She screamed to him again, and watched as Brodie tried not to listen. He attempted to ignore her, but Wynter could tell he was losing his battle of wills. He had felt the change too and so dropped Jakob to the ground with a thud.
He turned to peer into what Wynter knew weren’t her eyes, but was still a sort of face. She wasn’t whole, but she was still there with them. She was present and had somehow been strong enough to step in and protect the man she loved when he’d needed her.
“Don’t do this, Wynter. Don’t stop me,” Brodie tried, but she shook her head no. She reached out a hand to her saviour and the friend she’d once thought he had become, and saw for herself that she was just as she’d imagined—nothing but whitish mist. But she’d had to intervene.
Regardless of the promise she’d made to let him have his revenge, she wasn’t going to let him kill Jakob, because she knew that was exactly where today’s beatings were taking them. She’d felt her heart starting to break with the impending loss and knew it wasn’t just a warning, but death coming for her too. No matter her new powers, their souls had merged before her transformation and so she knew that if Jakob died, she would follow him. And rightly so.
“You promised me,” she whispered, and Brodie bared his teeth and answered with a growl, “he shares my soul and you cannot take his life without also taking mine,” Wynter reminded him.
“I can control myself,” he snapped, but she didn’t believe it. He could, but he’d chosen not to. Chosen to let his primitive urges rule him, instead of seeing sense. And he’d let it go too far. Why else could she have summoned the strength to emerge from her cocoon if not to save Jakob in his hour of need? Brodie had needed to be stopped, and she was the only one capable of making sure he did so.
“Not this time, Brodie. I can feel my heart breaking. My soul is shattering because of you. If you do not stop then you’ll kill him, and me as well,” she whimpered, having opted for a more heartfelt approach, but it didn’t seem to be working.
Brodie reached down and gathered Jakob’s limp body in his grip, as though ready to rain down more blows, but then he suddenly stopped and let out a sob.
“You think I don’t feel it too?” he then whispered, shaking his head as though dismayed, and she was sure she saw his eyes welling with tears he’d undoubtedly refuse to ever shed over the vampire in his grasp. He was trying not to show it, but he felt remorse for what he’d done to him, she could tell.
He sighed deeply and then let out another pained growl. “When your soul merged with his, I was there. I was a part of you, Wynter. I felt it too.”
“What are you saying?” she demanded.
She needed to know more, but knew there wasn’t enough time. She’d done her part and had saved Jakob’s life. But now, her strength was starting to dissipate. She needed to return to her home, and cursed her strength for being so quick to wane.
Brodie backed off and left Jakob to lie down on the ground again, and then he stared into her misty face, his green eyes still pained.
“I can feel my own heart breaking along with yours. It’s as though I have been forced to care about him as well,” he answered, and finally showed his surprise. He then stared at her as if she were whole, his brows furrowed, showing how the situation had him flummoxed for the very first time. But then another look crossed his face, like he was finally starting to see sense. “Either that or it’s you. Your soul opened up and accepted his during the merging. Could it be possible it accepted part of mine at the same time? That we too are linked?”
“No!” cried Jakob, who appeared to be coming back around, “it’s not possible.”
“It would actually make a lot of sense,” Wynter conceded, and she wanted to talk more but could feel herself beginning to melt away. She held on as long as she could though, just long enough to reach for Jakob and feel his flesh against the palm she imagined was once again whole.
“I love you, Wynter,” he demanded through his haze of pain, “only you.”
“I know. And I love you too,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper on the wind as she sunk back beneath the layers of flesh and bone within Brodie's chest. “Try it my way, please. Take care of him instead of this merciless cruelty. Become his friend and not his enemy. For all our sakes, find a way to forgive him,” Wynter then cried out, her voice only audible to the one creature who’s heart she had to call a home.
But he still didn’t want to listen.
Brodie walked away without a word to either of them, but at least this way, Jak could rest. He could recuperate in peace rather than in anticipation of the next round of beatings, and she would work on her jinni friend.
Fifteen
Brodie didn’t return to Jakob for weeks. He instead spent the time at the house, pretending to be busy so he didn’t have to entertain the poor bored boy he’d invited to the island. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Archie, far from it, but he was too fixated on his mission for revenge to let anything, or anyone, else in. All he wanted was to head back down into the cave and end Jakob’s sorry life, once and for all. The only thing holding him back was Wynter. Doing so would kill her too, so he’d have to endure Jak’s presence. At least she had left him alone like she’d promised, but of course was still there. Always watching through his eyes and reading his thoughts, just like he had when he’d been gaining strength within the confines of her heart.
It was just one of the factors involved when being a jinni. You became one with your host. No lies. No covering the truth, just complete and utter honesty, and of course a connection that when cultivated over years left the two Jinn inseparable. It was not only because of the necessity for one to shelter the other, but because a bond would form. And that was what was happening between them now.
