by Liz Schulte
“Why do you suspect she’ll come here?”
“She likes to make a splash. This theater holds a ton of people and tonight it’s hosting a whole lot of influential humans. Holden will be forced to focus on cleaning up this mess rather than looking for her, or he’ll suffer consequences. She chooses high profile spots that make the most news, and striking every two days. This is our best bet.” She smiled wickedly. “And I had a tip from a witch who owed me a favor.”
I shook my head. “I hope you are right.”
As the concert started and the crowd outside thinned, a van with black tinted windows pulled up outside. The back doors opened and a ragged, filthy jinni was shoved out of the back. She flexed her hands as if she had been bound. She looked at the theater, eyes narrowing, and moved toward the door. Femi nodded at me. I transported inside the building in front of where she was headed.
“Guardian,” an almost unrecognizable Juliet growled when her blue eyes met mine.
“I will not allow you to hurt these people.”
“You can’t stop me.”
Femi snuck up behind her and cracked her neck. I caught Juliet before she slumped to the floor and anyone saw her.
Femi peeked outside. “The van’s still there. Wait here. I’ll check it out.” She was back seconds later. “Empty. Have I mentioned I hate this case?”
“What do you want to do with her?”
“Put her in the trunk. I’ll take her to Olivia when she’s healed.”
I obscured the jinni with my light and carried her to Femi’s car. “If you find out anything, please let me know. I’ll defend Olivia at her trial if you keep her away.”
“I told Holden. He’ll take care of it.”
Holden? Why did every woman trust him and not me? I hoped he’d take care of her, but I had doubts.
Twenty Four
Damn, she walked me right into that one, didn’t she? I had to admire the smoothness with which she reminded me of my promise to not disappoint her. I wanted to kill Phoenix for touching her. I wanted to make an example of him. Show the world and the other jinn that she was mine and they couldn’t touch her. Now I had to be creative. Mercy was what she wanted me to give, but Olivia, in true Olivia form, would never ask me for that. No, she wanted me to decide to offer it on my own. She wanted me to look at the piece of shit on my floor who would’ve taken her and used her and let him go. My eye twitched. She was going to get us both killed.
How would I punish Phoenix without injuring him? I had about thirty minutes to come up with something before he woke up. I rubbed my hand over my face.
“Damn it.”
The minutes ticked by, but no ideas came to me. How could I maintain strength and authority with my hands tied behind my back? Phoenix twitched on the floor as his bones repaired themselves. Killing him and hiding the body from her would be so much easier. Perhaps she’d give me a mulligan.
Phoenix groaned then rolled over stiffly. “Shit, Holden that hurt.”
I glared at him.
“She—”
I raised an eyebrow, stopping him cold. He stood up with shaking legs, and raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.
He eyed me, trying to decide the best way to approach the situation.
I remained silent. Let him work through his stupidity on his own.
He sighed. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Do I have to kill you?”
His chin jerked. “Let’s hope not.”
I nodded. “I could hurt you, torture you until I feel you learned to respect me and what’s mine. But how long would that take? How much time would I have to devote to the cause? Are you worth saving? You do understand what I am trying to do, don’t you?”
Phoenix avoided me as he rocked his feet.
“Olivia is the first piece of leverage jinn have had against demons since we joined them. She turned one into dust with a touch. Our freedom—our future—hangs in the balance with one very temperamental guardian. The very person you decided to offend.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and I smiled. I had an idea, one Olivia and Phoenix would hate. It would serve them both right for being pains in my ass. “It’d be easier to kill you.”
His shoulders slumped and he looked at me, ready to make his argument. I waved him off.
“But I’m not going to, not yet anyway. I have a better idea.”
Hope made his voice squeak. “And are you going to share this idea with me?”
“From here out, your future and happiness are inextricably tied to hers. If she’s unhappy so will you be. If she gets hurt, you’ll know suffering you never thought possible. If she dies, you’ll beg for death.”
“That’s not fair. How am I supposed to stop her from being hurt or keep her happy?”
I grinned wider. “That isn’t my problem. Just know her pain or discomfort is yours.”
Phoenix spat. “You’re a bastard. If you want to kill me, do it, don’t drag it out.”
I cracked my knuckles. “So you want to die now?”
His shoulders hunched and he sighed. “Where is she?”
I shrugged and waved him toward the door. When he left, I laughed. Liv had gotten used to Baker following her around, now she had two escorts. I’d show her all the mercy she could take. Picturing Liv made my mind reach for her, wanting to make sure she was okay. My phone rang, yanking me from my thoughts. I reached for it, only to see my entire lower body was shrouded in an oily black smoke. I bolted from my chair yet the smoke followed me and absorbed into my skin.
“What the fuck?” I waved at the odorless vapors, but they clung to my hand, obscuring it from view. By the time the mess all disappeared, into me no less, the phone stopped ringing. I sniffed my arm. My skin didn’t smell different or look different.
Whatever it was, it didn’t hurt... I picked up my phone, hit call history, and called Baker back.
