“Has anyone ever told you that you project your thoughts and emotions quite clearly?”
I brought my gaze to Mr. Wu’s. Damn it. “More than once,” I said. “I’m apparently not as good at putting up a mental shield as I thought.”
He chuckled. “Some people can’t help it. You’re a very emotionally driven creature.”
I shrugged. No need to deny what he already knew.
“So, about your ring. Would you like for me to tell you about it?”
“I don’t know.” I fiddled with my cup, swirled the pale liquid inside. “I’m not sure I want to pay the price.”
His dark eyes twinkled with mischief. “I suppose you won’t know until you know.”
Hmmm. Cheeky. I twisted the ring. A shock of cold raced up my arm. The not knowing might be worse than learning the truth. “Here,” I held out my hand. “I’ve come this far.”
He studied the ring for a moment. “Can you take it off for me, please? I’ll get a more reliable reading if it’s not in contact with your body.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. My nerves cranked tighter by the second. “I can’t take it off,” I said.
He raised a curious brow. “Really?”
“Yup. Sorry, but it’s not coming off.”
Mr. Wu studied me for a long quiet moment. His attention made me squirm in my seat and I fiddled with an invisible speck of lint on my pants. His eyes narrowed and recognition lit his expression. “You’re Alexander’s consort, no?”
My head snapped up. “No.” It didn’t matter what Xander might have led others to believe to the contrary. I’d never been his consort. The connotation of the word made my teeth itch.
He didn’t seem fazed by my clipped response. “The Shaede King has quite a collection of arcane artifacts. Did he give you the ring?”
“No,” I said. “It was given to me by a Jinn.”
Mr. Wu’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “I’m going to make this easy for you, Darian. Knowledge will not be yours today.”
Was there a single supernatural creature on the face of the earth who wasn’t spooked by the word “Jinn?” Jesus, you’d think I’d told him that my ring had been forged in the fires of Mordor or some shit. “So, what? You’re just going to send me packing?”
“There are some mysteries that are left unsolved. Your ring is one of them.”
“I didn’t know if he was trying to use reverse psychology on me or not but it was working. “Is there anything you can tell me about it?”
“The Jinn bring swift retribution to those who break their confidence,” he said. “And I for one do not welcome their wrath.”
That made two of us. Still… “I’m worried...” Goddamn it. Giving voice to my nagging doubt felt like a betrayal of Ty. “I’m worried that it might be dangerous.”
“I suppose it depends on the spirit in which it was given,” Mr. Wu said.
I knew that Ty’s motives hadn’t been malicious. “It was given with affection.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about.” He took a sip from his cup as though unconcerned, but his demeanor had changed. His friendly gaze was now guarded and he averted his attention from the ring.
“Someone told me once that the ring thrived,” I said. “As though something lived inside of it.”
“All of those stories about the Jinn had to come from somewhere. Aladdin and his lamp and the like. Genies aren’t solely trapped in lamps, my dear.” Mr. Wu leveled his gaze and a flash of heat raced down my spine. Fear trickled into my bloodstream causing my limbs to quake. “It’s very near to sunset and the Pixies aren’t as mild-tempered in the evening, I’m afraid. It’s probably best you go now, but it was a pleasure to have made your acquaintance. Please, feel free to visit any time, Darian. During the day that is. I so seldom find others with whom I enjoy conversing with.”
“Yeah.” I hopped down from the stool, almost too damned shocked at Mr. Wu’s implications to form a coherent thought. “Thanks for the tea.”
“You’re welcome any time,” he said. “Be sure to bring more of the candy sprinkles when you return.”
“Sure.” My limbs had gone numb. My jaw barely worked. “Thanks.”
Thanks? For what? Scaring the shit out of me? I headed for the front door and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The blood had managed to rush to my head and I barely had enough in my extremities to get me out onto the front porch. As I headed down the steps, the Pixies left their perch to float around my head and shoulders in a riotous cloud. Maybe a thank you for the candy? They settled back into the bushes by the time I hit the sidewalk, returning to their camouflaged state.
