Kingdom of Darkness

19

The first thing Nina heard as she struggled back to wakefulness was the crackle of gunfire.

The sound sent a shock of fear through her system, driving away the fug. She was in a moving vehicle, lying on a dirty metal floor with her hands tied behind her back. Panic rose. Where was she? What had happened—

‘Sie wacht auf,’ said a man behind her.

Nina twisted to see the huge form of Walther sitting on a narrow bench. He stared back with contempt. The rumbling truck had a canvas cover over its cargo bed, grey daylight picking out the truck’s other occupants.

Macy was unconscious on the floor, Banna beside her. Both were bound. Two men sat behind them, sub-machine guns on their laps.

Memory returned. She’d been drugged! The Nazis had hauled the survivors of the desert ambush into their van — and forcibly injected them.

How long had she been unconscious? The light outside suggested it was late afternoon… but her gnawing hunger told her that more than a few hours had passed. She pushed herself up to look over the tailgate — and realised she was not in Egypt any more.

They had climbed up a hill from a vast plain, the vegetation more brown than green. A lake was visible several miles away; a small town stood amongst desiccated farmland near it.

There was something else about the scene, something wrong, but she couldn’t pin down what… until a shiver gave her the answer. It was cold. Not merely a high-altitude chill, but a deeper frigidity, seeping into her bones. It was winter. In June.

That meant she was in the southern hemisphere, below the tropics. Too cold to be Australia or southern Africa, too dry for New Zealand. Which left… South America. Almost certainly Argentina, then; narrow, mountainous Chile was lacking in great grassy plains.

‘Shoulda guessed,’ she mumbled. She didn’t need to be a Mossad agent to know that the country had been a magnet for escaped Nazi war criminals.

‘What was that, Dr Wilde?’ She turned to see Rasche through an opening in the back of the truck’s cab.

‘Argentina,’ she told him. ‘It makes sense that you’d have found yourselves a little rat-hole here. Lots of your buddies hid out in Argentina after the war, didn’t they? Mengele, Eichmann — Juan Perón really laid out the welcome mat for you.’

‘How do you know where we are?’ Walther demanded.

Rasche gave him a sneering smile. ‘Because she is as clever as her reputation told us. I hope for your sake, Dr Wilde, that you will use that mind of yours to give us what we want. And for the sake of your friends,’ he added, glancing at the two sleeping figures.

Another burst of gunfire, closer. Nina squirmed to the bench opposite Walther and with an effort levered herself up to sit upon it. The big German shot her a warning scowl, but did not kick her back down. She peered through the opening.

The truck was crossing a large plateau that gradually rose towards a distant range of snow-capped peaks. Stands of trees dotted the landscape between empty fields. A rusty narrow-gauge railroad track ran parallel to the dirt road, heading for a cluster of buildings at the heart of the upland plain.

The escaped Nazis had not spent the past seven decades hiding in a hole.

It was more than a mere farm; they had constructed an entire colony. Several large houses stood at the centre, with ranks of long, low structures resembling military barracks lined up nearby. There were also barn-like storage structures, garages and workshops, even a water tower.

More shots caught her attention. Off to one side was a military training ground, an obstacle course alongside a target range. A group of young men were firing rifles.

The chill returned, but this time Nina felt more than just the winter cold. The youths all wore black uniforms — and even from a distance she could make out the symbols on their red armbands. Swastikas.

Rasche saw her appalled expression. ‘The New Reich,’ he said with an oily smile of pride as the truck made its way into the compound.

Sidings split off the railroad, an old and rust-streaked steam locomotive on one spur with a small train of covered wooden wagons. A passenger carriage and a caboose waited on another, behind them a string of carts that had once carried some mined mineral. None had been used for some time; as in the wider world, rail had given way to road, several large trucks parked by the workshop buildings. These too were battered and elderly.

They turned at a junction and headed away from the railroad to pull up outside one of the ranch houses. Walther gave a command to the two men, who dropped the tailgate with a bang before picking up Banna and Macy. ‘Move,’ the hulking Nazi told Nina.

