The Curse of the Ice Serpent

by Jon Mayhew

  Borys appeared at Dakkar’s shoulder. ‘I don’t remember this on any of the charts,’ Borys said.

  ‘Perhaps the tide is low and has uncovered the islet – it could be underwater most of the time,’ Dakkar said, jumping off the Nautilus and on to the nearest rock. The ground felt solid under his feet.

  ‘You don’t look very happy to be on dry land,’ Borys muttered, sounding surprised.

  ‘The safety of land is an illusion,’ Dakkar said darkly, taking a breath. ‘At least at sea I can live freely.’

  Borys joined him with an awkward jump, stumbling and soaking his shoes. ‘At least land is generally dry,’ he said, shaking a soggy foot. ‘I’d sooner fly if I could.’

  They wandered around the islet, picking their way over pools and slipping on the wet, seaweed-covered rock. Dakkar felt tiny and insignificant, encircled by miles and miles of grey water in all directions. A small sandy clearing sat in the island’s centre, surrounded by the stone outcrops.

  ‘It looks like some kind of crater,’ Dakkar said, scraping his foot on the sand. ‘Maybe it’s the tip of a volcano.’

  ‘Quite possibly,’ Borys said. ‘This clearing is sheltered from the wind. It would be good to make a fire and cook some fish or maybe a seabird.’ He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed his lips as if he had already eaten.

  ‘Do we have time to spend?’ Dakkar said, frowning.

  ‘There is always time for good food,’ Borys said, grinning. ‘Besides, our supplies are dangerously low. We can stock up. What a stroke of luck, this island being here!’

  Soon Dakkar and Georgia were busy setting up fishing lines while Borys fussed around, lighting a fire and trying to make a spit on which to turn the two fat seagulls he had snared easily with some salt beef as bait.

  ‘There are plenty of fish down there,’ Dakkar said, gazing down into the clear waters that surrounded the island. ‘We shouldn’t have much of a problem catching them.’

  As if in answer to Dakkar’s statement, one of the lines went taut, then another.

  Georgia laughed. ‘I bet there isn’t any land for hundreds of miles in any direction,’ she said. ‘They must be drawn here for food.’

  ‘A bit like him.’ Dakkar nodded towards Borys as he clapped his hands, celebrating the sight of the birds turning over the flames.

  Georgia smirked.

  Dakkar drew fish after fish out of the water. Some they left by the fire for Borys to cook, the rest they took down to the engine room where they had set up a line for them to hang and dry out.

  The afternoon rolled on. Dakkar lay by the fire, savouring the taste of roast seagull and fish.

  ‘So you are a younger brother to … my … Oginski?’ Dakkar swallowed down the upsurge of sorrow that came with the name.

  ‘Did Franciszek not explain who we all are?’ Borys said, his voice thick with gravy from the bird. ‘Marek is the eldest, then … your Oginski – Franciszek, then Voychek … then us.’

  ‘I see,’ Dakkar said.

  ‘Then Kazmer and Stefan,’ Borys finished.

  Georgia threw a hot piece of fish from palm to palm, trying to cool it. ‘And where are Marek and Voychek?’

  ‘Marek is in Africa,’ Borys said. ‘He’s a bull in a china shop. A monster of a man. Bigger than Frank.’

  ‘And Voychek?’

  Borys paled and looked solemn. ‘I haven’t seen Voychek for many a year.’ He shivered. ‘At least, I don’t think I have. I probably wouldn’t recognise him if I did meet him.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Dakkar suddenly felt chilly and shuffled nearer the fire.

  ‘Voychek is a master of disguise,’ Borys said with a haunted look in his eye. ‘A shadow, a rumour these days. He’s wild and unpredictable. Of all my brothers, it’s he I fear the most.’

  ‘Then I sure hope we don’t meet him,’ Georgia said.

  ‘Well, he’s not here,’ Borys said, shaking himself and trying to lift the sombre mood that had fallen over them. ‘And we have good food.’

  ‘You do like your food, Borys,’ Dakkar said, giving a slight smile.

  ‘If we weren’t caught up with our brothers and their mad schemes,’ Borys said, stifling a belch, ‘Tomasz and I would have been the greatest chefs known to man. In fact, I still harbour a desire to conquer the so-called civilised nations of the world, if only to bring them decent food and wine!’

