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“Yes. Goodbye, my baby boy. Bye, alphaholes who ruined my life.”
As we faded away, I couldn’t help but think I was doing the wrong thing by helping her leave.
We faded into a large, single-stall bathroom in John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. I personally preferred La Guardia, but I wasn’t about to nitpick right now. I just needed a ticket, and I was gone.
“Do you have to pee? I can wait outside the door if you’re pee-shy?” I teased Malcolm. Despite how nervous I was, I had to make a joke.
“No, this is a family restroom near the gates, past the baggage drop off and customs. It won’t look weird if we’re seen walking out of here. Come on.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me out into the loud, bustling airport.
We blended into the crowd, looking like an average couple trying to catch their flight. All kinds of people hustled back and forth among the gates. Families, businessmen in suits, backpackers, and an adorable elderly couple with matching theme park shirts. A group of people around my age were sitting in a food court eating a giant plate of nachos, laughing together. The cacophony of noises reminded me of living in the city–they soothed me. I had grown used to the unsettling quiet of the mansion in the woods. We walked to a row of seats in a waiting area and sat next to each other. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, bringing up Google Flights.
“Is there any place you suggest I go where they’ll be least likely to find me or hunt me down? Anywhere in America is out. I want to go as far away as possible.” I hated to ask for his input, but he wanted me gone as much as I wanted to leave. He knew the guys better than I did, too.
“Greece. One of the smaller islands probably. Or somewhere in Europe.” His serious countenance made me think he had no clue how dumb that idea was.
“Ares isfromGreece. Why would anywhere in Europe be a good idea? Do you want me to get caught?” I wrung my hands together, shaking my leg.
He didn’t say anything right away, merely sighing and rolling his eyes.
“Ares was outcast from Mount Olympus for multiple reasons. He won’t go back to Greece unless he wants to cause an all out war with the other gods. Believe it or not, that’s one fight he wouldn’t want to get into. Europe is a good place to go because there are multiple countries in the European Union. If you need to move, you won’t have to get new work permits for each and every country. Tuition there is cheap, sometimes free. I’m assuming you’ll want to go back to school?”
I hadn’t even thought about school or work. I just wanted to get on the plane. Once I was in the air, then I would figure out my next step.
Mal purchased a ticket for Athens that left in a half hour. He pulled my suitcase behind him as he guided us toward the correct airline counter. A huge, charming grin replaced his usual surliness. His eyes twinkled and he seemed…nice. I didn’t know he could be anything but a curmudgeonly asshole.
“Hello, ma’am,” he said to a flight attendant in a perfect southern accent. It sounded very similar to Azazel’s. “My girlfriend and I are having trouble finding our boarding passes on my phone. Can you help us?”
“Sure thing! You probably don’t have the right flight confirmation number. What’s your name?” she cooed, obviously buttered up by his fake congeniality. The real Malcolm probably thought talking to flight attendants was beneath him. Actually, I couldn’t see him flying on anything but a private jet.
“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Marvin Beauford.” He extended his hand, and the woman shook it. Mal tightened his grip, refusing to let go when she tried to pull away. His eyes glowed red. “You will check her bag as a carry-on, even though it doesn’t have the right sticker or paper trail in the system. You will print her boarding pass out and hand it to her, and not ask for any form of ID, and you’ll allow her to walk right through the gate and on the plane. No matter what, Diana will get on this flight and get to Athens, Greece. Do you understand?”
I had no clue Mal had the power to control people. It didn’t seem like deal-making, because there was no agreement. He was just giving her orders. The whole situation seemed off. Wouldn’t he have used that power to kill me in the basement? The flight attendant smiled, blinking into the distance a few times like she was in lala land.
“Of course, sir,” she said in a dreamy voice. “She’s our number one priority.”
Malcontent let go of her hand and brought my suitcase to the waiting area. “The guys probably know we’re gone by now. I’m going to tell them you time-hopped and I lost you somehow. I’ll wait here until you get on the plane.”
“Thank you for everything, but you don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’ll want to get back to your Diana-free life. I’ll be fine.” His eyes seemed hollow, unfocused. His mouth was curved into a hauntingly creepy smile that I’d never seen him make before. My intuition was telling me to get away from him, ASAP. Hopefully, he’d get the hint and leave.
His eyes glowed red again as his mouth tensed and his eyebrows dipped in the center, making a malicious expression. “I said I’ll wait here with you.” The menacing, growly tone of his voice didn’t sound like him at all.
Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t Malcolm. I knew he had been too nice to me, but wanted to leave so badly I didn’t think twice before following him here. Alarm bells wailed in my mind. I had to get away from him ASAP.
Desmond! Help, I’m at JFK. Mal is going psycho. Can you hear me?
No reply. I tried again a few more times, and still, nothing. Maybe they gave up on me… Decided I was more trouble than I was worth? I had no phone and was too depleted to use my magic against Mal. Maybe if I was alone, I could connect with Desmond?
“I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back.” I stood, but Mal grabbed my hand and wrenched me back into the seat.
“Don’t move,” he commanded. A neon yellow magic bracketed around my arms, from shoulder to fingertips, immobilizing me. My limbs felt heavier.
“Mal, what’s going on?” I grappled to get away from him, but he dug his nails into my skin, not letting me up. “Please, let go, you’re scaring me.”
He smiled, the skin around his red, glowing eyes crinkling. “He’s here.”
“Who’s here?” I doubted he was talking about any of the guys. He didn’t reply to me, only tightened his grip.
The fluorescent lights flickered overhead then ruptured completely, leaving the dimming sunlight coming through the windows as the only source of light. Glass flew everywhere, pinging off the tile floor like raindrops. The energy in the room shifted, as an intense sense of foreboding blanketed me and I felt nauseous. Even though they couldn’t know what was happening, the people around us felt it, too. They scattered, running away to other parts of the airport. Malcolm teleported the unlucky ones that stayed behind with a snap of his fingers. Who knew where they ended up?
