“I got into some trouble. They helped me out,” he said haltingly.
“Uh huh, trouble? Please define trouble.”
“Look, is this necessary?” He placed the half-empty bowl on the floor of the tent and leaned back on the bean bag.
He looked like a male model—all angles and sexy. Jinx felt her nether regions heat up, causing her to squirm. He read her thoughts once again and narrowed his eyes at her, making him look predatory and hungry.
“You know all about me,” Jinx muttered, somehow managing to ignore his look. “You made me spill my guts, and now, it’s your turn.”
Lucian laughed softly. Genuine amusement sparkled in its sound. “I don’t know all about you.”
“Yes you do–all the stuff I didn’t want know you to know, in fact. So, what trouble were you in that only the Mafia could get you out of?”
The smile slid off his face and died. “You know what I am.”
“Demon spawn. Yes.”
“Do you know what happens if you have sex with the son of an incubus?”
“Uh, you control them?”
“Yes. Suffice it to say, when I was young, inexperienced, and desperate to make my mark on the world, I used that power to gain not only women and money but power, too.”
Jinx glanced at the sports bag he still held, knowing it was full of his ill-gotten gains.
“You seduced the wrong woman?” she asked softly.
Lucian laughed again, his teeth glistening in the dark. “Yes, I had big plans and naturally didn’t expect them to go wrong.”
“What happened?”
“The woman realized what I was and told her husband.”
“Oh, who was she?”
He looked away, managing to straighten the grimace from his lips. “The ex-prime minister’s wife,” he said seriously, returning his gaze to her.
Jinx felt a bubble of hysterical humor threaten her composure. “You didn’t!”
Lucian sighed. “Like I said, I was young and inexperienced–”
“You were stupid is more like it,” she said with a disbelieving snort.
He laughed weakly. “Maybe I was, but it was years ago. Let’s just say that after that I learned my lesson, but it didn’t matter. I’d insulted some important people, and they had everyone looking for me. It was then that the Mafia approached and offered their…err…aid.”
“They would smooth over the problem with the PM’s wife if you took their pledge?”
“Yes.”
“Gosh, how far do the Mafia’s fingers reach?”
“Too far, unfortunately.”
“When you joined the Family, what work did you do for them?”
“The same thing I did before I pledged to them. I controlled women through sex, to gain power and money.” Lucian shrugged, appearing unperturbed.
“Ugh, you’re a feminist’s nightmare.”
He laughed. “Yes, I am.”
* * * *
Back in Kuala Lumpur, the bomoh sat on a stiff-backed, wooden chair, gazing into a shimmering bowl of water.
“Are you going to quit staring at that bowl and listen to me?” asked a rumbling, low voice. The bomoh raised his head and pushed the orange shroud back from his face. He shouldn’t be rude to his guest. As he gazed at the small, twitching gnome, the bomoh felt a tinkle of amusement tug at his cheeks. The Magical Mafia, asking him for help—how stupid.
“Sorry, Pater Rex. My pelesit informs me they are in the rainforest in Sarawak. They are hiding and have confined her to a jar to discuss things in private.”
“I want that genie, and I need Lucian back,” the Pater Rex rumbled, running a nimble hand up and down his neatly braided beard.
The bomoh steeled his back and wobbled his jowls. “I let you into my country without my government knowing. I have risked my reputation. Do not think to order me about. I will have the genie first.”
“I have already agreed to this,” the Pater Rex growled. “You’re wasting my time. Time I do not have.” His face ticked compulsively. The bomoh wondered what was wrong with him.
“I am merely reassuring myself that our deal still stands. I will inform you of their location, so you may capture them. Then, you will hand the genie to me and return to England with Lucian. When I have finished with the genie, you may have her–you have my word―though, what state she may be in, I cannot guarantee.”
“Enough,” the Pater Rex snapped. He rested his hand on the side of one of the leather-skinned chupacabras. “Give me their exact location.”
The bomoh did.
