by Sharon Joss
CHAPTER 29
Rhys dropped me off at Madame Coumlie’s house to search through the journals one last time before we headed out to the cave again. He’d arranged for the French translator to come over to his place that afternoon anyway, so I told Rhys I would meet him at Mystic Properties in two hours. Besides, I had an idea I wanted to try. He took off on the bike and I let myself in with the key he gave me.
For all its gaudy emptiness, the old Queen Anne house welcomed me. I stashed the envelope full of Lance’s money under the sink and brewed a pot of coffee. I would probably need that money to pay the lawyer. I heard an old clock ticking somewhere upstairs. With the curtains closed all day, the house was a peaceful oasis, but I had work to do. I took my coffee and a few journals into the living room. I settled myself in against a needlepoint pillow on the faded pink couch.
I wondered how Mimsy and Rhys knew each other. She’d been all over herself to make it up to me when she realized I was Madame Coumlie’s heir. She was the only other person I’d met with an invisible djemon. I sort of liked her, except for the fact that she might have slept with Rhys, who seemed to be well acquainted with quite a lot of women.
I still had questions about her aura, though. Or lack of it; and Rhys and I didn’t have auras either. I doubted the lack of an aura and lifeline meant the same thing for each of us. I mean, there could only be one Hand of Fate, right?
When Mimsy talked about Madame Coumlie banishing her djemon, it started me thinking. Banishing a djinn or djemon had to be something simple. I considered my little congregation of djinn and named djemons.
“Scat.” I waved my hand at them. Nothing happened. They didn’t even blink.
I sighed and opened the journal on my lap, staring at pages and pages of tight, tiny, even script. The penmanship was neat, but convoluted, and hard to make out unless I gave it my full attention and concentrated. This would take forever.
I put the book aside and slid off the couch to the floor. Blix and Larry crept closer, but the others remained huddled in a group about six feet away. I thought about how Madame Coumlie commanded Oneiri to appear. I wondered if, with my new abilities, I could do something similar. What if I gave them a direct order? It would have to be something formal, I decided. What should I say?
“I command you to disappear.” I simultaneously clapped my hands, receiving a small electric shock. One of the djinn vanished, only to reappear a moment later as a fully materialized djemon in the flesh. It was real. I got goosebumps. What had I done?
The new guy surveyed the room, clearly proud of its new status. He stamped his tiny feet and stepped in front of Larry and Blix as if to say, ‘I’m da man’. This bony little fellow looked just like Mimsy’s baby pterodactyl. I reached out to caress its leathery body, which was hot to the touch. Blix and Larry hissed at the new creature, and Blix appeared especially furious at the newcomer. It ignored them, and sidled closer to me, seeming to enjoy the touch of my hand. I stroked his leathery winglets and couldn’t help thinking this is so cool.
Then it hit me. I had just inadvertently named the pterodactyl djinn-thing You, and given it a direct command. I’d just become a demon master. Oh crap. A shudder washed though me. I had no idea it would be this easy.
My eyelid began to twitch. What a can of worms. I’d have to register him, of course. I would be tracked and monitored by the FBI for the rest of my life. Everyone would know, and if he grew, I could be arrested. I remembered the look of warning Rhys had given me when I mentioned Oneiri’s name to Porter. Obviously, the Hand of Fate had never registered her djemon; and now I understood why. Blix and Larry, at least, were still invisible.
What would Porter do to me if he found out? I thought about what he’d said about damning my soul to hell, and tried to figure out if I felt any different. Nope. Not a bit. Maybe accidents didn’t count. That argument probably wouldn’t wash with the feds.
I was getting the hang of this, though. Obviously, if I wanted to get rid of these guys, I would need to be specific. I gathered my thoughts and intention and focused on the exact words I wanted to say.
“I command You and the unnamed djinn in my presence to disappear from this place and go to the cave beneath Sentinel Hill, where you shall await my command.” I clapped my hands.
With a zing and a flash, they all winked out, leaving me alone with Blix and Larry. I sat still for a minute, scarcely believing they’d gone. It worked! For the first time in days, I was without an entourage. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Even the air smelled better.
I jumped up and danced around the room. Yes! It was so simple. This whole Hand of Fate thing was going to work out just fine, after all. I’ve got it! Rounding up the rest of the djinn and getting them back into the cave would be a piece of cake. We’d seal up the break and be done with it. I’d get myself some contact lenses, and be back to normal no time. No more teratosis. I’d be able to resume my social life again.
My next thought was for Rhys. I had to tell him about this. We could go to the caves right away; we didn’t need to translate the journals. I called him, but there was no answer. I knew he had to be there, so I grabbed my pocketbook and keys, and slipped out the back door, locking it behind me. Mystic Properties was just a few blocks away. I couldn’t wait to tell him.