reaching for Street's rifle. ‘Coldhardt, run!'

Tye scrambled up from behind Draith's body and sprinted over to help. At the same time, her heart leapt to see Jonah, Motti and Maya racing towards Con and Bree too, from the opposite direction.

Closer than either group, Coldhardt got up from behind Saitou's body; for a few supercharged seconds it seemed they would all converge on Street and Bree, save Con and kick some collective ass.

But a sudden flash of movement showed Tye that Saitou wasn't out for the count after all. He propped
himself up on one elbow and reached out, grabbing Coldhardt's ankle with gory fingers. With a cry of pain, Coldhardt fell down.

Tye pushed herself faster, harder.

But she couldn't outrun Street's fingers as he swung round blindly at the sound of Coldhardt's voice, aimed low and opened fire. And he couldn't see that his old-time partner was between him and his target.

‘Saitou!' Bree screamed, hair askew, bleeding from a gash in her cheek, all composure lost.

The bullets meant for Coldhardt struck Saitou point blank in the neck. Thick spurts of blood slapped against the ground and a few seconds later he followed them, quite dead, dark eyes staring from his face.

Jonah quickened his step as Saitou took the bullets – Street still had the gun, and surely couldn't miss again? But just then Bree broke free of Con's struggling grip and hurled herself at Street, began wrestling the gun from him.

‘You killed Saitou!' she hollered. ‘You stupid,
stupid
–'

Tye reached Street first. Her wrists were cuffed behind her back but it didn't slow her down. Lightning fast she kicked the gun away with one foot, and planted the sole of the other in his jaw. He fell backwards and lay still. A moment later Jonah caught up to Bree and hurled himself on to her back, pinning her to the ground. She bucked wildly beneath him, but Tye joined the fight. She brought her knee down hard on the back of Bree's skull, knocking the girl's forehead
into the rock floor. The struggles abruptly halted.

Jonah looked deep into Tye's eyes.
Who cares who's watching
, he thought, as he grabbed her tight as hell and they just kissed. He wondered if he tasted as rough as she did.
Probably
, he decided. But still it was the sweetest kiss of his life.

‘Gee, guys, that's a big surprise to no one at all,' drawled Motti, checking the fallen bodies around him. ‘But if you guys are planning on going further, I'd wait till Patch is around. You can sell him tickets.'

Tye broke off as if stung and glared at him. ‘Patch is –'

‘Alive, we are told,' Con told her happily, helping Coldhardt pull clear of Saitou's lifeless fingers.

‘It's true,' Jonah whispered, smiling and nodding his head, searching out Tye's gorgeous brown eyes as they filled with tears. ‘Maya says Patch is OK!'

‘He was when we left him,' said Maya briskly. ‘But we must return, and quickly.'

‘But how
can
he be OK?' Tye demanded. ‘Jonah, you said –'

‘Maya is an uncommonly skilled student of the Order,' Coldhardt announced.

Jonah looked at her sharply. ‘Order?'

Maya shrugged off the crimson robe she wore to reveal a plain black swimsuit beneath, still wet from her swim through the sinkhole. Then she pulled down the top a little way to expose the tattoo that sat over her heart, the same tattoo Jonah had glimpsed before when he shouldn't have been looking. But now he was staring, like everyone else, at a familiar symbol.

‘The Knot of Isis?' Tye breathed.

Maya nodded. ‘I am a scholar-priest of Nomen Oblitum.'

Jonah stared at her, a chill prickling down the length of his back. He wanted to phrase a hundred questions in his mind but got nowhere with any of them.

Tye shook her head dumbly. ‘First we find out Heidel is Coldhardt's father, then we –'

Jonah stared at her. ‘
What?
'

‘I'm sure we all have questions,' Coldhardt said heavily. ‘But there is no time.'

Suddenly, it was as if something in the air changed, as if a noise in the background that Jonah hadn't even registered had cut off. ‘Maya and I shut down the island's power systems,' he said. ‘Death of an island.'

‘The timing is apt,' said Coldhardt. ‘Our business seems to be concluded here.'

‘Once we get these cuffs off me,' said Tye, pointing to a key on Bree's silver charm bracelet. Jonah snapped the thin silver chain and soon had the cuffs unlocked.

‘The Scribe went to fetch the perimeter guards,' said Maya, restlessly. ‘They could be on their way now.'

Tye looked round sadly at the devastation in the arena, rubbing her wrists. ‘Maybe they can organise some first aid for the survivors.'

Con didn't seem so impressed with that idea. ‘Come. It is time to go.'

‘What about Street?' Motti nudged the man's shoulder with his foot. ‘You just gonna leave him here?'

‘Why not,' said Coldhardt. ‘Let
him
meditate on
what it is to kill one you care for.'

‘But he could come after you in the future,' Con argued. ‘Any of these bastards could. Given the chance, they'd kill you.'

