Ancient Echoes

CHAPTER 44



New York City

JIANJUN AWOKE FEELING as if he had spent the night in Dracula’s castle. The massive bed’s wooden headboard reached nearly to the ceiling, its ornately carved panels reminiscent of gothic architecture. Dusty purple velvet drapery hung over the windows, blocking all sunlight. Flocked green, gray, and purple floral wallpaper covered every wall.

A six-foot wide, eight-foot tall dark mahogany wardrobe dominated one side of the room. Jianjun was afraid to look inside. Anything could be hiding in there. He drew open the drapes. A gray, drizzly overcast sky only added to the eeriness. Moments later, the housekeeper wheeled in a lavish breakfast of eggs, sausage, kippers, waffles, cold cereal, orange juice, coffee, and tea. A few minutes after he finished eating, she delivered over a dozen books on alchemy in Egypt and China, as well as discussion papers on Nicholas Flamel and Hermes Trismegistus.

Her timing made him feel spied upon. He rubbed his arms to ward off an eerie chill.

Instead of reading, he went looking for Phaylor or his nurse, but failed to find anyone, not even the seemingly omnipresent housekeeper. He discovered that the elevator would not stop for him on the house’s third floor, but only on the first with its entryway and garages, the second or main floor, the fourth with his guest bedroom, and the roof garden. When he took the stairs, he found a locked door blocked access to the third floor as well.

He knocked on it, but no one answered.

Finally, he gave up and returned to his bedroom to spend the day trying to understand the basic tenants of a confusing mishmash of ideas about turning base metals into gold, and humans into immortal beings. No wonder sane people considered alchemy crazy.

In the evening, he sat alone in the dining room, eating a feast of grilled red snapper, roast beef, coq au vin, vegetables, one hot and one cold soup, and several salads. Everything about the meal seemed both elaborate and wasteful. He had eaten his fill when the door to the dining room opened. Calvin Phaylor entered, wheeled by his nurse. Jianjun jumped to his feet.

“I hope you enjoyed the meal,” Phaylor said. “Please sit.”

Phaylor’s nurse brought out a decanter of cognac and two crystal glasses, and poured them each a drink. “I’ll be fine for now, Bob,” Phaylor said.

The nurse left, shutting the door behind him.

“Michael Rempart’s adventures in Mongolia were quite fascinating,” Phaylor said. “Dr. Rempart managed to do what no one else has. Find a Han tomb outside of China, and find someone who successfully practiced Chinese alchemy. Did your boss ever learn where or how Lady Hsieh’s body disappeared?”

Jianjun was stunned. “How did you learn about all that?”

Phaylor grinned, shrunken gums making his teeth appear overly large and wide-spaced in his skeletal face. “As you saw by the books I sent you, my interest in alchemy is deep and has existed for many years. Some years ago, I traveled to China.”

Jianjun nodded and said nothing.

“Recently, certain acquaintances there, men who work with Director Zhao from the Ministry of Culture, informed me of the loss of Lady Hsieh’s body. It was most unfortunate. She would have provided science with indisputable proof that alchemy works.”

“Or that the early Chinese knew a scientific means to preserve the body,” Jianjun said, ever practical. He remembered Director Zhao’s comment that wealthy, influential people, if not the US government itself, engineered the theft of the tomb contents. He now knew Phaylor was one of those people.

“If anyone could have learned alchemy’s secret, it would be Michael Rempart,” Phaylor said. “I’m absolutely certain Michael Rempart’s fame is what caused Jennifer Vandenburg to choose his brother Lionel to find The Book of Abraham the Jew. I’m sure she expected Michael to step in and help his brother.”

Jianjun couldn’t comment right away because he was too busy mulling over Phaylor’s mention of Vandenburg “choosing” Lionel Rempart. “Jennifer Vandenburg?” He tried to sound surprised. “Is she involved?”

Phaylor chuckled. “Don’t pretend you don’t know about her already. If there is anything to alchemy, who could better benefit than a pharmaceutical company? Vandenburg could give the alchemical formulas to her company, and perform wonders in droves. Creating gold would be well and good, of course, but imagine the rest of it. What if alchemy truly can lead to a life that continues so long a person feels immortal? And what if PLP distributed the means to provide that immortality? How valuable would such a ‘medical discovery’ be?”

Jianjun wanted to kick himself for not putting that together sooner, but at the same time, as the implications of it struck, he looked at Phaylor with growing horror. “It would be priceless,” he murmured. “Absolutely priceless.”

Phaylor gave him a wide, ugly smile. “Exactly.”