I moved my palms down to rest against his chest, his heart throbbing beneath them. “If this is too much for you, perhaps you should stay here?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight again.” Some of the heat had gone from his veiled eyes. “It’s your culture, too. And I do understand something needs to be done to stop her, but do we really need to end her life?”
My head ached, and I wanted nothing more than my bed and a miracle, or at least a reasonable ally. “If we can disable her somehow and get her to the reservation, would you be satisfied with us keeping her prisoner there? Is that better than ending her life?”
He gave a curt nod. “That would give us more time to bring her around to our modern way of thinking and to teach her discretion.”
“And how do we keep her heritage a secret from the reservation staff, genius?” Harper said, polishing her gun with the bottom of her shirt.
We all turned to her, and Connor said, “What?”
She shrugged. “You know I’m right, Lou.”
I did know. It was Amun and apparently Connor who refused to grasp the quagmire trapping us up to our necks in vampire and jinn politics.
“That poses a problem, but I’d rather James and Blake know than Isaac if it comes down to choices. Which leads me to the second problem. No matter what we do to stop her, how do we satisfy the vampire council of my innocence without revealing our nature? We can’t turn her over to them, dead or alive. I’m sure they’re able to discern species through a person’s blood.”
At Amun’s deep inhale, I put my hand up to stop him. “I’m thinking through the possibilities, that’s all. Can you please have an open mind until we’ve developed a few scenarios that might work?”
“I know I must be confusing you, and I’m sorry.” Tugging at his shirt collar, he reclaimed his spot on the sofa. “This inbred instinct is so strong it’s suffocating. I hate it. My head and heart would destroy the world to protect you, Baylou, yet some ancient part of me, my jinn spirit, demands I protect you both.” His gaze lifted to meet mine. “Do you remember how it felt the other night, when you said something took over you?”
“I couldn’t control it at the time—I just reacted. Afterward, it scared the life out of me. If that’s what it’s like for you, then we’re in a bit of trouble, I think.”
“I’m afraid that if we’re forced to…” He groaned and re-centered himself. “It may be difficult for me to let it happen. But I hope you know if it comes down to saving you or her, there is no choice, no matter what jinn spirit wants. I care for you, Baylou.”
The knots cramping my muscles untied themselves. I wasn’t typically one who needed reassurance, but since I’d met him, my own buried instincts had made me a bit insecure where he was concerned.
I turned to Connor. “Do you feel the same urge as Amun?”
He nodded, jaw set. “I do, though not as strong, it seems. If she threatened the life of the one I loved, I’d do anything to stop her, even though it would cause the complete extinction of the water born.”
Was he suggesting Amun loved me? I must have misinterpreted that. As for the water race, I hadn’t thought about it that way. “She’s really the last of them?”
“That we know of,” Amun said, resting his chin on his curled fingers. “The other pods have told me that much. Only five Earth Callers remain, with none other than you possessing an affinity for stone and the ability to take the form of their element. The rest are fire and wind.”
I lowered myself onto the arm of a chair, knowing if I sat down all the way I’d drop off to sleep. “So the best case scenario is that I encase her in stone. What then? How do you slow water?”
Harper snorted. “You need that freeze ray gun Mr. Gru has in Despicable Me.”
“What the high hell is that?” Connor eyed her as he would a lunatic, though I detected a glint of interest there, too. I could think of worse matches for her than a sneaky maintenance man with a good sense of humor.
“Of course.” I shot back to my feet. “Connor, Amun tells me you can control the weather. Can you cause a concentrated drop in temperature rapid enough to freeze water in a hurry?”
The storm clouds seemed to clear from his eyes, leaving them bright. “I suppose I could. Never tried before.”
“Can you test it? That would give us more time.”
“Sure thing.” He smiled and headed for the kitchen. Over his shoulder, he added, “You’re right, Amun. She’s pretty smart for a girl.”
Harper burst out laughing as I turned my glare on Amun.
