That made two of us. It was probably asking a lot to expect a grad student in a completely different field of science to decode the secrets of a device only a handful of people in the pre-Dying world would have understood.
Which left us with…what? Finding some way to cope with our new reality? Jace somehow managed that better than the rest of the djinn; maybe he could train them to ignore the effects of the device as best they could. It wouldn’t be a very pleasant existence, but it was better than nothing. Or maybe Zahrias could come up with some way to contact the other djinn, those who weren’t part of the One Thousand, but who probably weren’t working with this Khalim and Aldair and the rest of the thugs. It was possible they didn’t even know what was going on. After all, they’d probably made their pact and then gone on their way, not bothering to check in with the dissenters.
No, that didn’t make a lot of sense. The djinn, if not all-seeing and all-knowing, still saw a hell of a lot. True, we were blocked to them now, but they had to have possessed some inkling of what was going on in this little corner of the planet. Obviously they weren’t concerned enough to interfere. Which meant we were on our own.
And if we couldn’t reverse-engineer this goddamn thing….
…well, then, we’d just have to have the person who’d engineered it in the first place fix it somehow.
My eyes must have lit up, because Lindsay asked, voice sharp with curiosity,
“What is it? You look like you just had the proverbial light bulb go on over your head.”
“Yes, Jessica,” Jace added. “It seems as if something has just occurred to you.”
Oh, it had occurred to me, all right. I drew in a breath, then said, “Lindsay, I know you feel as if you’ve been beating your head against a brick wall — ”
“That’s for damn sure.”
I grinned. “So how about some expert assistance?”
One of her eyebrows went up. “Assistance?”
From the way Jace crossed his arms, I could tell he didn’t like where this was leading. I had a feeling he was going to like it even less in a few seconds.
“If we really want to figure this thing out” — I paused, and decided I’d better just get this over with — “then we’ll have to go back to Los Alamos and kidnap Miles Odekirk.”
Chapter Five
Both Lindsay and Jace were staring at me as if I’d suddenly lost my mind. Maybe I had. But now that I’d thought of it, the solution seemed clear enough. We couldn’t expect Lindsay to come up with a solution to our problem. Even if she’d been a graduate student in physics rather than engineering, having her attempt to ferret out the workings of such an arcane device would be like asking me rebuild the solid fuel boosters on a rocket just because I’d helped my father once unclog the fuel-injection system on the car he’d owned before he bought the Cherokee.
At last Jace spoke. “Beloved, such a scheme couldn’t possibly work. While I agree that the man who invented this device is the best person to modify it, there is no way we could safely return to Los Alamos, let alone manage to sneak in and abduct Miles Odekirk. Don’t you remember how many guards were stationed at the labs there?”
Unfortunately, I remembered all too well. Nothing like the complement of men who’d probably watched over the facility before the Dying had swept away most of the world’s population, but still enough that getting in there undetected wouldn’t be easy.
Lindsay seemed to find her voice as well. “And it’s more than sixty miles from here to Los Alamos. Sixty-plus miles of being completely unprotected against the rogue djinn, since you’d have to leave the device here to make sure everyone else was safe.”
“I know,” I replied. “But once we’re away from here, away from the device, Jace’s powers will return. That’s got to help us, right?”
Jace shook his head, his expression about one-fourth pride and the rest utter bemusement that I was still pursuing this wild scheme. “I’m gratified by your confidence in me, Jessica, but even at full strength, I am still only one djinn.”
“True, but I’m not suggesting that you would be the only one to come with us,” I argued. “If the device is protecting Taos, then we don’t have to worry about leaving a bunch of people here to keep it safe. We can take a large group — maybe even half — and we’ll move quickly. Once we’re outside the field of effect, maybe the djinn can ‘blink’ us — or whatever you call it — from here to Los Alamos. One djinn carrying one mortal. You told me when we escaped Los Alamos that you could have brought me here that way, if you’d only had me to worry about and not Evony and the dog, too.”
At first Jace didn’t reply, instead cocking his head to one side and pursing his lips slightly, as if considering my plan. That seemed to be Lindsay’s cue to cut in.
“You’re not seriously thinking about this, are you?” she demanded. “I mean, you do know that it’s completely crazy, right?”
“Not completely,” he responded. His tone was serious enough, but something about the way one corner of his mouth twitched told me he was willing to entertain the idea. “Believe me, if there were a better alternative, I would gladly pursue it. But I’m fairly certain there isn’t.”
She folded her arms and glared at both of us. “Okay, I know I haven’t been making great progress. But I had to oversee getting the solar panels Jeff and Tony found yesterday hooked up to the resort’s grid, and then there was switching over to an electric pump powered by a generator so we’d still have running water, and — ”
“We know you’ve been doing more than your fair share,” I said. “And I know everyone appreciates it, even if they haven’t said so to your face. But be honest with me — would you be any farther along with the device even if you didn’t have to do all that additional stuff?”