As the Pater Rex and his smelly chupacabras disappeared in a shimmer of magic, he glanced at the bookshelf of captured djinn and rearranged his shroud over his face. He had work to do.
* * * *
Lucian finished eating. Jinx waited patiently for him to resume his confession, but true to form, he remained resolutely silent. His body was sensually reclined and his face impassive.
“Well, why were the Mafia punishing you when you found me? Why were you hanging in that box?” she asked for a second time.
“In a moment of weakness, I allowed my emotions to overrule my common sense. I betrayed them. I let a Nephilim and the Family’s genie escape.”
Jinx stared at him for a long moment and narrowed her eyes. Thus far, Lucian didn’t seem like the kind of man to just let someone escape.
“Why would you do that?”
He shrugged. “I spent many hours hanging in that box wondering the same question. It was a moment of weakness, nothing more.”
“Hmmm, was it the right thing to do?”
Lucian hesitated before answering. “Yes, I think it was.”
“Then, it wasn’t weakness.” Jinx yawned. “It takes strength to do the right thing when the wrong thing would have been easier. Nephilim work with souls, don’t they? Couldn’t the Nephilim remove your pledge?”
Lucian was silent. Jinx felt his torn gaze on her.
“We weren’t...friends,” he explained.
“Why would you let him go if you weren’t friends?” She was confused.
“It wasn’t a him; the Nephilim was a her.” Lucian gave Jinx a pointed look, and she instantly regretted making the suggestion.
“Oh...you were screwing her?”
He nodded and looked at her closely.
Jinx struggled with an unexpected swoop of jealousy. She chewed her bottom lip for a second and rubbed her chin, warring with the surprising intensity of her feelings. “Then, you must have controlled her. Why didn’t you force her to remove the pledge?”
He sighed. “The soul of demon spawn isn’t like a human. I’m not sure she could have. Besides, I couldn’t give her control over me—not for a moment.”
Jinx tightened her hands around each other, feeling sick about what she was going to suggest.
“Well, I think if anyone can remove the pledge it would be a Nephilim. We need to find her. She owes you. You let her escape.” Jinx glanced at Lucian. The lines on his handsome face were hard and his eyes unyielding. It was clear he was unimpressed by the suggestion, yet she found herself forging on. She ignored her jealousy and his cold response. “Well? What’s her name? I’ll go and find her.”
“Her name is Antigone, and my answer is no.” Lucian’s tone was final. “Absolutely not. I forbid you to search for her.”
Jinx felt the weight in his command tingle with magic.
“Why? She’s a Nephilim—the one creature who could probably free you.”
“No, she wouldn’t. I wasn’t exactly high in her regard. She also has a very possessive lover, who would gladly feed my genitals to a starved manticore if I ever so much as set eyes on her, again. Omar, the bastard,” he muttered under his breath. “Besides that, they deserve thei
r peace and quiet, and I’m happy to leave them alone.” He looked back up at her. “We’ll figure something out. It’s you who will free me.”
“I’m glad you’re so certain.” She sighed. “Let me have another look at this damned pledge.”
“Certainly.” He took a deep breath.
Once again, Jinx let her magic test him. Searching deep into the mystic fibers of his being, there it was—tight, cutting, and unbelievably strong. It pulsed with power as her magic ran across it. She sent a thin tendril of smoke and tried to grasp hold of the pledge.
Lucian released a low moan of pain. She quickly retreated.
When she caught his eyes, despair lurked in their depths.
“I need to do some research. A wish simply won’t do it. Brute strength won’t do it, either. I’m simply not educated enough to deal with this kind of magic. Give me some time...” She trailed off, desperate to erase his despair. What time did they have?
“You have as much time as we can get,” Lucian assured her softly. Jinx rolled over in her beanbag. It squelched beneath her as she felt sleep threaten her once again. “I’m tired,” she murmured.
“Okay.” He stood up and stooped out of the tent.
“Where are you going?” Jinx called, suddenly alarmed.
