jinn 01 - ember

by Schulte, Liz

  “I can recognize her aura. I will see if I can find it. She is in the area, right?”

  “Don’t waste your time. Keep looking for Marge.”

  Quintus left, and Maggie and Baker started making phone calls. I went into the bedroom and tried to call Marge, but she didn’t answer. They’d taken us, all four of us, away and now Marge was missing. I didn’t believe in coincidences. This was all part of the plan to get Olivia to come to them of her own free will. Anger trickled through me, but it wasn’t icy. It was more like lava scorching my veins. If they hurt Marge… Lucifer’s words rang in my head. It would be worse than Thomas this time. My chest felt tight, and I tried calling her again. Nothing. The phone rang in my hand and I answered without looking.

  “I need a demonstration. You have to free one of us or the rest of the jinn won’t join. They don’t trust you not to cheat us again,” Phoenix said.

  “I don’t have time for this now,” I told him then hung up. I had priorities and he was at the bottom of the list.

  AS SOON AS Holden was gone, the angel let me come forward again. I hated sharing the decision-making with her. I looked at Femi, who looked weak, but not as weak as she had before. “You want to sit around here and wait or find the dream demon.”

  She grinned, pupils contracting. “I am never too hurt to kick ass. Let’s do it.”

  I helped her up and headed for the front of the park. I had a guess where the demon would be if this was the same park from my dream. The house on top of the hill was still there, just as I remembered it, towering down over the park in its abandoned glory. The windows were boarded shut, the paint was chipped and peeling, and it still had the overwhelming feeling of loneliness.

  I didn’t fuss over Femi. She looked better when she was moving and doing something, so I hoped this would keep her sharper for longer. She still moved up the hill with catlike stealth, but she was a tad slower than normal. One of her hands was always hovering over her side. I waited at the bottom of the steps for her to catch up. When she got there, we took the creaky, dry, rotting steps one at a time. The floor groaned against our weight, threatening to fold beneath us at any moment.

  The door squeaked open as we arrived, daring us to enter.

  “Looks like we are in the right place,” Femi said. She was moving a little faster and her posture was a bit straighter. Adrenaline and instincts were definitely kicking in.

  I headed inside. The great room had eight columns—four on each side. At the end of the room, six stone steps went up to a landing then split into two stairways in the opposite direction along each wall. There were three doorways on each side of the room, all shut.

  “One door at a time?” Femi asked.

  I nodded and she kicked open the first door, snarling against the pain, but it didn’t prevent her from doing what she wanted. The old door fell open. Inside, the room was littered with paper and scraps of peeling wallpaper. A large piano sat in the center of the room with a solitary chair behind it. Nothing else. We moved to the next door. This room was empty except for three large broken windows and a fireplace with leaves pouring out of it. The third door on the left-hand side opened into an enormous and elaborately painted hallway.

  “Holy crap. This is going to take forever,” Femi said. “Hey, demon. Come out, come out wherever you are.”

  I laughed, but the piano in the first room sounded. We went back, and sitting at the piano with his legs crossed in front of him was a man with a blank face. His skin was stretched over the skull, leaving no features whatsoever—just smooth, white skin.

  “What is that?” Femi asked.

  “Welcome,” he said with no mouth as he appeared to look at us with no eyes. Something about his voice was familiar though. “You should be more careful.”

  “I am not frightened of you,” I said.

  He stood. “Oh?” He held out his arms, a faceless man in a suit. “You think you could defend yourself against me?”

  I looked around, trying to spot the trap. Holden had taught me that there was always a trap. Femi had no such qualms. She charged and kicked the man in the chest, following it with a couple jabs to his face. He stumbled back but made no move to defend himself.

  “I’ve killed you once. I’ll do it again,” Femi hissed.

  “Is that all you have? You are going to have to do better than that.”

  Femi started toward him again. “I’ll show you what I have, you son of a bitch. You killed my sister.”

