The Ice Fortress Page 4

Annette looked at the wall in front of her, where several kitchen utensils made of ivory were artfully arranged upon a shelf. They were polished to a silky sheen and decorated with beautiful carvings.

  “This is… amazing. All of it,” she said. “Where do these people come from?”

  “If anyone had a clear answer to that, Dr. Geels, they would have gained themselves a renowned name among anthropologists,” Lindholm said. The origins of the Anai, indeed, were a mystery. They were, as a general rule, tall and fair, with straight hair that was most often blonde or reddish. Their eyes had an epicanthic fold, but their color could be anything between blue and green and grey. Their tongue puzzled every linguist who has tried to crack open its mystery, and several came up with the theory that it was the direct insular descendant of an ancient proto-language that originated at the dawn of human history. One thing appeared to be fairly clear – in times immemorial, the Anai had traveled all the way from the northern hemisphere. Their own ancient accounts of the changes in the length of the days and the position of the stars confirmed it beyond any reasonable doubt. Exactly when it happened, or why, or whether the Anai had a common ancestor with any existing peoples, remained unknown.

  “I study prehistoric reptiles, but being here, one can easily get sidetracked in the way of anthropology,” Annette said earnestly. “It’s… I can’t believe I’m actually here. It is an honor. Thank you for receiving me in your home.”

  “You are most welcome, Annette.”

  “So… can you actually take me to the bone deposits? Even now when there is so little light?”

  “This won’t be a problem. Omrek and I know the way very well, and we can show you a place where you will surely find some very interesting specimens. Of course, new sites can be sought out during the summer, when there’s plenty of daylight.”

  There was no time to attempt anything during that waking-interval, however. The remaining hours were devoted to giving Annette a tour of the Anai settlement. “I can’t wait to see the place during the light season,” she said. “It must be spectacular.”

  “It hasn’t changed for thousands of years,” Lindholm nodded. “And neither have the Anai. I just wish it could remain that way, but…” he shook his head despondently. “Now that the Anai have come into contact with civilization, that is too much to hope for.”

  Scott frowned. He knew Lindholm’s attitude regarding this, and his wish that the Anai might be kept away from anything modern, and did not like it. As harmonious and self-sustained as the Anai way of life was, they were not a single body, but individual people with their desires and goals and hopes. Each of them had the right to make their own choices.

  Upon the next morning – or rather, at the beginning of the next waking-time – Scott and Omrek set out with Dr. Geels. Despite the mild conditions of the valley, it wasn’t an easy trek across the river and onward to the places where the remains of the ancient winged beasts could be most readily accessed. Lindholm preferred to stay in the village.

  “I’m too old for such ventures,” he said. “I’ll just sit here comfortably by the fire with Ki Tahan, and catch up with you when you get back.”

  Once he was home, Scott changed into his Anai clothing, and Dr. Geels eyed him with wonder. “This is so strange,” she mumbled.

  “Seeing a modern man in sealskins? Yes, but with how comfortable these are, it didn’t take me too long to get used to them. I can’t possibly give up on cotton undershirts and socks, though,” he added.

  As they began gaining distance from the last border of the underground hot streams, the temperature fell rapidly. Annette shivered. “This contrast is really quite st-striking,” she said with chattering teeth, lowering her face to avoid the bursts of freezing wind.

  “I never go this way,” Omrek said, “without remembering that time when we faced the melted glacier and the winged monster.”

  “We don’t need to go that far now, though,” Scott said. “We are close to some sites which might be enough at present. Here, this way, Dr. Geels – some rocks had tumbled down here many years ago, and there’s a cairn. It is frozen at this time of the year, of course, but you can see that there are bones mixed in. Some of them are almost intact.”

  Annette crouched and whipped out a flashlight. “Fascinating,” she whispered, directing the beam of the flashlight in between the frozen nooks. “Some bits here have a very fresh look, but it’s hard to tell, of course… now, if this rock could be shifted, and the mass of ice broken apart... but no heavy equipment is allowed here, I suppose?”

