Martin King and the Prison of Ice (Martin King Series) (3 page)

“So we can keep
it?” said Martin.

“Certainly.”
The historian glanced at Darcy. “Although I don’t think you really need it for
the same reason I did.”

He shook their
hands again.

“I must leave
you now—I’m supposed to be lecturing in a few minutes. But thank you for
agreeing to see Howell. Here’s my card, and here’s Howell’s address—don’t
hesitate to contact me if you’re ever in trouble.”

Martin and
Darcy said goodbye and left Xavier College—Darcy was holding on to the
Coincidence Machine. As they walked down the street, the machine suddenly made
a clicking sound. Darcy looked down and noticed something.

“Look,” she
said. “Look what I found!”

It was a £20
note. Darcy put it in her pocket.

“That’s
amazing,’ she said. ‘I love the machine already. Although I suppose it’s not
like I need any more money.”

At that moment,
the machine clicked again. Martin noticed something in the sky. It was some
kind of burning object falling to Earth. Suddenly, it landed, leaving a small
crater in the pavement. Darcy peered into the smoking hole, frowning.

“It’s a watch,”
muttered Darcy.

Martin reached
into the crater and picked up the watch. Then he dropped it again with a cry of
pain.

“It’s hot!” he
said. “It’s burning hot.”

As soon as the
watch had cooled, Martin picked it up and held it next to the watch on his
wrist. They were identical—grey strap and silver face with a digital timestamp.

“That’s weird,”
said Darcy. “It’s exactly the same as the one I bought you.”

For Martin’s
birthday, Darcy had bought him a so-called indestructible watch from a
website—it was a little joke of hers because he had a habit of accidentally
breaking wristwatches.

“Yeah, it is,”
said Martin. “Huh, I guess these things really are indestructible… that’s
weird.” He dropped the second watch into his pocket, and looked up at the clear
sky. “I wonder where it could have fallen from…”

Tommy was sitting on a plane,
thinking about Fire Opal. He had met her about two years ago. She was a young
Axis Lady, the daughter of another alien called Laser Wolf. Fire Opal and Laser
Wolf had been prisoners in the City of Serenity, and had escaped with the other
Axis Lords. However, because of the Axis satellite they hadn’t been able to
escape from the planet.

Tommy took out
his phone and stared at a picture of Fire Opal. In the photo, she was wearing
human clothes—blue jeans and a pink top. Only her purple eyes and white hair
gave her away as not being human.

When Tommy had
met Fire Opal in the City of Serenity, he had instantly fallen in love with
her. Amazingly, she had felt the same way about him. Fire Opal had created an
email address after moving to Italy with her father. Although Fire Opal was amused
by how primitive the technology was, they emailed each other nearly every day.
Fire Opal had visited England a few times with Laser Wolf, but Tommy had never
gone to Italy to visit her. But he had finally persuaded his parents to let him
go.

He had more
than enough money to make the trip. Moonstone, the Axis Lady who had tried to
destroy the Earth, had given Martin a large bag of diamonds right before her
death. The three friends had shared them equally, so they were all now very
rich.

Tommy stared at
the photograph for most of the flight, wondering what he would talk to Fire
Opal about. Eventually, the plane landed, and Tommy stepped out into Italy.

H
is heart beat heavily as he walked into the baggage area of the
airport. He collected his luggage and made his way towards the main entrance. He
had never been so nervous about meeting a girl before. Fire Opal was so warm,
so beautiful, so special… in his distraction, Tommy walked into an old Italian
man who was heading in the opposite direction.

“
Scusa
,”
said Tommy.

Falcon had
given Tommy the power of omnilinguism—the ability to speak and understand every
single language. And that included Italian.

Tommy stepped
out into the warm Italian sunshine, and he immediately saw her. She had bright
white hair and blue eyes; Tommy knew that if she wasn’t wearing a Deceiving
Necklace her eyes would be purple. Fire Opal ran to Tommy and hugged him. Then
she let go and looked down shyly.

“Sorry,” she
muttered.

“Sorry? What
are you sorry for? I want another hug!”

Tommy hugged
Fire Opal again and they both laughed. She really was the most beautiful girl
Tommy had ever seen. She looked slightly older than the first time they had
met, and even more attractive—if that was possible.

“It’s so good
to see you again,” said Tommy. “It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, it has,”
agreed Fire Opal.

