Verena's Whistle: Varangian Descendants Book I by K. Panikian (essential reading txt) 📗

towels. I took the hottest, shortest shower of my life. It felt incredible, but I didn’t want to steal all the hot water. I brushed my teeth after with my finger and then I couldn’t decide which activity made me happier.

I pulled Astrid aside next and showed her how to use the toilet and the shower dials. She was very impressed and excited. I helped Manya clean up our lunch dishes while she showered and then it was Julian’s turn.

When we were all clean and dressed in the spare clothes, I snuck upstairs and snagged Owen’s dirty clothes, and then I started the washing machine.

I’d thought of a reasonable explanation for the todorats and our presence in her fields, so while we sat in the living room drinking more tea, I told Manya that the todorats escaped from a rogue scientist group deep in the Urals. They’d been splicing animal and human DNA. We were contractors hired by the Russian government to shut down the facility and track down any beasts that escaped. Owen’s wolf-form was a costume only.

I was pretty impressed with my spiel and at the end, Manya patted my hand. “Okay, dear. We’ll go with that.” She didn’t ask any questions about it, instead turning to Astrid and asking her if she was enjoying her tea.

The room was cozy; there was a fire going in a little pot-bellied stove and it sent a steady blast of heat out. The air smelled like cinnamon and pine. The walls were polished wood, like the inside of a log cabin, and there were a lot of framed photographs. The red and blue rug on the wood floor looked hand-knotted.

I asked Manya if she had a computer with internet access and she pulled a laptop from the shelf. I logged into my email and sent a quick message to my parents, letting them know that we were all fine and that we’d likely be out of contact for a little while longer. I told Manya that Julian and Owen might want to use it later too, and she said that was fine.

“Really. Anything you need. I know that I owe you my life, and probably the lives of everyone in town, including my sons and their families. Whatever you need, is yours.” Her eyes shone for a moment with tears before she shook her head and blinked them away.

I heard a noise upstairs and went to check on Owen. He was stirring under the covers. I sat next to him and called his name softly. When he opened his eyes and saw me, he smiled sweetly and dragged me down next to him.

Then he groaned, “Why do you smell so nice?”

“I showered!” I exclaimed happily. “You can shower too!”

“Oh, thank God,” was his muffled response. I helped him find a towel and then handed him Manya’s son’s sweatpants and t-shirt to change into after. I told him we were all downstairs when he was done.

He backed me into the wall and kissed me lingeringly, and then ducked into the bathroom.

I switched our clothes to the dryer and then checked the sky. It was turning to twilight. I hoped that everyone was okay at the base camp in the mountains.

When Owen came downstairs, his hair clean and wet, his chin dark with stubble, and the sweatpants tight on his muscular thighs, I caught my breath. He grinned at me. Manya, standing next to me, poked me in the side, laughing.

We settled around the kitchen table again and Manya served the solyanka. The sweet and sour tanginess, the potatoes, and the sausage combined to a perfect whole. I actually saw Julian’s eyes roll back a little in his head after his first bite. There was crusty black bread too, and softened butter.

While we ate, Manya talked about her sons. They weren’t farmers, like her. One had a small restaurant and one was a teacher at the town school. She had four grandchildren between them. She pointed to a picture on the wall and I complimented her on her beautiful family, and then again on her wonderful cooking.

I felt a deep admiration for her. She was obviously a hard worker and she was living alone, but she invited us into her home and took care of us. I was grateful for Rurik’s advice on the todorats. Without it, I wouldn’t have known that I could whistle the earth and today’s outcome might have been very different for Manya and her farm.

After dinner, my fatigue hit even harder. I started to help Manya clear the table, but she sent us into the living room with promises of tea and cookies. I didn’t think I could eat another bite, but I did. I ate two honey spice cookies, curled up on the couch, staring at the fire with my feet in Owen’s lap while he checked his email.

We crashed collectively after that. Owen and I stayed in his room and Astrid took the other spare room upstairs. Julian slept on the couch.

I warned everyone as we headed off that we’d be leaving at dawn.

Manya promised to send us off with eggs and coffee and I heard Julian asking her to marry him as she helped him set up his bed. She cackled.

Chapter 28

Theo sat in the snow, looking down at the bes camp, bored. He’d woken up early, cold in the tent he was sharing with Cato, and now he was tired. It was only mid-morning. Cato stretched out in the snow next to him, wrapped in his cloak and supposedly watching too, but Theo was pretty sure his eyes were closed.

Theo used his Sight a couple of times through the night to try and reach Very, but he hadn’t connected. He hoped that meant she was safe and tucked in somewhere. Meanwhile, the besy below continued to build some wood fortifications and fish in the river.

“Why do they chain the azhdaya?” he asked.

Cato rolled over and sat up. “It’s to keep them small