  I caught her, pulling her back. “Who do you see? Who is he?” I had never seen her so little in control. Something about him had gotten under her skin. I had known her for a while, but she had never once mentioned her family.

  She continued to glare at him, though she didn’t struggle against me. If anything, she leaned on me. I tried the light thing again, but it didn’t work. The man made no move toward us. I didn’t feel the evil coming off of him like I had with the other demons I had encountered. I chewed on my lip and waited for the angel to weigh in. She stayed silent. I was on my own.

  I squeezed Femi’s arm and went to the faceless man. Nothing about him felt evil. I placed a hand over where his eyes would have been if he’d had them and sent light into him. If he was a demon , he would wither against it. He didn’t.

  When I released him, he had a face. A face I didn’t recognize, but the angel fluttered. His hair was dark with a slight amount of gray mixed in, though he didn’t look old. He had dark stubble peppering his jaw and nearly black eyes. His nose was slightly crooked, but it matched his smile perfectly. I glanced back at Femi. “Does he look the same to you?”

  She shook her head, her eyes half open.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “A friend.”

  The way he said it made everything click. “You’re the voice? I have so many questions.”

  He glanced at Femi. “It’s time for you to go. See you soon.” He touched my head, causing me to blink. When I opened my eyes, I was home.

  He’d sent me back. Worry for Femi filled me. “Holden?” I called out, and there was a hesitant knock on the bedroom door. I swung it open. “Where’s Holden? Did he find her?” I asked before I saw who it was.

  Maggie stood on the other side. “I don’t know where they went. He and Baker left a few minutes ago.”

  Holden?

  We found her, Liv. I was so happy to hear his voice in my head again.

  Where? How is she?

  I don’t know how she is. It looks bad.

  Bring her back here. I’ll find someone who can help her.

  I could feel the affirmative. I squeezed the bridge of my nose, trying to think of anyone who could help me heal her. Uriel. Uriel would help us. I fell to my knees in the bedroom and prayed. Minutes that felt like hours later, he answered, pulling me away.

  “You need to see me again already?”

  He always chose the most peaceful locations, and this time was no exception. It was a misty forest in the height of fall colors.

  “Can you heal Femi?”

  He looked back with no urgency. “What happened?”

  “There really isn’t time to explain. Please come with me.”

  He shook his head. “Tell me what happened.”

  I recapped as fast as I could. He listened stoically. “Lucifer?” was all he said.

  I sighed. “Yes, but that isn’t the most immediate problem. Femi. She needs help.”

  “I feared this would happen. Be careful how you proceed. You cannot come back to us, but you cannot go to him either. If Heaven feels you could potentially become a threat, they will interfere.”

  “What do you mean interfere?”

  “They’ll execute you if they think you will upset the balance.”

  I closed my eyes. Of course they would. People who wanted to kill me were just going to have to line up and take a number. “I have no intentions of going to him. Look, I just want to help my friend and for Holden and me to be left alone.”

  Uriel nodded,
chewing on the corner of his lip. “And the voice?”

  “It’s not Lucifer.”

  “Do you know who it is?”

  “No.” I knew what he looked like but still not who it was.

  He nodded. “Distance yourself from this. I am limited in the help I can offer you. You chose to cut yourself off from the protection of Heaven. You have to learn to deal with these problems on your own. My days of being able to offer you the assistance you need are coming to an end.”

  “So you won’t help.” I shook my head. “You should have told me that five minutes ago. I’m wasting time that I don’t have here.” The more irritated I got, the more I spoke with my hands—and my hands were flying.

  “Patience. I will help you with this, but this has to be the last favor—at least for a while.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  We went back, but still only Maggie was there. I paced around the room while Uriel sat awkwardly on my couch. Maggie stood with her back against the wall, watching us with wide eyes. Every time I turned toward her, she flinched, and it was no wonder. I had acted like a crazy person since she’d come here.

  “Can I get you a drink?” I asked her.

  “I’m okay. Thanks.”

  I nodded, scrambling for anything to talk to her about. I used to be better at things like this. “How long have you been seeing Baker?”

