Wish You Weren't Here

by Janeen Ippolito

  Kiran freed his hands and stepped away. “I don’t care what my mother said or did. We aren’t tied to this arrangement, and I don’t waste time on liars.”

  “It was only one time!” she exclaimed, her dark eyes pleading. “I’ve always been faithful to you—I’ve always wanted you. You just needed to notice me!”

  “Thanks to a little help from an alchemist’s vial.” Kiran’s mouth tightened, his expression turning to stone. “Apparently you forgot that.”

  Terezal moved toward him, her voice even louder. “My feelings are real!”

  “Mine aren’t. Stop this, Terezal.”

  “Please. Just give us a chance.”

  “No.” The words were flat and final. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his jaw worked, clearly fighting off the urge to be near her. That potion must have been vicious.

  But what did this have to do with his mother? Would Malda Nazari really stoop low enough to potion her son?

  I snorted. Of course she would.

  By now, everyone in the plaza was staring at them, with a few of them sparing a glance toward me as well. I winced and ignored them. Kiran hated making a scene like this. His eyes met mine, his face stoic as usual. But it was a stoicism I understood. The fight to hold things together, no matter what. To be independent and outside of anyone’s control.

  But no one is independent. We all need help. So I decided to do something really stupid—intervene and let him escape. Not because he deserved it, but because this situation was a mess. Just the kind of mess the Fae wouldn’t care about, because after all, not their problem.

  “Al, you still there?” Gideon’s voice sounded in my ear.

  I nodded. “In the magisphere, just outside the Fae court. Look for me there if I don’t show up, okay?”

  A litany of scoldy grumbles—otter shifter swear words—filled my ears. “Isn’t this why you have a partner?”

  “Yeah, well, he’s not here.”

  “Don’t be dumb, call him—”

  “Too late.” I tapped the earvine again and pulled in more ambient magic. Cid wouldn’t be able to get here in time anyway.

  Go big or go home. Especially with chaos.

  Walking forward, I kept my voice friendly but firm. “Look, Terezal, usually I wouldn’t get involved, but Kiran is a client of mine and we were having a business meeting. If you could have this conversation another time, I’d appreciate it.”

  Her eyes turned to me. For the first time, I saw how oddly dilated her pupils were, almost like starbursts. She was hyped up on some major potion. Maxed out to the limit. Maybe Kiran had flushed his system somehow. Terezal looked so far in she couldn’t even see the water.

  “Who are you? What kind of client is he to you?” Her face turned from puzzled to aggressive. She spat at my feet. “You. Allisandra Evanenko Mahdi Al-Maram.”

  “Technically there’s also an Antalek in there.”

  “Naturally, you would be here. You want Kiran for yourself!”

  The only way I’d see more venom would be to stand between a crazed snake shifter and their mate.

  I shook my head and held up my left arm, gesturing to the tattoo that signified my bonding with Cendric. “Not at all. Already got a mate, and I’m pretty darn happy with him. I’m just here to help Kiran investigate …” Love potions? Great way to make her feel even more threatened when she admitted to using them. “… some things …”

  “Investigation? Is that what grayling mongrels call it when they seduce their ex-lovers?” Golden magic flashed in Terezal’s loaded eyes and from her hands. She was ready to blow.

  I repressed a sigh and fought to maintain a neutral tone. “Terezal. If you want to talk to me, we can go somewhere private to discuss all this. I know someone who can help you get better. That’s what I do. I help people.”

  She shook her head, her dark hair wild. “You ruin lives! You’re here to take him from me, just like she said. You want him for yourself, even after you have a new lover, because you can, you condescending Niqual Marid harlot!”

  Marid? What was a Marid—and a Niqual? And who was this ‘she’? Malda?

  Terezal pulled dozens of leaves from the trees and almost instantly turned them into tiny razor blades in her palms.

  Could Terezal really do that, right in front of the Fae court? I glanced at the guards. Their magically-illuminated swords and other weapons were at the ready. Not to protect me, but to prevent Terezal from entering the Fae court.