The indecipherable Persian raised his hands in defense. “I did not say that—those are his words. I said you’re brilliant, and you are.” To Connor, he said, “Thanks a lot.”
The weatherman’s laughter induced my own. “Welcome.”
“Okay, so presuming Connor can freeze her, I’ll imprison her, Connor will immobilize her, and we get her to the reservation. Second scenario is that she proves too difficult to contain. What’s our fallback plan?”
“Water’s opposite is fire.” Harper had stashed her gun and focused on a knot in her hair instead. “Don’t suppose one of you guys can breathe fire?”
“Romiel. Sebastian is too timid for this, so he’ll be staying behind.” Expression contemplative, Amun squinted at Harper. “But what will he do? She’s water, which counteracts fire.”
I nodded to the ideas forming in my head. “If he can heat the space around her, the amount of water she’ll have access to will diminish as it turns to steam, giving her a shorter reach. Amun, you can dissipate it faster by carrying it away with your winds.” It occurred to me he’d mentioned another flame. “What about the other of your pod? Isn’t he also fire?”
“Tristan.” The word thudded from Amun’s lips, like an insult. “He’s too unpredictable. We won’t be involving him in this.” His tone left no room for argument.
It wouldn’t be that easy. We needed more. “What I wouldn’t give for a warlock who could snap his fingers and immobilize her, or at least force her into her non-water form.”
“Um…I might be able to find some elven magic that would work.” Cheeks growing pink, Harper gave a sheepish grin. “I’ve broken into Grandpa’s study before. Turned me into a slug for a few days, but it was totally worth it.” Her snort induced a laugh from all of us.
A tiny spark of hope ignited as the plan took shape. “That would be brilliant, Harper. Find what you can, but don’t get yourself into trouble.” I pointed at her to drive my point home.
“Moi? Trouble?” She got to her feet, groaning with a stretch. “You must have me mixed up with someone else.”
“Har har, you’re not funny.”
“What time do you want me back here? Might need to catch a few zees if you want me to to stand on my own, and I’ll need, like, three breakfasts if I’m going to get all magical.”
I’d have liked to tell her to stay away, but if she could find elven magic, she would be the only one of us who could wield it. “In the note, I told her we’d be at the northeast corner of Colony Park at 6:00 p.m., at which time I would personally destroy her treasures.”
“I know we’ve been over this, but are you sure a park is the best place to have this fight?” Amun asked.
“That part is just field and wildflowers, surrounded by trees thick enough to give us privacy from all directions. I’ve been there at different times of the day for work, and I’ve never seen a soul there, and it’s far enough from the playground and water for neither to cause an issue.”
“Okay, I’m outta here, and I’ll meet you back here at around three.” Harper waved and waggled her eyebrows as she exited. “Have fun, you two.”
Scowling, I headed for the spare room.
Amun trotted up behind me. “What did Harper mean, ‘have fun’?”
I let my forehead fall forward and bang against the bedroom door, picked it up, and dropped it down harder. “She knows what the bite marks mean, and I’m sure she thinks we’re having
…because of what she walked in on back at the aquarium, despite my insistence to the contrary. She’s just doing her best to get me riled up, and she’s doing a fine job of it.”
“Oh.” Warmth from his hands slid down my arms, chasing the chill from them. “Do you remember what I told you about how my life used to be when I was little? How we used to sleep together?” At my tired nod, he continued, “It was the safest I’ve ever felt in my life, surrounded by my people. I miss it.”
“That sounds lovely.” I meant it. Drifting to sleep in the arms of others like myself, taking comfort in their power and acceptance, made the thought of sleeping alone almost unbearable.
He pressed closer, bathing me in his erotic heat. “This could be our last night together. Not that I think it will be, but just in case.”
I turned, needing to read his eyes, and found them open and shy. “What are you saying?”
“Will you let me hold you tonight, just to sleep? It will also allow our energy to recharge more than if we sleep alone.”
