The Curse of the Ice Serpent (13 page)

‘Good Lord,’ Baines gasped, joining Dakkar.

‘It is the curse,’ Tingenek whispered, appearing from the shadows of the tent. ‘Tizheruk.’

‘Tizheruk?’ Dakkar said, shivering.

‘His magic is great. Not even the sledge dogs hear him,’ Tingenek said. ‘He will take us one by one.’

‘Not if I get a shot at him with this,’ Baines muttered, lifting a wide-muzzled blunderbuss.

‘Your guns cannot harm him. See.’ Tingenek pointed to the shattered rifle on the ground. ‘Look what he does to them.’

‘What
is
Tizheruk?’ Dakkar stared at the pool of blood and the gun.

Tingenek gave a dramatic shrug. ‘If I knew that, I’d be dead! Maybe a demon made of ice, maybe a walrus with bear’s teeth.’

‘If it’s that tough, how come it has to sneak up on us in the night?’ Baines said loudly, noticing that more marines had gathered around the gory puddle. ‘One good shot will see it off. Eh, lads?’

The marines murmured and nodded in agreement but there was little confidence in their faces.

‘We’ll double the guard,’ Baines said briskly. ‘Let’s get ready to strike camp. I doubt anyone will sleep now. We’d better keep moving!’

The bustle of packing up seemed exaggerated to Dakkar, as if the men were eager to avoid thinking about what had just happened. Tupiqs were emptied and pulled down quickly and provisions lashed back on to the sledges. Soon they stood ready to leave, each man peering into the dark, the plume of their breath hiding their pale faces.

‘It’s horrible, thinking that thing is lurking out there, following us,’ Georgia said to Dakkar as they began marching.

‘Don’t worry, ma’am,’ Fletcher said gallantly. ‘I’ll protect you from the beast!’

‘Thank you, kind sir,’ Georgia said, suppressing a smirk. ‘But I can look after myself quite well.’

‘You haven’t sailed with Commander Blizzard for long then, Fletcher?’ Dakkar said, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

‘No,’ Fletcher said, not seeming to notice the coldness in Dakkar’s voice. ‘I was on the street when Blizzard found me and took me to the Naval Asylum. My dad died on a mission for Blizzard when I was a nipper and me mum turned to drink. I became a top-notch pickpocket and was quick on me heels too!’

‘You stole from people?’ Dakkar said.
So Blizzard employs criminals now?

‘Yeah, well.’ Fletcher looked at the floor. ‘Didn’t have much choice. Either that or starve, I suppose.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Dakkar said, a pang of guilt washing over him. Not everyone had the advantages he’d had as a small child.

The thin line of men followed the dog sledges through the endless ridged waves of ice. The days dawned feebly and barely seemed to last. Dakkar’s head swam as the world became a monotonous blur of white.

‘Keep your wits about you, Dakkar,’ Baines said, clapping him on the shoulder and making him start.

‘Easy for him to say,’ Georgia muttered. Baines seemed unaffected by cold or the hard, uneven ground that made every step an effort.

They snatched short hours of sleep, pitching one tupiq and cramming inside for warmth and security. The sound of shuffling boots crunching on the ice and that chilling hiss filled Dakkar’s dreams.

Two guards vanished on the third night of their trek. They didn’t even have a chance to fire a shot or warn anyone, and once more the dogs made no sound.

‘Tizheruk again,’ Tingenek said, looking grimly at the spot where the men had stood sentry.

‘How could anything big enough to take two men move so quietly?’ Fletcher said, shivering.

Dakkar swallowed hard.
Is this how it’s going to end?
he thought.
Picked off one by one in the night?

‘I think we should try and outsmart it,’ Dakkar said to Baines. ‘This thing thinks it’s got us where it wants us. What if we turn on it?’

Baines rubbed his beard and nodded. ‘I like your spirit, Dakkar,’ he said. ‘The men are spoiling for a fight but we must reach this cave and find the Thermolith.’

‘There won’t be any of us left to do that. We’re already down to seven marines,’ Dakkar said, keeping his voice low. ‘Tonight I suggest we pitch camp as usual then wait, armed and ready within the tents.’

