Chapter 24 – Catch Them If You Can
Several more minutes had passed since the incident with the waiter. Seth and Kendra were still seated at the table, something which would not be possible had Bright not intervened with him. There wasn't much for Kendra and Seth to do, as Warren had instructed them to wait until he returned, nor did they wish to risk going out to explore and possibly getting lost.
At long last, Warren darted back into the restaurant, carrying a piece of paper in his hand.
"I got it," said Warren, as he sat back down at the table. "They're on a plane headed..."
"Where?" asked Seth anxiously.
"To this very airport! I got their arrival time, what gate they'll be at and everything. With a little help from Clover."
"So, we can just take it easy until that point?" asked Kendra.
"Well, yes. But I'm in no mood to relax. Were you guys all right while I was gone?"
Seth and Kendra proceeded to tell Warren about their experience with the waiter.
"You think anything will come of that?" asked Kendra.
"Nah. Fairy magic can trick people fairly easily, so long as they're susceptible. But it's not something you want to do too constantly, or they might start to realize that's something amiss."
"Anyway," said Seth, "if Matthew and Hespera are coming here, where are they going to go next?"
Warren shrugged. "No idea. All I had to go by was the number of the plane that they're currently on. Where they're going once they get here is anybody's guess. Anyway, we've done what we can for now, short of flying out to the plane ourselves and ambushing the two. My only suggestion would be to keep an update on their plane's position and spy on them once they enter the airport."
For the remainder of the wait, the group stayed at the table, ordering nothing more than the occasional beverage. The head waiter never returned to their table, but he did resume his position at the entrance to the restaurant, greeting new patrons as they entered.
Around five minutes before Matthew and Hespera's plane was scheduled to arrive, Kendra began using the Oculus to spy on them. Once she spotted them, Kendra changed her focus to the exterior of the plane, and could see it lowering from the clouds down towards the city of London. She watched as the plane's landing gear came out, and soon the wheels made impact with the runway. The plane continued along the runway, before it slowed down and ultimately came to a halt.
"Okay, they landed," said Kendra, opening her eyes.
"All right, we've got to get to their terminal and try to spot them without getting spotted ourselves."
Warren got up from the table and dropped a fifty pound note, then signaled for Seth and Kendra to follow him. Before Kendra got up, she opened up her bag, prompting the fairies to leap inside from underneath the table.
Seth and Kendra followed Warren out of the restaurant, receiving a pleasant farewell from the head waiter in the process. Warren lead them through the airport, until they finally arrived at the waiting room of a terminal, which was filled with rows upon rows of seats, where numerous people were seated.
"Matthew and Hespera's plane is supposed to be entering through that gate way down there," said Warren, pointing to a far end of the terminal. "Any minute now."
Warren, Kendra and Seth managed to find three seats all next to each other and sat down.
"I can't quite see the doorway they'll be coming through from this position," said Warren. "But we can't risk getting too close anyway."
Kendra pulled out the Oculus and cupped it in her hands, hoping to not draw attention from other people. She hated the idea of using an artifact out in the open, but from what she could tell, no one else had any idea what she was doing; most likely they just assumed she was nodding off with a glass ball in her hands.
Using the Oculus, Kendra focused on Matthew and Hespera. They had already gotten off the plane with the other passengers, and were walking through the jet bridge towards the terminal. Once they entered the terminal, Kendra could see that they were indeed inside the very same room, separated only by distance and rows upon rows of occupied chairs.
Kendra returned to her proper vision again, and turned around to where she had seen Matthew and Hespera through the Oculus. "They're here," she said, her heart racing powerfully.
"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Seth.
"I can't really get the jump on them here," said Warren. "Too many civilians. We're just gonna have to follow them until they're alone."
"We could try our magic on them," said Bright, who was floating around invisibly near the three knights.
"At this point I don't care what it takes," said Warren. "We can't let those two win."
Although they could not see the fairies, Seth and Kendra watched as Bright, Clover, Geminus and Raxtus all floated down the terminal to where Matthew and Hespera where walking around.
"I see them!" said Warren, looking between the gaps of people that kept forming and vanishing as they walked around. "Let's hope they don't see us."
"We can't reach them!" said Geminus, who had made a sudden return, along with the other fairies.
"What do you mean?" asked Seth. "Why not?"
"As we got closer, there seemed to be some kind of force that was holding us back."
"You mean, like a distractor spell?" asked Kendra.
"Exactly," said Raxtus. "Only, it's designed to work on magical creatures and not mortals. They must've placed this spell on themselves just in case we figured out what they're up to and tracked them down somehow."
"Which is exactly what we did," said Warren, who sighed. "Kinda wish we were dealing with amateurs."
