The Eye of Neptune (24 page)

Dakkar stood paralysed for a second, contemplating how to extinguish all eight fuses.

Lafitte ran up to him. ‘Quickly, mon ami!’ he cried, grabbing a knife from one of the unconscious guards. ‘We must free your friends and leave while we can.’

Slaves were streaming out of the chamber now, jostling each other to get through the door. Dakkar hurried over and pulled at the ropes as Lafitte sawed at them with the knife. Soon Oginski, Fulton and Georgia clambered to their feet like sleepwalkers.

‘What happened?’ Fulton groaned.

‘There’s no time,’ Dakkar snapped, pulling Georgia to her feet. ‘We’ve got to go!’

As if to emphasise Dakkar’s statement, one low rumble after another shook the chamber.

‘The explosives have gone off in the vents!’ Dakkar said. ‘The whole place will fill with seawater any second!’

At the same time, the Mole gave a hideous screech and began to shudder in the hole it had created when if fell. Dakkar watched in horror as the metal monster twisted and bucked out of the hole, bouncing across the floor with a deafening clang. The crumpled drill was spinning freely again, sending the machine careering around the chamber like a tornado.

‘Let’s go!’ Lafitte screamed. ‘Allez!’

They stumbled towards the door and out into the corridor. Behind them came the scream of tortured metal and the rush of water. A colossal bang blasted down the passage, almost knocking them off their feet. Then the doorway collapsed as the seawater drove the whirling drill through the wall and after them.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Death Chase

The tunnel behind them was a boiling cauldron of death. Water roared, forcing the screeching steel monster through the tunnels. Rock splinters and sparks spat after them as the Mole scoured at the walls. The whole volcano shook and lumps of rock fell from the ceiling as they hurled themselves down the passage.

‘Head for the cavern!’ Fulton shouted. ‘Even if Cryptos has taken the
Nautilus
, the
Liberty
might still be there.’

The Mole gave a mighty clang and wedged in the tunnel for a second, plugging it completely.

Lafitte stopped and bent over, catching his breath. ‘Mon Dieu,’ he panted. ‘Thank goodness it has stopped.’

‘Come on, we must hurry!’ Dakkar yelled, running back to grab Lafitte’s elbow. ‘It’s not safe. This whole volcano is going to collapse.’

‘Pfft!’ Lafitte said, waving him away. ‘I cannot run another step –’

A threatening groan of rock cut him short. The Mole’s buckling body creaked and slid a little. Water began to hiss round the edge of the crumpled steel, making the contact between metal and rock slippery.

‘Quickly!’ Dakkar howled, and sprinted after the others.

Lafitte followed as the Mole gave another complaining squeal and continued its pell-mell journey down the tunnel.

The light of the cavern shining at the end of the tunnel seemed miles away to Dakkar. The rumbling behind him filled his senses but yet again the Mole clanged to a sudden halt.

This time Lafitte didn’t stop running. Dakkar half ran, half fell through the door of the cavern and crashed into the backs of Oginski and Fulton.

They stood stock-still, staring at Cryptos and two of his guards, who levelled guns at them.

‘Ever resourceful,’ Cryptos snarled. ‘Never dying.’

His brother shrugged. ‘Well, I am an Oginski,’ he replied. ‘You should know how hard we are to kill.’

All the while, Oginski was edging them away from the cavern entrance. Dakkar, Georgia, Fulton and Lafitte kept close behind him, shuffling quietly, trying not to look back up the tunnel. Now they stood clear of the doorway, leaving Cryptos and his guards exposed.

‘But your time has run out,’ Cryptos bragged. ‘You did a good job on the
Nautilus
for me.’

Something grated and crashed up the corridor but the guards were watching Oginski intently.

‘With a section of the Voltalith fitted to the engine, it has four times the power,’ Oginski agreed, backing away a little. ‘But it shouldn’t be used for war, Kazmer.’

Another roar echoed down the tunnel.

‘And what should it be used for,’ Cryptos sneered, ‘if not for building a new world? This is just a setback, Oginski, you know that. If it’s not me, then one of our brothers will continue the work.’

