the entire width of the skyscraper, windows on three sides providing a panoramic view of the city. Despite its size, it was sparsely appointed, with more potted plants than items of furniture. A large desk was the focal point, a single elegant chair placed before it.
Behind the desk was Takashi Seiji.
The official photograph Nina had seen on the company website was considerably out of date. She guessed him to be in his seventies, at least twenty years older than his public face. He was bald but for thin grey wisps above his ears, wrinkles and bags narrowing his eyes to sleepy slits. However, there was nothing remotely tired about his gaze, which locked on to Nina as she entered the room. He stood, revealing a hunched, but still strong, figure.
Kojima guided Nina to the desk, then spoke to Takashi in Japanese. She recognised her name amongst the words. The old man said nothing, but bowed deeply, so far that she thought his head would touch the desk. When he straightened again, he spoke, his secretary translating. ‘Welcome to Japan, Dr Wilde. I am most honoured by your presence.’
‘Thank you, Mr Takashi,’ she replied. ‘It’s my pleasure to be here.’
Kojima relayed this to his boss, who sat back down and nodded at the solitary chair. ‘Please take a seat,’ Kojima told her.
Nina did so. The plain wooden chair looked as ascetic as the rest of the room, but turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. ‘Would you care for any refreshment before we begin?’ Kojima asked. ‘Tea, coffee?’
‘No thank you, I’m fine,’ she said. ‘I’d like to get down to business.’
Takashi made a small sound of amusement – before Kojima could translate for him. He understood English? ‘Takashi-san appreciates your attitude,’ the younger man told her after his boss spoke. ‘The Japanese obsession with protocol slows down business and wastes too much time.’
‘And at my age, time is a more precious resource than money,’ Takashi added. Though he had a strong accent, his English was precise. He smiled slightly. ‘My apologies, Dr Wilde. Speaking through a translator is another protocol that is expected. But now that I see you have as little patience as I for such things, we can continue in a more efficient manner.’
‘What would you have done if I’d asked for coffee?’ Nina asked mischievously.
‘Since a leisurely pace would have made you more comfortable, I would have continued speaking through my secretary. But no matter. You are here on business, so now we can discuss it.’ He nodded to Kojima, who bowed and retreated to the outskirts of the room. ‘I imagine you have many questions.’
‘I do,’ she replied. ‘First, you said that you own one of the statues. Where did it come from?’
‘Kojima-kun can provide you with a full written account of its known history, but to summarise, it came from Tibet into China during the reign of the Chenghua Emperor, in the Ming Dynasty.’
Tibet: where one of the farthest – and last – outposts of the Atlantean empire had been established. That tied in with her theory that the Atlanteans had, for whatever reason, dispersed the statues as widely as they could. ‘Fifteenth century, I believe?’
‘Yes. It remained in the possession of successive emperors until the Japanese occupation of China before the Second World War. It was brought to Japan along with other treasures, where it passed through the hands of several private collectors before I obtained it in 2002.’
‘What was your interest in it?’ Nina decided to tread carefully and avoid mentioning anything about the statue’s special properties unless Takashi himself brought the subject up. The United Nations might have trusted him, but she was still going to reserve judgement for the moment.
‘There is a legend about the statue, Dr Wilde,’ said Takashi. ‘It is supposed to contain great power, but a power that can only be used by a chosen few. The power of the earth itself.’
The intensity of his gaze suggested to Nina that he was expecting a response from her, confirmation that she knew exactly what he was talking about. She kept her expression and voice neutral. ‘What kind of power?’
‘It has many names in different cultures. Inyodo, Feng Shui, dragon lines, ley lines, telluric currents, chi . . . all are the same thing. A network of lines of power generated by the earth itself, a natural source of energy. Just as blood flows through our veins, so this energy flows through the world around us. The life force of the planet,