"If we can't get near them, what are we supposed to do?" asked Clover. "We can't even use our magic on them from a distance."
The group proceeded to follow Matthew and Hespera through the crowd without getting spotted.
"I have an idea," said Seth. "What if the fairies made one of our weapons invisible? That way, Warren could shoot them without anyone seeing anything in his hands."
"Because then the invisible projectile would be enchanted by magic, something that the barrier is likely to repel."
"There's people everywhere!" groaned Warren. "I'll never get a clear shot at even one of them without giving us away."
The group followed Matthew and Hespera through the airport, before arriving at another gate, where the two wicked magicians sat down.
"What are they doing now?" asked Seth.
"They're transferring to another plane," said Warren. "But to where exactly I have no idea."
"Any ideas how we can attack them now?" asked Kendra. "Since they're not going anywhere."
"Well, I'm a non-fairy dragon," said Seth, "in case anyone forgot. I could take on Matthew and Hespera. And since other people see me as a human-"
"Which is an enchantment of fairy magic," said Bright.
"So, if you removed the enchantment, would it work?"
"You'd cause too much commotion if people saw some animal running around," said Warren. "At this point, we're best if we just follow them around until we're no longer in a public place like this."
They waited around for roughly twenty minutes, until Matthew and Hespera lined up to enter a gate. After they passed through, the group followed behind until all the other passengers had boarded.
"Excuse me," said Warren, pointing to the gate, "but the people who just went through that door, exactly what flight are they getting on?"
"That would be the 3:35 flight to Cairo," said the gate agent.
Warren bit down on his lip. "Oh really? Thanks."
Warren then lead the group over towards a corner.
"Egypt?" asked Seth. "So like, pyramids and mummies and all that?"
"Yes, Seth," said Kendra sarcastically. "That's clearly all that Egypt is known for."
"I don't like where this is going," said Seth. "We're just gonna have to follow them on Raxtus. No way we're getting a ticket on that flight."
"Great," muttered Kendra. "More chasing them down."
"Guys, you're forgetting what we've got," said Warren. "The Translocator, along with someone's who's travelled to Egypt in the past."
"You mean?" asked Seth.
"I'm gonna get some more information about this next flight that they're going on," said Warren. "Wait here, this shouldn't take long."
Warren walked over to the gate agent and briefly spoke to him, then returned to Seth and Kendra.
"Lucky for us, I've already been to the airport they're going to," said Warren. "And I know when their flight's going to arrive."
"So, what are we waiting around here for?" asked Seth.
"Let's find a quiet space first," said Warren. "Better not let anyone see us disappear in case the commotion reaches Matthew and Hespera somehow."
Warren lead the group down a hallway, until they reached the entrance to the terminal. Once they were outside, they made their way to a large parking garage.
"Where are we going?" asked Seth.
"Someplace that isn't filled with so many people," replied Warren, as they entered the garage. There's barely anyone in here, and lots of cars we can hide behind."
As they walked through the garage, Warren hid between the front of a parked minivan and a wall. He then pulled the Translocator out from his bag and twisted it.
"This is it," said Warren. "We've got the fastest ride out of this airport right here."
Their hearts racing and full of excitement, Kendra, Seth and the fairies all placed their hands upon the Translocator, and allowed themselves to be pulled in. They then reemerged inside of what appeared to be a hotel room.
"Uh, what is this place?" asked Kendra, looking around the well-furnished room.
"Are we there yet?" asked Seth, a confused look showing on his face.
"It's been a while," said Warren with a smile. "This is a hotel room I once stayed in when I travelled to Egypt a few years ago. I couldn't envision the airport washroom in my mind. Sorry."
Looking around the room, Kendra and Seth could see a suitcase resting on the floor, and several personal items scattered atop the dresser and night stand.
"Looks like this room's already occupied," said Kendra.
"I'm not surprised," said Warren. "But I figured it would be safe enough, given that it was the middle of the day, and the people in this room have likely gone out for the day. Besides, the fairies could've dealt with anybody if they actually were here now."
The group made their way out of the room and headed down the hallway towards the elevators. They boarded one and traveled down to the first floor, then left the rather lavish hotel. Once they stepped outside, the intense heat of the Egyptian sun took them by surprise.
"Where do we go from here?" asked Seth, looking up and down the busy the city street. "I'm glad people are just seeing me as a human, or things might be getting ugly."
"We need to get to the airport," said Warren.
"Well, I'm a dragon," said Seth. "I could just fly us there."
"Why waste time flying around?" asked Warren, as he stepped up to a taxi, opened the back door and entered, prompting Kendra and Seth to follow him.
The cabbie looked back at the passengers through the rear-view mirror. "Where to?"
"Cairo International Airport," said Warren.
