She pulled on the handle for the barn door, and it opened. Hasan had left it unlatched, probably thinking that the goats could kick their way out if he stayed away too long. Clearly, they’d entertained the same idea, because they came milling out as soon as the door opened, the wood showing new gouges where they’d given it a few experimental blows.
Quickly stepping out of the way, she watched as the goats hurried into the field, taking up positions almost at once as they began cropping at the grass. Looking at them, Hasan smiled — a real smile, with no irony or sarcasm in it. She loved the way that smile lit up his dark blue eyes, showed off the flash of his perfect white teeth.
Yes, right then she thought she could survive eternity with him quite well.
Jordan went over to him and slipped her hand in his, leaned her head against his shoulder. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, as though he, too, recognized this moment of quiet happiness for what it was.
“There are more of them than there were,” she remarked, watching the goats.
“Yes,” he said. “I knew we hadn’t found them all, and so I went out and rounded them up after you left.”
He didn’t say anything more than that, but she thought she understood. She might have pressed him to track down the goats and make sure they were safe the first time around, but after that, he’d felt duty-bound to make sure their brothers and sisters were also taken care of.
It was small things like that, she thought, that had made her fall in love with him. Some might say it was only physical attraction — and God knows, Hasan was handsome enough — but she knew it was more than something so superficial. An odd gentleness lurked within him, one she would never have expected to find, given his history. While she wouldn’t make excuses for the things he had done, she thought she understood…at least a little. His actions had sprung from a deep anger at what mankind had done to this world, a desire to put things right. And while Jordan knew she herself could never have acted in such a way, she thought she recognized the crusading streak that had spurred his actions.
“We will have to leave, you know,” he said quietly, and she startled and looked up at him.
“‘Leave’?” she repeated. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you are now my Chosen, and since we have bonded, we must go to live with the other djinn in Santa Fe.”
“But…aren’t these your lands?”
“Not anymore. It is part of the compact the One Thousand made with the elders. Those djinn and their human lovers must live apart from the rest of our kind, have their own communities.”
A pang went through her as she looked at the sun-warmed meadows, the blaze of aspens in the distance. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It is an easy sacrifice, if it means I can be with you.”
A wave of warmth went through her as she looked up at him. Love, yes, but more than that — a sort of affection she didn’t think she’d ever felt before. She began to go up on her tiptoes, so she might kiss him on the cheek…
…only to feel a rough arm go around her throat and yank her backward, even as a pale-haired djinn woman materialized a few feet away from Hasan and gave him a mocking smile.
“Hello,” said Danya. “Am I interrupting something?”
Chapter Nineteen
They’d arrived so suddenly, Hasan didn’t have time to react. A muffled little cry from Jordan as the hulking Farid grasped her by the throat and pulled her away was Hasan’s only warning. That, and Danya appearing before him, wearing a languid, scornful smile.
“Let her go,” he rasped, and took a step forward.
Danya lifted her eyebrows and shot an uninterested glance at Jordan, whose eyes were wide with fear, pleading for him to rescue her. “Don’t be tedious, Hasan,” she said. “Really, I’m doing you a favor. What do you think would happen to your reputation if word got out that you were consorting with one of these creatures? You would never hear the end of it.”
“I am not ‘consorting,’” he spat. “Jordan is my Chosen now. You have no right to touch her.”
This revelation made Danya pause for a moment, but then she lifted her shoulders in a negligent shrug. “A convenient story. Was there anyone here to witness you making her your Chosen?”
“Of course not. That is not necessary. The elders will recognize my bond with her.”
“Oh, I suppose they would…if they were here. But since they are not, it will be your word against mine…and Farid’s. Isn’t that right, darling?”
The hulking djinn nodded, arm still wrapped around Jordan’s throat. “Yes. No one will know.”
Hasan’s hands tightened into fists. He knew he would have to be careful here, however. In a contest of sheer strength, he would most certainly lose. Also, if he initiated a physical confrontation, he couldn’t know for sure that Danya might not join in, thus making any show of force even more lopsided. He guessed that she would prefer to stay on the sidelines, so to speak, and watch her former and her present lover battle one another, but he couldn’t be sure of that.
Willing himself to remain calm, Hasan said, “Danya, such jealousy is unbecoming of you. Jordan is not your rival. Indeed, you gave every indication of being glad to see me go. So why should you care what I do now…or with whom I do it?”
During this little speech, the djinn woman’s expression shifted from irritation to amusement. “Oh, my dear Hasan — surely you don’t believe this is about you? I am most certainly not jealous, so please dismiss that notion. You always did have too high an opinion of yourself.”
“Then again, I must ask — why interfere? What possible difference does my relationship with this human make?”
Danya glanced from him to Jordan. Even with Farid’s arm wrapped around her throat, Jordan appeared more angry than frightened. Hasan could only pray that she wouldn’t try anything foolish, that she would let him manage his fellow djinn. He knew his lover was intelligent and resourceful, but those qualities weren’t quite enough to allow her to prevail against two immortals who outmatched her physically in every way.
