The Curse of the Ice Serpent
Page 4
‘They must still be down there,’ Dakkar said and hurried off into the gloom.
‘Frank? Is that you?’ Borys stood, waiting by the side of the Nautilus.
‘We’re under attack,’ Dakkar said. ‘Where’s Oginski?’
‘He went looking for you when we heard the first explosions!’ Borys said, his eyes wide. ‘Didn’t you see him?’
‘You mean he’s still up there?’ Dakkar said, turning for the stairs.
‘Dakkar, wait!’ Georgia yelled, yanking him backward. ‘You can’t go back up there. It’s too dangerous!’
‘I can’t leave Oginski on his own,’ Dakkar said and shook her off.
A shrill screech brought him to a stop.
A humanoid creature about half Dakkar’s height stood on the tower of the Nautilus. Spines covered its blue body and it stared with bulbous, milky eyes. It raised the barbed spear in its fist to hurl the weapon at them but Georgia raised her rifle first and blasted the creature off the craft.
With a scream and a fountain of black blood, it sank into the water.
‘A Qalupalik,’ Borys gasped.
‘Well, whatever it was,’ Georgia said, her voice low, ‘its cousins are here too and they don’t look pleased …’
More blue heads and cloudy eyes popped up from the surface of the pool that filled the cave. Some clambered out, gripping the rock platform with scaly, webbed fingers and blocking the route to the stairs. Others crept on to the front of the Nautilus, inching forward, spears at the ready.
‘I fear we are outgunned and outnumbered,’ Borys whispered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
DESPERATE MEASURES
Hissing with menace, the small, spiny Qalupalik edged forward, forcing Borys, Dakkar and Georgia to shuffle closer together. A crowd had emerged from the sea now, almost surrounding them.
‘Our only hope is to get into the Nautilus,’ Borys whispered. ‘At least we can lock them out.’
‘But what about Oginski?’ Dakkar said through clenched teeth. ‘He’s trapped up there.’
‘There are more of them blocking the stairs – you’d never cut your way through them,’ Georgia said, holding him back. ‘They may be small but those spears look deadly and there are just too many.’
‘Very well,’ Dakkar grunted. ‘On my word, we make a dash for the Nautilus. Here.’ He passed Borys the rifle he had taken from the guard at the foot of the tower. ‘It’s loaded. Choose your target carefully and make your shot count.’
‘I will, my friend. I will,’ Borys said, a tremor in his voice.
‘Ready?’ Dakkar said.
They all nodded.
‘Now!’
Leaping back, Dakkar fired his rifle over the heads of the Qalupalik, winging one individual who stood on a higher outcrop of rock. Swinging his rifle like a scythe, he cleared a path to the submarine.
Borys fired, sending one of the nearest creatures tumbling back into the others. Several fell into the water. Georgia ran across the gangplank, clearing the bow of the Nautilus with her shot. The Qalupalik not caught by the bullets leapt back into the pool for safety.
Borys slipped a knife from the top of his boot and slashed at the mooring rope as he crossed the gangplank.
The deafening screech from the Qalupalik intensified and they rushed forward, a tide of spiky arms and legs. Dakkar swept at them from the gangplank as Borys and Georgia scrambled up the tower of the sub. But more came, grabbing at his ankles and pulling at his clothes. He began to overbalance.
Then the whole cavern shook. Rocks and stalactites tumbled from the ceiling, smashing into the water and sending the creatures scattering. A huge chunk of stone crashed down only inches from Dakkar, crushing one of the Qalupalik who held him. He turned away from the sickening pool of blood that seeped from under it. More rock rained down now, fists of stone punching at Dakkar’s back and shoulders as he climbed up into the sub. Slamming the hatch behind him, he slid down into the tower and groaned in pain.
It was like being inside a drum. Stones hammered on the hollow craft. Georgia had already started the engine and steered away from the platform. Slowly they sank as she blew the air from the hollow hull of the Nautilus. Through the window, the water boiled and black blood fogged the view. Qalupalik pounded on the window, faces fixed in toothy scowls.
Borys grabbed the wheel on the wall in front of him and spun it round twenty times. This friction wheel generated an electric charge and had proved a powerful weapon in the past.
‘Twenty turns, was it?’ he snarled. ‘I’ll teach these little monsters to threaten us!’
