Dark Fire

'If it's genuine,' I said. 'Alchemists' formulae for the creation of wonders are ten a penny.'

'Oh, it's genuine,' he said. 'I've seen it used.'

Godless gesture though it was, I felt a sudden urge to cross myself.

'The Gristwoods must have spent some time making more of the stuff, for it was March this year before Michael Gristwood came to me. Not directly, of course, someone of his standing couldn't do that, but through intermediaries. One of whom brought me that parchment and the other documents from the convent. Everything but the formula. With a message from the Gristwood brothers that they had made Greek Fire, they were offering a demonstration and if I decided I wanted the formula they'd give it to me. In return for a licence on its development, so they'd have the exclusive right of manufacture.'

I looked at the parchment. 'But it didn't belong to him. As you said, as it was monastic property it is now the king's.'

He nodded. 'Yes. And I could have had the brothers brought to the Tower and the information forced out of them. That was my first reaction. But what if they fled before they could be arrested? What if they sold the formula to the French or the Spaniards? They're a tricky pair. I decided to play along at least until I'd seen what they could do; once I'd found out if there was anything in it I could promise them a licence, then have them arrested for theft when they were least expecting it.' He set his thin lips. 'That was my mistake.' He looked at Grey, still hovering beside me. 'Sit down, master clerk,' he snapped. 'You make me uneasy hovering there. Matthew can keep the parchment.'

Grey bowed and returned to his desk, where he sat expressionless. He must be used to bearing the brunt of Cromwell's temper. I saw Barak's eyes on his master, a look of almost filial concern in them. Cromwell leaned back again.

'England has lit a fire across Europe, Matthew, the first large state to break from Rome. The pope wants the French and Spanish to combine and overthrow us. They won't trade with us, there's undeclared war with the French in the Channel and we're having to plough half the revenues from the monasteries into defence. If you knew how much we've spent it would make your hair curl. The new forts along the coast, the building of ships and guns and cannon-'

'I know, my lord. Everyone is frightened of invasion.'

'Those who are loyal to reform, at least. You haven't turned papist since last we met, have you?' His stare took on a terrible intensity.

I squeezed the cap tightly. 'No, my lord.'

He nodded slowly. 'No, that's what I've been told. You've lost the fire for our cause but you've not turned enemy, which is more than can be said for some. So a new weapon, something that could make our ships invincible, you can see how important that could be.'

'Yes, but-' I hesitated.

'Go on.'

'My lord, sometimes in desperate times we clutch at desperate remedies. The alchemists have promised us wonders for hundreds of years, but precious few have actually appeared.'

He nodded approvingly. 'Good, Matthew, you could ever put your finger on a weak point in an argument. But, remember, I've seen it. I met the Gristwoods here and told them I'd arrange for an old crayer to be floated up to an abandoned jetty at Deptford early one morning and, if they could destroy it with Greek Fire in front of me, I'd make a deal with them. Jack arranged it all, and only he and I and they were present early one morning at the start of the month. And they did it.' He spread his arms wide and shook his head. I could see that he was still amazed by what he had seen.

'They brought some strange device of steel they'd made with them, with a pipe on a pivot. They operated a pump on the device – and then a great sheet of liquid flame shot out and consumed the old boat in minutes. When I saw it I nearly fell in the water. It wasn't an explosion, like gunpowder, just' – he shook his head again – 'an inextinguishable fire, more fast and furious than any fire I've seen. Like a dragon's breath. And with no incantations, Matthew, no magic words. This is no trick, it's something new; or, rather, something ancient rediscovered. I had a second demonstration a week later; they did it again. So now I've told the king.'

I glanced at Grey, who nodded at me seriously. Cromwell took a deep breath.

'He was more enthusiastic than I'd dared to hope. You should have seen his eyes light up. He clapped me on the shoulder, and he's not done that in a long while. He asked for a demonstration before him. There's an old warship, the Grace of God, in Deptford for breaking up. I've arranged for it to be there on the tenth of June, in twelve days' time.' The tenth of June, I thought, the day Elizabeth's period of grace expires.