The Curse of the Ice Serpent (15 page)

‘It ain’t so bad,’ Fletcher said, wolfing down a sliver of red meat.

‘It’ll keep me alive, I suppose,’ Dakkar replied, taking another piece. ‘And we’ll need all our strength to find the Heart of Vulcan.’

Georgia and Fletcher looked meaningfully at Dakkar.

‘No,’ Dakkar said. ‘We must go on.’

‘Your friends are gone,’ Tingenek said darkly. ‘Ice covers everything after storm. Tizheruk eats the rest.’

Dakkar shuddered and swallowed his last piece of bird. ‘Then on with the mission,’ he said. ‘Are you still willing to take us to the Heart of Vulcan?’

‘If I go back to Guthaven then Tomasz finds me.’ Tingenek drew a finger across his throat. ‘Or Blizzard finds me.’ He repeated the action. ‘Tingenek can’t rest until Heart of Vulcan is away from here. You can make it safe?’

‘We’ll find someone who can,’ Dakkar said, wondering who that someone might be. ‘Or we’ll dump it at the bottom of the deepest ocean, where nobody will find it.’

‘Then we will get Heart,’ the hunter said. ‘And then Tingenek will have peace.’

As they were a smaller party and all perched on the two dog sleds, they travelled faster than when they moved with the column of marines on foot. The dogs bayed and yelped as they rushed across the ice field. Ice sprayed up from the sledge runners and stung Dakkar’s face, forcing him to keep his hood closed tight with one hand. This made holding on to the sledge more difficult and sometimes Dakkar would find himself leaning out to the side, perilously close to flying off. At other times Tingenek slowed right down so that the wind-cut ridges in the ice didn’t send them bouncing high into the air and crashing to pieces on the hard ground.

They skirted around a huge crevasse so deep and dark that Dakkar could not see the bottom.

‘Deep,’ Tingenek said, his eyes widening. ‘Some say it never end. Just keeps on going down.’

‘I’m sure glad we don’t have to cross it,’ Georgia said.

‘You fall in,’ Tingenek said, grinning, ‘you fall for ever.’

The rattling of the sledge shook Dakkar to his bones and he found his grip on the frame of the sledge loosening. He would doze and then lurch into wakefulness, almost pitching forward on to the hard ice and under the runners. The mountains grew closer and closer as the light faded. They bumped up a snow ridge, almost leaving the ground as they reached its peak, and the world opened out around them. In the distance, a spike of ice poked from the landscape like a dagger stabbed into the heart of the ice field.

‘Tingenek, look!’ Dakkar shouted above the swish of the runners.

‘That’s the ice cave?’ Georgia said, narrowing her eyes.

‘In there.’ Tingenek grinned. Then he lost his smile. ‘Dangerous place. Cursed. I never liked it.’

‘As long as there’s no Tizheruk,’ Fletcher said, glancing behind them. ‘I don’t want to see
that
again!’

They stayed silent until the icy outcrop loomed above them. Staring up at it made Dakkar dizzy. A giant shard of ice that rose from the ground at such an improbable angle he felt it might crash down at any moment.

‘That is entrance.’ Tingenek pointed to a square doorway carved into the side of the ice spike. ‘Tread carefully. Borys did not leave Heart of Vulcan unprotected.’

‘You mean he left men guarding it?’ Fletcher said, craning his neck to see into the doorway.

Tingenek shook his head. ‘Traps. Snares. I don’t know.’

‘But if Borys hid the Thermolith so hurriedly,’ Georgia wondered aloud, ‘how did he have time to build them?’

‘We spent long time digging cave,’ Tingenek said. ‘Borys was not in hurry.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Georgia said.

‘Maybe if we look inside we’ll understand more,’ Dakkar said, taking a pistol from the sledge and loading it.

He stepped forward and peered in. The day was failing fast but the white walls and floor reflected what little light there was. The entrance opened on to a corridor with smooth walls of cut ice. Dakkar stifled a gasp.

Someone sat at the end of the passage.

Drawing his pistol, Dakkar crept towards the figure and circled round. Whoever it was hadn’t seen him yet. He leapt in front of the man, levelling his pistol.

