Vic stood a few paces from Akeelah, feet shoulder-width apart, arms outstretched, hands on a large gun that pointed up toward the top of a small hill, where four figures stood silhouetted against the dark sky.
Marielle!
I sensed her presence immediately, her pure essence speaking to me like it always did.
A red dot appeared on her chest, then a loud crack issued from the gun.
The next instant was cut into thin slivers. In the span of those flimsy moments, Marielle’s face tightened with sharp emotion. Shock? Anger? Whatever it might be, it wasn’t resignation, she hadn’t accepted this fate.
And she didn’t have to—not even now.
Quick as lighting, I exploded alongside the bullet and shot across the thirty yards that separated me from her.
“No!” Akeelah screamed.
I sped after the deadly projectile, faster than the speed of sound. The bullet soared ahead, a hollow-point mass of spiraling lead tearing through space. With all that I was, human and Djinn, I pressed on until the blazing ball of fire I’d become reached the bullet and consumed it, leaving nothing behind. But I didn’t stop there. I continued forward, a celestial body in a collision path with its sun.
I reached Marielle, and in a conflagration of self, I enveloped her. I was almost too selfish, thinking of no one but her. But there were others Akeelah wouldn’t hesitate to harm, others Marielle cared about.
Another shot fired at Akeelah’s urging. The burnt taste of her magic followed.
I pulled everyone atop the hill into a protective aura. Abby and Maven were there, but also someone else. An older man unknown to me, but perhaps not to Marielle. She’d come here for help. Maybe this man was it. I couldn’t leave him behind.
Before the second shot traveled halfway in our direction, before Akeelah could use her magic in any way, we were gone. With the element of surprise on my side, I’d managed to be faster. But I didn’t get too confident. If I was to stay ahead of her, if I was to take Marielle to safety, I needed to hold the advantage.
We materialized inside a compact vehicle in one of the many getaway spots I had set up all over the world—this one on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. I used magic to start the engine, make the iron fence in front of us disappear and click everyone’s seat belts into place. It was the last bit of magic I would use from this point on.
With a loud screech of rubber against the stones of the small courtyard, the car jumped onto the street. It was a straight shot down a tall mountain on an unpaved but well-kept road. I remembered the family that had promised to keep the car ready and the road unobstructed in exchange for a generous monthly allowance. They had kept their end of the bargain well.
It was daytime here, early afternoon. The sky was a deep blue with fluffy clouds, the sun a bright, warm beacon that I wished could dispel Akeelah’s darkness. We passed a boy who stood at the edge of the road carrying a large pail on his head. He stared, slack-jawed, as the car left a cloud of dust behind.
“Faris,” my name an utterance of relief and love on Marielle’s lips.
She put a hand on my thigh, gripping it almost desperately. My hands were busy on the steering wheel and stick shift, but I wanted them free to embrace her, to pull her close to my heart. She seemed to want the same and did what little was possible under the circumstances to create a physical link between us.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” I said, making brief eye contact, then turning the car sharply left onto a paved road that led straight into the city.
Outside of Marielle’s window, a sudden flash caught my eye.
“Look out!” Maven screamed from the back seat. Abby cried out in fear. The older man remained oddly calm.
There, flying on a hazy cloud next to the car, was Vic. At the top of his lungs he screamed, “Your magic holds no sway over me, Djinn.” Then he barked a laugh and aimed his gun straight at Marielle’s temple. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.
Against the logic that told me this attack would not work, my entire essence and magic flared to envelop Marielle. I wrapped all that I was around her, ready for the impact. Of course, nothing happened except for a loud, empty crack. There was no bullet. Vic stared at his gun as if it’d turned into a harmless toy. As long as Akeelah carried him, as long as her magic was involved with his intent of hurting a human, his attempts would fail.
I wished for the weapon to disappear, but just as I knew it would, it remained in Vic’s hand. My magic held no sway over him anymore. The gun was off limits, though not the bullets once they left him.
