djinn wars 04 - broken

by Pope, Christine

  He shook his head then and opened his mouth to reply, to tell her that she was wrong, but Qadim forestalled him, saying, “Some of what you say is true, sister, but I have come to realize that there are at least a few of them who are worth saving. And since you have Zahrias here now, I think I will take your advice.”

  Her arched eyebrows lifted that much further. “You will?”

  “Yes.” Qadim’s gaze slid over to Zahrias, both mocking and triumphant. “I will return to the mortal plane, and claim Julia Innes as my Chosen. Then you two will be free to enjoy one another.”

  Rage flared in Zahrias, and he began to lunge toward the other djinn, forgetting in his fury that the tapestries of ni-khar would prevent him from using his powers. Laughing, Qadim disappeared from the audience hall, even as several of the other elementals who had watched from their guard positions along the walls descended upon Zahrias.

  Wearing an unpleasant smile, Lyanna backed away. “I fear there is nothing you can do for her, Zahrias. Qadim will take her and make her his…and then you and I will have the leisure to take as long as it requires to become a loving couple once again.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Julia guided the pickup truck southbound on the 285, although she planned to avoid going into downtown by cutting off onto Artist Road and then winding around until she picked up Canyon on the eastern side of the city center. Not too many of the djinn had settled out in that direction, as far as she could recall, and it seemed safer to take that route. Even if the spy — whoever he or she might be — didn’t see her, someone might note her passing and wonder why she hadn’t come in to town to collect Lindsay and Miles.

  The 285 had just turned into St. Francis Road, and she was just beginning to pass the National Cemetery on her left, when a figure appeared in the middle of the street in front of her. She couldn’t make out exactly who it was, because the sun was in her eyes, although she knew from the flowing robes that the person must be a djinn. Out of instinct, she slammed her foot down on the brakes, tires squealing and smoking as she came to a stop.

  As the smoke began to clear, however, she realized she shouldn’t have braked. If anything, she should have sped up.

  Because the djinn standing in front of her was Qadim.

  He held up a hand, and abruptly the truck’s engine died. Frantic, Julia pumped the gas pedal, hoping against hope that she might be able to bring it back to life. But the truck wouldn’t respond. Its doors had locked automatically as she pulled away from the house in Pojoaque, but she somehow doubted those locked doors would do much to keep the djinn away from her.

  And then she saw Miles’s device, sitting next to her duffle bag on the passenger seat. Just as Qadim’s fingers were closing on the handle of the driver-side door, she grabbed the device, turned it over, and flicked the “on” switch before dropping it back on the seat.

  At once the djinn staggered backward, as if someone had punched him in the gut. His dark eyes fastened on her, wide with surprise. Of course he had known about the devices, but, judging by his expression, this was the first time he’d encountered their effects in person.

  Smiling grimly, she pumped the gas pedal again. This time, the engine turned over right away. She was just about to floor it and roar off when she hesitated. Qadim must know something of what had happened to Zahrias. She would never get a better chance to question him, since now he was too weakened by the device to do anything to her.

  Still, she hesitated for a second or two before turning the key and shutting off the truck’s engine. Then she opened the door and got out.

  Qadim stood a yard or so away, panting as if he had just run a marathon. Surprise flickered across his features as he stared at her.

  “Where is he?” she demanded.

  “Wha— ”

  “Zahrias, you bastard,” she said. “Where is he? How do I get him back?”

  The djinn shook his head, although Julia had no idea whether he’d done so because he simply didn’t know…or because he refused to tell her.

  Mouth set, she went back to the pickup truck and around to the passenger side. After opening the door, she retrieved the rifle and headed back to where Qadim was standing, then held up the gun and pointed it straight at his chest.

  “Where is he?” she gritted.

  “I — ” Qadim paused to gulp in some air, distress showing in every plane of his face. Not that Julia much cared, but she realized then that the device must be broadcasting at its highest setting. It had been calibrated for lower strength and greater range when it had been in her possession, and so she guessed Margolis must have fiddled with it, thinking it would be better to more or less gut-punch Qadim with the thing if he’d decided to use it.

  But the djinn had never given him that chance.

  Since Qadim didn’t seem capable of speech, though, she decided she’d better dial it down a little. Keeping a wary eye on him, she backed away toward the pickup, then reached in with her free hand and ran a finger over the pressure-sensitive electronics on the face of the device, easing it up enough that he should be able to talk but wouldn’t have the strength to try anything funny.

  She turned back toward him. “Better?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

  The unexpected courtesy threw her off balance a little. Frowning, she set the rifle down, but kept her right hand wrapped around the barrel so she could bring it to bear in a second if she had to. “Where is he?”

  “With my sister Lyanna.”

  Julia had expected as much, but his reply still sent a chill down her spine. What might that unknown woman be doing to Zahrias right at this very moment?

  “In the djinn world?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you just left him with her? Aren’t you worried about what he might do to a woman who had him kidnapped, especially if her big brother isn’t around to protect her?”

