“Jinn, baby, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you felt that way.” Rosie lost all of the sass from her tone, and for a moment, she was just his friend, no gimmick or mask necessary. “Why didn’t you talk to me?”
“I was too busy confiding in the bottle.” He shrugged. “Also, you were off with Bruto.” He couldn’t help it, he had to take the jab.
“Well, for what it’s worth, and I suspect it isn’t much, I don’t think that she would turn from you. If she didn’t have a real absolute reason to do so. There is no way that Nitara wouldn’t want to be by your side.” She shuddered. “I can’t imagine what she is going through now. Trapped inside of a fucking vampire. Man, my little jewelry box was hard enough, but who knows what it’s like in there.”
“It’s hell.” Jinn didn’t have to imagine it. He knew exactly what Nitara was going through.
“Oh, that’s right, you’ve been there … sort of.”
“Yeah, and she isn’t doing well.” It hurt Jinn to think of his wife, the woman he loved, trapped inside that hell. It hurt even more that he continued to think of her in that way.
“All the more reason for us to stop moping around and get her out of there. Regardless of what happens when she is free, she is still one of us and we protect our own.” Rosie wouldn’t allow it to be any other way. The djinn were her family, the only one she would ever have.
The walls around her shook. It made no sense, but they did. She felt boxed in, and with every labored breath he took, the trembles began again. The life, that sad echo of what once was, faded and was harder to hear with each passing moment. She called out to Tyrellis, but it made no difference. No amount of noise reached him. He was gone, his mind too far away from her reaches. There was another tremble just like before, but this time it was accompanied by crumbling. The walls grayed, and as they did, pieces fell to the floor and turned to ash. They were killing him, and with him, she would parish. Nitara curled in on herself, and for the first time in many years, she said a prayer, that someone would come. The echo of voices reached her. She could actually hear them talking outside of his body.
“Good, keep it up. We must continue to drain him.” Sarah’s voice was sickening.
“What about Cast? Isn’t he supposed to challenge Tyrellis? If we drain all the blood from him, how will he do that?” a woman questioned. She had a familiar trill to her tone. It was one that she heard before, and it wasn’t from a vampire.
“Cast will make no such challenge.” Sarah’s heels smacked against the floor as she walked away. She paused. “Make sure there is nothing left of him. I don’t want him returning. Or that bitch trapped inside.”
Nitara was shocked, but more so angered. Sarah knew exactly what she was doing. With Tyrellis trapped and drained, he would remain unable to release Nitara. It wasn’t enough just to kill Tyrellis, but she wanted Nitara to suffer right along with him. The more he dried up, the more his mind slowed down. The silence was so much more maddening than what was once ranting and continued begging. Nitara pulled herself to her feet and tried yet again to use her magic, anything to free herself or bring some life back to the man. She called her weapon of choice, her whip, to her hand and focused on the spot that was usually her way out. With everything she had, she pulled the whip back and snapped it forward. The tip of the string of light smacked into the barrier that stood between her and freedom. In an explosion of purple light, the magic that she pushed out bounced back against her and knocked her on her ass. The already fragile surroundings crumbled even further.
Nitara pulled herself up and brushed the debris from her hair. She wasn’t going to be able to get out of there, not on her own. As a last-ditch effort she decided to try to reach out to the one person she could, to the person who she couldn’t believe was still on her side.
“Jinn, if you’re out there, if you can hear me please say something,” Nitara spoke into the darkness and waited. She wanted to call out again, but before her lips parted, she received a response.
“Yes, Nitara, I’m here.” Jinn’s voice returned to her, but it hurt her to hear it. He sounded tired, frustrated, and upset—and she knew that it was because of her.
“It's so good to hear your voice … or any voice for that matter.” She meant it. Despite the anguish in his tone, she was happy to know that he was still there, on the other side, open to her.
“What's going on?” Jinn could tell by her voice that Nitara was beginning to struggle. “Are you okay? How are you holding up in there?”
“I wish I could say that I was doing great, but that would be a lie. They’re torturing him, and it’s starting to affect me. I’m getting weaker with every moment. I’m surprised that I was able to reach you at all.”
“I’m glad that you did. I know that you are tired, but I need you to tell me what's going on. I need to know everything. Nitara, don’t leave anything out.”
“It's just becoming too quiet; they’re draining his body and it’s slowing him down. I can’t feel him here anymore, and I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I feel like I’m losing my mind in here. It’s not the same. It’s not the same as being inside of a vase or a bottle. Those things are inanimate objects and they don’t respond to us, they don’t feel us the way he feels me. I feel him, too, Jinn. I feel everything he’s going through; I hear everything he thinks in my mind. He’s stopping, he’s slowing down, and I feel like the same thing is happening to me. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. I don’t know what happens to me. If he stops, if he dies, so do I.”
“We’re not going to let that happen, Nitara,” Jinn promised her. “We’re going to get you out of there.”
“All right, we need to get this shit moving.” Jinn entered the hub and shocked everyone there. He’d been hidden away for so long, they wondered if he would ever come out of his room again. “Our timeline has just been shifted forward. We don’t have time for days of planning. We need to get in and get her out of there. Now.”
