Zenith (4) (The Underground Kingdom) Read online

  "Do you know exactly what Zenith is, Stephen?" Tracey asked from behind the table.

  "I think so," I replied. "He appears to be a member of the wolf fraternity, although he's been adapted to underground conditions."

  "Wolves are dangerous, aren't they?" Tracey questioned, biting her lip.

  "They’re badly misunderstood creatures," I lectured. "I know that they rarely attack humans and they have a very strong pack mentality. They’re social animals and quite intelligent into the bargain. Zenith, here, appears to be fairly young, so he's probably become lost from his group."

  "So he's not going to eat us?" Tracey timidly enquired.

  "Highly unlikely," I chuckled. "Keep him fed, and he’ll do anything for you. He already thinks of you as members of his family faction and he'll defend you to the death."

  "Well, that's something at least," Tracey announced, finally emerging from the safety of her table.

  "If you'd like a little hint," I offered, "I suggest that you all take turns feeding him. That will definitely cement your place in his mind as a pack member.”

  "How do you know so much about wolves?" Thorn asked.

  "Wolves are basically dogs and dogs were originally wolves," I explained, "so they both have the same underlying characteristics. Dogs are loyal and protective and therefore, so are wolves. Trix has a marvellous companion who will follow her to the gates of Hades itself." I turned to Trix and waved a warning finger at her. "You'll have to train Zenith. He could probably do the most marvellous things if you teach him."

  "I'll train him to behave, honest," she promised, cuddling Zenith again. "It's marvellous to have a pet! We'll do everything together!"

  "Don't you want to be with me anymore?" Tracey exclaimed, her face a picture of sadness.

  Trix flew into her arms. "Of course I do, you big silly," Trix confirmed, hugging Tracey fiercely. "You're my almost-mother, and I'll always want to be with you. You and I and Zenith will be a team. A mother-daughter-wolf combination. There won't be anything we couldn’t do." Zenith sealed the alliance by licking Tracey’s arm. She giggled and timidly scratched Zenith on the head.

  "Now that's what I call family bonding," I muttered to Thorn.

  Chapter 4

  And so, with the latest family member begging for scraps, we had lunch and wondered what to do next. That decision was taken out of our hands by a summons from the Council of Elders.

  "What now?" I muttered to myself. I soon found out. When we arrived before the Council, I was surprised to find Fink, the Head of Security, also present. I hadn’t seen him for awhile and, although we hadn't been the best of friends in the past, he nodded cordially at me. Interesting. I wondered what his presence foretold. Trix had bought Zenith along, and his attendance caused a few raised eyebrows and a surreptitious pushing back of chairs among the council members, but nothing was said, outwardly at least. When we were settled down, one of the Council commenced to tell us the reason of our summons.

  "Something has happened which compels us to call upon your services again," he began, smiling benignly at our little group. "For some reason or other, you seem to be able to achieve results that nobody else can and therefore, we ask you once more, if you are willing, to come to our aid. Fringapellumna, our Security Chief, will fill you in on the details."

  He nodded at Fink who ostentatiously cleared his throat and commenced, "Someone has broken into a Council Member’s house and made off with a substantial sum of money. Unfortunately, no one saw the culprit and, to date, we have no leads." He stopped, and shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "We were hoping that you might be able to help us with our enquiries."

  Everyone looked at me as if I already knew the identity of the thief and had somehow mysteriously solved the case.

  "Hey, I can't do miracles," I protested to Fink. "What makes you think that I can find this criminal when you can't? You've just admitted there aren’t any clues."

  Before Fink could open his mouth, one of the Council said, "Because of your unique …….. background, Stephen, we hoped you could view the matter from a different perspective and perhaps pursue paths that wouldn’t otherwise be taken. After all, you have already performed wonders for our society that nobody else could have achieved."

  "We need your expertise, Stephen," Fink pleaded, and that, as much as anything, persuaded me. For him to beg for my assistance meant that the situation was indeed beyond redemption in his stratified world. Fink had always been arrogant and self-absorbed in the past – not so much these days, of course – and I found myself wanting to help him if I could. He was much more likeable now that he’d been when I had first met him and, with a bit more encouragement on both sides, we could almost be classified as friends.

