Free Michael (The Mark) (The Airel Saga, Book 4: Part 7-8) by Aaron Patterson, Chris White Page B

now?”
    “Because, Harry. It’s just not reasonably possible. Those idiot pretend mall cops with the TSA badges. FAA protocol. The Federal Air Marshall sitting in 17 D. The Boise PD. Ada County Sheriff. The fact that the door to the jetway is now closed, and we’re stuck on this tin can for the duration whether it’s convenient for us or not. And then there’s the question of your orders …”
    Harry muttered strong curses under his thin veneer of cool. He gave a petulant little exhalation through his nostrils, scoffing.
    Airel’s father continued. “You want me to get to Africa. You need me to get to Africa. Unharmed. And I know it. And trust me, Harry, this showdown can keep until then.”
    “Okay.” Harry dismissed him casually with a wave of his hand.
    “Until then, we’re just fellow disciples in the tribe of … sales. On our way to the ‘convention.’”
    Harry laughed cruelly. “And just what do we sell?”
    “Saleable things, Harry. Today it just happens to be a few extra hours of your life. Whaddya say?”
    Through gritted teeth, Harry said, “Deal,” and regretted bitterly his former audacity to have purchased a ticket on the seat next to the mark. He hadn’t counted on Airel’s father being so smart. That, he had never accounted for or even imagined.
    ***
    Somewhere Over North America—Present Day
    MICHAEL WASN’T QUITE SURE how to broach the subject with Airel. He had been up since … well, he hadn’t really had time to sleep at all, what with all that needed to be taken care of. The body. And the Bloodstone turning up missing. He had been a little freaked out about that until his little under-the-bridge conference with Ellie. And now Kim carried it. C’est la vie, he thought cynically.
    How could he tell Airel about Kim? How would she take it? He could tell by the way she looked at him that she thought he carried the Bloodstone. But he had to tell her. As if, by Kim’s erratic behavior, it wasn’t painfully obvious to everyone by now. But somebody had to call attention to the elephant on the plane.
    And there was no time like the present. “Airel, can I talk with you?”
    “Sure,” she said.
    Michael didn’t even have to look at Ellie. “Excuse me,” she said. “I’ve gotta make a trip to the loo.” She got up and walked to the back of the plane.
    “That was nice of her,” Airel said.
    “Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”
    “So, what’s up?”
    He hazarded a glance at Kim, who was snoring away in her seat. “It’s about Kim.”
    “Oh, don’t tell me. I know she’s been acting really weird. What’s with her?” Airel came off a little nervous. She gripped his hand tighter, as if holding on to him could bring her insane world into focus.
    He looked at her. “I think you already know.”
    Fear crept over her face. She was quiet for a long time, looking at her sleeping friend. Finally, she looked back at Michael. “She has it.”
    He confirmed this truth.
    “How long?”
    “You’re not going to like this one bit,” he said. He tried to explain what Ellie had told him about destiny and choice and consequence and how it was Kim’s burden to bear because, really, she had taken it up that day on the cliff top.
    And he was right. Airel didn’t like it at all.
    She got up and paced the cabin, obviously fuming inside but keeping her tongue. “That’s just not right,” she finally said. “How can that be right? We can’t let her have it—we can’t do that to her. How is that fair?”
    He sat and thought for a long time before answering. “You know, I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t know. What I do know is that she has accepted the burden of the Bloodstone fully now. She has bonded with it. She has chosen it over everything else.”
    “But how… how does a person come to that? How could she choose that?”
    “Like anything.” He shrugged. “You go far enough down the path of curiosity until you slide off. There’s no coming back from some choices.