Hoarfrost (Whyborne & Griffin Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

think it would be trapped?” I asked. “Is it something trying to come
through from the Outside?”
    Not to
say I quite understood what the Outside even was. Blackbyrne had tried to
summon horrors from the Outside into our world, in the first case I’d worked
with Whyborne. And Nitocris, Queen of the Ghūls, somehow withdrew there
between her possessions of women throughout the millennia. Possibly the yayhos
we’d faced in Threshold had come from there as well, or at least Whyborne had
come to believe so.
    “It
might,” Whyborne said. “Or it could be something literally sealed away, in a
clay pot or under a stone or…there are a great many possibilities, I’m afraid.”
    “Well,
then.” Christine finished her wine. “Our course of action seems clear. I’ll go
to the director tomorrow. Rather than a full expedition, I’ll propose a survey.
Just a small team to determine if there’s anything worth excavating, stake our
claim before any other museums can get there, and leave as quickly as possible.
Kander, you can take up your old role and travel ahead. Gather whatever
equipment and supplies we need, and act as a liaison with Jack and any other
miners who might have a claim to the site.”
    Iskander’s
dark brows swooped toward his prominent nose. “But what of our wedding?”
    “It can
wait,” Christine replied impatiently. “We can waste no time—if these
seals are truly weakening, we must get to Hoarfrost before December 21.”
    “I’ll go
to the director with you, Christine,” Whyborne said glumly. “Although I’ve no
idea how to convince him to send me, of all people, on your expedition. Perhaps
I can claim a sudden desire to do field work? Do you think he’ll believe me?”
    “You
saved his life last October,” Christine said. “And the lives of the board of
trustees, the president, and, most importantly, some of the more generous
donors.”
    “And my
reward is to tramp about in Alaska. How lovely.”
    “Oh, do
stop complaining.” Christine rose to her feet, and the rest of us followed suit
automatically. “It’s settled. We’re off to the Yukon!”

Chapter 6
     
    Whyborne
    Shortly
thereafter, I shut the door behind Christine and Iskander. I turned to find
Griffin in the hall behind me, one shoulder leaning against the wall, his
emerald gaze on me. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
    “For
what?” I asked, puzzled.
    Griffin
pushed away from the wall as I approached. He tilted his head back to look me
in the face. “For accompanying us to the Arctic. I know you hate travel, and we’re
likely to live even rougher there than in Egypt.”
    “Do you
think so?” I asked in alarm. “I thought there were towns and such near the gold
mines. The papers called Dawson the Paris of the North!”
    “Somehow
I suspect they exaggerated its charms, just a bit.” His amused grin told me he
thought I was being naïve yet again. “Besides, Dawson and the places like it
were boomtowns. Most of them are deserted now the Klondike rush is over.”
    “Oh.”
Curse it. “Still, sorcery is involved. What other choice do I have but to grit
my teeth and go?”
    “That’s
just it.” Griffin caught my lapels and tugged me closer, until we stood pressed
together. “You do have a choice. You aren’t obligated to travel to the farthest
reaches of civilization to save a handful of people you don’t even know.”
    “One of
them is your brother,” I reminded him. My hands settled at his waist, shaping
the line of his hip. “Christine is a brilliant archaeologist, and Iskander’s
family trained him to fight ghūls, but neither of them are sorcerers.” I
leaned closer, lips hovering just above his. “And you are my husband. Where you
go, I go.”
    His warm
mouth tasted of wine and spice. The kiss began leisurely, then turned more
urgent as he nipped lightly at my lower lip with his teeth. When at last we
broke apart, he said, “Take me upstairs and make love to me.”
    I
certainly had no desire to