The Lost Treasure of Persia
H. A. Jones
Table of Contents Table of Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven A Note From The Author
Chapter One Skye Belle was just like any other twelve year old girl. Almost. Naturally she was excited that she was twelve – after all, that was so much older than being eleven. She enjoyed being outside and playing sports with her friends, especially netball. And she loved most of the other things that girls her age enjoyed doing, like playing games, helping her mum with the cooking, and playing on her iPad. There was nothing out of the ordinary in any of those things. At school Skye was just like everyone else her age too. She studied hard and did her best. In fact she often came first in all of her subjects. Not everyone can come first in their class, of course, but there’s nothing unusual about being smart. Even Skye’s family was fairly normal. She had one brother, Brandon, who was ten. Being a little bit younger than her, Brandon could be a pain sometimes. He didn’t always understand everything that Skye said and that frustrated her. Not to mention the pranks that he liked to play on her – boys could be so silly at times. But in between the occasional argument and fit of anger, they would still play and laugh together. In fact, despite their differences, they were the best of friends. Skye’s parents were always quite busy with their work but they would still make time each day to spend with Skye and her brother. Her parents were obviously pleased with how well she did at school, but they would have been proud of her even if she failed her subjects, so long as she tried her best. Skye knew that her mum and dad loved her very much. That isn’t to say that Skye’s life at home was perfect ‐ far from it. Of course there were the pranks that Brandon would play on her. But she would also get into trouble for things that could not possibly have been her fault. Like last month when she was blamed for breaking the roof tiles. How was she supposed to have broken the roof tiles? Sure she climbed up there occasionally and set up her heavy telescope to look at the stars, but that wouldn’t have broken any roof tiles. She grumbled that sometimes her parents just didn’t see things the way that she did – something that anyone her age could certainly understand. Yes, Skye was just like any other twelve year old girl. Almost.
You see, unlike most other girls her age, Skye loved old things. Not just any old things, but really, really old things, and the older the better. Ancient things. Her dad was 43, so in Skye’s mind he certainly qualified as old. But what she was really interested in were things that nobody thought existed anymore, things that people thought had been lost forever. But as much as she loved researching and reading about old and forgotten things, she loved trying to find them even more. Her last adventure had been the previous summer. After reading all she could about the ark of Noah, she had decided that she would trek through the remotest parts of Turkey to find it – and she had. Now an expedition was underway to dig up the ark and restore it. Skye was certainly resourceful and she was very, very determined. She was also thankful that museums liked to pay for the things that she found; otherwise she could never afford all of the travel. Her room was cluttered with old things she’d found that she had decided to keep for a reminder rather than sell to the museums. But only small things, like a few old Roman coins or pieces of ancient Greek pottery – small things to remind her of her adventures and the things she’d been able to find. Of course there were the usual things in her room, like her yellow table and red and blue chairs, and the bookshelves that went up to the ceiling. The bookshelves though didn’t actually have any books in them but were filled with all of her toys. Her books were too important to keep in an ordinary bookshelf – they were in the study in the grand old bookshelf. It was made of oak and it smelled as old as it looked – Skye loved it. Today Skye was sitting at the dining table eating her breakfast and reading the morning’s newspaper. She was finishing off a bowl of muesli with fresh fruit and strawberry yogurt on top. Skye loved a healthy and filling breakfast; it helped give her energy and made her excited about the day. She was reading an interesting article about the discovery of some ancient coins, pottery and jewellery in the Middle East when her mum walked in. ‘Skye,’ her mum said, ‘your aunt Thelma is coming to stay with us for a couple of nights.’ ‘Oh, that’s great,’ said Skye happily. ‘Aunt Thelma is lovely.’ Skye liked her aunt. Not only did it seem that she was always smiling, but she was one of the most beautiful singers Skye had ever heard. Thinking of her aunt’s
singing voice suddenly made her frown. ‘Um, but isn’t she supposed to be singing in a concert tonight?’ ‘She had to cancel for some reason,’ her mum replied. ‘She didn’t tell me why on the phone. I guess we’ll find out tonight when she arrives.’ Skye hoped her aunt was okay. She really did have the most amazing singing voice, and Skye felt sorry for the people who would miss out on her concert. Oh well, her mum was right ‐ they would find out tonight. Skye turned back to the newspaper and frowned. It always annoyed her when interesting things like this discovery of ancient artefacts was only reported on in a few lines, but then there were pages and pages filled up with stories about sport. Her dad enjoyed reading those pages but it seemed like a terrible waste to her. Later that night, while her dad was still at work, there was a knock on the door. Skye ran over to answer it. ‘Who is it?’ she asked. ‘It’s your aunt Thelma,’ the voice said from the other side of the door. Skye could barely contain her excitement at seeing her aunt again. She unlocked the door and opened it but was shocked at what she saw. Normally her aunt would have greeted her with a huge smile that would immediately make her want to smile too. But Aunt Thelma wasn’t smiling. She looked haggard. ‘Hello Skye,’ she said tiredly, trying to force a smile onto her face. ‘Hello Aunt Thelma,’ Skye replied. She felt nervous about the change in her aunt but tried not to let it show. ‘Come in. We’re very excited to see you.’ ‘Thank you,’ her aunt said, and this time she did smile ‐ but it was only a small one. Her aunt came in and Skye’s mum gave her a big hug. ‘Thelma, it’s always good to see you,’ she said. Then she looked at her sister and frowned. ‘You look so tired. Sit down.’ Aunt Thelma dropped her bags on the ground then let out a long sigh as she fell onto the couch. Skye and Brandon sat down and watched as their mum poured a cup of tea for their aunt. ‘What’s wrong?’ her mum asked. ‘I know it must be something important for you to have cancelled your concert.’ She gave Thelma the cup of tea. ‘Thank you,’ she said, and then took a sip of tea before letting out another sigh. ‘I just feel drained,’ she said
finally, before the words started to pour out. ‘I feel like every time I walk on stage everyone is waiting for me to fail, to sing the wrong words or sing out of tune. I just don’t feel like I’m a very good singer anymore – or maybe that I never was in the first place.’ ‘Thelma,’ Skye’s mum said, in a tone of voice that Skye knew was about to be followed by something encouraging. ‘You know you’ve always been a great singer,’ her mum continued, ‘and you’ve always doubted yourself as well. You don’t need to doubt yourself, or the talent God has given you.’ Yep, Skye was right; she knew her mum’s tone of voice well. ‘But this is different,’ Thelma said. ‘I really don’t think I’m good any more. And I’m scared of walking out on stage.’ Their mum started at Thelma for a long moment before walking over and sitting next to her, embracing her in a big hug. Thelma leaned her head on their mum’s shoulder and tears silently started to fall down her cheek. ‘Kids,’ their mum said, turning to them, ‘do you mind giving your aunt and me some time together alone please.’ Skye and Brandon stood up. Their mum was right, and no doubt she and her aunt would be talking and crying late into the night. As they were walking out of the room, Brandon stopped and looked at Thelma. ‘Don’t worry, Aunt Thelma. You are a very good singer. You will remember that soon.’ Tears formed in Thelma’s eyes again. ‘Thank you Brandon,’ she said as she reached out and gave him a big hug. Then Skye and Brandon left them and went upstairs. Once they were in Skye’s room she began pacing, walking back and forth across the room. ‘You’re right Brandon,’ she said. ‘Thelma is a very good singer. She just needs to remember that.’ ‘Yeah,’ said Brandon, ‘she just needs her courage back again.’ Skye spun around to face him. ‘That’s it! She needs courage. Now, where’s that paper gone.’ She ran over to her table and pushed some things out of the way searching for the newspaper. ‘Ah, here it is.’ Picking up the paper she flicked through the pages until she found the one she wanted. ‘Listen to this: Professor Airbon confirmed that the relics from his archaeological discovery in Iran date to around 500 BCE.’ She stopped reading and frowned. ‘Um, I hate it when they do that,’ she grumbled. ‘Do what?’ Brandon asked.
‘When they call the year BCE rather than BC,’ Skye replied. ‘Why?’ ‘Because BC means Before Christ, and BCE means Before Common Era. It’s the same when they replace AD with CE. AD stands for Anno Domini – that is Latin and means The Year Of Our Lord. CE just stands for Common Era. People keep trying to take Jesus out of history.’ ‘Why would they want to do that? It seems silly,’ Brandon replied thoughtfully. ‘I know.’ Skye frowned again then turned back to the paper. ‘The story continues: Professor Airbon believes the relics are remains from King Xerxes’ royal palace.’ ‘Xerxes,’ Brandon said, laughing. ‘That’s a funny name.’ Skye glared at her brother with her hands on her hips. ‘King Xerxes was the most powerful man in the world at the time,’ she said in her best lecturing voice. Brandon tried to stop laughing as he saw his sister’s stern gaze. ‘It’s still a funny name,’ he mumbled. ‘Anyway,’ Sky continued, ignoring her brother’s comment, ‘what is important for us is not the king but one of his wives.’ ‘Really?’ Brandon asked, confused. ‘Who?’ ‘What do you remember about Esther from the bible?’ she asked. ‘I remember a little from what mum and dad read to me. Mainly that she was courageous. But they haven’t read that one for a while.’ ‘Courageous? She was one of the most courageous women in history! Let me tell you the story again. It happened a long time ago,’ Skye began, putting on her teacher’s voice, ‘almost 2,500 years ago in fact. Long after King David had died, God’s people, who were called the Israelites or sometimes the Jews, stopped loving God and started living without him. So God sent his prophets to warn the Israelites to turn back to him. But they didn’t. So God punished the whole country when the army of Persia conquered them, and the Israelites were led away into exile.’ ‘Wait,’ Brandon said, interrupting her, ‘where’s Persia?’ ‘Persia was an ancient nation that is now called Iran,’ Skye replied. Brandon nodded that he understood so Skye continued. ‘While the Israelites were still living in exile in Persia, the king, Ahasuerus – who we think was actually King Xerxes,’ Brandon smirked again at the name but Skye ignored him, ‘married one of the Jews called Esther and made her his
queen. But one of the king’s princes called Haman hated the Jews and wanted to kill all of them. So he made an evil plot and had the king sign a royal law so that Haman could have all of the Jews, all of God’s people, killed. ‘But Esther was told by Mordecai ‐ ’ ‘That’s another funny name,’ Brandon interrupted, trying his best not to laugh. Skye frowned and growled slightly. Brandon took the hint and closed his mouth. ‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘Mordecai, who had looked after Esther since she was young, told her that she had to speak to the king and ask him to stop the killing from going ahead.’ ‘That doesn’t seem very courageous,’ Brandon said. ‘After all, they were married.’ ‘But in those days,’ Skye said, ‘even though she was his wife, Esther wasn’t allowed to see the king unless he asked to see her. Otherwise she could be put to death.’ ‘That’s horrible. Why?’ ‘It was a long time ago,’ Skye replied. ‘They did things differently back then. But that’s where she showed such huge courage. Even though she knew she could be put to death, she still went to see the king without being asked.’ ‘I can’t imagine mum letting dad get away with anything like that!’ Brandon joked. ‘And what happened?’ ‘The king was happy to see her. Eventually she asked him to stop the law to kill the Jews. King Xerxes listened to her and made another royal law so that the Jews wouldn’t be hurt. Then the evil Haman was killed for his wicked plot. ‘Even now, Jews around the world celebrate the Festival of Purim to remember God saving them through Esther.’ Brandon thought for a moment then scratched his head. ‘So what does that have to do with Aunt Thelma?’ he asked. ‘Well, if this Professor Airbon has found some relics that belonged to King Xerxes, then there may be something from Queen Esther there as well. We might be able to find some clues as to how she was able to show such great courage.’ Brandon was smiling now. ‘And then we could give something to Aunt Thelma to help her get her courage back.’
‘Exactly,’ Skye said, smiling too. ‘So where to now?’ Brandon asked. ‘Well,’ Skye said, turning her attention back to the newspaper, ‘this article says that Professor Airbon is currently working at the Louvre.’ ‘The what?’ ‘The Louvre. It’s a museum. And it’s in Paris. So that means we’re going to France!’ Brandon yelled with excitement – he’d never been to France before, and it looked as though he and his sister were going to have another adventure together. Skye was grateful that Brandon always came with her on her adventures. Her parents were glad too, because they thought that somehow he was looking after her. Humph! She was the older one, and it was her that had to look after him! But, as painful as Brandon could be at times, he shared her excitement and love of adventure and she in turn enjoyed having him with her. It was good to have someone to share her experiences with. She even had to admit, grudgingly, that he had helped her in the past. But only once or twice. And she would have gotten herself out of trouble without him anyway; it just would have taken a little longer, that was all. Skye jumped onto her iPad to book some air tickets for her and Brandon to fly to France. She then told her parents where they were going. Even though she knew that her parents always worried when she and Brandon went travelling somewhere to search for lost items, she was thankful that they still encouraged them to go.