‘Don’t move,’ he intended to say, but the words stuck in his throat as he stared into the startled eyes of Borys Oginski.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

DEATH DOUBLE

Borys Oginski didn’t move. Dakkar recognised the plump face and the well-kept moustache, but a fine layer of frost coated Borys’s hair and his skin had the grey pallor of death. His lifeless eyes stared through Dakkar.

Georgia appeared at Dakkar’s shoulder and gazed down at the body. Dakkar reached out and gingerly tapped the dead man’s cheek.

‘He’s frozen solid,’ Dakkar said. ‘It looks like he’s been dead for a while.’

Dakkar noticed a leaf of paper folded in the body’s fingers. Crouching down, he eased it from the stiff grasp and stood up again. It was a note written in fine, spidery letters.

‘But how is that possible?’ Georgia stammered. ‘We saw Borys taken from the ship. He was dragged away by the Qalupalik just a few days ago …’

‘You saw what I wanted you to see,’ said a voice behind them.

Dakkar stuffed the note into his jacket and turned.

A man the double of Borys in every way stood holding a pistol to Fletcher’s throat. He had Fletcher’s arm twisted painfully up his back.

‘Sorry, Dakkar,’ Fletcher said through gritted teeth. ‘He took me by surprise. But there’s a whole army of those horrible little fish-men up there – we didn’t stand a chance.’

‘Tomasz Oginski, I presume,’ Dakkar said. ‘And I take it you’ve been pretending to be Borys all along while your brother sat, frozen to death, in this cave.’

‘What?’ Georgia frowned, staring from the frozen body of Borys to the very-much-alive Tomasz.

‘Your friend is correct, young lady,’ Tomasz said. He looked over at the body of his twin. ‘I need the Heart of Vulcan and he refused to give it to me.’

‘But why can’t you take it yourself?’ Dakkar folded his arms. ‘Let me guess. You haven’t the wits to outsmart your brother’s traps in this cave.’

‘Borys was conspiring against me,’ Tomasz growled. ‘He found the Thermolith weeks before he told me about it. He built trap after trap to keep me away from it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was building this place long before he found the Heart of Vulcan. Do you realise how close we are to our castle in the mountains? He could have sneaked down here at any time.’

‘So Borys did want to start afresh and leave his old life behind,’ Georgia said.

‘And you stopped him.’ Dakkar pointed an accusing finger at Tomasz.

‘Ha!’ Tomasz said. ‘Maybe he did, or maybe he wanted the Thermolith for himself. I knew I couldn’t risk running the gauntlet of the traps in this cave so I decided to make him do so. I left him here to either make this place safe or to starve and freeze. He could’ve broken through his own traps and waited for me with the Heart but he decided he’d rather die than let me get it.’

‘So the whole elaborate charade of pretending to be your brother was to entice us across the ocean to do your dirty work,’ Dakkar said, staring in horror at Tomasz. ‘You sent your own men and creatures against yourself just to convince us to help you.’

‘I may not be a great engineer,’ Tomasz said, ‘but I can scheme with the best of them. I knew that either you or Franciszek or Miss Fulton would fall for my redemption and forgiveness story. I knew one of you would make it this far. Now you can get the Heart of Vulcan for me.’

‘But you could’ve been killed at any time,’ Georgia said. ‘The Qalupalik attack, the eel, the giant turtle …’

Tomasz gave a smile. ‘My Qalupalik would never actually have harmed me,’ he said. ‘I must admit, the turtle was just meant to help us stock up on supplies. And I certainly didn’t think it would turn on us, but that just made the whole game a little more interesting.’

‘But why us?’ Dakkar said. ‘Surely you have enough men to exhaust the traps in this cave?’

‘Even the most fanatical Cryptos guards might think twice after seeing their comrades die so needlessly,’ Tomasz said. ‘You underestimate your genius, Prince Dakkar. You’ve outwitted and defeated two of my brothers. That is no mean feat. If anyone can unpick the riddles and dangers of these tunnels it’s you.’

‘So you engineered all of this just to draw us in?’ Georgia said, still struggling to believe what she was hearing. ‘Even getting the Qalupalik to take you from HMS
Slaughter
?’

‘Indeed! Knowing that poor old Borys had been kidnapped would only add extra urgency to your quest. My men picked me up from HMS
Slaughter
in the
Nautilus
,’ Tomasz said, grinning. ‘Oh yes, it was a simple thing to hand over your precious submarine to my men once we’d left for Larsen’s Tavern. I confess, I was a little surprised to see Commander Blizzard in Guthaven, but the improvised destruction at the harbour only helped strengthen your resolve to complete the mission.’