She jumped down. As Walther lumbered after her, she looked up at the house. It was distinctly Germanic, white-painted walls divided by black timber cross-beams with a high, steeply sloping roof. The other houses nearby were similar in style, though smaller.

Rasche headed to the front door. Walther pushed Nina ahead of him, her companions being carried behind. The newcomers’ arrival had attracted interest, a group of young men marching along a side path looking on as they passed—

Nina’s eyes locked on to one of the observers as his gaze snapped to her. Simultaneous recognition — but for her, the feeling was joined by shock. She was looking at a dead man.

It was Volker Koenig, the youth who had sought her out in Los Angeles, only to be gunned down by Maximilian Jaekel.

But that was impossible. This had to be a twin. Did he know what had happened to his brother?

The doppelgänger’s group marched out of sight as she arrived at the house. A man standing in the porch snapped to attention, one arm raised in a ramrod-straight Nazi salute. Rasche returned it somewhat more casually. The guard opened the door for them.

The first thing that hit Nina was the smell: the interior stank, a pervasive miasma of cigarette smoke, coffee grounds and stale sweat soaked into the woodwork. The group went down a long hall. Rasche knocked on an ornate dark oak door. ‘Hereinkommen,’ said a voice. They entered.

Nina froze at the sight waiting for her. The room was a large study, the wooden walls and furniture all carved in an elaborate Gothic style, eagles and other motifs of the Third Reich featuring prominently. But two symbols overpowered all others. The first was a huge Nazi flag hanging on the wall behind a large desk.

The other was above the fireplace, a portrait of one of the most evil men in history.

Adolf Hitler.

Nina stared at the painting, almost refusing to accept that such a thing could still exist. It was the twenty-first century! How could anyone still believe in the hate-filled rantings of this madman?

Her eyes then went to the room’s occupants, and she had her answer.

These men were not neo-Nazis, appropriating the basest elements of Hitler’s twisted philosophy to cover their own fears and failures and inadequacies. Like Rasche and Walther, they had personally been a part of the horrors of Nazism, true believers from the start.

She knew their faces from the mugshots at the United Nations. Herman Schneider, squat and toad-like, little eyes lighting up with a predatory glee at the sight of the two captive women. Bren Gausmann, thin-faced and with a cold, dead stare that told her he would feel no more remorse at killing a human being than he would a fly.

And the leader of the group, behind the desk. Erich Kroll, bald and bloated almost beyond recognition — if not for the malignancy in his gaze. It was a look that had been the last thing countless victims ever saw.

And now it turned upon her. ‘Dr Nina Wilde. Welcome to the Enklave.’ His voice was deep and heavy with smoker’s phlegm.

Nina tried not to show her fear. ‘Erich Kroll. I can’t say that I’m pleased to meet you.’

One fleshy eyebrow twitched upwards. ‘You know who I am.’

‘You’re famous. Well, infamous.’

‘As are you.’ Kroll gestured at Macy and Banna. ‘Wachen sie auf,’ he said. The two men carrying them deposited them far from gently on chairs against the wall — then slapped their faces.

‘Hey!’ Nina protested. ‘Leave them alone!’

Walther pounded a fist down on her upper back and knocked her to the floor. It felt as if a tree had fallen on her. ‘Shut up!’ he barked. ‘You do not give orders here.’

‘Sturmmann,’ said Kroll in mild reproach. ‘Get up, Dr Wilde.’

Nina stood painfully. By now, the other prisoners had been forced back to consciousness. ‘Nina?’ said Macy, confused, before fright took hold. ‘Oh my God! They — they killed the others, they—’

‘Macy, Macy!’ Nina cut in, trying to calm her. ‘It’s okay, we’ll be okay. They want something from us — they won’t do anything to us until they get it.’

‘The fish,’ croaked Banna. ‘Where is the Andreas relic?’

Kroll turned expectantly towards Rasche, who called back into the hall. Another man brought in the case containing the bronze artefact. The lid was raised to reveal the prize within.

