The Deadly Game(18)

He typed: I’m going with Robert and a rugby pal of his.

For once, he was glad they weren’t on Skype. If he’d tried saying that on camera to her, she’d see through him straight away and know he wasn’t telling her the whole story. And then, when she discovered about Michelle, she’d wonder why.

I’ll tell her about Michelle later, he determined. After we’ve got the book. I’ll tell her I didn’t want to say anything about her in case the opposition picked up on it and realised we were really after one of the hidden books.

It was a lame excuse, and he felt guilty because he knew he was lying to Lauren, but he didn’t want her thinking he might be interested in anyone else while she was away.

He typed some more, innocuous chatter about how good it had been to see Robert again, and things that were happening in Britain, and then added the heartfelt core of his message: Be careful. There could be some nasty people over there. Someone here seems to know who and where you are. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I miss you. Jake. xx

When he’d sent it, he went on to the internet. If he was going to Glastonbury under the pretence of looking for Athurian artefacts, then it would be a good idea to do some research on the subject, just in case anyone started asking him questions. He typed in ‘King Arthur’, and almost immediately thousands of websites were listed. He went through them methodically, particularly those where there was a link to Glastonbury. It took a couple of hours, but it was time he felt was worth it. For one thing, if Gareth’s spooky minions were monitoring his computer activity, this would go a long way to convincing them that he really was interested in King Arthur and the Grail legends.

The legends surrounding Glastonbury seemed to begin with stories of Jesus Christ coming to Britain. One said that he was brought to Britain as a child by his uncle, a wealthy trader called Joseph of Arimathea, and that they ended up at what was to become the site of Glastonbury Abbey. Another said that after Jesus had been crucified and resurrected, Joseph of Arimathea came to this site at a place called Wearyall Hill, and stuck his traveller’s staff into the ground. That staff blossomed and became the Glastonbury Thorn, a bush that still flowered twice a year — once at Christmas and once at Easter.

Joseph built a simple church at the site. He was also said to have brought the Holy Grail with him to Britain, the cup used by Jesus at the last supper, and in which it was said that Joseph caught some of Christ’s blood while he was on the cross at Calvary.

As if this wasn’t legend enough, it was also believed that King Arthur had been buried at the site when it was still an island called Avalon. According to another website, during the reign of Henry II, the monks of the abbey unearthed a tomb and a lead cross, on which was carved, in Latin: Here lies the famous King Arthur, buried in the Isle of Avalon. The body found in the tomb was then reburied in the abbey itself.

‘Wow,’ Jake murmured to himself. ‘No wonder the place attracts so many myth hunters!’ As well as numerous references to King Arthur of legend, and his Knights of the Round Table, Jake found one reference from an ancient history book, written about ad 600, which talked of ‘Arthur, King of the Britons, leading his troops against the invaders and defeating them at the Battle of Badon Hill’.

Another search indicated that ‘Badon Hill’ was not far from Bath.

‘Which puts it all in the same area as Glastonbury,’ mused Jake. He smiled to himself. This was looking good. This would be just the sort of stuff he’d be unearthing if he really was planning to look for relics of Arthur. And maybe even the Holy Grail itself. He hoped that whoever was watching him was monitoring his computer activity. His cover story was looking good.





Chapter 11





8 a.m. Saturday, and Jake was smiling into his webcam and looking at Lauren on his computer screen. His overwhelming feeling was relief that she looked OK, safe and well. But the expression on her face showed something was worrying her.

‘That email of yours . . .’ she began.

‘Careful,’ warned Jake quickly. ‘We don’t want to get cut off before we start to talk.’

Lauren hesitated, then nodded, but asked: ‘These people you mentioned . . .’

‘I don’t know who they are,’ said Jake quickly. ‘I just got an anonymous message. I just wanted to let you know so you’d take care, just in case.’

Just in case they come after you, Jake meant. He wondered how much he could say without the censor cutting them off. He decided to change the topic to something lighter, and then maybe he could slip in a clearer warning later.