by Jon Mayhew
‘Of course,’ Dakkar said through gritted teeth. ‘Though you’ll find I’m an expert sailor.’
‘We need to wind the engine again,’ she added, ignoring him. ‘You turn all the keys. Multiple engines power the main one . . .’
‘Ingenious,’ Dakkar said, distracted by the intricacies of the engine. He turned the four keys and climbed down into the lower cabin to turn the main crank handle until it felt tight.
‘The compass is housed in that box to the left of the wheel,’ Georgia said, her eyelids drooping.
‘Right,’ Dakkar said, climbing back up to Georgia. He slid into the captain’s chair.
Georgia clambered below, curled up on the small bed and within seconds she was snoring gently.
Dakkar grinned and gripped the wheel. Let’s see what she can do, he thought. He rose close to the surface and extended the snorkel to let some fresh air into the craft. Then he sank again. Most of the controls were the same and in the same place. The front of the craft had four viewing portholes, which greatly improved visibility. He had to admit this was a much better version of the Makara.
The days rolled along with the tide. As they journeyed south, the sky became bluer and the air warmer. The squid didn’t appear again and Dakkar put it from his mind.
Now he sat on the rim of the hatch, enjoying the calm and the sun on his face. Georgia sat at the helm below, poring over the sea chart. Dakkar took a breath and squinted across the blue horizon. This wasn’t like the sea back in England. It was perfect. No land, no people to tell him what to do. For a few seconds, his troubles seemed so distant.
‘What was that?’ Georgia’s voice called up from below, making him wince.
‘What?’ he snapped.
‘Something just passed the porthole – something large and close,’ she said.
Dakkar’s breath hissed between his teeth. A triangular fin cut through the water ahead of the Liberty and the huge grey shadow beneath it told him all he needed to know.
‘Shark!’ he yelled. The fin veered left and circled back. Dakkar clambered over the top of the boat to track its progress. ‘It’s coming back.’
The fin passed just feet away from Dakkar as he scrambled for the hatch. But the boat rocked violently. With a cry, Dakkar’s feet slipped from beneath him and he slammed on to the curved deck of the Liberty. Winded, he tried to scramble to his feet but gravity sent him sliding over the edge. The heat of the sun made the water feel cold and he gasped as he plunged in.
Floundering, Dakkar struggled for breath. The realisation iced his stomach: he was in the ocean and the shark was coming back.
Dakkar thrashed at the water, powering his way towards the Liberty. Clearly Georgia hadn’t realised that she had lost him, and the gap between Dakkar and the craft widened.
‘Georgia!’ Dakkar yelled, the salt water making him splutter.
He glanced back. The shark was almost upon him. He could see the wave carved into the sea by the fin. The creature looked huge, its black button eyes fixed on him. Dakkar lashed out with his foot and felt his heel hit something rough and hard. The shark veered to one side, its black eyes rolling white, shying away from the sudden impact on its nose. But Dakkar didn’t pause to celebrate. Water boiled in his ears as he plunged forward, desperate to catch up with the Liberty.
The shark appeared again, its red mouth framed by row upon row of serrated teeth. Dakkar twisted in the water and felt its rough skin skim his back. Gritting his teeth, he turned and jabbed his fingers into the shark’s gills, gripping as hard as he could and punching at its eye. The shark thrashed its tail and plunged underwater, throwing Dakkar aside. The sea thundered around him and the blood pounded in his temples as he struggled to right himself.
With a gasp, Dakkar swam on. He saw Georgia’s pale face through the front portholes of the Liberty. She’d seen him! But where was the shark? He risked a glance beneath and saw the bullet shape of the shark careering up towards him. Dakkar could see the cruel teeth again, the raw redness of its mouth.
The Liberty was inches away. He reached out, grabbing one of the brass handles that punctuated the side of the craft. With a yell, he dragged himself from the water and threw himself up towards the hatch.
The shark’s gaping mouth filled his vision then it vanished. Thick red tentacles wrapped themselves round the shark’s grey body as it thrashed from side to side just a few feet beneath him. Blood clouded the water as the giant squid’s suckers cut into the shark’s body.
‘Get inside!’ Georgia yelled.
Dakkar scrambled through the hatch and slammed it shut. He fell on to the floor behind her.
