Winter's Warrior: Mark of the Monarch (Winter's Saga 4) by Karen Luellen Page A

was exchanged.
    “Alik is with him.  I’m staying with you.”
     

Chapter 17 The Magic Penny
     
    Alik had just gotten settled into his seat when he felt the whole plane pitch and vibrate violently.  The pudgy flight attendant went stumbling into a corner of the wall, whacking her head hard.  Farrow was out of her seat in a flash, not concerned at all for personal safety, and grabbed the woman, shoving her into a passenger seat.  Yanking the buckles together around the woman’s substantial middle, Farrow had her secured in place and pressing a cloth napkin on the gash in her forehead.  Alik was impressed.
    Alik had moved to help, but Farrow had the stewardess completely under control, so he made his way back toward his family using the seat backs to steady himself as he walked up the aisle fighting the pitching and vibrations compliments of the turbulence they’d stumbled into.   Knowing he was approaching the row in which the little boy was sleeping he scanned the seats with searching eyes. 
    All he saw initially was the rough blanket hanging half off the seat and draped over a little lump.  Ignoring the pain in his chest, Alik ducked to peek under the blanket.  Sure enough, there was the little boy, his knees drawn up tightly to his quivering chin.  His large blue eyes reflected sheer terror as he peeked up from the Sleeper Sleeve he hugged. 
    Alik glanced to the back of the plane and caught Creed’s worried eyes.  With a simple nod, they had silently agreed to take care of those they were with.  Alik had no doubt Creed would take care of his family while he stopped to help the littlest member feel safe.
    Alik offered a soft smile just before another round of turbulence hit the plane.  “This is a great idea, big man.  Mind if I join you down here?  It’s probably safer here than strapped into one of those chairs,” Alik nodded encouragingly.  Without waiting for an answer, he squeezed himself onto the floor in the aisle just far enough away from the child so as not to make him feel trapped, but close enough for him to see Alik wasn’t going to leave him alone during the scary moments.
    Evan came running past Alik.  “I’m going to see if I can help the pilots,” he called over his shoulder.
    Alik nodded at his little brother then looked back at Danny.  “Don’t worry, kid.  Evan is the problem solver in the family.  He’ll get this plane to behave.”  The little boy watched Alik carefully, but didn’t respond at all.  It occurred to Alik that maybe he didn’t speak English.  Glad he’d taken the time to learn German, he switched languages.
    “ Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” Alik asked if he spoke German.
    The little boy frowned slightly, but said nothing.
    Alik shrugged, showing it was fine if the little guy didn’t want to talk.  He tried to think of something he could do to bring the little guy out of shell, when he noticed a penny lodged between the metal strip running the length of the aisle and the tacky paisley runner it held in place. 
    With every ounce of showmanship he could muster, he made a big deal about looking surprised at the found coin and pulling it free.  Without saying a word, he used his facial expressions to show off the coin to the little boy who watched him intently.  He pretended to polish the coin and kept losing it in his hand only to find it in some unbelievable places like his pocket or under the seat and even behind the little boy’s ear. 
    He continued to play games with the little fellow for the next ten minutes, long after the plane had stopped its scary pitching and jarring vibrations.   With each trick, the little boy’s eyes widened in surprise.  Alik was even graced with a few unguarded moments when Danny’s face lit up in a full-blown smile. 
    Evan got to see this for himself as he moved to pass by with the injured flight attendant in tow.  He shook his head, completely impressed with how naturally his brother took to children.