Arkie Sparkle Treasure Hunter: Untold Gold Read online

  ‘Attack is a classic form of defence,’ said TJ.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Edie. ‘I see you’re as clever as ever, TJ?’

  ‘I try to keep my mind nimble,’ said TJ. ‘Especially with a new Junior Genius series about to start. Cate’s going to help me swot for it.’

  ‘That’s great,’ said Edie. ‘I think Cate’s pretty smart too, from what I’ve heard.’

  Arkie stared at TJ and Edie as they chatted happily about Cate this and Cate that.

  Can’t they see? she thought. Can’t they see that Cate Sparkle has a devious plan and that’s why she’s here?

  Her treasure hunter’s instinct was on high alert when it came to Cate Sparkle.

  I know you’d believe me if you were here, Mum and Dad, she thought. I miss you so much.

  And although Arkie was with TJ and Edie, two of the people she trusted most in the world, she suddenly felt completely alone.

  Up to Speed

  Arkie and TJ spent the next half an hour filling Edie in on everything that had happened since Arkie had discovered the ransom note under the last cookie in the cookie jar.

  Arkie had insisted they all switch to THink on Lexi before they started talking. She wanted the kidnappers to know they had Cate Sparkle, but she didn’t want them to know anything else.

  Edie listened in silence as they spoke, frowning occasionally and forming her mouth into a shocked O when they told her they had nearly drowned in the wild Atlantic sea.

  Then Arkie ran through all the clues in her Treasure Hunter’s Notebook. ‘And that’s where we’re up to,’ she said, slamming the notebook closed.

  Arkie and TJ looked at Edie, waiting for her to say something.

  After a long pause, Edie spoke. ‘It’s worse than I thought,’ she said. ‘Much worse.’

  Arkie and TJ looked at each other in alarm.

  They had expected Edie’s first words after nearly 40 minutes of silence to be reassuring. Adults were supposed to calm kids. Didn’t Edie know that?

  ‘I think it’s time for the talk,’ said Edie.

  ‘My mum and I have already had that,’ said TJ.

  ‘Not that talk,’ said Edie. ‘The family history talk. I know Ted hasn’t told you anything about our family, Arkie, but it’s time you knew about the Sparkles who came before you.’

  Edie got a glass of water from the galley kitchen and settled into Ted’s chair behind the mahogany desk. ‘To make sense of the present,’ she said, ‘sometimes you need to visit the past. For the colours of the past seep into the present.’

  ‘And make patterns,’ said Arkie. ‘That’s what Dad’s always telling me to look out for.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Edie, smiling at her. ‘Our stories are built on the stories of our ancestors. We are who we are because of who we were. This is my story, Arkie. And it’s yours too.’

  Edie sighed and began to tell the story of the Sparkle family.

  ‘Samuel Sparkle, my father and your grandfather, was a 15th generation treasure hunter, famed for his exploits around the world. He married the beautiful Mathilde Beaumont —’

  ‘Mathilde Beaumont?’ interrupted TJ. ‘The legendary aviator? She’s got an entry in the encyclopaedia, Arkie. Your grandmother was super famous.’

  ‘The very same,’ said Edie. ‘She gave up a successful career in action films to join Samuel on his hunts, flying him into the most remote regions – landing on the smallest of airstrips and plucking him from danger. They were a formidable team, continuing the tradition of all the famous treasure-hunting Sparkles before them.

  ‘When we were born in quick succession – Ted, then me, then Sebastian – Mathilde stayed at home with us. But the lure of the sky was too strong, and when Sebastian was four, Mathilde began to fly again.

  ‘Three years later, she was alone on a flight back from South America when a lightning storm damaged the aircraft. Her plane went down and was swallowed by the Amazon jungle.

  ‘Samuel waited for days, weeks, months – unable to believe that she was gone. He searched the jungle for her – each trip pulling him deeper into a whirlpool of grief. Soon, museums stopped contacting him. They needed a treasure hunter they could rely on.

  ‘When Samuel emerged from his darkness, he decided to educate us in the ways of treasure hunting. He believed it was what Mathilde would have wanted. And, in a way, passing on the knowledge they had shared kept her alive for him.

  ‘We spent hours deciphering codes, reading ancient history books, discovering the ways of the archaeological world and its many secrets. Dinners always began with an ancient history quiz – the winner of which received an extra helping of dessert.

