Read The Lost Treasure Map Series Online

Authors: V Bertolaccini

Tags: #adventure books, #mystery suspense, #mystery detective, #classic horror, #national treasure, #quadrilogy, #classic bestsellers, #science fiction classics, #ancient lost treasures, #fantastic journeys

The Lost Treasure Map Series (4 page)

He had the
freedom to roam the castle, and he wanted to take full advantage of
it before he left.

As he started
going through the rooms on the bottom floor, which he had not seen
anyone near, he realized that there were too many mysteries, and no
noticeable means of solving them.

He stopped to
rest at a room window, and realized the hopelessness of such an
endeavor. He observed the dark parts of trees sticking out from the
blanket of snow.

The snow had
stopped, and the sky was cloudless.

Some ravens
croaked, and flew up into the air, from nearby trees, as though
someone was there.

A gentle
breeze blew up some snow on the ledge, like grains of salt.

The furniture,
about him, held his attention, as he was unable to determine what
its use was. There was no bed. Just furniture – giving it the look
of a study. It also had a door at its side, which had not been in
any of the other rooms.

Its brass
handle was stiff, feeling as if it had been that way for a long
time, and he had to give it a hard jerk to make it budge. As it
creaked open, a black switch became faintly visible on the white
wall. It activated the lights, which flickered and grew bright.

It took a few
seconds for the sight before him to sink in, and he stood steady,
glaring at shelves of books, covering its walls.

As he
approached them, it became clear that it was a small library.

He had dismissed that there were any
books, as they
’d
not been aware of there being a book on the entire
estate.

If an answer to the clue existed, he knew
that it could well be there! Even though they seemed to be mainly
only outdated books on city affairs, which had to have belonged to
Sir Richard.

He scribbled
down the subjects of the books, and added any interesting facts
that he noticed. If he could find out more about Sir Richard, and
what subjects he had been interested in, he might be able to
discover where he would have been most likely to put it.

Yet, as he
went through them, he became aware that they were very old business
books, and that he might have changed considerably over the amount
of time that he had acquired them to when he had made his video.
His business past interests spanned a wide variety of subjects.

Some other
books grabbed his attention, but only proved, to his amusement,
that he had had an interest in pirates and ships. And, of course,
even that somehow seemed to connect to his business interests. He
tried to think of where a businessman such as him would have put
things, but he could not think of anything.

It was going
to take a considerable amount of time to check them in more detail,
which could waste a vast amount of his time.

He was
starting to enjoy the empty corridors, and vast limits of space,
which existed there. His own home, and even the hotels, would never
compensate for it. The silence, lack of crowds and city sounds was
so unusual and glorious he would surely miss it.

Bryson made
his way up to the top floor, listening to the voices there. He
glanced about, and saw Sarah, with a mischievous smile. He
instantly believed that they had been wrecking the place, to find
what they wanted.

The women had
rolled up the carpets, at part of the corridor, beside Sir
Richard’s room. While the men were searching through everything in
the rooms further along.


Has
anyone found anything?” he uttered to James, detecting a scent of a
perfume, which he did not recognize.


I don’t
think so, but we are making good progress,” he replied, with a
slight smile.

Bryson tried
to work out how many rooms they could properly check before the
time limit.

They would not
even progress close to it, but they were only searching the places
where it was most likely to be, and there would be enough time to
do that.

Bryson moved
over to one of the rooms, where he heard Robert, checking the
walls, for any hollow places.


There
he is!” he grunted.


We were
considering trying the outer walls,” Robert announced, without
hesitation. “What do you think?”


That’s
a good idea!” Bryson answered, seeking a change of scenery, and to
go outside. “We can have a good look at the castle. There may be
something outside that will help us answer that clue.”


Perhaps
it’s in something on the outside of it!” James revealed.

Robert
shrugged. Bryson could tell that Robert was beginning to lose faith
in their plans.

He wondered if
Sir Richard would have actually hid it on the outside. However, he
could not imagine him climbing out to hide it, or putting it at the
ground level. Outer parts of the structure were also crumbling
away.


Have
you completed searching here?” he asked.


We’ve
searched most of it,” James replied. “We’re searching where we
believe it could be.”

James looked
about him. “Why did such a rich guy not have anything of value
about him?”


He
explained that in ‘his video’!” Robert moaned.


Even
with his views, he should have had things: such as expensive
jewellery.”


Perhaps
someone
took
everything
out of his room!”

Chapter 9

 

The Map

 

“Here
’s
an interesting
one!

James
loudly announced

standing up, and sitting back down

holding a
tattered book by his fingers, allowing them to view it.


It
’s
about castles!

Robert remarked excitedly, holding
out his hand.

This castle may be in it!

Robert took it, and laid it down.

But it was obvious that there was nothing to
see, and he just flicked through the pages.


Well, it
’s
a start! There may be some useful
books.

Suddenly Bryson saw a page from it
lying on the floor, under the table

which clearly had fallen from
it.

He picked it up, and unfolded it on the
table in front of them.


Well, what
’s
this?

James asked, frustrated.


