‘No runestone, though,’ Tova said glumly. ‘And I am sure we started searching near the old archaeological site. Perhaps I was wrong, and it is not here at all.’
‘Give it time,’ Nina insisted. ‘It’s not as if they could get an exact GPS fix in the 1930s. If they were down in the forest and couldn’t see any landmarks, they could easily have gotten their position wrong.’
‘Yes, but by how much? The submarine is almost half a kilometre from where the search started. They would not—’
A chime from the computer signalled another find for the MAD. ‘Hold on, this looks interesting,’ Matt announced after checking the results. A graph displayed the readings as a series of fluctuating lines — one of which had just spiked considerably. ‘Definitely not a bucket. This is something actually magnetic, not just metal.’
Eddie peered over his shoulder. ‘You’ve found it?’
‘Let’s take a look…’ The Australian worked the controls, guiding the ROV between the drowned trunks. The lake bed came into view in the spotlights. Silt deposits had built up over the decades since the dam was constructed, but several large rocks were still visible.
One stood out. Where the others were craggy, this had a more regular shape.
Nina felt a surge of exhilaration. ‘Tova, look at this,’ she said, moving aside so the Swede could get closer to the monitor. ‘Is that the second runestone?’
Tova let out an audible gasp. ‘It — it could be,’ she stammered. ‘I think it could be!’
Matt brought the submersible closer. The lights picked out features on the rock’s flat face: lines scribed into the stone.
Runes.
‘What about the other part of the compass?’ Eddie asked. ‘Is that there?’
The camera panned down. More runes were revealed, and an image below them — a stylised carving of a wolf. The beast was curled around something set into the surface beneath it…
‘That’s it!’ Nina cried as darker stone came into view. Curving lines ran across the disc, notches cut into its edge. ‘It’s the other sun compass! We’ve found the second runestone.’ She turned to Tova, who was gazing at the image with astonishment. ‘And once we get it out of the water, it’ll tell us how to find Valhalla.’
12
Chase drifted through a nightmare. He was trapped in darkness by endless trees, slimy trunks blocking every line of escape as his pursuers drew nearer. He tried to run, but his feet sank deeper into the cloying mud with every step. The trees closed in, branches wrapping ever tighter around him, covering his face—
He jerked awake, confused — then realised something was on his face. Barely holding in a startled yelp, he swatted away a centipede that had been exploring his cheek.
The sounds of the jungle surrounded him, an incessant chatter of insects and birds. He straightened, muscles and bones aching from the night spent curled up beneath the hollow log. The storm had passed. Shafts of bright sunlight cut through the canopy above to send up ghostly wafts of steam from the sodden ground. He was far from warm, though. His clothes were as damp as the soil, sticking unpleasantly to his skin. ‘Welcome to the fucking jungle,’ he muttered as he started to stand…
Memory forced its way through his mental fug. Chase instantly dropped back down and grabbed the Kalashnikov, the weapon awkward and unbalanced without its magazine. His gaze darted over his surroundings, hunting for movement, danger…
Nobody was there. He was safe.
For now.
More cautiously, he rose again and peered into the open end of the log. ‘Natalia? Are you okay?’
Matted blond hair slowly emerged from the folds of the camouflaged rain cape. ‘Wo bin… Where am I?’ Natalia croaked as she squinted at the light.
Chase saw fear rising over her bewilderment. ‘It’s okay,’ he said, keeping the gun out of sight as he raised his free hand to show that he was not a threat. ‘It’s me — Eddie, remember? Eddie Chase? I brought you here last night.’
Natalia stared up at him — then suddenly started to writhe against the claustrophobic confines of her shelter. She whimpered, crying out in German as her fists beat ineffectually against the mouldering wood. ‘Hey, hey!’ said Chase, trying to calm her. ‘It’s okay — I’ll get you out of there.’
He reached into the log. She resisted his touch for a moment, before her own addled memory returned. ‘You… were carrying me, we were in the rain.’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Taking care not to catch her skin on any protruding splinters, he eased her out of the hiding place.
She looked around in alarm. ‘Someone was chasing us! You — you had a fight with him.’
‘I know. But we escaped. We’re safe for now, but we need to get moving. I’ve got friends waiting for us, but I’ll need to figure out where we are before we can reach them.’
He set her on the ground. She winced as one bare foot touched down. ‘It hurts.’
‘Lift it up.’ Chase shouldered the rifle, then crouched to examine her foot. A small fragment of wood was stuck in her sole, the skin around it red and swollen. ‘Hold still.’ He carefully teased it out, blood beading in the little puncture wound. Natalia’s face tightened, but she endured the dis-comfort. He retrieved his backpack from under the log and took out a first aid kit. A minute’s work, and a bandage was in place, antiseptic ointment applied under it. ‘That should be okay for now, but you’ll need to have it checked by a doctor when we get out of here. Drawing blood in the jungle’s never a good idea.’
‘I know, I have been working here for four months. We—’ She stopped, dawning terror on her face. ‘We were attacked! They took us prisoner, they—’
‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ Chase said, holding her as she began to shake. ‘We were sent to rescue you. My mates got all the rest of your people out of there. We got cut off, but we’ll catch up with them. I promise.’
Her trembling slowly subsided. ‘What happened to us? We were driving to another village when the bandits blocked the road. They had guns, there was nothing we could do. They put a blindfold on me, and then…’ Her brow furrowed as she struggled to recall events. ‘I don’t remember anything. I woke up, and… and I was with you.’
‘You don’t remember anything at all?’ She shook her head. ‘You were in a camp in the jungle. Your friends were being kept in a tent, but you were in a cabin, on your own. Do you remember that?’
‘I don’t know. I…’ Another, deeper frown. ‘There was a very bright light, in my face. And my arms hurt…’ Natalia looked down at them — and gasped as she saw the bruises. She tried to pull away from Chase. ‘What did they do to me?’
He eased his grip, but didn’t fully let go, concerned that she would panic and try to flee. ‘I don’t know what they did. It looked like they were doing some sort of tests.’ That reminded him of Hoyt, shooting the Russian scientist in cold blood and stealing his work, but this wasn’t the time to worry about the traitor’s true motives.
She froze. ‘Tests?’ she said, voice childlike, barely a whisper. ‘Like… experiments?’
‘I suppose, yeah.’ She was still afraid, but something about her fear had changed. ‘Do you know why they were doing it?’ Her only reply was another shake of the head. ‘Some of the people at the camp were Russians,’ he reminded her.
‘Russians, yes.’ The knowledge was clearly distressing, but the reason was something she either did not want to talk about…
Or did not want to face.
Whatever it was, there were bigger concerns. He released her and checked his watch. It was slightly after eight in the morning. He used the angle of the sunbeams cutting through the trees to work out which way was north. ‘We need to get moving. Can you walk?’