He stabbed the red button next to the wheel and the water outside suddenly lit blue.
Dakkar peered out at the small, now limp forms that floated by and shuddered.
More rock from above punched down into the water, clipping the sub.
‘The whole cave is collapsing,’ Georgia yelled above the clatter. ‘We have to get out into the open sea.’
‘But Oginski is still in the castle,’ Dakkar shouted, grabbing hold of her arm.
‘We’ll be buried alive if we stay here,’ Borys said, dragging Dakkar back. ‘We can help Frank once we’re free of this rockfall!’
The Nautilus pitched and tossed as bigger pieces of rock tumbled down into the water. Georgia steered the submarine for the exit cave, veering to port or starboard as necessary to dodge debris that plummeted into the depths.
Scraping the sides against the walls of the exit, Georgia wrestled with the wheel as she fought the surge of water caused by falling stone. Dakkar flinched at the bumps and crashes that shook the craft. Stirred by the current, the glowing blue seaweed slapped at the sub’s portholes. Slight figures flashed by them as some of the Qalupalik that had survived the electric shock tried to escape the rockfall.
A sudden burst from behind them washed the craft forward, making Dakkar’s stomach lurch and knocking everyone off their feet. The cave had completely collapsed. Fragments of rock and strands of weed hurtled past them as they began to lose momentum. Georgia kept steering ahead until the water calmed.
‘Turn around quickly!’ Dakkar said, climbing to his feet. ‘Let’s find Oginski!’
‘I fear we still have company,’ Borys said ominously.
More of the Qalupalik floated in a line ahead of them, spears at the ready, but they held back.
‘They’re right to be wary,’ Georgia said, narrowing her eyes. ‘We’ll run them down.’
‘No – look,’ Dakkar said, pointing outside.
Another group swam down into the murky depths and wrestled something open. Amid the silt, Dakkar glimpsed what looked like a cage door being opened. A large cage door.
Something sinewy and snake-like swam out of the cage, ignoring the creatures.
‘The eel,’ Georgia hissed. ‘The Qalupalik were controlling it!’
They could see it clearly now – longer than the Nautilus, with green, mottled skin. Dakkar recognised those wild, staring eyes and the rows of razor teeth.
‘Never in my life have I seen such a monster,’ Borys said, grimacing. ‘A truly horrible specimen.’
‘I hate eels,’ Dakkar said, slumping his shoulders. ‘I hate big eels even more. Good job we’d loaded the Sea Arrows.’
‘I’ll keep dodging the darned thing until you’re ready,’ Georgia said, ramming the Nautilus to Full Ahead.
Dakkar and Borys hurried down the steps into the heart of the Nautilus and the forward cabin that housed the Sea Arrows and the firing devices.
‘We haven’t got time to waste with this eel,’ Dakkar spat. ‘Oginski is up in that castle on his own.’
‘Then let’s get this right first time,’ Borys said grimly.
They ran to the boxes that contained the Sea Arrows and pulled out a missile each. Opening the chambers in either side of the craft, they slid the Sea Arrows in and pulled back the catches that loaded the powerful springs that would fire them.
‘We’re loaded, Georgia,’ Dakkar said into the sp
eaking tube. ‘Don’t waste these shots!’
‘I can’t see it! Where’s it … Oh no!’
The sub shook and Dakkar felt weightless for a second. The floor rose up and he hit the ceiling, jarring his back. Then the floor came up to meet him. Pain seared through his cheek as he fell flat on to the hard planks. Then the breath was forced from his lungs as Borys landed on top of him.
‘Georgia, what happened?’ he said, gripping the speaking tube tightly.
‘It’s on our tail,’ Georgia groaned. The craft shuddered again. ‘It’s ripping into the outer hull.’
‘If it gets through we won’t be able to surface!’ Dakkar said, jumping to his feet. Another tremor shook the submarine. ‘The friction wheel, Georgia!’
The blue flash of electricity outside the porthole told Dakkar that she had anticipated his idea. Dakkar held his breath. Did it work?
A groaning sound reverberated through the planks and Dakkar was thrown to one side again.
‘It won’t let go,’ Georgia yelled.
