Uriel: The Inheritance (Airel Saga Book Five)

Chapter VIII

Cape Town, South Africa—Present Day

FRANK WAS OVERJOYED; NEW and terrible strength coursed through him. Those who moved past him as he walked through the airport couldn't know how awesome it was, how truly awesome. The power, the elation, the strength, the clean black redness of the whole world ticked along like a well-oiled machine, and he was its master. He was its engineer.

Ticking clocks and Swiss watches, Frank thought. How keen I now am. He noticed things he hadn't seen before—puddles of rank water, collections of ruddy dirt in the crevices of long hallways, the shining brown shells of cockroaches crawling, filthy beggars and street children who smelled ... sweeter.

But now he approached the gate for his flight to Zurich. It would have irritated him that he had to stop off in Johannesburg and Amsterdam on the way, back when he was somebody else. But now Frank was somebody new. Somebody powerful. Someone who knew how to kill, knew from personal experience, and wasn't afraid to do it again.

"Boarding pass, please," the flight attendant said, her palm out, a plastic smile on her face.

Frank produced the document and looked at her chest. The name tag said "Emerald", which shocked and pleased him. "What a brilliant name," he said. "I've never met a girl by the name of Emerald."

She tore off the stub and handed him his pass. "Ja, well, my surname's Ruby, so you can imagine the kind of life I've had to lead, especially in school." She smiled.

Frank decided that the smile wasn't genuine. But he also decided that he liked her in ways that made him feel especially dirty, which suited his new tastes just fine. "Are you flying with us to Schiphol, or only taking tickets?" he asked her.

"Ja, to Amsterdam. And then on to Zurich." She tapped his still-outstretched boarding pass, which showed his connection to Zurich. "Just like you, Mr. Wiseman."

"Ah." Mr. Wiseman. Echoes of another life. That made him feel old. And she was less than half his age. "Well, I look forward to seeing more of you," he said.

She smiled again, rocking forward on her toes and then back down. "Well, maybe I can swap with Tanya for the first class cabin."

"I should like that, if you could."

"Only if you promise to tip me well," Emerald said, winking at him as he moved down the jetway. She then greeted the next passenger.

Frank was rather loving this new life. Now that he was finally free of that idiot harpy Kimberley to whom he had been married for all those years, he felt emancipated, new, fresh. Like anything was possible.

Frank stuffed his carryon bag—which contained the rare book—in the compartment above and then settled his corpulent frame into the fragrant leather seat. He could smell the body oils previous occupants had deposited there and that was a pleasing potpourri, a medley of stenches that he wondered how he ever did without now that it was ever present.

What would the stone endow upon him next? He felt himself becoming excited at the prospect, imagining things. He thought of Emerald. He wondered what was going to be on the menu for the in-flight meal. He sniffed. Some sort of beef dish. This was a fun new game. Frank fondled the stone in his vest pocket and let his mind go free.