“Well,” said
Tommy. “Well, let’s get a taxi. I’m going to leave my bags at the hotel, and
then you can give me the tour.”

They climbed
into a taxi. Tommy had spent the whole plane journey worrying about what he
would say to her, but Fire Opal was wonderfully easy to talk to. Besides, they
already knew a lot about each other from their email conversations.

“How’s your
dad?” said Tommy. “I still remember that time he saved us when we were trapped
in the VDS.”

Fire Opal
smiled. “He’s fine. He really loves it here in Florence, with all the art and
architecture.”

“And what do
you think of it here?”

“It’s nice,”
said Fire Opal. “I get a bit tired of it sometimes though. I’ve spent my life
being trapped in one place. I really want to explore.”

Tommy reached
out to her hand and slipped his fingers around hers.

“Well, we can
one day.”

“Yes, I suppose
we can.”

Tommy dropped
his bags off at his hotel, and Fire Opal began to show him around Florence. He
had never been to Italy before, and he was astounded by the beauty of
everything.

“How are your
friends?” said Fire Opal, as they strolled through a large green park.

“Fine,” said
Tommy. “Martin and Darcy are really happy together.”

“I’m glad.” She
sighed. “I’m so happy that you came to Florence, Tommy. A part of me didn’t
think you’d actually come.” Fire Opal looked down at the ground as she made
this admission.

Tommy frowned.
“Why not?”

“It just seemed
too good to be true.”

Tommy felt a
wave of emotion. He stopped walking and took Fire Opal’s hand.

“Fire Opal,
I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. I’m really serious about you.
I…”

“Yes?” Fire
Opal’s eyes widened.

“I love you,
Fire Opal.”

Unexpectedly,
the girl began to cry. For a second, Tommy wondered if he should have waited
longer before telling her. Had he made some dreadful mistake? But then he
realised that she was crying because she was happy.

“I love you,
too, Tommy.”

Tommy had never
heard such wonderful words in his entire life. He looked into Fire Opal’s opal
eyes, and they kissed.

*

A few days later, they went out
for a meal together—Tommy had booked a table at a local restaurant called
Dei
Frescobaldi
. They made their way to it on foot as the sky darkened. A tall
man in a tuxedo greeted them when they entered.

They sat down
at a small table, and a waiter lit a candle for them. Tommy glanced at the
menu. He was hardly an expert when it came to fine dining, but luckily his
omnilinguism meant he could read the Italian menu.

“What are you
having?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,”
said Fire Opal, deliberating over the menu.

Tommy decided
to opt for the Bolognese, which seemed like a safe choice. Fire Opal had some
simple pasta with tomatoes, despite Tommy’s protestations that she should have
something tastier.

As the waiter
walked away with their orders, the lights flickered over their table. Tommy
looked up at the bulb.

“Must be
faulty,” he muttered.

The waiter
brought their food, but the lights above their table were still flickering. He
apologised, and suggested that they move to another table. Tommy nodded, and
the waiter carried their food to another table. However, the flickering seemed
to follow them, and the lights above their new table began to waver. Tommy
glanced out of the restaurant window. Strangely, the streetlights were
flickering too, as were the lights in the buildings across the street.

“Look,” said
Tommy. “I wonder what’s causing that.”

Fire Opal
frowned. “If I didn’t know better I’d say it was electrical modulation caused
by a high-energy tracing device.”

“And what would
that mean?”

“Well, if it
was
a high-energy tracing device, it would mean that someone was looking for
you, Tommy.”

Tommy shivered.
They finished their meal, paid the bill, and stepped out into the misty street.
As they walked, the streetlights over their head began to stutter.
Fire Opal immediately became tense.

“What is
it—what’s wrong?” said Tommy.

“The mist.”
Fire Opal waved her hand through the fog. “It’s warm—this is Tracer Mist.”

Tommy touched
the fog. She was right; it was warm.

“But what does
that mean? What’s Tracer Mist?”

“The electrical
disturbances, the Mist—somebody is definitely trying to track you down, Tommy.”
She paused. “This is Axis Lord technology. Come on, let’s walk faster.”

They quickened
their step, walking past a beggar who had a dark hood pulled over his head.

“Spare change?”
he asked.

Tommy was going
to walk past him but Fire Opal had stopped. She was staring at the homeless
person with a strange expression on her face.

“What is it?”
said Tommy.

“It’s an Axis
Lord,” said Fire Opal.