  At that question, Qadim let out a rusty-sounding laugh. “Lyanna can take care of herself. At any rate, he can do very little. There is an element in our world that blocks the abilities of fire elementals such as Zahrias. Let us just say that it has figured prominently in my sister’s decorating scheme.”

  Great. “So…it works like our little device?”

  “No.” The djinn gulped in a breath. In the bright late morning sunlight, Julia could see a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “It is not…debilitating. He has his strength, his health, only he cannot use his powers to call the flames, or to carry himself away from that place.”

  Well, that was a little better, but not much. Zahrias might not be feeling physically ill, but she didn’t want to think about the mental torment of being held somewhere and knowing that the powers he’d relied on all his life were suddenly inaccessible to him. “So why are you here?”

  The dark eyes under the heavy brows didn’t blink. “I should think that would be obvious.”

  Julia had to force herself not to look away. She hated him for what he’d done to Zahrias, for what he’d wanted to do to her, but even so, there was something in Qadim’s stare that made her wish circumstances had somehow been different. Not that she wanted to be with him, nothing like that…more that she could see he did feel something for her, and she didn’t know what she should do about it.

  And he had saved her from Margolis. No matter what else, she knew she should be grateful that at least he had removed Richard Margolis from the face of the earth.

  “You know nothing could ever happen between us,” she said, but she made sure her tone was gentle. From the resigned expression Qadim wore, she could tell he knew that all too well. “I love Zahrias, and I need to find a way to rescue him.”

  “You can’t rescue him,” the djinn replied. As she opened her mouth to protest, he raised a weak hand and went on, “Not because I can do anything to stop you, but because you’re a mortal. Your kind simply cannot survive in the world of the djinn.”

  “I refuse to believe that,” she said. “There must be something I can do.” />
  He shook his head. “You are an admirable woman, Julia Innes, but I doubt even you can bend time and space to your will.”

  Those words struck a chord in her, and she went very still. Then she smiled. Of course.

  “What is it?”

  “Thank you, Qadim.”

  The look he sent her then was merely puzzled, with nothing of desire in it. “Why are you thanking me?”

  In answer, she hefted the rifle over her shoulder and began to move toward the truck. As she laid her hand on the door handle, she said, “I may not be able to bend time and space — but I think I know someone who might.”

  * * *

  He hadn’t seen luxury like this since he had come to live among the mortals, but Zahrias thought he would gladly give up all the marble walls, the cups of gold, to see Julia smile at him again. After Qadim had disappeared, Lyanna had her captive sent back to his rooms — to give him time to think, she said. A wasted effort, if she’d intended that time of meditation to be spent in considering her charms, because Zahrias’ thoughts only strayed to Santa Fe and the woman he’d left behind.

  What would Qadim do? He had not, Zahrias recalled with some relief, been one who enjoyed forcing himself on women. During the years that Zahrias had been with Lyanna, Qadim had spent time with a number of partners, all of whom seemed willing enough. His face might not have been particularly handsome, but there were those who seemed entranced enough with his form and didn’t mind overmuch that his features were not as pleasing as they might have been.

  So, while he wanted Julia, he might not be doing anything more aggressive than attempting to make her see that he was a desirable alternative to Zahrias. That was bad enough, but, he thought, ultimately would lead to nothing. Her heart was given to him. She would not bestow it upon Qadim, no matter how much he importuned her.

  But if his pursuit kept the djinn occupied elsewhere, that could make things easier for Zahrias. He would only have to manage Lyanna, and not the both of them…although he did not much look forward to dodging her clumsy attempts at a seduction.

  She had sent one of her jann servants — not the same one who had brought Zahrias to her audience chamber earlier today, he thought, although it was difficult to tell them apart — to guide him to her private apartments, where a sumptuous feast had been spread out on a low table there.

  For Lyanna dined in the old way, reclining on soft pillows on the polished floor. She had changed into a new ensemble, one of shimmering aquamarine woven with gold that left her arms bare and was cut precariously low. Once upon a time, he had thought he could never want anything other than her lush curves. Now, though, he could only think how overdone she looked, how artificial and false.

  “Sit, Zahrias,” she said, gesturing to the cushion near her.

  He lowered himself to the oversized pillow, remembering how he had never cared for this way of sitting down to a meal. It always seemed to give him indigestion.

  Or perhaps that was merely Lyanna’s effect on him.

  He remained silent as one of the jann stepped forward and poured a healthy measure of wine into the golden goblet before him. Zahrias wished there was some way to refuse it — after all, he was not entirely certain that Lyanna hadn’t stooped to drugging the drink in some way — but to do so would only anger her, and he knew he had to step carefully, at least until he had had adequate time to analyze his situation and decide on his best course of action.

  Lyanna lifted her goblet. “Let us drink to renewing old acquaintances.”