I sped ahead down a steep hill. Vic was left behind. Pedestrians ran out of our way and called out insults in Portuguese.
Something hit the car from behind. Marielle bounced off the back of her seat and lurched forward, but the belt held her safely in place. The headlights of a white delivery van appeared in the rearview mirror. Vic was at the wheel.
Akeelah had facilitated the vehicle, but Vic was now in control of the pursuit. With him in charge, shots rang out. My protective shield deflected them, but Akeelah’s magic was at work trying to neutralize it.
I pressed the gas pedal to the floor, feeling the weight of failure on my shoulders once more. We’d returned to square zero. Vic had replaced Andy, but not much else was different. Marielle’s life still sat on the line. And now not just hers, but that of her friends and this stranger.
Behind us, Vic accelerated, trying to hit us again.
I felt split in two, human and Djinn, as I drove and struggled to keep my protective shield in place. Gripping the wheel with white-knuckled strength, I said, “Be ready to run when I tell you.”
There was no point in staying here. Rio was compromised.
Time for a different getaway plan.
38
Marielle
He’s here. He’s here. He’s here.
I repeated the words inside my mind over and over, and still they didn’t feel real. But maybe that’s what happens when a red dot on your chest convinces you it’s all over and, suddenly, you’re given another chance.
For an instant, I’d been sure I’d never see Faris again, and then there he was, whisking me away, saving my life one more time.
“Prepare to run when I tell you to,” he said.
My hand tightened on his thigh. I had to touch him to make sure it was not a dream.
He’s with me. He’s with me!
The relief, the happiness I felt were so overwhelming that they nearly erased the fear, even as death chased us through this new city—wherever it was.
“Where the heck are we?” Abby asked, huddled in the back seat between Maven and Gallardo.
A shot rang out nearby. I ducked, though the bullet didn’t seem to hit the car. Faris threw me a reassuring glance, letting me know he was protecting us.
Tearing my eyes away from him, I peered back around the edge of my seat, making sure to keep my head down. “Everyone okay back there?”
All three were sitting low, making themselves as small as possible. Maven nodded uncertainly. Abby was more honest and shook her head. The doctor just stared wide-eyed, a strange expression pinching his face.
“Is this thing bulletproof?” Abby asked.
“I don’t know, but he is.” I pointed at Faris.
“Not for long,” he said between clenched teeth. “Akeelah’s trying to take down my protective shield.” Sweat slid down his temple as he strained against the witch’s magic. My hands tightened into fists, and I wished there were something I could do.
Shot after shot rang out, but our car remained intact. I looked out the back window at the pursuing truck.
God, how are we gonna get out of this one?
All of a sudden, we decelerated. I looked ahead, expecting to find an obstacle, but the street was practically empty, except for someone riding a scooter several yards away. Our pursuer gained on us and started to overtake us, then Faris slowed a bit more until we were parallel with the van.
“What ar
e you doing, man?” Maven demanded. “Step on it!”
Through Faris’s window, my eyes locked with our attacker’s. He looked deep in concentration, both determined and calm, as if accustomed to this type of situation.
A criminal comfortable in crime.
A chill ran down my back. I gripped the edges of my seat. He was almost as unnerving as Akeelah, who—to my relief—was nowhere to be seen.
The man winked, then lifted his gun and aimed it straight at my head. With a shriek, I pressed back against the seat, trying to make myself flat.
“Hold on!” Faris said and, with a sudden jerk of the wheel, turned sharply into the other vehicle. The deafening screech of metal pierced the air like a giant piece of chalk against a blackboard. I ground my teeth, heart beating out of control.
Abruptly, the jarring sound came to a halt and I was on my feet, standing in a cold, dark place.
A flashlight suddenly illuminated the damp stone floor of a confined area. I tried to get my bearings, but before I could blink twice, Faris seized my hand and yanked me along. “Run!”
Abby yelped in surprise, then pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes roving across the odd space.
