The storeroom was far bigger than expected. The vast low-roofed chamber ran the full length of the hall above and was littered with broken stage equipment thick with dust. Overhead lights illuminated a dim path between two rows of square columns, leaving the far recesses in shadow. The walls were of rough brick and everywhere they looked they could see pipes and cables running in all directions.
“This place is filthy!” exclaimed Philyra, scowling. “I can feel cobwebs in my hair!”
Her protest became a screech of fright as a small brown shape ran across her foot and away into the murky shadows. Apprehensive yet stubborn, Endymion began to make his way across the dingy storeroom towards the far end of the vault. Not wanting to be left alone, Bellona and Philyra followed close behind, jumping at every shadow and creak of floorboards above as they scuttled through the gloom.
“Did you see that?” Bellona suddenly hissed. For the briefest of moments she thought she had seen two huge eyes staring at her from out of the shadows and the faint silhouette of something with far too many hairy legs.
“See what?” asked Endymion, not even bothering to look where she pointed.
“I thought I saw it too,” murmured Philyra, her voice wavering. “A huge spider. I mean massive,” she added. Endymion wore a dubious expression. “As big as you, anyway.”
“Spiders don’t grow that big!” he retorted, then looked thoughtful. “Although, on a low-gravity world with an oxygen-rich atmosphere like Daode…”
“Now you’re scaring me,” muttered Bellona.
“I’m scaring myself,” Endymion admitted. “Let’s get out of here.”
The door at the other end of the storeroom was a luminous shade of red and had the word ‘FIRE’ written on it in huge letters. Endymion hesitated when the door did not open automatically upon his approach. When he pushed it with his hand, it swung aside to reveal the bottom of a brightly-lit stairwell.
“A fire exit,” Endymion noted with relief. “And the only way is up.”
“That could describe our last performance,” mumbled Bellona.
Philyra pushed past Endymion and ran to the foot of the stairs. Eager to escape whatever it was lurking in the dark, Bellona followed. The stairwell was several storeys high, presumably ascending all the way to the top floor of the hotel.
“More stairs,” Philyra said glumly. “Why couldn’t you lead us to a lift?”
“Use the hoverchair,” retorted Endymion. A folding mobility chair hung from a frame on the wall, beneath a sign that read: ‘EMERGENCY USE ONLY’.
Philyra stuck her tongue out at him and stomped noisily up the stairs. On the next floor, the stairwell opened into a deserted corridor, at the end of which they found a small lobby with a window and an emergency exit leading outside. Endymion however ignored this and began to climb the next flight of steps, pointing to another door on the landing above that led back in the direction of the conference hall. When Bellona and Philyra finally caught up, Endymion had his face pressed against the small glass window in the door and was peering into the space beyond. When he tried to open the door he found it locked.
Bellona sighed. “What now?”
Without saying a word, Endymion withdrew a length of cable from his pocket, connected his wristpad to the control panel beside the door, then began to tap at the screen. Moments later, they heard a dull clunk as the lock released.
“Coming?” he asked, pushing open the door.
“Any spiders in there?” asked Philyra nervously.
“It’s quite safe,” Endymion reassured her. “Come and look.”
The lights came on automatically as they entered, revealing a deserted control room. The tiny chamber was dominated by a darkened window that took up the whole of one wall, in front of which stood a huge desk console and a couple of padded chairs. On the floor, next to a second door to the left, was a small packing crate with the lid removed. Scurrying over to the window, Philyra looked to see what was on the other side.
“It’s the conference hall!” she exclaimed. “You can see everything from here!”
Endymion and Bellona came to her side and gazed at the scene beyond the glass. The window gave a panoramic view of the whole auditorium, looking out above rows of empty seats towards the stage from a vantage point high in the rear wall of the hall. Directly below, they could see a holovid crew making preparations for the evening’s live broadcast, while far away on the front row were the bobbing heads of the Bradbury Heights band. Philyra seemed more interested in the Avalon news team and eagerly scanned the crew. She never watched current-affairs programmes; Bellona guessed one of the celebrity gossip shows had recently uncovered an embarrassingly-hilarious scandal involving a popular news presenter.
“I can see Maia,” she grumbled. “I’d recognise her fat head anywhere. She’s not sitting under a sprinkler by any chance?” she asked, giving her brother a sly look.
“I wouldn’t dare,” muttered Endymion, though Bellona saw he was tempted to see what the desk console could do in his mischievous hands. “This must be the control room for the stage lighting and sound system. I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to be here.”
Bellona watched as he moved towards the second door, paused by the packing crate and then knelt to look inside. Nestling within the shredded packing paper was a small metal box, which Bellona decided looked a bit like the device Endymion had shown her from the kidnappers’ tunnel on the Dandridge Cole. This one had a larger aerial, a slot for a data rod and a control panel that had not been smashed with a hammer.
“What is it?” asked Bellona, peering over his shoulder.
“A personnel scanner,” he told her. He had not been able to resist switching it on and was soon flicking through the control menu that had appeared upon the tiny screen. “Ravana said the kidnappers used the one I found in their hideout to trace the Raja through his implant. This one appears to be able to transmit as well as receive. I wonder…”
Bellona waited for her brother to continue. When he gave no sign of doing so she gave him a shove. Philyra came to join them, looking bored.
“Zotz and I hacked into a holovid call between Fenris and someone called Taranis,” said Endymion. “Ostara asked us to do it!” he added quickly, as Bellona gave him a shocked glare. “Anyway, we heard them say that a ship was bringing equipment to Hemakuta and it was all to do with the Raja’s appearance at the conference.”
“The Raja was kidnapped,” Philyra pointed out. “He’s not coming to the conference.”
“How do we know that? The kidnappers might be planning to bring him here against his will,” said Bellona. “Isn’t he from the royal family of Yuanshi?”
“A personnel scanner that can transmit data,” Endymion murmured thoughtfully, his hand resting idly upon the device. “This could tap into someone’s implant and put ideas into their head! Whoever commands the Raja could change the outcome of the civil war.”
“You mean that thing can brainwash people?” remarked Philyra.
“That’s one way of putting it,” Endymion admitted.
“Why is it lying around for anyone to find?” Bellona asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Endymion paused. On the face of it, her observation did seem to pour cold water on her brother’s conspiracy theory. Suddenly, his face became a picture of shocked realisation.
“Don’t you see?” he said urgently. “It means there must be people at the conference who are in on the plot themselves!”