  “Oh, a while. About six months.”

  I heard them come into the building. “Thank God,” I said under my breath and went to the door. Holden was carrying Femi, who was wrapped in a blanket that was already red with her blood. Her eyelashes trembled against her too pale cheeks. Uriel stood.

  If Holden thought it was strange that Uriel was here, he didn’t say anything. He carried Femi to the couch. Once she was lying flat, Uriel pulled back the blanket. Her left side was impaled with a shard of metal that would have killed a mere mortal. He placed one hand over her eyes while the other gripped the twisted hunk of steel. He looked back at Holden, Baker, and Maggie.

  “You better leave the room.”

  Holden was the first to turn and go to the hallway, knowing his limitations. Maggie went for the door and waited for Baker, whose feet stayed planted to the ground.

  “If it’s all the same, I think I’ll wait this one out.”

  I waved Maggie out and went to stand next to Baker, taking his hand so I could shield him as much as possible. Uriel stared at Baker with sudden interest. Baker squeezed my hand, but he nodded to Uriel, who nodded back.

  “Am I missing something?” I asked.

  “You didn’t tell me you knew a chol.”

  “What’s a chol?” I asked.

  Baker pressed his finger to his lips. “Help her now. We’ll talk about it later.”

  Uriel nodded. The room filled with blinding white light at the same time he wrenched the metal from her. Uriel and Femi were nothing more than outlines as she convulsed on the couch. Baker squeezed my hand harder. He watched with his eyes wide open like he didn’t want to miss a moment, though the brightness made tears stream from them. When Femi finally stilled again, the light vanished. I let go of Baker and went forward.

  “She will sleep for a few hours, but she will be fine. I restored all of her lives.” He glanced down then above. “You might need them.” He kissed my forehead. “You have surrounded yourself with strength. Do not be afraid to let them help you.”

  Uriel vanished, leaving me and Baker.

  “A chol?” I asked.

  “Easy, angel. Let’s not spread that around.” He shook his head. “I’m surprised you don’t know. You don’t talk to the angel at all, do you?” He glanced toward the door. “No time to wag our jaws. We’ll rehash this later.”

  I let Holden know it was safe to come back. He and Maggie came back in. She looked uncomfortable, but he looked like he always did.

  Did you talk to her at all while you were out there?

  Why would I talk to her? he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

  I shook my head.

  “How is she?” he asked.

  “Good as new,” I said.

  “Maybe even better,” Baker added.

  Holden glanced around. “Where did he go?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Have you heard from Quintus? Has he found Marge?”

  Everything in me stilled. My mom was missing and I was just now hearing about it? “What happened to the guardian watching her?” I asked too sharply.

  Holden threw a hand up in the air and I prayed for Quintus. He arrived moments later.

  “You found Femi,” he said.

  “How did you lose my mother? Where is her guardian?”

  Quintus took a deep breath. “I think he’s dead.”

  I looked at Holden. “He didn’t tell me that,” Holden said, looking about as happy with the news as I felt.

  “What have you done to locate her?” I asked.

  “Olivia, I am doing everything I can. I am using every resource available to the guardians. She is gone. Vanished.”

  Holden used to cancel me out when I was alive, but that was different. I was never a normal human. My mother was. Death was the only way I knew of to make a human vanish, and judging by Holden’s expression, he thought the same thing. That wasn’t something I could live with.

  “I can find her.” I didn’t know how I would do it, but surely I could. I could identify people who needed help. I had to be able to direct that to find a particular person.

  “How?” Quintus asked.

  “Maybe Uriel could help?” Holden said.

  I shook my head. “He isn’t… He can’t help us anymore.”

  Holden ran his hand through his hair. “Then we will find her on our own, but we will find her.”

  “We don’t need him,” Baker said. “We have you, angel.”

  I appreciated the vote of confidence, but nerves were too much with the stakes this high. “Yeah, I can do it.”

  They all stood and watched me. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, but I couldn’t. Not with everyone staring at me.

