by Liz Schulte
“I’ll prove it to you. Just wait.”
“Why do you care? Why are you even still here?”
“I don’t want to move, and your plans intrigue me. I want in on the ground level of whatever you’re building.”
“Then get out of my office and make it happen.”
Juliet may have been a plant to scout out my weaknesses, that’s what I would have done if I had a legion of devoted followers like her, but I could still use her to bring this business back to life. If she crossed me, not even her connection to Liv would save her.
Thinking about legions of followers made my eye twitch. I didn’t belong in this position. I worked alone, had since I became a jinni. I didn’t make friends with other jinn, hell I didn’t make friends with anyone. I had no following. If Danica wanted to make a move against me, there was nothing I could do about it at this point. Sure Hell was on my side, but they expected their earthly involvement to be minimal. I needed a plan. I needed to become what I never wanted to be, a leader.
I picked up one of my newly organized folders for expenses from the previous year and began entering them onto a spread sheet. I only lasted a couple minutes before the monotony of the task and worry that I didn’t have a plan made me put it to the side. I grabbed a few folders and tossed them into my bag and locked the office door. A new location would help me concentrate. All I had to do was come up with a plan before Danica came up with hers.
Outside the front door a human a few inches shorter than me with at least thirty more pounds of muscle leaned against the wall. His head snapped up at the sound of the door, and his icy blue eyes narrowed. “Who the fuck are you?”
He carried himself like a fighter—and it had been a long time since I had a worthy opponent. My fingers twitched towards a fist. The urge to beat something to pulp bubbled inside. I held him in my glare for a few seconds, daring him to make a move, then locked the door behind me when it was clear he wasn’t going to.
“Look, I don’t care who you are. I need to see that double crossing, dumb Dora who owns this juice joint. Tell me where she is, then scram.” The way he spoke like a Humphrey Bogart movie made me rethink my human assessment.
“Gone.”
“Figures she’d leave me holding the bag. Where’d she go?”
“She was removed from the region.”
“She better keep that way. If I see her again…” He waved his fist in the air. “Who’s the big cheese now?”
“That’d be me.”
The man scratched his hand over his neatly trimmed ginger beard. “I don’t know you.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Baker McGovern.” He shoved his thick hand towards me.
“Holden Smith.” The recognition of my name appeared on his face. Apparently, my reputation preceded me. “Now, what the fuck do you want?”
Baker laughed. “Quick to the point, I like that. I was a torpedo for Danica. Nearly got me killed, and she owes me a hundred thousand clams. I was lookin’ to settle accounts.”
The guy was talking seventy miles an hour and was like a step back in time. The twenties were a good decade for me, but I never picked up all the damn slang. “So you were her muscle?”
“I’m an independent contractor. This was the first time.” He shook his head and his eyes flickered towards the building. “Could use some hair of the dog.”
“I’ve yet to hear what you want from me.”
“I was here for compensation.”
“Then you’ve come to the wrong place. Move on.”
“Not from you. Jeez Louise, you’re a touchy one. What do you think I am?” His face twisted into a mildly annoyed expression. “I’ll get that on my own. I just thought we could shoot the bull since you’re the new boss, and I’m currently unemployed.”
I wanted to leave, but I needed connections, especially if Danica was itching for a war. I sighed and unlocked the door. We went to the filthy bar. I grabbed a couple of the decent bottles of whiskey and two nearly clean glasses. I poured the drinks and slid his in front of him.
“You don’t beat your gums, do you?”
I shook my head, wanting him to get to the point so I could leave.
“That’s a good quality for a boss. My old boss, O’Banion, couldn’t keep his mouth shut, got himself whacked.”
“The O’Banion? Like the North Side Gang?” Baker had a satisfied smirk on his face at my recognition of his name dropping. I shook my head. “We aren’t exactly the mafia, are we?”
“Not as well run or as organized, but pretty damn close from where I’m sitting. Let’s just say it wasn’t an adjustment when I stopped dealing with them and started dealing with you people.”
“That’s why I’m here, to clean up the mess Danica left.”
“I’m surprised they took you off the front lines. You recruit more than anyone.”
“How do you know that? What are you?”
“Word gets around—always has in Chicago. You just have to know where to listen. You came out of nowhere too. Where were you before here?”
“Tell me what you are first.”
“Shifter. I’m a cleaner, but I thought about getting into hitting, more lucrative, unless you’re stiffed.”
“St. Louis.”
“Can’t believe I never heard of you before you showed up in Chi-town.”
“Is there a point to this chat?” I didn’t want to talk about the past; it would always come back to one person.
“My hands are getting rather idle, and you know what they say about that.” He grinned. “I need an occupation for them.”
“What makes you think I’m hiring? Especially non-jinni?”