  Borys roared with laughter but Dakkar just stared into the fire. Georgia glanced at Borys.

  ‘How can you be so merry at a time like this?’ she said.

  ‘We have food in our bellies and a fire warming our toes, young lady,’ Borys said mildly. ‘There have been times when I have gone without and shivered with bone-biting cold, expecting the next breath to be my last. That’s how I can be merry.’

  ‘But Oginski …’ she began.

  Borys’s face hardened. ‘Revenge is the best poultice for that wound,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Right now we can’t do anything about that but our time will come. Tomorrow we set off on our quest again. Tonight we rest. Franciszek wouldn’t begrudge us that.’

  Dakkar jumped up and stalked off to the furthest end of the islet.

  ‘Leave him, Georgia,’ he heard Borys say as he left. ‘Let him grieve.’

  The wind whipped at Dakkar’s thick, black hair and chilled his face as he sat on the rocks staring out to sea.

  Why don’t I feel sad? Why do I just feel angry? he wondered. He thought of Oginski’s weary face as he slipped to his death. Dakkar wanted to scream and shout, to punch something or someone.

  A huge explosion of bubbles erupted at his feet, making him yell and leap back. Suddenly the ground beneath him shifted, sending him rolling towards the sea. He slapped his hand on to the slick rock, just breaking his fall, and hung there as the islet began to move.

  ‘It’s an earthquake!’ he shouted to the others, who clung to nearby rocks, looking around in confusion.

  The fire had scattered and Borys hastily snatched at the fish hanging over the embers, hissing and yelping as they burned his fingers.

  ‘No time for that,’ Georgia said, grabbing the man’s sleeve. ‘We’ve gotta get back to the Nautilus.’

  The whole surface of the ground tilted, sending them tumbling into each other. Then it veered the other way.

  ‘I’ve never known anything like it!’ Borys panted, struggling to his feet.

  ‘Neither have I,’ Dakkar muttered, staring straight ahead, his heart hammering at his ribs.

  The sea exploded in front of him in a fountain of white spray. An enormous column of green rock burst from the waves, rearing up above and sending water raining down on them.

  ‘What is that?’ Georgia whispered.

  ‘It’s a head,’ Dakkar replied faintly.

  Two cold, reptilian eyes cracked open and stared at them – from what was now clearly the neck and head of the biggest turtle Dakkar had ever seen. It peered down on them over its shoulder as they stood on what he assumed was its gargantuan shell. It opened its colossal beaked mouth and gave a shrieking roar.

  Borys gaped at the beast. ‘It’s enormous,’ he said.

  ‘And it doesn’t look happy!’ Georgia added in a small, trembling voice.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A NANTUCKET SLEIGH RIDE

  For a second, Dakkar could only stand and stare at the head that towered over him. The sound of its cry deafened him.

  Borys gripped his arm and mouthed something but the monster’s scream drowned out the words. Pale and wide-eyed, Borys pointed to the Nautilus, which bucked and reared, still tied to the creature’s spiny carapace.

  ‘We must get into the sub,’ Borys repeated. ‘This creature is going to submerge!’

  Dakkar leapt forward, his feet splashing in puddles that were forming as water rushed over the side of the shell. Ahead he saw Georgia leaping on to the Nautilus and scrambling up the ladder. Borys wasn’t far behind her.

  ‘The hatch is open,’ Dakkar called to them, s
lipping in the deepening waters. ‘If the turtle sinks before we get in, the Nautilus will flood!’

  The sub pointed nose-down in the water now as the creature prepared to dive. Gasping in the freezing water, Dakkar found himself swimming to the tower. Something flashed beneath Dakkar and he glimpsed a milky eye and a downturned mouth.

  ‘Qalupalik!’ he yelled, kicking out at a scaly hand that tried to close around his ankle.

  ‘Hurry, boy!’ Borys yelled.

  The Nautilus listed horribly now, the tower almost level with the sea. More of the screeching creatures appeared in the water. Spears splashed close to Dakkar and rattled against the hull of the Nautilus.

  ‘They must have herded this thing towards us!’ Dakkar said.

  ‘Shut up and swim!’ Borys said, ducking as another spear bounced off the woodwork.

