The Curse of the Ice Serpent Read online

  ‘The names of those bold sailors thronged into his memory, and it seemed to him that beneath the frozen arches of the ice he could see the pale ghosts of those who never returned.’

  Jules Verne, The Adventures of Captain Hatteras

  Contents

  Cornwall, 1815

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  A Note from the Author

  Also by Jon Mayhew

  Cornwall, 1815

  CHAPTER ONE

  FIRE IN THE SKIES

  ‘It’s a flying machine,’ Dakkar said, his voice low with wonder. ‘It has to be!’

  A distant, shadowy ball floated towards him and wings fanned the air on either side of the shape but, even from his vantage point at the top of the castle, Dakkar found it hard to pick out any detail. A faint crackling, like the spitting of fat on a hot frying pan, drifted from the shape.

  ‘Gunfire too!’ Dakkar murmured. He crouched beside the castle wall. It was called ‘the castle’ but Dakkar’s home was more like a fortified tower on the top of a cliff. Below him, seagulls wheeled and screamed over the waves that lashed against the rocks. ‘Two flying machines!’

  Little puffs of black smoke erupted from one of the outlines in the sky. Two red-and-yellow-striped balloons floated closer. Dakkar could see baskets dangling below the balloons now. The ‘wings’ were made of material stretched between wooden poles that flapped back and forth, propelling the balloons towards the castle. The balloon nearest him appeared unarmed – or at least made no attempt to fire back. He snatched up a telescope that lay at his feet and peered through it with a gasp.

  The attacker bore a black flag emblazoned with a letter C, encircled by a snake, a trident poking up behind it.

  ‘Cryptos!’ Dakkar hissed under his breath. ‘I should’ve known!’

  Cryptos! The evil organisation run by Count Oginski’s brothers. They were hell-bent on ruling the world. Count Oginski, Dakkar’s mentor, had been part of the group once but had turned his back on them, sickened by their increasingly terrible deeds.

  Now Dakkar could make out a figure huddled low in the basket of the nearest balloon. Bullets buzzed close to the wickerwork, sending fragments spinning off. The marksmen in the other craft were finding their range and would soon pepper the basket with lead.

  Dakkar sprinted across the flat roof of the tower and into the doorway that led down to the top floor of the building. There by the door stood a rack of rifles – he grabbed one, plus some powder and shot. He hurried back to the roof, trying to pour powder down the rifle barrel as he ran.

  By the time he reached the battlements, the balloons were overhead, drifting round the castle towards the sea. Dakkar fired at the Cryptos balloon, piercing it at the top. He grinned as the material ripped, letting hot air out through the rent.

  The Cryptos Guard leaned out of their basket, trying to locate the culprit. Strong-looking men with fierce faces. Dakkar ducked behind the wall to reload. He popped out again and took a shot at the ropes holding the basket to the balloon. His bullet flew wide but clipped one of the men in the shoulder. A guard turned his rifle on Dakkar, the bullet pinging off the stonework close to Dakkar’s cheek.

  Another shot rang out and Dakkar saw one of the Cryptos guards clutch his hand.

  Dakkar grinned. Georgia must have heard the shots and grabbed a rifle, he thought. Georgia was Dakkar’s only friend apart from Oginski. She was the niece of Robert Fulton, the famous American inventor, and had saved Dakkar’s skin on two adventures now. The gun smoke from the ground suggested that she’d taken cover in one of the outhouses that nestled at the foot of the castle.

  The Cryptos balloon swung and jerked on its ropes, sending it veering into the castle walls with a crunch. It floated away again and, as it did so, a rifle barrel poked out of the basket and a final shot cracked into the other balloon. The Cryptos balloon drifted further away and Dakkar sent a warning shot across its path. Georgia followed suit.

  ‘They’re getting away!’ Dakkar yelled down to Georgia, but horror replaced his excitement as he saw a flicker of flame lick up the fabric of the other balloon. This balloon began to fall, gradually crumpling in on itself.

  Dropping his rifle, Dakkar hurried into the building and down the stairs. Leaping steps two and three at a time, he threw himself into the hall and outside.

