“Come in, Rafi.”
His smoked poured through the crack and assumed his human form, pulling her into his arms, folding her nude body into his. A perfect fit. He kissed her eyelids and smiled.
“Rafi, I have questions.”
They lay on her bed, hands clasped between their hearts. “Tell me what you’re curious about, Sylvia.”
“Why did you ruin the reservoir?”
“Because humans are inherently greedy and evil. Djinns seek ways to show God that human nature is base and lacking in the divine.”
Sylvia looked at him, the fingers of sadness touching her heart. “Rafi, how long have you been among humans? How can you be truthful when you say they are all bad?”
“Why do you care, love? You are not of them, you are above their shallow greed. Your light is not of their world.”
“Rafi, the Earth is full of decent people. They are not as you describe.”
“I understand far more about human nature than you do, love.” Rafi’s tone was teasing, but Sylvia heard the disdain within its edge.
“Your stated purpose is to drive humans to their wit’s end, then kick them, Rafi. It puzzles me how you see this as somehow noble. What you call their moral failing I call bullied to the point there is nothing left to lose. Who doesn’t push back when overwhelmed? Why is that even considered a failure? Their feelings take over. They hurt, and their sadness and frustration spill over. That’s a part of humanity, Rafi. Feeling everything.”
“You are wrong, Sylvia. Humans are a pestilence. God will see this and wipe them from the earth.”
“A loving, gentle, human woman raised me, Rafi. In my circle, there are hundreds more wonderful human beings, and they each have circles of hundreds more. The ripples flow outward forever. It is you who is wrong.”
“I am not wrong, Sylvia. You are blind to their awful truth. How can you cleave to them after choosing me?”
“It is you who chooses not to see because it suits your narrative, Rafi. If Djinns can’t win God back, then what? Maybe God sees human frailty as the perfect counterpoint to your arrogance. Perhaps, the point is to show the Djinn that love is the power.”
“Love is a weakness that humans use to explain their evil; love is the most abused excuse on earth.”
“Oh, Rafi. No. My heart is breaking with this. I cannot be a party to this anger-driven madness,”
“Madness? I am Djinn! We were God’s chosen.”
Sylvia’s eyes were grey storms of sorrow, tears flowing, a rain with no healing. In silence, she released his hands. Rolling away, she stood next to her bed. With her heart breaking into jagged, irreparable shards, she pointed at the sun rising through the window.
“Go. Do not return.”
Eyes boring into hers, anger exploding into every corner of the room, Rafi’s body collapsed to smoke on the bed, and he shot through the crack as though fired from a gun, gone into the glow of morning.
Sylvia headed to the shower, standing in the flow, sensing through the haze that wrapped her magic. If I can rise past this spell, I will dedicate my power to reversing the madness of the Djinn. If I can, I will teach love. If there was ever an entity starved for love, it is them. They have learned nothing despite living thousands of years. How sad and wasteful of their gifts.
She caught the water in her hands, filling the shower to the top in a baptism of sorts, then releasing the water to the drain. It is coming; within me, rusted keys shudder and turn.
RAFI FLEW INTO THE reservoir, surrounded by his results, and stewed. It is stupid for me to upend myself over a woman. Yet, I am conflicted, in a way I’ve never known. It grips my essence. Is this what human emotion is? No wonder they are so messed up. She banished me. Me! How could she? We became one, a single, blazing combination, a destiny.
In rage and pain, he shot into the air, flying in a tight circle towards the sun, into the cooler air. He located a draft, revolving in lazy circles. Sylvia damaged me, somehow. I am crumbled within. Is this the broken heart humans sing of? It’s awful. They should stop doing this to themselves.
The weight of all the world lay on Rafi as he landed, gravity’s prize, leaden in the ruined basin. Whatever she’s done is already in place, the wheels of time are turning. Perhaps, it is more than considering she might be right. Perhaps this is a deeper lesson, one I must live in to learn.
He flew out of the basin to the nearby trees and settled onto a branch. If this is my lesson, then I will follow the path. Wings unfolding to catch the air, he pushed off from the branch, turning west, heading to the gulf and the house he and Pirro kept as a base. I will test my love’s theory that humans are redemptive beings, but, I will need pants.
