by Jessica Cage
“What’s this?” He flipped the envelope over and looked at her.
“Open it and find out.” Her arms folded across her partially covered chest as she waited for him to comply.
Opening the envelope, he found inside a photograph. Shown was Nitara, who sat at the local bar, and she was not alone. “What is this? What am I looking at?”
“That is a photograph of your precious djinn, your ticket to eternal bliss, consorting with a known enemy,” Sarah said proudly. Finally, she had solid proof of the very thing she’d been warning him about. The grim expression that briefly flashed across his face was the confirmation she needed. Perhaps now, he would consider her warning.
“An enemy?” He peered at the photo again, narrowing his eyes as if it would change the image in front of him. “What the hell are you talking about? This man is no enemy that I know of.”
“Yes, he is an enemy! He’s one of the biggest threats to your position right now.” She scoffed, irritated by her husband’s ignorance. “Are you telling me that you don’t recognize him?”
“I’m telling you just that.” Tyrellis handed the photograph back to his frustrated mate and returned his gaze to the sky.
“It’s Graham!” She scowled at the back of his neck. “How could you forget the face of the man you stole your position from? Are you not able to look outside of yourself even for a moment to see the world around you?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He waved her off. “None of this matters, because as it seems you have forgotten, Nitara is under my control. She couldn’t consort with him without my knowing. If there was anything at all to worry about, I would know about it.” Even as he spoke the words, he questioned the validity of them. Did he really believe that? Since Nitara’s return, she had been more distant than before, more secretive. He’d considered it was his own paranoia, but perhaps he was wrong.
“Oh, and did you know about this, about their other meetings at the local bar? They sit, in public, mocking your position, and yet you think that she is on your side,” she continued as she closed in on him, her voice lowering to add to the ominous tone of her words. “They leave, moments within one another, and neither are seen or heard from for hours. What do you suppose they are doing in that time?”
“What would you have me do?” He turned on her, eyes red with fury. It was time for the conversation to end. “Do you believe I should stop her from talking to anyone, from enjoying life? The woman is allowed a personal life.” He’d decided long ago to allow Nitara some freedoms, to have her angry at him caused him pain that he never spoke of. Daegal was an asshole who not only made it so that she could never leave him, but made it so that he could never abuse her. Apparently, the old bastard still had a soft spot.
“Grow a pair maybe?” She rolled her eyes. “Learn to see what is right in front of you!”
“Watch your mouth.” He grabbed her by the throat and she choked beneath his grip, but held her ground. “Remember who you’re talking to! I will take only so much back talk, even from you, my lovely, insatiable wife.”
“Look, if you really want to make a point, and secure your position, you better stop depending on your rogue pet to do it for you.” She spoke through a tight jaw. When his grip relaxed, she softened. “I just want the best for you, as I always have.”
“Is that right?” Cocking his head, he peered down his nose and eyed the woman in front of him. Sarah had always been by his side, he could trust her, but then again, he’d felt the same way about Nitara. A truth that was proving to be quite fallible.
“Yes, my love, you know it is.”
“Prove it.” He dropped his robe, exposing himself beneath the light of the moon, and she fell to her knees in front of him. He sighed as she took him in and offered herself for his taking.
“You called?” Nitara sighed as the smoke cleared the air around her. She’d known it was too good to continue for long, the silence from Tyrellis. She’d tried to enjoy every moment of it, but alas, it was over. Standing in his bedroom that still smelled of the sweaty, bloody sex he’d just had with Sarah, she frowned.
“What is this?” He held out the photograph to her.
Peering at the image, she shrugged. “It looks like a picture of me on patrol, stopping for a drink. Looks fairly obvious. I’m not really sure why I had to pop in for that.”
“Why are you speaking to Graham? And why am I being told that this has become standard practice?”
“I enjoy his sense of humor. Besides, why would I not?” Graham was the only person in Reverie that loathed the place as much as she did—he was also the only one who never asked anything of her, or feared her. “I was never given his name as someone to avoid, and if you do recall, you supplied me with quite a long list when I arrived here.”
“I allow you the freedom to do as you please, and this is how you repay me?” Tyrellis went on as if she hadn’t said a thing. He was locked in his own paranoia, and she was now the enemy.
“Once again, I’m going to tell you that I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She could see it, the wide-eyed look of a man who’d finally snapped. The power had gone to his head and the fear of losing it was making him insane.
“The picture. His hand is in yours. If you were just there to have a drink, why the intimacy?” He’d examined every inch of the photo a thousand times over. The two were far too familiar for just two passersby. There was something more there and the idea of it crawled beneath the layers of his skin and turned his stomach sour.
“So, I’m supposed to live here in vampire land for the rest of my existence and never once have an intimate situation?”
“This is not the time for your sarcasm.” Slowly, his fangs fell forward—he would do nothing with them, not that he could with her, this was just for show. This was to let her know that he meant business, and would play no games.
“Who said I was being sarcastic? I think you might want to consider how unrealistic you sound right now.”