“I haven’t heard anything on the street about you being the new boss, so you must be really new or jaws would be waggin’. You need to surround yourself with people you can trust. It’s the only way you’ll succeed.”
“I seem to be hearing a lot of opinions about what I need today.” I tossed back the rest of my drink. “Even if you’re right and I do need people, what makes you think I trust you?”
“I don’t think you’re dumb, of course you don’t trust me. But I’m your man. Give me a shot. If I don’t work out, kill me. I’m not a jinni, so I’m definitely not angling for your position. What do you have to lose?”
“Do our abilities work on you?”
“Only one way to find out.”
I sent out some of the despair I saved and waited. Nothing seemed to happen. I touched the skin on his hand, and he shuddered but didn’t change his expression. If he felt what I sent, he could handle it, which was impressive.
“Damn, you’re strong,” he said.
“You could feel it.”
“Yeah, I could feel it, but shifters absorb emotion and personality when we change, so we’re used to it. I’ve never felt despair and self-loathing quite like you sent out though.”
“Hmmm.” My phone started vibrating in my pocket, and I knew who it was. I reached down and hit end before glancing at my watch. “I have to go. Leave me your number, and I’ll be touch.”
Baker scrawled out his number and studied me with a puzzled expression. “What kind of dame has you wrapped around her finger?”
“Excuse me?”
“Only reason for a man to go running because of a phone call is a woman. I’m not judging, just thinking that must be some skirt.”
“It’s not what you think. Stay out of it.”
I ushered him out and called my art dealer back.
“Did you get it?” I asked when Emile answered.
“They countered, Monsieur Falcone,” Emile said in a heavy French accent.
“I don’t care about the cost. Get me the piece.”
“Yes, of course. Three more have been located.”
“You don’t have to ask. I want them all.”
“Consider it done.”
I hung up. My business ventures had better pay off or I’d have to dip into the retirement fund. I called Marge on
my walk home, wanting to clear my mind and talk about the dame who would always have me wrapped around her finger.
Eleven
“So what’s on the docket today, oh, captain, my captain?” Olivia leaned against the kitchen counter with her slender arms crossed over her chest as she watched me skeptically.
“We’re going to try nudging today.”
“Which is?”
“You nudge someone towards the correct path without speaking or making contact with them.”
She tilted her head back slightly and her brows furrowed. “How exactly?”
I smiled. “That’s what I’m going to teach you. Are you ready to go?”
“Let me check my schedule.” She gave me an impatient look. “Looks like I’m all free,” she said without moving.
Someone was in a bad mood, but I pretended I didn’t notice. I led her to a café where we would find our first project. We settled in at a tiny iron table and Olivia looked around the room taking everything in with a serious expression. I let her go, wondering if she could pick up on the smaller needs as well as the larger one.
“Who are we here for?”
I nodded towards a young woman reading a book in the corner.
“What’s her deal?”
“We need her to decide to leave here earlier than she had planned.”
“Why?”
“Because that is what we were told to do. Sometimes the smallest change in someone’s day changes everything. Perhaps she will be in an accident this afternoon if we don’t. Perhaps she will meet someone she’s supposed to if she leaves early . . . There is really no way of knowing.”
“But what about her?” she asked, pointing towards a morose looking teenager sitting with a group of friends yet not interacting. She had a smoky darkness around the edge of her aura that wasn’t right.
“She’s not on the list.”
Olivia looked back and forth between the two of them. “But she needs the help more.”
“That’s not our decision to make. She looks like a jinni has marked her, but we can’t interfere. We have to trust our assignments are as they should be.”
She stared at the other girl a moment longer, then nodded and turned her head back to one reading. “What do I do?”
“Make her feel like she needs to leave.”
“Boy,” she shook her head, “you aren’t very good at this teaching thing, are you?
I laughed. “I like to see what you can figure out on your own. It tells me where your strengths and weaknesses are.”
“Okay then.” Her face scrunched up and a stream of light floated towards the unsuspecting girl. I had no idea what Olivia was doing, but I was curious about the outcome. The girl snapped her book closed, grabbed her purse, and ran out of the café. Olivia sat back in her chair with a pleased expression. “Easy enough.”
“What did I do? Whatever it was it wasn’t nudging. Why did she run?”
“I made her feel like she left the burner on at home.” Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “If you don’t like my methods, then you need to tell me what you want. I’m sick to death of your cryptic nature.”
“You shouldn’t have done that. Now you have altered the course of her day. She didn’t just leave the shop; you sent her with purpose. She might not be where she is supposed to be because you planted an idea in her head like a jinni. We do not do that. We only nudge.” Her face went dark at the mere mention of jinn, and I hoped my scolding hadn’t gone too far.
“Then how would you have done it?” Her nostrils flared as if she was holding back anger.
“You do exactly what it says. You nudge. You move closer to the person and send out the thought that she needs to leave. That’s all. No light or real energy required. Just a gentle idea that will take root and make her move on. You don’t inflict your will on others.”