“I’m going to use the facilities. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes.” She felt sheepish at her initial alarm. Jinx listened as he stomped through the undergrowth and finally heard the patter of urine hitting sodden leaf-litter.
At least they were safe for the moment. She smiled. It was nice talking with Lucian. He could be quite pleasant when the mood struck him. She closed her heavy eyes. There was the sweet scent of mandarin blossom in the air.
Mandarin blossom? In the jungle? Through the fog of sleepiness, she heard something shuffle near the tent. Lucian is back, she thought and peeled an eye open. She looked at the tent slit and saw it nudge open. It was not Lucian’s handsome head poking through, however, but a leathery, gray muzzle and a black, wet nose. A jaw filled with sharp, dangerous-looking teeth followed.
“Lucian,” Jinx bellowed. She flew to her feet, casting aside the sleepiness with a wash of her own magic.
“Jinx,” Lucian shouted. Suddenly, the chupacabra was jerked from the tent entrance with an angry snap and snarl. Jinx staggered toward the exit, pushing the tent flaps open with blind, fumbling hands. Lucian was backing away from the chupacabra as it snarled, again. “Get the bag,” he barked.
She spun around, the words of a summoning spell on her lips. The words died. There, surrounded by the shimmering of invisible magicians, the small gnome stood. In his hands was the sports bag.
“Get the bag,” Lucian roared. Jinx turned just in time to see the chupacabra sink its fangs into his forearm. Lucian cried out and attempted to jerk his arm free. Blood spurted from the puncture wounds and rained down on the forest floor. Jinx was about to send a spell to aid him when Lucian cried out once again. “Just get the bag.”
Jinx spun around and re-uttered the summoning charm, but it was too late. The gnome and the invisible shimmering magicians around him were already disappearing. Lucian was disappearing with them.
“Oh no!” She inhaled deeply. Using the ancient and powerful magic that linked the genie and her master, Jinx uttered a charm quickly under her breath. Instantly, the bewildered chupacabra disappeared but Lucian thankfully remained. He groaned and clasped his bleeding arm to his chest.
“They got it, didn’t they?” he asked, not looking up. He cradled his arm in the gloomy darkness. “They’ll be back for me in a minute.”
“I’m going to send you to that place I told you about,” Jinx said suddenly. “I’ll go and get the bag back. I’ll be able to trace it because of my lamp.” She could already feel the tugging of the lamp drawing her back to it as it passed the one kilometer radius of separation.
“Wait. I don’t think you should go without me,” Lucian said in a firm voice.
At his statement, the tugging sensation immediately stopped; however, she could still sense the lamp pulsing far in the distance.
“I’ll be fine. If you give me permission to retrieve the lamp, I can do just that, but don’t waste your last wish on it.” She walked up to Lucian and illuminated him with an orb of magic.
He looked pale in the dim light. His blood dripped steadily from the wound, and his lips were tight with pain.
“Let me look at it,” Jinx said gently and gingerly lifted his arm, peeling back the ruined sleeve of his shirt. Lucian’s arm was strongly muscled and covered with deep puncture wounds. She touched his bloodied skin and felt heat whoosh through her body. Struggling to ignore it, she whispered the mederi obduci spell. As with the Hellcat earlier, Lucian’s muscle and skin knitted and healed. The skin was soon drawn over the last puncture. She looked up.
“Thank you,” Lucian murmured, but Jinx stopped him with a swift look.
“I’m not finished, yet,” she replied. Uttering the velox purgo spell, she cleaned him up and clothed him in a fresh, dark green shirt. “There.” She smiled approvingly.
“Jinx,” Lucian said. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up toward him.
“Yes?”
Lucian’s lips hovered above hers, his breath blowing softly. He took his hand from her chin and clasped her narrow hips, drawing her to him. Her body met his with a soft ‘whoomp’. She gasped and met his gaze steadily. His expression was torn.
“You realize that even if you manage to get the lamp back, the bomoh is after you, and the Family is still after me. If through some kind of miracle we escape and find somewhere safe to hide, I can never so much as make love to you without threat to your immortal soul. I’m the son of an incubus, and I’m…” He clasped his hands tighter, sending showers of electric sparks rioting through her body. “I’m hungry for you.”
