Maggie’s eyes widened with horror. “The one that died in JD’s protective field? I thought it was destroyed!”

“If it was that easy,” Jackson pointed out, “we’d be throwing them all at the shield. I need something to put it in. It could help JD.”

Maggie pulled an evidence bag out of her pocket. “Use this.”

“No.” Harlan grabbed a stick from the shrubbery. “Use this. I wouldn’t even touch it through plastic. Just poke it inside and hold only the bag. You two must be able to feel it, too. No whispers, though, which might mean it was affected by JD’s alchemy last night.”

Maggie nodded. “I feel uncomfortable. Like it’s trying to draw my attention.”

“It will be interesting to see what Nahum and Olivia think of it,” Jackson said. With careful manoeuvring they swept the ring into the bag, and Jackson carried it gingerly in front of him, as if it might explode.

Their find subdued their mood, and when they entered the marquee, Maggie swore. “Herne’s bloody horns! This place looks even worse than I remembered.”

“JD lost a lot of equipment last night,” Harlan observed. They had cleaned the place up, but many of JD’s instruments and alembic jars were smashed. Fortunately, his alchemical wheel had survived, although it was covered in blood. “Not that he cares right now. He’s too caught up in there, especially since he’s discovered the map room.”

Jackson cocked his head. “A map room? You didn’t mention that.”

“It’s hardly a conversation to have with the police around. He thinks that there are instructions to find a hidden laboratory in there.”

Maggie frowned as she led the way down the cave’s long entrance passage. “What makes him think that?”

“The fact that so much information is in there, and that Hermes was an alchemist. I see his point. You’d want your lab close to all the knowledge. It’s like being in the midst of a vast library or museum. He thinks the six-pointed star is the key.”

Jackson stopped. “Can you feel something? Like a hum?”

“You can’t feel a hum!” Harlan pointed out as he and Maggie stopped, too.

“You know what I mean. It’s like the air is vibrating. Like there’s a giant beehive somewhere.”

“That’s a really weird suggestion.”

Maggie scowled. “If he’s unleashed killer bees somehow, I’ll never fucking forgive him. Fucking lunatic.”

Harlan increased his pace, curious to see what the noise was about. “I applaud your imagination, guys, but surely not even JD is that nuts. And he’s a genius, Maggie, not a lunatic.”

Despite his reassurances to the others, Harlan couldn’t help but feel trepidatious as they entered the cave. The humming sensation became more insistent, a dull throb, like a pulse. Had JD released power, somehow? Knowing that Nahum and Olivia were inside too, Harlan increased his speed, suddenly terrified at what he might find. However, when they reached the centre of the cave by the eternal flame, all three stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide.

“What the hell has JD done now?” Jackson said, breathless from shock and the run.

The six-pointed star in the centre of the floor had risen out of the ground by about three metres on metal struts, leaving a gaping hole beneath it. Harlan stepped warily to the edge and saw stairs leading down to a large room, most of which he couldn’t see, with more alchemical symbols inscribed in the floor, all arranged around the base of the flame. JD, Nahum, and Olivia were exploring the space.

“Herne’s hairy balls, JD, you were right,” Harlan said as he reached the bottom step. The chamber reached under the main floor by some distance, a dizzying number of symbols everywhere, and lots of tables filled with alchemical paraphernalia.

“Holy shit in a bucket.” Maggie breathed out the words in a rush. “A lab?”

“Hermes’s own, it seems,” Olivia said, eyes sparkling. “I mean, find of the millennium, right?”

“I should think so,” JD said as he handled some alembic jars. “There’s still no sign of how the flame came to exist, though.”

The flame’s base was in the centre of the lower level, a round stone table encircling it, with a space for access. Close by was a three-legged stand holding a huge crucible. Harlan blinked as he tried to take it all in. It looked as if Hermes had just stepped outside, much as it appeared on the upper level, and Harlan couldn’t help but wonder what other things the cave could be hiding. It was like a Russian doll. If anything, JD looked wilder than ever. His groomed beard and hair were dishevelled, and his flowing shirt was creased and stained with tea and ink.

“When I left you,” Harlan said, studying the room in disbelief mixed with a degree of dread, “none of this had happened! How did you do it?”

“The map room, dear boy. It’s the key to everything. After you all became bored and left me to it, I found the lock to opening this. The surrounding columns held the information, but I didn’t fully understand it. Then something I read in the map room unlocked it all. There was a series of alchemical triggers I had to perform. Once I did that, this place revealed itself.” He swept his arms wide, “It’s the key to stopping Belial.”

“How?”

“By removing his influence from his jewellery. Maybe all of it.”

“Speaking of which,” Jackson said, holding out the plastic bag, “look what I found in the garden.”

JD’s eyes lit up and he swooped on Jackson like a magpie on gold.

“Not so fast!” Nahum scooted in front of him, taking the bag from Jackson. “You didn’t touch it, I hope?”

“Nope. I did not wish to end up possessed by Belial. Although, we suspect its power is muted.”

JD bustled around Nahum. “Let me see!”

Nahum held it high out of reach. “No!”

His hands flew to his hips. “I just want to look.”

“And that’s all!” Nahum lowered it, and they all crowded around. “I think you might be right, Jackson. It does feel less powerful.”

Harlan felt a little aggrieved. He had pointed all that out, not Jackson. “No whispers, right?” he added.

Olivia was behind Nahum, almost using him as a shield, but she nodded in agreement. “No whispers.”

JD clenched his hands, a maniacal gleam in his eye again. “That means that I’m already on the right track. Good. I need to experiment—with your help, Nahum.” He pointed to the floor that was inscribed with alchemical symbols. “Do you notice anything?”

Harlan frowned. “I see a lot of symbols.”

JD tutted as everyone looked confused. “The patterns?”

“It looks,” Jackson suggested, “geometrical.”

“Just one design, or many?” He tapped his foot impatiently. “Use your eyes! God’s pox, you all walk around with your eyes shut! The world works in harmony. There are patterns everywhere. One of the keys to life. Beneath our feet, many of these patterns, geometric nuggets of wisdom, are laid out and interlinked. It is a well of knowledge!”

“It is?” Harlan asked, his head already aching.

“Sort of like your wheel of correspondences?” Olivia asked.

“Far more complex. I have worked with geometric designs, obviously, but this is a work of brilliance. And have you noticed what the designs are made up with?”

“Looks like precious metals,” Nahum said.

“And?” JD had become a mad professor. “Use your eyes!”