HELP WANTED. RAFI READ the sign on the door at O’Leary’s, stepped into the cool dry interior, and walked up to the bartender.
“You seek help?”
“Sean O’Leary,” the bartender replied. “This is my place. I need dishwashers and a bar back. You ever tend bar?”
“Never. I learn quickly.”
“Done. You look strong as hell, and I need somebody who can keep us in beer and bottles. Start now. You got something to tie that hair back?”
“No.” Rafi looked surprised.
“I do,” Tally came up behind him and handed him a band.
Rafi smoothed his hair back and, with awkwardness, made a ponytail-bun combo.
“Good enough,” Sean told him, flipping up the bar pass-through. “Come on in.”
Sean showed him where everything was, and as the crowd picked up, Rafi stocked the bar and watched the people. Some laughed and were playful together, others talked quietly over food. A few men sat at the bar and drank heavily, talking in drunken circles. At the end of the night, Sean paid him out a percentage of tips and handed him papers to fill out. Rafi shook his head and pushed them back across the bar.
“It’s like that, is it? Well, you work fast, think on your feet. You had stuff up here before I knew I needed it. Work like this every night, and you’ll be the best bar back I’ve ever had. So, I’ll roll with you. Cash, no questions, and I’ll pay you out each night.”
“Agreed.”
Sean pulled the night’s pay from the till and pushed it across the bar. “Be here at two tomorrow.”
“I will do so. Good night, Sean.”
“G’night Rafi. Thank you for showing up and kicking ass.”
Thank you? Tonight I watched humans do stupid stuff, but I saw them help each other, and display their fellowship. This was not what I expected.
Out on the sidewalk, he took stock. I cannot fly back and forth with this money and lose my clothes each time. I need a new base. The neighborhood glowed and bustled, and around the corner, he saw a sign that said ‘Vacancy’. Rafi got a room for the night. Once in and settled, he smoked out, arriving at the base and securing additional funds and clothes. Mission complete, he picked up the phone Pirro kept there for unusual circumstances and ordered a car.
Rafi stepped out into the night, looking at a pair of humans holding hands, another walking with his dog, and two more exiting a cafe in deep conversation. Why have I never noticed this, their camaraderie? I have not observed all of humanity’s ways. I will look and learn.
Chapter Nine
The T-shirt clung, straining over his abs and shoulders. Rafi yanked his jeans up and adjusted his balls. I do not understand human reticence on nudity. This confinement is uncomfortable. I find removing clothing enjoyable; it signals freedom and pleasure. However, one doesn’t justify the other.
He turned his attention to putting the wrap on his hair, getting a decent ponytail on the second try. It’s easier than explaining that my hair does not fall out. He stopped at the office, paid for a week, and walked to O’Leary’s.
“Sean.”
“Rafi, good to see you. I got a beer delivery in and I need kegs sorted and stacked. You need help?”
Rafi’s easy grin left Sean shaking his head. In about ten minutes the keg room was perfect, and
Rafi ran an eye over the bottles, bringing back-ups for a few, then turning to restock the bottled beer, wine, glassware and finally, cutting the fruit. Bored, he stood behind the bar, polishing bottles. The happy hour crowd trickled in, and Rafi grew alert. That is Tina, Sylvia will be here.
“When you aren’t stocking or dealing with the glassware, I want you to watch me, Rafi. You could be a great bartender.”
“I’ll do so, Sean.”
So formal. He’s odd, but damn, the ladies are gonna love him, my gay guys, too. Hope he sticks.
Rafi felt them before he saw them, and Theo locked eyes before heading to Tina’s table. Sylvia’s glance made Rafi feel stripped, standing before the judgment, beloved but cast away. I am loved, but lacking. This the eternity of the Djinn.
Dragging his eyes back to Sean, he focused on watching him mix, making his mind blank except for the rhythm of the pour, letting the combinations file into his mind, learning the mixtures that made each drink different.