‘Quickly,’ he gasped. ‘Full ahead!’
Blood and ink darkened the sea as Georgia sent the Liberty surging forward. Dakkar glimpsed a grasping tentacle, and then another, reaching from the dark cloud.
Suddenly the Liberty lost speed, jerking Dakkar and Georgia forward.
‘It’s caught us!’ Georgia yelled.
The engine whined and groaned, battling with the pull of the squid. The extra weight of the creature sent them plummeting downward. The hull began to creak ominously.
‘Do you have a friction machine?’ Dakkar shouted.
‘A what?’ Georgia said, glaring at him.
‘It gives an electric charge,’ Dakkar snapped, wringing his hands. ‘It’s a crank wheel and a red button.’
‘Yes, there!’ Georgia pointed above her head. ‘Why didn’t you say that’s what you wanted?’
Dakkar spun the handle as hard as he could. His body ached from his encounter with the shark but he managed to get twenty good turns and then jabbed the red button. The underwater world flashed blue and the portholes went dark as another cloud of sepia ink engulfed them. Dakkar’s stomach lurched as the Liberty floated upward.
‘Thank goodness for that –’ Dakkar started to say but found himself flying forward, bent double over the seat in front of him. His head cracked against a porthole and he staggered back.
The tentacles of the squid thumped against the hull again. Georgia twisted the wheel sharply to the left, sending Dakkar stumbling across the cabin. His face pressed against the porthole and he saw the squid’s suckered arms a glass-width from his face.
‘It’s pulling us down again!’ Georgia groaned.
Dakkar whirled the friction machine wheel once more. His head pounded and he could feel blood flowing from his nose. He stabbed the button, sending a crackling charge into the water. The squid slid back and Georgia accelerated away, swerving the Liberty towards it.
‘What are you doing?’ Dakkar yelled.
Georgia gripped the wheel, her knuckles white, as the Liberty hurtled towards the squid. The squid threw open its arms as if to ensnare the craft. Dakkar dived into his seat as the sharp nose of the Liberty sliced into the centre of the beast. The huge eye stared and then was lost as the squid’s razor-sharp beak opened. Dakkar was flung forward again. Blood and ink boiled in the water around them. The Liberty resounded with bangs and thuds as the squid thrashed out the last few seconds of its life.
Gradually the noise subsided as the squid drifted off the sub’s nose and floated into the blue. Dakkar stared after it.
‘It’s missing an arm,’ Dakkar whispered. ‘It’s the same squid that attacked Blizzard. I cut one of its arms off.’
‘You’re saying it followed us?’ Georgia said, wide-eyed.
‘I’m sure it’s the same one,’ Dakkar murmured.
‘There can’t be many squid that big,’ Georgia said, her voice quavering. ‘I hope not anyway!’
‘At least the M– Liberty held up!’ Dakkar said, smiling and giving the wall an affectionate pat.
Immediately a jet of cold seawater sprayed into Dakkar’s face, sending him tumbling backward in shock.
The Liberty was letting in water.
Chapter Thirteen
Grounded
Dakkar stumbled forward and pressed his palms against the spray.
‘Keep your han
ds against it,’ Georgia said, and began to rummage at the back of the Liberty.
‘Well, I wasn’t going to let the water flow through and take a bath,’ Dakkar grumbled. ‘It looks like the squid did more damage than we thought.’
‘Stand aside,’ Georgia snapped. ‘This should do the trick.’ She pushed him out of the way and slapped a strange sticky substance over the crack.
‘What’s that?’ Dakkar asked, peering closely at the grey mush.
‘Some kind of clay,’ Georgia said, smoothing it out. ‘My uncle invented it.’
The spray stopped but the clay seemed to sweat, and droplets trickled down the inside of the craft.
‘Will it hold?’ Dakkar murmured, stepping back.
‘For a while but we need to beach and repair it,’ Georgia replied, grabbing the map and staring at it. ‘We were lucky we were hit above the ballast compartments in the hull.’
‘We’d better not submerge until we’ve fixed it,’ Dakkar said, poking the clay.
‘Don’t prod it,’ Georgia said briskly, and folded the map. ‘There are no islands nearby. We’ll have to head for the coast and try our luck there. You go up top and keep a lookout.’
