“Like, unending wealth?”
“Correct. That is not a good wish. At all. You don’t understand how money really affects you and those around you. You want wishes that are helpful. Useful. I’ve seen many djinn try to tell their lampmaster something was a bad idea, but in the end, we cannot disobey.”
“Is the size of the wish restricted?”
Nope. Nice try though. “Yes.”
Trill looked around and I knew what question was coming. “Who has your lamp?”
Yeah right. This guy wasn't giving up. “Sorry. That’s classified. I don’t tell people who has it. I have an amazing lampmaster who hasn’t yet used a single wish and I’m free to come and go and use my powers as I please.”
“Damn, I was hoping for a little bit of that money magic.”
I swiped my hand over the bar top and a pile of notes they used on the Human worlds appeared there. They were large bills and Trill’s greedy eyes popped out. He grabbed the stack and shoved it in his pocket.
“That’s wicked awesome. Thanks man. You’re the best.”
“Are you sure?”
“What?” He looked distressed and shoved his hand in his pocket. I knew the bills were gone. They were an illusion. All money I conjured was an illusion almost without exception. “What the hell?”
“It’s fake. It’s always fake. It’s why I tell people to think hard about what they are going to wish for if they are the lampmaster of a djinn.”
“Not cool.”
“It’s the rules, man.”
Taking a hard drink from his glass, Trill studied me. I could tell he was sizing me up for a question. I was hoping we were going to get to the long con soon. I wanted to get Brami away from him. “Do you think you can help me with the group?”
Bingo. “Doing what?”
“I need to leave here soon, and I want a hard luck story to run on them. I want them to hand over as much of the non-Complex money as they can. I need some help with the angel kid. Someone to make her look sick, so its believable.”
“The angel kid?” I sighed. “Isn’t she your daughter?”
“Yeah…”
“I hear the but.”
He shrugged. “The mother was into me. Big time. I mean, what could I do when she fell for me.”
“Fell?”
“Yeah, that whole angel thing. They have to fall into sync with the rest of the galaxy in order to sleep with us. Otherwise you’re humping air. So she fell for me. I agreed to marry her. She got pregnant almost immediately and I felt trapped. I took the kid and we left. She wasn’t happy, and she didn’t like what I was doing for a living. But pfft. She can’t tell me to change. She fell for me. Not the other way around. And when I realized the kid was a pretty powerful nephilium, I took off and decided to make my living any which way I pleased.”
“I can probably work an illusion.”
“I’m starting to get some Metas in the group. Can they see through magic?”
“Not usually.”
“Eh. Don’t want to take that chance then.”
He took a swig and didn’t say anything else. I had two customers at the far end who were gesturing for drinks and I headed over. That wasn’t where I wanted to leave the conversation with Trill, but it would look suspicious if I hung out with Trill for too long.
Marin had confirmed he hadn’t been on the manifests, but was in the system now. This meant he’d used the underground network to get there and would be using it to get off Lorn. It was an open secret that the closed system here was nothing of the sort. I was more and more convinced that he had left Min behind without really thinking about it.
Now, I was worried that he was going to injure his own daughter. He didn’t even call her his daughter. It was always “the angel” or “the kid” or “the angel child.” Never daughter or my daughter or even Brami. Just... distant disinterest.
By the time I got back to where Trill had been sitting, he was gone. He hadn’t paid the tab either, cheap asshole. After all the discussions that we’d had about honesty, none of it was getting through. Not a bit of it. He wasn’t going to listen. This was going to have to reach the dangerous stages before I could get Brami away from him.
Her perfect hips slid over mine, riding my cock slowly.
Elle was in no hurry this evening, and this was best way to enjoy her. Naiads didn’t need sex to survive like their cousins the succubi, but they were a lot better off when they had sex regularly. And I was Elle’s choice.
I slipped a finger between her legs to find her clit, but she pulled it away. “No, Pili. I want to ride you for a while. It feels so damn good. I want a slow fuck.”
I put my hands on her thighs, and just helped her moved.
“What are you thinking, djinn?”
“Not much with the way that pussy of yours is enjoying me.”
The sway of her heavy breasts was slow as she kept her rhythm and smiled down at me. “You’re not a normal male, Pili. You can fuck and think at the same time. So what are you thinking?”
Her muscles closed and massaged me deep inside. She wanted to talk while we were doing this, I was game. “Brami.”
“Still?”
“Until I can get her away from him.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
I added a little thrust up to my hips as she rocked forward. “He won’t give me the chance. But he asked me to help with the long con for her. Make her look sick.”
“Mmm…” For a moment she closed her eyes and rolled back and forth, letting the sensation of my erection rock against her clit. “May… mmphf. Maybe you can. That’s could be your in with him.”
“I had suggestions —oh— and he dismissed them.”
“Does he trust you?”
“Now, yes.”
“Every time, Pili, I swear your dick gets bigger. Maybe he doesn’t completely trust you. Maybe he’s holding back.”
My hands found her ass and gave her a slap. “That’s possible. I know that he won’t tell me about his wife.”