The wind picked up, whipping the tails of my duster around my thighs. The sky darkened with an impending storm while just down the block the sun shone bright. This wasn’t some early spring squall. Magic tightened my skin and cooled the air around me. Another warning? Surely the Synod wouldn’t send their demon cloud of doom to take me out on right on Broadway where anyone could see. Then again, did a shark care if the other tuna watched while he gobbled up a member of their school?
I tucked my hands beneath my duster and wrapped my palms around the grips of my daggers. They wouldn’t do any good against a foe with no physical body, but the daggers lent me confidence that I wasn’t feeling right now. Xander’s house wasn’t far from here—six or seven blocks—but I didn’t want to further darken his door with my troubles with the Synod. I could play it cool. Tyler said that the Délash wouldn’t hurt me and I trusted him. I wasn’t about to hang around and put his assurances to the test, though.
I took off at a clip, crossed Broadway and made it a point to keep to crowded areas. I mingled with the other pedestrians as the crosswalk and hit Olive Way. It was almost a straight shot to my place from there and I if I found the opportunity, I could easily pass into the sunlight without anyone noticing.
As though my ring sensed my growing unease, it flared with a shock of cold that caused the entire left side of my body to go numb. My knee gave out and I took a stumbling step before quickly recovering. I’d hobble the entire way to my apartment if I had to. Hell, I’d army crawl it. No way was I going to sit out here and wait for the dark cloud of doom to swoop down and do god knew what to me.
I guess when you’ve sat at the tippy top of the food chain for too damned long, things like caution don’t mean a goddamned thing. I put my flagging confidence on the backburner as I realized that my visibility made me vulnerable. I stepped from my corporeal form and into the late afternoon light. My body melted away into nothingness as the tingle of sunlight joined with my skin. I put my preternatural speed to good use and rode the wind currents past the people walking and the cars speeding by. The feeling that something pursued me intensified, as did the darkness that seemed to swallow up the late afternoon light behind me.
No longer interested in keeping to the main streets, my path zigged and zagged as I darted through alleyways and across side streets in an attempt to lose the creature that tracked me. I was still ten blocks from my building, and I had no idea if Tyler would be there waiting for me or not. Cold unlike anything I’d ever felt chilled the air at my back and it nearly stole my focus to the point that I almost couldn’t hold on to my incorporeal form. I drew in a sharp gasp of breath as I ducked into a side alley and turned. The Délash swept down from above, sentient magic without corporeal form. It hovered close to my face as though it could see through the mask of invisibility that the late afternoon light cloaked me in.
Holy shit. The damned thing could actually see me! I stood, frozen. I couldn’t bring myself to regain my solid form. Too afraid, too shocked to even move, I stared at the Délash, the Synod’s ethereal guard dog that had managed to track me down yet again despite Tyler’s assurances that it would keep its distance from us. So much for a grace period. Warning number two had officially been given. One more strike, and I was out.
Like an animal sniffing out its prey, the dark, formless mass undula
ted close to my face before moving down the length of my body. Every particle of my being seemed to seize. I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to. I tried to tuck my left hand behind me, strange as it seemed to do so as my ethereal self. The Délash caught the motion through the veil of light that sheltered me and whipped toward the movement, its beady red eyes narrowing right where my hand would be. In an instant, the ominous dark cloud pulled back with a deafening roar. It climbed high into the sky in a spiral of dark particles before it dissipated into the air and disappeared entirely.
Jesus fucking Christ! Cold flared from my thumb and raced through my veins. My body tingled from it and I shook so violently that I had no choice but to step from the cover of daylight and regain my solid form. Steam fogged the air from my racing breath and my teeth chattered. I grasped the ring in my right fist and tugged as hard as I could. The silver slipped to the knuckle but refused to release any further. I wanted it gone. I wanted to throw the damned thing into Puget Sound and never see it again. Genies aren’t solely trapped in lamps… What in the hell had Tyler done? What in the hell was this goddamned thing that had just managed to terrify one of the most terrifying things I’d ever seen?
