Here Be Dragons by Greig Beck

Author:Greig Beck [Beck, Greig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

EPISODE 20

Sometimes freedom is just a beautiful mirage

CHAPTER 18

Aboard the Nautilus, the North Sea, approaching the east coast of Norway

Elle was cold.

She had managed to navigate the Nautilus through Odin’s Gate, between the mighty ice rift walls, and then out into the freezing sea beyond.

And that was where the water got cold. Real cold. It was coming to the end of summer now, and the bone chilling water around the coast of Greenland was at thirty degrees Fahrenheit, or minus one Celsius, and it radiated through the iron hull of the Nautilus. Plus the old vessel had no heating or none she could find.

She had pulled the blue jacket from Nemo’s corpse and wore the dusty thing around her shoulders. She cared not for him, or his spirit, only that he had provided her with a means to escape, and to great wealth.

She had also found the hidden bottle of brandy and had sipped its peaty flavored, and still fiery, mix straight from the bottle.

She had little more than line of sight navigation, and only had enough water and dried meat to last a few days. At least the red gems would power her indefinitely, and she had spares as well. Lots of spares.

“Half a billion,” she said and then laughed out loud. And that might be a conservative estimate for the value of all the gems she had in the engine room.

She looked down at the console. There weren’t too many dials, levers, or buttons, for navigation, speed, tilt, depth, or even warnings. You basically had to just keep your eyes open.

She would follow a direct path for now. She had located an ancient compass, and she hoped it would start working as soon as they were a little further away from the island. If everything went to plan, she should make it to somewhere along Norway’s west coast by the next day.

She thought briefly about Troy Strom. The man was good looking, brave, fun, and so trusting to the point of being a boy scout. But he was a survivor, and she felt confident he would manage, somehow.

Other than Troy, Anne, and herself, no one else knew about the hidden mysterious island. So maybe in a few years she might head back there to see how they’re getting on, and maybe collect a few more rubies. With appropriate security, of course. After all, she’d be able to afford it.

She laughed again, took another sip of the one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old brandy, and got to her feet.

Elle wandered down along the metal corridor, allowing the Nautilus to continue to glide ahead by itself through the freezing water.

She entered the power room and headed straight to the hidden storage room. She opened it and looked inside, squinting from the blood-red glow. She let her eyes move lovingly over the massive oval rubies stacked on the shelves in amongst their beds of silvery soil. But how many exactly?

She began to bring them out and place them on a bench. As she did she brushed off the revolting dirt with metallic threads through it.

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