Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende Read Free Book Online Page B

admitted.
    â€œAnd a good mother . . .”
    There was a pause of several seconds on the line before Alexander could gather the courage to mention the reason for his call. He explained that he had saved some money; for several months he had given music lessons and worked in a pizzeria. His intention had been to replace the things he’d destroyed in his room, but he’d changed his mind.
    â€œI don’t have time to listen to your financial plans. Get to the point. What do you want from me?” his grandmother said gruffly.
    â€œMy vacation starts tomorrow . . .”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œI was thinking that if I paid my way, maybe you’d take me with you on your next trip. Didn’t you tell me you were going to the Himalayas?”
    Another glacial silence followed the question. Kate Cold was making an enormous effort to contain the satisfaction that swept over her: everything was going according to plan. If she had invited her grandson, he would have offered a list of objections, as he had when the trip to the Amazon had come up, but this way the idea came from him. She was so sure that Alexander would be going that she had prepared a surprise for him.
    â€œAre you there, Kate?” Alexander asked timidly.
    â€œOf course. Where would I be?”
    â€œWill you think about it, at least?”
    â€œSo. I thought that young people today were devoted to smoking grass and looking for dates over the Internet . . .” she grumbled.
    â€œThat comes a little later, Kate. I’m sixteen, andmy budget won’t stretch far enough even for a virtual date.” Alexander laughed, and added, “I think I proved to you that I’m a good travel companion. I won’t get in your way, and I can be of help. You’re getting a little old to go by yourself. . . .”
    â€œWatch what you’re saying, pipsqueak!”
    â€œI meant, well . . . I can carry your luggage, for example. And I can take photos.”
    â€œYou think that International Geographic would publish your snapshots? Timothy Bruce and Joel González will be coming, the same photographers who went with us to the Amazon.”
    â€œIs González all right?”
    â€œHis broken ribs healed, but he’s jumpy about everything and anything. Timothy looks after him like a mother.”
    â€œAnd I’ll look after you like a mother, Kate. You might get trampled by a herd of yaks in the Himalayas. And the air’s very thin, you could have a heart attack,” her grandson pleaded.
    â€œI do not intend to give Leblanc the pleasure of seeing me die before he does.” Kate gritted her teeth, and added, “But I see that you know a little about the region.”
    â€œYou can’t imagine how much I’ve been reading about it. Can I go with you? Please!”
    â€œAll right, but I’m not going to sit and wait for you. We’ll meet at John F. Kennedy Airport next Thursday, where we’ll take a night flight to London and fly from there to New Delhi. Do you have that?”
    â€œI’ll be there, I promise!”
    â€œBring warm clothing. The higher we climb, the colder it will get. I’m sure you’ll have occasion to do a little mountaineering, so you can also bring your climbing gear.”
    â€œThanks, thank you, Grandmother!” Alex exclaimed, jubilant.
    â€œIf you call me Grandmother one more time,I’m not going to take you anywhere!” Kate replied. She hung up the phone and brayed with laughter like a hyena.

CHAPTER FOUR
    The Collector
    T HIRTY BLOCKS AWAY FROM Kate Cold’s tiny apartment, on the top floor of a skyscraper in the heart of Manhattan, the second wealthiest man in the world, who had made his fortune by stealing the ideas of his employees and his partners in the field of computers, was talking by telephone with someone in Hong Kong. The two had never seen one another, nor would they ever.
    The