The thundering grew louder.

‘Please, Kazmer,’ Oginski said, taking a step forward. ‘The volcano is collapsing. The Mole is destroyed. Your plan is foiled. I beg you, my brother, give this up.’

‘Don’t move,’ Cryptos said, waving a finger at Oginski. ‘I’ve had enough of your sanctimonious snivelling. Guards!’

The men levelled their rifles. Dakkar flinched, turning his head away as the men prepared to fire.

The explosion deafened Dakkar. For the second time, he was thrown on to his back as the Mole burst through the doorway in a shower of rock and seawater. His last vision of Cryptos was of his shocked face, the man’s slick, bloodied hands grappling at the Mole’s buckled tip as it whirled through him. Then guards, Cryptos, rock and Mole machine plunged into the lagoon, soaking Dakkar and sending jellyfish splattering across the walls and jetty. Dust and rock splinters blasted from the tunnel entrance and shards tumbled from the ceiling of the cavern.

For a moment, Dakkar stood still with the others, contemplating the twisted wreckage that sank beneath the water.

Cryptos was dead.

‘Quickly – we aren’t safe yet!’ Oginski snapped, and ran along the jetty to the submarines that bucked and rolled in the water. Dakkar followed.

‘The whole volcano cone is imploding,’ Fulton said above the growing rumble that filled the cavern. ‘We need to get out to sea in the subs.’

Fulton and Georgia clambered into the
Liberty
while Dakkar went with Oginski and Lafitte to the
Nautilus
.

The roar of crumbling rock deafened them now. More chunks of stone fell from the shadows above, making the subs pitch even more wildly in the water.

Oginski threw off the ropes and climbed the ladder up the tower that sat in the middle of the
Nautilus
. He pulled the hatch open and began to climb in. He turned to say something but a fragment of rock clipped his temple. Dakkar saw a spurt of blood and Oginski’s eyes roll, then Oginski tumbled inside the
Nautilus
.

‘Oginski!’ Dakkar screamed, and leapt inside the sub.

Lafitte climbed in after him. Oginski lay, pale and groaning, at the foot of the ladder. Lafitte squatted next to him.

‘I think he’ll be all right,’ the pirate said, wiping blood from Oginski’s face, ‘but you will have to captain the ship.’

Dakkar glanced around. He hadn’t really taken in his surroundings. They stood in what was the control room of the
Nautilus
. A large ship’s wheel faced portholes that lined the front of the tower. Dakkar went to stand behind the wheel. He recognised the lever next to him and slammed the
Nautilus
to
Full Ahead
. A strange whine filled the ship as the engines powered up.

Something hit the top of the
Nautilus
, making Lafitte cry out. They stumbled, trying to keep their balance as the sub rocked but, slowly, she began to move forward. Dakkar spun the wheel, leaning into it as she veered to port. Ahead he could see the
Liberty
sinking beneath the waves towards the cavern entrance. Twisting another wheel, Dakkar heard the gushing of water filling the ballast tanks and the
Nautilus
also began to submerge.

Many of the glowing jellyfish had been hit by the falling rocks and their glow had reduced to a residual glimmer. Dakkar squinted through the glass at the distant rugged arch of blackness that marked the way to open sea. Rocks rained down now, thumping the sides and top of the
Nautilus
. Dakkar and Lafitte flinched with every bang. The entrance grew closer as the clatter of stones on the roof increased. A porthole cracked but held against the pressure of the water outside. Lafitte crouched, holding Oginski, who groaned as he came to.

The sea boiled as more of the cavern roof collapsed. A fog of bubbles and muck clouded Dakkar’s vision. He caught brief glimpses of Qualar flitting in and out, dodging falling stones and fleeing for the sea too. He also saw the outline of bodies floating lifelessly in the water, blood seeping from their wounds and drawing all manner of scavenger fish despite the turmoil of the cave’s collapse. He tried not to look too closely.

The surge of the current through the sea cave rocked the
Nautilus
sideways and Dakkar clung to the wheel. Something smashed down on to the back of the sub, making the engine stutter for a second.