Then, he kissed her. He kissed her like a drowning man, clutching, desperate, and primal. A moan grew thick in her throat. She wanted him, his addictive kisses, his brusque manner―everything.
The world swam as Jinx wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself closer. She couldn’t breathe and found she didn’t want to, anyway. Heat rushed through her. Her legs melted, and she felt boneless and heady with passion as she clung to him.
As ever, it was Lucian who pulled away, his eyes blazing red.
“Send me away,” he growled, his voice guttural and thick. “Send me away and go get that lamp.” He pushed her away. Her breath retuned with a screaming whoosh.
Her body was instantly cold without Lucian’s warmth, but there was no way Jinx could refuse her master. With a hurl of magic, she forced him to the safest place she could think of. Then, without another thought, she followed the pulse of her lamp, hoping against hope she could retrieve it and somehow finish what she started with Lucian.
* * * *
Lucian landed with a thump and a gasp on a wooden boardwalk. It was late at night, now. The moon was hidden by wispy clouds, and the forked arms and spangled canopy of the surrounding trees made it darker still. It was cooler here than the Sarawak jungle but still warm. The air was dry, but water glistened black beneath the boardwalk and beyond. He was in a swamp, a West Australian Swamp, he presumed. Something swirled in the inky water a few meters from the raised boardwalk. He remained still and watched it. After a while, its curiosity clearly waned, and it swam off into the deep paper-bark marsh. There was magic in the air here―Jinx was right―but it wasn’t magic of the usual ilk. It was ancient, earthy, and as tangible as the clothes on his body.
Lucian inhaled deeply, trying to figure out where the magic was coming from. He stopped after a while. The magic was the swamp itself. Neither benevolent nor malevolent, the swamp and its magic seemed just to be. He finally relinquished any desire to understand it and listened carefully to the sounds around hi
m. The leaves of the paper-barks rustled in the light breeze. The resonant ‘bonks’ and ‘ribbits’ of what Lucian assumed were frogs played a bizarre symphony around him. He thought he heard cars but couldn’t be certain. The magic of the swamp muted human-made sounds. Eventually, he stood. Deeming himself relatively safe from immediate attack, he followed the boardwalk.
Where was he going to go? Where could he go? He had no money, no magic, nothing–except one more wish. His heart squeezed with concern as he hoped Jinx was all right. He knew he could command her back to his side and she would appear, but he didn’t want to do so until he could be certain she retrieved the lamp. At the very least, he didn’t want to take the last wish when her lamp was in the possession of the Family or the bomoh.
That damned lamp.
If she weren’t a genie, if I weren’t the son of an incubus, they could... The thought hung and died. They were what they were. Nothing was going to change that. The fact that the large-nosed Lebanese genie somehow wheedled her way into his affections both irked and amused him. He needed to seriously consider his last wish and try to get Jinx passed onto a decent master. It was the least he could do, for both their sanities.
As he mused on this unsatisfying conclusion, Lucian came across a wooden bird hide at the end of the boardwalk. It was mostly enclosed and had a bench along one side. A folded blanket, a pillow, a plastic-wrapped sandwich, and a thermos sat on the bench. He stared at them. Had Jinx sent him these as well? As he neared the items, the unmistakable scent of her magic wafted through the night air. Star anise and cinnamon drifted on the breeze. If he closed his eyes, he could almost see her smiling.
What am I thinking? He internally berated himself and snatched the sandwich and thermos. He wasn’t hungry as they’d literally just eaten. He rested the items on the bird-viewing window ledge and unfolded the blanket. As he lay down on the hard, unyielding bench, he was surrounded by the smell of Jinx. Feeling strangely safe but worried, Lucian doubted he would find any sleep; however, whether it was the wild magic of the swamp, or the sweetly scented pillow, sleep swiftly found him. He did not awaken until well after daybreak.
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