Dakkar hurried through the submarine and up the steps. Georgia looked pale. She was cranking the friction wheel again and trying to steer the Nautilus at full speed at the same time. She jagged the wheel left and right, sending Dakkar lurching from side to side. Peering out of the rear tower window, he could just see the eel wriggling beneath their rudders.
‘It must be clamped on to the lower hull of the sub,’ Dakkar said.
‘If it keeps biting into the hull, we’re done for,’ Borys said, mopping his brow with a handkerchief.
Dakkar saw the creature’s body twist and the Nautilus juddered again, listing slightly.
‘It’s going to tear us apart,’ he muttered, glancing down at a lever by Georgia’s left foot. It ran into the pipes that snaked all over the Nautilus. He’d never seen it before. One of Borys and Oginski’s new additions, no doubt. ‘What does this do?’ he said.
‘That?’ Borys said distractedly. ‘It inflates the balloons, I think. I hardly see –’
‘Surface – quickly!’ Dakkar said.
‘What’s the use in that?’ Georgia said, still wrestling with the wheel.
‘Just do it,’ Dakkar said. ‘At least we can jump out if we’re on the surface. Besides, I have a plan.’
‘Jump out? With those savages in the water and this eel?’ Borys said, but Georgia turned the ballast handle and bubbles began to boil around them.
They bobbed up to the surface, the sea lit with the blazing castle up on the cliff. Dakkar dragged the lever back. The Nautilus rocked again and he watched through the portholes as the balloons burst from their pods and began to inflate.
‘What have you done?’ Borys gasped.
‘Taken desperate measures,’ Dakkar said, grinning grimly and watching as the Nautilus changed into something new and untested.
CHAPTER NINE
THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
The balloons surrounding the Nautilus rose, becoming gas-filled clouds of silk and sail. The ropes attaching them to the craft tightened and gradually the craft began to tilt. Dakkar held his breath.
‘The weight of that critter is holding us down,’ Georgia exclaimed. ‘the Nautilus will never get out of the water!’
The submarine shook again as the eel thrashed, gripping to the splintered hull with its razor teeth.
‘We’ll see,’ Dakkar murmured, not taking his eyes off the writhing eel. They tilted upward now as the Nautilus hung half in, half out of the sea. He could see the exposed body of the eel churning the water around it.
‘It might work,’ Borys said calmly. ‘I’ll go and see to the furnace. Perhaps some extra hot air will help matters!’ He struggled along the side of the cabin and slid carefully down the ladder.
Dakkar looked up at the balloons straining at the ropes and the tubes leading to them. I just hope it works, he thought. We’ve got to get Oginski!
A hiss and a clanking through the craft told them that Borys had the furnace working. Slowly the balloons swelled even more. The cabin became uncomfortably warm. Sweat trickled off Dakkar’s brow.
Then the stern of the submarine began to lift, the eel dangling from her, its teeth embedded in the hard planks of the hull.
‘It’s working!’ Dakkar said, slapping his hand against the wall.
Slowly, they rose, the glimmer of the flames from the castle reflecting on the receding waves. They gained height and the eel’s wriggling became more urgent. The whole craft swung from side to side on the ropes.
Borys rejoined them, stumbling as the Nautilus rocked. Below, Dakkar could see the tiny Qalupalik in the water, shaking their spears.
‘Our invention works!’ Borys said, grinning. ‘The Nautilus is flying!’
‘Yeah, but we still have an eel attached to our tail!’ Georgia said sourly.
‘It can’t hang on for ever,’ Dakkar said. ‘It needs the water. It must let go soon.’
‘Well, I wish it would hurry up and drop off,’ Georgia grumbled. ‘We could go up to the top of the tower and shoot it.’
‘And if you hit one of the balloons by mistake?’ Borys said, raising his eyebrows.
The eel thrashed about even more, throwing them around the cabin. Dakkar gripped the back of Georgia’s chair and watched behind him as the eel let go suddenly.
Dakkar’s stomach lurched as the craft swayed, righted herself and began to rise. He glimpsed the Qalupalik scattering below as the wriggling eel plummeted towards them and hit the sea with an explosive splash.
The Nautilus drifted closer to the cliff face.
‘If you turn that valve there,’ Borys said, pointing to a valve in the wall, ‘you can release some of the gas and hot air from the balloons. That way we won’t carry on rising. In theory.’
