“U gh, I hate flying. So, what the hell are we doing now that we’re in Denver?” Sloane bent to the right of the exit, brushing off her pants.
Erik shook his head and smirked. “I’m sure that kid didn’t mean to spill on you, it was an accident.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, where are we going?” Sloane stood up, checking her dark spiky hair.
“We’ve got to meet Magnus in baggage claim. He’s our contact in Denver. He’ll fill us in on the missing girl.” Erik shifted, waiting for her to finish. He brushed his blonde hair back out of his eyes.
“Do we know anything beyond her being a high school student?”
“That’s why we’re meeting Magnus; he’ll fill us in on the details. He has the reports from the investigation here in Denver. Her father was a high-ranking official in the order.”
“Well, in that case, lead the way.” Sloane reached to grab the handle of her carry-on.
Erik hurried and took the escalators down to baggage claim. They had to wait for a few minutes before the loud buzz announced their luggage was coming down the chute. Sloane had been leaning against the wall texting. Her hand seemed to be glued to her phone. He couldn’t imagine what she was texting that couldn’t wait until they got settled, or at least until they found Magnus. Erik only knew they were to meet Magnus, and he would fill them in when they got here. Bryant, Jessie, and Mike had driven because they had to make a few stops along the way. Bryant wanted them to get here quickly and start doing some recon work. Erik wouldn’t have minded the drive, but with his ability to hear people’s thoughts, Bryant thought he should get here as soon as possible. Bryant was also hoping that Sloane would get a vision of the future. Erik was truly doubtful she would. He didn’t see her being much help.
Sloane walked over to retrieve her bag. “Hello, Earth to Erik. I thought you were going to get our bags?” She waved her hand a few inches from his face, and he grabbed it before she could move back.
“Don’t do that; I hate that,” he growled.
“I know, that’s why I did it. Where did you go just now? Did you hear anything interesting?”
“I was just thinking about what we’re supposed to be doing here. I’m not entirely sure it was necessary for us to get here sooner than the rest.” He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the carousel. His bag was coming around the corner. He grabbed it off the carousel and placed it next to him.
“Oh, I see, you wanted to drive with them. Maybe get some time with Jessie? I noticed you two getting close. Want to share the history there? A few days in the car with her could bring you closer together.” She winked and laughed at the smirk he was giving her.
“Our history is none of your business, and I wasn’t thinking about that since we’d be in the car with our father.” He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes.
“Whatever, I’m glad we flew. Although, I hate it. I like that it’s so much faster. I have better things to do than spending a few days in a car.” She looked down at her phone.
“Seriously, would you put that away for a minute. We need to go find Magnus.” He turned toward the exit and found the guys in suits holding signs. He glanced down the line until he saw a short man wearing a Hawaiian button-up shirt and khaki shorts. The old man's face was wrinkled with two jowls loosening his round face He smiled, the old man had long gray hair swept to the side to hide his hair loss. His welcoming round face turned to look at the tall man in a suit standing next to him. He smiled up at the man and shrugged, then looked to the other man in a suit, towering over him. He shrugged again and looked forward, plastering a wide smile on his face. Erik knew that was Magnus; he was exactly as his father described. Bryant even made a point to say you would know him when you saw him. “He’s a little different,” were his exact words, and Erik could see why.
“Hey Sloane, Magnus is over here.” Erik pointed over to the men standing in one area holding various white signs. Most of the men were in black, tailored suits. Magnus stood out like a sore thumb.
“Oh good, we’re going in class. Which one is Magnus?”
Erik smiled, knowing she hadn’t looked at the men. “Follow the line to the right until you find the one guy that looks out of place.”
“Out of place? What do you mean, out of place?” She glanced down the line of men until she stopped on the one guy not wearing a suit. “Oh perfect, just perfect, is this Bryant’s idea of a joke or something? Couldn’t we have a decent guide? He had to find the wackiest person he could to show us around the city. Just perfect.” Sloane slammed her phone into her pocket and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. She trudged toward Magnus.
Erik laughed, “I thought you weren’t the prima donna type, Sloane?”
“Shut up; I like to travel in style.” She dropped the handle of her suitcase, huffed, then picked it up again.
“Can you see anyone more stylish than him?” he motioned his open hand toward Magnus.
“Whatever, that wasn’t the style I had in mind.”
“Be nice; you don’t even know him.” Erik reached out his hand, stepping in front of Magnus.
“Hi, I’m Erik, and this is Sloane.” He motioned to his sister standing next to him. He looked over, and she had put on an award-winning smile just in time.
“Well hello, nice to finally meet you. I think I got the time wrong. I’ve been here a little while. Oh well, let’s get you two kids on home, shall we?” Magus headed to the parking lot.
“Wait, home what do you mean home? I thought we were staying in a nice hotel or something?”