Gausmann and Schneider stepped closer with greedy eyes, while Kroll leaned forward in his seat, almost willing the metal piece towards him. ‘Haben wir es endlich…’ the Nazi leader whispered.

Nina didn’t need to understand his words to know his meaning. ‘Yeah, you’ve got it,’ she said. ‘So why do you need us?’

‘Because you will help us to use it,’ Kroll replied. He rose, both hands flat on the oak desktop to push his bulk out of the chair. Despite being grossly obese, he was a threatening, dangerous figure, tall and overbearing. He stood before his prisoners. ‘It will lead us to the Spring of Immortality.’

‘The Spring of Immortality?’ Banna echoed. ‘But that is just a myth — a fantasy from the Alexander Romance.’

Kroll chuckled, a thoroughly humourless sound. ‘It is no fantasy, Dr Banna.’

‘Yeah, I think that’s proven by the fact that you’re all standing here and not rotting in your graves,’ said Nina. ‘So how did you find out about the statue of Bucephalus? You knew it was inside Alexander’s tomb even before the tomb was discovered — how?’

‘I will show you.’ Kroll returned to his desk. Rather than sit, though, he went to the huge hanging swastika behind.

Rasche spoke in German; the words were said with a degree of deference, but were still clearly critical, even challenging. The bald man shot him an irritated look. ‘It is my decision, and mine alone, Rasche.’ That he was replying in English told Nina that he was speaking for the benefit of the three visitors, letting them know who was in charge. ‘The more information they have, the faster they will be able to locate the spring.’

His subordinate was displeased at the dressing-down, but nodded. ‘Mein Führer.’

Kroll tugged a cord at one side of the banner, drawing the swastika aside like a curtain. Behind it was revealed a large metal door with a keyhole and combination dial: a safe.

The Nazi leader pushed his fingertips under the folds of his jowls and into his collar, pulling out a key on a gold chain. He inserted it into the keyhole and turned it, then — after a wary glance at the others in the room — moved in front of the dial to enter a combination. A dull click, and he pulled at a recessed handle. The heavy door slowly swung open.

Nina’s eyes widened in amazement as she took in what lay behind. It was no mere safe, but a vault. The metal-walled space was about twelve feet by twelve.

And packed with treasure.

Gold and silver glinted in the stark light of an overhead bulb. She saw coins, statues, even pieces of armour — all stored in open wooden crates stencilled with the eagle and swastika of the Third Reich. But it was clear what the former SS men considered the greatest treasure of all. In pride of place was a very large pottery jar inscribed with Greek text. A set of wooden steps was positioned by the pithos to give easier access to its silver-rimmed neck.

Kroll stepped into the vault. ‘Bring them,’ he ordered. The guards gestured with their guns. Nina and her companions hesitantly followed the overweight man into the confined space.

‘A family of Greek farmers had been protecting a shrine to Andreas beneath their house for centuries,’ explained Kroll. ‘They had kept his secret for all that time — until we discovered it.’

‘And stole it,’ Nina said, unable to contain her caustic disgust.

‘It was the property of the Reich.’

‘And after the Reich was destroyed, it just happened to stay in your hands, right?’

The Nazi’s eyes blazed with fury. ‘We are the Reich! As long as we persist, it will never be destroyed.’ With a visible effort, he calmed himself. ‘And it is because of this that we have persisted. It has kept us young for seventy years.’

‘I’m guessing that it’s not full of Metamucil.’

Kroll had apparently never heard of the dietary supplement; he ignored her and continued. ‘It contains water from the Spring of Immortality. I knew of the legend — Alexander had always been a hero of mine,’ he said in brief reverie, ‘but it was hard to believe that it could be true. The moment I drank it, however, I knew. It had a strange glow, an almost electric charge — it was more than ordinary water. It would bring everlasting life to those who drank it — and when I read the text on the jar, I realised that the spring was still out there, waiting to be found.’

‘So you took it for yourself. And everything else in the shrine as well.’