I should have said no, heaven knows I should have turned and shut myself away, but the enticement of his offer drew me up to kiss his chin.
“Just to sleep.” I jabbed a finger into his chest. “Any funny business, and you’ll be out on your ear.”
His smile captured my heart.
“I’ll call Romiel and see you guys in the morning.” As Harper had done, Connor wagged his brow and waved as he went out the front door.
At my groan, Amun smirked, and then took my hand, led me into his bedroom, and shut the door.
His bedroom.
Alone.
Yikes
Nervous tingles had a party in my flesh. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” I wasn’t sure if I was more worried about him breaking the “only sleep” rule, or me doing the breaking.
He pulled off his shirt and tossed it to me with a sleepy grin before climbing into bed. “You can change in the bathroom if you’re embarrassed.” As his alluring body disappeared beneath the covers, my trance, induced by his partial nudity, broke.
Definitely me I was worried about.
I sped into the ensuite, undressed, and pulled his shirt on over my head. His sandalwood musk engulfed me. I brought a handful of the fabric to my nose and inhaled him. “Oh, I am in so much trouble.”
Just sleeping. Virtual stranger. Might die tomorrow. Right.
When I exited, he held the covers up for me, his head already nestled into his pillow, lids heavy over his eyes.
I laid down with my back to him. “Good night, Amun.”
He wiggled his arm under my neck, and his other looped around my waist, tugging me tight against him as naturally as if he’d done it a million times before. “Good night, my Baylou.”
Basking in his presence, I let myself drift in the mild pulse of power emanating from him. It wasn’t sexual, not in that moment, but cozy and just plain right. All tightness unfurled from my shoulders, along my back, radiating from every point his body touched mine. His warm breath in my hair lulled me better than a bedtime melody.
I could get used to this. Bloody hell.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Where is she?” My watch read 5:57pm, one minute after the last time I’d looked. I’d done little else since we’d arrived in Colony Park an hour ago. That parcel of land hadn’t been rebuilt after the city’s destruction, so nature claimed the entire place. Wildflowers waved in the evening breeze, shifting the glorious colors like a living painting, filling my nose with fresh scents.
The sun made a slow descent toward the tree line, casting ever-lengthening shadows from the dense forest that surrounded us. “It’s nearly six. What if she doesn’t come?”
“She’ll come,” Amun said, trying to take my hand, but I couldn’t keep still long enough to let him. “She has to.”
I didn’t want to die. Everyone else seemed to believe I’d save us all, and I’d never failed in a task once I set my mind to it. Arrogant as that sounded, it was true. As the time of the trial drew nearer, I’d begun to believe Celeste had me outsmarted from the beginning, and I never stood a chance. “Maybe we should go back to her pool, try something else.”
“I know her kind,” Romiel said. His platinum hair, streaked with bright red, had been spun into dreadlocks, which fit his hippie vibe. “She’ll have very little of her people, and will have a fierce loyalty to her mother’s memory. She won’t let you take all she has left, even if she risks her life and her claim on your territory to do it. She’ll be pissed off worse than a prickle cat caught in a noose, but she’ll come.” He shrugged, lay back against a fallen log, and crossed his loafer-clad feet. “More chance she’ll make mistakes.”
“My territory?” I squinted at him, but he linked his fingers behind his head and shut his eyes. “How is it mine and not Amun’s? I didn’t even know you all existed until a few days ago.”
“Why do you think you wanted to tear her head off back at the aquarium?” Connor asked, squatting in the grass a few feet away. “Your jinn spirit has already claimed the Ironhill pod, even if you don’t realize it. It will drive you to defend what’s yours as strongly as we’re driven to preserve both of your lives.”
“Okay.” I nodded, but my confidence waned. Testing the structure of bedrock beneath my feet again, I confirmed I had its rapt attention, which I’d spent the previous half hour gaining. It was an old place, the earth undisturbed. Whatever had previously stood there had no foundation, only existed on the surface. I ached to dig myself a hole and bury myself so it would sing me to sleep with ancient melodies.