Chapter Two They arrived in Paris two days later. It had been hectic before leaving – as always. Packing as much as they could fit in their bags but still only trying to take what they needed. They had to book a hotel to stay in – and it had to be one with a nice breakfast as Skye wouldn’t stay anywhere that didn’t provide a good meal to start the day. And of course they had to contact Professor Airbon and make an appointment to see him. They had to do all of this as well as get themselves to the plane on time. ‘I’m tired,’ Brandon said as he collected his bag from the luggage carousel. ‘That’s because you were playing games the whole flight, rather than sleeping,’ Skye replied. ‘Playing games is more fun than sleeping,’ Brandon mumbled, yawning. After they had both collected their bags they made their way to the train station to catch a train into the centre of Paris. Getting off at the George V metro station they checked into the Marriott Hotel and left their bags there. Seeing as their meeting with Professor Airbon wasn’t until tomorrow they had the rest of the day to go out and see some of the sights of Paris. There were three things Skye really wanted to see in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Musee D’Orsay and the Louvre. The Professor worked in the Louvre so they would see that when they met him tomorrow. So Skye and Brandon set off from their hotel walking through the streets of Paris. They passed a lot of old buildings and beautiful churches, as well as some very expensive shops. They sold all of the most popular, and expensive, handbags and designer clothes in the world, but Skye didn’t care much about them. She was much more interested in the food shops that they passed. Inside the shop windows there were pastries, cakes and breads of all different kinds and colours. There was almond and apricot bread, breads filled with figs and honey, even choc‐chip croissants. But it was the pastries and little cakes that really set Skye’s mouth‐watering; from the custard filled pastries with raisons in them, to the chocolate and fruit covered tarts, or the seemingly endless variety of flavours and colours of the meringue based macaroons. ‘Oh, we have to try one of those,’ she said, pointing to a small slice of flaky puff pastry alternating with layers of a
sweet cream filling. ‘And one of these,’ she added, indicating the macaroons. They ate their sweets as they walked along the River Seine, licking their fingers and savouring every sumptuous taste. They eventually found themselves walking down the Rue de Lille – Skye had to explain to Brandon that ‘Rue’ meant ‘street’ – towards the Musee D’Orsay and Skye was becoming excited. The Musee D’Orsay was a beautiful museum that had originally been a metro station. It was filled with statues, paintings and other collections of art from recent history. What Skye was interested in the most though was just around the corner. She went through one more room before coming out into another one and stopped. ‘Look at these paintings Brandon, they’re beautiful. It’s a great collection of paintings by the Impressionists.’ Brandon looked at the paintings on the wall and frowned. The paintings did look nice and were very colourful, but they just didn’t look right to him. And they certainly weren’t as interesting to him as the building itself. ‘I don’t like them. Look, none of them are clear – they look like they’ve been left out in the sun for too long and all of the paint has run.’ ‘But that’s the style,’ Skye explained. ‘They’re painted that way to give an impression of something.’ Brandon scratched his head as he tried to examine the paintings more closely. ‘Like what?’ he asked. ‘Well, to give an impression of light, for example, or movement. That’s why the artists like Renoir who painted these were called Impressionists.’ ‘Um, I’m not impressed,’ Brandon said. ‘Look at this one – it just looks like a woman holding an umbrella, but it’s all blurry. What’s it supposed to be about?’ ‘It’s called ‘Woman Holding an Umbrella’.’ ‘Not a very original title, is it?’ Brandon mumbled. Skye grumbled and shook her head. It would obviously still be a long time before her brother appreciated art. They walked around for a little while longer, Skye looking at the paintings, Brandon admiring the architecture of the building, before they decided it was time to go to the Eiffel Tower. Skye had seen lots of pictures of the Eiffel Tower and now she desperately wanted to see it for herself. Brandon was keen too and thought
that it would look much more impressive than it did in the pictures. They walked back through some side streets, stopping off to buy a baguette filled with different types of cheese. Then turning another corner, they saw ahead of them a large and very long park, and at the end of the park stood the Eiffel Tower. Skye’s mouth dropped in awe as she finally saw it for herself. ‘Wow,’ she gasped. ‘It’s beautiful.’ ‘I’d been hoping for more,’ Brandon said beside her. ‘It still looks like a big chimney.’ Skye’s eyes nearly popped out of her head ‐ Brandon was the one who was supposed to love architecture! ‘A chimney!’ she said indignantly, her hands firmly on her hips. ‘It’s one of the most famous landmarks in the world. It’s beautiful.’ She turned her gaze back to the tower and smiled. ‘Come on,’ she said excitedly, ‘we can go to the top and look out over the whole city.’ She grabbed his arm and pulled him behind her as she ran towards the tower. After buying their tickets and taking the elevator up, then climbing too many stairs to count, they arrived breathlessly at the top of the Eiffel Tower. ‘Wow, this is amazing!’ This time it was Brandon who was excited. The view over the city from the top of the tower was breath‐taking. They could see the River Seine below them, stretching away to their left and right. They could see other famous sites like the giant arch, the Arc De Triumph, and the rest of the crowded city beyond that. ‘Was it worth the effort to get up here?’ Skye asked her brother. ‘Yes. And look how small all the people look down there,’ he said, pointing down at the crowds surrounding the tower. After they had walked all around the top and had seen the city from all sides, it was time to start heading back to their hotel. They needed to have a good rest after their flight ‐ especially Brandon who Skye didn’t think had slept at all ‐ before their meeting with the Professor tomorrow. And of course there was dinner. Paris was famous for its food, and after the pastries they had eaten Skye understood why. She could feel her mouth begin to water in anticipation of the other tastes she would discover. ‘I still can’t believe you ate snails last night,’ Brandon said. ‘Yuk.’ ‘I had to try them,’ Skye replied. But even though the snails were covered in garlic she still hadn’t liked them. She loved trying new foods and
she was glad that at least she had eaten one, but she was fairly certain that would be the last. The dessert on the other hand had been simply divine: a tart tatin, made with caramelized apple with a light layer of pastry on the bottom. It had certainly erased the horrible taste of the snails. After leaving their hotel they had only needed to spend a few minutes on the metro before they found themselves standing in front of the Louvre Museum. ‘Wow,’ said Brandon. ‘It’s amazing.’ Skye shook her head. She knew that her brother would enjoy the architecture of the building more than he would the actual art inside it. It was a massive building, and even Skye had to admit that it was very impressive to look at. The modern glass pyramid that served as the building’s main entrance stood elegantly in the main court of the former royal palace. Following the large crowd they entered through the glass pyramid and took the escalator down to the lobby before Skye set off eagerly. ‘Come on,’ she called out over her shoulder, ‘it’s this way.’ Brandon found he was almost running in an attempt to keep up with his sister who looked like a football player the way she was dodging so quickly between the other visitors. They ran so fast that more than one of the other visitors and some security guards yelled for them to slow down. Brandon wished they would too. He didn’t really like all of the art stuff but he did think the building itself was very nice and he would like to have gone slower so that he could admire it more. But Skye was determined to show him the Mona Lisa. She only paused once in her run and it was in front a statue. Brandon caught up to her briefly to look at it. ‘This is the Venus de Milo,’ Skye said, panting. ‘What happened to the arms?’ he asked. Skye glared at him then started running again. He thought it was a fair question though – the statue might be famous but it didn’t have any arms. Brandon chased after his sister again, until, puffing and panting they finally arrived in a large hall. There were paintings on the walls, but everyone was crowded around something in the middle of the room. ‘There it is,’ Skye whispered. Brandon looked all around the room. ‘Where?’ he asked.
‘There,’ Skye said, pointing to the crowd. They were all staring at something small on the wall in front of them. Walking closer through the slow moving crowd, Skye could finally see the painting hanging on the wall. Everyone around them was staring at it with their mouths open. ‘It’s beautiful,’ Skye said reverently when they were finally at the front of the crowd. She was surprised though by how small it was – much smaller than the other paintings in the room. Brandon’s eyes lit up in recognition when he saw the painting. Skye nodded in satisfaction: maybe there was hope that he would learn to enjoy art. ‘I still don’t see what the fuss is all about,’ Brandon said. ‘It’s just a painting of a woman’s face. And it’s so much smaller than all the others.’ Skye glared at him but didn’t say anything. Instead, she took him by the arm and moved slowly across the front of the painting. ‘Wow,’ Brandon said at last, real excitement in his voice. ‘It’s like her eyes are following me wherever I go.’ It was true. As they moved, it seemed as though the woman’s eyes were following them. That was one of the reasons this painting was so famous. Skye smiled to herself in satisfaction: Brandon had finally been impressed by an artwork. Checking her watch again Skye realized it was time for their appointment. ‘Come on, it’s time to meet the Professor.’ They followed the directions the Professor had given them in his email and a few minutes later knocked on the door of his office. ‘Come in,’ a voice said from the other side of the door. Skye opened the door and they entered a small room, with shelves filled with books covering the walls. Across from them sat a man who Skye thought must have been about 50, with thin grey hair and glasses. He looked every bit like Skye had pictured him to be. ‘Hello Professor, my name is Skye Belle.’ ‘Hello Skye’, the Professor said, giving her a warm smile. ‘It’s good to meet you.’ ‘Thank you,’ Skye replied, her face breaking into a big smile. ‘And this is my brother, Brandon.’ ‘Very nice to meet you,’ he said, standing up and walking around the table to shake Brandon’s hand. ‘Thank you for meeting with us Professor,’ Brandon said.
‘Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Please, take a seat,’ he added, pointing to some chairs in the corner of the room where they all sat down together. ‘I must say I feel honoured that you have travelled all the way from America to learn more about my discoveries. It’s not often that young people like yourselves show an interest in ancient civilizations; or anything for that matter, beyond playing video games and watching movies.’ Skye saw Brandon’s face colour slightly – that was exactly what he had occupied himself with on the plane flight. But still, she admitted, he was interested in these things; he just liked to play games and watch movies as well. ‘We’re very much interested, Professor,’ Skye said. ‘Can we take a look at the items you found?’ ‘Of course you can,’ the Professor replied. ‘Come with me.’ They followed the Professor down several flights of stairs into what looked like a massive basement. The room was full of people studying what looked to be very old objects on the tables in front of them. The air was very dusty. ‘Here’s where we sort through some of the museum’s new acquisitions before we put them on display.’ They followed him further into the room until he stopped in front of another door. ‘And in here are the artefacts from my latest discovery,’ he said, sounding rather proud. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door then they followed him inside. The room they entered was much smaller than the one they had just left. There was a table in the corner with a computer on it and several large, open crates on the floor. Benches covered the rest of the room, and these were covered with all of the things Skye was hoping to see: ancient things. There were broken pieces of pottery, tiles, carvings, statues and so much more. There must have been hundreds of coins, most of them with a man’s head inscribed on them. Plates, bowls and small carvings filled the benches nearest them. Skye leaned over to look more closely and a beautiful green pendant shaped in the image of a lioness caught her attention. But it was just one of many fascinating items including some oddly shaped silver cups ‐ like one that looked as though it was on the back of an eagle ‐ and many, many others. Even though the items were very old the colour was still rich on some of them, especially the vases and the plates painted with blue and green depictions of men riding horses.
Beside each item was a number to identify it. ‘Wow,’ Skye breathed reverently. Even Brandon was unusually quiet. It wasn’t very often that someone as prestigious as Professor Airbon showed off their newly discovered artefacts that weren’t even on public display. ‘Professor,’ Brandon asked at last, ‘how did you pay for your expedition? Did the museum fund it?’ ‘No,’ the Professor replied, ‘it was privately funded by a man named Henri Chassel. A lovely gentleman, I must say, and very knowledgeable about ancient Persia.’ ‘Is it usual for expeditions like yours to be paid for like that?’ Skye asked, silently thanking Brandon for asking such a brilliant question. ‘Not usual, no. But there are occasions where someone like Henri Chassel has a keen interest in our investigations and will fund the whole endeavour. I certainly wish there were more people like him – think of the discoveries we could make!’ Skye looked around the room thoughtfully for a moment. ‘Um, Professor, in the interview you gave you said that there were some other artefacts, like necklaces and bracelets. I can’t seem to see them here.’ ‘Of course, they’re right over here.’ He turned and indicated a space on one of the benches that was empty. ‘Oh!’ he exclaimed. ‘That’s odd. They were right here.’ Skye looked closer and could see that on the bench there were places that were free of dust ‐ circles, squares and rectangles where objects had very recently been but weren’t there anymore. ‘Could someone have moved them?’ she asked. ‘No, no one. I’m the only one with the key to this room.’ The Professor had panic written on his face. He walked briskly over to the phone and dialled. ‘Security, yes, this is Professor Airbon. I need you here right away.’ There was a pause as he listened. ‘Yes. Thank you.’ He hung up the phone and turned back to them. ‘Well, security will be here soon. If anything has been misplaced, or even stolen, we will find out what happened. There are security cameras in every room throughout the museum, even this one.’ He pointed to the security camera in the room. ‘Oh no,’ he said, looking very worried.
