Read Online The Jewels of Cyttorak by Unknown Author - Free Book Online Page B

turkey sandwich, a salad, and a large iced tea, that Gary remembered the reference to Charles Xavier.
    “Hadn't thought of that,” Gary said aloud as he sat and stared out over the manicured lawns of the estate, watching the red fill the sky from a beautiful sunset.
    Maybe the Juggernaut’s stepbrother could help Gary with Robert. Maybe this Xavier person knew something about what happened to Marko and could help Gary stop the same thing from happening to Robert?
    Maybe. . .
    It was the only thought Gary had at the moment. And doing something was better than sitting there at the kitchen counter watching the sun set on the day and on his plan to control his father’s business.
    Gary took the sandwich and iced tea back to his office and sat at his desk. After another quick search back on the Internet, he found a reference to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, run by Professor Charles Xavier, in Salem Center, New York. He wasn’t even that far away.
    Signing off, Gary then called directory assistance for Westchester County. A moment later the operator gave him the Institute’s number.
    Robert Service slept for what felt like only an hour, slumped on the leather couch, as the private jet crossed the country. He hadn’t slept a wink the night before and hadn’t even felt tired, but shortly after the plane lifted off he grew sleepy and dozed off, answering the question he had wondered about the night before: Would touching the emerald mean he didn’t need to sleep any more? The answer was clearly no.
    As he awoke, he realized the light in the cabin had a slight reddish tint to it. A quick glance out the window told him the red came from the sun being low in the sky in front of them, shining light through a thin layer of high clouds. He’d obviously slept much longer than he had first thought.
    He punched the pilot intercom button. “Where are
    we?”
    A moment later the pilot’s voice came back. “Approaching the Reno area, sir. We should be in San Francisco in thirty to forty minutes.”
    “Thank you,” he said, easing back as best he could with his huge bulk on the small couch. He took a few deep breaths to clear the sleep from his mind, then tried to focus on the direction of the other stones.
    Nothing came to him. It was as if they’d both simply vanished from his mind.
    Quickly, trying not to panic, he opened the small case he’d carried aboard and dug down into a small, hidden pocket below his bathroom kit. He quickly pulled out the small pouch that held the emerald and opened it, sliding the emerald onto the palm of his hand.
    It was like an old friend coming home.
    He could feel the energy from the emerald clearing away the sleep, flooding through his body like an electrical circuit recharging a battery.
    And the other parts of the stones again called to him in the back of his mind, like lost children begging to be rescued.
    He laughed again, as he had last night. The feeling of power was just so wonderful, like having a good meal, a good drink, and a night with a beautiful woman all wrapped into one moment of feeling.
    Then he realized something had changed. The western part of the emerald was no longer west, but now north. They had flown too far.
    He punched the pilot’s intercom button. “Turn north.”
    “Sir,” the pilot said after a long moment. “We’re going to need fuel shortly. We’ve only got another two hundred miles in our safety limit.”
    ‘ ‘Understood,’ ’ Robert said, keeping his voice low so it didn’t echo in the small cabin of the jet. “Can you reach Boise safely?”
    Again a slight pause. “Yes, sir.”
    “Good,” Robert said. “Refuel there.”
    “Yes, sir,” the pilot said.
    A few moments later the jet did a slow banking turn to the north.
    Inside Robert’s head the feeling was right again.
    And the power flowed through the emerald and into his body, making him again laugh at the sheer joy of it.
    The low fire crackled in the fireplace, sending an