‘The squid killed the shark and we killed the squid,’ Dakkar replied. ‘Surely there can’t be any other creatures out there!’
‘How can you be certain of that? I’d be grateful if you’d oblige by keeping watch,’ Georgia said, holding her head up. ‘And don’t mention it.’
‘Mention what?’ Dakkar said, frowning.
‘Me saving your life.’ Georgia grinned.
Dakkar felt his cheeks reddening. ‘Saving my life?’ he spluttered. ‘You nearly left me behind! You didn’t save me!’ He turned and dragged himself out into the sunlight.
Despite what he had said, he scanned the sea for any fins or waving tentacles. It remained calm and serene.
Are all girls like this? he thought as he sulked on the curved deck of the Liberty. I’ll be glad when this is all over and I don’t have to have anything more to do with her!
He sat for an hour or so as Georgia steered the submersible. The sun dried his wet clothes as he stared out to sea.
Something grey and misty appeared on the horizon.
‘Come and see this, Georgia,’ Dakkar called down.
Georgia stopped the engine and they drifted as she clambered out of the hatch.
‘I can see an island,’ she said, peering through a telescope. Dakkar reached out but she snapped it shut. ‘How strange that it isn’t on the map. We’ll head there anyway, see if there’s somewhere to land the Liberty.’
The tiny island looked lost amid the vast blue ocean, a tuft of green poking up out of a desert of water. Its shape reminded Dakkar of a door wedge. At the high end, he could see a scrubby forest and a waterfall cascading from a cliff. The island sloped towards white breakers and foamy spray.
‘It looks like we could anchor there,’ Dakkar said, pointing to the narrow end of the island. ‘But we’ll have to watch that the sea isn’t too rough. We don’t want to be dashed against the rocks.’
Georgia steered the Liberty round the island and found a small shingly inlet on which to beach her. Dakkar and Georgia anchored the submarine and splashed ashore.
The pebbles crunched under Dakkar’s feet and he gave a grin. ‘It feels good to be on dry land again,’ he murmured.
‘I know what you mean,’ Georgia agreed.
Dakkar felt a stab of annoyance. ‘No, you don’t,’ he snapped. ‘Apart from standing in your boathouse for a while, I’ve been at sea for weeks.’
‘Well, we’ve been at sea for days since then,’ Georgia tried to argue. She shielded her eyes against the setting sun. ‘Anyway, it’ll be dark soon. Any repairs will have to wait until tomorrow. We’ll camp on the beach but we’ll need some firewood.’
‘And I’m supposed to go and find it, am I?’ Dakkar snarled. ‘While you rest here? I’ve been attacked by a shark and nearly drowned today, or had you forgotten?’
‘Fine,’ Georgia muttered under her breath. ‘I was going to suggest we both went but if you’re too exhausted . . .’
Dakkar watched her stalk off up the inlet towards the line of trees. Maybe I should go after her, he thought, but he stayed back, weighed down by hurt pride. He sat on the beach and listened to the swish of the tide, wondering if Oginski heard the same sound somewhere else.
Soon Georgia returned with an armful of dead wood and threw it down beside Dakkar. Then she strode back to the Liberty, returning with a tinderbox.
‘There are breadfruit trees in there,’ she said, not meeting his eye. ‘We could boil some. It’d make a welcome change from salt beef.’
Dakkar gave a sigh and wandered off to the treeline.
The growing gloom of twilight deepened the shadows between the tree trunks. Dakkar shivered. Was there a movement in the darkness? A twig snapped and leaves rustled. Dakkar held his breath and crept forward. The undergrowth suddenly erupted, making him cry out as a flurry of brightly coloured birds squawked and flapped their way into the branches above. Dakkar blew out a sigh and laughed.
The breadfruit hung from the highest branches, requiring Dakkar to clamber up the trees. He was panting by the time he came back with a couple of decent-sized specimens.
A fire crackled on the beach and Georgia had set up a tripod and pan over it. Dakkar thought again of how ill prepared he’d been on the Makara and blushed at her efficiency.
‘They look good,’ she said, taking the breadfruit from him. ‘I heard you cry out. Was everything all right?’