  “With a slight rise of temperatures, we will be able to break some apart with hand tools, and then you can collect more samples.”

  “What’s that?” Omrek suddenly said.

  “What?”

  “I heard a… a sound.”

  “Yes, the wind is howling pretty loud up there.”

  “It sounded like… some sort of animal. But this doesn’t make sense.”

  Scott was about to open his mouth to say something else, but then he heard an odd sound too – a powerful whoosh, such as a pair of mighty wings could make.

  Annette looked up, and held on to the rock for support. Her eyes went wide and her mouth gaped silently.

  There, high above them, a great, long, winged form was silhouetted black against the phosphorescent glow of the aurora. The wings beat against the freezing wind as it made a circle. It uttered a cry – or maybe it was a call – that chilled Scott to the bone.

  “Oh my God,” Annette gasped. “It’s… it can’t be…”

  “Great Spirits,” Omrek stared upwards with solemn awe. He was looking almost faint.

  The winged beast made another circle above, and flew off in the direction of the bay. “So,” Scott said after a long moment of silence. “Apparently they aren’t as gone as we thought.”

  Annette recovered soon enough, and was now fairly bouncing up and down with excitement. “It was there! Right there! I saw it! There are actually some living specimens! Or at least one, at any rate… I must trace it! If I get to see it up close…”

  “It might be the last thing you ever do, Dr. Geels,” Scott said. “Omrek, do you reckon it’s the same one we had seen back then? Its shape looked slightly different to me.”

  “In this light, and from this distance, it’s hard to tell,” Omrek shook his head. “But if it isn’t the same one… if there are more…”

  Annette looked as if all her dreams had come true. “It’s going to be sensational!” she said, all in raptures. “The rest of my team – oh, they are going to tear their hair out for not caring to come!”

  Scott and Omrek were looking at each other, both of them evidently thinking the same thing. “Do you think we ought to tell about this?”

  “I don’t know, Omrek. I don’t want to frighten people for no reason, but Tahan would want to know. And she might want to let Ne Riorag know, too.”

  “Wings,” Annette flipped out a notebook and was feverishly scratching out a drawing from memory. “Actual wings – and with quite a skill of maneuvering, too! Is anything wrong?” she asked uncertainly, watching the grim expressions of her companions.

  “You have to understand, Annette, that these creatures are among the most feared ones in the Anai folklore. At the dawn of history, the Anai fought for their lives by driving the pterosaur colony out of the valley. There are tales of bloody battles. And we had seen with our own eyes how one of them rose up from its icy tomb, none the worse for wear, and snatched up a man to snack on. Ever since, there had been a certain… disquiet among the Anai. There is a folk legend telling that some day, the winged beasts will rise from the ice to punish the unworthy.”

  “But…” Annette gave a little laugh. “This is very interesting, no doubt, but it’s not… I mean, from a scientific point of view, this is nothing short of glorious. If there is more than one – if there is actually a colony… this is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams! I wish I could examine the structure of the wing up close. It is a unique
creature. Clearly not a pterodactyl… it looked like a dragon from a fairy tale, except that I’m pretty sure it doesn’t breathe fire.”

  Her gushing excitement, however, scarcely found a response in her two companions. “Do you think we should try to follow it?” Omrek asked Scott in a low voice.

  “There’s no point, and it would be unwise. But hunters should definitely be on the lookout when the season of light comes and they set out in this direction.”

  Shortly after, they turned back and started on their way to the village. Annette walked as if on clouds, but Scott and Omrek kept glancing up at the sky with concern.

  It was well past suppertime when they returned, and the children were fast asleep – Egan in his cozy little bed, Niri in her cradle. Tahan was braiding her hair before bed. She smiled, and Scott leaned in to kiss her – about the only Western habit he had brought to his Anai home. “I’m so glad you’re back. I didn’t want to go to sleep before seeing you. Did Omrek go straight home?”

  “Yes, he thought it would be best.”