‘It was needed.’ He gestured at the riches. ‘There was more to begin with — much more. But we had to use it. First to buy our freedom from the Allies after the war, then to pay for our escape to South America — and even more to buy the Enklave, to ensure our privacy as we worked to build the New Reich. Survival is an expensive business.’

Nina glanced back at Walther, remembering what he had said in Alexander’s tomb. ‘And I guess after all this time, you’re running out of gold.’

‘We will soon no longer need gold,’ Kroll replied. ‘All the money we could ever require will be ours — after we locate the spring. When the Egyptians announced the discovery of the tomb of Alexander the Great, I knew that was our chance to find it. But first we had to obtain the statue of Bucephalus. So we made plans to take it.’

‘How did you know about the statue?’ asked Banna. ‘It was not mentioned in any of the existing sources describing the tomb.’

The Nazi indicated the text upon the pithos. ‘From this.’ He turned to an old wood and metal box. ‘And this — the original text of the Alexander Romance, written by Andreas himself.’

Despite the situation, Nina couldn’t help but feel excitement. ‘You have the original?’

Kroll nodded. ‘There is far more to it than any of the later versions. But the text on the pithos told us the true meaning of what Andreas wrote. He hid the truth inside the fantasy… and also told us which parts were the truth. The spring is real. And Andreas returned to it, after Alexander’s death in 323 BC.’

‘Where is it?’ Macy asked.

‘If we knew that, you would not be here,’ the Nazi told her.

‘If they knew that, we’d be dead,’ Nina added. Macy blanched.

‘According to these, the spring lies somewhere along Alexander’s route to India,’ said Kroll, turning back to the inscriptions upon the pithos. ‘They also say that the statue of Bucephalus that Andreas placed inside Alexander’s tomb will reveal its location, but only to those who prove themselves as wise as Alexander by completing his tests. I believe you solved the first of these.’

‘Yeah, the riddle of the Gordian Knot,’ said Nina. ‘Use brute force to cut through the problem. I’m sure you would have come up with that answer quickly enough. It seems to be your solution to everything.’

‘That is because it works,’ Rasche said from outside the vault.

‘But now that you have found the relic, the next part of the text makes sense,’ Kroll continued. ‘It says that once the riddle of the statue is solved, it will lead you from Alexander’s tomb to the Kingdom of Darkness, and the spring itself.’ He looked back at the ancient artefact in its case. ‘The fish confirms a theory I have long held, but have never been able to share with the world. Do you recognise this?’

Nina examined the device he picked up, a collection of interlocking bronze cogs sandwiched between rectangular metal plates. It was a complex machine — even more so than the fish. ‘It looks like…’ Surprise as her memory produced a match. ‘The Antikythera Mechanism? A working copy?’ Banna was equally astonished.

Kroll nodded. ‘It is an astrolabe, made by Andreas himself — as was the duplicate found in the shipwreck. When I first saw this one in Greece, I thought it was a much later addition to the shrine. It was not until I learned about the work in the 1970s to date the Antikythera Mechanism that I realised its true age.’

‘Andreas built it?’ asked the Egyptian.

‘Yes. He lived for a very long time, and he learned a great deal during his life. He became an extremely clever man. Clever enough to hide his greatest discovery in a way that only those of equal brilliance could find.’

‘You mean the Spring of Immortality,’ said Nina.

‘I do. Now,’ said Kroll, returning the device to its place, ‘I am learned in ancient Greek, and also in the history of Alexander himself. Given time, I will find the spring. But with three archaeologists to assist me, I am sure I will do so much sooner.’ He smiled, the expression conveying only menace.

‘What’s the rush?’ said Macy. ‘I mean, you’ve kept hidden for seventy years. Why do you need it right now?’

‘Because they’re running out of water,’ Nina said, understanding. She looked at Kroll. ‘That’s why you’ve taken such a huge risk by coming out into the open, isn’t it? A place this big, you must have a lot of thirsty guys running around.’

‘The water of life is reserved for the Oberkommando!’ barked one of the guards.