  The balloon lay on the open, grassy cliff top in a blaze of flames. Some distance away, the basket lay on its side. A figure scrambled out, dragging several heavy bags and sacks.

  Georgia gripped her rifle, her red hair glowing in the light of the fire. She wore a simple cotton gown but didn’t seem to notice the chill wind blowing off the sea.

  ‘Good shootin’, Dax,’ she said, giving him a wink. She nodded at the man staggering towards them. ‘Looks like we got company.’

  Dakkar felt his cheeks redden. ‘I wish you wouldn’t call me that,’ he muttered.

  Georgia raised her rifle. ‘That’s far enough, mister,’ she said. ‘Now suppose you tell us who you are and I’ll decide whether or not to shoot you as a trespasser.’

  Dakkar frowned at the portly man. Quite elderly, short and well fed, he looked the most unlikely aeronaut. His dark, curly hair and thin, waxed moustache suggested a city gentleman, used to comfort and fine living.

  The man gave a short bow. ‘Forgive me, my dear,’ he began. ‘I did not mean to drop in on you so unex­­­­pectedly.’

  ‘Well, you did. So who are you?’ Georgia said, not softening her tone.

  ‘My name is Borys,’ said the man, giving another bow. ‘May I thank you for saving my life!’

  ‘You can thank me,’ Georgia said, her rifle poised. ‘Then you can tell us what you were up to in that balloon.’

  ‘The last time we saw a contraption like that,’ Dakkar said, stepping forward, ‘it carried a villain with poorer manners!’

  ‘Prince Dakkar,’ Borys said, bowing again with a flourish of his hand that made Dakkar feel he was being mocked. ‘It’s such an honour to meet you!’

  ‘How do you know who I am?’ Dakkar said, the blood draining from his face.

  ‘He knows you because he knows me,’ said a voice from behind Dakkar.

  He turned and saw Count Oginski filling the doorway of the castle. The big man looked stern. He leaned on his walking stick and glared at the visitor.

  ‘Who is he, Oginski?’ Dakkar said, glancing from his mentor to the man.

  ‘He didn’t give you his full name,’ Oginski said, narrowing his eyes. ‘Dakkar, Georgia, meet Borys Oginski, another of my wicked brothers.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  RUMOURS FROM THE NORTH

  Borys Oginski didn’t look as though he’d leapt from a burning hot-air balloon only a few hours ago. With growing
confusion, Dakkar watched this portly, self-satisfied gentleman who was now sitting in Oginski’s lounge dressed as if he were attending a state ball. Wearing a rich woollen jacket and contrasting silk scarf wrapped around his thick neck, his hair was slicked with oil and his moustache waxed to sharp points. Unlike the tall, brooding Oginski, Borys was plump and jovial. His eyes twinkled and he looked as if he were laughing at some untold joke that only he knew.

  How can he be related to Count Oginski? Dakkar wondered.

  Borys poked his finger through the bars of the cage that stood near the fire. ‘This is a strange pet,’ he said. The creature inside resembled a small featherless bird with leathery wings for arms and a long face split by a grinning mouth full of needle-sharp teeth.

  ‘It’s called Gweek,’ Dakkar said, reddening. ‘It doesn’t like the cold so we keep it in here. I acquired it on my last … expedition …’

  ‘It comes from the world below this one,’ Borys said, whipping his finger away from the snapping little beast. ‘The world that was ruled by our brother Stefan.’

  Dakkar swallowed and stared hard at Gweek, who squawked and worried at the bars of the cage. Although Dakkar had been responsible for Stefan Oginski’s downfall, the ruler of the underworld was a cruel tyrant set on conquering the surface world with his monsters. Dakkar had been right to stop him but now Borys’s stare made him feel guilty.

  ‘You have a cosy hideaway here, Franciszek,’ Borys said, breaking the awkward silence.

  Oginski’s face hardened. ‘Don’t get too comfortable. You aren’t stopping long.’

  ‘Franciszek, Franciszek, my brother,’ Borys said, shaking his head and making his curly, black hair wobble. ‘Is that the warmest welcome you can find in your heart?’