Baines chewed the idea over, glancing at his men and back at Dakkar. ‘Very well,’ he said finally. ‘We’ll give it a go. We can’t keep on losing men like this.’

That night, Dakkar suggested he, Georgia and Fletcher took a turn on guard. Baines was reluctant at first but Dakkar insisted.

‘Just don’t take any chances,’ Baines said, eyeing Dakkar warily. ‘First sign of trouble, let us know.’

Silence fell as Dakkar looked at Georgia and Fletcher. Their breath plumed in clouds, made silver by the moonlight. The moon illuminated everything but made the shadows deeper at the same time. A few yards from the tent, the dogs huddled, giving an occasional whine. Dakkar shivered.

‘We should stand back to back –’ Georgia suggested but a distant sound cut off her speech.

The sound of a heavy weight dragging or scraping across the ice. They all strained to listen. The dogs flattened their ears and crushed themselves to the ground as if trying to make themselves invisible.

‘What
is
that thing?’ Fletcher whispered. ‘Even the dogs are terrified.’

‘It’s getting closer,’ Dakkar said, scanning the darkness. ‘But where from? Which direction?’

‘It’s over there,’ Georgia whispered. She lifted her rifle and pointed towards the crest of a ridge.

‘No, it’s this way!’ Fletcher said, hurrying away from the tent.

‘Fletcher, no!’

Dakkar ran after him but Fletcher charged towards a distant island of rocks in the otherwise flat desert of ice before them.

CHAPTER TWENTY

BAD ICE

Fletcher stopped dead just ahead of Dakkar. The ice crunched under Dakkar’s feet and the sound of his ragged breathing filled the air.

‘Fletcher, you fool,’ Dakkar snapped, catching his breath. ‘What are you playing at?’

Fletcher squinted ahead into the darkness. ‘I could’ve sworn I heard it,’ he replied.

‘We’d better get back to the camp,’ Dakkar said. ‘That thing could –’

A rifle cracked in the distance behind them and the howling from the sledge dogs began.

‘Georgia!’ Dakkar said, spinning on his heel and sprinting hard back towards the tent. Fletcher ran after him.

Georgia stood with the rifle trembling in her hands. Baines and the other marines stood around her, their weapons primed and ready, but there was no sign of any creature.

‘Are you all right?’ Dakkar said. ‘Did you see anything?’

‘Just a shape over there.’ Georgia pointed to behind the tupiq. ‘It moved so fast! Something large and white.’

‘A polar bear, perhaps?’ Baines said, unconvinced by his own suggestion.

Tingenek gave a snort. ‘Tizheruk is clever. He won’t be tricked by you.’

‘Well, we scared it off for now,’ Dakkar said. ‘Georgia, Fletcher and I will keep guard for a while if you and your men want to go back to sleep.’

Baines nodded curtly.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Another day’s weary march found the party standing at the edge of a smooth, blue patch of ice that stretched off into a haze. It seemed to glow like a summer sky frozen into the ground.

‘This wasn’t here before,’ Tingenek muttered. ‘A lake under thin ice. Not right.’

‘You mean it’s not natural?’ Georgia said, frowning.

Tingenek shook his head. ‘Not right,’ he repeated. ‘Not safe. We should go round.’

‘But that would put days on to the journey,’ Baines said, shielding his eyes and gazing across the expanse of blue ice. ‘We can’t afford to waste the time.’

‘You’re right,’ Dakkar agreed. ‘Tomasz has got Borys and they’ll find the Heart of Vulcan while we just waste time.’

‘I’m so glad I came,’ Tingenek muttered, pulling a pained face. ‘You ask me questions but don’t listen to the answers. You’re crazy!’

Tingenek said something to Igaluk and Onartok in Inuit. They shook their heads but resignedly drove the dogs on to the ice. Baines led the marines out on to the blue expanse.

Dakkar stepped on the glassy surface, half expecting it to shatter under his feet and plunge him into icy waters below. The ice held but gave an ominous, grating creak as he took each step.

‘Will this ice hold us?’ he asked Tingenek, who walked alongside him.

