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Olivia didn’t know where to look; there was such an abundance of riches. She double-, then triple-checked her camera was recording, imagining putting a little video together for her mum. Something they could watch together at her next visit. She kept scanning the water around them, hoping to capture a video of one of the humpback whales that were rumoured to be lurking in the bay, but the surface for the moment was still. She hoped that they would kayak back out into the LemaireChannel, maybe attempt some more remote locations, only accessible in their little boats.
After some time watching a group of penguins waddling up in single file on the mainland, like commuters on an icy highway, she finally got her wish. Liam led them out of sight of the ship, the kayaks moving easily and quickly through the calm water.
Away from the ship, the motorized Zodiacs and the chatter of the other passengers, the true serenity of the surroundings revealed themselves. Now the only sounds were of their own paddles dipping beneath the water, the occasional squawk of a seabird and the waves lapping the cliffs.
Liam led them directly through an iceberg, beneath a glacial arch, her breath stolen away by the diamond hardness of it. She was stunned at how intensely blue the ice was. She’d seen pictures, but no photograph could do it justice – not until she saw it with her own eyes. It wasn’t just any blue. It was so rich it could be cobalt, the depths of it reminding her of the sapphire engagement ring tucked away in the safe.
It couldn’t have been the plan for him to abandon her, not if he was thinking of their future so seriously. Whatever he was dealing with, it had to be big. She was sure he would be pleased by how the auction had gone, however. As soon as they were back from kayaking, she would get a proper update from Stefan.
They wound their way through more icebergs, passing huge Weddell seals lounging on the ice floes like sunbathers. On another floe, they spotted a new breed of penguins, the Adélies, with their all-black faces and beady eyes.
Then they saw another iceberg, this one more bulbous than the others. The top of it seemed to be stained red with blood. It made Olivia’s stomach turn to look at it, wondering what animal had lost its life there.
But then it didn’t quite look like blood. As she stared, she saw that the red seemed embedded in the iceberg itself, almost as if the sides were painted with crimson stripes.
Melissa and Janine pulled up alongside her. ‘What is that?’ Olivia asked Melissa.
‘Hmm, not a great sign. That’s microscopic algae. Unfortunately the more algae that spreads on the ice, it prevents sunlight from reflecting away, resulting in more meltwater. We call it blood snow.’
Olivia shivered.
‘This looks like the berg has flipped – it must have broken from shore only recently.’ Melissa looked up at the glacier. ‘This coastline has become more and more unstable with every crossing.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not sure how this place is going to survive.’
Olivia moved her boat away from the creepy ‘blood ice’ berg and towards the open water. That’s when she saw a whale spout exploding from the waves. She thought she saw a glimpse of a slick black fin slicing through the surface. Orca.
Her heart pounded with excitement. This was one of the special moments she could only hope to witness down here. She thought of her dad urging her onwards, willing her to push through her fear for the experience of a lifetime. She fumbled for her camera, attaching it to her life jacket so she could use it hands-free.
She steered the boat so it took her around the other side of the iceberg, separating her from the group.
The orca was moving away, fast. Realizing another spout meant there might be a whole pod of them, Olivia increased her speed, but the brash ice around this side of the iceberg was thicker and crunched against the plastic hull. She needed to work harder to move the kayak.
The ice shifted for her bow. She was amazed. From the deck of theVigil, it looked like the ice was still, locked into position – like grass rooted on a watery field. But when you were down close to it, it was clear how fluid the ice was. Every time she blinked, it shifted. And the ice here was far heavier and thicker than in the shelter of Neko Harbour.
She glanced behind her. The group was distracted; they hadn’t seemed to notice the potential whale sighting. Cutler was shouting at his son to get his paddling sorted, his frustration apparent. Then Ingrid was screaming at him that ‘he’s only twelve, leave him alone’. Melissa was trying to get in the middle, but it was difficult for her with Janine in front.
The whales seemed to change direction. She knew better than to follow the pod further out into the open water, but she hadn’t realized how close she’d come to the enormous glacier. It towered up beside her, the striated surface like it had been raked towards the sky. She spun the kayak back around to face the group but kept the camera trained on where she’d last seen the whale.
Something else caught her attention further down the channel. Another boat? It was much smaller than the MSVigil, with broad cream sails – a yacht of some kind,although she was too far away to tell. She was impressed. It would take real guts to sail down here, but she was sure they would be rewarded with magnificent remote anchorages – maybe even places that no man had ever set foot on before. She pointed her camera at it, hoping to show the others on video.
But then her patience was rewarded. A black silhouette curved from the water, revealing its white eyepatch and a glimpse of pale underbody, followed by the blade of its dorsal fin slicing up from the inky waves. Her heart pounded inside her chest as she watched, mesmerized, then squealed with delight as a smaller fin appeared alongside – a mother and her calf, swimming together.
The others needed to see this. She swung her head around and saw Liam powering towards her, his arms swinging, propelling the kayak forward and gaining on her. Her heart dropped. She’d drifted too far from the group. Feeling guilty that he had been forced to come and get her, she began to paddle hard towards him.
‘Olivia, look out!’ Liam shouted.
There was an enormous crack like a gunshot, and she grabbed the lip of the kayak seat. She looked up at the wall of ice hanging up above her. Then her jaw dropped as the ice seemed to shift in front of her eyes. No, not shift but calve, slipping down the wall. The ice was breaking away, crumbling like someone had hacked at it with a gigantic axe.
The first blocks collided with the surface and for a moment, it was as if time stood still. The rest tumbled afterwards, a chunk the size of a small car. She was holding her breath, waiting to see what the impact would be. She braced for it.
It wasn’t enough.
The water rose up where the ice had disappeared, rippling and bulging almost in slow motion. Then it rushed towards her, faster than she could escape it.
The wave crashed against the side of her boat. The kayak overturned and she plunged into the icy waters.
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‘What the hell were you thinking?’ Liam stood over her, his knuckles on his hips.