“And you might want to consider watching your mouth!” he yelled, and pain shot through her. “I own you! Something tells me that you’ve started to forget the dynamics of our arrangement. Perhaps you need a reminder!” He narrowed his gaze and a sharp pain shot through her stomach like bullet wounds.
Doubling over onto the bed, she gripped her sides. “Oh, trust me, I haven’t forgotten,” she spat at him. “How could I, when your incessant whining plays like a soundtrack in my mind!”
“Are you working against me? Tell me! Are you plotting with Graham against my life?” he asked her directly, as if the previous implications weren’t clear enough.
“No.” Her blunt reply was issued between labored breaths as the pain subsided.
“I command you to tell me the truth!” He grinned widely; she wouldn’t be able to lie to him even if she wanted to. “This is what you warned me of, is it not? That someday others would know, that the vampire legions would rise against me. Is life here with me so miserable that you would plot to destroy me knowing that it would mean ending yourself as well?”
“Tyrellis, my answer remains the same, with or without your command. Besides, why would I waste the effort in telling you a lie when I know damn well that you can wish it away?” Technically speaking, Nitara had told him no lies. She hadn’t spoken a word to Graham about standing against the lunatic leader. If Graham knew anything about their bonded lives, he didn’t get the information from her.
“Ah, very well, I guess you’re being honest,” he conceded, but still his suspicious gaze rested on her figure.
“Okay, may I leave now?” Nitara wanted out of the room. She could feel his insanity growing and it worried her. What would it mean for her if he snapped completely? Their lives were tied together, his pain was her own, but what about his mental state, would it begin to affect her as well?
“No, I think it would be best if you stay close to me for a while.” He snapped his fingers. “Yes, I think that is a good idea. You need to stay with me so
that I can be sure.”
“Planning to torture me some more?” She sighed, tired of him. “I’m not working with any vampire to go against you.”
“Good. Nevertheless, I think it’s time we put tighter restraints on the amount of freedom I’ve given you. Some time away from this world might just do you some good.” Opening his arms, he bared his chest to her. “Come to me.”
“You plan to keep me locked inside forever?” She wouldn’t allow it. If she had to erupt a volcano inside of his mind she would, but he wouldn’t keep her banished inside his empty chest.
“No, not forever, but long enough!”
The door to the suburban domicile was slightly open, and the stale smell of spilled beer and rotted food reached out to greet her. Inda approached the entrance to the dark interior cautiously. She called a flame to the tip of her finger, and used it to light the way as she pushed the door aside and tiptoed through the shadowed hallway into the rank living room. The smell was so bad it caused her to gag. She pinched her nose hoping for relief, but breathing through her mouth proved the air tasted just as bad as it smelled. Stretched across the large sofa and snoring as if he wasn’t atop a landfill, was a man who at the moment, didn’t live up to the legend that came with his name.
Across the room on the wall opposite his strewn form was a light switch. She sighed. This meant an acrobatic display to get to the switch and avoid stepping into something that would likely cause an infection. She made it across only nearly falling twice and cursing the slumbering man when her boot landed in the center of a large, moldy pizza. The switch flipped upwards, and the room was illuminated. Inda scoffed at the condition of the place, now completely unhidden. The man was a pig. Speaking of the man, Jinn simply groaned at the disturbance caused by the light, threw his arm over his face, and kept on snoring.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Frowning, she stomped over to him. This time kicking the trash as she moved. “Yo!” she yelled, kicked his leg quickly, and then backed away. She was mad, but she wasn’t crazy. He was still a powerful ass djinn, and a drunk one by the looks of it. She couldn’t be sure the man wouldn’t be volatile. The last thing she needed was to have him blow her head off. For all she knew he would turn over with the ball of flames and blow her to bits and pieces. Yes, she was a phoenix, which meant she would be reborn eventually, but she had no intention of going through it, not again. The rebirth thing was handy, but the process was a bitch!
“Jinn! Come on, man, wake up!” Inda now yelled at him only to receive another annoyed grunt from the man who wanted nothing more than to continue sleeping. When he continued to ignore her request for his conscious attention, she made her way into the kitchen, stumbling over more trash and debris from his apparent pity party, and retrieved a pot out of the cabinet. She then filled that pot with water and carried it back to the disgusting living room. She contemplated calling flames to her fingers to boil the contents, but felt that might be a bit harsh. Even without the addition of heat, the reaction was what she needed. The water splashed, soaking his face, body, and comfy couch on which he laid. She couldn’t help laughing at his erratic movements as he was finally pulled from his drunken dreams.
“What the fuck!” Jinn jumped from his position on the couch. The bottle in his hand fell to the floor and he glared at the woman in front of her. “Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?”
“I’m a friend who was sent here with the message from someone who apparently believes that you would like to hear from them.” She threw the empty pot on the floor. “In my opinion, and by the sight of this place, I’d say it’s a message I think you’d like to hear. However, if you don’t use better manners in addressing me I won’t give it to you. I didn’t sign up for this shit, trust me.”
“Damn it. Who the hell would send a phoenix to bother me? If this was Mike, you can let him know that I will kick his ass as a return on the favor.” He waved his hand and a towel appeared which he used to dry the water from his face. “Hell, I should have known it. You know, you guys have a lot of nerve. Just because you can be reborn, doesn’t mean I won’t just keep killing your ass.” The towel turned to a flame of blue light and hovered about his hand.