Skye looked where the Professor was pointing and saw the reason for his fears. The cables connecting the camera had been cut. It wouldn’t have recorded anything. Someone had definitely stolen the pieces that had been on the table, Skye knew. But why? And more importantly, who? From what she knew of the pieces that had been stolen, they had not been the most expensive, so it didn’t seem likely that the thief was only interested in selling them. ‘Professor, do you mind if I take some photos?’ Skye asked. ‘Um, yes, of course,’ he replied absently, worriedly scratching his head and pacing back and forth across the room. Skye took out her phone and began taking photos, not of the artefacts left on the other benches, but of the bench where the items were missing. Someone had stolen the pieces that were missing and she wanted to help the Professor find out who and help him get them back again. She even took photos of the ground around the bench and the security camera just to be thorough. ‘Do you have any pictures of the missing artefacts we could have?’ Skye asked. ‘Um, pictures? Oh yes, here you go.’ He handed them a set of photos. ‘These are the photos of the jewellery.’ Skye took the photos and quickly browsed through them. Some of the pieces of jewellery were beautiful. There were necklaces beaded with gems, gold and silver rings with precious stones in them, and beautiful bracelets. Skye was still looking through the photos when Brandon pulled on her shirt to get her attention. When she turned to face him he nodded his head urgently towards the door, where she could see two security guards running towards the room. ‘We’re very sorry Professor. We promise to help you however we can,’ Skye said solemnly. ‘Yes, thank you,’ the Professor said absently. Skye led Brandon out of the room just as the two security guards burst through the door. The Professor immediately began pointing to the empty bench and the broken camera and speaking too fast for Skye to understand any of the words. ‘Why would someone want to steal the artefacts, Skye?’ Brandon asked. ‘I don’t know Brandon,’ she replied, ‘but we’re going to find out.’
Chapter Three The sun was beginning to set when the taxi pulled up at the address Skye had given him. She paid the driver as she and Brandon stepped out. ‘Wow,’ Brandon said, staring up at the mansion in front of them. When they had returned to their hotel from the Louvre, Skye had searched the internet for all of the information she could find about Henri Chassel. She had discovered that he had funded many archaeological digs in the Middle East, but more importantly that he lived only a short drive outside of Paris. She and Brandon had wasted no time in hiring a taxi and heading towards his house. But it wasn’t just a normal house ‐ it was a mansion. The taxi had already driven down the longest driveway Skye had ever seen, an avenue of beautiful horse‐chestnut trees that formed an arch over the entire length of the driveway. On their right they passed a huge lush green lawn before they finally stopped in front of the house next to a massive water fountain. The three storey mansion itself was beautiful, and very, very large. Marble columns stood out the front and it seemed to extend endlessly to their right and left. It looked like it must have been at least a couple of hundred years old, and ivy grew over sections of the walls. ‘He must be incredibly rich,’ Brandon said. ‘Look at it, Skye, it’s massive. I couldn’t even guess how many rooms are in there. And the way it’s been built… it’s beautiful.’ Skye was speechless and could only nod her agreement. Finally she pressed the buzzer on the door and after a short wait the door opened. A man dressed in a smart suit stood on the other side. ‘May I help you?’ he asked. ‘Yes, my name is Skye Belle. We’ve come to see Mr. Chassel.’ ‘Do you have an appointment?’ the man asked. ‘Um, no, but we would just like to talk to him about the artefacts that were found in his recent expedition.’ The man stared at them and Skye thought he looked bored. For a moment she thought he was going to tell them to go away and come back when they had made an appointment, but finally he said, ‘One moment please.’ The man closed the door and they heard his footsteps walking away on the other side.
‘I’ve never known someone who had a butler before,’ Brandon said while they were waiting. ‘Neither have I. I thought it was only royalty that had butlers,’ Skye replied. After the man had been gone for a few minutes they heard footsteps coming towards the door. The door opened again and the butler regarded them silently for a moment. ‘Mr. Chassel will see you. Please, follow me.’ He didn’t sound like he was happy for them to be following him. They walked through the doorway and the butler closed the door behind him. The entry that they found themselves standing in was even more impressive than the outside. Marble covered the floor and in front of them was a grand staircase that led up to the second floor. Even the handrail was made of marble! They couldn’t admire it for too long though as they quickly followed the butler down a hall that was so wide that Skye and Brandon could have walked side by side with their arms outstretched and still not have touched the walls. There were statues on either side of the hall, and paintings of gardens and parks hung on the walls. The butler stopped in front of a door and knocked. ‘Yes,’ a voice called from inside. ‘Your visitors, sir,’ the butler replied. ‘Come in,’ the voice inside the room beckoned. The butler opened the door and ushered them into what was obviously a large study. A polished oak table sat in one corner, while shelves full of books lined the walls. A large window behind the desk let in the bright sunlight from outside. Sitting in a luxurious green couch, Henri Chassel put down the book he was reading and looked up to regard his visitors. ‘Hello,’ he said, smiling up at them. ‘Please have a seat.’ ‘Thank you,’ Skye said as she and Brandon sat in the couch opposite. ‘And thank you for seeing us, Mr. Chassel. My name is Skye, and this is my brother Brandon.’ ‘A pleasure to meet you,’ he replied. ‘But please, my friends call me Chassel. Now, I understand you are interested in the artefacts that were found recently.’ Skye and Brandon nodded their heads. ‘Well,’ Chassel continued, ‘I only funded the expedition; I wasn’t there myself. I’m happy to try and answer any questions you may have, but I may not prove as
helpful to you as you hope. A man called Professor Airbon is currently cataloguing the artefacts in the Louvre. I would suggest he would be of more assistance to you.’ ‘We’ve already met the Professor,’ Skye said, ‘and seen the artefacts. Well, most of them at least. You see Mr. Chass – I mean, Chassel, some of them have been stolen.’ ‘Stolen!’ Chassel said incredulously. ‘How could anyone have stolen anything from the Louvre? It’s impossible!’ ‘Unfortunately someone has,’ Brandon said. ‘That’s why we’ve come to see you. We thought maybe you might know why someone would want to steal those artefacts.’ ‘What? Do you mean it? Were they really stolen?’ ‘I’m afraid so,’ said Skye. Chassel stood up and began walking slowly around the room. ‘I can’t believe it. Do you know what was stolen?’ ‘The Professor gave us some idea,’ Skye said, ‘but it appears that it was a lot of the jewellery that was taken.’ ‘The jewellery?’ Henri asked, surprised. ‘I would have thought that some of the plates would have been more valuable.’ ‘More valuable?’ Brandon asked. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well if someone wants to steal something, it is usually to sell it for money. I wouldn’t have thought that the jewellery would be worth as much.’ ‘It must be valuable to someone,’ Skye said. ‘What can you tell us about the artefacts?’ ‘Me?’ Chassel asked, sitting back down in his couch. ‘I couldn’t tell you as much as the Professor could. I know all about the history of Persia and King Xerxes, but beyond that, my interest is in helping to uncover things from the past. It’s up to people like Professor Airbon to explain what those things mean.’ Chassel looked at them intently for a long moment. ‘What interest do you have in old dusty plates and coins?’ ‘We were hoping to find some clue to the secret of Queen Esther’s courage,’ Skye said. Chassel watched them for a moment, seemingly not understanding. ‘Who is Queen Esther?’ he asked.
This time it was Skye’s turn to be surprised. ‘Queen Esther was King Xerxes’ wife. She was the one who went to speak with him, even though he hadn’t asked for her, to plead for the Jews. She did it even though she knew it could cost her life.’ Recognition slowly dawned on Chassel’s face. ‘Ah yes. Queen Esther. Of the bible.’ He smiled at them, but it wasn’t a warm smile. Then he shook his head. ‘Dear girl,’ he said, in what sounded to Skye like a patronizing tone of voice, ‘do you really believe those stories? Let me tell you something: there was no Queen Esther. Xerxes’ wife was called Amestris.’ He shook his head again and looked at them pityingly. ‘I had thought you were an intelligent girl, not someone who believed in old make‐believe tales. I’ll give you a small piece of advice.’ He leaned in closer and looked at her intently. ‘The bible is just an old book filled mostly with things that never happened. If you really wish to be taken seriously, next time I suggest that you don’t mention fairy tales and make‐believe stories from the bible.’ Skye’s shoulders slumped. She hadn’t imagined that someone like Henri Chassel would think she was a fool for believing in the bible. The worst of it was she was beginning to feel like a fool now too, and she didn’t quite understand why. Chassel sat in his chair watching her pityingly, which somehow made her feel even worse. Her head bowed down and her shoulders slumped farther forward. Finally she turned to Brandon. He seemed to be staring thoughtfully at the book on the table that Chassel had been reading. Skye ignored it; she wanted to leave, and quickly. ‘Let’s go Brandon,’ she said. ‘Thank you for seeing us, Mr. Chassel,’ she added politely then tugged at Brandon’s sleeve and they turned to go. ‘Emile will show you out,’ Chassel said. They turned and began to leave when Chassel called out behind them, ‘Remember what I said.’ The butler, Emile, walked them towards the front door. ‘I’m sorry, Skye,’ Brandon said. ‘He didn’t seem all that nice to you.’ ‘It’s alright,’ Skye said sadly. ‘Lots of people don’t believe the bible. Sometimes they think it’s funny to make fun of those of us who do.’ ‘I know. But I thought he was especially mean to you,’ he mumbled softly as they walked out and back towards the taxi that was still waiting for them. As much as Skye tried to put on a brave face, the encounter with Henri Chassel had upset her deeply.