The beggar
stood up, laughing, and removed his hood. It was a young man—and he was clearly
an Axis Lord. He had a high domed forehead, and his white hair was gelled back.

“Sorry,” he
said, his purple eyes gleaming. “I’ve always enjoyed disguises. It’s a weakness
of mine. It is a pleasure to meet you both. And you’re actually on a date
together! It’s nice to see that human-Axis Lord relations are flourishing.”

Tommy put a
protective arm around Fire Opal.

“I take it
you’re the one who’s been trying to track me down?” said Tommy.

“Yes,” said the
Axis Lord. “Well done. I’ve been trying to find you and your friends for a
while, but you were being shielded somehow. Luckily, when you got on that plane
you must have left the field of protection.”

“So what do you
want from me?” said Tommy.

“I want to show
you something. Follow me.”

They didn’t
really have a choice but to follow. Tommy knew what Axis Lords were capable of.
The man led them down several side streets until they came to a strange house.
It was leaning strangely to one side, and almost looked as if it was ready to
collapse.

“I bought this
place when I last visited Florence about three years ago,” said the alien.
“It’s not the most appealing of houses, but it’s out of the way.”

The Axis Lord
led them through the front door and up two flights of darkened stairs. They
climbed out onto the flat roof of the building. The stars hung overhead,
brightly shining, and the Axis Lord smiled at Tommy and Fire Opal.

“I haven’t
introduced myself,” he said. “My name is Mulciber. I already know your names.”
Mulciber stared at the starry heavens. “It’s peaceful, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” said
Tommy.

Mulciber shook
his head. “Peaceful it isn’t.”

“What do you
mean?” said Fire Opal.

“Something is
coming. A fleet of ships is approaching the Earth, shielded and invisible.”
Mulciber pulled a Truthful Eye from his pocket. “Even this thing won’t let you
see them. Whoever owns the ships has remarkable technology.”

Mulciber smiled
at Tommy. “Do you want to see them?”

Tommy nodded.
“Yeah.”

“I have a
special ability,” said Mulciber. “I was experimenting with Axis Dust when I was
a child, and I ended up with a few little tricks.”

Tommy looked up
at the night sky. Mulciber stood behind him and touched the back of his head
with one finger. The moment he did so, Tommy could see them—thousands and
thousands of golden dots, slightly bigger than stars.

“So they’re
ships?” said Tommy.

“Yes,” said
Mulciber. “They are not quite as close as they appear—I have magnified the
signal. But they will still be here in a matter of weeks.”

“And you don’t
know what kind of ships they are?”

Mulciber shook
his head. “Not yet. I’ll be able to identify them when they get slightly
closer. But—whoever they are—I don’t think they have good intentions. A fleet
that size can only be an invasion fleet. Or possibly a destruction fleet.”

Tommy
swallowed.

“So why tell
me
this?”

“Oh, come on
now,” said Mulciber, laughing. “Your name is a legend throughout the five
galaxies. I know all about what happened last year—all about Moonstone and
XO5.”

“That was
mainly Martin and Darcy,” said Tommy. “I just… sort of helped out a bit.”

“Well, I want
to see Martin in particular,” said Mulciber.

He took out a
packet of Marlboro and lit one of them, taking a deep drag. The smoke from his
cigarette rose up towards the invisible ships.

“Who are you?”
said Fire Opal.

“A friend,”
said Mulciber.

“So how do we
stop the ships?” said Tommy, staring up at the stars.

“We fight, of
course,” said Mulciber. “Sometimes war is the only answer.” He smiled at them
both. “But do not worry about that just yet. Relax. Enjoy the rest of your
holiday.”

Mulciber led
Tommy and Fire Opal back down to the front door and stepped into the street
with them. He touched Tommy’s arm.

“It was good to
meet you,” he said. “And do enjoy your holiday. Forget about the ships for the
time being. We will meet again, I promise.”

Mulciber
smiled, and stepped back inside the old house, closing the door.

“Well, that was
weird,” said Tommy.

“He put a
tracker on your arm when he touched it,” said Fire Opal. “That means he’ll be
able to find you now whenever he wants.”

Tommy inspected
his arm.

“You won’t be
able to see it—it’s invisible to the naked eye. You won’t be able to take it
off, either.”

“Oh,
brilliant.” Tommy smiled at Fire Opal. “Well, we might get blown to bits by
those mysterious ships any second, but I’m still going to take Mulciber’s
advice and enjoy the rest of my holiday. Come on.”