  Dakkar threw himself forward and scrambled towards the tower. Two Qalupalik leapt in his path. He kicked the legs from under one and smashed his fist into the other’s face, sending it tumbling into its comrades. Without looking back, Dakkar leapt up the tower, slamming the hatch closed behind him.

  ‘Did you untie the Nautilus?’ Georgia called to them.

  ‘I didn’t have time,’ Dakkar spluttered, shivering and wet. ‘It’s crawling with those little creatures out there!’

  Water foamed all around them as the huge turtle sank beneath the waves. Angry faces glowered at them through the portholes. Dakkar could hear the thumps and bangs as the Qalupalik hammered at the hull of the sub.

  ‘Looks like we’re in for the Nantucket sleigh ride of all time,’ Borys chuckled.

  ‘The what?’ Dakkar said.

  ‘Nantucket sleigh ride,’ Georgia said. She had settled herself into the captain’s seat and was wrestling with the wheel as the huge turtle powered down into the sea. ‘When whaler-men first harpoon a whale and it drags their ship along, that’s what they call it.’

  As if to demonstrate, the whole sub jerked, sending them staggering against the walls. The Qalupalik outside vanished suddenly.

  ‘Here we go!’ Borys yelled.

  The vast bulk of the giant turtle filled the portholes of the Nautilus and bubbles of air blasted around the sub, making visibility poor. Fish and debris smacked against the hull of the craft as they careered after the creature, swaying from side to side on the rope. The Qalupalik had been left far behind.

  Dakkar’s stomach lurched and his ears popped as they plunged deeper into dark cold water.

  ‘It is an amazing creature,’ Borys said, squinting through the porthole. ‘I never would have thought such a beast could exist.’

  ‘My uncle used to tell me stories of the aspidochelone,’ Georgia said, her head shaking in disbelief. ‘A huge sea creature that drags unfortunate sailors and their ships down to the deepest depths after tricking them to land on its back.’

  They powered through the water at an incredible rate, faster than even the Nautilus would normally go. Something heavy cracked against the hull of the sub, making Dakkar flinch.

  ‘Well, we can’t just sit here being dragged along by it,’ he said. ‘We have to cut ourselves free somehow.’

  ‘We could blast the beast with a Sea Arrow,’ Borys suggested. ‘From the size of it, I doubt it would feel a thing but it may break us free.’

  ‘We’d blow ourselves up,’ Dakkar said, frowning. ‘We’re tied too close to the creature’s shell, remember.’

  ‘Could you swim out there?’ Borys said. ‘And cut the rope?’

  Dakkar shuddered. ‘We’re moving too fast – I’d be ripped away from the sub and left far behind.’

  ‘If we can’t come up for air eventually, we’ll suffocate down here,’ Georgia said in a quiet voice.

  Long minutes of silence ran on as each of them struggled to think of a way to cut free from the giant that was dragging them to their doom.

  ‘What if we put the Nautilus into reverse?’ Georgia suggested suddenly, making Dakkar jump.

  ‘We’d be no match for a monster like this!’ Borys snorted. ‘How could we fight its massive strength?’

  ‘We don’t have to!’ Dakkar grinned. ‘Georgia, you’re a wonder!’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Borys said with a frown.

  ‘Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.’ Georgia grinned. ‘We can just snap the rope. Hold on tight!’ She slammed the drive lever to Backwater and the engines began to whine.

  The whole sub shook as she tried to battle the relentless pull of the massive turtle but something seemed to be aiding them too.

  ‘The drag as we’re pulled along will be in our favour,’ Dakkar said, peering through the darkness of the water. He could just see the vague outline of the rope, taut and quivering as the Nautilus tried to resist the journey of the monster.

  Seaweed and dead fish smacked into the portholes and against the sub as she shuddered. Her engines screamed down below as Georgia pushed the sub to her limit.

  The Nautilus began to veer more violently from side to side as she struggled to free herself of the mooring line that linked her to the turtle’s shell. With a twang, the rope snapped. The sub spun sideways, sending everyone inside hurtling around the cabin. Dakkar found himself flat on his stomach, staring down the hatch into the Nautilus, gasping for breath.

  Georgia sat in the captain’s seat, gritting her teeth and heaving at the wheel, trying to regain control as they whirled through the water like a boomerang. Planks groaned and Dakkar heard supplies clattering from their storage cupboards down below.