Four identical doorways were lined up ahead of us, each a gaping black hole leading to who knew where. I could almost hear the voice of a creepy TV show host.
Pick a door. Any door.
One of them leads to salvation.
The other three to your doom.
Pick one . . . darling!
With a jerk, Faris aimed the light at one of the exits. “This way.”
At least someone knew which door to pick.
The thin light beam shone on a narrow passage. My shoes slapped against wet stone, trying to keep up with Faris. The echoing steps of my friends and the doctor followed in our wake. A musty scent permeated the air, giving me the distinct impression that we were underground.
The passage was barely large enough for two people to run side by side. A jagged, protruding piece of rock on the wall grazed my arm. I bit my tongue and brushed away the pain. I had no idea what Faris’s plan was, but it seemed unlikely we’d be able to escape on foot when the car had proven useless.
After only a few seconds of running, we came to a forked intersection. We could follow a straight path or turn right. Faris brought us to a halt, seemed to hesitate for an instant, but quickly made his decision. He pointed straight ahead and put a finger to his lips, aiming his flashlight into what looked like an endless wormhole. This time he made us walk slowly, as he threw glances over his shoulder every few steps.
“She’s coming. I can sense her magic,” Faris said in a barely perceptible whisper. He stopped. I froze, digging my fingernails into his arm. His face—a plane of sharp features accentuated by deep shadows—tightened a little. I pulled my hand away. He gave me a smile that said he would go through all the pain in the world for me. I pressed closer to him.
We waited.
Behind a panicked-looking Maven, Abby looked small, and her brown, kohl-lined eyes strange in the poor light and the grip of fear. Bringing up the rear, Gallardo huffed, his chest pumping up and down with exertion. Everyone peered into the darkness, the way we’d come.
A dot of light glowed in the distance, growing larger at an alarming speed.
“Run again,” Faris said.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I sprung forward, ready for the race of my life. I ran into Faris, who was running at a significantly slower pace.
Huh . . . ?
My legs tangled with his. Behind me, Maven came up short too and had to put a hand on my shoulder to stop himself from falling.
The light behind us was growing brighter, and we were half jogging?! Nothing made sense. I almost screamed in frustration and had to remind myself to trust Faris.
“Oh, please hurry,” Abby whimpered.
Instead, Faris stopped and moved to the back of the line. He adopted a fighting stance and yelled. “Leave us alone.”
The floating dot of light which was Akeelah suddenly exploded into a bright sun that obliterated the darkness and blinded us. With a yelp, I covered my eyes and tried to peek between my fingers, but my eyes watered.
“Leave me alone, Djinn. Your magic holds no sway over me,” Abby and Maven said in unison, remembering to use the words I had made them memorize. I was glad they’d both kept their promise to use them against the evil creature at the first opportunity.
As quickly as she’d come, Akeelah retreated, her brightness subsiding as quickly as it had appeared.
“Did we do that?” Abby asked.
“No,” Faris said. “She’s coming back.”
When Akeelah had become nothing but a twinkling star in the distance of the narrow tunnel, Faris started back the way we’d come. “Quick, back the way we came, before she gets Vic. Hurry!”
It seemed Akeelah had split from her thug so they could search two tunnels at once, which was exactly the reason Faris picked this labyrinthine place. Djinn weren’t omnipresent, no matter how powerful they appeared to be. It was one of the first things Faris ever told me after I met him.
Brushing past Abby, Maven and Gallardo, I doubtfully joined Faris’s side. I didn’t want to go back that way.
“C’mon,” he urged.
Against all my instincts, I unlocked my legs and followed, and after a few paces, we were back at the forked intersection. This time, we turned.
“Take each other’s hands, and be as quiet as possible.” As soon as he said this, Faris turned off the flashlight. I understood his plan then. He’d made Akeelah think we would take the other passage.
Maven felt around blindly and found my elbow. Swiftly, we clasped hands. Practically holding our breaths, we crept ahead, our blindness rendering us stiff and clumsy. My heart sped as I imagined obstacles and booby traps in front of me. I wanted to get down and crawl on all fours, but I closed my eyes and focused on Faris’s hand around mine.
