"If you have to fight a Marid, it will be the toughest fight of your life. There is a fifty-fifty chance you won't survive. They will try and freeze the water in your bloodstream, snuffing out your fire in the process. You must try and cover them in fire, and ensure the fire enters their bodies through their nose, mouth, eyes, wounds, however you can, so you can evaporate the water within their body. Without water, the Marid shrivel and die, turning to dust in the wind. Whoever can complete their offensive move first will be the victor, so you better work on your speed."
Azar breathed a sigh of relief that there weren't many Marid left, and the chances of her personally having to battle one in the next fifty years was slim. As long as Mira didn't go rogue, she'd be fine. Actually, if Mira went rogue, she wouldn't even stand a fifty percent chance. She would be dead.
"Last is the Ifrit. You have no advantages against another Ifrit, and a full-blooded Ifrit has an advantage over you. They will be faster and stronger, and their ability to heal will be almost instantaneous. At best you have hand to hand combat, so I suggest you continue working on that with Bast, until you can fight an opponent who outmatches you completely. But I guess you have already experienced that." There was a hint of respect in his eyes.
He walked to the fridge and grabbed out another bottle of water and threw it to her. Somewhere around the Sila lesson she had started to lightly perspire. Now, sweat was pouring off her body, not from the running, but from the use of her Ifrit abilities, which were almost completely unused muscles. It was like learning to walk.
"Go have a shower and report to Mira. We are done for today." With that Killian left the room, and she collapsed onto the polished floor of the gym.
She was desperate to return to her human form, so she could lose the weight of her wings dragging at her back. She crawled towards her clothes, changed forms and then flopped naked on the ground. She didn't care if anyone walked in and saw her. Maybe this is why everyone in the supernatural world was so relaxed about nudity.
Chapter 5
The following day, Azar was really feeling her half human side. Her muscles ached and she was physically and mentally exhausted. She had stumbled down the hall like a zombie to the Comms room for a briefing. She stuck her face in a bowl-sized cup of coffee, and hoped her core muscles would be strong enough to keep her upright in her chair. She may have dozed off a little, until Killian's voice cut through her self-pitying haze.
"There have been two attacks against Djinn within the region, where members of prominent Ghul and Sila houses have been found torn to shreds and then set alight. Their bodies were unrecognizable. Kouros and Lida have pinpointed it as a Were attack, but the packs have been unforthcoming with information, except to deny any involvement."
Azar’s mouth fell open. The Djinn were more powerful than most other supernaturals, including the Weres, and it would have taken almost an entire pack to take down a single Djinn. But it could be done.
Killian continued after everyone had absorbed the news. "Both of the deceased were young, less than one hundred years." His face turned into a hard mask of cold rage, and it was terrifying. Even Donovan would have turned tail and run.
The Djinn were long lived, but it varied between races; some lived to be ancient, like the Marid and the Jann, and some had lives of less than five hundred years. It halved again if your bloodline was watered down with human blood, like her own. As such, anyone under a hundred years was considered a child within Djinn society.
"Danian's informant tells him that the human police are baffled, and they consider it to be a serial killer. The case is being handed over to the FBI. A copy of the case file has been given to the Adel." Azar knew that must have been hard for Keenan. His loyalty and integrity were what made him a good man and a great detective.
Killian turned those stormy eyes in her direction. "Mira tells me you have connections in the Were community. I would like you and Bast to meet with them and gather whatever intel you can. Keep it civil, Bast; we do not need an inter-species war on top of everything else."
Even as he said it, she felt herself rising involuntarily. She gritted her teeth at the compulsion of the Anadari bracelets.
Peeved off, Azar stood and saluted Killian mockingly. “Yes, Sir." She saw Mira wince and she mentally face-palmed, the practical side of her nature chastising the rebellious side for antagonizing a man who could make her life hell for fifty years.
However, instead of reprimanding her, a small smile tugged at Killian's lips. "Obedience. It's not a trait I thought would ever be exhibited from someone of my bloodline."
