Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #13 April 2015 | Page 41
toric displays.
Sir Henry glanced about himself, a few guests stood
in the main room close enough to see into the dinosaur room but no one was paying him any attention.
A great monster of bone with a huge jaw lined with
teeth stood before him, not what he wanted. Display
cases lined the walls and the bones of ancient dragons
and beasts were assembled in displays across the floor.
Now, where was the one with three horns and a frill?
Aha, it was behind the two legged monster, its horns
and head just visible behind the tail of the king of
dinosaurs.
Sir Henry walked the length of the first monster, his
custom leather shoes making the slightest of sounds
on the polished stone floor. As he walked he glanced
up at the bones towering far above his head. He could
see why people thought that there were the bones of
dragons or creatures of myth.
Then he found himself facing a great horned skull, the
beak like mouth bigger than his head, the two upper
horns stood above his head and longer than he could
reach. A most fearsome beast indeed. But he was not
here to look at its face. Sir Henry walked around the
side of the monster and looked up at the great frill that
covered its neck, the room was lit but the underside of
the frill was in shadow.
Nothing a well prepared man could not deal with of
course and a few seconds later Sir Henry placed his
lamp on the creatures spine and gazed at a map, crudely drawn but a map none the less. Peaks here and here,
this valley with the hooked shape, this mountain pass
and here, the cave of crystals.
He glanced around to ensure he was alone then took
pencil and paper from his coat, a minutes work and he
had the map copied. His final act was to slip a small
knife from his pocket and make more marks and lines,
change the existing ones and make it impossible for
anyone else to read. Now he and he alone could find
the diamonds.
He turned off his lamp and tucked it away along with
the knife and pencil. He stepped down from the plinth
upon which the dragon bones stood and smiled. With
the map the cave was his.
“I’ll take that, monsieur.”
The voice came from the shadows further down the
room and a figure stepped into view. A cheap suit over
an stained shirt, both were ill fitting and well worn. A
grubby raincoat finished the ensemble and above all of
this a thin faced man, slick black hair framed a weasel
like face, a weak chin hidden by a unkempt goatee
beneath a hook of a nose.
Sir Henry grunted and slipped the map into his jacket
pocket, of course it was not going to be easy.
“Well well, La chef, what brings you here? Hardly your sort of party, oh and you could at least have
dressed for the evening, this is a formal event.”
Piere La Chef. Chief agent of the French bureau of external security, spy, assassin and all round manner less
republican thug. Of course he would be here.
“You stuck up English pig; you think to fool me with
your manners and your tricks. I am here for the same
thing you are. The diamonds belong to France and I
will make sure they are returned.”
Sir Henry laughed, a deep booming sound that turned
a few heads among those who stood closest to the
doors in the main room. “Belong to France. I must say
you have a fine sense of humour for a Frenchman.”
La cheef walked closer and stopped no more than a
few paces from Sir Henry then spat on the marble
floor in front of him. “France deserves its place in the
world, with the diamonds and our new weapons your
precious Empire will fall and I will be there to see it
happen.” Lacheef slid his right hand into his raincoat
and then pulled it back out but now his fingers were
clasped around the blue steel of a military revolver.
“Drop the map and back away Fitzwarren. Nothing
would give me more pleasure than shooting you.”
Sir Henry stood firm but raised his voice a little.
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