  Ah, if only she were a mere acquaintance. Too much history there, and even though he hated very much what she seemed to have become, he knew he had loved her once, or at least had thought he loved her. It was nothing like the need he felt for Julia, the sense that his world had something essential missing from it when she was not around, but there had been some kind of affection…just not enough.

  “To old acquaintances,” he said, tone neutral, and took a cautious sip from his goblet. The wine tasted well enough, heavier than the vintages he had been drinking back in the mortal world, but he couldn’t sense anything overtly wrong with it.

  Lyanna chuckled low in her throat. Perhaps she thought that laugh was an enticing sound, but to Zahrias, she merely sounded as if something had made her cough.

  “Look at you,” she remarked, mouth pursed. “So dignified. So proper. Has all your time among mortals taken away your sense of fun? I don’t remember you being nearly so stiff. At least,” she added, a sly light dancing in her eyes, “I don’t recall all of you being this stiff. Parts of you, perhaps.”

  He decided to ignore the innuendo. “Lyanna, we both know that there is no point to any of this. Even if I were not interested in Julia Innes, I still have my responsibilities in the mortal world. The elders entrusted the djinn and Chosen of Santa Fe to my care. Do you truly believe they will overlook your actions when they have resulted in my people being left with no one to lead them?”

  “As to that,” she responded, giving an airy wave of her hand before picking up her goblet once again, “I am sure your brother can manage things well enough. Does it really matter which al-Harith oversees your little group?”

  That carelessness about others was one of the traits which had finally made Zahrias break away from her. Dani was a good man, and he did have the knack of making others like him, but a leader he was not, as he was uncomfortable telling others what to do, let alone making the hard decisions required of those in command. Lyanna should have known that — if she had ever bothered to think about anything other than herself.

  “I fear that my brother is somewhat occupied at the moment,” he said as evenly as he could. “For he and his partner just had their first child. Indeed, my being here means that I cannot be with them to properly celebrate the boy’s birth.”

  Lyanna’s amber eyes took on a malicious glint. “I had never imagined you as a doting uncle, Zahrias. Especially when the child is only a half-breed.”

  His fingers clenched, and then he forced himself to relax and take another sip of his wine. “Children of mixed blood can sometimes be the strongest of all.”

  “Or they can have so little power that they might as well be all human.” She set down her goblet and leaned toward him, breasts swelling precariously against the low-cut bodice of the tunic she wore. “You and I could have had wondrous children, Zahrias.”

  “I find it better not to dwell on what might have been.”

  “Why does it have to be ‘what might have been’? We could start again now.”

  The very thought of sharing that kind of intimacy with her made him want to gag. Now that he’d held Julia in his arms, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, especially Lyanna al-Syan. Sidestepping her suggestion, he said, “Perhaps we should eat. This does seem to be quite the feast you’ve had prepared.”

  They’d both been ignoring the food in favor of drinking wine, but Lyanna gave a negligent lift of her shoulders. “Of course, Zahrias. I do want to make sure you keep up your strength.”

  She snapped her fingers, and the jann hurried over so he could heap their golden plates with lamb and rice and fruit swirled with honey. The whole time, Lyanna’s amber eyes seemed to laugh at him.

  Clearly, she thought it was only a matter of time before his willpower failed him. After all, he couldn’t care that much for Julia, when she was only a mortal.

  * * *

  Julia had hoped that no djinn would be loitering around the U.S. Marshals’ building — when you got right down to it, there was nothing left for them to guard — but that hope was dashed when she spotted Murrah, the big elemental who was Martine’s partner, propped up against one of the pillars in the lobby. Oddly, he seemed to be playing a game on an iPad. That was something she’d thought she’d never see, since most djinn didn’t appear all that comfortable around human technology.

  Even so, she was less than thrilled to see him. All she could do was hope that he hadn’t noticed anything strange about her parking
behind the building and coming in through one of the side entrances, instead of walking in through the front like someone who had nothing to hide.

  “Hi, Murrah,” she said, and summoned what she hoped was a natural-looking smile. “Are Miles and Lindsay still working downstairs?”

  “Yes,” he replied. At least he didn’t appear overly surprised to see her there. Maybe someone had mentioned she might be back eventually to pick up the two remaining members of her team. “Should I get them for you?”

  “Oh, no,” she said hastily. “I’ll go down and talk to them. I’ve gotten to the point with Miles where he doesn’t get too crabby if I interrupt him.”

  Murrah nodded. “Sure, then.” And he returned to the iPad, brow furrowing as he worked away at his game of Candy Crush.

  She sent him another smile, then walked over to the elevator as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The whole time the car was descending, she kept worrying that Murrah would decide to join her — or worse, that whoever the spy might be had spotted the unfamiliar black truck parked behind the building and would then come in to investigate.

  But she reached the sub-basement without incident…and walked into a strangely intimate scene. Miles and Lindsay weren’t anywhere near Margolis’ former cell. Instead, Miles sat at the guard station, his glasses off and resting on the desk before him. Lindsay was rubbing his shoulders, her lips pressed against the top of his head in a gentle kiss.