by Nancy Madore
But the mist was beginning to take shape now, coiling into hard lines and sinewy muscle. Power radiated from it—and something else too, something dark and menacing. Nadia’s eyes were drawn to its face, which was actually rather ordinary compared to the other djinn she’d seen. But the rage in its eyes did not belong to any ordinary man. And the determination! Poseidon glared down at them as if he might incinerate them with his gaze. His long hair fell in curls that were as black as night, and his thick, dark beard trailed almost to his waist. His upper body—also like that of an ordinary man—was massive. The muscles all along his chest and shoulders seemed to be bursting with pent up energy. But his lower body—Nadia could do little more than gape at it in astonishment—was just like that of an enormous octopus! The dark, sinewy tentacles—there were eight of them in all—were as muscular as the rest of him. They moved out in all directions around the room, and Nadia almost fell in her effort to scramble away from one that was moving perilously close to her. It jerked back, as if stung by her reaction. But Poseidon wasn’t looking at Nadia. His heated gaze had settled on Lilith.
“What deception is this?” he demanded. He appeared to be struggling for control. His eyes glowed like hot coals. And yet, Nadia couldn’t help noticing that, if not for his menacing expression, his face might have been attractive. His features were symmetrical and classically shaped. But they were twisted into a look of hatred and revenge. In fact, Poseidon’s most noticeable characteristic was his rage. It was impossible to ignore. Nadia had glimpsed it from within the placid body of Phillip Benderman, but now it shone down on them in all of its terrible intensity, and when it lingered over Nadia—even for the most fleeting of glances—she felt a strange jolt, as if she’d been given an electrical charge.
Along with the rage, Poseidon had the look of a spooked horse who was about to bolt. And there was pain in his expression too; a kind of despair that seemed to border on hopelessness. And yet, his manner was imperious. Nadia was transfixed.
Lilith took the ring from Georgia’s finger and handed it to Nadia. Nadia hesitated.
Lilith pulled back. “Let me give it to your father,” she urged.
It was so tempting. It suddenly seemed to Nadia that her father was the one person who would know the right thing to do with this creature.
And yet, could she really be sure of that?
“No,” said Nadia, taking the ring. Her hand was shaking so badly that she could barely get it onto her finger.
“Then repeat after me,” said Lilith, and she began reciting another incantation, pausing after every few syllables to give Nadia time to repeat them. The sounds were strange and foreign, and difficult to recite. Nadia stumbled through the ordeal.
“I demand that you bring me to the leader of the immortals, like you promised!” thundered Poseidon. Nadia suddenly remembered Clive and Gordon, who were out there, somewhere, watching everyone who came in or out of the building. Were they close enough to hear what was happening?
“Hurry!” whispered Lilith, reciting the last few words of the incantation.
“Deceiver!” roared Poseidon. And then in the very next instant he was gone.
Nadia almost collapsed in relief.
“Now give me the ring of Asmodeous!” demanded Lilith.
Nadia nodded. With wobbly legs, she led Lilith into Georgia’s office, opened the back of the copier and retrieved the ring that Clive had given her. She handed it to Lilith, who instantly snatched it from her hand.
Lilith stared at the ring a moment before slipping it on her finger and beginning another incantation.
Nadia held her breath. She was going to see her father again. She recalled every detail of his appearance from that terrible day when Gordon captured him—the two heads, the body of a dragon and those dark, fearsome wings. And yet, she was not afraid of him. On the contrary, she wanted to see him. She suddenly realized that she had been waiting for this moment…yearning for it even. It didn’t matter what it looked like, his soul was the soul she knew. It was the soul she loved.
How good it would be to speak to him again!
The mist appeared. Nadia watched it, full of hope. Minutes passed. It seemed as if nothing would happen. She turned to Lilith.
“I thought you knew how to get him out of it!” she whispered, disappointed.
Lilith didn’t answer Nadia. She was staring at the mist with a look of rapture on her face. There were tears of joy in her eyes. But the sound of Nadia’s voice seemed to snap her out of her trance. She quickly murmured another incantation, making the mist disappear.
“But…,” Nadia was devastated. “Aren’t you going to make him materialize?”
Lilith looked at her. “No,” she said. “Not here.”
“Then how do you know it’s really him?” Nadia asked.
“I recognized him,” Lilith replied smoothly. “Didn’t you?”
The remark was meant to cut and it did.
What had Lilith seen that Nadia hadn’t? Could Asmodeous see them?
“I thought…I was going to see him,” Nadia said, stricken.
Lilith picked up a pile of papers from Georgia’s desk. “I’m sorry, Nadia,” she said. “I can’t bring him to you now. Perhaps he’ll contact you when he’s free.”
Nadia didn’t respond. She felt as if she just lost her father all over again. She hadn’t even realized how much she was looking forward to seeing him until just a few moments ago. In fact, she wondered if he was the reason she’d agreed to do it in the first place.
Lilith was all business. “I’ll call you from Georgia’s phone in fifteen minutes to tell you where you can find her,” she said. She unlocked the door. “You have my word, daughter of Asmodeous, that Georgia will live as long as you do not betray me to those men outside.”