“Jinn?” Briar stood from the round table, a new addition to the space. “What’s going on?”
“Nitara contacted me.” He pulled on the leather jacket that had been dangling in his hand. “She’s not holding up well, and we need to do something now. She’s fading.”
“How?” Ardyn abandoned his seat as well.
“I don’t think that is really the concern right now.” Jinn shot him a warning look. The man had already crossed the line with him once.
“You’re right. What did she say?” Ardyn looked hurt but backed down. Jinn was older and stronger, and he didn’t want to piss him off.
“They’re torturing Tyrellis. Sounds like they’re draining his body. But whatever they are doing to him, is affecting her as well.” He thought about what she said. “It’s not the normal process. I’ve seen vamps drained before, and they just enter a typical sleep, but this sounds like they are killing him, in a slow and painful way.”
“Nitara is still safe. That’s good, right?” Briar hung on to the one bit of good news he had for them.
“Yes, but she sounds bad. I don’t think we have much time.” Jinn looked at the screen which flashed to an image of the oversized home of the vampire leader. “We need to get in there. What’s the best way?”
“I guess a sneaky infiltration isn’t going to work.” Mike stared at the map on the table.
“Maybe it is.” Ardyn’s eyes lit up as his mind went to work.
“What do you mean?” Jinn questioned him and followed his gaze to the map where he pointed.
“Hell, we’ve scouted out these damn magic traps, we know where they are. Let’s say we start setting them off all over the place. Sarah will think she is being attacked and will have no choice but to send her people out to investigate. While they’re doing that, we can walk right in.”
“Even if she does sends people, she won’t send them all, and the ones that do go, won’t be gone for long,” Inda offered.
“How long do you think we’ll have before they re
alize it’s a setup?” Jinn questioned Ardyn who worked quickly to calculate the timing in his head.
“Not long at all, a matter of minutes. I say we’d have to be in and out within twenty minutes tops. Anything longer than that and we’ll be trapped. I don’t know what kind of defenses she has, but I know she is working with someone who possesses magic. None of this would be happening if she wasn’t.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
“So we’re snatching his body and running?” Mike lifted his gaze from the map. “Is that the plan now?”
“I don’t see what other choice we have right now.” Briar joined Jinn in scrutinizing the picture on the screen. “Twenty minutes isn’t going to be enough time to revive him if they’ve drained him. We’d have to first try to revive him and then figure out how to get Nitara out. We won’t be able to do what we need to until we get some life back into him. Don’t forget they also have some sort of magical binding around him. I’m confident that we’ll be able to get through it, but it might take some time.”
“All right. Plans have changed. We’re kidnapping a half dead vampire vessel!” Bruto perked up. “This is my kind of action!”
“Boxi, you and the others start creating the magical bombs. They can be placed in the zones and set off from afar. This way we don’t risk our people having a run-in with any hungry vamps. We want to get out of here as clean as possible.”
Boxi nodded and left the room to prepare the others.
“While they are doing that, we need to rally the groups. Have everyone line up to have the cloaking reinforced. We want to make sure everyone stays safe out there.” Briar took to running the show. The men were too much of a mess to do anything right. Jinn was stuck in his head, Mike was stuck in his feelings, and she didn’t know what the hell was up with Ardyn. Just as she finished issuing her orders, Graham appeared from his hidden space
“Okay, I'll get my people in order.” Mike stood from the table, happy to have a reason to get away from the vampire, but when he turned to leave, Graham was in his way. Instead of stepping aside to allow Mike room to get by, Graham slammed his shoulder into him.
“What the hell is your problem?” Mike pushed Graham back.
“My problem is you.” Graham issued another blow that knocked Mike back into the table. “You and your bottom feeding friends!”
“That’s it. I’m sick of your shit. You wanna go, let’s go!” Mike had had enough. There was only so many times that he could allow himself to be challenged or pushed in front of his people without standing up for himself. Graham had done nothing but test his resolve since he arrived.
Graham was thrilled and launched a powerful blow at Mike’s jaw. He was sure it would knock him out, but Mike’s skin changed, taking on the malleable properties of his snake, and absorbed the blow before he launched one right back at Graham. The vampire slid back and hit the table behind him. Mike pounced and was on top of him. They launched repeated shots at each other and tumbled around the room.
“Enough!” Jinn yelled so loudly that the room trembled, and dust fell from the ceiling. Everyone in the room froze. “I didn't come all of this way to see two grown ass men act like children. You two got issues, handle it, but on your own time. This isn’t your time. This is my time. So suck it up! Mike, get your people ready. Graham, whatever you need to do to get your head focused on the task at hand do it! We don’t have time for this shit.”
Mike straightened himself out and wiped the blood from his lip. He looked back at Graham, pleased to see that he, too, had shed some blood. With a satisfied grin, he headed off down the hall. Briar followed him closely.
“Mike, are you okay?” She touched him on the shoulder to stop him when they were out of view of the others.