  "Very well, then," I conceded. "I'll try my best, but I hope you understand that I can't promise any results."

  "We understand," I was assured. "Fringapellumna will give you any assistance that you require."

  Fink nodded agreement, and we all trooped solemnly out of the Council Chambers. Outside, we formed into a circle to discuss the next move. Fink began by thanking us all for our involvement. "I'll be the first to admit that I'm totally out of my depth," he admitted, rather bashfully, causing me to regard him in a new light. Previously, when we’d first met, he probably would have told us that he didn't need any help from mere civilians, and if we dared to interfere he’d have us arrested. He'd certainly come a long way since then.

  "Tell us what you know," I urged him.

  "There's not that much to tell," he divulged, rubbing his chin. "The burglary occurred at one of the Council Member's houses, and a fair bit of money was taken. Whoever did it dug a tunnel from a nearby empty warehouse to the house and proceeded from there."

  "They dug a tunnel?" Thorn exclaimed. "That must have taken ages!"

  "Yes, it was all carefully planned," Fink disclosed.

  "Let's go and have a look," I suggested. "One of us might spot something."

  "I doubt it," Fink gloomily declared. "Whoever did it made sure to be very careful."

  Fink led us to the warehouse where the tunnel had begun. It wasn't a very large hole, and the excavated dirt had been piled up in a corner. There was quite a lot of tunnel debris and it must have taken some time to accumulate.

  "And nobody heard any digging noises?" I asked. "Judging by the amount of dirt, whoever did it must have been at it for at least a week."

  Fink shrugged. "Nobody reported anything," he stated.

  "Let's explore the tunnel," Trix suggested, eagerly.

  "I'm not going in there!" Tracey unequivocally announced. "It's all dirty and probably full of spiders and worms. I'll wait for you to come back."

  "Fair enough," I said. "The rest of us should be more than enough to see what's going on. We'll be back soon," I told Tracey.

  "Be careful in there," she remonstrated, wringing her hands. "Look after Trix, won't you?"

  "For heaven's sake, Traculimna," Thorn exclaimed, annoyed, "it's just a tunnel, not the opening to the Underworld. Trix will be fine, and so will we."

  "I'll have Zenith to protect me," Trix chimed in. "Nothing’s going to happen."

  "Just come back to me in one piece," Tracey demanded, smiling tremulously. "That's all I ask." Thorn snorted with ill-concealed impatience and, getting down on hands and knees, began her journey into the tunnel. Trix went next, followed by Zenith who began sniffing everywhere. Fink went after that, although it became a tight fit due to his expansive girth. I went last, blowing Tracey a kiss before I entered the claustrophobic mouth of the tunnel. She smiled encouragingly at me and enthusiastically returned my blown kiss.

  The tunnel had been professionally constructed, I noticed, as I awkwardly scrambled along, following Fink’s wobbling backside. It certainly wasn't an amateurish job. Whoever did it must have known something about tunnels. After a crawl of a couple of minutes, I perceived light ahead and emerged into a room.

  "This is the room of the Council Member who was robbe
d," Fink explained as I emerged from the tunnel.

  "Where was the money kept?" Thorn asked, looking around.

  "In the cupboard," Fink answered, pointing to a tall, highly decorated wardrobe. We all crowded around to see. The door opened easily under Thorn's acquisitive tug and revealed a series of drawers.

  "Not very secure, is it?" Thorn sniffed disdainfully. "How did the robber know the money would be there in the first place?"

  "I have no idea," Fink admitted. "As I said, it was very well planned."

  "How much was taken?" Trix wanted to know.

  "I don't know the exact figure," Fink replied, "but I believe it to be quite substantial."

  "So, there were no clues at all?" Thorn asked.

  "Nothing," answered Fink. "We went over this room very thoroughly, believe me, and we didn't find a single thing."

