ICEHOTEL (11 page)

There was a sudden shout. Jonas was ambling towards them,
bellowing and gesticulating.

Marcellus lowered the phone. ‘Pardon me?’

Jonas pushed him hard in the chest with both hands.
Marcellus dropped the phone, falling back, and would have lost his footing had
his father not grabbed his shoulders and steadied him.

‘What’s your problem, asshole?’ Marcellus hissed, squaring
up to Jonas. ‘You want to take a pop at me?
Okay
, then.
So, come on.’

I stared, appalled. ‘There’s going to be a fight.’

Jonas lunged, taking a wide swipe, but Marcellus
side-stepped the blow neatly and, with a simple but effective martial arts
manoeuvre, forced him to the ground. A circle of people formed. Jane stood next
to me, white-faced, a spray of red hair escaping from her hood.

Leo reached the scene ahead of Sven. ‘What the hell’s going
on?’

Marcellus was bending over Jonas, holding his wrist in an
excruciatingly painful grip.

‘You,’ Leo shouted to Marcellus. ‘Let him go.’

Marcellus released his grip and Jonas fell backwards.

‘Now tell me what happened,’ Leo said, running a hand over
his face.

Marcellus spoke quietly. ‘I was talking on my cell when this
lunatic lunged at me, sir.’

‘He’s telling the truth,’ Robyn Ellis said, jabbing an
indignant finger at Jonas. ‘That man is drunk. He shouldn’t be on our trip.’

A murmur ran through the group.

Wilson was standing well back, watching the scene with cold
amusement.

Leo pushed a hand through his hair. He raised his voice so
we could all hear. ‘Right then, if there’s any more trouble, the trip’s off and
we all go back. Do you understand?’ He looked at Jonas who was brushing snow from
his suit. ‘Do you understand?’ he shouted.

Jonas hesitated. ‘Ja, ja,’ he said quietly. With a murderous
glance at Marcellus, he loped back to his friends, who crowded around him,
yelling in Danish.

Sven jerked his head towards the snowmobiles. ‘Time to go,
everyone.’

Harry had joined us, and was watching the scene, quivering
with excitement.

‘Really, Harry,’ Liz said disapprovingly, ‘all this
testosterone.’

‘Yes, absolutely splendid.’

‘That was stupid of Jonas,’ I said. ‘Ballsy, but stupid.’

Mike stopped Leo as he trudged past. ‘I thought you handled
that brilliantly.’

Leo lifted his eyes wearily. ‘I’ve been on the course.
Dealing With Difficult People.’

‘I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about,’ I said. I
felt my lips twitch. ‘Just alpha males, marking their territory.’

The men glared at me.

We set off on the final leg, and crossed the frozen lake.
The last hurdle was the ascent of the mountain. Sven took a circular route, not
the fastest way, but the easiest. It was heavy going, and made me even more
determined that Harry should drive on the way back.

I glanced at the sky. A faint band of grey cloud smeared the
horizon. I felt the blood sing in my ears: my chances of seeing the aurora
tonight were good.

The woodland grew denser, and the incline steeper, but the
path was wide and the machines had little difficulty making the final climb. We
emerged from forest into a steep clearing, crowned with a brightly-painted
chalet. To our left was an iron railing. A flight of wooden steps, swept free
of snow, led to the summit.

Sven gave the signal to stop, and waited until we’d cut the
engines. He motioned up the slope. ‘It is too steep to ride further. We will
park the snowmobiles beside the steps, one in front of the other. We must make
sure the machines are secure. I will check the brakes.’

‘That was a magnificent ride,’ Harry was saying. ‘I must say
it’s made me feel quite peckish. See you at the top.’ He grasped the railing
and moved stiffly up the steps, walking like John Wayne.

I watched as Sven double-checked my brakes.

‘This is how you lock.’ He pulled the lever. ‘I have to make
sure everyone understands how to do it. The lever is a bit stiff. But try.’

I fumbled under the handle.

‘Better if you remove your mitten. Yes, good. Now, to unlock
the brakes, move the lever in the other direction. Try.’

I pushed the lever, surprised at the smoothness of the
mechanism; it needed only a light touch. I pulled the lever and relocked the
brakes.

Sven nodded, then moved on to the next machine. ‘No need to
stay,’ he said, seeing my hesitation. ‘I would go to the chalet before the food
disappears. How do you say it? First arrived, first served.’ He motioned down
the slope. ‘But, after lunch, you should take a walk.’