A long, long pause. Her eyes wouldn’t quite meet mine, and at last she shook her head, defeat clear in the slump of her shoulders. “No. I’m afraid to open it up, Jessica. I can’t break it, or we’ll all be dead. I was probably glad of all the distractions, just because they gave me an excuse to not work on this thing. In fact, I only came down here a while ago because Lauren more or less told me I had to, that everything else was being handled for now.”
“We all can do only what we can,” Jace said then. “You included. Jessica’s plan may sound insane, but we must move forward somehow, and I know that my fellow djinn will not be content to let the status quo continue for any longer than is strictly necessary. Turning on the device saved us all, and was necessary…but in its present configuration, it will also end up destroying us.”
A shiver went through me at his words. I supposed I’d been telling myself that the djinn would learn to manage somehow, would get by until we could discover a better solution, but recalling the way Zahrias had looked earlier made me realize now that we didn’t have as much time as we’d thought. He had to be very strong, or he wouldn’t have been made the leader here, but his innate strength obviously wasn’t enough, not when it was being destroyed in small, soul-crushing increments. Jace’s only advantage was that he’d had weeks to get accustomed to the device and its effects on him, had been subjected to it at much higher levels, and therefore had built up a slight tolerance. Even that tolerance wouldn’t protect him completely; I’d seen for myself how easily tired he became, how his mouth would go taut with pain when he thought I wasn’t looking. No, this couldn’t continue. We had to take the risk.
Lindsay seemed to get it as well, because she nodded. “Maybe you’re right. I know it’s just awful to see Rafi the way he is right now. Maybe that’s why, deep down, I’ve been almost glad that I’ve been so crazy busy. I can tell him to stay in bed and rest, and then I don’t have to see him looking like a shell of himself. That’s one devil of an invention that Miles Odekirk cooked up.”
“I know,” I said grimly. “So maybe it’s time to make the devil pay.”
Zahrias didn’t offer much in the way of protest when we went to him with our scheme. Sitting in his chair, he
listened quietly, then said, “If you can find enough djinn and their Chosen to go on this expedition — at least ten of each — then I suppose it is something we should try.”
As it turned out, ten of each was a very low estimate.
I couldn’t blame the djinn. It was a risky plan, but I got the feeling that most of them were more than willing to take that risk if it meant a few hours or even days of being away from the influence of Miles Odekirk’s device. And the Chosen went along with it because they wanted their djinn back the way they’d been before all this began. This post-Dying world was frightening enough without having the person who’d been protecting you the whole time more or less down for the count.
In the end, we had twenty djinn and their Chosen. Because none of the djinn were certain how quickly their powers would bounce back, we made the collective decision to drive to Los Alamos, rather than rely on magic that might or might not fail us at a critical moment. Lauren helped Jace and me with the final selections for the raiding party, just because she knew this group and their strengths and weaknesses far better than I did. Her own Dani was going, since he apparently had been quite a warrior back in the day, before he decided he’d rather be a lover than a fighter. But Lauren would stay behind, since Zahrias needed her.
“Besides,” she told me frankly. “I’d be worse than useless on a trip like this. I don’t know how to shoot a gun — if a gun even works on a djinn — and I’d just be in the way. Might as well stay here where I can be of some use.”
I actually didn’t know whether bullets would have any effect on a djinn, either, but I figured I’d find out if I had to.
The person who surprised me was Evony. She confronted Jace and me in the hallway as we were headed back to our suite once the final kidnapping party had been selected. Her arms were crossed, and I could tell from the determined jut of her chin that this was one discussion I wouldn’t be able to avoid.
“I’m going, too,” she announced, and I blinked, then sent an uncertain glance up at Jace.
Being Jace, he came to my rescue at once. “We appreciate the offer, Evony, but this is going to be a dangerous expedition. Are you a trained warrior?”
“Of course I’m not,” she retorted. “I’m a former cocktail waitress who also knows how to wrench on cars. But it’s not as if Jessica used to be in Special Forces or something.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Jace beat me to it.
“True, but her father was a policeman and trained her how to shoot and fight. Also, she’s been inside the Los Alamos labs and can help guide us to where Miles Odekirk might be working.”
“I’ve been there, too — ” Evony began.
“In one building, on one occasion. We appreciate what you want to do, but there are important things to do here as well.”
“Oh, what?” Her dark eyes were blazing. “Change the oil in one of the trucks? Bring Zahrias his hot chocolate? You can’t stop me from going. If you won’t give me space in one of the vehicles, I’ll just hot-wire one and follow you.”
She probably could, too. And would, unless Lauren had a couple of the guys who were staying in Taos hogtie her and lock her in her suite.
“It’s not safe for you,” Jace told her.
“And it’s safe for the rest of you? Sounds you’re all taking a pretty big risk.”
His expression was grim, but also sad, as if he knew he was about to tell her something she really didn’t want to hear. “Yes, we are, but once we’re away from the field that device projects, our powers will return to us. That also means our Chosen will heal more quickly if they are attacked. Evony, you will have no such protection, because Natila is gone. That sort of bond only exists between the djinn and their Chosen. Do you understand why you must remain here?”