  Gradually the Nautilus stopped turning and Georgia, panting, brushed the hair from her face and gave a grin.

  ‘Did it,’ she said.

  Before Dakkar could answer, the chilling shriek of the turtle cut through the water, filling the sub.

  ‘It’s turning round,’ Dakkar said, staring out of the window.

  The turtle’s momentum had carried it into the far distance but it still looked colossal. Dakkar could make out its spiny shell and four massive flippers that pounded the water.

  ‘Do we stand and fight?’ Dakkar wondered aloud.

  ‘With what?’ Georgia murmured. ‘Our Sea Arrows would barely scratch that thing’s armour. No, we gotta hide!’

  ‘Take the Nautilus as deep as you can,’ Borys said. ‘Try to find a reef or rocks to conceal us.’

  ‘But too deep and the sheer weight of the water will crush us,’ Dakkar whispered.

  ‘I can’t see we have much choice,’ Georgia said, pursing her lips and steering the Nautilus downward.

  The turtle gave another shriek. It sounded louder – as if it were gaining on them. Dakkar peered out – it looked larger, closer.

  The darkness of the water closed in around them as they plunged deeper.

  ‘We have to keep quiet,’ Borys said, his voice low. ‘Sound travels in water and I believe that our big friend’s keepers, the Qalupalik, have very keen senses!’

  Once more the planks of the Nautilus groaned with the pressure of the water. Dakkar felt a tightness around his chest and each breath seemed to pant from his body as if squeezed out.

  Rocky pillars appeared out of the gloom. Georgia steered towards them and settled the Nautilus between them, shutting the engine down. Slowly the sub sank to the gritty seabed, hitting the ground with a thump that echoed dully through the whole craft.

  They all waited in the cabin. Sweat dripped down Dakkar’s forehead and neck as he peered out into the silty water. The heat was stifling. A huge shadow drifted above them. Dakkar pointed upward to tell the others. Georgia held her hand to her mouth.

  Dakkar could hear the blood pulsing in his neck and his breath rasping in his lungs. The sea pressed in on the Nautilus’s timbers, making her creak. Every noise brought a wince from Dakkar. His jaw ached from gritting his teeth and he longed to scream out and send the Nautilus rushing to the surface.

  The light from the surface above them darkened again.

  The monster is circling, Dakkar thought.
It’s searching for us like some kind of bloodhound!

  The silence pressed in on them. The air became stale and Dakkar’s head pounded.

  We can’t wait much longer, he thought.

  ‘What if we fire a couple of Sea Arrows,’ he whispered, ‘to create a distraction?’

  ‘Good idea,’ Georgia hissed back. ‘If it kicks up enough mud, we can slip away unnoticed.’

  ‘We could use sepia bombs too,’ Dakkar said. ‘To add to the confusion.’

  In addition to the Sea Arrows, the Nautilus could fire globes of squid ink into the sea. These created a thick and slightly acidic fog through which the sub might be able to escape. Signalling Borys to go to the stern of the boat where the sepia bombs were kept, Dakkar climbed down the ladder and crept towards the cabin that housed the Sea Arrows. He eased the explosive missiles out of their box and slid them into the firing chambers which nestled in the walls on either side of the sub.

  ‘Dakkar?’ Georgia’s voice from the speaking tube made him jump. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘Yes!’ Dakkar hissed back. ‘Keep quiet, will you?’

  ‘No need for that now,’ she replied. ‘It’s seen us and it’s coming our way. Get ready!’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  A FROZEN WORLD

  Dakkar felt the Nautilus lift as Georgia blew some of the ballast water from the hull. He stabbed his thumb into the firing button and then into the second one. Two missiles sprang from the front of the sub. Dakkar waited and after a count of eight was rewarded with the dull thump of an explosion, followed closely by another.

  He could tell that the Nautilus was travelling backward and he hurried up the passage and climbed the ladder back to the tower.

  A thick fog of sepia and mud blotted out the view from inside the tower. Georgia had spun the Nautilus around and slammed her to Full Ahead. The shrieks of the turtle seemed more distant now.

  ‘The Sea Arrows have deafened it,’ Borys said, smiling grimly. ‘I think we might have given it the slip.’

  ‘Let’s get to the surface,’ Dakkar said. ‘I need fresh air.’ He felt sick and his head thumped.