Chains of Ice by Christina Dodd Read Free Book Online Page A

twenty-five thousand for me.”
    “Twenty-five thousand dollars?” Genny was horrified. “American dollars?”
    “American dollars,” Avni confirmed. “How much did it cost to get you here?”
    “I don’t know. It was a graduation present. But do you think it was more than twenty-five grand?”
    “I don’t think . I know . I listened in on a little conversation between Lubochka and Misha and twenty-five is the least they’ll take, and for that you have to have training and/or experience.” Avni flushed the toilet. “So they may have taken Brandon the first year for twenty-five because he’s got the degree and experience in wildlife observation. But the little jerk doesn’t need employment—”
    “Wealthy family?” Genny had to jiggle the handle to make it work.
    “And big trust fund.” Avni washed her hands in the rust-colored water. “So he goes from study to study being a pain in the patootie until they decide he’s not worth whatever he’s paying them. Which is a bundle.”
    “What about Thorsen? He’s an amateur, too.” The water was gritty. The bar of soap was yellow, old, and cracked. Genny was glad she didn’t bite her nails anymore.
    “He’s good at observation—plus he writes a big check every year to the cause, so he can do no wrong in Lubochka’s eyes. In the last two summers, he came through at least once a month and stayed a few days every time. He usually comes in his helicopter.”
    “Wow.”
    “Yeah.”
    As they headed for the door, they clearly heard footsteps, a zip, and a guy on the other side of the wall using the facilities.
    “See? Thin walls.” Avni headed into the airport lobby and then out the door into the chilly sunshine. “It’s a four-hour drive to the village on lousy roads that just get lousier. Don’t drink anything—they won’t stop. There aren’t any seats in the vehicle, so try to catch some sleep or you’ll get carsick.”
    Genny stared at the faded yellow sixties Volkswagen van parked in front. “I already feel a little sick.”
    Avni followed her gaze, and laughed.
    Lubochka sat in the driver’s seat revving the engine. Its muffler was a long-ago memory, and billows of blue smoke belched from the tailpipe. Misha sat beside her, polishing his glasses and looking irritable. The windows in back were held shut with bungee cords, and inside, they could see the men moving bags around.
    “Look at it this way. Once you get to Rasputye, nothing else can be as horrible.”
    “Not even the yeti?” Genny waited for Avni to laugh again.
    Instead, she shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m not going to admit it to Brandon, but the guy is scary.”
    Taken aback, Genny said, “You mean there is a yeti?”
    “Oh, yeah. I’ve seen him come into the inn for his mail. The villagers are all scared of him. He’s a hermit, and he’s got, I don’t know, PTSD or combat fatigue. Or he’s just plain crazy. The guy is feral .”
    “Feral? What’s he done?”
    “He was in some kind of Special Forces unit, and he went nuts and killed his whole group. They say he’s violent. I know for a fact that thing about the women is true.”
    “What thing about the women?”
    “He gets in the mood where he wants a woman. He picks one out. And he watches her, stalks her, takes her to his cabin and he . . .” Avni waved a helpless hand.
    “He rapes her?” Genny was more and more horrified.
    “No! No. Wow. No. Apparently not.” Avni’s eyes gleamed. “No, he seduces her. Gives her the best sex in the history of the world. When he’s done with her, other men just don’t measure up.”
    “Pull the other one!” Genny laughed.
    “I’m not kidding you.” Avni tried to grin, but it looked wilted and lopsided. “Last year, I met one of the women. Halinka was on her way out of town because she couldn’t stand it anymore. She said she wanted to see the world and forget about John.”
    “John?” For the first time, the ridiculous tale had a face, and it was the face of the