While Jace was speaking, Evony had stood very still, her eyes going narrower and narrower. What I didn’t see was any sort of surprise or shock in her expression, as if she’d already guessed that with Natila gone, she had none of the supernatural protections the rest of the Chosen enjoyed. And when she spoke, her tone was flat, unyielding. “No. You say your powers will come back, but I saw how wiped out you were after we left Los Alamos. There’s no guarantee all you djinn will just bounce back right away once we’re out of here. I mean, that’s why you’re driving instead of just blinking over there, right?”
He gave her the smallest of nods. “You’re speaking of my condition as I was after being subjected to the device’s effects for weeks and weeks,” he replied gently. “The djinn here will have only experienced it for a few days, and those at its lowest viable setting. It is not the same situation at all.”
To my own surprise, I found myself cutting in then. “If you’re really determined to go, Evony, then you’re right — there probably isn’t much we can do to stop you. And you do know Los Alamos, which can only help. I guess all I can ask is that you stick close to someone who can help protect you when the shit hits the fan. Maybe Dani. Lauren isn’t going with us, so he won’t be worrying about her.”
“I don’t need anyone looking out for me — ”
“But you do,” Jace interrupted, although his tone was gentle. His voice sounded in my mind.
Are you sure, Jessica?
Yes. She’ll come anyway, no matter what we do. At least this way, she’ll be with the main group and will stand a better chance. Do you really want to run the risk of her following us to Los Alamos and getting jumped by those same bastards who mutilated Aidan?
The slightest tremor went through him. I doubted that Evony even noticed it, but he was standing right next to me. I could tell my reminder about the fate of the hunting party was not something he wanted to think about. To tell the truth, I really didn’t want to think about it, either, but it was important that we always keep in mind what we were up against. And right then I began to suspect that we were up against even more than we’d originally thought. We still had no clues as to what had happened to the Chosen who’d first gone to investigate Los Alamos. Now, though, after seeing what this Khalim and his gang had done, I very much feared that those four had been taken, or killed…or worse.
“You do need someone, Evony,” Jace said, his tone a bit firmer. The subvocal back-and-forth he and I had just shared had only taken a second, if even that, and Evony didn’t appear to have noticed the slight hesitation. “We all need to look out for one another, because we don’t know for sure what we’re going to face. We could be attacked the second we’re beyond the barrier created by Miles Odekirk’s device, or somewhere out on the highway. We could make it all the way to Los Alamos, succeed in taking the scientist…and still be ambushed on the way back here. Many, many things could go wrong. You have never seen the djinn in battle, and I sincerely pray you never will. But if it comes to that…you would do well to have someone looking out for you.”
Evony paled slightly. Jace had never raised his voice, had sounded calm and unruffled during this entire speech, but his meaning struck home nonetheless. In fact, it scared me more than I wanted to admit. Unlike Evony, I’d seen with my own eyes the beginnings of one of those attacks — the swirling darkness, the feeling of utter oppression. What it would be like once it got close enough to be personal…well, that was something I’d prefer to avoid.
The group that had attacked Clay and Aidan and Martine had been small, only ten or so, according to Aidan. Our own expedition would have twice that many djinn, and an equal number of us humans. I hoped that would be enough. Because if the djinn came against us with the sort of force I’d seen swirling in the heavens over Taos just the morning before….
It was my turn to shudder.
“Okay,” Evony said, her tone quite altered. Now she sounded shaken, as she should be. “I’ll talk to Lauren and Dani, see if he’s okay with playing babysitter for me. But I’m going either way,” she added with a flash of her old defiance.
“As you must,” Jace replied. “Although I’m fairly certain Dani will be more than happy to make sure you come
to no harm.”
Jace was right about that — both Dani and Lauren agreed that if Evony insisted on coming, then he should stand in as her djinn, since Natila was now lost to her. And after that, the preparations moved ahead faster than I would have thought possible.
We’d leave that evening soon after the sun set, since going in under cover of darkness seemed to have a slightly higher chance of success than just strolling in with the sun blazing overhead. Ten vehicles, each with two humans and two djinn, except Dani’s SUV, which would also carry Evony. As much firepower as we could scrounge within the mile radius of our current safe zone. That actually turned out to be a lot more than I would have thought, but it seemed as if almost every household we visited had at least a rifle or a shotgun. There was good hunting in the countryside around Taos.
“And will this actually help?” I asked, my tone dubious, as I hefted the shotgun Jace had set aside for me. “I mean, we’re not exactly hunting rabbits.”
He didn’t smile. “Bullets will not kill a djinn, but they can slow them down. Hit them enough times, and they’ll be forced to retreat so they can heal. Of course, when they do come back, they’ll be angrier than ever, but….”
I got the point. If you were going to pump a djinn full of shotgun shells, you’d better make damn sure you were safely back within range of one of Miles Odekirk’s squirrelly little boxes before that djinn came after you, breathing fire.
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