“That purple-haired hag better show up soon.” Harper patted her guns again and licked powdered sugar from her lips after swallowing the last of her dozen donuts. “If she doesn’t, I’ll have to redo the circle. Blood magic is strong, but it doesn’t last worth a piss.”
My arm stung where she’d cut me. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t fancy feeling her elven blade burn through me again. She’d sprinkled all of our blood in a circle thirty feet in radius while speaking words in Elvish.
“Remember, we need to lure her inside the ward, or I won’t be able to use this spell on her.” Harper’s cell gave a shrill shout.
My heart did its best to explode out of my throat.
“Yeah, this is Harper. What?” She dug fingers into her hair, dislodging a few strands from her pony tail. “When? Shit on a freakin’ stick. Is he okay? Yeah, yeah, I’ll let her know.”
“What? What is it?” I stood in her path.
Her hand dropped away from her ear, and her face remained tilted forward. “We have a problem.”
Something like a growl rumbled in Amun’s chest. “We got that much, now tell us why.”
Harper shot stared daggers at him. “Little Miss Blonde Bimbo beaned James with a chair at the reservation and took off. When Blake couldn’t raise him, he went down a few minutes ago to check. James’ll be fine, but according to the security footage, it didn’t look like Olivia wanted to go. Blake said she was screaming for someone to help her as she ran out the door and tried to grab the frame to keep from leaving.”
“Meaning what?” Connor came to his feet.
“Oh, no.” I’d promised her she’d be safe. “Celeste is controlling her like she did Amun and me the other night. Her reach when calling water must be longer than I anticipated.”
“How does that change anything?” Romiel asked, bouncing his foot to inaudible music.
“It means the lake at the mouth of the park is in play, even though it’s a good half-mile away,” I said, “And it’s possible she’ll use Olivia—”
“As a hostage?” Harper gave a subtle head nod toward the tree line, where shadow had begun to spread. “Yep, I think it’s safe to say she’s gone that route, that stupid, itchy bee.” Her eyes must have been better than mine, because I saw nothing other than grass and the triangular silhouettes of spruce trees.
Amun took a subtle look. “What do you see?”
“Olivia’s
standing there by herself, and I can’t be sure, but I think she’s crying.”
“What about Celeste?” I milled around with feigned nonchalance.
Harper squinted, her gaze sweeping the whole area before she answered. “Nope. Could be anywhere though.”
“What is she waiting for? Why does she have Olivia just standing there?” To make me squirm? To prepare for some grand entrance? When I scanned the others for ideas, they all remained as they were, but their tight expressions conveyed their state of readiness. I wanted to stomp and scream and throw my fists into the air to expel my utter frustration, but I didn’t want that hag to know she’d gotten to me.
I was willing to kill her to save myself, but I wouldn’t allow an innocent to be murdered so I’d live. Which left us where? Totally bamboozled, that’s where. Not that I intended to go down without a fight.
“Amun.” I lowered my voice when certain I had his attention. “How invisible can you make yourself as a wind chameleon?”
He cupped a hand over his brow and stared at the sky, I assumed so Celeste wouldn’t see his lips moving if she happened to be looking. “You want me to find her?”
“If you can do it without being seen, then yes.” Last night had more effect on me than I thought, increasing my protectiveness of him tenfold. I wanted him to hold me again as he’d done all night. Finding the will to leave his embrace in the morning had been difficult. He may never have the chance to do it again. The thought left a sickening knot in my stomach.
He must have seen something in my face that betrayed my inner workings. “This is far from over.” Fierce determination stared back at me from his dark eyes. “Ask Harper if she can cause a distraction. Celeste might notice I’m missing eventually, but if you can keep her eyes trained elsewhere for even a few seconds, I can do a full sweep in that time.”
Stone Chameleon (Ironhill Jinn #1) Page 29