  I might be a blood binder according to the BBA, but the local court just saw me as a recently-exonerated half-Jinn. A quick look around the plaza revealed no allies. They didn’t have to help me.

  Great. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt anyway.

  “Terezal, this is not a good idea.”

  “No more foul words, you brazen hussy oppressor!”

  She flung out her hand and the razors formed a wall, blade side out, all aimed at me. Fear kicked my adrenaline into gear, and a million thoughts raced through my mind. Like all full genies, Terezal was physically invulnerable to most attacks. I was not.

  And she had Kiran, whereas I had no one to back me up here. So I made the smartest choice I could: flee to the mortal world.

  With a snap of my fingers, the ethereal, otherworldly courtyard vanished, replaced by a mundane afternoon crowd in downtown Pittsburgh. Shoppers, tourists, and businesspeople lingered at a handful of umbrella-topped tables around PPG Place. A cool breeze filled the early October air, and I inhaled the smell of fries, car exhaust, and the briny edge from the three rivers.

  I sighed. “Home sweet home.”

  “Not so fast,” a voice declared from behind me.

  You have got to be kidding me. I spun around to see Terezal, her eyes even wilder and her body glowing with golden genie magic. Odds were she had gotten a toxic potion. God help me.

  Graylings had no patron saint, or else I would have prayed to them too.

  This time, I couldn’t keep the impatience from my voice. “Terezal, I left. What are you doing here?”

  “Did you think that would fool me?” She snarled. “It takes a trickster to know a trickster.”

  A crowd was gathering around us, some of them yelling, others taking pictures. Any minute now, the Fae cops would show up. Terezal was taking this fight into mortal realm, which meant magical guards would have to get involved, according to the Magisphere Accords.

  Terezal turned another handful of leaves into razor blades. “What should I do, Allisandra? You’re part mortal, after all. Maybe losing some of your own kind will make you understand that you have no place among genies.”

  “No!”

  “Too late.”

  She threw half of the razors into the crowd—and the other half at me. Good ol’ not-durable-enough-to-withstand-a-full-attack-of-magical-blades me. I would still take it, but I had to get the razors away from the bystanders, who were shrieking and shouting.

  I breathed in. Breathed out. With every inhale and exhale I focused my mind and buried my fear, calming my pulse. There was no time for fear. Not now.

  I threw my Jinn magic as hard as I could at the razors aimed at the crowd.

  Move, blades! Go somewhere else!

  More of the tiny portals I’d summoned earlier appeared now and swallowed some of the blades. Other razors turned into feathers or candy or in one case, a rubber chicken.

  Then, the rest of the blades hit me, slicing through my clothes and into my skin, sending arcs of pain through my body. I fought the urge to recoil, even while blood wet my face and trickled down my torso.

  Terezal was doing this from her own pain and anger. It had to go somewhere. Whatever the razors did to me, they would have caused twice as much hurt to a normal human. I forced the pain down, distancing myself from it.

  “You’re in pain.” My earvine pinged. “What’s happening?”

  Cendric. “Fantastic timing, Cid. I’m totally lying, by the way.”

  “How can I help—”

 
“Not now. I need to focus so nobody dies!” I slapped at my earvine.

  Terezal was glaring at me. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Is that why you think he loves you? Because he doesn’t. Kiran is mine, and always will be!”

  “Good grief, I’m already married!”

  “An ensnarement you can escape whenever you wish. You are still a threat!”

  She twisted her wrist, creating more razors for a third round.

  This has gone far enough. She must be stopped.

  What had Kiran said? Pull on my anchor. Cid’s blood magic.

  Take her down before she harms anyone else.

  Blood slicked my palms, and rivulets ran down my cheeks. I swiped at my eyes, clearing my sight enough to see her. In that moment, I saw into her. Every vein in her body, every pulse of blood and water, every molecule of living marrow in her bones.

  Fascinating.

  Until I saw the faint outline of a morass of shadows and light, encased in her body tenuously, just beneath the skin. But skin could be ripped off.

