“I am…magician.” Francis said before taking an inhale off his cigarette. The waiter nodded his head.
“That’s cool.” He said. “I used to know a few tricks when I was a kid, but now all I could do is that pickup game where you throw all the cards on the floor.” The waiter laughed and Francis took that as his cue to laugh as well, so he did.
“Yeah, I have a show” Francis said, tapping the side of his trunk with his foot as he took another drag off his cigarette. The waiter nodded.
“You need a hand getting’ that thing out front for a cab?” The waiter asked, nodding towards the trunk. Francis smiled.
“That would be very…how you do say…nice.” Then he held up his half finished cigarette. “I just finish this, if it's okay?” He took another drag and the waiter nodded his head as he squashed the butt of his cigarette with his foot.
“Sure, take your time, I'm in no rush to get back in there.” The waiter laughed and following his lead, so too did Francis, but deep inside he had a nagging need to break his neck and feed. Just the taste of Anne’s tangy blood had been enough to awaken the beast within and now it was more important than ever that Francis make his escape before he left a trail of destruction in his wake.
Chapter 7
Just as it had been when he arrived, the airport was buzzing with the voices of hundreds of people. Their incessant chattering was deafening and the smell of their sweat was making Francis feel nauseas. As he fought to keep the contents of his stomach in place, he pushed his way through the masses of people and towards the first class lounge.
It was only when he pushed open the thick glass door and was greeted with a warm blast of air, that Francis began to feel any sense of relief. The large lounge sprawled out in front of him and the hundred of so seats were empty with the exception of a handful of people. Francis reached in to his blazer and pulled out his first class ticket, handing it to the woman at the front desk. She smiled, a broad fake smile and took it from him.
“Welcome to the first class lounge, Mr. Holmes.” She said with a saccharin sweetness that made Francis’s nostrils flare. “We have a complimentary bar just back there in the corner with beverages and snacks. Please help yourself and if there is anything else that we can get you, please don't hesitate to ask myself of Anne.” Francis’s eyes widened as the name him his ears. Anne. What had he done? “Sir?” The woman at the front desk was staring at him. Francis nodded.
“Sure, yes. Thank you very much.” He said, once again elaborating the strength of his accent to excuse the strangeness of his behavior. The woman nodded gently and once again pointed to the bar on the far side of the room. Taking back his ticket from her, Francis walked straight towards the bar where he was pleasantly surprised with an array of small airport bottles of liquor. Had grabbed a few various bottles without particularly caring what they contained. He was just about to walk away, when a voice came from behind him.
“Not a fan of flying, huh?” Francis turned around to find a young woman standing behind him. Her long dark hair was pulled back neatly in to a ponytail and her delightfully blue eyes flitted down to the bottles in his hands. Francis shrugged.
“Not a fan of anything at the moment.” He said flatly.
“Ahh, well that is a shame.” The woman said, blinking slowly, her thick eyelashes brushing her cheek.
“Why is that ‘a shame’?” He asked somewhat impatiently.
“Because I was going to try and make friends.” She grinned at him innocently and Francis saw a flash of Anne’s pale clammy face.
“That probably is not such a good idea.” Francis said as he gently brushed past her and found a seat in an empty section of the lounge. Undeterred by his rudeness, the woman followed him. He lifted his eyes to her briefly before setting the airport bottles in his lap and unscrewing the top from one. He swallowed its entire contents in one mouthful.
“Now that was impressive.” The woman said, sitting in the seat directly across from him. “Bet you can't do that with the whiskey.” She flashed that grin again. Not one to back down from a challenge, Francis threw the empty bottle on the seat beside him and picked up a bottle full of whiskey. He held it up for her to see, unscrewed the cap and once again he swallowed its entire contents in one deep gulp. “Wow…I guess you showed me, huh?” Francis threw the second empty bottle on the chair beside him and offered a full bottle to the woman. Taking it she unscrewed the top and held the bottle up to him. “Noroc!” She said before taking a sip.