“Are you sure they married? Oh, yessss.”
I grunted as she bore down hard on me. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Breasts, please, Pili.”
I pulled her down to me and my mouth found a nipple. She tasted sweet and sexual, and sucking her into my mouth I rolled the nipple with my teeth and tongue. Elle gasped and tried to pull back, but I held her there, savoring the hard pearl.
Changing from a rocking motion to a piston motion, Elle was done riding and wanted the prize. She slammed herself down on my cock, over and over, the tight silk fist of her pussy milking and squeezing me as she took her pleasure. I was content to suckle her, help her reach the top.
I bit softly and held her there, and she came, screaming. Her sex pulsed and pulled me in deeper. I sat up and rolled her back, so that I was on top. She lay exhausted and I thrust hard into her. She recovered from the orgasm, and just as she started to respond to my cock still inside, I pressed a thumb against her clit. She thrashed and squirmed and a moment later I splashed my cum inside her, triggering another orgasm.
I slowed and as I recovered, I moved us around on the bed so her back pressed against my front. It was always intense with us and took a moment for us to find our voices.
“Damn. Every time, Pili. The multiples are fantastic.”
“I do enjoy a good romp with you.”
“I like that you get that filthy mouth during sex and then go back to your not so filthy after.” I could tell she was grinning.
I did have that habit. A filthy mouth while we had sex. I shrugged. Elle rolled over and stared at me.
“So, are you sure they are married?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Could he have lied?”
“That wouldn’t shock me. But I also don’t think that he did because without certain kinds of love, angels wither and die.”
“What?”
“The humans have words for all the different kinds of love. Ancient w
ords. Philia, eros, pragma, ludus, storge, philautia, and agape. Seven different kinds. Angels have to have at least three of them to live, and six of them to have a child. So she must have been married to him to feel the pragma.”
Elle was taken back. “Seven different kinds of love?”
“Sure. Love is love in regular Human tongue, but even we know there are different ways love manifests. Philia is brotherly love, the love between best friends. Eros is…” I laughed and pointed between our naked bodies, “literally this. Ludus is playful love, young love. Pragma is deep love, enduring. Storge is the love of mother and child. Philautia is wholesome love of the self. And agape is lovingkindness, a love of the galaxy and everything in it.”
Elle smirked. “I didn’t know love was that complicated!”
“Everything worth anything is complicated. And angels live on this love. Love and good food.”
Tilting her head, Elle considered me. “This is more than you just caring about her, isn’t it? You really are in love with Min.”
“I can pretend,” I answered. “But she doesn’t know who I am. She might remember me from when we were kids, but there’s nothing there now. She fell for a Human. Someone I’m convinced has used her and walked away.”
“How much do you know about angels?”
I sighed. “Too much. Really. It makes me look like a stalker or sycophant.”
“Tell me.”
Pulling back, I was shocked. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, please. Tell me about them.” She traced a careful finger down my collar bone.
I closed my eyes. “I met Min when I was five. The day she walked into our first year classroom. That was over three hundred years ago. I was instantly fascinated by her. I went home and started asking my mother everything and anything I could think of about the angels. She handed me books and videos about all of the species of Vaimm, and I ate them up, studying the parts about the angels over and over.
“Millennia ago, the angels were no different from the rest of the people of Vaimm. They lived with us and among us, and were nothing more than psychics with wings. But there was something greater for them, because they could see time and space. Finally, one of their kind transcended our plane of thinking and being. They moved just out of phase with the rest of the people of Vaimm. Slowly, all of the angels were able to shift to the different plane of existence.
“It was immediately obvious that they could no longer interact with the rest of the people of Vaimm, much to the chagrin of those who had been in love. They could see and smell and talk to each other, but they could not touch. Not now, not ever again. Someone figured it out, though. The angels could, if they wanted to, fall back into sync with the rest of the universe. It took tremendous effort and they had to be sure they wanted to take the step. Because once they fell, they could never return.
“Family and friends could choose to support or abandon those who fell. Most times, they chose to remain in contact with the angel, supporting their decision and supplying the love that they would need to survive the phase shift. It was critical, even more after an angel fell, that they had support. But there were a few who chose to fall for foolish, ill-considered reasons. Love was hard to prove to those who were angels, and hard to conceive for those who were not.
“An abandoned angel was a pariah, in both Meta and angelic circles. The love that they gleaned from those they fell for had to be enough to sustain them. There was no way to survive without it.”
I opened my eyes and Elle had a horrified look on her face. “They die?”
“They die.”
She propped up on her elbow. “Pili… he left her. She’s still alive, but he left her. She’s going to die.”
“I don’t know that. No one knows.”
“You have to find out.” She sat up straight. “P’iliktus, she could be dying.”
“I don’t know that. I don’t even know where she is.”
Her stare was deadly. “Listen to me. We have been having fun fucking each other’s brains out, but you love her. She may be dying and you need to find her. You can save her life.”
“I can’t even save her child!”
BANG! BANG!