‘And then of course you had the small difficulty of our armed escort to get around,’ Dakkar said.

‘My Tizheruk dealt with them admirably.’ Tomasz grinned. ‘Why bother with a full assault when my monster can pick men off one by one?’

Dakkar lunged forward but Tomasz jabbed the pistol hard into Fletcher’s throat, making him cry out.

‘Admit it, Dakkar.’ Tomasz grinned. ‘You’ve been outclassed. HMS
Slaughter
is wrecked, Blizzard wounded with a fraction of his crew left. Oginski is no more. I have the
Nautilus
and soon I’ll have the Heart of Vulcan.’

‘Where’s the
Nautilus
now?’ Dakkar said. His stomach felt leaden as he swallowed down his fury at the mention of Oginski.

‘She’s in my castle,’ Tomasz said mildly. ‘Ready and waiting for the day when I will use her to destroy the navies of the world. But enough idle chit-chat. I’ll keep Mr Fletcher and Miss Fulton here while you make your way into the tunnels and begin dismantling the traps.’

‘Never,’ Dakkar growled.

‘Then I’ll feed these two to the Tizheruk,’ Tomasz said, pushing the pistol into Fletcher’s neck. ‘Piece by piece. Now, what’s it to be?’

‘Very well,’ Dakkar sighed. ‘But I want Georgia to come with me. If Borys has set as many traps as you think then two heads will be better than one.’

‘True.’ Tomasz nodded, relaxing his grip on Fletcher. ‘And if one of you dies, the other can carry on. It’ll save time.’

Dakkar felt his gut twist with rage but he gritted his teeth. ‘I
will
avenge Oginski, you know,’ he said, making his voice steely calm. He stared deep into Tomasz’s eyes until the man gave a contemptuous snort and looked away.

‘I don’t care what you think,’ Tomasz said. ‘Just get me the Thermolith or this one dies. And just in case you have any other plans, my Tizheruk and its handlers will be close behind.’

A deafening hiss filled the passage and then a huge reptilian head reared up behind Tomasz. Georgia gave a scream and Fletcher struggled in Tomasz’s grip.

Tingenek stepped up behind Tomasz, flanked by Igaluk and Onartok.

‘Don’t worry.’ Tingenek grinned. ‘Tizheruk won’t hurt anyone unless I say. He’s my pet. I’ve had him since he was this big.’ Tingenek held out his hands.

‘You were controlling it all along,’ Dakkar murmured. ‘And to think I almost trusted you.’

‘Never trust
anyone
,’ Tingenek said. He turned to Onartok and said something in his own language. The two Inuit laughed. Tingenek’s smile dropped suddenly. ‘Let’s go.’

Dakkar gave a sigh and began walking down the corridor. In some ways, it reminded him of the ice hole they had slept in – the walls were white and glassy, as if polished. They curved up to form the ceiling, making the whole passageway round.

‘I’d guess Borys used a Mole Machine to dig these tunnels,’ Dakkar said to Georgia. The Mole Machine had been developed by the first Count Cryptos they had met, Kazmer. It was a huge drilling machine that could cut through rock.

‘It would make short work of the ice,’ Georgia said, nodding.

‘What’re you muttering about?’ Tingenek said, leaning over Dakkar’s shoulder.

Dakkar pushed him back gently. ‘We have to talk, Tingenek. We’re getting acquainted with how the tunnel was made,’ he said. ‘And I wouldn’t walk too close behind us. If we set off a trap, you’ll be caught too.’

Tingenek frowned, looked to the ceiling, then to the walls, hopping back several paces until he bumped into Onartok. The Tizheruk’s hiss filled the tunnel and Dakkar turned away from its cruel stare.

‘That thing gives me the shivers,’ Georgia grumbled.

‘I think it would like to eat us,’ Dakkar murmured. ‘And once Tomasz has the Heart of Vulcan, what’s to stop it?’

‘Then we’ve got to use these traps to our advantage,’ Georgia said in a low voice as she scanned the tunnel. ‘We must find the traps and spring them without getting killed.’

The tunnels twisted and wound round themselves in a confusing maze of white. Every intersection looked the same.