The taxi proceeded to drive through the streets of Cairo for several minutes, before arriving at the main entrance of Cairo International Airport. Warren paid the fare, and the group got out of the cab. They then ventured inside and soon found several seats in which they were able to sit down.
"Well, looks like we got a few more hours until their plane arrives," said Warren, glancing at his watch.
"More waiting?" asked Kendra. "This is taking forever."
"How many stupid flights are these people even taking?" asked Seth.
Warren shrugged. "Hopefully not too many more. When you travel around the world by plane, you need to allot yourself a good day or so. They've probably been travelling less than ten hours so far today."
"Well, do you think they're going to be stopping in Egypt?" asked Kendra, "Or just transferring to another plane?"
"If I had to guess, this'll be their last flight.," said Warren. "Can't see why they'd have to change flights here. But you never know if they're going to be taking further transport, like a bus or train."
"Look, if those two are so magical, why are they taking plane rides?" asked Seth. "Can't they just use magic to float around, or transform into winged animals?"
"Because that would require either an excessive amount of magic, or it would tire them out greatly. Raxtus and Geminus aren't humans posing as dragons, so they have more endurance for this sort of thing."
Kendra removed the Oculus from her bag and used it to locate both Matthew and Hespera once again. Surely enough, once the two came into focus, she could tell that they were again seated on an airplane, different than the one from before.
Drawing her focus away from Matthew and Hespera, Kendra backed her mind out from the airplane, until she was looking down on the plane from above, as it soared among the clouds. She zoomed up, away from the plane, until she was high above the sky, looking down at the Earth. As Kendra moved away from the plane, she could see it had just left Great Britain, and was flying southeast.
"From what I can tell, they're headed this way," said Kendra, as she released her hold on the Oculus. "But they've still got a long way to go."
"We've got several hours to kill," said Warren. "Is there anything you guys would like to do?"
Seth looked down at the floor and took a deep breath as he swung his legs around. "Only a few hours until we're destined to risk it all? No thanks, I'm not in the mood to do anything."
Kendra nodded, then leaned back in her chair. Her heart was pounding with all the impending doom that had been building up within her. She was in too much of an uncomfortable mood to care about anything.
For the next several hours, Kendra, Seth and Warren sat in their chairs, nervously awaiting the arrival of the plane, getting up only to use the washroom, or to grab a drink. Once it was time, Warren alerted the others when Matthew and Hespera's plane was scheduled to arrive.
"Kendra, do you see where they are?" asked Seth, as he and Warren turned to face his sister.
I see them, " said Kendra, holding onto the Oculus with her eyes closed. "They're getting off the plane with the other passengers, and they're coming into this very airport."
"Keep watching," said Warren. "The Oculus is the best way to keep an eye on them, as we don't risk getting spotted ourselves."
Several more minutes passed, as Kendra spied on Matthew and Hespera. She watched as the two picked up their luggage from the baggage claim, and continued to follow them as they walked towards an exit.
"They're on their way out," said Kendra, returning her focus to the real world. "They're heading for the drop-off entrance."
Kendra, Seth and Warren all got up and made their way through the airport towards the exit that Kendra had seen through the Oculus. It took them no more than two minutes before they were approaching the doors that she had just seen Matthew and Hespera walking towards.
"I see them!" exclaimed Seth, pointing towards the doors. They're outside, standing around on the sidewalk."
The group stopped dead in their path. "You're right," said Warren, who looked through the sliding glass doors roughly thirty or so feet in front of them. "They're getting into a taxi."
"How're we going to follow them?" asked Seth.
"I'm not too keen on trailing them in a second taxi," said Warren. "We might unintentionally draw their attention if we do so. Better we follow them from the air now. Kendra can keep track of them using the Oculus."
The group crept up to the doors, arriving at them just after the taxi that Matthew and Hespera were riding in drove off.
"I don't think they noticed us," said Seth.
"Let's get out of here," said Warren, as they walked along an outdoor pathway. Several minutes later, they were back on a city street. Warren led the group into an alleyway.
"I don't think there's anyone around now," said Warren. "Fairies. Dragons. You can reveal yourselves."
Bright and Clover regained their visibility, and shot up to their full sizes. Likewise, the two fairy dragons returned to their normal selves.
"Finally!" sighed Bright. "I hate having to hide away from humans like that for such a long time! Uggh!"
"I'm sorry," said Warren. "But this was something we had to do. "Hopefully there won't be much more of this."
"We could've just disguised ourselves as normal humans," said Clover.
"I know," said Warren. "But the less attention we draw, the better. Airport officials aren't exactly keen on people sneaking into their countries."
"So, where do we go on here?" asked Kendra.
"This is where Raxtus and Geminus come in. We're going to fly around and use the Oculus to follow Matthew and Hespera, wherever they may be going."