Chapter Four Two days later, Skye and Brandon were sitting on a bench in the magnificent Tuileries Gardens, and eating their lunch with Professor Airbon. The sun was bright with barely a cloud in the sky. The Gardens themselves were massive and ran along the bank of the River Seine from the Louvre. Amongst the gardens were large water fountains and beautiful sculptures that Skye thought were good enough to be in a museum. There must not have been a single colour that Skye couldn’t see in the gardens; from red to green, yellow to violet, colour surrounded them. There were also vendors selling delicious chocolate crepes, and others hiring deck chairs for people to sit on. Skye was eating a baguette filled with more delightfully tasty cheeses. She couldn’t believe how many different types of cheese there were to eat! ‘We met Henri Chassel yesterday,’ Skye said between mouthfuls of her baguette. A cloud of sadness come over her face as she mentioned Chassel’s name. ‘Oh yes, he is a true gentleman,’ the Professor said, not for the first time. ‘We were very fortunate that he helped fund our expedition. We never would have been able to succeed without him.’ He looked down at the ground and frowned. ‘I haven’t had the heart to tell him yet about the theft.’ Skye exchanged an embarrassed glance with Brandon. ‘Um, we told him, Professor,’ she said. ‘Oh dear,’ the Professor replied, sounding very anxious. ‘How did he take it?’ Skye thought for a moment before answering. ‘Actually, not as badly as I had thought he would.’ The Professor let out a long sigh of relief. ‘That is comforting. He was deeply interested in all of our discoveries, and I imagined that the thought of losing some of them would have made him furious.’ He frowned slightly, as though he wished Henri Chassel were more upset about the loss. ‘Still, I suppose someone like him has lots of interests,’ he added. They ate their lunch in silence for a while, watching the people walking leisurely through the Gardens, many of them being followed by small dogs. ‘I do hope we can recover the stolen pieces quickly,’ the Professor said after he had finished eating. ‘So far the police haven’t found anything; no
finger prints, no film of anyone entering the room, nothing.’ He sighed again. ‘I was hoping to discover more about the women who lived in Xerxes’ palace.’ Skye’s head shot up with interest at the Professor’s comment. ‘Um, do you know much about his wives?’ she asked timidly, then immediately wished that she hadn’t. She never said anything timidly. Brandon had obviously noticed the hesitation in her voice and was watching her with a look of concern on his face. She hated to admit it, but she was worried about what Chassel had said to her. If she showed the Professor that she believed too much in the bible, maybe he would think she was a fool too. She lowered her head and looked down at her feet felling a little bit guilty. Thankfully Brandon hadn’t seemed to have thought too much about it as his attention was focused back on his iPhone. ‘We know that his wife’s name was Amestris’ the Professor said, mercifully not having caught any hint of her embarrassment. ‘Some people think that his wife’s name was Vashti,’ Skye ventured tentatively. ‘Oh yes, the bible mentions that name. It is possible that Vashti and Amestris are the same person, with their names just being written in different languages. Similarly the bible mentions the king’s name as Ahasuerus, which we suspect may have been what the Greeks called Xerxes.’ Professor Airbon smiled at her. ‘You seem to know a lot about history, especially biblical history. You’ve not actually told me how it is that you are both so interested in these artefacts. Why did you fly half way around the world to come and see them?’ Skye felt uneasy. She wanted to tell him about her aunt, and that they were hoping to discover how Esther could have been so courageous. But what Chassel said had scared her. She stared at the Professor and tried to think of another answer. ‘Um,’ she began, but no other words came out. ‘Wait!’ Brandon exclaimed, interrupting them. ‘Look at this!’ ‘What is it?’ Skye asked, immediately attentive. She was glad to have the attention diverted away from her. ‘Have a look at this picture,’ he said. He turned his phone towards them so they could see the screen. On it was a picture of the table in the Professor’s room from where the artefacts
had been stolen. Skye looked closely but couldn’t see anything remarkable. ‘I don’t see anything,’ she said at last. ‘What about now,’ Brandon said as he zoomed in on the picture. Skye looked again at where Brandon was pointing but could only see a mark in the dust on the floor. ‘It’s just a mark on the ground,’ she said. Beside her, the Professor was peering intently at the screen as well but shaking his head; he couldn’t see anything either. ‘Here’s another picture,’ he said, swiping to the next one. Skye looked but shook her head. She was beginning to think that Brandon wasn’t taking this seriously. It was just a photo of the ground underneath the table where the mark was. ‘Have you found anything or not?’ she asked impatiently. Brandon smiled at them as he zoomed in closer. Skye and the Professor gasped at the same time. ‘It’s a foot print!’ she exclaimed. She smiled too as she turned to the Professor. ‘I’m glad you haven’t had your floor swept clean in a long time,’ she said. ‘But it could be my foot print,’ the Professor said dourly. ‘No,’ Brandon said happily, ‘I’ve already done some measurements and this footprint is from a size 11 shoe. Your shoes aren’t that big.’ Now even the Professor was smiling. ‘Do you think this could be the footprint of the thief?’ ‘Do you have any assistants or security guards that would have been in the room?’ Skye asked. ‘No, I’m the only one with the key,’ the Professor responded. ‘Then this could be the foot print of the thief,’ Brandon said. ‘But how can we use this picture to help us find them?’ asked the Professor. The Professor’s question was a good one. Skye and Brandon looked at each other, puzzled. ‘We don’t know yet,’ Skye admitted. ‘But we can send it to the police. Maybe it will help them in their investigation.’ It had been a long day and Skye and Brandon were both tired as they returned to their hotel. ‘I don’t understand why the police haven’t found anything yet,’ Skye said as they walked down the corridor to their room. ‘The thief had obviously been planning this for a long time,’ Brandon said. Skye looked at him, confused. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘All of the trouble they went to. They knew where the artefacts were kept, they were able to break the cameras so that they wouldn’t take any footage of them, and it was only the jewellery that they stole. It seems like they’d known for a while what they wanted.’ ‘But they couldn’t have,’ Skye said dismissively. ‘Nobody knew about the expedition until it was reported in the news.’ ‘Well, we didn’t know about it,’ Brandon grumbled defensively, ‘but others would have.’ Skye was about to open the door to their room when she froze. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘There would have been people who were part of the expedition or who helped to organize it. They would have known well before we did.’ ‘That’s what I said,’ Brandon mumbled grumpily. Skye opened the door and walked into the room. ‘Maybe we can find a list of all the people who ‐’ she stopped as she looked around the room. Their room looked as though a tornado had blown through it. Their bags were open and clothes were thrown all over the room. The wardrobe and chest of drawers had been flung open and all of their contents strewn on the floor. ‘Oh no!’ Skye exclaimed. Brandon looked to be in shock. ‘Who would want to rob us?’ ‘And what would they want?’ Skye replied, coming back to her senses. ‘Have a look and see if anything is missing,’ she commanded. They began searching through all of their belongings, checking pockets and trying to remember anything that might have been missing. After 10 minutes of searching, they both sat down on the bed. ‘I don’t get it,’ Brandon said. ‘Nothing’s been stolen.’ ‘I know; it doesn’t make any sense.’ Skye crossed her arms and tried to think if there was anything they had missed. She tried hard to think of anything that they had brought with them that might be missing. But there wasn’t anything. Unless… she jumped up from the bed and searched through the bottom of her bag again. Sure enough, there was something missing. ‘The photos,’ she said. ‘What photos?’ Brandon asked. ‘The photos the Professor gave us; the photos of the jewellery. They’re gone.’ They stared at each for a long moment.
‘Someone knows that we’re looking for the stolen jewellery,’ Brandon said ominously. ‘Yes. And I think that person is also the thief.’
Chapter Five ‘I understand you are friends of the Professor,’ Arnot, the police chief said. ‘Yes we are,’ Skye replied. They were sitting in Arnot’s office in the police station. Outside, the other officers who were investigating the theft were busy writing at their desk or making phone calls. ‘Thank you for your help so far,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to discover anything yet.’ ‘What about the shoe print we found?’ Brandon asked. Arnot smiled ruefully. ‘We have identified the type of shoe it was from the shape of the print.’ He opened a draw in his desk and pulled out a stack of paper the size of a small book. ‘We have run it against all known purchases of that shoe in size 11.’ He handed over the pile of paper. ‘Here is the list of possibilities that we have.’ Skye and Brandon stared at the mountain of paper, their mouths hanging open. When Brandon had found the footprint and sent it through, she thought that it would aid the police dramatically. But the list was so long! Her heart sank. ‘Don’t think that it is all bad news,’ Arnot said kindly. ‘Even though the list is large, it is only one avenue of investigation we have open to us. And,’ he added, smiling, ‘at least the list is not as large as the French phone book.’ In spite of herself, Skye laughed. ‘As for whoever broke into your bags and stole those photos,’ Arnot continued, ‘we already have some leads on that too.’ He leaned over the table, his expression suddenly very serious. ‘We will find the thief, and we will find whoever broke into your room. In the meantime, I suggest that the two of you take care and look after yourselves.’ Skye and Brandon both nodded their agreement. The sun was slowly setting that night as Skye and Brandon sat on the edge of the River Seine, sharing a pizza. Brandon had insisted on eating something simple and familiar. Skye thought that eating a pizza in Paris was a boring choice when there was so much other food they could be enjoying, but she didn’t complain.
Since they had arrived in Paris so much had happened very quickly. But so far, like the police, she had no idea who had stolen the artefacts or who had broken into their room. She was frustrated. It was like she had a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle but couldn’t work out how they fit together. She still wanted to find an answer for her aunt and she was sure that the stolen artefacts would help her. She was desperate to help recover them. Beside her, Brandon was trying to talk to her about something. ‘Sorry?’ she asked. ‘I was saying how strange that was,’ Brandon said to her. ‘How strange what was?’ she replied, only half listening to what he said. ‘When we were talking with Chassel in his mansion, I don’t really think he had been reading before we came in.’ ‘Why do you think that?’ Skye asked absently. ‘Well, the book was upside down.’ ‘What?’ Skye asked, slightly annoyed that he kept interrupting her thoughts. ‘Something about him and the whole room just didn’t seem right. If he had been reading the book, then when he put it down it would have been the other way around. But it wasn’t. I think he only wanted us to think that he was reading,’ Brandon concluded. He looked proud of himself, and she could understand why. Normally it was her that figured all of these things out, but he thought he had just done a fine piece of detective work. ‘But that doesn’t make any sense,’ Skye said, her full attention on the conversation now. ‘Why would he want to make us think that he was reading?’ Brandon scratched his head; he was at a loss. She remembered now that Brandon had been staring very intently at the table in Chassel’s study. ‘Unless,’ Skye continued slowly, ‘he had wanted to hide what he had really been doing. But what could he have wanted to hide from us? He didn’t even know us or why we were there.’ She folded her arms as she tried to think. ‘We did tell his butler that we were there because of the artefacts that had been discovered,’ Brandon reminded her. Skye sat motionless for a long moment. Her brows were furrowed and she was tapping her foot as she thought. Then suddenly she sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open as she looked at Brandon.
‘Do you remember when we told him that the jewellery had been stolen? For someone who went to a lot of effort and spent so much money to help find those artefacts in the first place, I would have thought he would be more concerned to learn that some of them had been stolen.’ ‘Do you think he already knew that they had gone missing?’ ‘How could he?’ Skye replied. ‘Professor Airbon said he hadn’t told him yet, and we were the only others who knew about it.’ Brandon looked at his sister for a long moment, letting what she had just said sink in. ‘Do you think he had something to do with it?’ he asked. ‘I don’t know, but I think we need to have a closer look in Henri Chassel’s study.’
Chapter Six They found themselves again outside Henri Chassel’s mansion. There was a small crescent moon in the night sky above them that provided only a small amount of light. Otherwise it was very dark. Skye reached up and pressed the buzzer on the door. They waited for a minute but didn’t hear any response. She looked at Brandon who shrugged his shoulders. She reached up and pressed the buzzer again. After another minute or two of waiting there was still no one to answer the door. ‘That’s strange,’ Skye said. They walked cautiously around the side of the house but couldn’t see any lights on anywhere. ‘Maybe nobody’s home,’ Brandon said. Skye frowned. ‘I would have thought that Emile would be here to answer the door. It doesn’t make sense.’ They crept quietly around the entire house, peeking in the windows, but they couldn’t see anyone. They looked in the last window they came to but still there was no one inside. ‘Mmmmm,’ Skye grumbled. ‘This isn’t right.’ ‘I think we had better leave,’ Brandon whispered. Skye scratched her head, confused. ‘It just seems… look!’ Skye whispered excitedly, pointing at the window. ‘It’s open.’ The window they were standing in front of had been left slightly ajar. ‘I wonder if ‐ ’ ‘No,’ Brandon hissed, shocked at the thought. ‘We can’t break in.’ ‘But what if you are right and Chassel is the thief?’ Skye asked. ‘Maybe this is the only chance we will have to find out.’ ‘No Skye, it is wrong. If he is the thief then we’ll find out another way.’ Skye was about to agree, but then she hesitated. Maybe this was their only chance to find out who had stolen the artefacts. But breaking into someone else’s house was wrong, even if they were a thief. She was still weighing up what to do when she realized that the room on the other side of the window was the study. It was the room they wanted to explore. Maybe we could have a quick look, she thought, and then be gone again before anyone noticed. She took a deep breath and made her decision. Turning to Brandon she whispered, ‘I’m going to look inside.’
She reached up and pushed open the window, but before she could climb up Brandon grabbed her arm. ‘Don’t Skye,’ he begged. ‘We could get into a lot of trouble.’ He was looking at her earnestly, imploring her not to go on. But she had to find out. ‘You stay out here,’ she said, ‘and let me know if you see anyone coming.’ Then she jumped up and slid through the open window into the study. It was even darker inside than it had been outside, but slowly her eyes began to adjust to the dark. The only thing she could hear was her heart pounding in her chest. She knew she was doing the wrong thing. She even thought about turning around now and leaving. But she didn’t. She felt guiltier than she could ever remember. Quietly she searched around the room looking for any sort of clue. Part of the problem was that she didn’t even know what she was looking for. She looked under the couches, under tables, in the space between books, even behind the paintings. But she couldn’t find anything. It felt like she had been looking for hours but when Skye looked at her watch she saw that she had been inside for less than five minutes. Secretly she was thankful that she hadn’t found anything and could now leave. She just wanted to search the book shelf once more. She pulled a few books out to see if there was anything hidden behind them but found nothing. Just as she was about to turn away and leave, she pulled at one final book. Or at least she tried to – as she pulled on the book the whole shelf swung away from the wall, revealing a hidden safe in the wall behind it. ‘It was hidden behind the shelf,’ she mumbled to herself, smiling proudly at her discovery. She tried the handle of the safe and was surprised to find that it wasn’t locked. It didn’t make much sense to have a safe and not keep it locked. When she opened the door and peered inside she found it was empty except for something small at the back. She reached in and pulled it out. Then she gasped. ‘It’s one of the coins that were stolen!’ she whispered, horrified. ‘But what have they done with the rest? Where is all of the jewellery?’ She searched the room for a few more minutes but couldn’t find anything else. He must have moved everything else, she thought, and this coin must have been missed.
