Keflavik was some distance from the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, a long and lonely highway running parallel to the coastline before reaching the city’s outskirts. Rather than heading into the centre, the Expedition skirted around it, taking a road that climbed into the hills to the east. The patches of snow on the ground grew larger as they went higher, soon joining to cover the entire landscape. The road itself was relatively free of ice — the Icelanders were well practised at ploughing and clearing their thoroughfares even in the wilderness — but the only vehicles they saw as they crossed the high plains were other super jeeps, in the form of pumped-up SUVs, pickups and even buses.
Eddie kept Macy occupied with an animated conversation about animals that might live in snow. ‘Not many people out here,’ Nina observed. The scenery was beautiful, but no less devoid of life than the mountains of Nepal.
‘You should see this road when the Northern Lights are active,’ said Olivia disapprovingly. ‘It’s almost as congested as Manhattan on a Friday evening. Endless busloads of tourists on their way to Thingvellir in the hope of getting a good view.’
‘What’s a Thingvellir?’ Macy asked.
‘It’s a national park. There’s a very big lake there, and it’s also the place where the Icelanders used to have their parliament. Do you know what a parliament is?’
‘I’ve got some words to describe the British one, but I can’t use them in front of the little ’un,’ said Eddie with a grin.
‘It’s where people meet to vote on what they’re going to do,’ Nina told the confused girl. ‘Like Congress in Washington DC.’
Realisation lit Macy’s face. ‘Oh, where all the idiots are!’
‘I see you’ve been offering commentary on the news,’ Olivia said to the couple, amused, before addressing Macy again. ‘The Icelanders called it the Althing, and it was their government. I suppose we’re going to our own little Althing, except only three families vote in this one. Mine is one of them.’
‘Who else is there?’ Macy asked.
‘That’s a very good question,’ Nina said pointedly.
‘You’ll meet them soon,’ Olivia assured her.
The super jeep continued on, the large lake eventually coming into view to their right. Against the stark white backdrop, it appeared so deep a blue as to be almost black. Further along the road, Olivia pointed out a rocky chasm stretching back towards the ice-speckled waters. ‘At the moment, we’re technically in North America,’ she said as the Expedition reached a curve in the road that crossed over it. ‘And now… we’re in Europe.’
‘Wish it was that quick to get between ’em all the time,’ said Eddie. ‘It’d save a lot of waiting around in airports.’
‘Was that the continental rift?’ Nina asked, watching the cleft retreat behind them.
‘Yes, between the North American and European plates.’ Olivia gestured at the distant hills to the east. ‘This valley’s gradually getting wider as new rock is formed beneath it. The place we’re going is also on the rift, actually. One of its unique selling points, to use the jargon.’
The Ford soon reached a crossroads. De Klerx headed north, heading into some higher peaks. After a few miles he turned on to another road, a signpost bearing an exclamation mark and the bilingual warning Ófært; Impassable. Its accuracy soon became clear, the asphalt disappearing beneath deepening snow. Yellow marker posts snaked into the distance, tyre tracks showing that the buried route had been recently taken by other vehicles. ‘There’s a hotel all the way up here?’ Nina asked dubiously.
‘Good for skiing, I suppose,’ said Eddie.
‘You would think, but it’s actually closed to the public at this time of year,’ Olivia told him. ‘The conditions are a little too extreme for the average tourist. The Icelanders prefer that their visitors not die of exposure.’
The Dutchman guided the Expedition onwards, kicking up compacted snow from its oversized wheels. A few miles on, they reached a small frozen lake, the icy surface glittering in the sunlight. Low cliffs rose beyond it, the markers curving around the shore to meet them. He slowed to ascend an incline, then applied a burst of power to propel them over its crest. Macy giggled at the engine’s roar.
‘There it is,’ announced Olivia.
They had reached a broad plain, deep snowdrifts rippling across it like albino sand dunes. Beyond them, a building stood at the base of a low hill, its assertively angular architecture of pale wood and concrete and glass in sharp contrast to the natural surroundings. It seemed almost to be floating above the ground, a pair of long wings each two storeys high jutting out of the hillside. Where they joined, two stainless-steel chimneys rose skyward, plumes of pure white steam drifting from them. ‘That’s… pretty spectacular,’ said Nina, impressed.
More super jeeps were parked in front of the structure. As they approached it, a young man in dark clothing hurried to meet the new arrivals. De Klerx lowered his window. A brief exchange, then the Dutchman guided the SUV towards one end of the hotel. ‘He wants to meet us at the east entrance,’ he told Olivia.
She was not impressed. ‘Does he now?’
De Klerx said nothing, instead bringing the super jeep to a stop in an area free of snow beneath the building. From here, Nina saw that the hotel was actually Y-shaped in plan, the broad leg from which the two elevated arms extended partially buried in the hillside. Close up, the structure’s gravity-defying nature was revealed as extremely clever design, steeply raked pillars bearing the load.
De Klerx opened the doors for his passengers. Another man in dark clothes took their baggage, though Eddie kept a firm hold on the Crucible. The group followed their driver up a flight of steps. Seeing that she was having difficulty, Nina moved to assist her grandmother. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, thank you,’ Olivia replied testily. ‘If we’d used the main entrance we could have taken the elevator, but no, Fenrir has his own plans.’
The name was familiar, but for the moment Nina couldn’t place it. ‘Do you need a hand?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ the old lady insisted. She gripped the banister more tightly and continued defiantly upwards.
They entered a lobby. The man carrying their bags continued down a hallway, but rather than go with him, De Klerx brought the visitors into a large room occupying the entire end of the wing. Two whole walls were glazed, giving a breathtaking view of the snowy wilderness. But Nina’s eyes went to its sole occupant. The room was a gym containing ranks of top-of-the-range exercise machines, but the man they had apparently come to meet was lying on his back on a bench, lifting a set of weights.
Now she knew where she had heard his name before. ‘Dr Mikkelsson?’ she exclaimed.
Fenrir Mikkelsson looked around at the new arrivals, the mechanical rhythm of his exercise not missing a beat. ‘Ah, Dr Wilde! A pleasure to meet you again.’
‘Who’s this?’ Eddie asked her. ‘Haven’t been seeing someone behind my back, have you?’
She gave her husband a sarcastic smile. ‘I met him at the United Nations. Dr Mikkelsson’s a director of the International Atomic Energy Agency… so I’m kinda surprised to see him here.’
‘I am not only a member of the IAEA,’ said Mikkelsson, raising his weights one last time before levering them back on to their rack with a clang. ‘I am also a member of the Midas Legacy. I assume that Olivia has told you about us.’ He sat up, wiping his face with a flannel. Despite his exertion, he was barely sweating.
‘Yes, she has,’ Nina replied, frowning at her grandmother. ‘Although she’s been very cagey about the details — like who else is involved in it!’