Wish You Weren't Here

by Janeen Ippolito

  “It’s important.”

  “Tell me why.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Don’t make me command you.”

  “Why don’t you?” He exclaimed. “Out of all the terrible people in this world, why are you too good to exert your will over others?”

  “Because I know what it feels like, you idiot!”

  He paused. “That. That is the reason.”

  “What reason?”

  “The reason for everything.” Kiran gave a sad, knowing smile and teleported a tiny knife to his hand. He gently took my hand and pricked a few fingers. “Here.”

  I resisted the urge to press the bleeding tips against my sleeve. Instead, I teleported a goblet from one of the tables and caught the droplets. Then I teleported the goblet to Gideon and paused.

  I had a source of even closer blood right here.

  “Hey, Kir?”

  He looked up from his paint palette. “Hm?”

  “I don’t suppose you would donate a few drops for a good cause?”

  “Of my blood?” The Jinn shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous, Sandy. Unless it would help you.”

  “It would. A lot. Please?” Hey, I was known for many things, but pride wasn’t one of them. Especially when losing this wager meant a complete lobotomy courtesy of Kiran’s evil mom.

  He shrugged. “Very well.”

  I frowned. “Why are you suddenly okay with this?”

  “Allis, you could make me do many things. You still master me by a thread. But you have only asked, never commanded, and then given me more freedom, all at your own expense.” Kiran shook his head. “You’re really stupid.”

  His tone said the insult was a compliment, somehow. Whatever. I didn’t have time for this. I quickly pricked his fingertips and collected the blood in another goblet.

  “I appreciate it, Kir.”

  “Never mention it.” He was already ignoring me again for his illegal artwork. “I mean it.”

  “Already forgotten.”

  I teleported the second goblet with a brief word about the origin of its contents and quickly bandaged my fingers. “Kir, I’ve heard Jinn need a homeland, even the ones who want to travel. It keeps us sane.”

  “I’ve heard this too.”

  “But if I take over, you won’t have that. Even though I think you’ve lived in Pittsburgh longer than me.”

  His mouth twitched, but otherwise he only worked on his painting. “And the half-Jinn can do math after all.”

  “Shut up.” Kiran never could ask for help.

  My earvine pinged. Jack. “Al, we need you!”

  Unlike others. I snapped back to Point Park and the copse of trees.

  And complete bedlam. More of the Monongys had scrambled onto the sidewalk. Three now surrounded Rafe, who bore steam burns across his black and silver scales. One lay on its side in the water, frozen solid. Two were still fighting each other in the water.

  Another water dragon was facing down my team, billowing steam at the trees around them. Jack had shifted into fox form, her tail twitching behind her as she fixed her stun-eyes on the dragon. But her stare only seemed to bewilder it.

  Cendric gripped my shoulder. “All is delivered?”

  “Yeah, it’s all good. Now we just have to calm them all down while Casimir and Gideon find the solution.” I tapped my earvine. “Hey, guys? Could you also come up with something to clear the love potion out of the water?”

  Casimir made an annoyed sound. “And still more demands.”

  “Yeah, she does that.” Gideon’s voice was warm with irritation. “You got it, Al. Sending us Kiran’s blood really helped.”

  Cendric’s eyes narrowed. “How did you procure Kiran’s blood?”

  “I asked. He gave it to me. For old time’s sake, I guess.” The dragon let out another blast of steam. “Not really the time, Cid. Later.”

  He nodded. “Later.”

  And that tone meant it would happen.

  “Theiya, how are the illusions?”

  Theiya didn’t even look away from her light shields. “Still holding, but as you can see, they’re not working against the dragons themselves.”

  “Okay. I’d rather not kill them all. It’s not their fault the Jinn Lady filthied up their water.”

  “We may not have a choice.”

  I hated every single one of those words. There was always a choice. I might kill if I had to, but I was not going to let Malda Nazari force me into it!

  I wasn’t going to lose my people either.

  I turned to my husband. “Cid, your shadow magic calms my magic, siphons away the crazy.”