  Yes, why is Oginski so set against this brother? Dakkar wondered. How could this man be a threat? He was a stark contrast to the other two brothers Dakkar had met. Borys seemed soft, more concerned with comfort than anything else.

  ‘Yes – given that the last time we met in Paris you tried to poison me,’ Oginski growled. ‘You’ll forgive me if I’m a little guarded this time.’

  Poison? Dakkar had never heard this story. He knew that the Brothers Oginski had become villains of the worst kind after the Russians had invaded their land, killed their parents and burned their castle and estates. He’d heard the story of how they all vied for the affection of the beautiful Celina, leaving their beloved land on a quest in her name. They returned to find smouldering ruins and Celina gone. From that day on, they became pirates, mercenaries, killers and thieves, using their talents and knowledge to hit back at Russia wherever they could. This life hardened them and they began to lust for power themselves. And so the organisation known as Cryptos was formed, each brother calling himself Count Cryptos and all seven of them plotting to conquer the ruling nations of the world.

  ‘Ah, Paris,’ Borys said with a sad smile. ‘How glad I am now that we weren’t successful. I regret my old ways, Frank. I want to put the past behind us.’

  ‘A likely story.’ Oginski snorted, pouring himself a glass of port from the bottle Borys had helped himself to a moment earlier. ‘You and Tomasz would sell our grandmother to keep yourselves in the lap of luxury.’

  ‘Who is Tomasz?’ Dakkar cut in before the conversation left him far behind.

  ‘Another brother.’ Oginski nodded at Borys. ‘His identical twin. They were always at each other’s throats and yet united against the rest of the world. Believe me, Dakkar, these two are more deadly than the rest of the Oginski clan put together. And more dishonest.’

  Borys gripped the arms of his chair and angry red spots flamed in his cheeks. ‘So only you are capable of changing? Only you can be redeemed?’ he spat. ‘The great Franciszek Oginski can become a saint but his brothers remain devils?’

  ‘Are you saying you’ve abandoned the Cryptos mission?’ Oginski sneered.

  ‘Did you not see the Cryptos balloon chasing me?’ Borys said, half rising in his seat. ‘They would have killed me but for these youngsters here!’

  ‘The last two Oginski brothers we’ve met weren’t so eager to make friends,’ Georgia said, her arms folded. She had been silent up to now, watching Borys’s every move.

  ‘And those brothers – our brothers – have ended up dead at your hands,’ Borys said, waving an accusing finger at Dakkar, Georgia and Oginski. ‘Aren’t you tired of the bloodshed? Can’t all this end?’

  ‘We didn’t seek them out,’ Dakkar said crossly. ‘It was they who tried to kill us. If they’d left us alone … If they’d lived in peace …’

  Borys slapped the arm of his chair. ‘Exactly!’ he said. ‘That is all I want to do but it seems some of us have other ideas.’ He looked hard at Oginski, who lowered his gaze to his drink.

  ‘Maybe you do.’ Oginski sounded unimpressed. ‘Who was trying to shoot you down?’

  ‘Tomasz’s guards.’ Borys’s voice was barely a whisper.

  Dakkar looked at to his mentor. ‘So what’s new?’ he said. ‘Didn’t Oginski just say that you hate each other?’

  ‘Yes, but this time it’s different. Tomasz has become even more power-crazed,’ Borys said. ‘He’s planning something terrible. I managed to stall his plan and fled but he chased me.’

  ‘What is he planning?’ Dakkar asked. His mouth felt dry as he spoke.

  ‘He’s going to harness the Heart of Vulcan,’ Borys replied, looking pale now.

  ‘And what in the world is that?’ Georgia said, narrowing her eyes.

  ‘A Thermolith,’ Borys said, jumping up and striding over to the fire. ‘I believe you have possession of the Eye of Neptune, a Voltalith, a fragment of rock from the stars that crackles with electrical energy?’

  Dakkar swallowed hard. It was true that they had such a thing. Dakkar had been forced to retrieve it from the ocean bed by another Oginski brother only last year. The Voltalith was used to power the Nautilus. Dakkar tried not to give anything away but Borys stared at him as he spoke, a slight smile playing round his lips.

