Death Rite Genie: An Urban Fantasy Folly

by AE McKenna

  With regret coloring my thoughts, I rocketed farther southwest into Spain, skipped over the Strait of Gibraltar, and slid into Morocco. I smelled the rusty greenery before the magic ripples of Penny using the door knocker reached me. I kicked into a burst of speed, aiming for the neon highway beyond the gate. Just as I was about to barrel through, the gate slammed shut and I crashed into it.

  “Fuck!”

  Choking on my smoke as it blew out from me, I peeled toward a realty sign and opened the door to the Iron Realm. I summoned a stick of gum and stuffed it into my mouth. I didn’t have time to pop my ears each time I moved from one realm to the other—not with how crazy Penny was traveling. I trotted across the street toward a casino, blending in with the clientele. I was close, so close to getting to the door to Gamblers’ Road and back on Penny’s trail.

  Crash!

  Alcohol drenched the front of my shirt and pants. The drinks tray clattered to the floor along with me and the server. People gasped and shouted. Hands helped us both to our feet. Someone dusted me off. My face flushed with embarrassment. I’d never fumbled this badly while camouflaged since I was a kid. I needed to get my shit in gear. If that happened again, especially while using magic, I could lose my job.

  Insisting I was fine, I calmly walked away, hating the precious seconds it took to lose attention so I could blend again. Once I became lost in the crowd, I called upon my blending powers and sauntered up to the roulette table. I crouched and opened the door under the table. I rolled onto Gamblers’ Road and immediately caught sight of Penny. Her eyes widened within her red face, sweat glistened on her forehead, and she sucked in a heaving breath. A second later, she shifted into money-green smoke.

  “Penny!” I sprinted toward her. “Whatever you’re after, just stop.”

  She didn’t respond, zigzagging between other djinnis’ twisters.

  I shifted to smoke, and lost sight of her in the transition. Furiously chewing my gum, I rolled along the neon highway lined with doors upon doors leading to gambling dens.

  Something sailed through my smoke, startling the shit out of me. A throwing snare, rope with weighted ends, clattered to the road. I whirled around, and found Penny twirling another snare. My heart stalled, my smoke blew out, and she threw it.

  She missed, but I still jerked back a step. She shifted to smoke and darted past me. I turned, shifting to smoke again, aiming to follow her. She broke smoke and tossed another snare at me. I danced away from her, not exactly sure how I’d dodge it, but Penny never had good aim.

  “Stay away from me and Lucy!” She threw another before shifting to smoke and taking off south.

  I lifted my hand reflexively, and it hit my palm. The weighted ends clipped the side of my head as they snapped around my wrist. Pain bloomed in my ear and I staggered aside. I slapped a hand to my ear, and when I pulled it back, my fingers were slick with blood. If these had hit my legs, I wouldn’t have been able to keep traveling as smoke, but I’d also be able to get out of them easily unless she bound my arms. Knowing her, she probably planned on it. I didn’t even understand why she hated me so much. I’d been willing to overlook a lot of things about Penny, but she was making it impossible to look the other way. It could be worse. She could be shooting at me instead of trying to stall me.

  I called on my smoke and raced after her as we fled south toward Western Sahara. Just before the border, the neon highway came to an abrupt halt. There were no brick-and-mortar gambling establishments in Western Sahara. I watched Penny fling open that damned gate. It hung around. I put on a burst of speed. It was still open, inviting me into Realty Lane. The gate bashed closed right as my fingertips touched it.

  Growling, I backtracked—again—and eased into another casino, and slipped outside. Again. The night sky was easing. I’d already been chasing Penny for hours, and every time I came close to stopping her, something stopped me. Somewhere along the way, I’d swallowed my gum. Probably when she snared me. A little part of my brain worried about Luce’s reaction to this chase. I was running out of options and opportunities to look the other way, and frankly, I didn’t want to.