The crowd swelled, Tally came into the waitress station and looked at him.
“What do you need?” Rafi asked.
“A bottle of Bud, a pint of Guinness and a dirty martini,” Tally replied. “Three olives.”
Rafi began to build the Guinness, popped the Bud while the Guinness rested, mixed and poured the martini, added the olives, and topped the Guinness off. He set everything on the tray as Tally keyed the drinks into her POS pad, gave him an approving smile, and wormed through the crowd at the bar to deliver the order.
Sean leaned in. “Cover the waitress station, that way you don’t have to deal with the sales system. I’ve got the rest.”
“Understood,” Rafi said. I am getting the rhythm of this, how they work together to make this happen. They need to be a team, they cannot do most things alone. Interesting.
“Guinness, Jack and water, and a Cosmo,” Tally called over the babble.
This is their order. Rafi started the Guinness, poured a healthy Jack, made the Cosmo, topped the Guinness and set everything down for Tally.
“Bit heavy on the bourbon,” Sean leaned in.
“I know her,” Rafi replied with a little smile.
Sean grinned, building another Guinness for one of the heavy drinkers at the far end.
Sylvia looked at her dark brown drink and caught Tina’s eye.
“That’s a hella good pour, Sly,” Tina laughed. “I think he’s still got you in his orbit.”
Theo drank his Guinness, watching Rafi work the bar. He’s working. A job. What in the freaking hell is up with that?
“Ladies, let’s stay for dinner, my treat,” Theo said.
The happy hour crowd had thinned by the time they finished their meal, and Theo excused himself, heading for the restroom. Heading back, he stopped at the bar.
“Rafi.”
“Brother.”
“Curious. Care to enlighten?”
“Someone informed me I held a singular view. That theory is being tested.”
Real-ly. Huh. Djinns don’t act like that. “Hope you find your answer.” Theo’s eyes appraised, then broke the connection. He walked back to the table, thoughtful.
PIRRO BROKE THE SURFACE, shifting to vapor and rising off the water, unseen by the fisherman on the docks. The bottom has two springs we can attack. Rafi was right, this piece of creation is full of life.
Within the southern oak, he became an osprey and flew to the far end of the reservoir where the humans ate their food, sat in the sand, and played in a roped-off area. Revulsion flowed through Pirro; wheeling away, he returned to vapor and slid into the water. It’s time to remove filth from this water. Shifting into a huge bull gator, Pirro swam into the swimming enclosure.
Pirro broke the surface of the water with a hard smack of his tail, snapping at the nearest swimmer. Echoing shrieks of terror multiplied as each successive group of swimmers saw the gator’s terrifying teeth. On the beach, a fat man yanked a gun from a tote bag and fired, missing Pirro and striking the arm of a woman whose frantic efforts to flee the water doubled in the nanosecond it took for her to realize she was bleeding.
Pirro spun, snapping at the man lifting his child above his head. Submerging, he touched a few legs, enjoying the spastic response, before losing form and rising as vapor to observe the fleeing fright unfold beneath him. This should keep them away from here. My effort will continue unbesmirched by their foul idiocy.
RAFI WATCHED THE TELEVISION over the bar as the local news covered the story of an alligator attack and accidental shooting at the Tyler Compton Preserve. This is Pirro’s work. Fear feeds him; he grows dark and powerful at that feast. If he is clearing the humans away, he’s found the weakness on the bottom of the lake. This is the signal he is ready.
Rafi’s eyes wandered the walls of O’Leary’s, seeing the memorabilia, pictures of Sean and his family, and the collection of old mugs and steins lined up on a shelf that ran around the entire length of the ceiling.
“My dad’s collection,” Sean said, following Rafi’s glance. “He died before I bought this place, but the steins mean he’s here, in a way. It’s nice to have him around.”
Rafi nodded, understanding who the spirit was at the end of the bar. “Yes. This is a good place, Sean.”
Sean wiped the bar with a little smile. “It’s letting me raise a family and have jobs for others. We gotta help each other, y’know? The world is crazy, but my little corner is solid.”
“I’ve seen this. I will handle the delivery now.”