And then she was gone.
Nadia collapsed in her chair. Though she was still shaking, she felt strangely numb. She looked at the clock, determined to wait the full fifteen minutes. Something in the way Lilith had said ‘daughter of Asmodeous’ seemed to confirm that she would do as she promised.
But what if she was lying? Or what if Georgia was too traumatized by the experience to recover—like that woman in Alaska?
Nadia looked at the ring on her finger. A living soul was trapped in there. What right did they have to keep it there? The ring suddenly seemed like the worst kind of evil. She twisted and pulled at it, scraping her knuckle in her haste to get it off her finger. But then she just looked at it, wondering what in the world she should do with it.
The violent trembling of her hands reminded her that there was relief nearby. Fishing through her purse, she pulled out her prescription bottle and slipped in the ring in exchange for one of the little blue pills. She popped the pill into her mouth and closed her eyes.
She would have to wait a little longer before telling Clive that she had the ring.
Chapter 13
London, England
Tired though she was, Beth could not walk by the pub at the Winchester a second time without going in. The late afternoon sun infused the room with soft light and cast a warm, inviting glow over everything.
The Pub was a little busier than it had been earlier. It appeared that the dinner rush was just about to begin.
Beth chose a seat at the bar. “Vodka martini,” she said when she caught the bartender’s eye. “And a menu, when you get the chance,” she added as an afterthought. She realized, suddenly, that she hadn’t eaten anything since the peanuts on the airplane. But the martini was what she wanted most. She would need it to sleep. Otherwise, she might lie awake all night, thinking about Lieutenant John Brisbin’s grave site. What would she find there?
She watched the bartender make her martini with an eager eye. He was quick and efficient, and poured with a liberal hand. She sighed happily when he placed the drink in front of her, and again when she took her first sip. This was definitely better than drinking it straight out of the bottle.
Beth gazed around the room a
s she slowly sipped her martini. The atmosphere was friendly and casual. Everywhere she looked, people were talking and laughing. Though Alaskan bars tended to be just as friendly, the people here seemed different. Pondering this, Beth realized that it was their clothes. Even in this casual pub, the dress was much more formal than the restaurants and bars in Alaska. Alaskan women, in particular, brought a whole new meaning to the word ‘casual.’ It was just so cold so much of the year. ‘Thick’ and ‘fuzzy’ were the only two ‘must-haves’ when it came to Alaskan women’s fashion. It was a rare thing to see a woman’s shape beneath her clothes, especially in the winter, and anyone foolish enough to show skin risked frostbite.
But London was different. The warm autumn day had brought out an array of soft, clingy attire in a myriad of eye-catching colors. There was a rare combination of sexuality and fun in the way the women dressed, a playful air that made it seem natural and easy. And it wasn’t just their clothing, but their hair and makeup as well. Beth felt out of place—dowdy almost—in her comfy sweatshirt (with a picture of a moose on the front) and jeans, and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She suddenly understood why everyone was wearing jackets. She’d be chilly too, if she were wearing some flimsy little blouse that showed half her midriff!
Beth had never given all that much thought to the clothes she wore. First and foremost, she wanted them to be warm and comfortable. If they happened to be cute (or funny, like the moose sweatshirt), that was a bonus. She loved fur, though she knew it was frowned upon in some circles (outside of Alaska).
But it wasn’t just the heavy clothes. The dress for comfort motto had seeped into every aspect of her appearance, including her hair and makeup. Being a nurse didn’t help. Between the cold weather and the shapeless uniforms she wore to work, Beth had given up a long time ago. If she had lived somewhere else besides Alaska—in England, perhaps—she might have felt differently. As her gaze moved around the room, she couldn’t help wondering if she was missing out on some small but significant part of being a woman.
And yet, many people preferred Alaska for this very reason. They liked that the people were so ‘down to earth’ and practical. The harsh and unpredictable weather dictated much of their lives. Things like clothing were more likely to be purchased out of necessity than for fun. At any rate, ‘fun’ clothing usually came under the category of snow mobile boots or a new ski jacket. Even in the bedroom, sexy lingerie was often limited to whatever sexual application could be incorporated into flannel.
Beth yawned. The vodka martini was going straight to her head. Everything seemed fuzzy and indistinct. She had a peculiar sense of wellbeing that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Would you like another?” asked the bartender.
Beth smiled. “Normally, I would,” she said, handing him her credit card. “But I think this is going to be it for tonight.”
Chapter 14
Manhattan, New York
Nadia paced up and down the floor of her office. The press release was completely forgotten. All she could think about was Georgia.
Where was she? What was going on in her mind? Had she witnessed the exchanging of the rings? How was Nadia going to explain what happened?
What if Georgia tells someone what she saw?
Most people would think she was crazy. But not everyone. Will, for one, would not think she was crazy at all.