  I found an apartment rental nearby and stepped onto Realty Lane, picking up her trail again and chasing after her. I expected her to use the knob again, but she whirled onto the Atlantic Ocean, heading west. We were headed for Central America. Her stamina surprised me. It didn’t seem like she was growing tired, and I was winded. Then again, she’d recuperated a broken ankle in her bottle while I was convincing Ray that wishing freewill for his wife wouldn’t tarnish him the way he thought it would. Hell, the last time I’d had a marathon across the world like this was when the three of us were racing to beat Sigvald to Rasputin’s bone. Hampered by Luce’s gold fever and inexperience, I never saw what kind of speed Penny had tucked away in her smoke.

  This time, I didn’t need to hold back either. I called on my marathon training, put my runner’s brain into high gear, and zipped forward.

  We made landfall in Anguilla. My heart thundered in my chest. My breath came in rasps as she skipped across the Little Sisters, the tiny islands separating the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

  Traveling along land was easier, and these island hops helped me catch my breath—just as it helped Penny. Still, I kept the plume of Penny’s money-green smoke in my sights as we traipsed across the Caribbean Sea to the Dominican Republic. Either Penny was slowing down or I was gaining on her. Either way, we slid over land to sea, to the Cayman Islands, then south to Honduras.

  The rusted ivy gate appeared and Penny hopped from Realty Lane to Archaeology Way. I clenched my jaw and raced through. The road here was less crowded, a relief since it probably meant we wouldn’t have to travel over large bodies of water. Sweat dripped down my temples, my back, and chest as I passed castles, forts, and old excavation sites and into Guatemala. We sure as hell took the long way here. Perhaps that was the drawback to using that door knocker relic of hers.

  Archaeology Way narrowed and the road beneath my twister changed from stone pavers to a dirt lane the farther we drew from a historic site. I wasn’t sure what would happen if we ran out. We’d probably dead-end into a jungle. Penny blew out smoke, and so did I.

  “Penny.” I forced myself to keep my voice even, hoping she couldn’t hear how tired I was. “You gotta stop this.”

  “I’m not giving up. Not yet!” Penny twisted the doorknocker.

  A concussive energy force ejected Penny and me off the road, out of the Lantern, and dumped us in the Iron Realm.

  I crashed onto decomposing leaves and damp earth, the muggy air pressing on my lungs. Squinting at the canopy of trees, I guessed dawn wasn’t far off. I stumbled and braced my hands on my knees, catching my breath and working my jaw to relieve the pressure in my ears. It disoriented me from all the transitioning between realms in so little time in the last forty-eight—no, seventy-two?—hours. I took in my surroundings. I was in the jungle. A raging river rushed by as birds sang high in the trees. I searched all around but didn’t see Penny or money-green wisps of her smoke. It was like she’d just disappeared.

  “Shit.” I summoned my phone, amazed I had a signal. I didn’t have any missed calls or texts; that must’ve meant things were going well for Lucy. No news was good news, and I refused to believe differently. My call went straight to voicemail. “Luce. I’m in Guatemala but I lost Penny. I’ll keep on the trail I think she took. Call me as soon as you get signal.” I hesitated. I wanted to say more, that what I might have to do bore no weight on my feelings for her and she meant so much to me. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to say any of that in case it cemented what I’d have to do. I disconnected. At least I could find my breath.

  Then I had to catch Penny once and for all.

  Chapter 20

  The gold room boiled, like standing in a five-alarm fire without the flames. It was hot, suffocating, and any minute I was sure I’d break out in hives. Mags muttered to herself. I couldn’t make out her words, but my heart hurt to s
ee her like this. How long had she been inside that gold cage? How could Mom let this happen?

  “Take your time.” The fae guard smirked cruelly, then slammed the door shut.

  Had he locked me inside a gold room? I tried the handle and thank god it turned, opening a crack. He frowned at me.

  I gave him an innocent smile. “Trust but verify, bub.” Then shut the door.

  The smooth sound of wood gliding over wood drew my eyes upwards. A viewing area with empty chairs rising in stadium seating emerged above the gold room. Masked fae leaned against the railing, peering down at me. Some of the fae were creatures I didn’t recognize, other guests had djinni auras. Muffled chatter drifted down and I suspected glass separated them from me.

  I rubbed the clover pendant and swallowed heavily. This wasn’t the kind of reality show I’d ever imagined being on. My daydreams were filled with basket ingredients and time limits to come up with a dish.