Nina gave him a disbelieving glance, then addressed Kroll again. ‘Oh, I get it. The water’s only for the elite. The Hitler Youth turn into the Hitler Oldth, but you live for ever, right?’

‘When our time comes, all members of the New Reich will share the water of life,’ replied Kroll. The line sounded as if it had been spouted often enough to become a platitude. The guards seemed to believe it, however. ‘But yes, even rationing our supply, there is little left.’

‘You’ll be able to stretch it out longer without your buddy who died in Los Angeles, I guess.’ The Nazi gave her a sharp look; Jaekel’s death was clearly still a touchy subject. That realisation triggered another, Nina’s mind going back to the FBI briefing in New York. ‘There were eight of you originally. What happened to the other two?’

‘Oster was killed before we escaped Europe. After we reached Argentina and built the Enklave, we realised that Henkel did not share our views. He was purged.’

‘For the good of the New Reich, right?’ she said sarcastically.

‘I… I do not understand,’ said Banna. ‘You say the water has kept you young for seventy years? How is that possible?’

‘It’s the carbon-60, isn’t it?’ Nina said to Kroll. ‘The buckyballs in the water? They capture the impurities in the body that encourage the ageing process.’

The Nazi was surprised. ‘You are very well informed, Dr Wilde.’

‘You can thank the FBI for that. They analysed Jaekel’s flask of water.’

Schneider spoke; all Nina understood was Jaekel’s name, but the remark was definitely pointed. ‘Jaekel failed,’ Kroll replied angrily. ‘If he had killed Koenig before he gave the stolen papers to Dr Wilde, the Egyptians would not have been warned of our operation, and we would not have lost so many men.’

‘Why did he try to kill Nina?’ Macy asked hesitantly.

‘Believe it or not, Dr Wilde,’ said Kroll, turning to the redhead, ‘when we learned about the discovery of Alexander’s tomb, we considered asking you to help us obtain the statue of Bucephalus.’

Nina was startled. ‘Me? Why the hell would you think I’d do that?’

‘There are certain elites — business, political, religious — who would oppose our return to power because it would threaten their own. You have been quite adept at eliminating their members.’ The empty smile briefly returned. ‘But it did not require much research to see that you do not share our vision for the world. So when Jaekel encountered you in Los Angeles, he tried to remove a potential threat after eliminating his primary target.’

‘You mean Volker Koenig?’

Kroll gestured at the vault door. The two guards stepped back, signalling for the archaeologists to return to the study. ‘Volker was a disruptive influence,’ said the leader as he followed them out. ‘A renegade and a traitor. He deliberately sought degenerate outside influences that turned him against us. But we did not realise the true extent of his treachery until he broke into my office one night. He stole the plans for our operation in Egypt — and also read all the information that had been compiled on you, Dr Wilde.’ The Nazi indicated a modern laptop computer on his desk, incongruous in the Gothic surroundings. ‘He thought that as the world’s most famous archaeologist, and the director of the International Heritage Agency, you were the best person to stop us — he did not know that you had resigned from the IHA. Nor did we. So we sent Jaekel after him… and you.’

‘How the hell did Jaekel even get into the country?’ demanded Nina. ‘He was a wanted war criminal, and his fingerprints were instantly flagged after he died. So how did he get through immigration?’

‘We have been readying ourselves for our return to the world. Every man in the Enklave has multiple passports: Argentine, German — and American. Holders of American passports are not subjected to biometric fingerprinting on arrival in the United States.’

‘Good to know that all that money we spend on Homeland Security’s worth every penny.’ Kroll’s phrasing prompted another question. ‘Wait, you said every man in the Enklave? What about women? I haven’t seen a single woman since we got here.’

Something resembling a giggle came from Schneider. ‘Women have their place in the New Reich,’ he said, with a creepy little smile. ‘Where they belong.’ His gaze wandered lustfully over Macy’s body. The young American shrank back behind Nina, suddenly very conscious of her light summer clothing.

