Eighth Circle

'The little man who was with the professor.'

'Why do you think the guardians want him?'

'Don't know,' Crispin shrugged. 'It doesn't make sense. Liala is the one they should be going after and they've left her alone.'

'Perhaps they can't find her.'

'They've not tried very hard. The dolphin cave is the most obvious place to look. They must know about it. The orcas will have told them. They've got brain implants just like the land trolls.'

'There's a lot that doesn't compute,' Peter said.

'Such as?'

'That professor ...'

'What about him?'

'Father said you should contact him. I thought that was going to be difficult but we no sooner come out of there than we see him. He was with the chancellor. It was like the whole thing was set up.'

'Nah,' Crispin shook his head. 'It was a coincidence.'

'Some coincidence. It was really spooky.'

'But coincidences happen.'

'Not twice over. That was a twofold coincidence.'

'Relax, Peter. You should be pleased.'

'No.' Peter shook his head. 'I'll give you a ten percent chance that we come from seeing Father and bump into the chancellor and the professor. I'll give you another ten percent that the chancellor will want us to arrange a meeting with the professor and tell him about our work. That computes to a one percent chance of both happening together and I don't believe in that sort of luck.'

'You worry too much, Peter.'

'I have a right to. One chance in a hundred is too much to hope for. You've got to be suspicious.'

'You've done the sums wrong.' Crispin returned his tablet to his jacket pocket. 'The two probabilities are linked. You don't form a multiplication. It doesn't compute like that. Stop worrying and think about what we are going to say to the professor when we meet him.'