Dakkar turned the valve and was rewarded with distant hissing. He stopped it, nervous of venting too much gas.
Their ascent slowed down and the cliff face vanished as they rose over a scene of horror. Dakkar’s heart thumped against his ribs as he looked at the blazing castle. This wasn’t the first time that Cryptos had tried to destroy his home but it was still terrible to see. Explosions burst from the outhouses where fire had taken hold of the volatile ingredients of Oginski’s various experiments. The castle had been blown in half and flames rose from the shell that survived.
Oginski stood at the top of what remained of the tower, blood soaking the sleeve of his left arm. In his right he held a sword and he parried the relentless blows of a huge man in black Cryptos uniform. The guard lunged at Oginski with his own sword. Oginski was a big man but this man was taller and stockier still.
‘We must get out and try to save Oginski,’ Dakkar said, snatching up a rifle. ‘Borys, you take over from Georgia. Get the Nautilus as close to the wall as you can. We’ll do the firing.’
Dakkar climbed up the ladder, not waiting for Georgia. They were so close now that the heat from the blaze hit him as he opened the hatch. Smoke filled the air, making them cough and splutter. The Nautilus swayed on her ropes as the thermal currents from the burning castle pushed her around.
Oginski looked pale and exhausted as he hacked back at the guard, who didn’t seem to be tiring. Dakkar took aim at Oginski’s opponent and fired. The submarine lurched at that moment, sending his shot wide. The guard’s attention was drawn though and he stared at the floating submarine in disbelief. Oginski took the chance to slam the hilt of his sword into his opponent’s face, knocking him off the narrow fragment of wall and down into the darkness below.
Dakkar grinned but a bullet zipped past his ear as two hot-air balloons drifted towards him, men aiming from the baskets.
Georgia popped her head up out of the tower and fired back, cutting through one of the ropes that held the basket to the balloon. The basket swung down, leaving the men gripping its tilting sides as it drifted away across the cliffs.
Oginski desperately parried blow after blow as more guards scrambled up the wall of the castle to attack him. Dakkar cursed, firing a shot a
t the crowd, but more men edged their way to Oginski’s other side.
‘Dakkar!’ Oginski yelled. ‘Flee! Get away from here. There are too many of them. Save yourself!’
‘Never,’ Dakkar cried back. ‘Not without you!’
The Nautilus swung nearer so that only a few feet lay between Oginski and Dakkar but the dark sea swirled and snapped at the bottom of the narrow chasm between them. Sweat streamed down the big man’s face, mingling with the blood from cuts and minor wounds.
‘Bring her closer!’ Dakkar yelled down to Borys.
‘I’m trying my best!’ Borys shouted back.
Some of the men on the wall slashed out at the hull of the Nautilus.
‘Oginski, jump!’ Dakkar said, holding out his arms.
Oginski half turned then swung the hilt of his sword into a guard’s face and stabbed another in the arm.
‘Dakkar, look out!’ he bellowed.
Another hot-air balloon loomed around the ruins, its bullets splintering the planks that partly sheltered Dakkar. The Nautilus swung back, carried on a sudden updraft caused by one of the outhouses collapsing in a shower of sparks, but the smaller, lighter Cryptos balloon flew straight at them, bumping its basket into the bow of the submarine.
A rope with a grappling iron swung from the basket and snagged the foot of the sub’s ladder. Three men leapt on to the front deck of the Nautilus. Dakkar’s ears rang as Georgia fired her rifle over his shoulder. He saw one of the men fall to the deck, clutching his shoulder, but as the craft pitched with the new weight, he slid and fell, screaming to the sea below.
The second guard rushed forward and tried to scramble up the ladder to the top of the sub’s tower. Dakkar waited for him to get closer then jabbed with the butt of his rifle. The man slipped back and pulled a pistol from his belt. Dakkar hurled himself back as the pistol roared. His momentum threw him into Georgia, who was about to shoot at the third man on the deck.
Seeing his chance, the guard on the ladder clambered on to the top of the tower and stood triumphantly over Dakkar. Borys appeared at the hatch into the tower. He flicked his hand and the guard looked down in disbelief as the handle of a knife appeared in his stomach. Borys lunged forward and grabbed the handle, retrieving his blade and pushing the man off the sub at the same time. Dakkar shuddered at Borys’s cruel grin.