Castle of Flame

Chapter Nine: The House in the Woods

Kerra felt that she ought to be congratulated on her persuasive skills. True, men were easy to manipulate, but she thought talking her new Norwegian friend Jørgen into flying five teenagers he didn't know to Germany was an impressive feat. None of her companions seemed to agree, though. They followed her and Jørgen to the plane, but they hung back, talking among themselves. She was sure they didn't trust Jørgen, and she had to admit that they had a point. Kerra had only just met him, and if he wanted to kidnap them, it would be only too easy once they were in the air. However, she had a good feeling about him, and she was willing to take the risk in the interest of arriving in Germany before next century – preferably with only minimal camping.

The plane was not a luxury jet like the one Kerra's adoptive parents owned. It was a blue and white single-engine that must have been at least twenty years old, but it looked well-cared for, and it had a small passenger area behind the cockpit. Jørgen lowered a set of stairs to the tarmac of the small landing strip behind the town, and held out his hand to help Kerra climb up.

"Ladies first," he said. Kerra took his hand and smiled, climbing into the plane. Ren and the boys followed, and they settled into their seats, squashed together, bracing their packs and tents on the floor between their feet. There were two rows of seats facing each other, putting Kerra, Hunter, and Laric on one side with Ren and Elliott facing them. Jørgen settled himself in the cockpit and put on a headset. "Welcome to the Seagull. We will be on the ground in Hamburg in about four hours."

As the plane taxied, Kerra noticed the looks of fear on her companions' faces. "Guys, it's going to be fine. I gave him half the money; he'll get the other half once we land."

The plane sped down the runway, picking up speed. Hunter, was who sitting next to her, muttered, "Do you make a regular practice of flirting with old men to get rides on private planes?"

Kerra felt a shiver run down her spine, but her face was calm as she answered. "No. I usually flirt with young men." She felt rather than heard Hunter laugh beside her.

The plane took off, rattling a bit, but as Kerra gazed through the window, she saw the fjords and mountains fall away beneath them. As they flew, she drifted in and out of sleep, exhausted from only sleeping a few hours the night before, but unable to relax properly since she felt like she was in a flying tin can.

To her delight, however, the flying tin can landed safely in Hamburg that evening, and they disembarked. Kerra paid Jørgen and allowed him to kiss her hand. They weren't at the main airport, but at a tiny private airstrip close to the city. After they had watched the Seagull take off again and fly away, Kerra turned to Laric.

"So now what? Where do your friends live?"

"They're about an hour's drive outside of the city." Laric scanned the sky. Rain clouds were gathering overhead, threatening to turn as dark as the East River on an overcast day, and the corresponding grayish glow of an early sunset lit the air throughout the city. "We should go as soon as possible, but it's a tricky drive. We don't want to do it in the rain and the dark. It might be better to find a hotel for the night and go in the morning."

Kerra beamed. "Best idea I've heard all of this awful day."

They set off into the heart of the city, which Kerra had never seen before. Hamburg was nothing like New York or London, but it was a beautiful city in its own way, all water and bridges and a mix of old and new architecture. They found a hotel. It wasn't glitzy enough for Kerra's taste, but Ren pointed out that, at best, they looked like backpackers, and thus would not be staying at the Four Seasons.