‘We are building a fighting force,’ announced Kroll. ‘For that, we need men. Females are needed to grow our numbers, but we keep them to the minimum necessary. They can be a… distraction.’ He gave the leering Schneider a disapproving look.

It took a moment for the repellent implications to sink in. ‘I guess when you’ve got no socialists, trade unionists or Jews to come for, all that’s left are women,’ said Nina, sickened.

‘Do not test my patience, Dr Wilde.’ Kroll closed the vault door, then moved the banner back to conceal it. ‘Now. The relic contains the location of the Spring of Immortality. You will find it for us.’

‘No, I won’t.’

The bluntness of her response surprised the Nazis. Walther moved as if to hit her again, but Kroll waved him back. ‘You will. Or we will kill you.’

Nina somehow managed to conceal her fear as she stared back at the obese monster. ‘Kill me, and you get nothing. I don’t think you’re smart enough to find the spring on your own — and without it, you’re just a group of thugs who are running out of money, and running out of time.’ Anger rose in the room, but she pressed on. ‘And that’s assuming the Mossad don’t track you down first. They know you’re still alive — how long do you think it’ll take them to find your little kingdom?’

‘If the Mossad come, we will deal with them,’ Kroll growled. He took a pistol from his desk. Nina didn’t need her husband’s knowledge of firearms to recognise it as a Luger, the standard-issue sidearm of both the Nazi military and the SS. ‘As we will deal with all who oppose us — including you.’ He pointed the gun at the American. ‘Are you really willing to die to stop us from finding the spring?’

It was harder than ever for Nina to hold firm, but she did so. ‘Yes,’ she said. Kroll’s fat index finger curled more tightly around the Luger’s trigger…

Then eased. ‘It would seem that you are,’ he said, his voice unexpectedly calm, almost curious. His malevolent eyes bored into hers for several chilling seconds — then the gun swung away.

Locking on to Macy.

The young woman gasped in fright. ‘You may be willing to die, Dr Wilde,’ said Kroll. ‘But what about your friends?’

Nina sidestepped to put herself between Macy and the Luger. ‘Don’t you even—’

This time Kroll did not wave Walther off. The huge man smashed Nina to the floor. Macy shrieked, Banna jumping back in horrified shock.

Nina groaned, her shoulder searing as if it had been hit by a baseball bat. She forced out words. ‘Fuck… you, you… Nazi bastard.’ Walther kicked her savagely in the side.

‘If she is not going to help us, we should kill her,’ said Rasche. His eyes developed a manic gleam. ‘I will do it myself.’

Kroll shook his head. A command, and Walther reluctantly stepped back. ‘Dr Wilde, you will help us, or I shall have your friends tortured. To death, if necessary.’ He turned to Macy and Banna. ‘The same applies to you. Cooperate, or you will be responsible for the suffering of the others. Do you understand?’

Macy nodded in silence. ‘Yes, yes,’ whispered Banna, trembling.

‘They’re gonna kill us anyway,’ Nina warned.

‘That is up to you,’ said Kroll. His expression of curiosity returned. ‘You are willing to die to protect the secret. Why is that? Why do you care?’

She managed a thin, sardonic smile. ‘Gee, why would I want to stop a gang of Nazi war criminals who’re trying to build a whole new army from getting hold of the secret of eternal life? Plus you tried to kill me in Los Angeles. That’s why I came back to help the IHA. You made it personal.’

The SS leader was about to respond when a sudden thought stopped him. ‘You came back to the IHA,’ he said, calculating, ‘but you had kept it a secret that you had even left.’ He moved to stand over her. ‘Why did you leave?’

‘Because I’d had enough of all the bureaucratic bullshit,’ Nina said, though she couldn’t help a slight hesitation.

Kroll picked up on it. ‘I do not believe you.’

‘It’s the truth. If you’d ever dealt with the UN, you’d know.’

He shook his head, jowls rippling over his collar. ‘You forget, Dr Wilde, I am an officer of the Schutzstaffel. I am trained in interrogation, and I know when someone is lying. As you are now. That tells me the matter is very important to you. So I will ask you again: why did you resign?’