  While the rest were talking, I examined the door of the wardrobe. It was quite a substantial piece of furniture, being built of solid wood – a rarity in this underground world – and it appeared to be in perfect condition, with not a blemish on it, and that in itself made me suspicious. I noticed the door had a lock, still in a pristine condition, with not a trace of a scratch. So, the door hadn’t been forced to gain entry, therefore it had either been unlocked in the first place, or the robber had a key. I couldn't imagine a Member of the Council of Elders being careless enough to leave the door unlocked, especially with so much money inside. I wondered what he was doing with all that cash in his possession, anyway.

  Chapter 5

  While we were all engaged in separate activities, Zenith started to whine and scrabble with his forepaws under the cupboard.

  "Quiet, Zenith!" Trix ordered.

  "No, wait!" I contradicted. "I think he's found something. Trix, you’re the smallest. See if you can see what it is."

  Trix dropped to the floor and peered under the cupboard. "There's definitely something under here," she announced. "Give me a second and I'll see if I can snag it." She slid as close as possible to the cupboard legs and reached in as far as she could. "Got it!" she exclaimed, happily. Zenith barked as Trix withdrew her hand which now clutched a piece of cloth.

  "What is it?" Thorn asked, curiously.

  "I think it's a handkerchief," Fink decided. "I wonder what it’s doing there?" Zenith, meanwhile, jumped up and down and barked excitedly.

  "What's wrong with your animal?" Fink demanded of Trix.

  "I think he's following a scent," I said, slowly.

  "What do you mean?" Trix questioned, staring confusedly at Zenith who was now making yelping voices and trying to butt his owner towards the tunnel mouth.

  "Dogs have an extremely sensitive sense of smell," I revealed, "and can follow a scent the same way that we follow a gravel path. Perhaps the robber dropped the handkerchief and, if that's the case, then Zenith may be able to lead us to him."

  "Then what are we waiting for?" Trix asked, excitedly. "Let's go!"

  With a sniffing Zenith leading the way, we re-entered the tunnel and scurried along its dark passage to the warehouse where Tracey was waiting. We emerged from the tunnel one by one and I gabbled a quick explanation to Tracey as we sprinted after Zenith, who must have had the scent well and truly in his nostrils because he fairly galloped along, nose to the ground, dragging us all in a ragged line behind him. We elicited quite a number of curious stares as we ran along in pursuit of our wolf bloodhound. The chase lasted about ten minutes, and, by that time, Fink was wheezing like a damaged bellows. Zenith led us to a house and began frantically scratching at the door.

  "End of the road," I announced. "Does anybody know where we are or who lives here?"

  "We’re in the merchant section," Thorn informed me, "but I have no idea who owns this place. What do we do now?"

  "How about we go in," I suggested, "and let Zenith sniff around to see if he can find anything?"

  "You can't just go searching around a person’s house without permission!" Tracey gasped. "It's …… it's not right!"

  "It's perfectly all right," I assured her. "This is a police investigation and we have the Law backing us up, don't we, Fink?"

  "I suppose," he dubiously agreed. "After all, the Council did give me full authority to proceed with any investigations I deemed necessary, so I guess, under the circumstances …. "

  "That's good enough for me," I interrupted, banging on the door. "Let's allow Zenith to do his thing."

  The door was opened by a One who looked at us with hostile suspicion. That didn't worry Zenith however, because he squeezed through the opening and ran into the room, sniffing as he went.

  "Hey!" yelled the door opener, spinning around to stare at the disappearing Zenith. "Come back here! What is that thing? What do you people want?" Fink pushed his way past the stunned home owner and stood in the middle of the room.

  "This is simply a preliminary investigation, Sir," he soothed. "Just a routine enquiry, that's all. There's no need to be alarmed."

  "But ……. but what's that thing doing here?" the One stammered, pointing at an absorbed Zenith who busied himself by pushing his nose against everything in the room.

  "Zenith isn’t a ‘thing’," Trix hotly denied. "He’s my pet, and I'll thank you to be more polite to him."

  The suspect looked down his nose at Trix. "You're a cogdommina!" he exclaimed with disgust. "If you want my opinion, vermin like you shouldn’t be allowed in the settlement at all. You should all be packed up and sent back to the wilderness where you belong."

