The Curse of the Ice Serpent (16 page)

‘Tingenek,’ Dakkar said, ‘carve a cross or an arrow in the wall at each junction or we’ll never get out of here.’

‘Full of bright ideas.’ Tingenek grunted and stabbed a cruel-looking dagger into the hard wall, sending splinters of ice scattering across the floor.

One tunnel led them down a dead end, forcing them to turn around. This left Dakkar and Georgia at the rear of the group. Tingenek and his men watched them but there was nowhere to run anyway – the Tizheruk’s huge body blocked the tunnel ahead even if they got past the men. Its muscles rippled under the matted white fur as it squeezed itself along the passage. Dakkar was glad he couldn’t see its long face full of razor teeth and those cold eyes.

The next tunnel they took widened out into a cave big enough for them to stand in. The exit stood at the op­­­posite end of the room but Dakkar grabbed Georgia’s shoulder before she could step into it. Georgia froze, her foot hovering over the entrance.

‘A trap?’ she whispered.

‘Possibly,’ Dakkar murmured. ‘Look at the floor.’

The floor was perfectly round and covered with a dusting of crystal ice, but underneath it something shifted and moved.

‘The walls look different too,’ Georgia said, running her fingers along the entrance into the room. ‘They’re made of glass!’

‘Now why would you do that?’ Dakkar said, stroking the wall.

‘Why have you stopped?’ Tingenek said, inching forward. ‘You found a trap?’

‘I think so,’ Dakkar said, tapping a cautious foot on to the floor of the room.

Nothing happened other than Tingenek taking a hasty step back.

Dakkar knelt down and scraped the flat of his hands across the floor. The crystalline powder cleared to reveal a blurred shadow beneath the glass.

‘It’s water underneath a glass floor,’ he said. ‘And there’s something else.’

‘Sharks,’ Tingenek said, peering over Dakkar’s shoulder once more. ‘Many sharks.’

‘How do they survive in this small pit?’ Georgia said, kneeling next to Dakkar.

Igaluk said something and Tingenek translated for him. ‘Igaluk says there may be deep tunnels under here leading to the sea, but they’d have to be very deep to go under the ice.’

‘I’ve been in deep tunnels before. Very deep,’ Dakkar said, turning his attention to where the floor met the wall. ‘Maybe he’s got a point. But why build a glass floor in –’

Dakkar didn’t finish his sentence. He was placing his weight on the edge of the floor as he leaned in to examine the edge of the room. The floor began to dip away from him and Dakkar plunged forward.

For a dizzying moment, he saw the floor fall away, revealing sloshing water below. At the same time a huge mouth surged upward and Dakkar toppled towards snapping rows of teeth.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A LEAP OF FAITH

The world became a fury of splashing water and gnashing teeth. Dakkar’s stomach lurched with terror and vertigo as he plunged towards the hungry shark in the pit below. Then a hand grabbed his collar and suddenly he was jerked upward. He fell back into Georgia’s arms, panting for breath.

‘Don’t mention it,’ Georgia said, grinning. ‘Look – the floor must be on a central axle. It’s a flat plate that spins when weight is put on it.’

Dakkar watched the disc of the floor rotate and slip neatly back into place, covering the thrashing shark beneath.

‘How we going to get across?’ Tingenek shook his head. ‘If we step on it that shark will get us.’

‘What if we wedged the floor with knives or something?’ Georgia said, squatting at the doorway and tapping the floor.

‘We could try but that would work better if this side of the floor went upward, which it won’t,’ Dakkar said, stroking his chin. ‘The fact that it’s made of glass means it won’t wedge as easily.’

‘Yeah,’ Georgia sighed. ‘If the floor were made of ice the knives would dig into it, I guess.’

‘Or we could have stabbed knives into the wall,’ Dakkar said. ‘But not with glass. It would just shatter or splinter.’

‘You can’t figure it out then?’ Tingenek said, an evil grin spreading across his face. The Tizheruk hissed behind him.

‘I didn’t say that,’ Dakkar muttered. ‘It’s going to take a leap of faith, that’s all.’