She sighed, feigning defeat. ‘Okay, okay. I had a half-million dollar offer to write my autobiography and I needed time to work on it. It was a mercenary thing to do, and I’m not all that proud of it, but half a million bucks is a lot of money.’

‘That was not a lie,’ Kroll said after a moment. ‘But… it was not the whole truth, either. There is something more. Why did you resign?’

‘Who am I, Patrick McGoohan? I told you the reason. Half a million reasons, actually.’

Kroll’s stare remained locked on to her. ‘Rasche,’ he said, ‘shoot one of the others in the knee. The girl or the Araber, I do not care which.’

Rasche’s face lit up. ‘Jawohl, mein Führer!’ He drew his gun and pointed it at Macy’s leg—

‘No!’ Nina cried.

Kroll raised a hand. ‘Halten.’ Rasche froze, angry disappointment upon his face. ‘Well, Dr Wilde? The truth — or I will command him to fire.’

Nina looked helplessly up at her friend. This time, her expression of defeat was not faked. ‘I resigned because… I’m ill. Terminally ill. I’m dying.’

Kroll regarded her closely, also noting Macy’s dismay at the admission. ‘The truth at last. Of what are you dying?’

‘I was poisoned. By something the Soviets discovered in the Cold War, an organic toxin. I don’t know how long I’ve got left, but probably not long. And that’s why I came back to the IHA,’ she admitted. ‘So I could make one last discovery, by opening Alexander’s tomb. And stopping you from raiding it.’ She sat up, pressing a hand to the new bruise where Walther had kicked her. Revulsion instinctively crossed her face as her fingers felt the line of tumorous bulges beneath her clothing.

Again, Kroll caught the blink-fast flicker of her expression. ‘What was that?’

‘What was what?’ Nina asked, confused.

‘When you touched your side. There is something under your clothes.’

‘She was searched,’ Rasche insisted. ‘There is nothing hidden.’

‘Did you look, or did you just feel?’ Kroll snapped. ‘Dr Wilde, raise your shirt.’

‘What?’ Nina protested. ‘What the hell for?’

‘Do it!’ The Nazi leader glanced at Rasche, whose gun was still aimed at Macy.

‘Okay, okay! Jesus,’ Nina tugged up her grubby top. ‘There! Happy now…’

She had meant to say that with as much defiance as she could muster, but the words faded as she saw the growths on her skin.

In the whirlwind chaos of her visit to Egypt, she had not given them more than a cursory glance. But now she saw to her disgust and horror that even in the few days since she’d revealed them to Eddie, the loathsome excrescences had visibly grown. Worse, more had appeared, several angry red blisters extending the line of infection further around her torso. ‘Jesus,’ she repeated, this time in a whisper.

Macy gasped. ‘Oh my God! Nina…’

Kroll bent to peer at the tumours. ‘They are worse than you expected.’ It was not a question.

‘That’s right,’ Nina said, determined not to let the Nazi see her despair. ‘So you can’t threaten me. I’m already dead — I just haven’t stopped moving yet. And putting a bullet in my head would probably be doing me a favour.’

‘We still have your friends,’ Rasche warned.

‘We may have something more.’ Kroll straightened, a smile slowly oozing on to his lips. ‘I think you will help us find the Spring of Immortality, Dr Wilde. And you will do so because you want to.’

‘And why would I do that?’ demanded Nina.

The smile widened, exposing crooked, nicotine-stained teeth. ‘In the seventy years that we have been taking the water,’ said Kroll, ‘not one of us has been ill, even for one day. Not with so much as a cold. And the water does not merely prevent sickness. It cures it. Schneider had pneumonia when we found the pithos; after he drank from it, the infection disappeared.’ Schneider nodded in confirmation. The SS commander regarded Nina with the air of someone making an offer that could not be refused. ‘The spring is your only hope of staying alive, Dr Wilde. Help us find it… and we will share it with you.’