  “Yes, but that effect is for you. It’s how our magic bleeds together. I don’t have that bond with the dragons.”

  “True.” I paced back and forth in the copse. “Bleed together. Bleed together…” I paused. “That’s it. I’ll give them all heart attacks.”

  Jack wrinkled her nose. “What? Since when can you do that?”

  “I think I did it to Terezal in front of PPG Place. Not a heart attack, exactly, but she was hurting people, and …” I spun around to Cid. “I mentioned my awareness of other people’s blood. It helps me find them. Helps me teleport them sight unseen by tracking their blood. And in her case, I reached inside her and jolted her molecules at the soul level. It jarred her out of the love potion for a few moments.”

  Cendric shook his head. “A few moments? How is that different than what Jack is doing?”

  “Good point. And I don’t think I can bring down that many dragons. I don’t have enough control.”

  He smiled a thin, deadly smile. “You can’t. We can. You can jolt molecules. I can stop blood enough to make them pass out. Or kill them. Together it should work.”

  “And if we don’t, they go after loads of mortals and screw up all the Magisphere Accords.” I sighed. “Worth a shot.”

  Jack growled. “If you’re going to do it, stop waffling and do it already!”

  Then she blinked, losing her stun-link. The dragon blasted a lungful of steam. Cendric and I ducked to the ground, clasping our hands together. Then I stood, fixing my eyes on the dragon. I allowed my Jinn magic full leeway to see every single molecule. I felt its desire to kill, its fear of being killed.

  I made a squeezing motion with my free hand. One quick squeeze. Even as I felt Cendric’s dark magic attacking each vein.

  Blood dripped from the Monongy’s eyes and trickled down its cheeks. The fear of being killed consumed it as it became reality.

  The great beast fell to the side, unconscious.

  Dead?

  No. But it would be. Dread filled me. Monongys drew their magic from the water. With a snap of my fingers, I teleported the beast to the river. Its siblings stopped their fighting and turned on it, ripping it to shreds.

  “Stop, you idiots!”

  Cendric’s voice was cold. “They can’t hear you, lelkem. Water dragons eat their own.”

  The beast sank beneath the waves, torn to pieces. Despair rushed through me. That would have to be enough.

  I teleported us to the river’s edge and performed the same trick. Both dragons drifted in the water, bleeding dark tears but alive. Blood still flowed through them. By the time we did that, two of the three dragons attacking Rafe had turned on us.

  Cendric and I reached out with every bit of magic, a torrent of shadow and sapphire flames.

  All three beasts dropped.

  A snap of my fingers, and they were in the Monongahela. Although I was pretty sure two were dead. From the love potion or us, I couldn’t be sure. Couldn’t let myself dwell on it.

  Rafe remained coiled around the fountain, guarding Josie. His tail flicked back and forth as he watched us. He still fought the effects of the potion, maybe out of pride. The Rafe I knew hated losing control.

  “Casimir? Gideon? You got the stuff?”

  “We have the antidote, if that’s what you mean,” Casimir answered. “It lies encased within a small vial on the counter next
to the stove.”

  I nodded, grateful for the context. “How do I administer?”

  “Pour it into the river.”

  “What about to a live, angry dragon?”

  “Speak to it very nicely. I’m certain that will help.”

  Cendric muttered a few curses in Hungarian that I didn’t feel up to translating. “Teleport it to Josie. He sees her as his mate, however distorted his view may be, thanks to the potion. She might be able to persuade him.”

  After teleporting in the vial and pouring the majority of the clear liquid into the Mon, I summoned Josie on my earvine. “Josie? Think you can give a dragon his medicine?”

  “Okay.” She gave a shaky laugh. “Th-the stupid beast isn’t allowed t-to die until I’ve yelled at him.”

  “That’s right. You tell him!”

  I teleported the potion to her. Waited as she spoke softly but firmly to the dragon. Watched as ever-so-slowly, it turned toward her, gently took the vial from her hand, and crunched it up.

  My shoulders slumped in relief, and I leaned against Cendric. “The dose is down.”