  One quick jolt to wake her up.

  I tightened my fist. One, quick, contraction, squeezing her very soul, just enough to break her out of the fugue.

  Terezal’s eyes widened. The golden wish magic sputtered around her and disappeared.

  The razor blades froze, then fell to the ground in puddles of dust. Terezal blinked, her chest heaving.

  Finish her.

  “No.” I grit my teeth.

  Another flash of magic. Kiran teleported near her, still with that same stony face. “All right. Let’s go.”

  Terezal grinned, her forehead slick with sweat. “I knew it. I knew you still loved me.”

  He glared at her. “No. Not you.”

  “Halt!” Theiya Emiror’s voice boomed across the plaza. She strode across the sidewalk, her detective badge out and every pore radiating magical authority. “Everyone, stand down. Brightlef, Linvine, marshal the beat cops and secure the premises.” She turned to Kiran. “Singh, you’re coming with us.”

  Kiran shook his head. “Agree to disagree, general.”

  He scooped up Terezal in his arms and disappeared in a flash of light.

  Theiya muttered a curse and glanced my way. Every inch of my body hurt. No one met my eyes, and whispers abounded.

  “Allis. Good job,” she said.

  I swayed on my feet. “Plenty of witnesses, huh? Not good.”

  “We’ll handle that. It is an asset, since you also have many witnesses of your sacrifice.” The light elf gave me another considering look. “Still, I would say you need your lawyer for other reasons.”

  Ah yes, the whole many-cuts thing.

  “Way ahead of you.”

  I tapped behind my ear. “Cid, where are you? Are there a lot of other vampires around?”

  “I’m at the firm, so yes. Allis, what did you—”

  “I’m bleeding out over here. Not a great combo. Meet me at the shop.”

  I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that I wasn’t dead. Then I snapped my fingers, the action sending more pain through me.

  Time to get back to my alchemical first aid kit and a brother who knew how to use it.

  As long as he didn’t freak out too much.

  Chapter 10

  I appeared in the back kitchen. Many angry otter noises exploded from my brother.

  “Al, what the hell were you doing?” Gideon shook his head quickly. “Josie, get her shirt off and yes, the pants as well. We need to check everything. Allis, please keep talking.”

  I sighed and winced as Josie tugged off my button-down and then my tank top. I eased off the jeans myself, stifling a gasp of pain as the fabric brushed against the deeper cuts.

  “It could have been worse,” I muttered, picking at my bra strap as Gideon prepared a variety of salves and concoctions. “I still have partial invulnerability. The cuts could have been deeper. I don’t think any major veins were severed.”

  Not that I would know either way. I was feeling rather light-headed, but coffee or one of Gideon’s stronger potions could solve that. I knew where he kept them. Perks of being the big sister.

  Gideon’s sandy brown features scrunched into a scowl, and the otter was visible for a second. “You always say it could have been worse, and it never makes it better. You are lucky I have a private potion stash with untainted serums.”

  He gestured for me to sit back on the counter, then started dabbing sweet-smelling herbal disinfectant and styptic liquid on the cuts. I breathed in the scent and tried to ignore the sharp sting as the potion went to work. If only wish magic included self-healing. But no. The idea was to be invulnerable so you never got hurt in the first place.

  Unless you were me.

  “It just happened. The situation got complicated. Taking on the brunt of the razors was the best idea I had at the time.”

  “Razors? What razors?” Josie glanced up worriedly from where she was applying the stuff to my legs, even though the cuts there were only bleeding a little.

  Gideon shot me another scowl. “Come on, Al. Out with it. That’s the rule when anything happens to one of us.”

  I quickly summarized the events from the time I left with Kiran, omitting the part where I sort of smashed Terezal’s soul or something, since I didn’t have any idea how that had happened and they had enough to worry about. Especially with everything that’d gone down with Kiran.

  I was right.

  “I knew he was bad news!” Gideon paused in the process of wrapping up a deep cut on my arm.

