Ice Man Read online

  Her mouth opened and shut, then she held the door opened and motioned for him to take the man to her dining room. Kell laid him onto the table and then, bowing to the woman, he left.

  The dogs could hardly walk. Exhausted, they limped into the dog trader’s yard, and relief washed through Kell when he saw the man’s snowmobile parked in the back.

  He couldn’t waste time explaining. Already his muscles had started to stiffen with cold. He pounded on the door and waited until the man came out. Then he motioned to the dogs and to the snowmobile. He shook his head in frustration at not being able to speak his language. The only words that popped into his mind were “Beer for my men and whiskey for my horses” and other song refrains. For some reason he didn’t think that would help.

  He made the sign of turning a key in the lock and pointed again to the snowmobile. The man looked surprised and spoke. Mixed in the words, Kell caught Allie’s name.

  Kell nodded. “Allie. Heller popper. Stand by your man.”

  The dog trader said something else and disappeared into his house. When he came back out with the keys, Kell breathed a sigh of relief. He bowed, then rushed to the snowmobile and started it. He drove off, trying not to notice that the sky had darkened again, and the wind had started to pick up.

  By the time he got back to the tent, another storm threatened. “Allie!” he cried, jumping off the snowmobile and rushing to the tent. “Are you all right?”

  * * * * *

  Allie blew on her fingers and rubbed her arms. How had she forgotten the camp stove? In her panic and rush to get the wounded man to help, she’d forgotten to take it off the sled. She didn’t have a bite to eat and no matches left in her purse, so making a fire was out of the question. The early spring weather wasn’t as bitter cold as winter, but the chill penetrated the tent without the little stove to keep it at bay.

  Finally she decided to go to the site of the helicopter crash and see for herself what had happened. Walking would keep her warm. She set out across the field, up the slope, and stood at the top of the ridge and looked down. A gaping hole in the ice marked where the helicopter had landed, but of the helicopter there was no sign. The pond must be much deeper than she thought. Perhaps it was a sinkhole, in which case recovering the helicopter would be next to impossible.

  She glanced at the sky. A heavy snowfall would even cover the signs of the crash. Already a frosty layer of thin ice formed on the pond. Shadows moved over the snow and she looked up. Clouds piled on the horizon. She shivered looking in the direction Kell had taken. A lump formed in her throat. She hoped he’d return soon. Walking briskly to warm up, she headed back to the tent.

  She’d only been there a minute, it seemed, before she heard the sound of a snowmobile. Heart pounding, she peered out the tent. Kell! He saw her and waved, and then carried the stove into the tent.

  “Are you all right?” He asked, worry in his voice.

  “I’m fine.” She smiled and managed to hide her chattering teeth, but she couldn’t hide her sigh of contentment when Kell lit the stove and warmth flooded the tent.

  “You were cold. I’m sorry. I should have turned back.” He turned to her and took her hands in his. “Did you not have your magic matches?”

  “I ran out and very stupidly I forgot to get more. No, you did what was right. I’m fine, really. Do you have anything to eat?”

  “I brought back some supplies. The weather will change tonight. I’m afraid another storm is on its way, but it shouldn’t last long.”

  Allie grinned. “You could make a fortune working at the weather station.”

  Kell remembered the talking torso on the black television box and shuddered. “No thank you.”

  She peered at him, suddenly worried. “You look flushed. And your shirt is sopping wet! Kell, you have to get out of those wet clothes.”

  “If you insist.” He gave her a leer, and she rolled her eyes as he peeled off his shirt and trousers with exaggerated slowness.

  Naked, he stood in front of the stove and warmed his hands and toes. His skin glowed in the red heat, and when he turned to her, her breath caught in her throat. God, he was handsome. In the village, women had stared at him in open admiration, and Allie knew what they felt. He had broad shoulders, narrow hips, and muscular arms and legs. His brown hair curled loosely around his head, and his eyes, with their long lashes and arching brows, were bright with…fever? She frowned and put her hand on his forehead.

  “You’re burning up!”

  “I don’t feel so good,” he admitted. “But when you’re near me, I feel better. I hurried to get back to you.” Taking her in his arms he bent over and nuzzled her neck. His skin burned with fever.

  She pulled away. “Hold on, let me get you some aspirin.” She took the bottle and opened it, and told him how to swallow it with a gulp of water. He choked once or twice and started to cough. His cough sounded dreadful. Disquiet gave way to fear. “I have to get you to a doctor. Come on, put your clothes back on, we’re going to the village.”

  “Clothes back on? I don’t think so.” He grabbed her and spun her around. “Bend over Allie, my need has made my cock as strong as iron, and I long to stab you with my sword.”

  “Fever doesn’t agree with you,” gasped Allie. She looked, and saw his erection. That was all it took to make her knees go weak. Damn, he could not be serious. She should be getting him back to the village.

  “Off with the clothes, woman,” he ordered, his voice low and caressing. A shiver ran over her body.

  “All right, but afterwards we go to the village and get you some antibiotics.”