Quickly putting the coin in her pocket she knew that she had to take it and show it to the police. The police surely wouldn’t look too harshly on her for the little theft, not if it helped to find everything else that had been stolen. At least she hoped that the police would see it that way. Wanting to get out as quickly as she could, Skye made her way back towards the window when suddenly the lights came on in the room. She froze in terror then turned around to see Emile standing in the door, pointing a gun at her. She glanced quickly back towards the window, and she thought she saw Brandon’s head bob down out of sight. ‘Mr. Chassel thought you would try and make trouble. I watched you both as you walked around the house, looking for somewhere to break in. The police will love hearing all about that,’ Emile said. ‘You knew I would come?’ Skye asked. She felt very dejected. ‘Who do you think left the window open so that you could climb right in? The police need to find the thief who stole those pieces from the Louvre, and I am about to give you to them.’ He looked around the room. ‘Where is your brother?’ He scanned the room again before shrugging his shoulders. ‘He obviously has more sense than you. No matter, the police will find him soon enough.’ He turned his gaze back on her and smiled at her menacingly. ‘Now come with me.’ Emile ushered Skye out through the back of the house and stopped her in front a parked truck. ‘Stay here,’ he said, keeping the gun pointed at her. He took out his mobile phone and dialled a number. ‘Mr. Chassel,’ he said, ‘I have our thief.’ He grinned mockingly at her. ‘Yes sir, right away.’ He turned to her. ‘Give me your phone,’ he said, ‘and anything else you have.’ Reluctantly she handed him her phone. He put the phone in his pocket and opened up the back of the truck. ‘It’s off to the police station for you,’ he said as he put her in the back of the truck. Once the door was closed behind her Skye fell down to her knees on the floor. She felt horrible. Why had she done it? Why had she risked breaking in to the house? Brandon had warned her against it but she hadn’t listened. She felt like a fool, and now she was going to be in a lot of trouble. After a few minutes when she was sure nobody was outside she tried opening the door but it must have been locked from the outside. There was no way out. I’m sorry God, she prayed. I really messed up. She wondered what had happened to Brandon – she hoped he was alright. Thinking of him made her feel even worse – not only had she put
herself in danger, but she had left her little brother behind. She tried to stop them, but tears formed in her eyes and rolled silently down her cheeks. She sat in darkness for almost an hour before she heard steps approaching. The front door of the truck opened and through the small window that separated the front seat from the back of the truck she could see Emile get in. The engine started and soon they were moving. They drove along the dark road and through the small window Skye recognized that they were driving back towards the city. He was taking her to the police. A phone started to ring in the front seat and Skye heard Emile pick it up. ‘Hello? Yes… I’m on my way there with her now… oh, I’m sure they will have no difficulty in identifying the thief.’ Skye’s heart sunk further as she listened. It seemed like they had already planned to blame her for the theft of the artefacts from the museum. And by breaking into Chassel’s house, she’d done everything she could to make it easier for them. ‘Yes sir,’ he continued into the phone, ‘After the Dart arrives we’ll meet at St. Ignatius.’ After that there was silence for a few minutes. Skye wondered what he meant by meeting at St. Ignatius, but she didn’t think about it for long. Her mind was too occupied trying to think of how she could explain things to the police. But with the evidence of her breaking into Chassel’s mansion she didn’t think she had much hope. The truck slowed to a stop and out of the small window Skye could see some flashing lights. Emile wound down a window and started to speak to someone who was standing outside. They were speaking in French, so Skye couldn’t understand what they were saying. But she guessed that the flashing lights were police lights. There was a creaking sound from the back of the truck then suddenly the door cracked open. Light from outside filtered in and Skye scampered away from the door, frightened. ‘Skye?’ she heard a voice whisper. Then more urgently, ‘Skye!’ It was Brandon! Skye couldn’t believe it, but it was definitely him. She was suddenly flooded with relief, and, running over she jumped out of the truck and hugged him. ‘Brandon! What are you doing here?’ she asked, dumbfounded.
‘When I saw Emile lock you up in the truck I called a cab and followed you. Then I called the police who arranged this roadblock to stop the truck.’ ‘Thank you, Brandon, that was great thinking,’ she said, hugging him again. ‘That’s the thief,’ Emile’s voice said behind them, ‘and she’s trying to get away!’ They turned around and saw the police walking towards them. ‘Oh no ‐ the police!’ Skye gasped. ‘Quickly Brandon, we’ve got to run!’ ‘Why?’ he asked. She grabbed his arm and started running, dragging him with her. ‘Trust me.’ As soon as they started running they heard shouts behind them. ‘Don’t let them get away!’ Emile was shouting. ‘Stop!’ one of the policemen called out after them. Skye looked over her shoulder and saw the two policemen chasing them. They ran and ran, breathless, turning around corners, climbing over fences, with the police close behind them. ‘Why are we running from the police?’ Brandon asked. ‘Chassel has them thinking that we stole the artefacts from the museum,’ Skye replied, panting. ‘Just keep running.’ They kept running as best as they could but they were growing tired and the police were getting closer. Just then Skye saw something ahead of them. ‘In here,’ she said. She jumped over a hedge and turned into a tunnel that was almost pitch black. ‘We can’t outrun them,’ Skye said between breaths, ‘but we can lose them. Follow me,’ she urged. They fumbled on though the dark tunnels as a light suddenly shone out from behind them; the police had turned on their torches. Skye and Brandon ran on, the light from behind barely lighting the ground in front of their feet. Whenever they turned a corner they were blind for a moment before the light from the torches reappeared behind them. They turned two or three more corners very quickly, and then Skye took a final turn. She stopped suddenly in the pitch black and Brandon crashed into her from behind.
She had run straight into a wall – it was a dead end. She turned around in horror but then realized she couldn’t see a light behind them. “Stay still,’ she whispered. They stood silently, listening. They could hear the footsteps and curses of the police as they fumbled around, searching for them. They waited silently in the darkness for a few more minutes as the sounds of their pursuers grew more distant, until they could hear nothing at all. Finally Skye let out an immense sigh of relief – the police had lost them. Skye had read about this place before, about the tunnels underneath Paris. The Catacombs, the locals called it. There was said to be more than 180 miles of tunnels down here, and it was all total darkness. The tunnels had seemed exciting to read about, but now that she was here, escaping, trying to hide, she felt scared. Even the air felt stale. This wasn’t exciting at all. But at least she wasn’t alone. ‘Brandon, they stole my phone. Use the light on yours so we can see.’ Brandon took out his phone and switched on the light. It didn’t do much, but compared to the total darkness they had been in, it was enough. Slowly, and trying to keep as quiet as possible, they stumbled through the tunnels, searching for a way out. They often ran into dead ends and had to turn around and retrace their steps. It was obvious that people used still used these tunnels, though for what purpose Skye didn’t really know. Some of the walls had paintings on them, including one of waves in the ocean. In other places they passed groups of small chairs – as if people would come down here to meet! These tunnels certainly didn’t seem to her like a place she would want to sit around with friends. For the next two hours they walked on, carefully peering around each corner in case they ran into the police again. She had no idea where they were, and desperately hoped that the battery would last long enough for them to find their way out. At last they turned another corner and saw a small light ahead. It was an exit! They smiled at each other before breaking into a run. They finally came out of the tunnel and back onto a street. The streetlights had never seemed so bright. ‘Call a taxi,’ Skye said, relieved to be breathing fresh air again. ‘We need to get our things and figure out where Chassel is going with the artefacts.’
Opening the door to their hotel room Skye still didn’t know what to do next. She knew that she needed to find the artefacts in the hope that she would be able to discover the secret of Esther’s courage in order to help her aunt. But she now also needed to find them to help prove her own innocence to the police; she had broken into Chassel’s house after all. Quickly they packed up the few belongings they had then took their bags out of the cupboard. As Skye was lifting her bag out, she heard something drop on the fall. She bent over and picked up a box that her bag had apparently knocked over. ‘Mmmm, this is strange,’ she murmured. ‘What is it?’ Brandon asked. ‘I don’t know, but it wasn’t in here before.’ Turning it over in her hands she felt that something was wrong. This box definitely had not been in here before. Slowly she opened the box and peered inside. Her eyes popped open and she felt her stomach fall through her feet. ‘Oh no,’ she groaned. Brandon looked inside the box and gasped. ‘It’s one of the stolen bracelets! How did that get in here?’ ‘Chassel wants us to take the blame for the theft. He must have had them planted in here.’ They stared at each other for a moment in disbelief. Brandon broke the silence by saying what they were both thinking: ‘The police will be coming here soon.’ Skye nodded, then, stuffing the box into her bag they left the room. As they were walking down the corridor to the elevator they heard voices from behind them. ‘This is the room, officer,’ a male voice said. Skye looked over her shoulder and saw one of the hotel staff opening their door for the police to enter. She put her arm around Brandon’s shoulder and urged him to hurry. They walked past the lift and went instead to the stairs. ‘We need to find Chassel and the rest of those artefacts,’ Skye said as they raced down the stairs. ‘It’s the only hope we have of proving our innocence.’ As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs they stopped. Opening the door to the hotel lobby they walked slowly past more police who were waiting at the elevators. As calmly as they could they walked out of the hotel, feeling anything but calm. Skye could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
As soon as they were outside the hotel and had turned into the side street, they ran out into the night, feeling like fugitives.
Chapter Seven Later that night Skye and Brandon found themselves sitting down on a park bench. ‘Where do we go from here?’ Brandon asked. It was the question Skye had been thinking about since she had been caught. ‘Chassel is going to do something with the artefacts. He wouldn’t want to keep them in his mansion, so he must be planning on moving them somewhere. We have to find him and get the artefacts back before he does. Otherwise the police will still think that I stole them.’ Skye was feeling very down on herself. She was in this precarious situation because of what she had done when she broke into the house. ‘Well, where is he going to move them to?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Skye replied sullenly. ‘All I heard Emile say was that once the Dart arrived they would meet at St. Ignatius.’ Brandon pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘That shouldn’t be too hard,’ he said, handing her his phone. She smiled at him then started searching the internet for St. Ignatius. ‘Mmmmm, that doesn’t help,’ she said, as the search returned too many results, ranging from colleges to churches. Next she tried searching for Dart on sites tracking travel movements. The problem was that the Dart could be a truck, a ship, a plane, a train, or even an alias. Again, the results for Dart were just too numerous to follow through further. She even tried searching for any recent travel bookings for Emile or Chassel but couldn’t find anything. She signed in frustration. ‘I don’t know. They could still be anywhere.’ Her last hope was to try and match the results; to see if there was somewhere where a Dart was arriving and there was a place called St. Ignatius. She expected hundreds of results, but gasped when there was only one match. ‘Dubrovnik!’ she squealed excitedly. Brandon stared at her. ‘Where?’ he asked. ‘Dubrovnik. It is in Croatia,’ Skye clarified for him. There was a private plane called the Dart that was arriving in Dubrovnik in two days' time, and the town also had a church called St. Ignatius. They smiled at each other before picking up their bags. ‘Come on,’ Skye said, ‘we’ve got to get to the airport.’
Jumping out of the taxi at the airport, Skye raced ahead of Brandon to the check‐in counter. Once they had bought their tickets and checked their bags in, they passed through security then settled down to wait. Skye took the stolen bracelet out of her bag – the one that Chassel had had planted in their room to try to frame them for the theft. She turned it over in her hands. It was made of green gems that were worn smooth, and even though it was more than 2,500 years old it still looked beautiful. She wondered idly if the bracelet had belonged to Queen Esther. Maybe she had been wearing it when she had risked her life to see the king. She slipped it on her wrist and was surprised by how well it fit. Maybe it could help bring her the courage she desperately needed right now. ‘Ah, Skye,’ Brandon said, tapping her shoulder. She looked across and saw the worry on his face. She turned to look where he was watching and gasped: on the television in front of them was a picture of her. The news reporter was describing her as the suspected thief and calling for the public to inform the police if they see her. ‘Oh no,’ she said, her stomach sinking. She had never felt so afraid in all her life. Looking around her it seemed as though everyone was staring at her. She tried to hide deeper into her chair; she just wished she could disappear. ‘We’d better try and hide,’ Brandon whispered, ‘until we can get on the plane.’ Skye nodded her agreement. She stood up but just then she saw a policeman walking by. He was looking to his left and right, obviously searching for something. Or someone, Skye thought gloomily. Trying her best to appear calm, she walked over to one of the large columns, keeping it between her and the policeman. When he had left she breathed a sigh of relief before beginning a slow amble through the waiting lounges. All the while she tried to remain as hidden as possible and avoided making eye contact with anyone in the hope that no one would recognize her. She felt like she was playing a game of hide and seek; but she’d never felt this scared playing before. ‘Young girl,’ a voice behind her called out. Skye turned around, terrified: she’d been found out. ‘Yes?’ she said, her voice coming out in a small squeak. ‘You dropped this,’ a man said, handing back her boarding pass that had fallen on the ground.
It took her a moment before she realized that she wasn’t being arrested. ‘Thank you,’ she said weakly, taking back the boarding pass. After what seemed an eternity to her, the voice from the speakers announced that her flight was boarding. She weaved her way back to the boarding gate where Brandon was waiting for her. They boarded the plane and took their seats, Skye’s heart still in her throat.
Chapter Eight After the hide and seek game she had played at the airport, the flight into Dubrovnik had been relatively uneventful. Skye couldn’t believe that she was now a fugitive and that her picture was in police stations and on televisions all over Paris. Now, as they were sitting in the taxi heading towards the old medieval town of Dubrovnik, Brandon’s phone began to ring. ‘Hi Professor,’ he answered. He nodded and grunted a few times before handing the phone over to Skye. ‘He wants to talk to you.’ ‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Oh Skye, the world is going crazy!’ he said, his voice trembling with fear. ‘Your faces are everywhere! On the news, in the papers –the police have become convinced that you are the thief! I am trying to assure them that you are innocent, but it isn’t easy.’ He paused for a moment before his voice grew serious. ‘But before I go on, Skye, I have to ask you: did you break into Henri Chassel’s mansion?’ Skye was silent for a moment, filled again with guilt. ‘Yes,’ she replied quietly. ‘I know it was the wrong thing to do, but I was sure that Chassel was the thief. And Professor, I was right. I found one of the stolen coins in a safe in his house!’ ‘You found a what?’ the Professor replied, shocked. ‘One of the stolen coins! And he even planted a piece of the stolen jewellery in our luggage to try and blame us for the theft.’ ‘But… but why would he do that? Why would he have stolen them?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Skye admitted. ‘But that’s what we are in Dubrovnik to find out. We need to find the artefacts and catch Chassel in possession of them. That’s the only way anyone will believe us now.’ There was another long silence while Skye waited for the Professor to reply. ‘Ok,’ he said at last, ‘I believe you. But be very careful!’ he warned her. ‘Now, after Brandon emailed me to tell me where you were heading to, I contacted an old colleague of mine who lives in Dubrovnik. His name is Andy Robinson and I have asked him to meet with you. He knows most of what has happened and has agreed to help you however he can. I’ll fill him in on what you have just told me.’ ‘Thank you again, Professor, for all of your help.’ And thank you for believing me, she added to herself.