Rafi sorted and slung the kegs and moved the cases of liquor to the correct place. Sean takes care of his own, but he cares beyond his blood. He is what Sylvia insisted humans were. Good. Not perfect, he folds money from his till into his pocket, he might stretch the truth, but when he talked about the bar, there were no lies. He stands in his love and has pride in it. If I do not return to Pirro, he will come for me here. I won’t unleash his darkness on Sean.
Returning to the bar, Rafi motioned to Sean. “I must leave for the next two days. It is a family matter.”
“You need anything? A pay advance, a ride?”
“No, thank you, Sean. I am good.” These humans are more than I thought they were. I will continue this learning.
HER EYES SLID ACROSS the text from Tina.
Sly, that man is fine and you are sad. What gives?
Sylvia sighed, tapping.
He has issues, TNT. I don’t think it’ll work.
We all have issues. Human = Issues!
I know. Trust me, he’s wonderful, but I can’t.
Wonderful? I’ve never EVER heard you describe a man like that. WTH???
It’s true, but it’s also over. Maybe in another life.
Don’t forget to live in this one, Sly.
I know. I love you, gotta run.
Love YOU. Don’t do a snap.
Sylvia smiled. A snap was their code for making a decision without doing the research. Tina is a research fiend; it’s part of why she’s a good lawyer. Even as girls, we read way over our heads. Books were our base. She tapped out a response.
I won’t.
From the sofa, Theo grunted, passing his phone to her as she looked up.
“I know where Pirro went. Watch that.”
Sylvia watched the news report and handed back the phone. “Why is this evidence of Pirro?”
“A predator attacks when it needs to eat, Sylvia. The eyewitness holding the child said the gator snapped at the woman that idiot shot, turned and snapped at him, then submerged. He was certain it was going for his legs, but he made it to shore. They all did.” Theo rubbed the side of his forehead. “Now, why is that?”
“Because it wasn’t a gator.”
“And?”
“Because the point wasn’t food,” Sylvia said, her throat feeling dry. “It was fear.”
“Bingo. The cop in me thinks Pirro is clearing out the potential witnesses, making it so humans want to stay away. Djinns aren’t about murder. They create chaos to reve
al humanity’s true nature. These events are for an audience of one.”
“Oh, my God. Theo! That beautiful lake!!”
Theo looked grim. “I think so, Kid. I want a different answer, but my money says Pirro wants to blast another water site, creating a shortage that makes humanity suffer and turn on one another.”
Chapter Ten
Sylvia parked and jumped out, clicking the remote lock over her shoulder as she trotted away from the car toward O’Leary’s Pub. Four regulars sat at the end while Sean lounged against the back wall.
“Hey, Sean.”
“Hey, Syl. You ok?”
“Yeah. No,” Sylvia gave him a small smile and shrugged. “I need to talk to Rafi.”
“Sorry, Syl, he’s off the next two days. Anything I can help with?”
“No, but thanks, Sean, that’s sweet of you. Catch you later.”
Her quick steps had her out the door in seconds. Sean's eyes crinkled at the corners. She’s gorgeous. A man gets lost in those eyes. Those two go together.
Sylvia’s phone was out with Theo’s number tapped before she made it back to her car.
“Gone?” Theo answered.
“Gone. How did you know?”
“I’ve been around magic longer than you, Sis. Get back here, we’re taking a road trip to the Compton Reservoir. Plan on getting wet.”
RAFI LANDED NEXT TO Pirro, looking at the water. “Brother.”
“I am ready to do this.”
“Show me what you found.”
The Djinns slid over the surface, then sank down into the water, Pirro leading Rafi to the two fissures bubbling water up from the aquifer he’d found. Rafi looked through the clean water, teeming with fish, frogs, turtles, grass shrimp, gators, and healthy aquatic plants. Rising, he watched the herons, egrets, snake birds, and insects, busy hunting for food. Heaviness, an unknown sense, covered him. This is wrong. The price is too high. This will not teach, only anger and demonstrate our, the Djinns, unworthiness.
Swimming for Air Page 5