It was only a tiny admission of the connection between them and Azar gave him a small smile in return. Someone scraped back their chair and Azar noticed that every set of eyes was looking at them warily. Bast shook his head, grabbed her arm and marched her from the room.
"I think that went well," she said, a grin stretching its way across her face. Bast just rolled his eyes.
"I think one day you are going to give me a heart attack," he grumbled. She just patted him on the arm.
Azar made several calls on the way to Sterling Forest, the woodsy home of the Sterling Forest Pack. First, she called to make an appointment with Anton, the Pack’s Alpha. She got permission for Bast to come within Pack grounds, which was just good manners. Bast was a benevolent Djinn, his abilities not inherently destructive, but he could probably “suggest” the entire pack take a walk off a cliff if he wanted to. But Anton had met Bast several times, and they had developed a mutual respect.
After making an appointment for midday, Azar's next call was to Donovan. She wanted to check on Freya. She was going to kill two birds with one stone, and request that Anton take the girl in exchange for her blood debt.
Donovan informed her that Freya was fine, and they had begun training on how to control her abilities. Donovan sounded stressed, but she could hear the little girl laughing in the background of the call.
"Promise whatever you have to, I can cover it. Money, connections, anything. Freya needs this chance, because I have no Plan B up my sleeve." She could tell it pained him that his daughter’s very survival was riding on a conversation that he couldn’t control, or even witness. Control was important to Donovan. Azar reassured him as best she could. She only wanted what was best for the little girl too.
She directed Bast off the main road, down what appeared to be a fire trail. Last time she'd ventured onto pack lands, she'd been in her prized Shelby GT and every pothole had made her grimace in pain. She loved that car. The Adel had given them use of a hulking SUV, so she could relax and really enjoy the scenery around her.
This part of the forest looked untouched, like the bustling metropolis of NYC didn't even exist less than two hours away. Wildlife ran from the noise of the car as it bumped over the uneven track. The den was twenty miles down this road, and she felt herself starting to doze in the warm dappled sunlight, only to jolt awake every time they hit a large pothole. She was in the doze stage of this cycle when Bast's voice roused her.
"We're almost there. The welcome wagon has arrived."
Azar pried one eye open to see Tao standing just off the road, twenty feet ahead. Tao was a Were Sentinel/Enforcer, and the man was as big as a barn. He was easily the biggest Were she had ever met at just under seven feet tall, and she would estimate three feet across the shoulders. He was a solid wall of muscle. He made Jerry and the other Onyx Werewolves look like the weaklings. He didn't try to stop them as they drove past, just gave them a small nod. Azar waved back, and was suddenly glad that she was considered Pack. Tao wasn't a particularly violent man, but he’d probably be able to flip the SUV if the need arose. She wondered what his Wolf looked like, if it would be as brutally scary as Tao. Even as she wondered this, a part of her hoped never to see it firsthand.
They pulled the SUV into a clearing in front of what appeared to be some ranger cabins sitting in front of a jagged cliff face. If you were an unsuspecting hiker, who’d managed to get pass the sent
inels by some freak accident, you would just think that you'd stumbled upon a remote ranger outpost, not a fully-fledged Werewolf Pack, with upwards of fifty members. There was a crack in the cliff face, barely four feet wide, which was the entrance to the dens. From a distance it looked jagged, but from experience she knew that the edges of the opening had been worn smooth from time.
Azar wondered how Tao even fit through the opening as she climbed out of the SUV and started towards the chasm. She'd barely taken three steps when a tiny body launched itself at her legs, knocking her off balance and landing her flat on her back. She looked down to see a Werewolf pup cuddling her legs.
"Azar!" she squealed as she crawled up her legs to wrap her arms around her neck. She sat up and hugged the girl back.
"Hello Kayla. Wow, I think you've grown a foot since I last saw you. What have they been feeding you?" Azar asked as she set the little girl on her feet, and climbed up from the grass. She had once fixed the little girl’s toy truck after it had been destroyed by another one of the pups, and had become Kayla's hero for all of eternity. Kayla bounced around until she caught sight of Bast. She quickly hid behind Azar, her head poking around the side of her hip.