‘What’s down there?’

‘A magnificent view. The best in these parts. It is one of
the reasons we bring visitors here. Mind your step, though. There is a ledge
you have to climb over – see there where the ground flattens – but then the
path takes you through the trees straight to the vista point. You can’t miss
it.’

‘Thank you.’ I tramped up the
slope towards the chalet, my boots sinking in the soft snow.

Lunch was a ragoût of reindeer meat,
followed by sticky berry cake. I left the others, and took my plate outside to
one of the trestle tables bolted to the ground. It was warm out of the shade,
and I turned my face to the sun.

‘You should be careful. The air is thinner here.’ Jonas was
plastering his skin with a white powdery cream, his blunt fingers moving over
his face in rapid strokes. His eyes were still bloodshot and he looked as
though he were nursing a hangover.

‘How are you feeling today?’ I said coldly.

‘I shouldn’t have had so much to drink last night.’ He
hesitated. ‘Did I behave badly?’

‘Can’t you remember?’

‘It is a blur, I’m afraid.’

He must have taken my hesitation for censure, because he
continued in a shamed voice, ‘I am trying to drink less, but it is difficult.
You see, I am from Copenhagen,’ he added, as though that explained everything.
‘If I have offended you, I cannot apologise enough.’

I wasn’t the one needing the apology, I thought, remembering
his recent treatment of Marcellus. He seemed more concerned about his heavy
drinking than about throwing a punch at someone. But I said nothing.

He turned away and walked down the incline, shoulders
hunched.

‘Look, Liz,’ I heard Harry say, ‘I am not driving one of
those things. Maggie is perfectly proficient and I’d be a poor second at it.
Maggie, will you make Liz see reason? She thinks I need excitement in my life.’
He sat down heavily. ‘She wouldn’t say that if she witnessed the Punch and Judy
of Faculty Council meetings.’

Mike had followed them out. He stretched, yawning. ‘I’m
taking a look around. Fancy a walk to that vista point, Liz?’

‘You go, Mike,’ she said, not looking at him. ‘I’ll catch you
later.’

He shrugged, then took his beer to where Jonas was standing
near the snowmobiles. He thumped him on the arm to get his attention. A minute
later, their raucous laughter reached us.

I was amused at Liz’s show of loyalty. ‘Don’t worry about
Harry and me, Liz. Go and join Mike.’ I leant my head against the wall. ‘I’m
going to take a little snooze.’

She hesitated for only a second, then left, making her way
slowly down the steps.

I was nodding off when I felt a sharp tap on my arm. Harry
was staring straight ahead.

A family of reindeer had appeared from behind the chalet.
They skittered about nervously, the big male pawing the ground with a scarred
hoof. They stopped not far from the table, and gazed at us for several seconds,
their liquid eyes wide with curiosity. Just as suddenly, they lost interest and
moved away, nuzzling the ground.

‘These are the first we’ve seen,’ I whispered, tugging at
Harry’s sleeve. ‘Liz has the camera. Come on. She’ll be wanting a picture for
the twins.’

I rose too quickly, and the deer jumped away. Harry took my
arm, and we followed the animals down the clearing.

He was having difficulty in the snow. ‘Take care, my dear.
It’s treacherous underfoot.’

The ground levelled off, and the walking became easier. I
looked around for Liz. She’d left the steps and was making her way towards Mike
and Jonas. They were near the ledge, drinking silently now.

The deer had stopped a few feet from her.

‘Liz,’ I hissed.

She turned and, seeing the animals, pulled the camera from
her pocket. She held it out, gesturing to me to take a photo.

‘Go on, Harry,’ I said. ‘You be in the picture. The twins
will want to see you, too.’

He seemed pleased. ‘Do you think so?’ He waded over to Liz.

But the deer wouldn’t stay still. No sooner had they
stopped, and Liz and Harry crept over, than one of them sprang away and the
others followed. Eventually, they trotted over the ledge and disappeared.

‘Hold onto me, sweetheart,’ Liz said. ‘We’re climbing over.’
She put an arm around Harry, and he clambered down by sitting on the edge and
swinging his legs.

I peered over. The broad ledge was five feet high. The deer
had taken up position to the right where the foraging was better. Ignoring Liz
and Harry, they tugged at the moss between the trees, grazing the bark with
their velvet antlers.