Through the good and the bad, Brodie would have to let her in on everything he felt and thought. Even the vile contemplations he had of murdering her beloved. Or more recently, the sordid thoughts he was increasingly having about her, and the crazy fantasies that included both Wynter and Jakob with him in some kind of ménage situation. He still hated the vampire, but thanks to her he was seeing him differently these days. Seeing him through her eyes and feeling what she had felt.
Damn her and the soul within him that was so in love with the vampire captive he had hoped to torture for way longer than just a few months.
“This is why I shouldn’t have taken on a female client,” he growled at his reflection in the mirrored glass one morning, talking to her, “you're making me soft!”
“Who are you talking to?” Archie asked from behind, and Brodie turned to him with probably the first smile he’d ever given the poor young thing. He’d barely said a word to him since they'd arrived and had left him to his movie marathons and training sessions while doing his own thing with Jak, but now he was purposely avoiding his captive and so had actually been spending a decent amount of time at the house.
And he’d found himself watching Archie, finding that he was interested in how he filled his days. He worked out a lot, and Brodie could already see the results for himself. He also couldn't blame the poor guy. It wasn’t like he had much else to do, at least not while Jakob was still being denied a feed and while the housekeeper, Rafferty, was on hand to keep the island home neat and tidied.
Thinking of him, Brodie had to wonder if Archie had even realised there was someone else on the island with them yet. Surely he had seen for himself how the house was tended to? Always spotless and without a thing out of place? He wasn’t sure, if he were honest, and then came to realise he’d never actually given Archie a proper run-down on just who he was living with and why. It was time he discovered the truth. Plus, Jak needed feeding as well…
“You want to know who I was talking to?” he asked and then laughed to himself, “well, I was talking to the woman who lives inside of me,” he answered, and then grinned when Archie burst out laughing at the strange response. He clearly thought Brodie was joking, either that or going mad, and he eyed him like he cou
ldn't be sure just which.
“No, really…”
“Really,” Brodie reiterated and he dropped his smile, turning deadly serious. “I never did tell you the real reason why we’re here, did I?”
“No, and I gave up waiting if I'm honest,” Archie answered curtly, and Brodie had to give him some credit on that count. He really had been courteous enough to leave him alone and he was actually quite impressed. Not many humans would just let something as important as that go for all these weeks. Their curiosity would’ve gotten the better of them.
“But you feel safe here? You trust that there’s a reason for all of this?” Brodie replied, and he used his hand to indicate to the cavern all around them. Archie nodded resolutely. “Okay, if you say you’re ready, then let’s do this…”
Brodie led him into the kitchen where he insisted Archie have something to eat. He then watched him prepare some porridge, and then eat it while he told him all about the two jinni’s and vampire in his company. He seemed to think it was some kind of a prank at first, but then it appeared the story finally started to make sense. Archie’s eyes suddenly opened wide and he dropped his spoon into the half-full bowl with a gloopy clang.
“That was why you broke his neck, so you could subdue him? I did wonder how he’d survived that, and how you could carry him so far without breaking a sweat!” he cried, “and why neither of you sleep. Or eat…”
“Yeah, about that,” Brodie interjected, “I’m gonna need you to start doing the job I brought you here for. Jakob needs to eat.”
“Well I’m living on ration packs, biscuits and berries and such. You want me to take him some?” he answered, and Brodie shook his head. Such a naïve young man his guest was.
“No, he needs human blood. Your blood.”
“Ah shit,” Archie grumbled, pushing his discarded food away.
How had he not realised the moment Brodie had told him what Jakob was? He blamed the media. The fool probably believed there was some kind of substitute for the vein, or a choice. But there was none. Jak would either feed or starve to death, and as much as Brodie was happy to deny him too regular feeds, he knew he couldn't withhold it forever. “I knew there had to be a catch. Of course I wasn’t here to just chill out and do my thing, but I never once thought that might be the reason. Please tell me it’s all just a joke?”
Brodie shook his head.
“And what did you think I wanted from you?” he enquired, genuinely interested in what the hell else Archie might think he’d offered to pay him so handsomely for.
“I dunno. I guess I thought you were a spy and we were laying low while you interrogated your hostage. Maybe I’d be here to clean up your mess or be your bitch or something? Or become like a protégé…”
Brodie took another look around the spotless house and Archie followed his gaze, his brows furrowed. “Yeah, I can see for myself how this place is never dirty but I didn’t mean that sort of mess. How the hell do you even manage it?” he asked, and Brodie had to laugh.
“I don’t do a thing. I have a man for that. Someone who has been here since long before you arrived and will stay for centuries more…”
“Another captive?”
“More like another employee, but unlike you this one will never age and outgrow his purpose. His name is Rafferty and without him this island hideaway would never have become the safe haven it is today, or such a stronghold so that I can go about my business in peace.”
“You are too kind, sir,” a deep voice rumbled from the doorway and Archie immediately jumped out of his skin. Brodie knew then how he really hadn’t had any idea who else was in the house with him, and laughed again.
What a morning this was turning out to be!