She hung up and passed the phone back to Brandon. Even though she had Brandon with her, Skye still felt lonely. But at least they would now have someone else to help them, thanks to the Professor. The taxi finally pulled up outside a small hostel. Skye paid the driver who carried their bags into the reception for them. A woman was standing behind the reception counter. She looked up when they entered and smiled. ‘Welcome,’ she said warmly. ‘My name is Mim. Do you have a booking?’ ‘Yes,’ Skye said, and gave her the details. Mim showed them to their room. ‘I hope you enjoy your stay,’ she said as she left. Exhausted from the ordeal of the past few days, Skye and Brandon dropped immediately onto their beds. In no time at all they were both fast asleep. The next morning they quickly made their way down to the Old Town of Dubrovnik. The Old Town was a beautiful, ancient city on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It was entirely surrounded by a large stone wall complete with turrets and towers, making it look like an old medieval castle. The sun reflected strongly off the town’s brightly coloured roof tiles, causing Skye to squint even though she was wearing her sunglasses. On their right, before they crossed the stone bridge to enter the Old Town, stood the St. Lawrence Fortress. It was perched on a rocky hill that rose out of the sea and overlooked the Old Town. Skye could easily see how it had been the perfect place to defend the city from attack. It now also made a very scenic setting as a stage for plays. ‘Let’s go up on the walls,’ Skye suggested. ‘We should be able to get a good view of the city from there.’ Skye was right; the walls that surrounded the town provided the perfect vantage point. From there they could see across the houses and into the many streets that wound through the town. They made their way along the wall until they had a good view down on the church of St. Ignatius. Behind them the wall dropped straight into the sea. ‘He’ll be here tomorrow, won’t he?’ Brandon asked. ‘I hope so,’ Skye replied. There was a nagging doubt at the back of her mind that she might be wrong, and that Chassel wouldn’t be in Dubrovnik
at all. ‘Come on,’ she said, pushing the doubt aside, ‘let’s go down and check out the church.’ They made their way down from the walls and through the winding streets to the church of St. Ignatius. ‘Wow,’ Brandon said, his mouth hanging open. Skye had to agree; it was a beautiful building, with the columns and carvings on the walls outside, and the cross standing at the very top. Inside, the church was even more stunning. Full of vibrant paintings and coloured marble columns, the church was full of light and colour. A few hours later after they had finished their reconnaissance of the streets around the church, Skye and Brandon were sitting at a café overlooking the Old Town, waiting to meet Andy Robinson. The view down to the city with its walls, brightly coloured roofs and the sea beyond was breath‐taking. The professor had emailed them a photo of Andy, and Skye recognized him as soon as she saw him. He was a tall man and was wearing a white shirt and pants. She waved to him and he walked over and sat down at their table. ‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I’m Andy Robinson. The Professor told me what has happened.’ ‘Yes, he also said that you would be able to help us,’ Skye replied. ‘I certainly hope so. Do you have a plan now that you are here?’ Skye frowned. ‘Not yet. But I will by tomorrow.’ ‘Why tomorrow?’ ‘Because I think that tomorrow Chassel is planning to sell the artefacts that he stole.’ Skye had thought it over for a long time. For Chassel to come all the way to Dubrovnik, to be at the St. Ignatius church on a certain day, it seemed like it was a prearranged meeting. And what was usually the purpose of meetings like that? To sell things that you didn’t want other people to know that you had. ‘Then don’t you think it would be best to call the police?’ Andy asked. Skye and Brandon looked at each other. ‘Ah, the police may be a problem at the moment,’ she said guardedly. ‘Oh, yes. The Professor did mention something about a mix up with the police in Paris.’
‘Yes,’ Skye said weakly, ‘a mix up.’ Silently she thanked the Professor for not revealing the whole truth. ‘Tell me then, what made you interested in a discovery of coins and pottery from ancient Persia?’ ‘It was more than just that,’ Skye said defensively, ‘there were jewels and ‐ ’ ‘I know,’ Andy laughed, interrupting her. ‘That’s just what I call them. Especially when I’m talking to the Professor – it riles him up,’ he added with a childish grin. Skye and Brandon laughed with him. She could imagine the Professor being annoyed by something like that. ‘But why the interest?’ Andy asked again. Skye shrugged her shoulders. ‘We both love learning about ancient things.’ ‘And what did you hope to learn from these particular ancient things?’ Andy pressed. Skye was feeling uncomfortable. She knew from what the Professor had told her that Andy was an expert in ancient cultures, and she didn’t want him to think she was a fool. ‘We were hoping to learn more about palace life during the reign of Xerxes,’ she said. It was true – well, at least it was half true. ‘Yeah, especially about Queen Esther and her courage,’ Brandon said. Andy raised his eyebrows and watched them, his lips curving up in a small smile. Skye squirmed in her seat. ‘Queen Esther?’ he asked. ‘Do you mean the Queen in the bible?’ ‘No,’ Skye said quickly. ‘We don’t believe in those silly stories.’ She tried to make her voice sound flippant, but inside her stomach was churning. She couldn’t believe she had just said that, but she needed someone to help them, to ensure they would be able to prove that they were innocent of stealing the jewels. And she didn’t want Andy thinking that she was just a silly girl. Beside her Brandon was looking at her, his mouth hanging open. She tried her best to ignore him – she knew what he would be thinking. She would explain it to him later so long as he stayed quiet now. ‘Do you know why someone would want to steal them?’ she asked quickly, trying to change the subject.
‘It’s hard to say. Money is the usual reason, but they didn’t steal the most valuable pieces. Instead the pieces they stole were more likely to have been personal items, such as jewellery.’ He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. ‘Who can say why people want to steal things that belong in a museum for everyone to see.’ After discussing possible plans for a while longer, Andy left, reminding them to include him in whatever they decided and promising to help them however he could. When he was gone, Brandon turned to Skye. ‘How could you?’ he asked. ‘What?’ Skye said, defensively. ‘You said that you don’t believe in the bible. Why?’ His voice sounded pained, as though it were him that she had let down. ‘We need someone here to help us, and we couldn’t have him thinking we were just two stupid kids.’ ‘But ‐ ’ She cut him off. ‘I had to, Brandon. It was the best thing to do.’ She tried to sound as though she believed it, but she didn’t. She actually felt terrible. ‘No it wasn’t,’ Brandon said sadly. They didn’t talk much for the rest of that day or night. Skye was too deep in thought about their plans to catch Chassel. But she also didn’t want to talk more about what she had said to Andy. She felt guilty. She really wanted to find those artefacts, prove her own innocence of their theft, and find the secret to Queen Esther’s courage that would help her aunt. She wanted all of those things, but she also didn’t want Andy thinking she was a silly little girl. Her feelings were torn and she felt horrible. Later that night, as they were back in their rooms, Skye lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling, wondering how she could have done things differently. But she was too frustrated with herself to think clearly and couldn’t come up with anything. Eventually, thinking about how she had let God down by not standing up for her faith in Him, tears slowly started to run down her cheeks. She sobbed for what seemed like hours, feeling terribly guilty, before she finally fell asleep.
Chapter Nine The next morning they woke up early. Skye was nervous. Trying to take back the artefacts would be dangerous – if Chassel was even in the city. She still had that nagging doubt that Chassel might not even be here. On top of that, she felt a horrible weight on her shoulders from what she had done yesterday. It made her feel sluggish. Brandon, meanwhile, was bouncing around the room. She could see that he wasn’t feeling anxious – or guilty; he looked excited. Walking through the foyer of the hostel Mim greeted them with a cheery smile. ‘Good morning,’ she said brightly. ‘Hello Mim,’ Skye said, forcing a half‐hearted smile onto her face. ‘So what brings the two of you to Dubrovnik?’ Mim asked. ‘Um, we’re looking for some things that were stolen from the Louvre,’ Skye replied guardedly. ‘Oh, I read about that! It is a real tragedy that items so precious should be stolen ‐ I do hope that you find them. I could just have imagined Queen Esther wearing some of those precious jewels.’ She shook her head sadly then her eyes fixed on the bracelet around Skye’s wrist. ‘In fact,’ she added, ‘I could picture the Queen wearing a bracelet as beautiful as that.’ Skye looked up at Mim, her eyes popping out of her head. ‘Queen Esther?’ she said, fingering the bracelet on her wrist self‐consciously. ‘Of the bible? You believe in her?’ ‘Of course I do,’ Mim replied with a giggle. ‘I’m one of Esther’s Children.’ Brandon scratched his head and exchanged a very confused look with Skye. ‘You’re one of Esther’s children?’ he asked, sceptically. ‘Yes. I’m a Jew who was born in Iran – that’s what Persia is called now. All of us are called Esther’s Children, in memory of the Queen who saved us from Haman’s evil plot. Every year we have a celebration to remember it, called the Festival of Purim. She was a very brave woman.’ Brandon was smiling. ‘Yes she was,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘That’s why we’re here – to try and learn the secret to her courage.’ ‘Oh, there’s no real secret about it,’ Mim replied. ‘In fact, she was quite scared.’ ‘Scared?’ Skye blurted out. ‘But how could she have been scared? Like you said, she was brave!’
Mim smiled warmly at them. ‘Bravery,’ she explained gently, ‘or courage, doesn’t mean that you are not afraid. It is doing something even though you are afraid.’ She put her hand under Skye’s chin and tenderly lifted her head up so they were looking into each other’s eyes. ‘Esther could easily have lost her life for what she did. She was very scared, that’s why she had people pray for her for three whole days before she went to see the king. It took her that long, and the knowledge that God was in control, for her to overcome her fear. And that is why we remember her; not because she was a fearless warrior, but because she did what was right even though she was scared of what might happen to her. She trusted her God no matter what.’ ‘It must have been hard when other people didn’t believe in God,’ Skye said, speaking aloud her own fear. ‘Just because people don’t believe in something doesn’t make it any less true.’ A tear formed in the corner of Skye’s eye but she wiped it away quickly. ‘Thank you Mim,’ Skye said. She smiled at Mim then turned and led Brandon out the door. The sun overhead was growing very hot. They had been sitting on the wall for more than three hours, waiting and watching the church below. They didn’t know what time the meeting was supposed to occur, so they were prepared to wait all day. But after lunch Skye was beginning to think that they have been wrong and that Chassel would never show up. If that was the case maybe he wasn’t going to sell the artefacts after all. Then they would have no way of proving that she was innocent. The sky was beginning to turn pink as the sun made its way below the horizon, when Skye jumped up and pointed. ‘That’s him!’ she said. Brandon had seen him too and was nodding eagerly. They watched as Chassel walked into the church then they ran down from the wall to the entrance of the church. Peering through the doors they saw Chassel sitting with another man on a pew at the front of the church. ‘OK,’ Skye said, let’s record it. Brandon took out his phone and remotely took control of the camera they had placed in the church earlier in the morning. After she had spoken with Mim, Skye had felt much more clear‐headed and the thought had struck her that they needed solid evidence of Chassel selling the artefacts.
She was angry with herself for not having thought of it earlier, but she had quickly come up with the idea of hiding a camera in the church to record everything that happened. Now, zooming in on the two men, Skye and Brandon listened to their conversation and recorded it all on Brandon’s phone. ‘Don’t worry, Gray, they’re genuine,’ Chassel said, passing a small bag to the other man. The man called Gray opened the bag and peered inside. ‘Good,’ he said as his face broke into a grin. He took out his phone and placed a call. ‘I’ve got them,’ he said briskly into the phone. ‘Send the money.’ He put the phone back in his pocket. ‘Give it a minute or two then check your account.’ Skye and Brandon waited patiently while the two men made small talk. Finally Chassel’s phone rang. ‘Yeah?’ he asked. He nodded briefly before smiling. ‘Thanks.’ He hung up then looked across at Gray. ‘The money’s there.’ Both men shook hands and stood up. Outside Skye and Brandon were still hunched over the phone. ‘Get it?’ Skye asked. ‘Got it all,’ Brandon replied, smiling. They ran to the side of the church and hid behind the wall, peering around to watch the entrance. Almost immediately Chassel came out and walked quickly across the open square. They only had to wait a few minutes more before Gray left the church. They followed him as he made his way down the wide stairs that led from the church to the plaza below. As they followed the man through the winding streets of the Old Town, Skye was feeling very nervous. She had never done anything like this before, but they had agreed with Andy that this plan was the best one. So as they walked into a thick crowd, Skye ran forward and grabbed the bag out of Gray’s hand. ‘What – hey, stop!’ Gray called out. Holding tightly to the bag, Skye sprinted through the crowds as fast as she could. Gray started to follow but Brandon bumped him from the side and he fell over. ‘Stop them!’ he called out again. ‘Thieves!’ He jumped back to his feet and started running after them both.
