‘You know about runes?’ Lorenz asked.
‘Yes, Herr Kaleun,’ Pullman replied.
Lorenz held out his hand, indicating that he wanted to look at the notebook. He flicked through the pages and saw various angular symbols. ‘Have you studied Norse literature?’
‘No,’ said Pullman, affecting modesty. ‘I’m no scholar.’
‘You must have learned all this from somewhere?’
‘I’ve read books — that’s all.’
Lorenz jerked his head to the side, inviting the photographer to join him in the officers’ mess. ‘What books?’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘What books have you read?’
‘Guido von List’s The Secret of the Runes, the works of Karl Maria Wiligut…’
‘Have you read Grimstad?’
‘Who?’
‘Professor Bjørner Grimstad?’
‘No, I’m afraid not.’
‘Tell me, what does this mean?’ Lorenz opened the notebook on a clean page and drew the symbol that he remembered from Grimstad’s stone.
‘I believe that is Thurisaz. A very powerful rune — it represents a reactive force, or the direction or channeling of power. Are you sure that you have drawn it correctly, Herr Kaleun?’
‘Yes.’
‘Quite sure?’
‘Yes. Why do you ask?’
‘You’ve drawn it upside down, which alters its meaning somewhat. When a rune is reversed it is described as a merkstave.’
‘Merkstave?’
‘The literal translation is “dark stick”.’ Pullman traced his fingertip over Lorenz’s penciled figure. ‘You have drawn a vertical line and a triangle pointing to the left. Usually the triangle of Thurisaz points to the right. This reversal signifies a darker meaning, the channeling of malice, spite, hatred. Where did you see this, Herr Kaleun?’
‘What do you mean by that? “Channeling”…’
‘Many people — educated people — believe that runes can be used to release powers. Some believe that these powers are nothing more than dormant human potential, but others believe that they are objectively real.’ Pullman repeated his question. ‘Where did you see this rune, Herr Kaleun?’
‘Do you believe all this? Powers, magic… spells.’
Pullman closed his notebook. ‘I do not think a man of vision like Reichsführer Himmler would concern himself with such things without good reason.’
‘I’m not asking about Reichsführer Himmler, I’m asking you.’
‘We should use all the powers at our disposal to further our cause.’
‘But when you talk of the channeling of malice, spite, hatred — what do you mean?’
‘The mental direction of destructive power.’
‘Yes, but how would that actually work?’
‘It was once believed that spirit agents could be harnessed and commanded to do one’s bidding. They might be bound, and forced to perform a service.’
Lorenz recalled Grimstad waking from his trance, the triangle he had traced in the air with one hand while clutching the merkstave in the other. Did he know that Sutherland was carrying a gun and how the British commander intended to use it?
‘And you really believe that is possible?’
‘I believe that the universe is large enough to accommodate many secrets, Herr Kaleun.’
Had Grimstad trapped Sutherland’s spirit on the boat? Released him from corporeal limitations and set him on the crew like a hunting dog? The fetters will burst and the wolf run free, much do I know and more can see. The SS were obsessed with the occult. Himmler and his friends sat in their storybook castle at Wewelsburg, presiding over ceremonies in which muscular blond-haired youths processed around sacred fires and invoked Teutonic deities. Of course the SS would be interested in a man like Grimstad. He knew things—that’s what Friedrich had said—valuable things. Lorenz walked away from Pullman without acknowledging his final, creedal affirmation.
The night that followed was warmer, and at midday one of the fissures in the ice field had widened and reached the rear of the boat. By late afternoon the surface of the sea to the south was full of separated floes with uneven edges. The crew came onto the deck in large numbers with hammers and whatever tools they could use to smash the thick, glassy mantle. When the underlying metal was exposed they rushed back into the boat and assembled at their diving stations.
Lorenz gave the order to flood, and to everybody’s amazement the vents opened. There were a number of cracking sounds as the bow broke free from the melting crust; the manometer began to move, and the motors started up. The boat was a little unstable but with some skilful trimming it soon leveled out at forty meters.
Four hours later they surfaced, completely free of ice, and the radio started to work again. Brandt sent a message to headquarters explaining that they had lost contact because of solar activity, and that they had been trapped in pack ice. Headquarters replied with an officer’s signal that Juhl was obliged to pass on to Lorenz: ‘Commander only’. When Lorenz unscrambled the brief communication he couldn’t stop himself from swearing out aloud. It said: ABORT SPECIAL MISSION. Soon after, a standard message was picked up containing new coordinates — thankfully well below the 70th parallel.
‘Well,’ Lorenz said to Graf. ‘That was an interesting excursion.’
‘Yes,’ Graf replied. ‘A truly inspired deployment. I wonder how things would have turned out if we hadn’t got stuck? What they had in store for us?’
‘Who can say? But I’m prepared to guess that, whatever it might have been, our safety wasn’t very high on their list of considerations.’
Lorenz wandered through the compartments, talking to the men and making sure that everything was running smoothly. He found Falk in the torpedo room.
‘All good?’ asked Lorenz.
‘All good, sir.’ Falk replied.
Pullman appeared and raised his camera. ‘Herr Kaleun?’
There were some flashes, and Lorenz said irritably, ‘Not now!’
The photographer apologized and withdrew.
Lorenz rose early the following day. He went to the bridge to see dawn breaking. Pink-and-lemon bands appeared above the eastern horizon. It was a welcome return to normality. After the mineral glow of the Northern Lights, the rising sun, even when dulled by cloud, seemed humane and benevolent. The leeward ocean was dark grey and divided by wavering belts of silver, and although the wind was freezing it was not vindictive.
12.00 Day’s run: 139 nm on the surface, 0 nm submerged. Moderate swell, showers, variable visibility. Wind veering gradually to starboard.