***
Archie couldn't deny he’d wondered. Even back on his first night on the island, he’d used the kitchen to make some supper and had gone back later that evening to clean up, only to find the dishes already washed and put away. He’d been sure someone else was there but for some reason they’d remained out of sight, and since then he’d tested the theory countless times. Leaving clothes strewn on the ground while he took a shower that had been moved to the washer by the time he’d finished. Moving ornaments and returning mere moments later to find them back in place. Someone was there with him, and while it’d both irked him and made him question his sanity at times, it was good to know he’d been right all along.
He turned around to look at the man who’d just spoken, and yet he saw nothing. Like always, not a thing was out of place and there were no clues as to whom had just replied to Brodie’s glowing account of whose job it was to keep the island house up and running.
“Who said that?” Archie cried, and he began to feel riled when Brodie then started to laugh, seemingly at his expense. “Seriously!”
Brodie finally finished his laughing fit and he looked behind Archie with a smile.
“Rafferty,” he answered, “like I told you…”
Archie turned back and saw nobody there again, but then as he continued to stare at the empty space, he heard the voice again. Someone spoke as if he truly was right beside him, and he jumped again.
“I’m afraid humans cannot see me, at least not when looking directly. I’m invisible to the human eye unless a witch or warlock has given you the gift of sight, and I realised when you arrived how you hadn’t been. I’m afraid you will continue not to see me, which is why I chose not to speak with you either as I didn’t want to put you on edge.”
“To be honest I’m relieved,” Archie admitted, still looking around for where he thought Rafferty had to be standing, “I was beginning to think I might be mad!”
“Far from it. I shan’t be silent now and will forewarn you of my presence in future,” Rafferty replied, and then he seemed to direct his attention to Brodie. “Jakob needs nourishment, sir. I have just come from his cell and he’s delirious with hunger now that he has healed from the interrogations.”
Archie swallowed the lump in his throat and he looked at Brodie, watching as his face turned vacant for a moment. And then he sort of twitched, and it was odd to watch him.
“All right, dammit woman!” he then hollered and shot to his feet.
“Huh?” Archie replied, thinking Rafferty was clearly a male just as he was, and Brodie seemed to register his question without needing to be expressly asked.
“I told you, there is a female jinni who lives within me. That wasn’t a lie. And the vampire you helped me stow away to this island is her soul mate. She’s giving me hell in here,” he said, tapping his head to intimate that she was somehow speaking to him inside of his mind.
This really was just getting weirder and weirder.
“So you don’t live in little lamps like in the movies?” Archie asked with a hint of mirth, trying desperately to take Brodie seriously when all he wanted to do was laugh.
“Far from it. And don’t get me started on the nonsense about us supposedly granting wishes! We’re powerful, of course, but only for short periods of time. We are forced to live off the strength of another being. We reside within them until strong enough to become whole.”
“So that’s what she is doing with you, but now she wants you to help him?” he asked, and then fell silent as he came to terms with what that meant.
“Yep, and that means serving you up for dinner I’m afraid…”
Archie opened his mouth to argue, but Brodie lifted his hand to halt him. “Just a few drops. I promise. I told you, I'm keeping him alive but that doesn’t mean he needs to be fully satiated. In fact I won’t even let him take it straight from your vein.”
He then grabbed a carving knife and a mug from the kitchen cupboard, and indicated that Archie go with him. He had the suspicion he didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter, but went willingly anyway in a bid to prove he wasn’t a coward.
He climbed to his feet and followed Brodie out the door and down into the darkness of the cave beyond the house. The only part of the island he’d
not yet begun to explore.
As they descended, all he could think was how he was walking down there to go and feed a vampire. A fucking vampire! Like in the movies, but then not at all. There was no glamour. Just a real and bloody mess ahead. And blood.
His blood.
Archie stopped and peered back up towards the house, and then his eyes darted to the entrance to the cave itself. He’d been out there many times now. He knew the way up to where the helicopter was still stored safely away. Maybe he could run to it? Take the chopper and figure out what to do next?
A shadow passed him, and at first Archie thought it was a trick of the light, like a manifestation of his fear. But then the shadow solidified, somehow turning into a man.
“Christ!” he cried, staring up at Brodie in surprise.
“Come on, don’t be a pussy,” the jinni challenged, and a grin spread across his face.
“If I’m gonna do this, I want something in return,” he replied, and then stopped him before Brodie could reply about money, “I clearly don’t need the cash here, but I do want something.”
“What? I’m sure it can be arranged?”
“Teach me to fly,” he asked, “I know between torturing the vampire back there and actively ignoring me, you're pretty booked up, but how about we change that? Make some better use of our time?”
Brodie seemed impressed. He stepped closer and Archie felt his heart race a little. Yes, he was a little intimidated by him, but that wasn’t why he’d responded in such a way. It’d been so long since anyone had gotten close, least of all a tall, dark and handsome stranger, and it was hard not to react to him.
“We’ll see,” the jinni whispered, and then twitched like he had earlier, as if the woman inside his head had just shouted something.
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