Nadia re-directed her thoughts to what was most important, and that was that Georgia survive this ordeal. If anything happened to her—Nadia couldn’t even finish the thought. She wasn’t sure she could absorb one more loss—and by her own hand, no less. How much could one person endure?
One thing was certain: Nadia was finished with the djinn. In fact, this had become a mantra, of sorts, as she paced back and forth in her office. ‘Just let Georgia survive, and I will never interfere in the spirit world again,’ she vowed, over and over again, promising God, the Others or anyone else who might be listening that she would stay out of it if they would just let Georgia be okay. Her biggest fear, in that moment, was that there was no God, or Others, or anyone else listening. There was just her and the rest of mankind against the djinn, left alone to fight over this tiny planet called Earth. Nadia forced this fear from her mind. It was too terrible to contemplate, given all that she’d seen of both species so far.
The office phone rang suddenly, jangling Nadia’s nerves as she jumped to retrieve it. She picked it up before the second ring.
“Hello!” she exclaimed anxiously.
“Hey!” said a familiar voice. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
Nadia had to stop and think who it was. “Will?”
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked. “You sound very strange.”
“I’m fine!” she nearly screeched, and then made an effort to control her voice. “I’m fine,” she repeated more calmly. “Let’s just say this isn’t the best day of my life and leave it at that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. She felt a pang of guilt at the concern in his voice. “Did you at least get the press release out on time?”
Nadia glanced at the clock. It was twelve thirty. “No,” she said. “We…there was a problem with the copier. Everything is going wrong.”
“Oh, gosh, I should let you get back to it then,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
The thought of him coming over started her nerves jumping all over again. “No!” she said emphatically. “There’s nothing. I appreciate you’re offer, but…it’s all stuff I have to do myself.”
“Okay,” he said. “Can I make you dinner tonight? I can give you a massage that will make this day fade away like a bad dream.”
That did sound good. “I can’t,” she said. “I’m definitely going to be working late tonight.”
He paused as if he might object, or say he didn’t mind waiting, but he apparently decided to drop it. “Okay,” he said. “You know where I am if you need me.”
“Yes,” she said. “I do and I appreciate it.”
She hung up feeling guilty for having to lie to him yet again. Was it going to be a regular thing now, her lying to him?
No, she told herself adamantly, because I’m not going to do this anymore after today!
All she had to do was to get through this day and then it would be over for good. Please just let Georgia be okay, she begged, glancing at the clock. Lilith had promised to call in fifteen minutes. It had been twenty.
Why wasn’t she calling?
What if she didn’t call? Georgia could be lying somewhere, right that minute, fighting for her life.
Nadia started to cry. “What should I do?” she sobbed. She looked around the empty room expectantly, feeling perilously close to the edge of her sanity. She needed help.
Call Clive.
The thought came to her suddenly, but at first she rejected it. Lilith had made her threat abundantly clear. If Nadia contacted ‘those men outside,’ Lilith would not keep her promise to let Georgia live. And yet, it would appear that she wasn’t going to keep that promise anyway. It was possible that Lilith only made the promise to ensure her escape. Now that she’d gotten away with the ring, what incentive was there to let Georgia live?
Asmodeous. That was the incentive. Lilith would not risk betraying him by deceiving his daughter.
Or would she?
The djinn were so determined to achieve their ends. And they were so very clever. It was entirely possible that Lilith had simply said the words that she knew Nadia wanted most to hear. The promise that Georgia would live if Nadia allowed Lilith to escape, the phrase, ‘daughter of Asmodeous’—these obvious inducements would’ve been easy for Lilith to come up with. Clive had warned her that the djinn were extremely adept at manipulating humans.
She had to do something!
Nadia picked up the phone, glancing yet again at the clock. Twenty-two minutes. She had to make a decision. Georgia’s life could be hanging in the balance. She dialed Clive’s number.
He a
nswered on the first ring. “Talk to me,” he said in lieu of a greeting.
“Clive! It’s Nadia.”
“No shit. What’s up?”
“She was here!” she choked out. “It was Georgia.”
“Georgia!” exclaimed Clive. “But that was a half hour ago! Why the hell didn’t you call?”
“She told me not to!” she said, dissolving into tears. She tried to get the words out between sobs. “She said she’d let Georgia…live…if I didn’t contact you…but…she lied! She…lied!” Nadia was weeping openly now. “What should I do?”
Clive was breathing heavily into the phone.
“I’m coming up there,” he said. “Just hang on. I’ll be there in five…four…three…two…,” Suddenly her office door burst open and Clive came in. “One!” he gasped, but he had to bend over to catch his breath before saying anything more.
“She was supposed to call!” sobbed Nadia. “Why isn’t she calling?”
Clive stood up and took Nadia’s phone—which she was still holding up to her ear and talking into—from her hand and hung it up. Then he put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“Where was Georgia going when she left this office the first time?” he asked.
“We don’t have time for this!” cried Nadia. “We have to find out where Lilith went!”
“Nadia!” said Clive more firmly. “Let us handle this! Where was Georgia going when she left here the first time?”
Nadia had to stop and think. “She…she was going around the corner to make copies.”