It
’s
an old drawing of
this
castle,

Robert replied.

But Bryson realized that it was more
than a drawing

it was an ancient plan. It had far more detail, and it was a
map of the interior

drawn by someone. (Something a tourist might
use!)

After a few minutes, Robert lost
interest.


Are we going
outside?

he announced, with a little hesitation.

What do you
think?


That
’s
an idea,

Bryson answered, wondering if Sir
Richard would really have hidden it on the outside.


Good.
We’ll go out
later
then!”

Chapter 10

 

Castle of
Horrors

 

A bitter breeze
blew across Bryson’s cheek, through a crack in the window frame.
His fingers touched the cold surface of the glass, and he brushed
his hand across it, cleaning it.

He left his
hand on it, heating the frost on the other side, allowing it to
melt enough for him to see out of it. He soon confirmed that it was
not bright outside.

The brightness
of the room light made him turn, to see Mortimer, with his hand at
the switch. Bryson immediately went over to admire a Victorian
painting on a wall, with his ears sensitive to any sounds.

The painting
was like a view into the past, holding hidden clues to what he had
experienced there, and he searched it trying to find clues. There
had to be something that would slightly suggest something that
might answer the mysteries of the castle.

He was soon
racking his brain again, trying to scientifically determine what
the sounds had been. He could tell that Merton and Mortimer had
checked the rooms along the corridor from that room. The castle’s
vastness and that the scientists could encounter something
unprepared seemed to stop them exploring it further.

Mortimer
slightly turned his head from the window.

He had
expected some of the others to take some interest and check the
scientists and equipment, and give their opinions of what they
thought of it. But they insisted in holding to their rule of
avoiding there. They only marched past the rooms, taking small
glances.

The two
psychic investigators had offered no explanations, keeping their
views to themselves, and were probably keeping their minds open
until they had properly investigated the rooms. With the amount of
equipment that they had brought, he was sure that they would shed
some light on things.

For some
reason, the whole corridor seemed to have dud light bulbs, making
it look more dangerous, as well as gloomy. However, he was starting
to believe that something had recently damaged the line of lights.
It was very hard to imagine them allowing all the bulbs to go dud
without replacing any. The rooms had their bulbs working, but he
was unsure if anyone had been using them.

As he roamed
the dark corridor, listening to the sounds at the other half of the
corridor, he still searched for anything that they might have
missed.

He wondered if
it had been Sir Richard’s intention, by giving him that room, to
scare him out of coming back to the castle.

However, he
considered it plausible that he might not have known it, as he was
sure that he had not stayed in the rooms, because a servant had led
him to it. Even though she might have been carrying out his
commands. There were too many mysteries and not enough facts to
accuse Sir Richard of anything.

Chapter 11

 

Treasure Hunting

 

At the front of the castle, Bryson rubbed his
hands, and shoved them deep into the pockets of his thick
jacket.

He had
forgotten how hideous the castle looked from the outside. It had a
look of having deadly things behind all its black
windows.

The sun
faintly shone through gaps in the thick clouds,
edging under the
trees
, casting long
shadows, through wild eddies of falling snow dust, making
t
he castle resemble a castle out of an old horror
film.

Bryson studied a clearing going through the
wood, in the mess of vegetation in front of him.

Robert and James finished walking around it,
and started to move away to it.

They entered the trees, going through the
woodland surrounding the castle, as flakes of snow blew about
them.

Robert determinedly stayed in front of
Bryson and James, as they marched off.


Where
’re
we going?

Bryson asked, watching
Robert leading them away.


We want to go over to a structure,
out there,

he replied, to his surprise.

It
’s
in this direction! We saw it from
a window on the top floor. None of us knew what it was!
It
’s
in the
estate, but not on the plan.

 

The words of the clue echoed through
Bryson
’s
mind, as the structure emerged.

When they
finally approached the structure, a blanket of snow started
falling. The thickness of it, and the surrounding darkness,
engulfing them, covered up the looks of it. And he was only able to
get one proper look at it before they reached it.

They rhythmically crunched through layers of
snow (reaching up to his knees in places), and as they arrived at
it, he thought of it as a type of castle pavilion.

The door surprisingly never had a lock, but
it was heavy, solid, and it firmly shut behind them.

Columns of stone went about its interior
like a Greek temple, and, in the middle, stone steps descended to
somewhere below.


Let
’s
check the underground chamber
then,

Robert spoke, not waiting any longer, moving down the
steps.

At the bottom, Bryson stopped to watch
Robert examine some large tombs.

Robert
’s
dark figure, evidently startled,
and strangely crouching, was speedily reading either something
small or something hard to understand

but he saw that he had stumbled on
something.

Chapter 12

 

The Vault

 

Most of the words carved into the tomb were
by all means to do with the clue. Yet, though the most important
words were there, they were in a riddle only comprehensible to
someone who would have known the things that it suggested.

Other books

Cautionary Tales by Piers Anthony
A Woman's Place: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky
What a Lass Wants by Rowan Keats
Stirred: A Love Story by Ewens, Tracy
Asenath by Anna Patricio


readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024