  “Awesome,” Gideon said. “We’ve finished analyzing the water sample. Jinn blood is present—and it is Malda Nazari’s. You’re good to present proof.”

  I yawned. “Yay.”

  Where was Matthias with extra coffee when I needed it?

  We walked over mangled grass and trees to Theiya. “Ready to give full witness?”

  She nodded, swiping at her forehead. “I’ll trade places with Diza. She excels at illusions, and she’ll look after Josie and Rafe.”

  Next to me, Jack shifted to human. “I’m ready too. As long as I get a huge drink after this. Still working off the adrenaline from that swallow of water.”

  “Got it. You might wanna swallow some antidote yourself.”

  “Nah, save it for the serious cases.”

  I should have argued more, but I was beat. It would be so convenient to fall unconscious and not have to go back to the court. I could rock the role of a damsel in distress—and I had a handsome vampire knight with a raven soul who was great at arguing on my behalf and carrying me away. Gold stars for that.

  But right now, I really wanted to see the look on Malda Nazari’s face when she realized she’d finally lost.

  Chapter 24

  I’ve never seen anyone look more relieved than Melrose did when we all teleported back into the grand hall of the Fae court. Of course, that might have been because somehow, Queen Epriana had persuaded him to allow her to take his arm, and—dance? I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Cendric.

  “Not a chance,” he muttered. “She’s not his type.”

  “Who is?”

  He shook his head. “Not alive anymore, I think.”

  “Ouch.”

  Another snap of my fingers, and Gideon arrived, along with Casimir. The light elf exchanged looks with Diza, a quick “you okay?” check between them. Long familiarity there. Diza walked over to Theiya.

  The Lyrium empress grimaced. “Why is it that whenever I come to this planet, I’m saddled with the boring jobs?”

  Theiya smirked. “You claim that the honor of leadership is serving.”

  “Hm, true. At least it gave me time to catch up with Zad.” Diza tapped her head, then shrugged. “Nothing happened. Lady Malda spent time flirting with the Grand Vizier and smiling like a cat with a mouse.”

  I huffed. “Well, that’ll change.”

  It already had. As soon as she saw me and my team show up, the Jinn Lady stiffened, her eyes wide and fearful. I could almost read her lips. No. It can’t be. You shouldn’t be here.

  A laugh escaped me. The Fae had thought that since before I was born. But I was still here, and she was going down.

  But first, Josie. “Diza, can you portal back to Point Park? There’s an ice dragon there who’s normally a decent type for the average black market antiquities dealer. However, he’s coming off a love potion bender, and his … friend, who’s also my secretary, is hoping to escape the platform he trapped her on in order to protect her.”

  “Oh, that sounds fun.” Her eyes unfocused for a moment, and she grinned. “Yeah, I agree, Zad. We can take care of them. I’ll take them back to my safehouse, and if the dragon proves feisty, it will just make the night more interesting.”

  “Awesome.”

  Meanwhile, Cendric had stepped forward to stand before Queen Epriana. He gave a formal bow. “My queen, we have done as you asked.”

  “I object!” Lady Malda flung out.

  Queen Epriana leveled a glare at her. Giant Venus flytraps surrounded Malda, and around them, the members of the queen’s personal guard. “You have no cause, Jinn Lady, and so you will be silent.” She gave Cendric her full attention. “The Monongahela dragons are brought to reason? General Emiror, can you confirm this?”

  Theiya nodded. “Yes. One was killed by his own siblings in their rage, but the rest were safely delivered from their madness and will be tended to for a full recovery.”

  “What was the cause of this madness?”

  Gideon cleared his throat to speak, but Cendric held up a hand to wait until Queen Epriana had returned to her throne with Melrose sitting next to her. Unless I was mistaken, he subtly wiped his hands with a bit of hand sanitizer once they were free from hers.

  The queen signaled to her announcer, who called the grand hall to attention. Then she gestured to Gideon. “Mr. Evanenko, I know of your place in the alchemist’s guild. What information do you have to offer?”

  “You might be aware of a love potion problem the alchemists guild has been dealing with, my queen.”