‘Mon Dieu!’ Lafitte yelled. ‘We are going to sink!’

A massive arch from the cavern entrance plunged before them, setting the
Nautilus
on a collision course. Dakkar slammed the sub into reverse, but their forward momentum could only be slowed. The shadow of the rock filled the front portholes. Dakkar squeezed his eyes shut and dragged the wheel back, forcing the sub upward as they slid towards the rock. The
Nautilus
shuddered, scraping her belly across the stony surface as she skimmed the obstacle. Then the bright sunlight from above streamed in through the portholes.

‘We’re clear, mes amis!’ Lafitte laughed, clapping his hands. ‘You did it!’

‘What happened?’ Oginski moaned. ‘What hit me?’

Dakkar pushed the
Nautilus
to
Full Ahead
again and nearly fell over as she surged forward. They powered through the water, overtaking the tiny
Liberty
. Dakkar caught a glimpse of Georgia waving through the porthole, and then he was lost in a sea of bubbles and startled shoals of fish.

He guided the sub to the surface and emptied the ballast. The daylight dazzled him. In the distance, he could see the volcano sinking into itself with a distant roar. An explosion of bright orange lava boiled up from the shattered cone, followed by a vast plume of dust coiling up to the sun.

‘We did it,’ Dakkar gasped and slumped against the wheel.

Chapter Thirty

Fond Farewells

The
Nautilus
rocked as the waves from the exploding island reached them. Gradually the explosion died down, leaving only the smouldering wreckage of the volcano, and Dakkar steered the craft back towards the island. Oginski sat up now, an improvised bandage round his head.

‘It should be safe on the beach,’ he said, wincing and touching his temple. ‘We must salvage any provisions we can before we set off anywhere else.’

‘And you must rest, Oginski,’ Dakkar said, nervously eyeing the red stain on the bandage.

‘We all need to rest,’ Oginski said with a tight smile.

A fine mist of dust and steam clouded their view but they headed for the beach, towards a wooden pier that jutted out into the sea.

They docked next to the
Liberty
, where Georgia and Fulton waited, accompanied by a small group of survivors – Qualar and human.

Dakkar grinned as he waved to Georgia through the porthole and almost pushed Oginski over as he hurried to the ladder. They climbed out on to the pier, Dakkar relishing the sun on his face.

‘Well, mes amis,’ Lafitte declared, stretching his arms and smoothing out his torn clothes. ‘That was another successful mission for Captain Lafitte. Now, once we are replenished with the supplies, I will show you the way home.’

‘You good-for-nothing pirate!’ Georgia yelled, stamping up to Lafitte and clenching her fists at her sides. ‘If you hadn’t tried to take us prisoner and sell us in the first place, then –’

‘Georgia, please!’ Fulton said, putting an arm round her shoulders. ‘Give the man a chance. He did help us to escape, after all.’

Dakkar grinned up at Oginski, who returned the smile.

‘You did well, Dakkar,’ Oginski said, then his smile faded. ‘I thought I’d lost you back there.’

‘It didn’t turn out quite how I planned it,’ Dakkar muttered, feeling his cheeks reddening.

‘I meant before that,’ Oginski said, squeezing Dakkar’s shoulder. ‘I meant when you said you’d be Cryptos’s apprentice.’

‘I’m sorry for deceiving you,’ Dakkar said, looking down at the planks of the pier.

‘And I for deceiving you,’ Oginski said, lifting Dakkar’s chin up. ‘Will you return to your father?’

‘I don’t know,’ Dakkar said, tears stinging his eyes. ‘It might be safer.’

‘You could be right,’ Oginski said, glancing around. His eyes lingered on the smouldering mound of the volcano. ‘Kazmer was still my brother. I can remember when we were children, when times were good.’

‘I’m sorry, Oginski,’ Dakkar said. ‘You mustn’t blame yourself for Cryptos’s death.’

‘No, it couldn’t be avoided,’ Oginski said, blinking back the tears. ‘But I can’t help thinking that my other brothers are out there. Will every encounter with them end in death?’