The intrusive knock on the door scared the both of us and we scrambled for some clothes as fast as we could, as more ‘bangs’ sounded on the door.
“Hang on! I’m coming.” I glanced back and made sure that Elle was at least out of sight. Naiads didn’t have a lot of problems with nudity, but still … I hit the lock release and the door slid open.
Zar Kordone stood there, dressed in black from head to toe.
“P’iliktus Alvinad?”
“Yes. That’s me.”
“You are an acquaintance of one Trilland Samarad?”
I nodded. “That’s correct.”
He swept into the apartment as Elle stepped into the living area wearing in my shirt. Shit, really? Her clothes were there—
—but the look on Zar’s face when he saw her there spoke volumes about why she did that.
“Good evening, Inspector.” Elle’s voice was cold as ice.
Oh. They knew each other.
“Good evening, Ellestra.” His voice was as cold as hers.
They were in love. Interesting.
“Inspector, how can I help you? You can see I have company and if this can wait until the morning—”
He turned fully facing me. “It can’t. Time is of the essence. What do you know about Trilland Samarad?”
“He’s the leader of a Litteris Antiqu—”
“No.” His words snapped off my answer. “No. What do you know about Samarad? I am here on behalf of the Climintra, and this is important.”
Keeping my expression neutral, I considered him for a long moment. This Human was purported to be one of the smartest beings alive at this time in history. He wouldn’t have come here to listen to me tell him lies and spin platitudes about Trill. Not in the middle of the Complex Dark.
“Trilland Samarad is a liar and a cheat. He’s a charlatan who doesn’t really believe what he’s selling to the people who attend the Litteris meetings. He’s exploiting his daughter for his own monetary gain. He asked me, just today, if I would help him make his daughter look sicker, and didn’t want me to use an illusion that some Meta might be able to see through. It’s my belief that he has no interest in keeping his daughter alive, never mind healthy, but I have no proof of that yet.”
“And yet you work with him, and have befriended him. Why?”
“His daughter.”
His bright green blue eyes that were more than just hazel stared right through me. “The wife.”
I nodded, briefly.
“What do you know about her?”
“Only what I remember from years ago on Creda. Once she moved to Rexu to be with Trill, I lost track of her.”
“So you knew her before she fell.”
“I did. Sort of.”
“Pining?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Very much.”
It was almost painful the way he was trying not to notice Elle standing there. “What’s your motivation for getting the child away from him?”
“Isn’t his use of her enough? I don’t have an ulterior motive. Brami is terrified and tired and a tool for her father. Even if her mother wasn’t Min, that’s all the reason I’d need to try to get her away from him,.”
Another brief nod and a glance over at Elle. “I’m here because I’m tracking a serial killer. Milton Averon. The people of Rexu have a very larger reward out for him, but I’m assigned to the case. They want him captured and returned to stand trial.”
It didn’t take Zar Kodone’s brain to realize exactly what he was saying. Elle got it too. “You think Trilland is this Averon?”
“Yes. There’s a trail following him through Rexu, and the trail disappeared six years ago for just twenty-four months before it was back on Rexu again. Everything points to him. The people of Rexu don’t know his name, but he’s the reaso
n I’m here.”
“A serial killer?” I didn’t like Trill, and I hated that he was using his daughter, but a killer?
“Yes. It’s a strange pattern. I suspect there may be some sociopathy, but there’s a chance there’s a split personality issue. I can’t be sure until I get my hands on him. But I can’t do that until I have more proof of his crimes. And again, I fear that may be too late for both the daughter and the mother.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood. “What about the mother?”
“We weren’t able to locate her before I left. I came here in desperation to see if I could get him to go back to her and give up her location so that we could keep her safe. But he’s got no interest in her, at all anymore. She’s served her purpose.”
I glanced at Elle. “You’re telling me that he left her there? On Rexu?”
“To die, yes.” Zar raised an eyebrow. “On purpose. I’m sure she’s either seen something or knows what he is.”
A cold chill ran through me, icing my blood from head to toe. “And he left her there knowing she had nothing left and would die without telling anyone.”
“Precisely.”
Elle grabbed my arm. “You have to go. You have to find her.”
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. “I don’t know where to start. I don’t know Rexu. You know the Metas almost never went there.”
“I need you here to trap Alveron. You’re the only one—”
“Blow it out your ass, Zar.” Elle cut in, and I was shocked at her words. “He needs to find Min before she dies. He can save her. He can give you your witness back. And anyway, John and Marin know what’s going on with Trill here. They were all making friends with him.”
Holding up my hand I stopped the verbal assault from both of them. “Hold on. I don’t know how to get off the planet. There’s no way to get off the planet. I don’t know where I’m going on Rexu. There’s too much of a question here.”
Taking my hand, Elle turned to me. “You love Min. You’re the only one in the galaxy who can save her. If you want to save Brami, save her mother first. Marin, John and I will do what we have to do to keep her safe.”
One Thousand Wishes, One Thousand Stars (The Complex Book 0) Page 4