  He shouldn't have said that. He really shouldn't have, because that was the one thing guaranteed to bring Tracey to boiling point.

  "What did you just say?" she yelled furiously, taking a vengeful step towards the elf hater. "Did you just call my baby a ‘vermin’? How dare you, you nasty, horrible person! I should slap some manners into you!"

  "Who the devil are all you people, anyway?" the One asked, taking a hurried skip backwards from Tracey’s wrath, and looking around at us in confusion. "What are you doing here? I haven’t done anything."

  "Zenith appears to think otherwise," I contradicted him, watching our bloodhound eagerly pawing at the cushion of a chair. I went over and removed the cushion to reveal a box hidden underneath.

  "What’s this?" I asked, turning around to look at him.

  "It's nothing!" he yelped, taking a few desperate steps towards me, only to be restrained by Fink and Thorn. Zenith was in a frenzy, clawing at the box in an attempt to open it.

  "Well, if it's nothing, then you wouldn't mind me opening it, would you?" I commented, lifting up the box and examining it carefully. It appeared to be of solid construction and rattled when I shook it. Odds on, it contained money and, a few seconds later, my surmise was proven to be correct. However, it didn't appear to be the stolen money.

  "Those are sommubant coins," Thorn informed us. "What are you doing with sommubant money?" she asked our frustrated captive.

  "Nothing!" he protested. "It's none of your business! I don't have to answer to the likes of you! Get out of my house and take that stinking, hairy ……. object with you!"

  Immediately, Trix clenched her fists and opened her mouth to retaliate, but I gripped her shoulder and whispered in her ear. She relaxed and an evil grin appeared on her face. She snapped her fingers and Zenith bounded over to her. She took a firm hold of his neck fur and walked him over to the defiant prisoner.

  "Zenith is a wolf, you know," she said in an unemotional, informative voice. "Very fierce. And he eats anything. He’s still half wild, you see. He hasn't been properly trained as yet. I wonder what would happen if I let him loose on you? Where would he start to chew on you first, do you think, and, once he got started, would I be able to stop him?" Zenith began to growl at that juncture – a deep, rumbling, bowel-churning growl, replete with primeval menace and terrifyingly hungry overtones.

  Our suspect cringed away and perspiration began to blossom on his forehead. "Keep that beast away from me!" he demanded, looking appealin
gly at Fink. "You can't let it …… You're the law …….. Surely you wouldn’t just stand by and allow …….."

  "Well, it all depends," Fink drawled, playing his part magnificently. "Suppose you answered our questions first. Then I'll see what I can do."

  "Yes, yes!" the now terrified fairy eagerly agreed. "I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just keep a hold on that animal!"

  Chapter 6

  "That's better," Fink soothed, patting the trembling suspect on the shoulder. "Trix, take your pet away for the moment, would you? But keep him handy, just in case, okay?"

  "For sure," Trix acquiesced, scowling at our captive and pulling the still growling Zenith back a few paces. "If our friend doesn't co-operate, just give me the word."

  "Well now," Fink resumed, "tell us what you know, and I want to know everything!"

  "I think I can start," I interjected, peering knowingly at the suspect. "The tunnel was made by dwarfs, wasn’t it? And they paid you for the use of your warehouse, am I right?"

  "Dwarfs?" he asked, confused.

  "Sommubants," Thorn supplied. "Stephen has trouble with names."

  Zenith growled once again, and the One shrank back. "Yes, It was the sommubants," he gabbled. "They gave me money to use the warehouse, but I didn't know what they were doing, I swear! They never told me! All I knew was that they were digging a tunnel. I wasn't even allowed in." And then he looked at me, curiously. "How did you know all that?" he asked. "And if you did, why did you bother asking me?"

  "I wanted some confirmation, that's all," I told him.

  "How did you know?" he repeated.

  "It’s simply a matter of putting two and two together," I explained. "The tunnel’s construction is very professional, and dwarfs have the reputation of being the best tunnel diggers. Combine that with the type of money you received, and the answer is obvious. Going further, I’d say that the dwarfs most likely to be involved are that dissident group we tangled with before in the kidnapping of Max’s sister."