Around them, Istanbul had come to life. Pedestrians and tourists filled the streets: some window-shopped or sat at tables in outdoor cafés. Lourds had always loved the city. Istanbul, as Constantinople before it, had a long and exciting history.

The initial settlement had been made in 6500 BC on the Anatolian side of the area. The Fikirtepe mound had revealed artefacts dating from 5500-3500 BC, during the Copper Age. One of the ports, Kadikoy, also known as Chalcedon, had been active during the time of the Phoenicians. The Bosphorus River held the record for the narrowest strait used for international travel. According to ancient Greek myth, the river had been named after Io, one of Zeus’s lovers after the god turned her into an ox to protect her from his jealous wife. Usually Lourds found himself soothed by the presence of so much history around him. Despite the modern additions to the area, it wasn’t hard to imagine the seaport city as it had been during its heyday. The salty sea air wouldn’t have had the taint of diesel, but otherwise it would have smelled much the same.

But Lourds couldn’t relax. He kept expecting an assault from any front.

‘You didn’t mention your name,’ Lourds said.

The young man smiled and shook his head. ‘I cannot. Please forgive me this social inadequacy. I have very strict orders.’

‘Regarding me? Or the book?’

‘They are the same.’

‘Seeing as how I’ve been under the threat of death since I arrived in the city, isn’t there something you can tell me?’

‘Only that many things are coming to a head and danger is loose in the world.’

‘Kind of oblique, don’t you think?’ Lourds asked.

‘In your field of study, you’ve covered a lot of history. Have you ever known a prophecy that was not oblique?’

‘This is about a prophecy?’

‘No. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.’ The young man trailed his fingers through his goatee and looked pained. ‘Honestly, Professor, I wish that I could tell you more.’

‘Besides you, and Qayin’s people, who else knows about this?’

‘Several people know something of the background regarding the book, and the secret it protects. Qayin’s people have had it for a very long time.’

‘How long?’

‘The last three hundred and thirty-seven years.’

‘In this city?’

‘That book,’ the young man said, ‘has never left this city.’

‘Why?’

‘It isn’t permitted.’

Lourds shook his head. ‘I don’t understand. Anyone could leave this city with the book.’

‘Could you?’ The young man smiled with bright interest. ‘I wonder if you could.’

‘Is that a challenge?’

‘The challenge, Professor, is whether you can decipher the book and find what it hides.’

‘I could do that at Harvard,’ Lourds said. ‘In fact, it might be far easier to do it there.’ He paused. ‘Or would you stop me?’

‘Yes. As would Qayin. There are others who seek the book as well. If you stay here, we can protect you to some degree.’

‘Like you did yesterday?’

‘We didn’t know you were in jeopardy until yesterday,’ the young man said.

‘You didn’t know Qayin would kidnap me?’

‘No. It wasn’t until his lackeys were recognized that we knew of Qayin’s involvement.’

‘Qayin thought I might be able to decipher the book and your people didn’t?’

‘Sorry, but no, we didn’t.’

Lourds emitted a displeased grunt.

‘Please don’t take that as a slight against your ability, Professor,’ the young man said. ‘We’ve had people working on that book for generations. During those years, my superiors have come to the conclusion that we weren’t waiting for an individual to translate that text. We were waiting for a time.’

Somewhat mollified, Lourds nodded. ‘You think now is the time?’

‘We are prepared to wait and see. And to allow you your chance with the book. When we found Qayin’s hiding place and discovered that you were able to translate portions of the book, it was decided that perhaps the time might be now.’ The young man glanced out of the window but Lourds knew he wasn’t seeing anything out there. His mind was elsewhere.

‘Qayin must have had a higher estimation of my abilities than you,’ Lourds said.

‘Perhaps.’ The young man glanced at Lourds again. ‘Or perhaps he was merely more desperate.’

‘I suppose there’s no slight intended in that observation either.’

‘No. I apologize. I’m used to being very blunt in matters concerning that book.’

The cab slowed, then pulled into the entrance lane of the Eserin Crown Hotel. A liveried expediter stepped up to the side of the cab and opened the door for Lourds. The man was professional enough to only look askance at the professor’s dishevelled appearance for a moment.

‘Good morning, sir,’ the expediter greeted. ‘Welcome to the Eserin Crown Hotel.’

‘Good morning,’ Lourds responded. ‘Thank you.’

‘Do you have any bags?’

Lourds almost laughed. Had the situation been funny, he might have. ‘No, I suppose I don’t.’ That was going to be a problem. He turned back to the young man in the cab. ‘Will I see you again?’

‘That remains to be seen.’ He extended a hand. ‘Good luck, Professor. I hope you’re successful in your endeavour. In any event, we will be in touch.’

Lourds didn’t know if he was supposed to feel threatened, but he did. Having nothing else to say, he closed the cab’s door and stepped back. The cab driver cruised sedately into the traffic. The young man glanced back through the window and waved in a purely innocent gesture.

Lourds waved back and felt immediately stupid. He turned to the expediter. ‘I suppose the hotel has good security?’

‘Of course, sir. Only the very best.’

‘And someone on site?’

The expediter looked at Lourds curiously. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Very good.’ Lourds allowed the man to open the door for him and stepped into an elegant foyer. Guests and staff stared at him as though he were a street person. He had to admit that, with torn clothing and covered in dirt, he would have easily passed muster as one of those.

Gathering his dignity, Lourds approached the check-in desk. A beautiful young woman in a business suit looked up at him and politely said hello. Lourds gave her his name. The young woman’s face brightened immediately, but it was clearly a struggle. Lourds was certain she was probably downwind of him.

‘Ah, of course. Professor Lourds,’ the young woman said brightly. ‘We had expected you yesterday.’

‘I take it you haven’t been watching the news.’

The young woman gazed at him blankly. ‘Excuse me?’

‘I was delayed,’ Lourds replied. ‘It was in the news.’

‘Sorry. I must have missed it.’ She made quick entries into the computer and asked for a credit card against room expenses. ‘Would you need one key or two?’

‘One, thank you.’ Lourds took the proffered key and headed for the elevator bank.

‘Oh, Professor Lourds,’ the desk clerk called.

‘Yes?’

‘You’ll find your bags are already in your room.’

‘Really? Who delivered them?’

The clerk shrugged and looked at her computer. ‘The screen doesn’t say. Only that the bags were delivered yesterday afternoon.’

Lourds thanked her and took the elevator up to his room. You really shouldn’t be doing this, he thought. If you had any sense, you’d take a taxi to the airport and board the first flight back to Boston that you could get.

But he knew he wasn’t going to do that. The mystery of the book was calling out to him.

Outside his room door, Lourds hesitated with the electronic keycard in hand. Cold fear shivered through him and nausea twisted his stomach. He really wasn’t prepared for anything like this.

Despite his efforts to find lost Atlantis, and all the dangers he’d faced then, he wasn’t mentally or physically suited for the rigours of getting shot at and beaten. Those were experiences he much preferred to read about in the thrillers he relished. He was a simple man, really.