  ‘Ted, Sebastian and I became very competitive, eager for Dad’s approval. And, of course, double dessert.

  ‘We were all talented treasure hunters from an early age,’ said Edie, ‘but Sebastian displayed exceptional ability. He had an uncanny instinct for finding lost treasures – so uncanny that Dad began to speak of him as gifted beyond his years. He took Sebastian to meetings of the Archaeological Society and bragged about his prodigy. The members of the society predicted great things for Sebastian. He was obviously the heir apparent to the family business.

  ‘Dad pampered Sebastian, flattered him, gave him everything he wanted. It was hard on Ted – he was the eldest, after all, and the eldest son is always assumed to be the heir – but it was to Sebastian our father turned increasingly for advice in running the business.’

  Edie sipped her water. ‘And at first, Sebastian enjoyed his role. He wanted the Sparkle name to flourish once more in the world of archaeology. But after several years, he became disgruntled. “We do all the work and some mouldy old museum gets the credit,” he used to say. “We should be enjoying some of these riches for ourselves. There’s plenty to go around.”

  ‘Ted and I worried about Sebastian’s growing desire for fame. We were happy to work behind the scenes, disappearing into the shadows once the treasures had been found, the Sparkle name resonating but the individuals behind the name remaining discreet. But not Sebastian. He wanted power, glory and riches.

  ‘Dad saw too late what he had encouraged Sebastian to become – greedy and self-seeking. Sebastian wasn’t interested in preserving the glory of archaeology and restoring lost artefacts to their rightful place for everyone to enjoy. He saw archaeology as a treasure chest waiting to be plundered.’ Edie took a deep breath. ‘And plunder it he did,’ she said.

  She stared into the distance, lost in the words of her story.

  ‘Don’t stop,’ said Arkie. ‘What happened next?’

  ‘The memory is still painful,’ said Edie, with a small smile. ‘Sometimes I feel as though it happened only yesterday. But, in fact, it was nearly fourteen years ago – before you were even born, Arkie. Dad had died by then and Sebastian was running the company. We’d just found the shipwreck of a famed Spanish galleon, missing for more than four hundred years.

  ‘We were so excited. “This is the one!” Sebastian had said. “The find that will engrave the Sparkle name on the treasure-hunting map forever.”

  ‘We spent weeks underwater – the ship was swollen with gold and silver and jewels, oozing from every cavity. We were all dazzled, thrilled with our success. But no-one was more dazzled than Sebastian. He was completely blinded by it.

  ‘He stole some priceless Spanish jewels and tried to sell them to a dealer in the Cayman Islands. The dealer was an old friend of Ted’s and he contacted Ted immediately.

  ‘Ted was beyond outraged. Stealing treasures was against everything the Sparkles had believed in for generations: the Treasure Hunter’s Code.

  ‘I remember the day it happened so clearly. The day our family split irrevocably.

  ‘“There are two paths in this business,” Ted had said to Sebastian. “The right path and the wrong path. I will not follow you down the wrong path.”

  ‘Sebastian left the business that day and he and Ted haven’t spoken since. We heard soon after that Sebastian
had established a rival treasure-hunting organisation called ZETA.’

  ‘ZETA,’ said Arkie. ‘Every single clue has been signed with a Z.’

  Edie nodded. ‘Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet,’ she said.

  ‘And it’s the Greek word for “born last”,’ said TJ.

  Edie smiled at her. ‘It is indeed,’ she said. ‘Ted took over THinc with your mother and then, of course, you joined too, Arkie. The youngest treasure hunter we’d ever had in the family. We were all – we are – so proud of you.

  ‘Sebastian and Ted both wanted me to work with them but I couldn’t choose between my brothers. So I became a consultant for UNESCO, travelling around the world listing new heritage sites. I was in Egypt four days ago.’ She smiled at Arkie. ‘Practising my shadow puppets.’

  ‘It was you,’ gasped Arkie. ‘The mysterious stranger in the temple of Ramses II.’

  ‘I knew something had happened,’ said Edie. ‘Ted and I had talked after the incident in China last September – which must have been Sebastian’s first attempt to capture Ted – and he asked me to keep an eye on you. Ted put a tracking device in your THinc ring because he feared you were in danger. It’s wired to datamax and sends your location to my phone, as well as to your parents’ THinc rings.’