“’lo” he said gruffly.
“What do you need, Baker?”
“Checking in. We met with one guardian, a gangly, awkward fellow, he thinks the room is an animaphagist—a soul eater. You might wanna look into that. Olivia thinks Quintus will know more about what it is, so she’s trying to get him to answer her prayer?” Doubt was thick in his voice.
“Hmph. That’s how they do it.”
“No shit?” Baker paused for a breath before speaking again. “So is Phoenix’s heart still ticking?”
“Yeah, he might stay around if he can find you two—make it up to her, so to speak. Let me know if he causes any trouble.”
“Will do, boss.”
I hesitated, debating whether or not I should ask him. “Baker, what do you know about an oily odorless smoke that seeps into your skin?”
“Was it black?”
“Yes.”
Baker didn’t say anything for a long while. “So what,” he finally said,
“One impossible problem’s not enough for you?”
“That was my thought, too.”
“There’s something about it in jinn lore. I can’t remember what exactly. Maybe something like you’re made from a smokeless flame and jinn are often described as smoky?”
“Thanks. Very helpful.”
“Sorry, boss—”
“Whatever, never mind. I’ll check on Femi’s progress and start researching the room. Keep me informed. Let me talk to Liv.”
“Hello?” Her voice rang out and travelled through my veins, warming me as it went.
“Hey.”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to hear you.”
I could feel her smile through the phone. “You going soft on me?” Her throaty chuckle clenched me lower than my heart.
“I wouldn’t use the word soft.”
She laughed again. “What’s the new problem Baker was talking about?”
“It’s not important. I’ll tell you when you get home.”
“Holden, secrets don’t make friends.”
I laughed. “I don�
��t know that there is a problem. I was at the apartment and a black smoke sort of seeped into my skin?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Well that doesn’t sound good.”
“We don’t have time to worry too much about it.”
She sighed softly, but didn’t argue. “You really just wanted to hear my voice?”
“Afraid so.”
“Pull yourself together, Mr. Smith.”
“I should probably go.”
“Okay. I have one more little thought for you.”
“Yeah…”
“Whatever the smoke is, if it hurts you, it’s possible it could transfer through the bond to me. We don’t know how any of this works, do we?”
Damn. I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t think it was likely, but now the thought would of putting her in danger her would nag me. “I’ll look into it.”
“I thought you might.” Her voice was chipper like she knew she had cornered me again. “Love you.”
“I love you too.”
When I hung up I dialed Femi. She was on her way to see Sy who’d deciphered the note Olivia and I found. She also thought she had a lead on Juliet, but wouldn’t tell me about it until she came by later tonight. With time to burn, I paced the room then forced myself to do something I did not want to do. I called Dr. Evan Fulweiler, a guy who’d hired me once to find a rare text for him. He was one of the very few who ever got away from me. All he wanted was the one text and after he had it, I was never able to tempt him into anything else. I chalked him up in the loss column, but he had mentioned if he could ever do anything for me, he’d be happy to.
He answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Dr. Fulweiler. Remember me?”
He didn’t speak for so long I checked the phone to make sure we weren’t disconnected. “Mr. Smith,” he finally said.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“You do? I mean, yes?”
“What do you know about jinn?”
“Well—” He made a series of nervous inarticulate noises. “They’re not my field of study. I have a colleague in the Chicago area, Dr. Franklin Jennings, who is quite fascinated by them. I could arrange a meeting for you if you like.”
“Yes.”
“When can you make it to Chicago?”
“I’m there now.”
“You won’t… hurt him, will you?”
I sighed.
“I’ll call you back at this number?” he said too fast and hung up.
I had no idea why he was so frightened of me. I never hurt the twitchy little fellow. Within minutes, my phone rang again. Dr. Jennings agreed to see me, and he would be in his office all afternoon.
By the time I pulled up in front of Cornell Hall, the home of the religious studies department at McKinley University, I’d nearly changed my mind. I hated asking for help almost as much as I hated having to turn to a human. I thought about the black smoke—I had to know.
I ambled down the aging hallways past several different departments all tucked away in winding corridors. Colleges everywhere were the same. Each campus felt separate from the world around it. There was something peaceful about the collegiate island. I found the religious studies department and was directed to Dr. Jennings' office. I knocked on his door and waited. No one answered. Irritation brewed in me. Fulweiler had lied. Before I could stalk out, a thin balding man in wrinkled Dockers and a striped sweater shuffled toward me.
“Mr. Smith?”
I nodded.
“How can I be of service?” He ushered me into this office.
“I’m curious about jinn, and I understand they’re your expertise.”
“Of course. I’m always happy to talk to fellow enthusiasts.”
His office was a small, crowded room. Books and loose papers were stacked everywhere, and a pile of infamous blue test booklets sat on one corner of his desk. He motioned for me to sit in the chair in front of his desk as he took his own. “Do you have any particular questions about jinn?”
I shook my head.
“Do you mind if I ask the reason for your interest?”
