Read Online The Dragon Pool: The Dragon Pool by Christopher Golden - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christopher Golden
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in Tibet, digging up ancient civilizations, without some kind of monitoring. They wouldn't want anyone stealing or destroying historical artifacts, of course, but that was just part of it. What they would really want to avoid would be any official interaction between British and local government.
To his credit, though, the Chinese government monitor hung back, acknowledging that this was Stasia's expedition, her team.
"Hellboy," she said as she walked up, the others making way for her. Several people went to help the BPRD operatives unload, and a couple were helping Redfield tie the chopper down in case of wind. Hellboy barely noticed them, now.
"Stasia. It's great to see you."
"And you. Thank you for coming."
He raised his hands. "How could I stay away? You always bring me to the most interesting places."
"By interesting you mean 'remote.'"
"That too."
Introductions were made. A couple of the names stood out to Hellboy from the report he'd read on the dig, the temple of the Dragon King, the supposedly inhuman saboteurs, and the missing girl. The first was Frank Danovich, an American site engineer from Seattle, Washington. His job was to make sure that none of the dig construction or excavation came down on their heads. He was also one of the first to see the creature plaguing the expedition. The other names he recognized from the report were Dr. Mark Conrad and Professor Han Kyichu.
Nobody offered to shake hands. With the size and weight of his right fist, he could not blame them. When people did summon up the courage to offer their hand to him, he was never quite sure what to do, so he was glad to be spared that moment.
He nodded solemnly to Professor Kyichu before explaining to all of them--and the government man in particular, though without speaking directly to him--that Professor Bruttenholm was leading the investigation. After several more welcomes and grateful appreciations, they began to drift away, most back to their tasks but others to wait as a sleepy Professor Bruttenholm climbed out of the helicopter, wrapped up in conversation with Abe. The two of them kept gesturing toward the lake, and Hellboy had a feeling Abe would be going for a swim very soon.
"I worried you wouldn't arrive tonight," Anastasia said.
Hellboy frowned. "We came as fast as we could. Left six hours after the briefing."
"That's not what I meant," she said, a bit worriedly. "You got here quickly. I just...I'm glad we don't have to spend another night with this mysterious, troublesome business without you here. The BPRD, I mean."
"The BPRD, right."
"So, thank you."
"You keep saying that."
"Can't seem to stop."
"You look..." he glanced away, then down at the ground. "You know."
He lifted his gaze to find her wearing that lopsided, sweetly amused grin that had done him in from the moment they'd first met.
"It's been too long, love. But it's so strange. Every time I see you, it feels as though it's only been hours since the last time. Why is that?"
Hellboy had several ideas on that score, but none of them were things he would ever have spoken aloud, even back in those times when he and Stasia had talked about things like love and fate as though they had some secret knowledge that others didn't share. Couples were like that. They had the key to the universe, or so they thought. He'd never felt that way before or since, and looking back, he remembered it with awkward distance, like something slightly embarrassing that he'd overheard people talking about at the next table in a restaurant.
"Don't know. But, yeah. Weird, huh?"
Anastasia laughed. "Ever the soul of eloquence."
"You know me."
With anyone else, he might have muttered something sarcastic. But it was Stasia. She was allowed to bust his chops the way no one else in the world could. Well, no one but Abe and Liz, and sometimes, not even them.
The thought of Abe made him blink and glance around, but the amphibious man was talking quietly with Professor Bruttenholm, while
To his credit, though, the Chinese government monitor hung back, acknowledging that this was Stasia's expedition, her team.
"Hellboy," she said as she walked up, the others making way for her. Several people went to help the BPRD operatives unload, and a couple were helping Redfield tie the chopper down in case of wind. Hellboy barely noticed them, now.
"Stasia. It's great to see you."
"And you. Thank you for coming."
He raised his hands. "How could I stay away? You always bring me to the most interesting places."
"By interesting you mean 'remote.'"
"That too."
Introductions were made. A couple of the names stood out to Hellboy from the report he'd read on the dig, the temple of the Dragon King, the supposedly inhuman saboteurs, and the missing girl. The first was Frank Danovich, an American site engineer from Seattle, Washington. His job was to make sure that none of the dig construction or excavation came down on their heads. He was also one of the first to see the creature plaguing the expedition. The other names he recognized from the report were Dr. Mark Conrad and Professor Han Kyichu.
Nobody offered to shake hands. With the size and weight of his right fist, he could not blame them. When people did summon up the courage to offer their hand to him, he was never quite sure what to do, so he was glad to be spared that moment.
He nodded solemnly to Professor Kyichu before explaining to all of them--and the government man in particular, though without speaking directly to him--that Professor Bruttenholm was leading the investigation. After several more welcomes and grateful appreciations, they began to drift away, most back to their tasks but others to wait as a sleepy Professor Bruttenholm climbed out of the helicopter, wrapped up in conversation with Abe. The two of them kept gesturing toward the lake, and Hellboy had a feeling Abe would be going for a swim very soon.
"I worried you wouldn't arrive tonight," Anastasia said.
Hellboy frowned. "We came as fast as we could. Left six hours after the briefing."
"That's not what I meant," she said, a bit worriedly. "You got here quickly. I just...I'm glad we don't have to spend another night with this mysterious, troublesome business without you here. The BPRD, I mean."
"The BPRD, right."
"So, thank you."
"You keep saying that."
"Can't seem to stop."
"You look..." he glanced away, then down at the ground. "You know."
He lifted his gaze to find her wearing that lopsided, sweetly amused grin that had done him in from the moment they'd first met.
"It's been too long, love. But it's so strange. Every time I see you, it feels as though it's only been hours since the last time. Why is that?"
Hellboy had several ideas on that score, but none of them were things he would ever have spoken aloud, even back in those times when he and Stasia had talked about things like love and fate as though they had some secret knowledge that others didn't share. Couples were like that. They had the key to the universe, or so they thought. He'd never felt that way before or since, and looking back, he remembered it with awkward distance, like something slightly embarrassing that he'd overheard people talking about at the next table in a restaurant.
"Don't know. But, yeah. Weird, huh?"
Anastasia laughed. "Ever the soul of eloquence."
"You know me."
With anyone else, he might have muttered something sarcastic. But it was Stasia. She was allowed to bust his chops the way no one else in the world could. Well, no one but Abe and Liz, and sometimes, not even them.
The thought of Abe made him blink and glance around, but the amphibious man was talking quietly with Professor Bruttenholm, while
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