  That gave him a pause. “What word is that?”

  “Modern medicine. You’ll see. It works like magic.”

  His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I didn’t think magic existed in this time. All I’ve seen is science and technology.”

  Now it was Allie’s turn to be surprised. “That’s very observant of you.”

  He snorted. “Well, the same can’t be said of you. Look woman. Don’t you notice anything?” His cock stood straight up, shivering as she looked at it. She gulped.

  She stripped off her clothes, helped along by Kell who couldn’t get her pants off fast enough. While they still caught around her ankles he moaned and slipped his hands between her thighs, his fingers searching for her cleft. Then he pushed her to her hands and knees, mounting her with the urgency of a stallion.

  She couldn’t stop the cry of pure lust that burst from her throat. A gush of moisture heated her cunt, but when his cock thrust into her she gasped. It burned as if on fire. He arched over her, his hands clasping her shoulders, his thighs pushing against hers with every long, deep thrust. His breath came in short, harsh gasps and she felt him start to quiver.

  Liquid fire filled her as he shot his seed into her. As it filled her, her cunt contracted violently, drawing a whimper from her. Black spots danced in front of her eyes as her whole body seemed to turn inside out. Kell’s cock twitched and he slid off her with a groan and collapsed at her side. The cool air startled her and she touched his forehead. It burned her hand and she drew a frightened breath. What had she been thinking? She had to get Kell to the village now!

  * * * * *

  “Stand by your man?” Allie tried to keep the worry out of her voice, but it wavered anyhow. Kell and she had managed to get back to the village despite the storm. The wind had whipped ice crystals into her face and had chilled her to the bone, but it hadn’t quenched Kell’s fever. He’d sat on the snowmobile and he’d just barely managed to hang onto her.

  She’d convinced the dog trader to take back the dogs and sled in exchange for some cash, and she’d gotten the room back at the old lady’s boarding house. Then she’d managed to find a doctor to come out in the storm and he’d looked at Kell, his face grave. The verdict was pneumonia. They’d set up an oxygen tent and Kell had been frightened, feeling trapped under the plastic. Finally, the doctor had to give him a sedative.

  “He shoul
d be moved to a hospital.” The doctor shook his head.

  “Will my insurance cover this?” Allie wondered. Exhausted, and worried, she called her insurance agent.

  That’s when she found out her bank account had been frozen. The woman who’d rented them a room insisted they stay there anyway. The boy Kell had found was her grandson. She even managed to persuade the doctor to continue treating Kell here, at her house.

  But Allie was frantic with worry. Worry about Kell, and frightened that the police would show up any minute and take her away from him.

  “He said your name, something about a popper, then he said ‘stand by your man,’ clear as day.” The dog trader nodded. “Don’t fret now. Doc knows how to treat pneumonia. He’ll be up and around in no time.”

  Allie nodded. The dog trader’s name was Doug, his wife was Amy, and their two boys Doug Jr. and Brody. The old woman who rented them a room was Doug’s mother, Mrs. Willig. She’d started to think of them as her friends, and she desperately needed friends right now.

  “What about the man who was in the helicopter accident?”

  “He woke up and seems all right. Doc has an eye on him too. Did you want to see him?”

  Allie almost said no, then she realized that would seem strange, so she swallowed and said, “Of course.”

  Doug looked at Amy and she shrugged in that way that married couples have when they’ve been together so long they can read each other’s minds. Allie felt a sudden pang of jealousy mixed with sorrow.

  “Allie, where is your friend Kell from? It almost sounds like…well, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but it sounds like Welsh.”

  “Do you speak Welsh?” Allie felt numb. The questions would start and she didn’t have any idea how to answer them.

  “Matter of fact, my grandmother was Welsh.” Doug shrugged. “I don’t want to be nosy or anything.”

  “It’s all right. I have to tell someone sometime.” She plucked at the tablecloth. “He’s actually almost Welsh. He’s Celt, and he speaks Latin and Celt, or Keltoi, as he calls it.”

  “Latin and Celt?” Amy raised her eyebrows. “Those are dead languages. How is that possible?”

  “Because he’s been frozen for thousands of years.” Allie braced herself and looked at the three people sitting at the table with her. Doug, Amy, and Mrs. Willig stared at her with identical expressions of disbelief on their faces.

  “Can you run that by us again?” Doug shook his head, took a sip of his beer, and leaned forward. “Not that we don’t believe you, but you realize it sounds kind of…”

  “Hard to believe,” finished Amy.

  Allie took a deep breath. “Russian scientists found him in a glacier buried under the ice a little under two years ago. They gave him to the Americans who started to study him when, for some reason, his heart started beating. The scientists called in the military and they transferred him to a secret base not too far from here.”

  “Yeah, we all know about it. The secret base no one is supposed to know about.” Amy rolled her eyes. “So they woke up Kell. Where do you fit in, and how come you’re not still on the base?”