Coldhardt glanced at Maya, as gulls high above shouted their shrill complaints at the strengthening blue sky, and gave a heartfelt smile. ‘Where I'm going … no one will ever find me.'

Jonah followed Coldhardt, Tye, Motti and Con, walking quickly through the dark and twisting tunnels out of Saitou's labyrinth, trying to stave off his thoughts and questions and stay alert.

He was armed with a pepper-spray orchid in case of trouble. Jonah supposed it was a measure of what he'd lived through that to be holding such a bizarre weapon now seemed perfectly reasonable.

Maya lagged behind him, hanging back from the others. Jonah put that down to her secret being out now. Maybe she felt awkward for not telling them sooner, or maybe she had simply stopped pretending to be normal. He had felt quite close to her when they'd been just a couple of hackers working an over-clocked computer. Now so much made sense suddenly – no wonder she'd known so much about Nomen Oblitum, no wonder the Scribe's oh-so-knowledgeable pronouncements in Chamonix had left her less than impressed …

Jonah felt stupid and small-minded. He wasn't used to that, and he didn't like it. Maya had come through for them, but with what agenda Jonah wasn't sure. Could they trust her?

With Patch's life in the balance
, he reflected,
can we afford not to?

The atmosphere was muted as they emerged into daylight. They had won, but more through chance than skill. And the fact remained: Coldhardt might not have sold them out as such but he'd still let them run into the dragon's den without warning them of the situation, purely to suit his own agenda.

Where do we go from here?
Jonah wondered.

The answer, of course, was to get help to Patch as fast as possible.

They met no one on the way out to the harbour.

Coldhardt had apparently made the last leg of his journey here in a small speedboat, from which Maya had jumped ship and swum for shore. But that couldn't accommodate them all. Tye started searching for an alternative among the many luxurious boats, and Jonah wondered how many of the owners had survived.

‘How did you find Patch?' Motti asked Coldhardt.

‘I was monitoring your progress on Jonah's transmitter, just as Saitou was.' Coldhardt stared out over the calm and glittering sea, sounding matter of fact as ever. ‘Maya's skills and upbringing have left her well-attuned to her own body. She was aware of the transmitter placed beneath her skin, and was able to remove it. Once she accepted my need to talk candidly, she left it carefully out of hearing range while we discussed the situation – and what to do about it.'

‘While the rest of us stayed in the dark,' Jonah muttered, itching the lump on his neck.

‘My own aims and Coldhardt's coincided.' Maya
hovered at the periphery of the group. ‘We were already on our way out here when the explosion went off on board the
Aswang
.'

‘And you stopped off to collect Patch?' Jonah challenged. ‘Even though you thought he was dead?'

Coldhardt met his gaze. ‘You think I would leave his body to rot on that ship?' he asked quietly.

Maya stepped in. ‘Con's instruction to the
Aswang
's captain as she mesmerised him – that he should do all in his power to aid and protect anyone not a part of his crew – saved Patch's life. That and the titanium blanket he was
still
wearing around his midriff.'

‘That one-eyed pussy,' said Motti, half smiling.

‘The captain administered first aid and kept him alive, until I arrived.'

Tye had re-emerged from the cabin of an especially sleek boat and now started untying the mooring rope. ‘I heard Street say the
Aswang
's cameras had picked up a masked “man” on board,' she said. ‘You know, Bree had you down for a pirate, looting the bodies.'

‘I had to take the chance I would be spotted. Your friend Patch was in a critical condition. His body was shutting down and only drastic action could help him.' Maya looked at Tye. ‘Now, if you are ready, we should go. Quickly.'

‘This is a Skater 46 Supreme,' Tye told her stiffly, crossing to the captain's seat. ‘It does one-fifty miles an hour on twin thirteen-hundred hp engines. We'll be quick.'

Con got in the seat beside her, while the others piled in the back. Jonah felt slightly uncomfortable,
sat between Maya and Coldhardt. They were the ones with all the answers, but how far could he trust either? He felt a groaning wave of tiredness overwhelm him, and his burns stung in the sunlight.

Coldhardt discussed directions with Tye. Then she gunned the powerful engines, and the speedboat soared away over the calm ocean.

Jonah turned to Maya. ‘I'm still waiting to hear how I helped save Patch.'

Maya's grey eyes fixed on him. ‘Your breakthrough with the circles in the manuscript was timely.'

‘You mean the way they relate to the dark ink strokes beside them?'

She nodded. ‘When you pointed out that not every redrawn circle was perfectly drawn, that some had very particular start points, I studied them closely.' She started drawing in the air. ‘If you bisect the circle horizontally, then that's your nought-degree line. And if you draw a line from the start point through to the centre of the circle, then you get an angle. It's that easy. When two or more circles follow on you simply add the angles together. Then you take the first darker ink stroke that follows and rotate it by the same value.'

‘And what does it get you?' Jonah demanded. ‘What do all those different line-strokes make when you put them together – new pictograms? A key to understanding the manuscript?'