  ‘We know everything, boy,’ Borys said. ‘You think the Brothers Oginski don’t communicate with each other?’

  ‘The Heart of Vulcan is a similar rock fragment but it generates huge amounts of heat and never cools,’ Oginski cut in. ‘I’d heard tell of it but thought it just a myth until now.’

  ‘The Heart of Vulcan exists all right,’ Borys said, the wine glass shaking in his hand. ‘A seething, glowing ball of energy!’

  ‘Think how many hot-air balloons you could power with just a fragment of it,’ Georgia whispered.

  ‘Or how many steam engines without the need for tons of coal,’ Dakkar added. ‘If you broke it up, it could drive a fleet of steam ships …’

  ‘We had the Heart of Vulcan in our grasp,’ Borys continued, a glint in his eye. ‘But what Tomasz was planning filled me with dread. I am sick of slaughter and destruction.’

  ‘Was Tomasz going to use it to power a weapon?’ Dakkar said.

  ‘He has already built a huge fortress that can fly using many hot-air balloons.’ Borys shook his head. ‘Imagine being able to sail above each major city of the world – you could drop bombs, rain fire and destruction down on them without anyone being able to fight back. Cities would be reduced to rubble, their populations brought to their knees. Tomasz would become invincible, unstop­pable. Put simply, he would rule the world from the skies.’

  ‘That’s awful,’ Georgia gasped. ‘Nobody could touch him. Armies and navies would be powerless.’

  ‘I had to stop him,’ Borys said, tears glistening in his eyes.

  ‘What did you do?’ Oginski said, watching Borys closely.

  ‘He needed the Thermolith to power his creation,’ Borys said. ‘I took it and hid it in an ice cave in Greenland then fled for my life. But Tomasz will be searching for it, believe me.’

  ‘That’s why the Cryptos Guard weren’t shooting directly at you,’ Georgia said slowly. ‘Tomasz wants you alive.’

&nbs
p; ‘Tomasz never was the smartest of the two of you,’ Oginski snorted. ‘You always had the brains, Borys. Tomasz couldn’t find his own shoelaces without your help.’

  Borys’s cheeks coloured red and he glared at Oginski. ‘Tomasz is still our brother,’ he said. ‘To underestimate him would be a grave mistake.’

  ‘He’s right. Sooner or later Tomasz will work out where the Heart of Vulcan is,’ Dakkar said in a low voice.

  ‘If we can get the Heart of Vulcan before he does,’ Borys said, pouncing on Dakkar’s eagerness, ‘then think of the chaos and suffering we can avoid.’

  ‘We’ve got to find it before he does!’ Dakkar said, looking towards Oginski.

  The big man held up his hand. ‘You are impetuous, my boy,’ Oginski said. ‘We don’t know how close Tomasz is to finding the Thermolith.’ Oginski gave Borys an icy stare.

  ‘We don’t even know if he is looking for it.’

  Borys shook his head. ‘Ever the stubborn mule, Frank,’ he said. ‘You think I arranged for Tomasz’s men to shoot at me? You think I set fire to my own balloon, right on the edge of a cliff, so that you’d believe me? You think I’d try such a stupid gamble, just to win your confidence?’

  Oginski stared back at them, twirling the glass in his fingers.

  ‘One thing you do know about me, Frank, is that I’m not stupid,’ Borys said, glaring at his brother. ‘I don’t do stupid things. I don’t take risks.’

  ‘Nevertheless, we are not going charging off to Greenland on some fool’s errand because Tomasz might be looking for trouble,’ Oginski said, putting his drink down. ‘I need time to think.’ He stalked out of the room and slammed the door behind him, making Gweek squawk.

  Borys turned to Dakkar and Georgia. ‘I fear we don’t have the luxury of time.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  A DECISION

  The heavy wooden workbench that ran the length of one wall in Dakkar’s workshop creaked as Georgia settled herself on to it. Oginski had given Dakkar this room to practise building all kinds of mechanical marvels and Dakkar treated it as a haven too. Cogs and springs littered the work surfaces and plans jostled for space on the walls. Strange white hieroglyphs covered the chalkboard that stood in the corner next to a couple of ragged armchairs.