Chapter 5: Airway Encounter

Savannah got to the terminal and everyone piled out. After we were sure we had all our bags, she locked up and we made our way to the entrance. Mandy led us, almost running for the warmth the building offered. She had been wearing a sweater and a knee-length skirt. I wouldn't be surprised if she made a mad dash to a bathroom to change.

Airports always suggest arriving at least two hours before the scheduled flight. It was a good thing we had; the lines were huge.

Mandy had disappeared and the rest of use got in line. Mandy came back a few minutes later. She had pulled on tights and an extra shirt, keeping the dark purple skirt and lavender sweater. She seemed a bit off-kilter without her tail, but didn't trip or run into anyone.

After checking in our luggage and retrieving boarding passes we made our way to security. I had checked the airlines policies early on regarding having a laptop on the plane. They wouldn't allow any electronics for fear of interference with the pilots' instruments. So, my laptop with Master PC on it had been stowed in my suitcase. I packed it in the center, allowing my clothes to act as a cushion. Hopefully it would be enough.

Even after all the upgrades and new procedures and laws since 9/11, security wasn't too bad. The girls had to send their stuff through metal detectors, but I only had a book. Fortunately, none of the guards chose any of us for one of those random searches we had heard so much about, and we made it to our gate just as they announced seating for our flight.

All five of us were near the front of the plane, but not in first class, which meant we were the last to board. While we waited for our seats to be called, someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned to a man who wasn't quite as tall as me. He had short, wavy, blonde hair and deep, dark brown eyes. His stare spoke of depths of knowledge to rival the oceans and his stance was pure confidence. His gray trench coat was buttoned completely closed, as if to block out the chill winter wind outside and a bright red and green scarf was wrapped around his neck. What stood out most was his smile. It was cheerful, just like his scarf, but knowing. "You should be more careful when you travel," he said.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

He looked down at my chest and back up. Then a halo appeared around his head. I would almost call it amber, like mine, but it was more metallic and a deeper color. Gold was what I was seeing. Only it was translucent. It was just too unreal to be possible. Then it hit me who he was, or more accurately, what he was.

I backed away a step and looked around to note all the other normal people in the airport. Hopefully, he would understand and not try anything. When I faced him again, the halo was gone.

"What do you want?"

"Not now. We can talk later."

That's when the attendant called out for our seating.

I had turned to see the girls heading to the walkway. When I turned to ask the man his name, he was gone. "What the hell?" I asked the empty air. After taking a second to look around the immediate area, I went back to the gate and boarded the plane.

Though each of the people I had run into had different colored marks from mine and each others, I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them chose not to wait on whatever it was they wanted. However, I did feel better that this last encounter seemed so much more cordial - if it could be called that.

I found my seat across from Mandy and Savannah. Chloe and Yvonne were just behind me. Once I was seated Mandy asked, "Where did you go?"

I shrugged and said, "Bathroom." It was a lie but there was no reason to alarm any of them about another encounter.

Take off was as smooth as butter. Considering there hadn't been any precipitation, there was no need to de-ice the wings or wait for plows to clear the runway. After the captain made the usual announcement of cruising altitude and turned off the seat belt lights, I settled back with my book, ready to let it take me to some far-off land, but unable to focus on it.

If the Mind Magi already knew I was at the airport, were my other girls safe? Did the Mind Magi communicate with each other, coordinating their actions? If so, how? Did they use some electronic means or ... something else? And what were the different approaches about? Professor Belton seemed scared of me. Dr. Livingston had been trying to infiltrate one of my girls. And if the last guy I just ran into was one of them, and I was certain of it, then why be polite? He had the drop on me, why not just wipe the floor with me and get on with whatever plans he had? And what about Whisper? I had always thought of him as a highly skilled Master PC user. If he was a Mind Mage, was he a part of their society, or a rogue element? And if he wasn't one of them, then what were his abilities based on? It was so confusing.

Those thoughts kept crossing my mind and made my book more difficult to read. I had only gotten finished with the first chapter when one of the flight attendants stopped and asked me something. I had been too engrossed in my thoughts to hear her the first time. "I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

She smiled sweetly. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a stylish bun and her soft brown eyes sparkled. "Is there anything I can get you? A pillow and blanket?"