"Kayla, this is Bast. He's my..." she trailed off. Did she call Bast her boyfriend, partner or what? "...friend," she finished rather lamely. Bast raised his eyebrow at her.
"Like your boyfriend?" Kayla asked, her childish curiosity getting right to the heart of the matter.
Bast squatted down and shook the little girl’s hand, "Yeah, just like her boyfriend." His smile was warm, and the little girl smiled hesitantly back, before her brow knitted in confusion.
“Like Mr.. Oliver?" She chewed on her lip, trying to make sense of the situation.
She laughed and ruffled the little girl’s brown curls. "Only in Mr.. Oliver’s dreams."
And maybe sometimes in mine, she muttered internally.
She turned and saw Dotty standing off to the side, her smile friendly but alert. Azar might have been considered Pack, but Bast held no such standing. He was treated with good manners, but the Were would be on guard, just in case.
Dotty was elderly, the Matriarch of the pack, the mate of a former Alpha. It was a position that demanded respect, even from the Alpha. As the Matriarch, it was Dotty's job to greet guests.
Azar walked over and kissed Dotty on the cheek, and received a fond pat on the arm. She introduced Bast and the old woman’s smile grew wide.
"He's quite a handsome one, isn't he? If I was a few years younger, I would give you a run for your money." She waved a finger in Bast's direction, and there was a spark of mischief in her eyes. She imagined Dotty was pretty wild in her younger days.
"I doubt I would have been running," he joked, winking saucily. Dotty cackled and slapped Azar on the back.
"Child, you are in so much trouble."
Azar knew it, and as she followed Dotty through the crack in the cliff, she realized that she and Dotty were probably the same age.
They eventually navigated the sloping pathways to a large oak door, with a brass handle shaped like a wolf’s head. Dotty knocked and walked through the door without waiting for an invitation. She ushered Azar and Bast into the room, and then left.
Anton rose from a leather wing back chair and Azar bowed her head out of respect, the proper courtesy to show to an Alpha. She slid her eyes across at Bast to ensure he was doing the same. The raw power that emanated from Anton was completely unlike Djinn power. It was earthy and raw, like the crackling air during a lightning storm. The feel of it so wild that she wondered if Anton harnessed it, or if the power rode Anton.
She raised her head, and walked across the room to shake Anton's hand, a genuine smile on her face. She had total respect for the Sterling Forest Alpha. He would do anything to care for those under his protection, and that protection now extended to her. Not that she needed protection, she was more than capable of looking after herself, but the feeling of belonging was a gift she'd never imagined she would ever possess.
"It is lovely to see you again, Azar. You look well." His eyes were subtly scanning her for mistreatment. It was common knowledge in the supernatural world that Djinn slaves didn't always receive humane treatment from their masters. She wasn't sure exactly what Anton would have done if he had discovered she was being abused, but it was nice to know he cared.
"It is wonderful to see you too. I'm sure you remember Bast?" Anton nodded and shook Bast's outstretched hand.
Azar looked around the room, and she could see it was a library. Two chesterfield lounges sat facing each other, a well-polished coffee table sitting between them. The rest of the room was floor to ceiling books, a rolling ladder was set on a gleaming gold rail that circled the edges. A beautiful chandelier fashioned from sticks and twigs to look like a birds nest cast intricate shadows over the walls. Azar and Bast sat on one lounge, and Anton reclined into the other.
A younger female wolf that Azar had never met arrived with coffee and set it on the table between them. She cast a warm smile in their direction and quickly took her leave.
"So, what can the Sterling Forest Pack do for the Djinn?" He lifted his latte to his lips and took a sip, a sigh escaping as he swallowed. Azar picked up her own mug, and took a sip. It was fantastic. Bast was happy to let her take the lead.