“What in the actual fuck was that thing?”
I spun instantly on guard, daggers drawn and ready to stab. If I’d been in my right mind and not scared shitless, I would have recognized Asher’s voice. Instead, it took a couple of seconds for my brain to catch up and I slumped against the wall of an apartment building. My heart raced; I couldn’t take a deep breath to save my life. Adrenaline pumped through my blood stream which only added to the twitch and tremble of my chilled muscles.
“You’re following me?” My incredulous shout echoed around me. “You scared the shit out of me, Asher! I could have killed you!”
“Yeah,” his gaze lit on the daggers still clutched in my fists, “I got that. Wanna put those away? Not gonna lie, Darian, they’re making me a little twitchy.”
It took me two tries to get the daggers back in their sheaths, I shook so hard. I couldn’t let go of the sense of danger that undulated under my skin. The daggers didn’t want me to let them go. They wanted to fight. It didn’t matter that Asher would never hurt me. He’d spooked me and the daggers—like me—didn’t seem to want to settle down until they’d drawn a little blood.
“Give me a second.” I panted through the fear, the anxiety that pulled my muscles taut. I forced my fingers to let go of the daggers’ grips and braced my palms on my knees as I bent over and dragged in deep lungsful of breath. When I finally felt like I had my shit together, I straightened. “How long have you been following me and why?” He was supposed to be taking care of Raif and Xander, not babysitting me.
“Since you left the house this morning,” Asher replied.
Damn it. If my ring hadn’t scared the Délash off, it could have hurt Asher. “Who in the hell told you to do that?”
“Who do you think?” he asked with a wry grin. “Xander.”
That high and mighty pain in the ass. Not quite so apathetic, was he? “I thought he’d abdicated his throne. What gives him the power to tell you what to do anymore? And while I’m at it, what makes you think you have to do what he tells you anymore?” I couldn’t help but be annoyed. Xander couldn’t have it both ways. Either he was the king or he wasn’t. Asher might have thought it was okay to let it slide, but I didn’t.
“He’s been through a lot,” Asher said. “This is only temporary.” His gaze dropped to the ground. “This is my fault. I was supposed to be watching you when Lorik took you. I failed my king. I failed you. I won’t let that happen ever again.”
My stomach knotted at Ash’s words. “No. This is absolutely not your fault. Lorik would have gotten to me no matter what. I let my guard down and he knew I would. You can’t take any of the responsibility for what happened. This falls on me and Xander. Period. Do you understand me, Ash?”
“What was that thing, Darian?” he asked instead of answering me. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
I needed to confide in someone. My visit with Mr. Wu had been a total bust and every time I tried to broach the subject with Tyler, he shut me down. I blew out a forceful breath. “It’s a Délash. Some sort of Jinn demon. Or something. A guard dog for the Synod.”
“What? Why?” Asher’s tawny brows drew down over his eyes.
“Ty and I broke the rules,” I said. “And the Synod doesn’t fuck around when it comes to rules or punishment.”
“I guess not.” Asher took a tentative look around. He grabbed me by the upper arm and guided me out in front of him back onto the sidewalk. “Let’s get back to your place. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be out in the open.”
Neither did I.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I tried to keep my pace measured, relaxed as we headed toward Belltown. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that despite the fact the dark cloud of doom was gone, something still watched me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“I’m leaving soon.” Asher sat across me in the living room, his expression grave. “I don’t feel good about taking off when so much shit is coming down the pipes. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
My chest swelled with so much emotion that I thought it might choke the air from my lungs. Asher was one of the few people in this world that I’d bend over backward for and it was nice to think that he’d do the same for me. I wasn’t alone, though. I had Ty. And whatever threat the Synod posed, we’d have to face it together. “I’m glad you won’t be here,” I said. It was mostly a lie. The thought of him leaving sent a renewed surge of sadness through me. “Tyler says he can manage the Synod and I believe him.” Again, mostly a lie. His overconfidence had me doubting. That arrogance could get him into a shitload of trouble. “But since we’re on the subject, where are you going?”