‘A leap of faith?’ Tingenek looked dubious.

‘Just get me some rope and some metal spikes,’ Dakkar said. ‘There should be some on the sledge.’

Onartok vanished back up the tunnel for the spikes and rope while Tingenek argued with Dakkar.

‘If someone jumps to the centre of the disc, it won’t tip down so quickly,’ Georgia explained to Tingenek. ‘Then they have to tip the far side of the disc and get to the other side before they fall.’

Tingenek frowned and shook his head. It took some time before he understood their plan.

‘You think I let Dakkar jump over that hole and leave us behind?’ he said, holding his hands up. ‘You think I’m a crazy man?’

‘If you think you can leap over to the centre of the disc before it tips up completely, then you can do it,’ Dakkar said, shrugging. ‘I’m probably the fastest and lightest –’

‘
I
am, actually,’ Georgia cut in. ‘I’ll do it.’

‘Georgia, it’s –’ Dakkar began.

‘Too dangerous?’ Georgia raised an eyebrow at Dakkar. ‘You know I can do this. Let me try.’

‘The girl can go.’ Tingenek nodded and slapped Dakkar in the chest. ‘You stay with me.’

Finally, Onartok returned with the rope and spikes.

‘So you know what to do,’ Dakkar said, tying the rope around Georgia’s waist. ‘You’ll have to move quickly to the top of the disc and see if you can tip it back before you fall off.’

‘And if I do fall off?’ Georgia said, looking pale.

‘We’ll drag you back up with this rope.’ Dakkar gave a tight smile. ‘But don’t worry – you’ll be fine!’

Georgia backed down the tunnel, pushing Tingenek aside and trying to ignore the hissing Tizheruk.

‘Here we go!’ she yelled, sprinting down the tunnel towards the entrance to the room.

With a grunt, she launched herself across the floor, landing just short of its centre. Dakkar could barely watch as the disc began to tilt down but Georgia scrabbled her feet on the floor and leapt forward again so that the disc began to return to a horizontal position.

‘Keep going, Georgia!’ Dakkar yelled.

The disc would begin to tilt downward again as Georgia ran for the far door. He held his breath, watching as she neared the door and the floor began to sink.

‘Jump!’ he shouted.

Georgia threw herself towards the exit as the ground beneath her sank and the water sloshed up over the edge. With a groan she hit the tunnel floor on the other side.

Dakkar hissed with relief.

‘Now make the rope safe!’ Tingenek shouted across.

‘Thanks for your concern,’ Georgia grumbled as she dragged herself to her feet.

She pulled one of the metal spikes and a mallet out of the small pouch slung around her shoulder. The sound of metal ringing on metal echoed in the tunnels as Dakkar watched her hammer the spike into the ice some distance into the far tunnel. She crouched over the spike, fumbling with the rope, then stood up with the rest of it coiled in her hand.

‘You think you can catch this?’ she said, taunting Tingenek with a few false swings of the rope. Then she let it fly across the cave without warning.

Tingenek flailed his arms out to catch it but the coils smacked him in the face.

Dakkar felt a gun barrel pressed against his neck.

Igaluk stared at him. ‘No wrong move,’ he said.

Dakkar shrugged. He picked up another metal spike and began driving it into the ground on their side.

‘How we going to get across?’ Tingenek snorted. ‘Walk on the rope?’

‘No,’ Dakkar said, not pausing in his mallet blows. ‘We’re going to tie the rope hard against the ground. It’ll stretch over the floor and stop the disc from flipping over.’ He looked up and stared Tingenek in the eye. ‘I hope.’

He tied the other end of the rope securely, stood up and threw the remaining length across to Georgia, who tied it again on her side. Soon there were three lengths of rope stretched across the cave floor.

Dakkar stepped on to the disc and watched as the other end rose up. The rope creaked as it went taut but it held as the disc pressed against it. He took another step but Tingenek barged past him, making the rope stretch and groan ominously.

‘You go after Igaluk but before Onartok,’ Tingenek said, striding across the room without looking down at the vibrating rope. He gave a little skip as he leapt into the doorway and next to Georgia.