Skye and Brandon had worked out their escape route in advance. They turned down small alleys and wound in and out of the crowds. Gray was catching up to them but they knew the turns to take to put obstacles in his way. They overturned crates, swung open doors as they passed them, and just managed to stay ahead of him. Finally they burst through a gate in the wall and out onto the street beyond. Andy was waiting for them in his old red Nissan. ‘Come on!’ he yelled out his window. By the time they reached the car Andy already had the engine running. They jumped in the back and before Brandon had even closed the door behind him the car was screeching away. Skye looked behind them and saw Gray with his fist raised angrily in the air, and yelling into his phone. ‘That was close,’ Brandon said beside her. ‘Yes, but we’ve got the artefacts back now,’ Skye said. She felt extremely relieved that their plan had worked so well. Andy turned around and grinned at them. ‘You’re both ok?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ Skye replied, letting out a huge sigh of relief. ‘Good. And the artefacts?’ ‘All in this bag,’ Brandon said happily. ‘Excellent,’ Andy said, turning his attention back to driving. Sitting back in her seat, Skye lost herself in thoughts of how good it would be to prove her innocence. There would be no more need to run or hide from the police. She could return the artefacts to the Professor and – She turned to Brandon who was tapping her on the shoulder. Immediately she was on her guard as he looked concerned. ‘What is it?’ she asked quietly. ‘This isn’t the way to the airport,’ he whispered. Skye looked out the window and saw that he was right. ‘Andy,’ she said weakly, ‘This doesn’t look like the way to the airport. Where are we going?’ ‘A slight change of plan,’ Andy called back over his shoulder. ‘I thought a ship would be safer for you.’ He turned around and gave her a reassuring smile. But Skye didn’t feel reassured at all. Instead, the relief she had been feeling was suddenly swept away. This just didn’t feel right. She looked across at Brandon who was looking equally concerned.
They drove for a few more minutes before they approached the Dubrovnik port. A large number of small ships were docked, as well as one massive cruise ship, filled, Skye assumed, with tourists. Andy opened the door for them and they followed him towards what looked like a cargo ship. They walked between rows of large containers, some stacked 4 or 5 high, which were ready to be loaded onto ships. Skye had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. ‘Um, Andy, where are we going?’ Skye asked. ‘To the bottom of the sea,’ a familiar voice responded. Skye turned and saw Chassel walking towards them. He had been hidden behind one of the massive containers. Andy turned around and immediately snatched the bag that contained the artefacts from her. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, obviously not meaning it, ‘but business is business.’ He walked over and shook Chassel’s hand. Emile was standing behind them. Skye was stunned. She had trusted Andy – after all, he was a friend of Professor Airbon. Had even the Professor been involved in betraying them? She felt sick and wanted to sit down. Next to her she could see that Brandon was also stunned, but there was also a glint of anger in his eyes. ‘Why?’ she asked Andy. ‘Money,’ he replied, as though he thought the answer was obvious. ‘You see I’m just the man in the middle. There are plenty of fools who will pay a high price for these.’ He lifted up the bag, indicating their contents. ‘Just like Gray. Only now, thanks to you, we get to sell them twice.’ ‘They may not seem like the most expensive items,’ Chassel added, ‘but some people will pay more for rare pieces like these. Anyone can own ancient coins or pottery, or even statues. But jewels that could have once been worn by a king or queen? They are rare indeed. And because they are so rare, they are in very high demand. ‘Now, take them down below,’ Chassel ordered with a malicious grin. Emile grabbed both of their arms in his strong, vice‐like grip. He shoved them forwards and they had no choice but to go where he directed them. ‘One more thing first,’ Chassel called out, walking up to them. He reached into Brandon’s pocket and pulled out his phone. ‘Hey!’ Brandon protested.
‘You won’t need this where you’re going.’ He lifted Brandon’s phone and threw it into the water. Chassel nodded with satisfaction and Emile pushed them forward again. He marched them up the gangplank and onto the ship. The corridors were dimly lit as Emile shoved them along. They came to the head of a staircase and Skye almost fell down them when Brandon was pushed into her back. They both turned and glared at Emile who obviously didn’t care about their safety. Which wasn’t really surprising, Skye thought gloomily. As they were walking down into the belly of the ship Skye could feel it begin to move. Her heart sunk even lower as she realized that they were moving out to sea. Emile finally led them through a metal door into what looked like a large storage room filled with crates. ‘Enjoy the ride,’ he said, sneering at them as he pushed them farther into the room. ‘It won’t be a long one.’ He left the room and slammed the door behind him. Skye ran to the door and heard a clicking sound as she reached it ‐ Emile had locked it. She screamed in frustration and pounded her fists on the door, before finally sagging to the floor. She turned around and saw Brandon watching her. ‘I’m sorry, Brandon,’ she said. ‘It was my mistakes that got us into this trouble.’ ‘It usually is,’ Brandon replied, grinning at her. Skye wanted to smile but she didn’t have it in her. ‘How can you be so cheerful?’ she asked. ‘We’re stuck in the belly of a ship sailing for who‐ knows‐where, with no way of contacting anyone for help.’ Brandon came over and sat beside her. ‘It might be your mistakes that land us in trouble, but it’s also you who usually thinks of a way out for us.’ Skye shook her head. ‘I don’t know, Brandon. This doesn’t look good.’ ‘Well, there is a bright side.’ ‘What could that possibly be?’ she asked, doubting that anything could lift her spirits. ‘The video I took of Chassel selling the artefacts. While we were in the car with Andy I emailed it to the Professor as well as the French and Dubrovnik police.’
Skye’s head shot up and she looked at her brother with a glowing admiration. She hadn’t thought to do that but he had. Her face broke apart in a huge grin that matched his. She knew he was proud of himself. ‘Thank you Brandon,’ she said, ‘that was very quick thinking. And possibly the smartest thing either of us has ever done.’ She didn’t believe it was possible, but his smile became even wider with her praise. She gave him a tight hug then turned her attention to the room around them. Now she had a spark of hope. The police would know now that Chassel was the real thief but it would still take them time before they could do anything to help. And time was something Skye knew that they didn’t have much of ‐ they had to act quickly. She didn’t think it would take Chassel long to order Emile to come back for them. She shuddered to think what would happen to them then. She quickly scanned the room to see what they could use. Light filtered into the room through a small window high up in one of the walls. The room was much larger than she had originally thought; more like a hall than a room. Wooden crates were stacked in rows running the length of the room. She looked up again at the window and sighed when she saw metal bars covering it. ‘Look at this,’ Brandon said, beckoning to her. She ran over and saw that he had already opened up one of the crates. Inside, carefully wrapped up, they found what looked like old plates. Skye reached in and lifted one up so she could examine it better in the light. She turned it around in her hands then gasped in recognition. ‘These are old!’ she exclaimed. ‘They look hundreds of years old.’ She turned to Brandon but he wasn’t in sight. ‘I know,’ she heard him reply. ‘And have a look at these.’ Skye walked around a row of crates and found Brandon kneeling over another open crate. She peered inside and saw some old lamps, similarly well wrapped up. She lifted one out carefully. ‘These must be at least a thousand years old,’ she whispered. ‘Do you think they stole these too?’ Brandon nodded his head. ‘And I bet that the rest of these crates are all full of other things they’ve stolen too.’ Skye looked around her at the hundreds of crates that filled the room. It was incredible. She didn’t doubt that Brandon was right, and that the ship was taking all of these stolen treasures away for some crooked people to buy. They would put them in a secret room in some large mansion where
nobody else would be able to see them. It was such a waste. And it was wrong. But how could they stop them? ‘I can’t believe it,’ Brandon said, interrupting her thoughts. ‘What is it?’ Brandon pulled something large out of another crate he had opened. ‘Paintings!’ Skye’s eyes nearly burst out of her head. ‘That’s a Monet original!’ she said. ‘Yeah, one of the Impressionists,’ Brandon said with a mischievous grin. ‘But it must be worth millions of dollars. I didn’t even know it was missing.’ ‘Just think how much everything in these crates must be worth,’ Brandon said, shaking his head. ‘I know,’ Skye replied sadly. ‘And it’s all…’ she stopped as the thought came suddenly into her head, and a smile stole slowly onto her face. ‘I know that look,’ Brandon said eagerly. ‘What’s your plan?’ Skye turned to face her brother. ‘What is the one thing that Henri Chassel is interested in, above all else?’ ‘Money,’ Brandon replied, as though the answer was obvious. ‘That’s right. And what is the thing that Henri Chassel would most hate to lose?’ ‘Money,’ Brandon replied again. Then his face suddenly lit up with recognition. ‘Do you mean we have to ‐?’ ‘It will make me sad to do it,’ Skye said, ‘but yes.’
Chapter Ten Half an hour later the room was filled with smoke. Skye and Brandon wet their handkerchiefs in a puddle of water and covered their faces with them to stop inhaling the smoke. Skye raised her hand and nodded to Brandon. Together they began hurling plates and other breakable items at the door. Even though the noise was dulled by the smoke, the crashing sound the plates made as they broke sounded loud in their ears. A tear ran down Skye’s cheek, but it wasn’t the smoke that caused it. It was because she was destroying priceless artefacts and artwork. But it was the only plan she had. It didn’t take long for her to hear voices on the other side of the door. ‘Where’s the smoke coming from?’ asked one voice. ‘It looks like… there, in the cargo hold,’ replied another, which sounded like Emile. The smoke was growing thicker and they could barely see the door they were aiming at, but Skye and Brandon continued throwing thousand‐year‐ old relics at it. ‘Wait. What’s that noise?’ asked the first voice. There was silence for a moment before Emile screamed out, ‘They’re breaking the artefacts! Get in there and get those two!’ By now the smoke was so thick that there was no visibility in the room; even though Skye and Brandon were standing side by side they couldn’t see each other. Skye held Brandon’s hand and they waited. Suddenly they heard the muffled sound of the door being unlocked and swinging open. ‘What’s going on?’ Emile yelled, before starting to cough. ‘I can’t see a thing,’ complained the other voice. ‘So you want to start a fire, do you?’ Emile called out. ‘Well, when I catch you you’ll wish you were roasted in here first.’ Both of the men coughed together. ‘I can barely breathe,’ the first one said. ‘And neither can they! They’re in here somewhere. Find them!’ Emile ordered. Skye waited until she heard their footsteps move away down the room before leading Brandon towards the door.
Her heart was pounding in her chest and the smoke was making it very difficult to breathe. But very quickly, and as quietly as she could, she led Brandon in a crouching run to the doorway. But they weren’t quiet enough and Emile wasn’t as far away as she had thought. ‘No you don’t,’ he yelled out, his voice seemingly coming from beside them. ‘Quickly Brandon!’ she yelled. They darted for the doorway but she was stopped as a hand grabbed the back of her shirt. ‘Let me go!’ she screamed. She felt him tug her towards him but then her shirt ripped and she fell and tumbled backwards. Before she could get back to her feet she heard the door slam shut. She felt terrified for an instant before she realized she was on the other side of the door. The smoke was thinner here and she saw Brandon locking the door. ‘No!’ Emile screamed from inside, banging on the door. ‘Come back in here! You’ll regret this…’ Skye ignored the rest of Emile’s ranting. ‘We’ve got to keep going,’ she urged Brandon. ‘Where to now? We’re on a ship that’s moving out to sea.’ ‘We’ve got to find Chassel before he finds us.’ They ran through the lower decks of the ship and made their way back up to the higher levels. Skye assumed that Chassel would be somewhere up near the bridge of the ship. She hoped she was right; she knew they didn’t have much time to find him. Running around another corner they climbed the last ladder up onto the open deck and into bright sunlight. Quickly looking around Skye could see that the ship was now out into open sea – Dubrovnik was falling farther and farther into the distance. Panting, she put her head down and sprinted towards the bridge of the ship, the control room where she assumed Chassel would be. ‘What do we do when we get there?’ Brandon called out behind her. ‘I don’t know,’ she answered truthfully. She only hoped to catch Chassel by surprise.