Dakkar gave a cough and couldn’t help smirking. ‘Just some birds,’ he said. ‘They almost flew into my face!’
Georgia gave a laugh and cut into the breadfruit with a long-bladed knife. Dakkar squatted and helped plop the chunks into the boiling water.
‘I’m sorry I snapped at you before,’ he muttered as they prepared the breadfruit.
‘That’s all right,’ Georgia replied, giving a tight smile. ‘Fighting sharks and gigantic squid doesn’t put anyone in the best of humours.’
Dakkar laughed and relaxed a little. The breadfruit bubbled away and Dakkar realised just how hungry he was. The salt beef and weevily biscuits he’d been chewing on for the past few weeks had kept him from starving but the smell of something warm and fresh cooking made his mouth water.
Soon they were wolfing down hot chunks of the starchy fruit. Dakkar burned his mouth a couple of times but he didn’t care. It wasn’t long before the pan was emptied and the two of them were dozing by the fire with full bellies.
Dakkar shifted on to his elbow and stared at Georgia through the flames.
‘So where did you learn so much about the sea and sailing?’ he asked.
‘My pa was a sailor,’ Georgia said, blushing in the firelight. ‘He doted on me. Taught me everything he knew.’
‘You said “was”. Did he retire?’ Dakkar said.
‘He died,’ Georgia said, staring into the flames, ‘fighting His Majesty’s Navy.’
‘Oh,’ Dakkar said, suddenly feeling awkward. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Anyway!’ Georgia said, a false brightness in her voice. ‘What’s it like being a prince?’
‘I don’t know really,’ Dakkar said, frowning. ‘That all seems like another time, another life.’
‘You’ve been away from home for a long time?’ Georgia asked.
‘I’ve been in England for at least four years. I ran away from a few schools and then Oginski took me on and I’ve kind of forgotten what it’s like to be a prince.’
‘You ran away from school?’ Georgia said, wide-eyed.
‘Well, it’s hardly an adventure compared to this,’ Dakkar said.
‘No,’ Georgia said, still agog at Dakkar’s comment. ‘I mean, what a waste! A good education is a real gift. I’d give my right arm to have proper school learning.’
‘Believe me,’ Dakkar replied. ‘English schools are neither proper nor are they a gift
. They’re brutal places full of bullying masters and hideous children.’
‘Well,’ Georgia said, ‘I’ve no love for the English at the moment.’
‘Now that’s one thing we have in common,’ Dakkar said.
‘Do you think we’ll find Uncle Robert and Oginski?’ she asked quietly, changing the subject.
There’s no doubt in my mind,’ Dakkar said, his voice sounding brittle. ‘We’ve just got to find Lafitte first.’
‘And what if he won’t help us?’ Georgia whispered.
Somewhere in the distance a bird screamed at the night, and things scurried and scuffled in the woodland higher up the beach.
‘Let’s make the fire up,’ Dakkar said, ignoring her question. ‘We’ll sleep on the beach tonight.’
Georgia rolled over and Dakkar threw more wood on to the fire. He watched the flames snap and flicker. More scurrying rattled the undergrowth and he peered into the darkness.
‘I don’t like this island,’ he muttered.
But Georgia just snored in response, leaving Dakkar sitting, watching the dancing shadows.
Chapter Fourteen
A Mystery
The warm morning sun woke Dakkar from his sleep by the smouldering ashes of the fire. He groaned as he rolled over the shingle, shaking pebbles and fragments of shells from his hair.
When did I nod off? he wondered. He’d sat up for some time listening to the gentle whoosh of the sea – and the less comforting sounds from the woods behind him. But at some point he must have dozed off.
Georgia stood, flexing her arms and bending her legs, her red bathing dress flapping in the gentle breeze that blew in from the sea.
‘Right,’ she said, taking a deep breath. ‘Let’s have a look at the Liberty, decide what needs doing and then find what we need to make any repairs.’
‘Did you hear any strange noises last night?’ Dakkar asked her. ‘From the woods?’
‘Just birds, probably.’ She grinned. ‘Y’know, those vicious ones that tried to kill you when you were collecting wood!’
Dakkar rolled his eyes and shook his head, then followed her down to the shoreline where the Liberty was lying on her side like a beached whale.