  ‘So Mum and Dad have always known where I am?’ said Arkie. ‘Even when they went missing?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Edie. ‘As long as the tracking device is pulsing, they know you’re okay.’

  Arkie looked at the ring on her finger. She always felt closer to her parents when she touched it and now she knew why. It was like a heartbeat between them.

  ‘When I saw you were in Egypt I dashed across from Jordan where I had been working,’ said Edie. ‘I had a hunch Ptah would be involved somehow. Sebastian always loved the god of the Underworld.’ She looked at Arkie. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was in Egypt but I didn’t want Sebastian to know that I was there. He’s been watching you too.’

  Edie’s words reverberated through Arkie. He’s been watching you.

  ‘When I left Abu Simbel, I went to the Sinai desert and St Catherine’s Monastery to authenticate a religious painting unearthed in the monastery’s vault. And there we were trapped by a fierce desert storm. The storm completely disrupted all satellite communications so I couldn’t follow your whereabouts. The coded number you rang last night activated an emergency alarm on my phone. I was already on the plane home when I saw the alarm flashing. I’ve come straight from the airport.’

  ‘But why has Sebastian kidnapped Mum and Dad?’ said Arkie.

  Edie yawned and looked at her watch. ‘That’s the biggest question of them all, Arkie,’ she said. ‘But now it’s late. Let’s talk again in the morning. We need Cate for the next part of the story.’

  Sneaks and Snacks

  It was 3 o’clock in the morning when Arkie crept into TJ’s room.

  ‘TJ,’ she whispered, shaking her shoulder. ‘Wake up.’

  ‘The square root of 225 is 15,’ mumbled TJ. ‘The capital of Mozambique is Maputo.’

  ‘TJ,’ said Arkie. ‘You’re not on Junior Genius. You’re in my house. Sleeping. Well, not sleeping any more because I’ve just woken you up. I need you. It’s an emergency.’

  TJ stirred and opened her eyes.

  ‘Is that you, Quizzal?’ she said with a perplexed expression. ‘I’m so happy to be on Junior Genius. Thank you for having me. Which camera should I look at? Can I smile at the studio audience? Enthusiastic clapping helps me think.’ She frowned and peered closer. ‘Why do you look like Arkie?’

  ‘Because I am Arkie,’ said Arkie.

  ‘You’re not the quizmaster of junior geniuses?’ said TJ.

  ‘No, I’m your first cousin and best friend.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ said TJ, with a sleepy smile. ‘I like having a first cousin who’s my best friend.’

  ‘TJ,’ said Arkie. ‘Don’t slip into sleep again.’

  ‘But I need to get back to sleep,’ said TJ. ‘I’ve just answered two questions in a row and was nearly at ALPHA – the second brainwave level.’

  ‘Someone’s sneaking through the house,’ said Arkie. ‘I heard a noise outside my door. And then I saw a flashlight. I think we’ve got an intruder.’

  ‘An intruder?’ said TJ, her eyes wide open. ‘Why didn’t you say so? We need our most ferocious backup for an intruder. Cleo, bravest of basset hounds, where are you?’

  Cleo was sleeping under the bed, her paws tucked under her chin, snuggling up to her favourite squishy ball.

  TJ crawled under the bed and gently lifted one of Cleo’s ears. ‘Ready, super sleuth?’ she whispered.

  Cleo wagged her tail and licked TJ’s face.

  Arkie, TJ and Cleo opened the door and peeked out. The hall was dark but they could see the faint glow of a torch at the end of it.

  ‘The kitchen,’ whispered Arkie.

  ‘Striking at the heart of our operation,’ whispered TJ. ‘They’re probably poisoning our food.’

  As they came closer, they could see the faint green glow from the clock on the microwave. 3.11 am.

  TJ picked up the umbrella by the hat stand.

  Cleo crouched, ready to leap.

  Arkie held up three fingers and TJ nodded.

  Two fingers.

  One finger …

  Arkie turned on the light switch and they all charged into the room. ‘AAARRRGHHH. WOOF, WOOF!’

  Edie was sitting at the kitchen bench, tucking into some roast chicken and mayonnaise.