  “We should probably give Liv some space,” Holden said, sensing my discomfort. I smiled a little, feeling in that moment very lucky to have him.

  “Great idea, boss. That’s why you’re paid the big bucks.” Baker grinned. “Why don’t you take Maggie for a cupcake. The two of you have a lot to talk about.”

  Holden gave him a stony look. “I don’t eat cupcakes.” He’d said it with such finality that the absurdness of his words was almost lost.

  “Then you should branch out.” Baker’s grin widened farther and a mischievous glint twinkled in his eyes. “Holden here was related to your great-great-great-grandfather. Isn’t that right?” He looked at me.

  “Well, yes.” I looked back and forth between them. Holden’s jaw was so stiff that it looked like it could shatter. His mind was completely shut down. What in the world was Baker doing?

  Maggie stared at him with a new appreciation. “You’re related to me? How is that possible? Does that mean I am like you?”

  Holden’s stare continued to drill holes into Baker, whose smile never faltered as he nodded encouragingly to Maggie. I had no idea what to do or how to diffuse this, my own worries taking primary residence in my mind.

  I need people to leave, Holden. Please. Even though I couldn’t hear his thoughts, he always monitored mine.

  He blinked and inclined his head ever so slightly. With a deep breath, all the anger disappeared from his face. He was a little too good at dismissing the things he felt, never giving them time to breathe or heal, but he didn’t really have that luxury since every feeling he had was amplified in the people around him. He turned to Maggie, offering her his hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced.”

  A too familiar blank look went over her face when he touched her. She stopped asking questions and stared at him as if awaiting instruction.

  Holden. I couldn’t block my disapproval. It was bad enoug
h when he did it to strangers. Acting It that with people we knew was inexcusable.

  I’m doing it my way or I am not doing it. He looked back at me to punctuate his sentence.

  Baby steps, I reminded myself. I let it go. He walked her out of the apartment and Quintus excused himself, but Baker hung behind. I flopped down on the couch, leaning my head back against the cushion. I didn’t want to necessarily change Holden. I just wanted him to be more mindful of his actions and considerate of others. It wasn’t like I expected him to go around offering hugs and advice, but talking to people instead of manipulating them to do what he wanted would be a step in the right direction.

  The couch gave under Baker’s weight as he sat down next to me. “Let’s find your mom, angel.”

  I released a slow deep breath. “I don’t know how.”

  “Sure you do. Just relax.”

  “JUST RELAX. SURE, that’s easy. It isn’t like lives are on the line or anything,” Olivia said, covering her eyes with her forearm. “Even if I were relaxed, what am I supposed to do then?”

  Only a woman this stubborn could have held her own with Holden. “You are an angel. Quiet your mind and listen to what she has to say. Angels can find people. You can find your mother.”

  She bit her lips and nodded. She was quiet for a couple minutes but her foot tapped faster and faster. “Nothing’s happening.”

  I sighed.

  She sat up. “Talk to me. I can’t clear my mind because I am too worried. I am worried about Mom, about Femi, and that Lucifer wants me to join him. I am worried about Holden and what will happen to him in all of this. I am worried about you and Maggie. I am worried Holden is terrorizing Maggie as we speak. I am worried the angels are going to put a hit out on me. You have to help me clear my mind.”

  “Sure, angel. What do you want to talk about?”

  “What’s a chol?”

  I’d known it from the first time Olivia and I had really connected. She would be the one I’d tell what I was. There weren’t many who knew. Few could recognize me on their own, but most of those I hadn’t stuck around to chat with. The Abyss was a dog-eat-dog sort of place. Everyone had an angle. It was easier to let people believe I was a shifter. They accepted it because shifting was one of the things I could do. I didn’t really know what had put me in the path to meet Holden that day or why I’d known I liked him from the start. Whatever sort of destiny had been working in favor because with Holden came Olivia and with Olivia something I never thought I would have. I’d always planned to tell her everything, but I just hadn’t planned on doing it this soon. “It’s like a phoenix.”