Liz tiptoed across. Careful not to spook the animals, she
motioned to Harry to join her, then signalled frantically at me to take a
picture. She smoothed down her ponytail, pushing stray wisps of hair behind her
ears.

I was fumbling with the lens cap when I heard the sound.

I spun round. The line of snowmobiles was slipping down the
incline. They went slowly at first, but gathered momentum frighteningly
quickly, toppling their neighbours like giant dominoes, their metallic
screeching growing so loud it was painful to hear. I watched, transfixed, as
the machines fell heavily towards the overhang. Only then did I remember Liz
and Harry.

Harry was staring up with a puzzled expression. Liz looked
terrified. I waved my arms like a person demented, screaming to them to get out
of the way. As the first of the snowmobiles pounded over the edge, Liz sprang
towards the safety of the trees. The machines thundered down, one by one,
demolishing a group of saplings, finally shrieking to a stop several feet from
Harry. The deer were nowhere to be seen.

Mike and Jonas had scrambled to the overhang, and were
gazing at the wreckage.

I rushed at them, yelling. ‘What the hell do you think
you’re doing? They could have been killed. Why didn’t you warn them?’

Mike dragged his eyes from the scene. ‘What do you mean,
warn them?’

‘For God’s sake, you were right next to the machines.’

Jonas was staring strangely, the white cream around his eyes
making him look like a ghoul. ‘We were near the machines, yes, but when they
slipped we couldn’t stop them. It would have been dangerous even to try.’

I looked from one to the other, helplessly. ‘But why didn’t
you warn Liz? And Harry?’

Mike peered over the edge, bewildered. ‘We didn’t know they
were there.’

People were pouring from the chalet, alerted by the noise.
Shock registered on their faces as they reached us and saw what had happened.

Leo thrust his way through the crowd, his face as white as
Jonas’s. ‘Sven,’ he shouted, his voice breaking with shock.

Sven came running, zipping up his snowsuit. He stopped dead
at the overhang. When he saw the wrecked snowmobiles, his expression hardened.
His hands were trembling.

I pushed past and climbed down.

Liz had emerged from the trees, and she and Harry were
staring at the metallic heap. Beyond them, around a bend in the path, came the
Bibbys. They stopped and gaped. Wilson’s face was grim.

Marcellus came over. ‘What in God’s name happened here,
Maggie?’ He looked intently into my eyes. ‘Are you
okay
?’

I nodded back towards the overhang. ‘I was up there. It was
Harry and Liz who, who . . .’

He squeezed my arm gently. I turned away, not wanting him to
see my tears.

Harry tried to inject a brave note into his voice. ‘We’re
all right, Maggie. Shaken, but not stirred.’

I wasn’t so sure; he and Liz looked as though they were in
shock.

‘I’m sorry, Liz,’ I said feebly. ‘I dropped your camera.’

‘Oh heavens, don’t worry about that. No, really, that’s what
insurance is for.’ She was shaking. ‘Well, I don’t know about you two, but I
could do with a drink.’

Harry put an arm around her shoulders and we clambered up
the overhang, slipping in the snow, helping each other when we fell. The Bibbys
examined the wreckage, then followed us. Mike was arguing with Sven and Leo,
and everyone else was talking at once. We ignored them and made our way slowly
up to the chalet.

Halfway there, something made
me look back. Jonas was standing apart from the crowd. He was watching us,
motionless, his red eyes staring out of the white mask of a face.

At the final count, the damage
wasn’t as bad as Sven had thought. There were enough working machines to get us
back, provided we doubled up. Harry looked distraught and, understandably,
refused my suggestion that he drive.

‘My dear, if I’m at the helm, we won’t be in a safe pair of
hands.’ He lifted his arms. ‘Look, I’m still quaking.’

I nodded sadly. This was not the time to insist. I climbed
into the front seat without another word.

We had to wait for Sven who was huddled by the trees with
Leo. He was speaking quietly but firmly. Leo was shaking his head, disbelief on
his face.

‘Looks like Sven might be sending Leo the bill,’ I said,
hoping to lighten the mood.

When there was no reply, I glanced over my shoulder. Harry
was watching Sven and Leo, his face pale, a faraway look in his eyes.

On the coach, I made sure I sat next to him. He remained
subdued, eyes closed, head against the backrest. I made a mental note to think
up something fun to do later. His arm was lying on his thigh, palm upwards. I
slipped my hand into his and squeezed hard, but there was no response.