Passengers screamed and lunged against their seatbelts. Caine, knowing his presence guaranteed the safety of the plane and passengers, leaned back and smiled hugely, relishing the excitement and fear rippling through the cabin. I love being in control of death. I am the most helpful of all the gods to humans. He took the hand of the woman sitting next to him. She was trembling, her breath coming in short gasps. “You’ll be reading bedtime stories to your little girl tonight.” Caine was counting her heartbeats, felt the fast staccato rhythm slow. Fear ebbed from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him and said, “Wow! It’s not about me, is it?” “Not today.” The Captain’s calm voice came over the intercom. “Nothing to be alarmed about, ladies and gentlemen. One of the tires exploded, but we’re fine. We’re heading to the gate now under our own power. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” Ten minutes later Caine was striding through the terminal, thick with passengers and aircrew, a few heading onward to other cities, others walking to the exit.