  “Penny?” Mags croaked; her voice sounded like sandpaper. “Are you back? Is Frankie with you?”

  Oh man, she’s delirious. “It’s me, Lucy.”

  There was movement in the cage. “Lucy? She promised not to involve you.”

  Maybe Mags wasn’t as delirious as I thought.

  “Where’s your father?” Mags rasped.

  Then again, my parents had been up to no good since I was a child. She could be confused about what year it is. Being in this gold room, that gold cage, couldn’t be doing her any favors. I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to let her know Dad had passed away a year ago. I needed to get her out of there.

  I stepped forward and the floor gave out beneath me. Not again!

  I screamed, catching myself on the tiles in front and to the side of me. The tablet skittered toward the center of the tile on my right. At least I hadn’t lost that, even if I didn’t understand how to use it. I assumed it’d be clear once I got to Mags. Excited murmurs from the gallery drew my attention again. More fae had come to watch now that they had a show.

  With my heart pounding in my ears, I heaved myself up onto the tile, careful not to let my skin touch the tablet. Not that it mattered. The floor was gold and stung my arms.

  I swung the messenger bag forward and opened it. Diane, I need a hoodie.

  A lightweight, coral-colored zip-up jacket appeared in a cloud of blue smoke.

  Thanks. I pulled it on while doing tricky movements with the bag strap, and half the jacket was stuck behind it. Whatever. It covered my arms.

  Sucking in a breath to calm my nerves and slow my heart, I looked into the hole I’d nearly fallen through. I couldn’t see the bottom within the inky darkness. Dread pooled in my watery stomach. What was it with fae and pits? Shakily, I got to my feet, wiped my wet palms on my filthy jeans, and inspected the room.

  Each tile had one symbol on it, occasionally including a bottle. Those tiles were too far and few to jump to. I didn’t understand the need for them. I also didn’t understand the need for freaking pits, but I could only deal with one thing at a time. I grabbed the tablet with my gloved hand and tucked it in my back pocket. My jeans were thick and normally I wouldn’t feel anything—except one time my cell battery nearly caught fire when I had my phone in my back pocket. Sliding the tablet inside felt exactly like that.

  “You should wait for your father, dear-heart,” Mags said. “This entire room is a disaster.”

  “He’s not coming,” I said. “I can get you out.”

  “Sure he is. Why else would Penny get tits-deep in fae favors?”

  “Grandma… Dad passed away last year.”

  She sighed, a soft current of tears in her breath. “I know he did.”

  Mags must be going insane. That was the only reason for her to think that Dad was alive. What else could happen? As far as I knew, there was no way to bring someone back from the dead. Djinni wishes couldn’t cast that kind of magic, but could an ancient fae?

  Lucy, you idiot. That’s exactly what Mom wants. I hadn’t thought my stomach could sink any further, but there it was, swimming in dark lakes of doubt, suspicion, and ultimately horror.

  “Just… sit tight,” I said. “I’ll get you down.”

  The bag jiggled against my back, like when Mal left his bottle while still inside my bag. I pulled the sack across my stomach and opened it. My salt grinder tumbled out, bounced on the tiles, and slid across the floor in front of me. The tile exploded.

  I yelped. Gold shrapnel burst into the air, striking my leg. It stung. With my blood pounding in my ears, I cracked one eye open and saw yet another gaping hole opening into an oily blackness.

  “Holy shit balls,” I breathed. “This place is boobytrapped.”

  “Language!” Mags chided.

  I paused, slanting a look in her direction. Her eyelids drooped, and she was breathing through her mouth. I’d never seen her like this before. There wasn’t time to wait for someone to help me navigate this death maze. I had to do this myself, and I had to do it now.

  “If only I had a map.” I raked my hand through my hair, tugging strands free from the shaggy braid. Of course, fae wouldn’t have something as simple as a map for their djinni death trap room. Gooseflesh scattered atop my skin. “Oh, fuck. Oh, shit.”

  This room was exactly that. A room for djinni to die in. Why would the fae create a room like this with a gallery? I thought djinnis were their knights and upheld their rules, and if they didn’t, they bottled us. Wasn’t that enough? A smoldering coal of resolve took residence beneath my sternum. Well, this fae wouldn’t get me or Mags.

