Born of Shadow - Book 1 (complete)

Chapter 9

Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate each one of you. If you are enjoying the story, I would appreciate it if you'd hit that follow button and add my story to your reading list.

_______________

They waited until most of the passengers had passed, then walked to the front of the plane. As they neared the exit, Kami noticed the pilot speaking to a stewardess, his hands gesturing wildly and speaking in an aggravated tone. He must have noticed her stare, because he snapped his mouth shut. The stewardess glanced over, then reached up a hand and firmly shut the navy blue curtain dividing them. 

"What was that all about?" Kami whispered to Liam. He shook his head.

"I couldn't hear what he was saying," he said. "I can't imagine what they saw that caused all that shouting."

They stepped off the airplane and entered the Cairo airport, Liam leading the way. She gripped his arm as they passed security guards holding machine guns and walking purposefully toward the tunnel they had just exited. She wasn't surprised, considering what they had just been through, but she was still unnerved by the guns. They'd walked several feet when she realized she was still clutching Liam's arm, and feeling self-conscious, she dropped it. They passed shops and eating areas with signs written in English and Arabic. 

Kami felt bewildered by the crush of people dressed in robes of varying colors. The noise pressed in from every direction as people talked and called to one another in a cacophony of dialects. It smelled like a combination of bad body odor and stale laundry that had been accidentally left in the dryer for a couple weeks. At one point she lost Liam, but she pushed through the bodies and saw his back. She hurried to catch up.

"This is crazy," she said loudly into his ear.

"I was just thinking how much better it is than when we moved here," Liam said. "People were smoking everywhere even though they have signs that you're not supposed to. The bathrooms were filthy. People kept harassing us to do things for baksheesh, or tips. It's weird they expect you to pay for things you're perfectly capable of doing yourself, like handing you a towel in the bathroom, or opening your door. I even had one guy try to grab my bag. Fortunately my dad was able to convince him we didn't need the help, but only after a fierce tug of war. I swear, I thought my luggage was going to split and dump my unmentionables in front of everyone. At least we don't have to deal with the taxi drivers. Still, it's about as chaotic as I remember. And speaking of taxi drivers, steer clear of that fellow coming our way. He looks too determined to take no for an answer." 

They made their way to the baggage claim and after several minutes, they found their luggage. She recognized her suitcase from the ribbon tied to the handle, that and the subtle fact it was the only one sporting ugly green and orange flowers. It had been her mother's old luggage, a hand-me-down. Kind of embarrassing, but that's all they had. Her mother wasn't much of a traveler, and hadn't been ever since her father died. If she'd known about the trip, maybe she wouldn't have blown all her job money on clothes and spent some on new luggage. But Liam didn't seem to mind.

"Retro," he whistled. "Nice." 

They started walking toward some benches when all of a sudden Liam dropped his luggage.

"Haji!" Liam said, giving a young Egyptian man a big hug. The two began speaking rapidly in Arabic.

Kami felt awkward as she stood alone. She scanned the crowds, looking for familiar faces. She knew what her grandparents looked like from the pictures her grandmother had emailed. Her grandmother still had a youthful glow about her and a beautiful smile that seemed to radiate serenity. But how happy could she have truly been cut off from her son and his family like that? 

Her grandfather's image wasn't as encouraging. His stern face and fierce eyebrows were downright intimidating.  

She looked, but no one approached her. Where were they? The flight had arrived on time, close enough anyway. They should be there by now. She tried calling, but no one picked up. 

"Hey Kami!" Liam beckoned. "I want you to meet Haji, my driver."

"Driver?" she asked as she walked over, raising an eyebrow as if to say spoiled rich kid. 

"Yeah, yeah," Liam said, rolling his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you Haji. I'm Kami."

Haji smiled and returned the greeting. He was shorter than Liam, but still a good six inches taller than her, with a nice, muscular build and an easy smile revealing straight white teeth. His eyes held the same intensity as the men on the plane, but unlike them he kept eye contact. 

"Hey, what's the big idea," Liam protested. "You put me through some kind of elaborate test to prove my friendship. How come he gets to call you Kami?"

"Some people are simply more trustworthy than others," she shrugged. "I've got a good feeling about Haji."

"You've got to be kidding me. Can you believe the abuse she dishes out?" he asked Haji.

"No, the real question is can you believe I had to fly over the ocean with this dude?" she asked Haji.

Haji grinned.

"My apologies," he said.

"Oh, that's brilliant. Now you're ganging up on me," Liam complained. 

Haji and Kami just laughed.

"So where are your grandparents Kami?" he said.

"Hey, you still haven't proven yourself," she warned, still laughing.

"If you let a complete stranger like Haji call you by your preferred name, I get to as well. How do you even know he's trustworthy? I could tell you stories!"

"Getting back to your question," Kami interrupted, "I don't know where they are. I'm trying not to freak out, but they should be here by now."

"They're probably just running late. Have you called them?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. Let me try again."

It rang four or five times, then took her to voice mail. She left a message and a text for good measure.

"Hey, you guys go ahead. You don't need to wait on my account," she said to the guys, who were animatedly discussing the turbulence they'd just experienced. "I'm sure they'll show up any moment."

Liam looked conflicted.

"I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone. Just a sec."

He tapped something into his phone. 

"That should do it. We'll wait with you."

Kami felt herself growing increasingly agitated as minutes passed, a half hour late, then a full hour, then an hour and a half. It was becoming increasingly and disturbingly clear.

Nobody was coming for her.

_____________________

Any guesses as to where Kami's grandparents are? If you liked this chapter, please hit that little star. I enjoy your comments. Keep 'em coming! :)

This dedication goes out to RyanFrank9. He's been a supportive reader from the beginning and I've greatly appreciated his feedback. He even caught an important clarification about the baby on the airplane that all of us girls missed! So thanks Ryan!