“Oh no, my wife wouldn’t hear of it. You will be staying with us. We have plenty of room. There’s something like, seven bedrooms in our house. I’m just doing what I’m told. I’ll let you know; she’s the one calling the shots here. It’s certainly not me.” Then under his breath, he said, “it’s never me.”
Erik couldn’t help but laugh. “Lead the way, Magnus. Don’t mind my sister; sometimes she forgets how to be nice, or to thank others for their generous hospitality.”
Sloane rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, of course, lead the way.” She glared at Erik.
Magnus walked them to a plum PT Cruiser, and Erik smiled again. “This your car, Magnus?”
“Yeah, my wife picked it out for me.” He opened the back to put their bags in.
“Stylish,” he responded and swung his bag into the back. He grabbed Sloane’s and did the same. Magnus shut the door and moved to get into the driver's seat. Sloane got in the back, slamming the door. Erik looked through the window. Sloane had crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. Erik shook his head and got in the passenger seat.
Magnus looked in all of his mirrors, he double checked the height of the steering wheel and moved it down slightly. He checked all the mirrors again and adjusted the rear-view mirror no more than a quarter of an inch. He seemed like he was nervous and overly thorough in his check. Erik had never seen anyone check to make sure all their blinkers were working before even leaving the parking space. When he was done with his inspection, he looked to both Erik and Sloane “Okay I think we’re ready to go.”
“Are you sure?” Sloane asked, her tone biting.
“Yes, I believe we’re ready,” he boasted.
Erik shot a glance back to Sloane, waiting to catch her eye before turning back around.
Magnus put the car in reverse and very slowly began to back out of the space, suddenly he hit the break. Then he eased on the gas slightly, then suddenly the break again. He went to the gas, then the break again. Erik couldn’t believe it. They hadn’t even gotten out of the space yet. Sloane had moved quickly to buckle her seat belt. The same thing happened a few more times before Magnus put it into drive. He then eased on the gas pedal, but as soon as he did, he hit the break. He did it again, the same thing a little on the gas, then on the break.
“My God, are you driving with both feet?” Sloane said from the backseat. She already had her hand on the handle above her head and was shaking her head. “At this rate, I will have a severe case of whiplash before we even get out of the parking lot.”
“Oh, I’m sorry this is how I drive.” Magnus put on the break again.
Erik couldn’t take it; they couldn’t drive through Denver like this. They wouldn’t get anywhere. “Do you mind terribly if I drive?” Erik asked trying to be as nice as possible.
“Well I don’t know, I usually don’t let just anyone drive my car,” he hesitated.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Erik, he’s a great driver.”
Erik couldn’t believe his ears, “Oh yeah, I am a good driver. I promise I will take good care of your car. How about we switch spots?”
“I’m not sure about that; you don’t even know where we’re going.” He gripped the wheel tighter turning his hands in a circle.
“You can give him directions from the passenger seat.” Sloane sat forward in her seat.
Magnus looked over to Erik and shrugged. “Well, I guess it’ll be okay.” He moved to go back in the spot but hit the break as he hit the gas pedal.
“It’s fine, let’s switch here. We’ll be quick,” Erik said. He couldn’t imagine continuing to watch Magnus try to park again. Plus, he wasn’t sure his neck could take much more of the whiplash.
“Are you sure, I don’t think we should just switch here.” Magnus turned his head looking out both windows, then in the rear-view mirror.
“It’ll be fine, let’s make it quick. Throw it in park and let’s switch.” Erik opened his door hoping that would make it final.
“Okay, okay.” Magnus put it in park and got out of the car. By the time he opened the door, Erik was standing next to his door, waiting.
Magnus got out of the car and sluggishly moved to the other side.
Before he could open the car door, Sloane sat forward. “Do you think he moves quickly at anything?”
“Doubt it,” Erik said, as Magnus opened the door. He sat to buckle his seatbelt, pulling it out as far as his arm would reach, before pulling it well across his body and finally clicking it into place.
“So, you need to head out onto Highway seventy.” Magnus pointed toward the signs showing the way to the highway.
Erik decided to read Magnus’ thoughts to get the directions instead of waiting for Magnus to actually give them to him. When he did, he caught a glimpse of the house Magnus was talking about. He wasn’t kidding; it’s a big house. Shikari members always had money. He received a monthly payment for his service in Minneapolis. He knew he would get more depending on the job and his age. He knew his father was making more than him because he was the liaison for Minneapolis.
After some light traffic, they made it to Magnus’ house. Erik parked in front and got out to grab their bags. “You have a nice place here, Magnus.”
“Thanks, it’s all my wife’s doing. She picked it out and designed everything in it.” Magnus grunted a minute and glanced over hoping they hadn’t heard him.
Sloane took in the house, “Your wife has good taste, I can’t wait to meet her.”