“You should know the answer to that question very well, Hasan,” Danya said. She played with the silver bangles she wore, the tinkling little metallic sound they made somehow discordant, annoying. He recalled how that was a nervous habit of hers…and how much it had come to irritate him. “You made your opinion of humans and their works quite clear. Indeed, it is one that you shared with many of our people, myself included. So I am doing this for your own good, in order that you might abandon this madness which seems to have seized you. The time to select a Chosen is long past. If you had cared that much, you would have counted yourself among the One Thousand. You did not, however, which means that, deep in your soul, you care little whether humans live or die. This female has taken your fancy, it seems, but it can only be a passing fancy, nothing more. If I remove her from the world, you will come to your senses soon enough.”
“I fear you have misread me,” Hasan returned. He wanted to shout at Danya for her arrogance, her presumption in believing she knew his soul better than he did himself. Losing his temper would accomplish nothing, however, save perhaps to make Farid act by snapping Jordan’s neck and ending this once and for all. “I will not deny that I sought vengeance for our people, and for the damage done to this world, but Jordan is innocent of all that. Indeed, she devoted her life to making sure that damage did not continue.”
This plea did not seem to move Danya. She lifted an ironic eyebrow, wound a lock of moonlight-pale hair around a finger, then lifted her shoulders. “So you say. If that is the case, then good for her. But her services are not needed, because we djinn are the masters of this earth now, and we know it is safe, with the humans gone.”
Hasan did not reply immediately. In truth, he was not sure how he should reply, since it seemed that no matter what he said, Danya would find an argument to counter his words. Perhaps it was time to strike at Farid, and hope that the element of surprise would be enough to allow him to
prevail.
He realized that Jordan was staring at him, ignoring the two djinn. Was she pleading with him to do something? No, he didn’t think so — her expression was quite blank, and she didn’t look frightened at all. Then he saw her gaze slide away, past him to where the goats happily munched on the frost-yellowed grass, apparently unconcerned by the confrontation taking place a few yards away from where they stood.
Why on earth was Jordan looking at the goats? Her attention returned to him, but only for the barest trace of a second. Again she glanced over at the goats, and gave the faintest nod of her head.
Of course.
Hasan had to keep himself from smiling. By all appearances, the situation was more than dire, and so to begin grinning for no reason was certain to invite Danya’s suspicion.
He had a feeling that the beautiful djinn woman, so concerned with her appearance at all times, would not like what was about to happen next.
A quick mental push, not unlike the one he had used to get the recalcitrant goats rounded up and moving in the direction he wanted. This time, however, he was much more forceful about reaching out with his djinn powers. He didn’t want to guide the goats; he wanted to startle them.
It seemed he succeeded in that goal, because at once the animals let out a series of surprised bleats, and took off running…right toward Danya.
She barely had time to look over at them to see what the commotion was all about before they barreled into her, knocking her to the ground. A frightened shriek escaped her throat. Farid, who clearly let his cock do the thinking for him, lunged forward to help his fallen lover, letting go of Jordan.
That was the opening Hasan had hoped for. He blinked himself to Jordan’s side, took her in his arms. She let out a relieved little gasp and clung to him. “Thank God,” she whispered.
The goats milled about, making it more difficult for Farid to reach his lady love, who was shoving ineffectually at the goats, her shimmering silken garb now smudged with dirt. Then, clearly frustrated, she pushed out with her hands, sending a tremor through the ground. The goats, startled by this development, leaped out of the way, bleating as they tried to find someplace to stand where the earth was still acting as the earth should — by staying in one place and not moving about. The animals bolted toward the house, leaving Farid to take Danya’s hand and help her to her feet. She brushed at the dirt on her clothes, a fierce frown marring her perfect brow.
“That was a low trick!”
Hasan gave her a mocking little bow. “Was it? I would think you would be pleased, because this little demonstration has shown that Farid cares more for your safety than he does for carrying out your vengeance. Truly, you have found a love for the ages.”
She opened her mouth to make some kind of a retort, then shut it with an audible snap. Hasan fancied he could hear her teeth grinding from where he stood.
Farid began, “Danya — ” and she whirled on him.
“Don’t say anything,” she hissed. Her baleful pale gaze transferred itself to Hasan, and she added, “You think you have won? Very well. Take your insipid little Chosen and be gone from this place. You no longer have any right to be here.”
“No, I do not,” he agreed, his tone mild. “In fact, Jordan and I were discussing the move to Santa Fe when you so rudely interrupted us. Now I will ask you to be gone, Danya — with the reminder that attempting to bring harm to a Chosen is one crime the elders do take quite seriously.”
She did not appear to have a reply to that remark, and so she shot him and Jordan one last ferocious glance, then locked her arm with Farid’s. The two of them disappeared with another rumble of the earth, strong enough that Jordan stumbled. Hasan’s arm tightened around her, and she looked up at him, a grateful smile touching her lips.
“Wow,” she said. “You might have warned me that your ex-girlfriend was that evil.”