Igaluk shambled over after Tingenek without seeming concerned – he even gave the rope a little tap with his foot.

‘You need to be careful,’ Dakkar called over to him. The sharp glass edges of the disc were gradually sawing at the fibres of the rope as it vibrated to and fro.

‘No.
You
need to be careful.’ Onartok laughed, giving Dakkar a shove to the floor.

The disc shivered as Dakkar inched across it. He could see loose strands of rope poking out from the main braid that held the floor level. Beneath him the dark shapes of the sharks swirled and circled in the water. Taking a breath, he half ran, half jumped across, Georgia grabbing him as he reached the threshold of the door.

Onartok stood at the other entrance, completely dwarfed by the Tizheruk that filled the tunnel behind him. The creature swayed its head, eyes still fixed on Dakkar, twitching its tail like an angry cat. Onartok stepped on to the floor and began walking slowly across. Igaluk called something that was obviously insulting and laughed. Onartok ignored him, watching his feet.

‘Hurry!’ Georgia cried as more of the rope twanged and unwound.

Onartok took three rapid steps then the rope gave a vicious snap and flew up into the air. The disc slid up behind Onartok, sending him slithering down into the hole. His scream ended abruptly as he hit the bubbling water. Then the floor closed over him.

Dakkar leapt forward but Tingenek grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

Onartok broke the surface once, thumping on the glass that sealed his escape, gave a muffled cry and then vanished again in a cloud of crimson blood.

The Tizheruk had been held back long enough. Onartok’s death and the scent of blood pushed the creature into a frenzy. It coiled forward across the room towards Dakkar.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

DEATH COUNT

‘Tingenek, stop that thing!’ Dakkar yelled, backing away from the charging serpent.

But it was clear that Tingenek had lost control. The Inuit shouted and waved his hands, but the Tizheruk rose up with a deafening hiss, ready to strike. The floor began to tilt under it. The Tizheruk swung its head to and fro in confusion and snapped at the air as it slithered down the inclining floor into the splashing water.

The floor closed over the thrashing serpent but it carried on thumping and smashing against the hard glass. The floor flew up once, exposing the Tizheruk with the brown body of a Greenland shark in its teeth. Then the disc slammed shut and stayed closed at a slight angle.

‘It’s snapped the axle,’ Dakkar said, pointing to the crooked floor. ‘That won’t open again. You’ve lost your pet.’

Tingenek produced a pistol from within his coat and pulled back the hammer. ‘Tomasz still outside with your friend, Dakkar,’ he said. ‘We carry on.’ But his voice wavered and Dakkar thought he looked pale.

The tunnels twisted a little further until they came to another chamber similar to the last one. This time, however, a grid had been drawn on to the ground with a number in each box.

‘I don’t think it’s another false floor,’ Dakkar said. ‘But what do these numbers mean?’

‘Look up there.’ Georgia pointed to the far side of the room above the opposite door. A small wooden sign hung there. ‘It says something.’

It’s forty in English

but cinq in French

and more

‘What can that mean?’ Dakkar wondered. ‘It seems familiar somehow.’

‘Doesn’t make sense,’ Tingenek grumbled, poking his nose into the room but not stepping through the entrance.

‘Maybe it’s a code,’ Georgia said. ‘Perhaps each letter means something – maybe a number.’

‘The numbers aren’t in order,’ Dakkar said, looking over the squares. ‘But the highest number, one hundred, is by the other door there – look.’

They stood staring at the floor. Dakkar couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew the answer. It flitted around the corners of his mind, just out of reach. Tingenek and Igaluk slumped against the wall in the tunnel, heaving the occasional sigh and then jumping up to pace back and forth.

‘Have you worked it out yet?’ Tingenek said at last.

‘Maybe,’ Dakkar said, not taking his eyes off the numbers. ‘But it takes time. This room requires a little more brainpower …’

‘Brainpower.’ Tingenek snorted and took a step into the room, planting his foot on the square with a number five carved into it. Nothing happened. ‘See?’ he said, taking another step on to a number eight.