I shook my head and smiled. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

She placed her hand on my shoulder and her smile never faltered. "Just let me know if you need anything." I had only flown once before and the flight attendants had been nice, but something struck me as wrong about her attentiveness.

She walked away. I turned to watch and noticed other passengers raise their hand and make a request, but she wasn't volunteering her services to anyone else.

Mandy looked at me across the aisle. "Ral, don't play games like that."

I shook my head and shrugged.

All my women knew I could Charm anyone. The only thing that kept me from taking advantage of that talent and just having any woman I wanted was my sense of responsibility and respect. I felt responsible for affecting the women already bound to me, responsible for their mindsets, responsible for their safety, and responsible for their happiness — although the last was probably my powers affecting me. I also respected others' right to choose. Anyone bound to me would only choose to be with me rather than pursue relationships with anyone else. It was something I constantly fought with within myself and occasionally discussed with some of my women. When the ability first manifested, it was wild and affected all women around me. After a couple of days though, it evolved into a focused ability. My fear about it was using it unintentionally or having it going back to the wild status. On a plane full of potential ... victims, I wanted to make sure I wasn't using it. The only real way I knew to do that was to ignore everyone around me. So, I tried to pick up where I'd left off in my book.

A bump of turbulence brought me around again. Actually it wasn't the turbulence so much as the same flight attendant landing in my lap. I had fallen asleep and she startled me awake.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"It's okay," I muttered. For a moment our eyes locked on one another and something about her grabbed my attention. I had been living with over a dozen beautiful women, so beauty or even sexual appeal wasn't it. At least I didn't think so. However, my body's responses tried to convince me otherwise.

She stood back up and part of me wished she hadn't. The look on her face told me she felt the same. I knew my Charm was in check, so what was going on? When she put her hand on my shoulder to steady herself again, I put my hand on hers. Externally it would be seen as my light-hearted attempt at helping her. However, I wanted to know why we were being attracted to one another. Instantly I looked into her memories.

Sandy had been a flight attendant for almost two years. She had flown all over the country and occasionally to others as well. When she had seen me earlier, she swooned. She had never seen a man who so instantly turned her on, and she had seen a lot. And yet I wasn't any older than a high school kid to her.

I thought at first my Charm had been leaking or something. I even understood the symptoms in a direct way, but she wasn't seeing me with rose-colored glasses as it had felt for me. Then I felt something else in her. It wasn't like anything I'd ever felt within anyone I had looked inward on. To be honest, I didn't know what I sensed, but it felt like it didn't originate within her. I focused on that, followed it, and then it was gone. Poof.

Sandy was smiling down at me again. "Thank you," she said as she smiled at me.

It wasn't like I hadn't enjoyed the "accident" but something about the woman before me made me want to rip her clothes off and make her mine right there on the floor of the aisle. That need surged through me, consuming my thoughts and drove everything from my mind. Sandy continued to stand there, staring down, watching me as if she knew what I was thinking and was waiting for the moment I gave in.

I looked down. She was wearing black high heels that really only had enough material to cover the soles of her feet. Thin straps crossed over her feet and up her ankle to hold the shoes on. She didn't appear to have stockings or any other material on her feet, and her toes were painted crimson. I followed the line of skin up, along her leg, her calf and the way it curved with the lift of her shoes. I thought I should have reached her skirt, but her knees were visible as were much of her thighs. The skirt she wore was now a tight micro-mini made of what looked like supple leather. It hugged her hips tight, conforming to the round shape of her buttocks and stopping at the tops of her thighs. Tucked into the micro-mini was a loose-fitting cotton blouse. The two bottom buttons along the front were closed, but the top gaped open to reveal an abundant set of breasts I wouldn't have attributed the flight attendant with. They were contained by a bra, apparently made of the same supple leather as the micro-mini, yet the strong material couldn't hold back the peaks her nipples made. Sandy still had her hand on my shoulder, and mine was on hers. When my sight reached her face, her make-up had been changed to make her sultry look far more dramatic and the effect of her eyes, boring into me, was nothing less than earth-shattering.