  She nodded. “They are illegal. And these were of particular potency.”

  “Yes. Apparently the maker of those potions wanted to dispose of them as quickly as possible, so they dumped them into the Monongahela River.”

  The queen scowled. “Damaging our treaty with the water dragons. They must have been quite desperate to have been so careless.”

  “Ah, yes. Well …” Gideon tugged at his collar. “I can’t speak to that. But I can give additional information on the potion’s origins.”

  She leaned forward. “Speak.”

  Everyone’s attention was fixed on Gideon. His otter face showed through for a moment, then he squared his shoulders. “At first the guild assumed the love potion’s deadliness was due to the recent contamination of source material with dark magic. But no traces of dark magic have been found in any samples. In fact, the samples defied all analysis. They almost seemed to resist the chemicals we used. Then we received a tip to test for Jinn blood.”

  “It’s her!” Malda pointed to me. “She wanted my son so desperately that she created a potion with her otter brother in order to get him.”

  A murmur ran through the crowd, one that Queen Epriana silenced with a hand. “Jinn Lady, I told you to remain silent. In addition, you insult my intelligence. I am fully aware of how Lady Allisandra was instrumental in stopping the violent actions of the wish granter Terezal Inuyo a few weeks ago. Numerous bystanders witnessed that she showed no interest in Kiran Singh other than general concern.”

  Malda’s eyes narrowed in panic. “This otter shifter is the half-brother of Allisandra. You cannot take his testimony as unbiased.”

  “I will second it,” Casimir said, stepping forward.

  “And who are you?” Queen Epriana asked.

  “Casimir, lieutenant to Commander Dizandra, and an experienced soul alchemist. I have known Lady Allisandra only a few days on a purely professional basis. I have found her uniquely gifted as well as needlessly informal at times.” His lips twitched. “Particularly with names.”

  All the best to you, Flashlight. I stifled a snort.

  Queen Epriana nodded. “I believe we can all agree you are a suitably impartial speaker.”

  “Indeed, I am. And I can identify the Jinn blood in the potions as belonging to Lady Malda Nazari. These deadly potions were made with her magical essence. In order for t
hat to be so, the Jinn must have surrendered the blood of their own consent.”

  Malda’s lips worked, but no sounds came out. Queen Epriana’s face could have been carved from stone. “I see. Thank you, Casimir and Mr. Evanenko. This evidence is quite condemning. Is there anyone who would speak on behalf of Malda?”

  “I will speak for her.” From the shadows to the left, Kiran Singh emerged. “She is, after all, my mother.”

  My heart sank. Would he really hide behind her after all this time? When he finally had a chance to escape? Kir, don’t do this.

  “Speak, Jinn Lord.”

  He strode to the center of the room, each step measured. “Lady Malda Nazari came to this court fearful and alone. At first, she was content with the security you graciously offered, Queen Epriana. But soon it was not enough to ease her insecurity. She established a gang to control the city’s wish granter population and extort loyalty from them apart from the court. I can give names of wish granters who will confirm my statements.”

  The noise of the crowd grew louder. Again, the queen had to raise her hand for silence.

  Kiran continued. “She has also abused her magic of place, exerting more and more influence on the land so that you, my queen, were unable to sense the water dragons fighting in your own groundswell.”

  The queen’s eyes blazed. “What of the love potions?”

  Kiran’s anger mirrored hers. “At first, part of a strategic breeding program within her gang to create powerful wish granter children. The children would be indoctrinated to be loyal to Malda while paying lip service to the court. That was her long game. However, some of her own people betrayed her. Samples were stolen and sold on the black market. When I found out, my mother silenced me with a curse—one that was broken by Lady Allisandra when she claimed my magical place in Pittsburgh.”

  At that, the entire room filled with an uproar of noise and hubbub, buffeting my senses. It’d been another long day. Then a burst of red flames caught my attention. Malda had decimated the giant flytraps surrounding her. With a small wave of her hand, the tree elves around her collapsed. Unconscious, or dead? My gut twisted. The Jinn Lady wouldn’t care either way. She’d have no reason to keep them alive.