“Something you maybe should have given me direction on,” she hissed and stomped her foot.
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “You’re right. I honestly didn’t know you were strong enough to do that. Most guardians need to be very close to, even touching, someone to help. I don’t really know how you did that.”
Olivia looked down at her hands and asked so quietly I wasn’t sure she actually said it, “Do you think it’s something I could’ve learned from him?”
That was an interesting question. Could she have subconsciously picked up on how jinn use their abilities having been in such close contact with one for so long? Could this have been a special ability of hers or simply a byproduct of Holden? “There’s only one way to find out.”
She looked up at me.
“Tell me how to do what you did. If it is something you learned by being around Holden then I could learn it being around you.” Even though his name made her cringe I wouldn’t stop saying it. She needed to move past him and avoidance wasn’t helping her do that. “If I can’t, it’s one of your talents.”
“It’s the same as the socks—only instead of directing a picture of something tangible, you send an emotion or smell or even an image. I sent her a picture of a house on fire and a thought about the burner still being on.”
I chose a person a couple tables away and did as she instructed. When my thought hit the man, his brow furrowed a little but then he shook it off and went back to his paper.
“It didn’t stick.” I leaned back, puzzling over the issue. Olivia got up and walked out. It took me a moment to realize she wasn’t coming back. By the time I made it outside, she was rounding the corner, fists clenched at her sides. I jogged to catch up and fall into pace with her. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
She shook her head.
“If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you.”
“You can’t help me anyway.”
“Sure I can.”
“Really Quintus? Like you helped me before I was killed?” Her eyes flashed.
“It was different then. I couldn’t help you.”
She laughed bitterly.
“I tried to help you. I gave you good advice you wouldn’t take. I told you to choose your destiny and you would be left alone, but you didn’t. You chose the jinni, you chose to fight a demon, you chose—” I cut myself off before I said too much and made her angrier.
“Why didn’t you do the light thing and get me out of the apartment? Why did you leave me in there? You could have taken me out at any time.”
“No, I couldn’t. You were human. I can’t transport a human.”
She stopped walking and closed her eyes. “I need to be alone for while. I know my way back.”
“I don’t think you should be alone—” Her expression turned from frustrated to murderous. I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine, fine.” I watched her walk away and turned in the other direction. Though I couldn’t be sure, I didn’t think the way she could push people was Holden’s influence. I could almost do it, so I suspected it was an elder trait. Olivia was trying so hard that I didn’t want to ask Ezra and raise suspicion. If he already thought she could disrupt the balance, what would he think if he knew of her connection? But my alliance had to fall with my people and not with her. I couldn’t risk being wrong. As much as I liked Olivia, I wasn’t going to let her hurt the guardians. I made a mental note to mention the exercise on the next check in.
Instead of going home, I went to Paris to visit an old friend who was also on the low council of elders, Jace. I hadn’t seen him in many years, but when you lived indefinitely it was easy for time to slip away. I needed someone I could trust to discuss this with, someone who perhaps would be able to see the picture more clearly than I could and who understood elder abilities. I found Jace milling around the Centre Pompidou, his face creased like worn leather and his permanently grey hair slightly longer than last time I had seen him.
Jace’s skill with light manipulation was the best of any guardian I had ever known. Normally, however a guardian saw him or herself in death was how they looked after they were reborn. To chang
e your hair required constant focus or it reverted back to as it was. The natural mental image was always the default—yet Jace changed his hair at a whim. He had mastered many things I could not over the years, and I always attributed it to his elder status, so I hoped he would have the answers I needed.
“Quintus, my dear friend. What brings you to Paris? I hear you have a very special trainee.” Jace hugged me.
“That’s why I’m here.”
Jace’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I’m honored, though I doubt I can shed much light on the issue. You’ve been training for a great number of years.”
“But I never trained an elder. Her talents are more in line with yours than mine.”
“Hmm. I did find it curious we weren’t training her. Do you know why she was passed to you?”
“Ezra asked me to.”
Jace frowned but nodded.
I explained everything that had been going on with Olivia minus the Holden part. Jace stared far off into the distance, drumming his fingers. “That does sound more like me, but I don’t know if I can do those things either. However, I would guess they’re elder traits. Do you know if she is high or low?”
“He hasn’t told me anything. Would you mind trying to influence someone, just to see if you can?”
He shrugged and I watched a light snake out from him as it did from her earlier. His target tried to shake it off as mine had, but Jace persisted and pushed the light until the person got up and left.
Jace’s shoulders slumped, and he looked weary. “It’s possible, but the energy it takes is phenomenal. How did she recover?”
“That’s just it. She was fine. It took her only seconds to achieve her goal, and she had no recovery.”
“Amazing. I’d very much like to meet your pupil.”
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”