“Oh, please, spare me.” Inda lifted her hand which was engulfed in its own flame. “We both know that I can do that, too. You wanna cut the act now? It’s not really that convincing considering you can barely stay upright.”
“Fuck it! It’s not worth it!” He dropped his hand and the flame went out. She was right—not only was he shaky on his feet, but he just didn’t care enough to really be upset about her intrusion. The best bet was to deal with her and send the woman on her way. “Are you going to tell me what you want, or do I have to pull it out of you?” He conjured another bottle of whiskey to replace the one that had spilled during his startling wake-up call.
“Like I said before, I’m here with a message from a friend. I think it would be best if you weren’t pissed off your ass when I gave it to you.” She frowned as he finished off the bottle and dropped it on the growing pile of trash at his feet. “Perhaps you can clean yourself up a bit?”
“Well if that’s what you want, you’re going to be here for a long goddamn time.” Jinn had no interest in tidying up for the woman. If she had a message to deliver she could do so and fly her pretty little ass back to wherever she came from. Demanding that he do anything for the sake of her pleasure was a bad move. Information she didn’t deliver was information he never had, and either way, it didn’t matter to him.
Inda sucked her teeth, irritated that he wouldn’t budge. “Fine, let’s just get this over with. Besides, I’m sick of your smell.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to have offended you after you so uninvitedly waltzed into my home and interrupted my nap!”
“Look, I’m here trying to do you a favor, so you might want to curb the attitude.”
“Okay, I’m the one with the attitude.” He laughed. Every second with the woman only justified his decision to stay away from the world. “How long are we going to do this?”
“Oh, I think just about until you’re sober enough to understand me. I would hate to have to repeat myself.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake!” he yelled, and ran his hands through his hair which had grown drastically since his last cut. “Why don’t you just go ahead and make yourself at home then? I’m going to go take a shower. Perhaps when I get back you’ll feel more comfortable with telling me whatever the hell you were sent here to say.”
The shower did Jinn a lot of good. Despite his desire to stay shitfaced, his mind cleared right along with the smell of the countless beers and bourbon he’d consumed. Once again, the outside world was insisting that he return from his self-inflicted exile. What the hell did he have to look forward to outside of the four walls surrounding him? He’d been dumped on his ass, and after going to the end of the world to save the woman he’d wasted centuries loving. Not only that, but in the process he’d lost the only other person he cared about.
No one had seen or heard from Praia since she’d risked her life to save the world. She was swallowed up by the ocean. He hadn’t even known. It wasn’t until after Nitara walked out on him that he looked for her. Mike, the asshole who started it all with a stupid ass picture that no one needed to see, was supposed to find her. He returned empty handed. Jinn spent two weeks searching, only to find no trace of the girl who’d latched on to him and never let go.
He touched the charm that still hung around his neck. It’d been months, but he still hoped that it would someday light up and she would return to his life. One day she would be back in his home, hogging his couch, and demanding magically made steaks. He shook the thought of the fae girl from his mind, along with everyone else tied to her disappearance.
Jinn was met with the frowning face of his guest as he emerged from his bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants and a towel hanging around his neck. His skin was still wet from the shower, the air felt good to him. She�
��d created one clean spot on the couch where she sat with an expression of disgust on her face. Already sensing the tongue lashing she was prepared to give him, he snapped his fingers. What was once a pigsty, became a freshly cleaned home. “There, you happy?”
“You say that as if you’ve done me some favor.” Inda rolled her eyes at the man who strutted across the room. “I should be asking you that. I had no idea you liked to live in such conditions. The way people talk about you, that should be the first bullet point. Powerful djinn, and pig!”
“Bite me,” he groaned.
“I would, but I don’t eat swine.” She stuck her tongue out as he flipped her off and headed for the kitchen. When he returned he had a full beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other. Of course, he offered her nothing.
“What do you want?” he questioned through a mouthful of food. “I’d like to get this over with, so I can return to my nap!”
“I guess direct it is then.” Rising from the sofa, she squared off with him. “I have a message from Reverie.”
“Reverie?” He scoffed; he had no vampire friends. Who the hell could be looking to reach him? “What could anyone in vamp land have to say to me?”
“It would seem there is someone there who is in need of your help. Someone who we all have no doubt you will want to aide.” Inda teased with the first bit of information.
“And that is?” He waved his hand for her to continue. “I don’t have all day for this.”
“Oh, and what else were you going to do, besides conjure another pizza for you not to eat!”
“I’m warning you, woman. Say what you have to say or go.” He lifted a finger, and Inda felt a force pressing against her chest. Her feet slid across the hardwood floors as he began to push her toward the exit.
“Fine, okay!” The pressure stopped, and she straightened herself. “It’s Nitara. She needs your help … again.”
Jinn’s jaw tightened as he processed what was said to him. “Get out,” he ordered the woman who stared at him in disbelief. “Sprout your wings and fly the hell away from my home.”