Ahead she saw that the door to the bridge was open. She made herself run faster but as soon as she entered the bridge she skidded to a halt. Chassel was standing in front of her talking into his phone. And he was pointing a gun at her. ‘Thank you, Emile,’ he said. ‘They’re just arriving.’ Just then Brandon came crashing into Skye from behind and they both fell to the ground. ‘Get up,’ Chassel ordered them as he put his phone away. ‘You two have caused me enough grief. Now it’s time for you to go for a swim.’ They stood up and he waved them outside back onto the deck. Skye walked slowly but her brain was thinking fast. How could they get out of this? She and Brandon together might have been able to knock him to the ground, but he had a gun pointed at them, so that was out of the question. ‘Over there,’ Chassel ordered, pointing to the other side of the bridge. They walked around the bridge, out of sight of the rest of the ship’s crew. Skye’s eyes were darting everywhere, searching for a way out or for something that might help her. All she could see between them and the side of the ship was a mop standing in a bucket. ‘Now,’ Chassel said, ‘over the side.’ Looking sideways at Brandon she saw that he was looking at the bucket and mop too. They exchanged a knowing look. Then, as Skye approached the rail at the edge of the deck, she kicked over the bucket, spilling the water out over the deck. At the same time Brandon grabbed the mop and swung it behind him. The mop hit Chassel’s arm and knocked the gun out of his hand, where it landed on the deck a few meters away. Chassel and Skye moved at the same time to pick up his gun. Chassel was closer but his foot slipped in the water and he fell, cursing, to the deck. Skye picked up the gun and pointed it at Chassel. She felt just as scared holding the gun as she did having it pointed at her. Chassel slowly stood up with his hands above his head. ‘Now what?’ he sneered. ‘Are you going to shoot me?’ He stared at her defiantly. Skye looked at Brandon who shrugged his shoulders. What did she do now? She’d never held a gun before and she certainly wasn’t about to shoot anyone with it. Chassel laughed at her. ‘I thought so. You don’t have the courage to shoot.’
As they stood there, a faint humming sounded in the distance. It quickly grew louder and they all turned their heads towards it. Flying low across the waves towards them were three helicopters. Skye, Brandon and Chassel all stood and watched, waiting as the helicopters approached then landed on the deck of the ship. The doors of the first helicopter slid open and men jumped out with guns pointed directly at them. After her initial shock Skye saw that the men were all wearing the uniform of the Dubrovnik police. ‘Drop your gun!’ one of them yelled at her. Skye immediately let the gun fall to the ground then raised her hands above her head. Chassel smiled victoriously. ‘I don’t know why you’re here, but you are just in time,’ Chassel said. ‘These two are stowaways on my ship. And as you can see, they were planning to ‐ ’ ‘What’s your name?’ barked the policeman in front of Chassel, interrupting him. ‘Henri Chassel,’ he replied. ‘This is my ship and as I was saying ‐ ’ The policeman ignored him and instead turned to Skye and asked, ‘Are you Skye Belle?’ She nodded her head, too afraid to speak. ‘Search the ship,’ their leader called. Some of the police went off to do as they were ordered. The ones that remained formed a circle around Skye, Brandon and Chassel. Suddenly the police turned their guns towards Chassel. Chassel looked furious. ‘What is going on?’ he growled. ‘You’re under arrest,’ the policeman started, but Chassel cut him off. ‘Under arrest? For what? You saw the girl here pointing the gun at me! She’s the stowaway that has tried to steal from me. And you have landed illegally on my ship. My ship and all of its cargo are registered.’ Chassel was livid and he waved his arms in the air furiously. ‘Get off my ship at once or I will make a formal complaint to your chief.’ ‘We can’t do that, sir. We believe this ship is carrying stolen cargo.’ ‘As well as the thief,’ another man said, jumping down from the helicopter. Skye recognized the voice and was instantly wary as she saw Andy walking towards them.
Beside her, Skye heard Chassel mutter something under his breath. She didn’t hear the words but it sounded nasty. He was glaring at Andy with a look of pure hatred. ‘What did you tell them?’ Chassel asked accusingly as Andy approached them. ‘Everything,’ Andy replied happily. ‘How else was I to get them to fly out here?’ Andy smiled kindly at Skye. ‘I’m so pleased that you are both safe.’ Skye and Brandon were both staring at him, their mouths hanging open. ‘What?’ Skye asked. ‘How…’ Andy laughed but Chassel grabbed him by the shirt. ‘You will regret crossing me,’ Chassel snarled at him. Andy turned and faced Chassel, his face stern. ‘I doubt it. You see, I was never on your side to begin with.’ Andy called over his shoulder to the policeman who seemed to be in charge. ‘You’ll undoubtedly find the items below deck.’ The police pulled Chassel back from Andy and led him away towards the helicopters. Skye stared at Andy, speechless. ‘How…’ she began but was too stunned to finish the question. Andy smiled. ‘I work for a large insurance company. For a long time we’ve suspected Chassel of being involved with the theft of valuable items from museums and other places. We just had to catch him.’ He smiled at them both again. ‘And you two finally helped me gather the evidence I needed. Thank you.’ The explanation helped a little bit, but Skye was still confused. ‘But we already had the evidence,’ she said. ‘Why did you need to hand us over to Chassel?’ ‘I know, I placed you in danger by allowing you on to his ship,’ Andy replied, sounding genuinely regretful. ‘But it was the only way we could catch Chassel with the artefacts in his possession, and have a reason to search his entire ship.’ Skye shook her head; she still couldn’t believe it. They had been in such great danger but Andy had been on their side all along! If only she had known. She could have… What would she have done differently if she had known? She didn’t know. And for now she didn’t care. Suddenly her face split apart in a huge grin. She looked at Brandon and saw that he was smiling too.
Chapter Eleven Arriving back in Paris Skye felt nervous. When she had left Paris almost a week ago she had fled as a fugitive. Now she was returning and was willing to face up to what she had done. She hadn’t stolen the artefacts, but she had broken into Chassel’s mansion. She rubbed the bracelet that she still wore on her wrist. She liked wearing it, but she knew that the bracelet itself wouldn’t bring her any courage. That had to come from within. So, taking a deep breath, she went straight to the police station and turned herself in. ‘We have heard of what you have done,’ Arnot, the police chief said after she had sat down in his office. Her heart sunk at those words. She had rehearsed what she had wanted to say to him, to try and explain – or rather to confess, but he had spoken first. But instead of the angry questioning she had expected, the police chief smiled at her. ‘We are very grateful that you have helped to return our stolen treasures,’ he said. Skye looked bemused, and the police chief laughed. ‘Professor Airbon has told us everything, and the video of the thief Henri Chassel selling the artefacts proves his guilt – and your innocence. You have done our country a great service.’ Skye was confused. It didn’t sound as though the police chief was going to arrest her. In fact he sounded almost proud of her. Maybe he had forgotten about the laws she had broken? If that was true, maybe she could just walk out and everything would be fine – there would be no need to confess to anything. But she couldn’t do that, not now. She knew that she still had to tell him what she had done, even if it meant being arrested. ‘There is still one other thing, though,’ she began tentatively. ‘Ah yes,’ Arnot replied, ‘breaking into Henri Chassel’s mansion. I know all about that too. Why did you do it?’ Skye took a deep breath. Have courage, she said to herself. ‘I thought that some of the artefacts may have belonged to Queen Esther. She was so courageous! I desperately wanted to recover the artefacts because I was hoping to discover the secret of her courage. I thought that I could learn something from them.’
The chief watched her curiously for a moment. ‘Queen Esther? Who is she?’ ‘In the bible she was the wife of King Xerxes.’ She held her breath while she waited for the chief’s reaction. ‘Oh, the bible,’ Arnot replied, sounding unimpressed. ‘You believe those stories, do you?’ ‘Yes, I do,’ she said, surprised at how confident her voice sounded. Surprisingly, Arnot didn’t accuse her of being a fool, but merely shrugged his shoulders. ‘And did you discover anything about courage?’ Skye smiled. ‘Yes. Part of courage is doing what is right, or standing up for what I believe, even if it’s hard or scary to do.’ She looked him straight in the eyes as she added, ‘That’s why I’ve come here to turn myself in.’ The chief examined Skye for a long moment during which she felt sure that he would call for her to be thrown in jail. She lowered her head, waiting for the inevitable. ‘I think,’ he said at last, ‘that you have reformed.’ Skye looked up at him in surprise then eagerly nodded her agreement. ‘In which case, I have the authority to pardon your crime.’ He smiled at her again. ‘You are free to go.’ Free. She couldn’t believe it ‐ she wouldn’t have to go to prison! She felt so relieved she nearly fell off her chair. Skye’s face broke into a huge grin. ‘Thank you. Thank you so very much.’ ‘Skye,’ the chief called out as she was leaving. ‘You are also free to return to France whenever you wish.’ Her next stop after the police station was the Louvre, where she wanted to thank the Professor in person for all of his help. She met him in his office where Brandon was already waiting. ‘Ah, my dear Skye,’ he said, standing up and hugging her. ‘I am so happy that you are both safe.’ ‘Well a lot of that is due to Brandon’s quick thinking,’ she flashed a smile at her brother, ‘and your help. We know how much you did for us.’ ‘Well, I don’t think I did too much,’ the Professor said. ‘After Brandon sent me the video of Henri selling the artefacts he had stolen, it was easy enough to get the police onside. Finding the ship you were on was a simple case of tracking Henri’s mobile phone. That was something that our friend Andy was easily able to do.’
The Professor made it all sound very easy, but Skye certainly hadn’t felt that way when they had been trapped on the ship. In fact she had felt completely helpless. But talk of Andy had triggered a question in Skye’s memory. ‘Professor,’ she asked, ‘did you know that Andy was an investigator?’ Professor Airbon shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ve always had my suspicions. He certainly is one of the foremost experts in ancient civilizations that I know. But then,’ he added with a sly smile, ‘that would be perfect for his job, wouldn’t it?’ Skye had to agree. Andy certainly had the knowledge and the expertise to investigate stolen artefacts. She just wished that she had known he had been on their side all along. ‘And thank you once again, my friends,’ the Professor said. ‘You have helped to bring back important pieces of history that were stolen. Soon they will be on display for anyone to see.’ But they hadn’t returned everything yet; there was still one more thing Skye needed to give back. ‘This also belongs to the museum,’ she said, taking off the bracelet and handing it to him. ‘Ah yes, I was wondering what had happened to this.’ ‘Chassel planted it on us to try and frame us for the theft,’ Brandon said. ‘Well, we won’t have any more problems from him,’ the Professor said emphatically. ‘As for this particular piece,’ he added, turning the bracelet over in his hand, ‘I think it belongs right where it was.’ He stretched out his hand and offered the bracelet back to Skye. Skye was speechless. She looked from the bracelet back to the Professor’s face to see if he was joking. But he was serious. ‘Go on,’ he said, smiling warmly at her, ‘you’ve earned it.’ Skye reached out and took the bracelet. She couldn’t believe he was giving it to her. It must have been worth a small fortune! Smiling, she slipped it back onto her wrist where it fitted perfectly, as though it had been made just for her. It had been a long journey for both Skye and Brandon and they were glad to finally be home. Skye especially was relieved when she opened the front door. She wasn’t a fugitive anymore, and she and her brother were safely home.
While they had still been in Paris, Skye had called her parents and told them everything that had happened. So she wasn’t surprised that when her parents saw them walk through the door they greeted them with an even warmer embrace than usual. Skye loved the adventures she went on, but it was always nice coming home too. The one person Skye wasn’t expecting to see so soon, though, was their aunt Thelma. She was still staying with her parents, it seemed, but surprisingly she looked much happier than when they had left. Later that evening, after they had recounted their adventure to their aunt, Skye went over and sat next to her. ‘You see,’ Skye said, ‘we were hoping to find the secret to Queen Esther’s courage, so that we could help you.’ Aunt Thelma was beaming at her. ‘Thank you, Skye. And you too, Brandon. I’m touched that you would go to such lengths to help me.’ She smiled at them. ‘But I’ve remembered something very important that has helped me overcome my fear. It is God that I’m singing for, and it is Him I want to please.’ She smiled at them again. ‘That doesn’t always make it easy, and sometimes I am still scared before I go on stage. But I know why I am singing, and that is what is important.’ Going back up into her room, Skye was finally feeling happy with herself again. She had learnt a lot about herself, especially from her mistakes. She knew that it was okay to make mistakes, but these ones she certainly never wanted to make again. If Queen Esther was so courageous that she was prepared to sacrifice her life, Skye thought to herself, then surely I can accept that some people will laugh at me for believing in God. She still felt a stab of guilt whenever she thought of how she had denied her beliefs. Skye had never thought that she would do something like that, but she had. But thankfully she knew that God had forgiven her. She was now more determined than ever to be honest about who she was and what she believed in, no matter what others thought. And even better, she knew that God would help her to do just that. Even if people thought her a fool, she would still tell them that she loved Jesus. That was part of what courage was, after all. She took off the bracelet that the Professor had allowed her to keep and placed it on the table. She’d never know for sure, but it actually may have
once belonged to Queen Esther. The bracelet really was very pretty. She decided she would keep it here as a reminder. Plus, it was lovely to wear.
A Note From The Author Thanks for reading through The Lost Treasure of Persia, the first adventure of Skye and Brandon Belle. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Their second adventure, The Copper Map, will be released soon. Look out for the first chapter which will be available for free. If you’ve enjoyed this book, why not tell your friends about it, or post a review at Amazon.com, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Your feedback and reviews are always greatly appreciated. Also, feel free to email me at
[email protected]. I promise that I will (try to) answer every email.
Copyright © 2013 by H. A. Jones. All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.