  “He’ll find Anders there. Manari was here earlier, and offered him a bed. I didn’t object, as they have more room than we do. Annette is welcome to sleep here, though, if she doesn’t mind us making a bed for her behind the partition. I can take Egan to our bed for the night.”

  Hearing her name, Annette looked up from the carved seal-bone stirring spoon she was examining.

  “We’re just discussing sleeping arrangements,” Scott explained, switching to English. “There’s a bed behind the partition with a comfortable mattress and plenty of bedding. You must be tired, Annette, and there are many hours before the helicopter comes to take you back.”

  “Oh – but I thought we are going up to the base.”

  “AN-85 doesn’t have permanent sleeping arrangements. Crews might set field tents sometimes, but now isn’t the right season for this. So don’t be squeamish,” he added slyly. “I assure you our beds are as soft and clean as those at McMurdo.”

  Scott stepped behind the partition and easily lifted Egan up from between the furs. Gently, he walked over to the bed he and Tahan shared, and placed the boy in the middle. “There. He doesn’t take up much room.”

  Tahan, meanwhile, shook out and smoothed the bedding. “You’ll probably want to eat something after all those hours on foot,” she told her husband and her guest, coming back to the hearth. “I’ve saved you something from supper.” She walked over to the brazier, which was fueled with whale fat and spread a rather strong fishy smell, and lifted up the lid of a clay pot. Inside were chunks of meat cooked with the rolled and parched grain the Anai collected at the end of each light season.

  “That’s whale meat. The Anai call it mulluvik, and nobody prepares it better than Tahan,” Scott told the visitor.

  Annette squirmed. “I, uh, I’m not that hungry. Shouldn’t eat anything heavy before bedtime.”

  “Of course you should eat. You are quite thin,” Tahan said very seriously, observing Annette’s slender form. The young woman looked almost girlish next to Tahan, who was the picture of Anai womanly beauty – tall and graceful, with generous curves of hip and breast and long, shapely legs, which were now visible below the knee, as the interior of the house was warm enough to wear nothing but a long tunic. Her lustrous hair, thick and golden, shone softly in the light of the brazier.

  “No, really. I’m not hungry. I… I’ve got some energy bars in my backpack,” Annette improvised wildly. Scott didn’t believe her for one second, of course. They had had a quick breakfast and only nibbled something along the way for lunch, and he imagined Annette must be as famished as he was. Arguing would be futile, however. He shrugged and pulled out a clay bowl and an ivory spoon for himself. Tahan walked with Annette behind the partition.

  “I hope you will be comfortable here,” she said, lighting an oil lamp.

  Almost absently, Annette ran her hand over the sleek furs that made up the blanket. “These are so soft,” she marveled.

  “I cure them myself,” Tahan said with a touch of pride. “We would have no life without the seal, Annette. They give us our clothing, bedding, fishing boats. There is no shame in taking a life if you do it for a real need.”

  Annette nodded. “I understand,” she said, and it sounded as though she actually did.

  “Scott,” Tahan whispered as they settled down in bed on either side of Egan, who was breathing softly in his sleep. “Is anything wrong? You seem a little… distracted.”

  Scott had hoped he would be able to delay the confession a little, but after all, what was the point? He would have to tell her anyway, and it might as well be now.

  “When we were out today, looking for the bones of the great winged beasts,” he began cautiously, “we saw…”

  Tahan did not utter a single word during his tale, nor for a long moment after. When she did speak, she sounded awestruck. “And are you sure there was no… mistake?” she asked with desperate hope.

  “I’m afraid not, Tahan. But whether this was the same beast we had met before, or another of its kind, I don’t know.”

  She looked horror-struck. “You mean to say that there might be more of them?”

  “It is a possibility. But there is no need to be afraid yet, my love,” he took her hand and pressed it. “It was just a brief sighting from afar. The beast didn’t even notice us. We’ll have to be on the lookout, of course…”

  “But how did it survive in the freezing cold out there?”