"You've probably heard that there has been a couple of attacks on the Djinn, where the victims were torn apart and set on fire. The Adel have narrowed it down to a Were attack. We were hoping you might have information that would allow us to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
Azar decided she had to cut back on the Law and Order reruns. She sounded ridiculous.
Anton merely nodded. "Yes, a couple of Adel tracked down our pack liaison a few days ago to request information. Unfortunately, I'll have to tell you what he told them. The Pack would never sanction such a cowardly and vicious attack, especially not on Djinn so weak in their powers. It would go against our pack laws. We protect the young, even those not of our species."
The silent jab there was that the Djinn did not have such scruples. The sad fact was, it was true. Aaron, a teenage Were, had been taken by the Rogue Ifrit and tortured for days. The Djinn did not have the morals of the Weres, unless it directly related to other Djinn, and sometimes not even then.
"I'm also unaware of any Pack within our region who would order such a thing. To start such a war would be suicide for a Pack, and ruin a truce that we've had with the Djinn for a millennium. We run our own affairs and the Djinn run theirs; it is a harmonious balance that wouldn't be trifled with lightly. Everyone with half a brain knows that if it came to a war between the Djinn and the Were, it would be bloody and both sides would suffer more losses than either species can afford."
And the Were had no chance of winning. It was left unspoken but the knowledge was common. A single, average Djinn could overcome at least ten Were before falling. An Adel could take on triple that.
Azar had no doubt Anton spoke the truth, and nodded her agreement. "I'll tell the higher ups." She sat forward on her chair a little. "On a more personal note, I would like to call in my favor, if I could." Anton rose both eyebrows in surprise. Obviously he didn't think she'd ever call in the favor either. "It's not really for me, but for a child. It will be a lot to ask, even considering the blood debt."
The Alpha motioned for her to continue and Azar took a deep breath. "Freya is a one-quarter blood Djinn. She is Donovan's daughter, I'm not sure if Jerry has told you about her?" Anton shook his head. "She was abandoned by her human mother, and is in great danger if she tries to enter into our world. The Shaitan would kill her like a pest. They have been pretty vocal about their thoughts on Djinn purity.” Azar couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice. “So, she needs a place to live, somewhere the Shaitan and the Council will never think to look. She is weak in her powers, and Donovan is working with her to control them. She would pose no physical threat to the pack, and I'll ensure she has control of
her power before she is brought to the dens. Donovan is willing to offer you anything you desire if you would take her."
Azar had practiced her spiel several times on the way to the Pack’s territory. Anton looked thoughtful, and Azar held her breath.
"It is not a decision I can make lightly, even in fulfilling a blood debt. The wellbeing of my pack always comes first." Azar nodded, her stomach sinking. He wasn't going to go for it. Anton sighed as he thought it over. "She would be raised as a Were, and follow our laws. Donovan must never know the location of Pack grounds, and the girl will be taken to see him by one of the Wolves already in his employ, or yourself. And, of the utmost importance is that she must be able to control her abilities. If she risks the safety of this Pack, I would have her punished in the way of the Were." That meant she'd be executed. Killing another member of the pack was an instant death sentence for a Were.
Azar nodded eagerly. She couldn't imagine Freya harming anyone on purpose. "I'll think on it and give you my answer within forty-eight hours. I understand time is of the essence."
Azar agreed readily. It was a positive result for Freya, and Azar had been ready for a straight up refusal.
"Thank you for considering it," she said sincerely. She stood and so did the two men in the room. "We've taken up enough of your time, Anton. Thank you for seeing us." She inclined her head again in deference, as was custom. She could kiss Oliver for his crash course in Were etiquette
"You are welcome in our dens at any time, Azar," he replied warmly. “Perhaps as you leave, you should seek out Aaron. I know he is anxious to see you.” He sighed deeply. “That boy will be Alpha one day, I can tell. But there are many hard lessons left to learn before he is ready.”
The Azar Omnibus: The Complete Azar Trilogy (The Azar Trilogy Book 0) Page 27