“Top secret mission,” he said with the mischievous grin that made him look like a carefree kid.
“You’re going after Saben, aren’t you?”
Not gonna lie, it bristled that Raif hadn’t asked me to do it. Had even brushed off my offer as though it wasn’t even a consideration right now. I understood why, though. I wasn’t even close to the top of my game and my own life was a total shit-storm. What good would I be to Raif if the Synod’s sentient magic cloud of doom followed me everywhere I went?
“I am.” It was a testament to the trust we’d built that Ash would confide in me. “Raif is tired of messing around. Saben has promised to meet Raif and Xander with force if they try to reclaim the castle and the royal guard is standing behind him. He’s already proclaimed himself king and shed the title of regent.”
Castle. Good lord. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Xander’s first home was an actual castle. “It’s best to get rid of him now, before this gets any more out of hand.” Not that I thought it could get much worse. Xander renouncing his throne…Saben claiming it…Raif trying to hold on to the birthright that Xander had thrown away. What a mess. “Don’t take backup.” As silly as that advice seemed, it was rule number one in the assassin game. “Don’t contact anyone. You’re going to need a good week of recon, maybe more, before you have a solid plan. Don’t do it at night. You’re unique in that you can be just as invisible during the day and it’ll help to cast suspicion away from a Shaede offing Saben. The blame will still fall on Xander or even Raif, but you’ll be in the clear and there’ll be enough doubt cast to—”
“Darian, this isn’t my first rodeo,” Asher said. “I know what I’m doing.”
I hovered over the kid like a mother hen. Rueful laughter bubbled in my chest. The person that I’d been a few years ago would have balked at caring for anyone. Now, it seemed like all I did was care. From apathy to empathy in a matter of months. Talk about a wakeup call.
“I know it’s not.” I wanted Asher to come back in one piece, that’s all. “I want you to be careful, so you can bring your smart ass back for a visit.”
He smil
ed. “You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to miss your snarky mouth. When are you leaving?”
Ash settled back onto the couch. “A few days. Raif and I are going to try to work out as many details in advance as we can. Saben has his sympathizers, but more people in the city are loyal to Xander than he thinks.
Damned good thing. I knew that Asher was competent. Deadly. He’d earned the title: Lyhtan Slayer somehow, right? And those praying mantis looking bastards weren’t exactly easy to kill. “Just promise me you’ll watch your back.”
“Please,” he scoffed. “I’ve got this.”
The conversation devolved into little bits of inconsequential fluff. We finished off the box of Honey Nut Cheerios in my cupboard and binge watched a few episodes of Orange Is The New Black on Netflix. The sun set and with it came the stifling prickle of twilight that clung to my skin like a wool sweater in summer. And still, it was better than the damned cold that chilled me to the bone whenever the magic flared from my ring.
“Are we going to talk about your Jinn problem, or are we just going to brush that little tidbit under the rug?”
I looked at Asher and shrugged. “I don’t know. I was kind of hoping we could pretend I didn’t have a Jinn problem.”
“What Jinn problem?”
We turned in unison to see Tyler standing to the left of the metal gate of the elevator. He didn’t usually just pop in, opting for more human modes of travel. My heart shot up into my throat. “Jesus, Tyler.” Was everyone intent on scaring me to death today?
He didn’t look too enthused. His brilliant hazel eyes darkened as he regarded me and his lips formed a hard line. I wanted to tell him that’s what he got for eavesdropping. When you only hear part of a conversation, you’re left to make assumptions. I should have let him keep on assuming. “I saw the Délash again today.” I kept my voice even and cool. “It saw me when I was hidden by sunlight.” I held up my left hand. “And it saw this, too.”
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