  ‘AAARRRGHHH,’ she screamed as TJ rushed towards her, waving the umbrella high above her head.

  Edie dropped a spoonful of mayonnaise and it splattered all over her.

  Eight startled eyes stared at each other.

  ‘We thought you were an intruder,’ said Arkie. ‘I heard someone in the house.’

  ‘That was me,’ said Edie. ‘My body is still on Northern Hemisphere time and my grumbly tummy was keeping me awake. I used my torch so I wouldn’t wake you. But that obviously didn’t work. Sorry, you two.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ said TJ, joining Edie at the bench and picking up a chicken leg. ‘I’m always happy to eat in the middle of the night. You should never turn down an opportunity for food. Starvation might be right around the corner.’

  Cleo barked twice for YES, THAT’S TRUE, and sat as close as she could to TJ. She was hoping for a choice piece of chicken meat, but crumbs would be good too.

  ‘Well, I’m going back to bed,’ said Arkie, yawning.

  She left TJ and Edie in the kitchen, chatting and eating.

  As she passed the guest room, she wondered how Cate Sparkle had managed to sleep through all that noise.

  Arkie put her ear to Cate’s door. She couldn’t hear anything.

  Sleeping soundly was a Sparkle family trait.

  Arkie started walking back to her bedroom.

  But a thought made her stop – her dad’s words: Things aren’t always what they seem.

  She went back to Cate’s room and, gently, pushed against the door.

  The blinds on the window were open and the moon was shining onto the bed. A small shape was visible beneath the duvet.

  Arkie hesitated. Something didn’t look quite right.

  She remembered a line from her Mum’s favourite poem: ‘Cats sleep fat and walk thin.’ And, suddenly, she knew without a doubt: There wasn’t enough fat under the covers for a Cate.

  Arkie walked into the room and whisked back the covers.

  Two pillows were stuffed under the duvet where a body should have been.

  The bed was empty.

  gone gone gone gone gone gone

  ‘Gone?’ said TJ, with a mouth full of chicken and mayonnaise. ‘What do you mean she’s gone.’

  ‘Gone as in, “Here one minute gone the next”, gone,’ said Arkie, who had raced back to the kitchen.

  ‘But she was going to help me with my Junior Genius questions,’ said TJ.

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nbsp; ‘TJ,’ said Arkie, shaking her head.

  ‘What?’ said TJ. ‘Uh, oh. It’s one of those moments, isn’t it? I’m having an IR?’

  Arkie nodded.

  ‘So I just need to reverse and approach from a different direction,’ said TJ. She closed her eyes. ‘Okay. I can do this,’ she said. ‘The point is NOT that Cate won’t be able to help me with my Junior Genius questions. The point IS …’ she squinted, frowned, then added in a rush, ‘that Cate Sparkle is a complete sneak and you were right all along, Arkie.’

  ‘Correct,’ said Arkie.

  ‘So you did hear someone, Arkie,’ said Edie, wiping her mouth with a serviette. ‘Someone sneaking through the house, apart from me, your midnight snacker. I’m surprised we didn’t collide in the dark. Did Cate leave anything behind?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Arkie. ‘I found something on her pillow. Cate must have been about to deliver it when you surprised her at the front gate, Edie. She had to come in with you then and pretend she had important information to tell us. And now she’s fled, like a thief in the night.’

  ‘I bet she’s the one who dropped off all the other clues too,’ said TJ. ‘The box on the doorstep, the envelope in BLUR, the spyglass and party bags in the THinc Tank. She’s a regular postie.’

  ‘Or a carrier pigeon,’ said Arkie. ‘And now she’s delivered the message she’s flown the coop.’

  ‘And what is the message?’ said Edie.

  Arkie unfurled her hand.

  Man on a Mission

  Edie and TJ stared at the object in Arkie’s hand.

  ‘It’s a compass,’ said Arkie. ‘A really old one. It says “1920” at the base.’

  TJ took the compass from Arkie and turned it upside down. ‘And there’s something inscribed on the back,’ she said. ‘SOS.’ She looked at them. ‘Is that a cry for help? Have we heard it more than 90 years too late? I hope whoever owns this isn’t still waiting to be rescued.’

  Edie took the compass from TJ and turned it over. ‘I don’t believe it,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Sebastian can’t help himself. It’s all just a great big game to him.’