‘I wonder,’ he said and gave a push with each hand.
The panel on each side clicked and the carving in front of him slid to one side.
‘Bingo,’ he said, staring down the corridor to his front.
Bernice looked over his shoulder and into the dim corridor. This was no ordinary passage but a tunnel carved out of solid rock, the scars of ancient tools still visible on either side where it had been worked to make it wider.
Come on said Brandon. Let’s take a look. He walked slowly forward, his gun held down at his waist, ready to be pulled into the aim at a second’s notice. As soon as they entered the corridor, the sliding door closed behind them with a click, and they walked forward nervously.
Ten metres in, they passed a single doorway cut into the right hand corridor wall and though the door had no lock, Brandon could see it could be secured from the outside by a large metal bolt that slid across the door and into the rock reveal. At the far end they could see another door, though this one had a lock.
‘Your friend must be in there,’ said Brandon, ‘Where does it lead?’
‘I have no idea,’ said Bernice, ‘But I have a bad feeling about this. There should be no secrets within the order.’
Brandon fingered his trigger nervously and tried the door handle. As expected, it was locked, but after a moment’s pause, Bernice produced her keys and gave them to Brandon. He tried a few before hearing a satisfying click, and, after a brief glance towards Bernice, eased the door slowly away from him.
Immediately, a breath of warmth hit him and he eased his way sideways through the tiny gap, closely followed by Bernice. They both took one step beyond the doorway before pausing to stare at the scene below them in awe.
In front of them was a stairway leading down to the floor of a cavern the size of a large church, warmly illuminated by hundreds of candles. At the centre of the cavern, a fire burned brightly in a pit sunk into the rocky floor, helping the candles to send flickering shadows around the cave. Leading away from the doorway, in either direction, a landing followed the walls of the cave, stopping about halfway around, providing a good view of the entire cavern. A one metre dwarf wall edged the landing, providing a natural barrier from the drop to the floor below.
Brandon and Sister Bernice crouched down behind the perimeter wall and peered into the cavern.
‘Is that your colleague?’ whispered Brandon, indicating a lone figure near one of the walls.
‘Yes,’ said Bernice. Sister Agnes was replenishing candles in the hundreds of tiny alcoves cut into the walls.
Brandon looked down into the cavern, taking in all the detail. There were several doors sunk into the rocky walls, each closed tight and secured with a locking bar slid into the frames. At the far end, and half way up the wall, a small wooden balcony extended into the cavern from an arch cut into the rock, and a small wooden stairway descended to the floor.
‘What is this place?’ he whispered.
‘I have no idea,’ she said.
‘Some sort of hidden Temple?’ suggested Brandon.
‘It would seem so,’ said Bernice, but why, I don’t know.’
Down on the cavern floor, Sister Agnes finished her task and started to collect her things.
‘Come on,’ said Brandon, ‘Let’s get out of here before we are seen. I need to find out what we are dealing with here. Do you know where I can find any paperwork like records or anything?’
‘That room we passed looked like some sort of office back in the corridor,’ said Bernice, ‘You could look there, I suppose.’
‘Perfect,’ said Brandon, Let’s go.’
They walked back down the corridor and stopped outside the barred door.
‘I don’t think this is an office,’ said Brandon, there’s a locking bar on the outside, ‘Why would there be a need to lock someone inside an office.’
‘Probably used to be a cell,’ said Bernice, ‘My own cell is exactly the same. Worth a look, though.’
Brandon slid back the bar and stepped inside. Immediately he could see the room was empty except for a few items of basic furniture. He wandered around, looking for anything that may be of interest. Suddenly the door slammed shut and he heard the sound of the locking bar being slid home on the outside. He ran to the door and pulled on the handle, but to no avail.
‘Bernice, what do you think your doing?’ he shouted through the locked door.
‘I’m sorry,’ said the Nun’s muffled voice from the other side of the door, ‘I don’t know what is going on here, but as far as I can see, you seem to be part of it.’
‘Let me out,’ said Brandon urgently, ‘Can’t you see, I am trying to help?’
‘You may well be,’ said Bernice, ‘But too much is happening for me to take in. It’s better you stay in there until I can make sense of all this.’
‘Bernice, don’t be stupid,’ hissed Brandon, ‘You are in terrible danger, we all are. You have to let me out before it’s too late.’
‘Sorry, Brandon, she replied, ‘But it’s better this way. I won’t be long, I promise.’
He heard the sound of her echoing footsteps rushing back down the passageway towards the main hall and walked over to sit on the ancient chair in the corner, at a loss as to what do next.
Chapter 34
Britannia 65AD
Dragus stood at the back of the cave they had called home for the last few months. All smell of the pigs had gone and the cave was sub divided by walls of interweaved willow for privacy. Rubria had her own large space as befitted her position whilst Dragus and Rose each had their own, smaller stalls, though most nights saw Rose creeping into Dragus’s bed space when Rubria was sleeping. The Centurion and the slave had grown close over the last few months and despite the obvious physical benefits, had come to realise they had feelings for each other.
‘Soup?’ asked Rose, walking up to him with an iron tankard containing a hearty broth.
‘Thanks,’ he said, and nodded towards Rubria’s stall. ‘How is she?’
‘As good as can be expected,’ she said, ‘Seems to have come to terms with it at last.’
Not long after moving into the cave Rubria had realised what was happening to her body and at first found the idea repugnant and went into denial. However, when it became obvious and there was nothing she could do about it, she became resigned to the idea and started to make the cave as comfortable as possible for the baby’s arrival.
‘Has she said who the father is?’ asked Dragus.
‘She hasn’t said anything, except she has lain with no man voluntarily.’
‘Then my worst fears are confirmed, the child’s father must be Nero.
‘By the Gods, Dragus,’ said Rose, ‘Do you realise what you are saying? Because, if that is the case, then it is no ordinary baby in her womb, but the child of an Emperor. If it is born male, he would be the firstborn heir to Nero and be the rightful successor to the most powerful role in the world. If Nero found out he had a son he would scour the far corners of the earth to bring him back to Rome.’
‘That’s if his enemies didn’t find him first,’ said Dragus, ‘They would be just as keen to find any heir, though their motives would be far different, I fear.’
‘Then that’s it, said Rose, ‘Eventually the truth will come out and as soon as it does, our fate will be sealed.’
‘Then we have to get from here,’ said Dragus, ‘Find somewhere we can settle down in safety.’
‘We cannot leave now, the birth is too near, and besides, Blackthorn won’t let us go. He sees Rubria as a bride for Reynard, remember?’
‘I know, said Dragus, ‘But we can’t stay here. I have to convince Blackthorn to let us go.’
‘How?