  “I specialize in dead languages. I’m his translator. And we left because of this.” Allie took the fax out of her pocket and smoothed it carefully. Doug took it and examined it, Amy reading aloud over his shoulder. Mrs. Willig uttered a shocked cry when she heard the word ‘dissect’.

  All three started speaking at once. “No way!”

  “It’s scandalous!”

  “I can’t believe it!”

  Doug pounded his fist on the table. “I won’t let anyone harm the man who saved my son.”

  Allie felt a smile tug her lips, even though she knew Kell hadn’t saved anyone, he’d just tracked the little boy down. “Thank you.”

  “But why is your bank account frozen?” Amy wanted to know.

  “I stole more than just Kell from the base. If they catch me, I guess that’s what I’ll be accused of. I can’t imagine they can prosecute me for saving Kell’s life.”

  “Are you saying that the army wants to cut Kell up in pieces and that the ski-do that fell into the lake was military property so you’re wanted for theft?” Mrs. Willig set her teacup on the saucer with a clatter. “Doug, you get on the phone right now and call that lawyer woman who used to go to school with you.”

  “Ma…”

  “Don’t you ‘Ma’ me. Get on that phone and tell her to help these people out. It isn’t right when a man is hunted like a wild animal. He’s got to have rights, don’t he? Even if he don’t have a birth certificate or nationality.” Mrs. Willig glared at Doug. “I thought I told you to get on that telephone.”

  “Yes’m.”

  Doug left the room and Allie smiled weakly at Amy and Mrs. Willig. “There’s more. I think that the man in the helicopter was out looking for us. When the army gets wind of the accident, they’ll send a whole battalion, and maybe they’ll try to pin the accident on Kell, anything to get their hands on him.”

  Mrs. Willig patted Allie’s hand. “Don’t fret now, dear. First they’ll have to find him.” She gave a wink. “Folk have a habit of just disappearing into thin air around here, I do declare.”

  * * * * *

  Everything ached and fire ran through his veins, scorching him from the inside out. Kell moaned, trying to open his eyes, but the light blinded him, sending stabbing pains to his skull.

  “I’m sorry, let me turn that off.” Allie’s voice came from beside him. A cool hand touched his forehead and he sighed. The light dimmed, and he managed to open his eyes and look around.

  He lay in the bedroom, and to his relief, the television box had been removed. He vaguely recalled having a fit when he saw it, and a tremor ran through him. Rarely did his fear get the best of him. He must be dying.

  “I go to join my ancestors,” he said, figuring he’d better break the news to Allie while he could still talk.

  Her eyebrows rose, but she didn’t dissolve into fits of tears. For some reason this vexed him. “Don’t you care?”

  “Of course I do! But you’re looking much better,” she said, her cool hand stroking his cheek.

  Better than what? He frowned at her. “I want you to put my body on a boat and send it to the sea.” An idea struck him. “Can you put it on a boat with a motor attached to it?”

  Her mouth twitched. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was about to laugh. Instead she cleared her throat and said, “The motor attached to the boat or to your body?”

  There, he’d seen it. A definite grin. How could she be so heartless? His body burned with fever. Everyone knew that fever and chest pains and coughing meant death. He could hardly breathe. Well, she’d regret it when he’d passed into the land of his ancestors, riding in the boat with the motor…wait a minute. He scowled at her. “Attached to the boat, of course.”

  She coughed, her hand in front of her mouth, and then she said, “Tell me more. What else should we do?”

  Was there a hint of laughter in her voice? She wouldn’t dare. This was a sacred moment. He tried to speak in a haughty tone but the cough shook him, and he spent a few minutes getting his breath back. There, that should make her more attentive.

  “You have to make it go as fast as possible, and load the boat with gifts for my ancestors and for my shade to use in the other world.”

  She nodded. “Gifts. Like what?”

  “Coffee and chocolate,” he said.

  A muscle twitched in her jaw. “Chocolate?”

  “Exactly.” He could just imagine his ancestors when they got a taste of that chocolate. “Better put a lot.”

  “What else?”

  He tried to remember the ceremony. “Don’t forget to set the boat on fire before sending it off to sea.”

  She held up her hand and ticked off the details on her fingers. “Body inside boat. Motor on boat. Chocolate…lots of chocolate…in boat as well. Set it on fire, start the motor and send body, boat, and chocolate off to ancest
ors.” She smiled brightly. “Did I miss anything?”

  “How can you be so heartless?” His voice broke, and he believed his heart must have broken as well. He lay here dying, and the woman he loved above all others thought it a joke.

  “Kell!” The tenderness in her voice startled him. He looked at her and saw tears in her eyes. About time.

  She took his hands in his. “You’re not dying. It’s true that you were very ill, but the doctor says you’re on the mend. He says you’ll be up and around in a few days.” She shook her head and the tears spilled over her lashes and rolled down her cheeks. “How could you ever think I don’t care for you? I love you, Kell. You mean the world to me.”

  “You teased me.” He knew he sounded childish but his heart was too light to care. She loved him. She’d said so. “You love me?”