“My reasons are my own.” I snapped, no patience for his inane questioning.
“Well, tell me what you know, and I’ll start from there.”
“Next to nothing. Though sometimes I feel like I’m living with it,” I said, forcing a smile and raising my eyebrows a bit at the end.
Dr. Jennings smiled back genially. “Jinn were created at the same time as man. Where man was brought forth from clay, jinn were made from a smokeless flame by Iblis—or the devil. He created the jinn from the smoke to mislead man. There are three types of jinn: those with wings, those that take the form of animals, and those that blend in with us. It's the third type you would have to watch out for. They snatch up a word of truth and mix it with hundreds of lies to confuse and deceive their victims away from the holy path.” He looked at me over his glasses to make sure I was still following him.
I waved him on.
“Every person supposedly has a jinn companion—a counterpart to their human soul. To protect yourself from this jinni you must ask Allah for help and try to be good.”
While all of this was interesting, it was a little academic and not helping me. “What were their powers and weaknesses?”
“They were masters at deception and misleading.”
That sounded about right.
“But as far as ‘powers,’ I'm not sure what you mean. There’s some talk of them transforming shapes, evaporating into smoke, and turning good people bad.”
“Smoke? How does that work?”
The doctor frowned. “I am not sure I understand your question. Since they were created from smoke it is easy for them to revert back to it.”
“But why would they?”
“To travel, to move faster, to sneak into closed areas, to spy, to hide. There are infinite reason why it would be useful. They retain their full consciousness while in smoke form.”
“And their weaknesses?”
“I suppose anger, jealousy, and hate.”
“Anything physical?”
“Not really. I think there was something about spitting three times to your left shoulder to dispel them.” He demonstrated. “Does that help?”
“Not even a little.” I stood and offered him my hand, but it hit an invisible wall. I tried again to the same success then tucked my hand behind my back and nodded, leaving at once.
Lost in thought, I walked outside ignoring everything around me. How did any of this help? All he told me were stories, faerytales. Granted, the spitting thing appeared to be right, but I needed facts, answers. I reviewed everything he said when I heard his voice calling my name from behind. I turned around and waited for the man to catch up.
“Why do you want to know about jinn?”
“That shouldn’t concern you.”
He stomped his foot, hands on his hips, and a smile on his face. “I’ll be damned. Evan was right. He found one.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re one, aren’t you? Of course you can’t tell me, it’s okay if you have to lie.”
Great, this was my expert. “That’s quite the circular argument you have put yourself in. If I deny it, I am a jinni, and if I admit it, I am a jinni.”
He whistled through his teeth. “I can’t believe you are here. What is it like?” He poked at me.
My hand grabbed him easily this time by the suit jacket, and I pulled him close. “This is not a petting zoo.” He stared at me with excited eyes. “How did you stop me from touching you before? Was it the spitting?”
“No, no. That should have disbursed you if the legend was correct. I am not sure which one stopped you. Come back, please.”
“Which one of what?”
“The artifacts. Come.” He waved to me over his shoulder.
“You can’t help me,” I called after him.
“Maybe I can,” he called back.
I followed him back in, h
oping it wouldn’t be a colossal waste of time. Seated back as we were he still stared. “A real jinni.”
“Okay, let’s reel in the fan-boy a little bit.”
“I apologize. You study these things as theories, religious texts, and never believe you will see it for yourself.”
“You should have hoped you never saw one of us,” I grumbled.
“Why are you here? You are a jinni; you must know more than I could ever know.”
“Not exactly.” I reached out my hand to toward his desk again and hit the same wall. I scanned the stacks. A small round stone carved with an intricate pattern was the only thing that looked interesting. “What’s that?” I pointed to it.
He picked up the stone. “An artifact I’m researching for a colleague.”
I reached out and could touch the desk now. Very interesting.
“It’s blocking you?”
“So it seems. Keep it with you, Dr. Jennings. Knowing of our existence doesn’t bode well for most humans.”
He nodded, slipping the rock in his pocket.
“I’m here because I know nothing about our past. Jinn have changed, evolved, over time, and I’m interested in what we were. Who did we work for?”
“You worked for no one but yourselves.”
“So we didn’t work for the devil?”
“No more than a human works for God. You were created as a counter for humanity. Who do you work for now?”
“Demons.”
His eyes widened, but he kept his cool pretty well for a crotchety, old nerd. “You came to only hear the history of your people?”
“That and there was an oily black smoke that surrounded me then disappeared inside of me this afternoon.”
“Were you transporting somewhere?”
“I can’t transport.”
“Hmph.” He took off his glasses and sat them to the side. “Maybe you are as you said—evolving. Were you thinking about a location or a person? Anything that would initiate the reaction?”
I had been thinking about Olivia. Very interesting.
“You’re the third type of jinn, the one who blends in,” he stated, looking at me. “What else can you do?”
“I can make you feel whatever I want you to feel. I can show you what pain truly is. I can crush you like a gnat.” I smiled at him. “And I can offer you a fantastic deal on immortality.”