“I had no idea she would be quite so evil,” he replied. “I suppose I should be flattered. However, it seems your little ploy with the goats thwarted her. One thing about Danya — she is very aware of her own importance. Being knocked into the dirt by a herd of farm animals is something that would take her a long time to live down, which means she will take pains to make sure no one learns of what happened here.”
“What if we tell the djinn in Santa Fe?”
He bent and kissed Jordan on the cheek, marveling at the silky soft texture of her skin. “They live their lives apart from the rest of the djinn, so the story shouldn’t travel very far. And if it does….”
“Yes?”
“I won’t shed too many bitter tears.”
Jordan chuckled then, and slipped her hand into his. “Well, if we’re really going to Santa Fe, I suppose we’d better get moving.”
She could tell that Hasan was somewhat saddened by having to leave, although he did his best to seem cheerful as he gathered his belongings together, deciding what he wanted to take and what he could leave behind. How they were supposed to transport everything, Jordan really didn’t know. Yes, Hasan could “blink” everything to its new destination, but he had to know what that destination was first. And that, he told her, would be up to Zahrias, the leader of the djinn in Santa Fe.
“There are of course many unoccupied houses in the city,” Hasan said. “But it is not as simple as just choosing one and moving in. We will have to let Zahrias tell us where to go.”
Jordan didn’t know if she particularly liked the sound of that. On the other hand, according to what she’d heard in Los Alamos, Zahrias was now married to Julia Innes, which meant he must be somewhat sympathetic to humans. Otherwise, why would he be leading a community of djinn and Chosen?
There was another matter to consider as well.
“What about the goats?” she asked Hasan as she peeked out the living room window to see how their little herd fared. As far as she could tell, they’d recovered from Danya’s display with the earthquakes, but Jordan noticed they were still sticking closer to the house than they usually did.
Hasan came over to the window and looked out at the goats. “I cannot blink that many at once,” he said. “Perhaps we should move them the human way.”
“The human way?”
“In a trailer, using one of the trucks left behind here in Chama. How long would such a drive be?”
She had to stop and try to recall the maps she’d pored over as she planned her escape route from Pagosa Springs to Los Alamos. “A couple of hours, I think. It’s really not far. But we’ll have to go slower than we could have back in the day, just because of all the abandoned vehicles on the roads.”
“That will be no problem,” he said. “If you are willing to drive, then I can move the vehicles out of the way as we come upon them. Yes, it will slow us down a little, but probably not as much as you fear.”
That was a relief. She’d never towed a trailer before, but with Hasan watching out for her — and with no worry about other drivers on the road, or merging into traffic, or any other common issues with driving back in the day — it should all work out fine.
“I’ll drive. It’ll be fun. I guess we’d better find a trailer, then.”
“There is a truck in the garage here. We can use that to locate the trailer.”
Jordan followed Hasan out of the house to the detached garage, which was cavernous, clearly built to accommodate a full-size RV, although at the moment it contained only a half-ton Dodge pickup truck. The truck was covered in dust, but otherwise looked practically brand new. Once again, she wondered about who had owned this property before the Dying. Someone with a lot of disposable income, that was for sure.
Despite its basically new state, the truck didn’t want to start. Not that strange, considering how long it had been sitting in the garage, untouched. However, all Hasan had to do was place one finger on the battery, and the Dodge started right up, its big engine sending out a deep rumble that Jordan could both hear and feel.
It was a little intimidating to drive something so powerful. Back
before the Dying, she’d gotten around in a twelve-year-old Toyota Corolla. Hasan gave her an encouraging smile as he climbed into the passenger seat, and she pulled in a breath and put the truck in reverse, backing out of the garage so she could follow the dirt track that led to an access road about a quarter-mile away from the property. After that, they were in “downtown” Chama within the next few minutes. Jordan stopped in the middle of the road, considering the best way to go. She didn’t know much about what lay north of town, if you followed the 17 on its way up toward Antonito, just over the Colorado border. On the other hand, she’d passed several ranches on Highway 84. That seemed the safest bet.
She turned right, heading north.
“Where are we going?” Hasan asked.
“There are farms and ranches in this direction. One of them must have a livestock trailer.”
He nodded. “That does make sense.”
Had Hasan ever ridden in a vehicle like this before? He’d mentioned coming to this world to taste its food and see its sights, but maybe he never had any reason to get in a half-ton truck. He did seem interested in their progress, watching the landscape move past as he sat much higher than he had in Lindsey’s borrowed Volvo, occasionally glancing at the dashboard and all the instrumentation there. Because this truck had been fitted with all the bells and whistles, it had navigation and satellite radio, dual-zone climate control, the works. Of course, the nav and the satellite radio were useless without the necessary technological infrastructure to back them up, but it still looked rather impressive.
They came to a narrow lane that led to what had once been a prosperous ranch, with white-painted wood fencing around multiple corrals. Or rather, the fences had been painted white once, but were now an off shade of gray, the paint peeling and flaking away. Jordan wondered what had happened to the animals that were once kept here. Had they gotten out of their corrals, or had they been trapped here?
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