  I peeked once more in my bag and saw the selfie stick. I grabbed that, secured the bag, and righted it. It was time to do this. I whipped my arm out and the selfie stick elongated with a rachet-like noise. Once it was locked into position, I prodded the tile next to me. It held. I stepped on it.

  It disintegrated beneath my foot. I pinwheeled my arms, my stick flying and landing halfway across the room, and I backed onto solid floor.

  “Lucy!” Mags cried.

  “I’m okay.” Though I nearly crapped my pants. The stick wasn’t heavy enough to trigger the booby traps, or I didn’t prod hard enough. Either way, I needed to think of something else to get across to Mags.

  Muted conversations floated through the glass and the fae passed items between each other. Probably taking bets on how fast I’d die. Forget about them. I frowned at the gold floors and clapped my cheeks. Think, think, think! This was a puzzle. I had two options remaining, and one would probably kill me. The arrangement of gold tiles reminded me of a patchwork of death. One wrong square, and bye-bye Lucy. Something about the tile patterns struck me. Hadn’t I thought...?

  I dug the tablet from my back pocket with my gloved hand and studied it. The front side had the grooves and the four symbols of the Fae Courts. On the back, however, was a pattern. I rummaged in my bag one more time for my other glove, yanked it on with my teeth, and examined the tablet.

  It was a map; it had to be. If all I had to do was follow these directions, then I could save Mags. But where was the starting point? I considered the room once more, searching for some clue to orient the map so I could read it. I faced the doors. Beautifully carved murals depicted bundles of wheat, a cornucopia of fruit, and a scene of a forest giving way from healthy to diseased and dead trees covered the doors. I shuddered. Yeah, this was definitely a djinni death room.

  I returned to the white-gold map in my hands and spotted a symbol that didn’t fit with the rest. I spun it around. It was a dead tree, or at least a barren one. I hated to guess at a moment like this, but this was all I had. This must be the starting point. Some of the patterned tiles on the floor were replaced with a blank spot on the tablet. I traced the path I’d taken so far. Sure enough, the blank spots were the holes to certain doom in the room.

  “It’s a map.” I laughed a little and studied the surrounding floor. “She gave me a map.”

  “Who? Sythradiafol?” Mags weakly asked.

  “Yeah. She said I coul
d leave her territory with you.” I huffed. “Just didn’t mention the gold torture chamber. I can follow this to get to you.”

  She stirred and pointed across the room to a spoked wheel. “I think that’s the lock to the floor. Get to that, and then you won’t need to worry about those traps.”

  “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to just get you out of there—?”

  “Dear-heart, I can’t jump across anything in my condition.”

  “Right.” I nodded. “To the contraption it is.”

  I tugged my sagging jeans up and scowled at the bloody tear in the fabric. On a closer inspection, my thigh was gashed. At least I didn’t have gold lodged in me this time. I shivered, remembering how badly gold fever had affected me. No time to dwell. I needed to get to the wheel, a ship’s helm, and lock the floors. I hoped that was its function, because Mags needed to get the hell out of that gibbet.

  Examining the map, my heart sank. All the patterned tiles surrounding me were depicted as blank tiles on the map—meaning pitfalls. I needed to jump over one. Reorienting myself with the map and the symbols, I kissed my lucky clover pendant and leaped across a flower tile onto a snowflake tile. It held. I let out a long breath. I could do this. I was doing this. I peeked at the peanut gallery. The fae weren’t impressed, no surprise.

  “Do you know what I see when I think of your future?” Mags asked faintly.

  I glanced at her. “I don’t think this is a good time.”

  “Right now’s the only time you’ll listen.”

  I frowned. She had me there. Instead of replying, I checked the map against the tiles, and sidestepped to my right. Didn’t fall to my death there, either. Hell yeah, I was totally figuring this death room out.

  “I see a pastry display full of cupcakes, mini cakes, donuts—the works.” Mags coughed. “They’re next to the brick wood-fired pizza oven. The shop is small enough you won’t have to hire many people or worry about a lot of customers hanging around to eat and do that internet crap.”