“No, I’m sick of this shit.” He turned to face her. “I feel like a damn fool! I let myself believe that it was possible for us to move forward. But here we are dealing with the same bullshit. Despite the fact that there are bigger issues to be concerned with, this man is so blinded by his hatred for my people that he can’t get past it and allow us to work together for the greater good. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
“You can’t let him disrupt what you’ve already done. You’ve made such great progress. That needs to be the focus here.”
“Have I?” Glancing down at the blood on his hand, he smirked knowing that it was not his own.
“Are you telling me that you have doubts about that? Look at your people. Look at how you’ve begun to rebuild. That is what matters, Mike. Not him or anyone else who can’t let go of the past. You and your people need to be worried about restoring the bond between you. Only then will the outside world ever see you as anything other than the traitors that they’ve been taught to view you as.”
“Focus on our own, huh?” Funny that she was saying that while he and his people were once again risking everything for someone else.
“Look around, that is what everyone else does. They don’t worry about other people. We don’t either, we build ourselves up first before we ever worry about what someone else thinks. You, at least, are doing that in a positive way. The world will see it. And hell, if they don’t, fuck them. You have the fairy, the fae, the djinn, and the dragons, all on your side. If you ask me, that’s one hell of an alliance.”
“Thank you, Briar.”
“Yeah, no problem. Now suck it up so we can go save Nitara.”
“Again,” they both said in unison and laughed as they went to talk to their people.
“You think we’re going to be able to get through this without any drama?” Bruto joined Jinn and handed him a mug of coffee, spiked with Irish cream. It was a favorite and one that always helped his friend relax.
“Hell no!” He laughed. “Look around, this place is full of little drama bombs. The fire bird and her ex dragon. The vampire who has it out for the reptile. The wolf hybrid who’s in love with Nitara. Man, shit is going to hit the fan, hard.”
“Well, I can say, it’s always a great time when we get together!” Bruto slapped his shoulder and tossed back the rest of his drink. “Care for something a little stronger?” He shook the empty glass at Jinn.
“Believe it or not, I think I've had my fill. Besides, I need to keep my head clear for tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” Bruto tapped his own cup which refilled. Jinn lifted a brow at him. “What? I work better with a buzz!”
The flares went off as planned. Jinn hid outside of the vampire home with Mike, Bruto, and Ardyn. When the vampires started to leave, running to check the alarms that had been set off, they all made a run for it. Getting inside was easy, almost too easy, but they were in. Ardyn had managed to design another bug, one that worked more with technology than magic. It went in ahead of them and mapped out the path to Tyrellis’ holding cell. The cloak worked to get them close to the house, but the moment they crossed the threshold, there would be no hiding.
As they headed inside, Briar, Rosie, Graham, and Jax took their positions outside. It would be their task, along with the cloaked slithers who blended in with the lush gardens that surrounded the home, to keep any returning vampires at bay. They needed to give Jinn and the others as much time as they could on the inside. The paths back to the home were loaded with traps and members of the team who were ready to fight at all cost.
“It looks like we have quite a bit of a maze to work through.” Ardyn held up the tablet that displayed the map the bug had laid out. “She’s deep within the center of the home.”
“Can you just flash us there?” Graham questioned. “I mean, there are three djinn here, and hell, once we’re in, like you said, the jig is up anyway.”
“He has a point.” Bruto shrugged. “Let’s fast track this, shall we?” He laid his hand on Mike’s shoulder and the two vanished in a flash of light.
“Onward!” Ardyn smiled, took hold of Graham, and they disappeared.
Jinn glanced up at the open balcony and the bird
of fire who was coming in for a landing. He wished Inda luck with her part of the play before he vanished in a cloud of blue to joined the others.
“You really are a cold bitch, you know that?” Red boots touched down on the white marble floor of the open balcony. Inda put out her flames and walked through the sheer curtains that danced in the cool air. Sarah sat in the chair and brushed her hair at the gothic style vanity. Even with the visitor, she remained cool, grooming herself as if the world wasn’t about to burn all around her.
“Am I to be concerned with your opinion of me?” Her eyes were trained on the reflection of herself as she primped and preened.
“Maybe not, but you should be concerned with all of the shit that is going on in your home right now.”
“Oh, should I?” She turned in the chair. “Tell me, what’s going on that I should be so concerned with?”
“Your little plan for Cast to take over, it’s not going to work.” Inda stood in the center of the room surrounded by frill. She wanted to gag; Sarah was such a stereotype.
“What would make you think that I want Castius to be in charge?” The vampire slid her bare feet into a pair of heeled slippers, the kind with fur around the toes. “Castius has no place at the head of a nation. He’s a baby.”
“You only set him up for the throne,” Inda barked. “You took out Tyrellis and lined him up for a direct path to where he wants to be. Now you claim to not want that? Do you deny helping him?”
“Everything you say is true, except, I didn’t help Castius. He helped me. Right now, our little friend is down there, fighting, and failing to retain a throne that isn’t even his yet.” She grabbed the robe that hung on the wall next to her, tied it around her waist, and walked over to Inda. The two stood just a few feet apart and neither flinched. "What do you suppose will happen then? Once two men have fallen, and the only other person who is even knowledgeable of what it takes to run this place is …”
Djinn Rebellion Boxset (Books 1 -30: A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Page 33