After a few tense seconds, a humid breeze caressed my face. I opened my eyes. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed pitch-black had been demoted to regular black. Gradually, my eyes started to make out shapes, then we emerged from the tunnel, and found ourselves outside, next to the looming bulk of a huge wall and a star-sprinkled sky.
We had gone from twilight in Spain, to bright afternoon somewhere else, to nighttime here. We had to be in the Eastern Hemisphere again.
I barely had time to register my surroundings before Faris was pulling me forward again. A steep and narrow set of stairs hugged the wall. We descended them in leaps, our shoulders brushing the tall wall to our right, eyes avoiding what looked like a drop to our left.
Didn’t these people know about railings?!
Down below, the sound of water lapping was accompanied by a rhythmic, hollow thumping. A shapeless mass bobbed up and down at the foot of the steps. We landed on a narrow wooden platform. A dock, I realized. A small boat was tied to a thick wooden mooring, knocking against it as it rocked in and out with the water.
Faris jumped into the boat and turned a key on the dashboard. A quiet engine purred to life. “Get in.”
As I started to step on board, the doctor pushed me aside and hopped in the back seat. The boat rocked and sank considerably with his weight. Faris glared at him, then offered me a hand and helped me in. Maven got in next. The boat had only enough space for four people, so Abby sat on his lap, hugging his neck as if he was a buoy.
With everyone aboard, Faris untied the boat and shifted it into gear. We pulled away from the dock very slowly. It barely felt as if we were moving. We stayed under the shadow of the great stone wall until it ran out. A smaller wall replaced it, this time a brick one. The vessel glided over the water almost silently.
I twisted the fingers of one hand with the other, chewing on my lower lip. My eyes darted in all directions, going back repeatedly to the retreating dock, until it was nothing more than a small, dark shape in the distance.
After a hundred yards of creeping al
ong, Faris sped up, remaining under the protective shadow of the rough brick wall.
Soon, the sights changed. Street lamps cast a warm glow on the water, dotting it with twinkling lights. Colorful buildings with arched windows came into view to either side of the river? Lake? Canal? I had no idea.
I was about to break the silence when Abby asked in a whisper, “Are we in . . . Venice?”
Faris nodded and put a finger to his lips. He spared a glance my way and gave me a tiny smile. He didn’t think we were safe yet. I chewed on my lip even harder. After some time, we approached another small dock. Faris pulled up to it, turned off the engine and tied the boat.
He climbed off, helped me out and gestured urgently for the others to follow. We climbed onto a rickety set of wooden stairs, slick with mildew. The planks groaned with our weight and we emerged onto an empty, cobblestone courtyard.
Looking right and left, Faris speed-walked toward a building on the right. When we reached it, we stuck close, hurrying alongside it. I figured this would make it harder for Akeelah to spot us, if she flew above like a circling vulture. At the corner of the building, we turned, but came up short, confronted by a table laden with food.
“Scusi,” Faris said to the couple who was enjoying an outdoor dinner.
We walked politely around a few more tables. At a different time, I would have admired the lovely ambiance. As it was, the candlelit tables, the canopy of tree branches intertwining overhead, the gentle violin music playing from tiny speakers, the delicious scent of herbs and fresh baked bread went almost unnoticed.
A loud growl escaped Abby’s stomach. “Sorry,” she murmured. “This is, like, the worst time to get hungry, but it always happens when I’m stressed out.”
To my surprise, Faris walked into the restaurant, where more patrons were enjoying the idyllic atmosphere. He pulled out his wallet, and—before the maître d’ had time to protest—he handed him a strange, green-colored bill that I assumed was an Euro note.
“Dove è l’uscita posteriore?” he asked in an Italian that rolled off his tongue effortlessly.
Two Hearts Asunder (Djinn Empire Book 2) Page 23