‘It will hold me,’ Tingenek murmured, his eyes fixed on Baines, who marched at the front of their line. ‘He looks a bit fat. We should be fine.’ Tingenek glanced down at his feet.

Dakkar followed his gaze. Water shifted under the clear ice.
Is there something down there, under the ice?

A thin mist swirled around their feet as they walked gingerly across the frozen lake. The group bunched together, slipping often.

‘We must be more than halfway now,’ Dakkar panted, peering ahead. ‘I think I can see the edge.’

‘This is exhausting,’ Georgia said. ‘I skated on ice like this back at home.’

‘I wish we had skates now,’ Dakkar said, slithering along the ice. Something dark flashed beneath his feet, making him stumble and fall flat on his front.

‘What was that?’ Fletcher said, getting down to his knees and peering through the ice. More dark shapes flitted beneath their feet.

‘Qalupalik!’ Tingenek gasped.

The ice burst open ahead of Dakkar. The marine in front of him plunged into the icy blue water. He screamed as something pulled him down, then a hideous, spiny, blue creature leapt from the hole.

Dakkar lunged with the butt of his rifle, catching the Qalupalik square on the jaw. It squealed and fell to the ground. More holes appeared in the ice around the men as a horde of the Qalupalik grabbed at their legs.

Dakkar swung his rifle like a cricket bat, cracking the skull of any attacker who popped out of the ice. Georgia plunged her bayonet into the heart of a Qalupalik who tried to grab her. Thin cracks snaked between the ice holes accompanied by a splintering sound.

‘They’ve weakened the ice,’ Georgia gasped. ‘It’s breaking up!’

The noise grew louder, turning into a groan as the cracks widened and joined up. Dakkar began to back away as hairline cracks snaked towards him.

‘Right, men,’ Baines barked. ‘Now’s not the time for line formation. Break ranks and run for your bloomin’ lives!’

‘This way!’ Tingenek yelled, leading them towards the edge of the ice.

Some marines clung to the sledges as they powered to safety. Others slipped, cursing the crumbling ice that snapped at their heels. Two weren’t so lucky and were dragged screaming into the cruel waters.

The ice began to fragment into wobbling white islands of safety between freezing water and grasping blue hands. The Qalupalik swam between the floes, leaping up and stabbing at the men with their spears. Their angry screams sounded thin and grating as they clawed and snapped at the soldiers.

Dakkar ran towards the solid ice, falling several times and whirling forward on his belly, arms splayed out, unable to slow down.

A marine stopped to help him. ‘Keep going, sir.’ He grinned as Dakkar clambered to his feet.

‘Thank you –’ Dakkar began, but his voice was drowned out by a loud crack as the ice at their feet collapsed.

The marine slid back, half in and half out of the water. Dakkar grabbed at his arms but dark forms slithered around the young man. Dakkar yelled in anguish as the Qalupalik wrapped their spiny arms around the marine’s body and dragged him down into the freezing waters.

‘Quickly!’ Fletcher shouted, dragging Dakkar away.

Dakkar glanced back at the sea of bobbing ice floes. The rest of the troop was ahead of them now – he could see Georgia in the distance, her hood down and her long red hair flowing behind her. Ice broke with their every step, forcing them forward.

‘Not far now,’ Fletcher said, panting with the effort of leaping and staying upright on the vanishing ice.

Dakkar noticed that the others had stopped and were facing them now. They’d reached solid ground and Baines had arranged the remaining soldiers in volley formation. The angry screeching behind Dakkar told him why. He could imagine the swarm of enraged Qalupalik splashing through the water towards him and Fletcher, desperate to get one last victim.

Dakkar gave a yell and doubled his effort, leaping and scrabbling at the ice. It had broken in front of him and he found himself hopping from one wobbling island of ice to another.

Fletcher was ahead, bounding from floe to floe and making it look easy, but Dakkar could hear the boy’s laboured breathing.

A Qalupalik burst out of the water in front of Dakkar only to explode in a cloud of blood as a bullet from the shore caught it. Three more icy rafts lay between him and the land. He cleared one but it started spinning and a Qalupalik leapt up on to his shoulder, trying to bite his ear off. Dakkar lashed out at it with his fist, sending it to the ground, where a bullet killed it.