  How indeed? It was a mystery. Like many reptiles, this species of pterosaur could probably hibernate for long periods of time, and it was a proven fact that they could even come back to life after being buried in ice for thousands of years. But the creature they had seen earlier was not hibernating. It soared above the lifeless, dark, frozen land as if oblivious to the cold.

  “I don’t know, Tahan. We will try to find out. Annette is the expert – “

  Tahan shook her head. “You know what, I don’t care that much. I just want to know for sure that the valley is safe.”

  “Of course it’s safe. It has been safe for thousands of years. And the beast never harmed anyone but Victor Nash, who got his comeuppance.”

  There was another moment of silence. “But what if the monster had picked you instead? Or Omrek, or Manari? What then?” Tahan queried, and Scott had nothing reassuring to offer in answer.

  Chapter 4

  The rest of the dark season passed by peacefully and so uneventfully that Scott might have thought the sighting of the flying beast in the sky was no more than a figment of his imagination – if it weren’t for the two people who had witnessed the apparition together with him. Omrek was not particularly concerned. His own household and his pregnant wife were enough to keep him occupied as he prepared to receive his first child at his hearth.

  Annette Geels was another person who did not let Scott forget about what they had seen. On both times he had come to McMurdo since the incident, she had dragged him aside and talked his ear off, bringing up theories and suggestions for the future expedition in pursuit of the living fossils. She had emailed her faculty members in Wellington, several of whom were due to join her as soon as the flights from New Zealand resumed in the spring.

  In the Anai village, it was soon time for the First Dawn ceremony, and the first hunting trip to the bay. A lavish feast was laid out for everybody in the village square, made of all the provisions left over from the winter – a sign of trust in the bounty of Nature and the plenty She was sure to bestow upon the faithful followers of the Great Spirit.

  Before long, it was time for Scott to collect his spear and harpoon and join the other Anai men on the hunt. If it were up to him, he would have remained behind, but this was unthinkable for an able-bodied man who also happened to be the husband of a woman of high standing, like Tahan, who was an excellent huntress and fisher-woman in her own right. He had known this would be expected of him when he joined Tahan’s people, and he acknowledged the absolute dependence
of the Anai on the living creatures of the ocean, but he still wished there was an honorable way to opt out of hunting.

  “Look,” Omrek said excitedly as the bay came within view. “Isn’t that a flock of penguins over there? And they are looking nice and fat, too.”

  “I wish we had taken the fishing boats,” Ne Tarveg said.

  “That would have meant spending another night out of doors,” said one of the older, more experienced men.

  “Besides, it’s too early in the season to go out to sea, Ne Tarveg,” Omrek said. “We might do that on our next trip.” While he spoke, he did not take his eyes off the distant penguins, and he unslung the bow from his shoulder.

  “Don’t startle them, Omrek,” said Rayven, a friend of his whose young wife, too, was expecting a child to be born very soon. “If you take one down with your bow, the rest will jump into the sea. We should try to come closer.”

  The others chose to take this advice, and the hunters split into two parties, which were meant to creep stealthily up to the prey from two different directions and cut off the penguins’ way to the ocean. The penguins, however, were unusually wary, and before the men covered half the intended distance, several of the birds gave sharp warning-cries, and the flock hurried on a massive, panicky exodus into the water.

  There was nothing to lose, and the bowmen, Omrek the first among them, grabbed their weapons. Arrows strummed through the air. Omrek’s arrow felled its target, but it was one of the few that did – his arrows were unusually light, with heads made of seal-bone, while most of the other men preferred heavier arrowheads made of jagged flint. Scott had hurled his spear, but it was a great deal too far to hit this way. He could hardly pretend to be sorry, though he heard disappointed exclamations all around him. He went ahead to retrieve his spear, with Omrek by his side.

  “This was a good one,” Omrek said. “You have a powerful throw, Scott, but you couldn’t hope to hit from such a distance. You should have brought your bow.”

  “I’m pretty useless with a bow, compared to you.”