  “You were the one who told me to help him! And he’s definitely dealing with love potion crap, so we were right about that. He’s not in control of this situation at all.”

  He gave a little otter growl. “Where was Jack?”

  “I had to teleport without her.”

  “Oh, you had to? Don’t you understand that we want you to survive? Everyone here needs you, Al.”

  “You’re cute.” I winced. “I don’t actually have a death wish. Shit just happens. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  Gideon raised his eyebrows. I sighed. “What, are you gonna drag me to a confessional right now to get absolution for cursing?”

  Grim humor glinted in his eyes. “Nah, fasting comes up soon.”

  “Nobody needs a fasting half-Jinn. Even the priest said that.” My attendance was hit or miss anyway, the same as Gideon’s. Being called by destiny was one thing, and Mom’s tradition with the Russian Orthodox church had left deep roots. But life was complicated, and Cid was Anglican, so we were switching Sunday attendances.

  “Where’s Cid?” Gideon demanded.

  I blinked, trying to clear my eyes of sudden blurriness. “I called him on my earvine. I told him.”

  I tried to sit up, but Gideon eased me back down. “Then he’ll be here soon. Cid’s good for that.” His voice lowered. “Although why he wasn’t here to begin with—”

  “Don’t go there, Gideon.” Especially since it technically wasn’t Cid’s fault. He’d said he was busy, and I tried to do the best I could.

  Josie cleared her throat. “So, why was someone trying to hurt you?”

  “Because I’m Kiran’s ex, and she’s hyped on some kind of love potion that sees me as a potential threat. I think Kiran’s on it too.” I paused, sucking in a breath against another spasm of pain. “He was kissing her, but he didn’t want to. He was terrified of what it made him do.”

  “Augh,” she said. “Thanks for keeping me away from that.”

  “Yeah, well, from how vicious Terezal got, I think dark magic’s definitely in the potion as well.”

  Gideon nodded. “I’ll notify the alchemists guild and make a full report so they can cross-analyze and confirm. What else can I do?”

  “Nothing. I got this.”

  “Al, no.” That was both of them. Josie added, “We’re here for you.”

  Why? I swallowed the word. I didn’t have the energy to sustain it. Instead, I started rattling o
ff things. “Get information from Theiya about any other incidents in the city, and make sure they’re on high alert. Do the same with Jack. Gideon, use her and your shifter contacts.”

  He nodded. “The Dalcas are always good for information.”

  “Yeah, they’re awesome.” I turned to Josie. “Can you do more unpacking and organizing?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Can I? Do you know where I came from?”

  “Only the best antique shop in Western PA, right?”

  “Right.”

  The small room blurred in front of me, then came into focus again. I yawned. A nap suddenly sounded really good. Then my head would feel like it held a brain instead of cotton balls.

  Something pinched my arm. Hard. I turned and glared at Gideon. “What’s your problem?”

  “No falling asleep!”

  “Why not? I’m not the one who got a concussion.” A chuckle escaped me. The world blurred again, and my hands went numb. “I gave someone a concussion. Sort of. I hope she’s okay.”

  My breath trapped in my chest.

  “Allis? Oh no, she’s bleeding through the bandages.” Hands shook me, but it didn’t matter. I could barely feel them.

  I felt nothing.

  “Allis!”

  “… tired.” The word barely escaped me.

  The world went dark.

  ***

  In the shadows, I was only aware of a rope of blood and sinew drifting through my mind and heartbeat. Then came the worry. From the lifeline. So much worry that the fibers got wound up and twisted on each other.

  A worried rope. How crazy was that?

  It was a nice rope, though. Which was good, because as I followed it in the dream, a part of it disappeared near the nape of my neck, right where Cendric had bitten me during a crazy time of captivity in a magic-siphoning nyctophage.

  Then the scarlet rope melted, turning into raindrops of blood that pelted my skin and coated it with red. Curiosity and fear assaulted me, and I rubbed at the blood. It only sank in deeper, filling my veins with something alien and very powerful. Something I needed as much as I needed air.