Wish You Weren't Here

by Janeen Ippolito

  “Oh, she’s full of surprises.” Cendric nodded behind them. “Beware of the cement sheep.”

  “Cement … I beg your pardon?”

  Well, my Jinn magic was all over that crazy idea, ready for playtime after the serious business of confronting Kiran. As tinny bleats filled the parking garage, I stared at my husband.

  “You suggested that on purpose.”

  His gray eyes gleamed. “Yes, I did. Your mind fascinates me. Pittsburgh could use a few cement sheep. If they make trouble, I’ll collect them for the menagerie. They’ll be a good test for the vampires who are having difficulty controlling their urges.”

  “Break their fangs on sheep?” I shook my head. “You’re awful. I’m never leaving you.”

  “Good.”

  Over the earvine, I relayed a short message to Matthias to scoot the public out of the coffee shop. He sounded relieved, but not too surprised. They had already figured out where I’d be drawn to. Coffee needs were convenient for behavior prediction. I snapped my fingers and teleported Cid and me to Uncommon Grounds. Jack, Theiya, and Gideon were gathered around a table, and the customers were headed out the door. Matthias was busy making drinks.

  Everything back to normal. Well, as normal as life could be.

  Matthias looked our way and did a double-take at Cendric. “Considering how you’re supposed to be comatose, I’m guessing real blood in yours?”

  “Yes.” He grimaced. “With some coffee splashed in.”

  The siren nodded. “No judgement. One hemoglobin latte special coming right up. And one “what the heck” special for Al.”

  “You are perfection incarnate, Matthias.”

  He rolled his eyes with a smile. “Spoken like a true addict.”

  A furry shape came bounding toward me. A moment later I held armfuls of Gideon as he wriggled. “I’d say to stop doing that, Al—”

  “But you know it wouldn’t matter.” I scratched his head.

  He wrinkled his face at me. “At least this time Cid was with you.” Gideon angled his head at the vampire. “About time you woke up. This is part of your mate duties. We talked about the mischief she gets into.”

  “I do what I can,” Cendric acknowledged with mock gravity.

  “You guys, I’m right here.” I deposited Gideon into the vampire’s arms. “Since you’re both against me, you can hang out together while I check in with Jack and Theiya.”

  Easing through the small square tables that filled the shop, I zeroed in on where they sat. Jack was sprawled out, her five-year-old kits gathered around some toys. One was in fox form, the other human and holding a rope, playing tug of war with its sibling. Theiya was sitting rather more stiffly, looking annoyed.

  “I’m always amazed how Matthias manages to clear them out so fast.” I flopped into a chair across from Jack.

  She shrugged. “He’s a siren. Nothing like radiating a general sense of unease, like they left the stove on or the cauldron bubbling or the destined sword unpolished, to clear out humans and magicals alike. Good to see you made it out, Al.”

  “Indeed,” Theiya said. She fixed me with a speculative look. “Kiran has been suitably restrained?”

  I set the turpentine bottle on the table. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  “Excellent.” Her eyes flitted to the door. “Did you happen to meet anyone else?”

  “Funny you should mention it. There were these weird elves in the parking garage. One

  of them seemed okay, but the other was a real stuffed shirt, and both had serious timing issues.”

  My skin twitched again. I whirled around in my chair just in time to see a vortex of light and shadow at the far corner of the shop. A second later, the redhead and her scowly companion stepped out.

  I summoned sapphire flames. “Those are them, Theiya!”

  “Ah, very good.” She stood up.

  Before the vortex closed, a cement sheep trundled into the shop. Theiya narrowed her eyes. “I was not expecting that.”

  Both of Jack’s kits stared at the sheep, then bounded toward it.

  She leaped up. “Zack! Riley! Get back here.”

  “Baa!” said the sheep.

  Casimir frowned. “Diza, are you certain these are the right individuals to ally with?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I glanced at Matthias and made a silent sign for a double.

  This explanation had better be good.

  Chapter 16

  It took a while for everyone to get settled in, what with the cement sheep eating the metal table legs and the kits running around trying to get “sheepy rides.” But finally, the kits were settled down for a nap in a side room, and we all sat around a couple of tables that had survived the eating habits of the sheep. Me between Cendric and Gideon, Jack on the right end with Matthias beside her, Theiya on the left end, looking rather alarmed and relieved, and the two strange elves called Casimir and Diza across from me. Diza happily nursed an affogato with extra ice cream, and Casimir sipped an espresso with a look of profound consternation still on his face.

  Of course, that could be because the sheep had decided Casimir was his new best friend and was lying contentedly at his feet. I chuckled, and the elf turned his midnight blue eyes on me.

  “You find this amusing?” he asked. “Was it your doing?”

  I shrugged. “Once creatures come out of my head, they have minds of their own. I can compel them if I want to, and they’ll … sometimes listen. If I’m really firm. But otherwise, that’s on them. He likes you.”

  “He has poor discernment, then.” But the elf gave the cement sheep a faintly appreciative glance.

  Beneath the grumbling, Casimir’s fear was palpable. He really thought he would be the downfall of the sheep. Huh. So another one with a dark past. Well, he was at the right table.

  But his moody feels were bumming me out. Whatever the guy had done, there was always hope for redemption. “Okay, so what will you name the sheep?”

  “Name it?”

  “Sure, that’s important. Right, Cid?” I nudged Cendric, who was texting on his phone, and he caught my glance.

  “Indeed,” he said. “It seems the sheep has adopted you, so it is your privilege and requirement to name it.”

  I dove into the fluffy, foamy depths of my latte, flavored with turmeric and ginger and melted red licorice.

  “Shawn,” Casimir declared. “His name shall be Shawn.”

  I almost choked on the mouthful. On one side, Cendric grinned. On the other, Gideon gave a chirrupy laugh.

  “Shawn?” Gideon spluttered. “As in, Shaun the Sheep?”

  “Yes, that’s what I said. He is Shawn, my sheep.” Casimir sighed. “Such as he is.”

  “Great name.” I swallowed hard. “Is there a particular reason for it?”

  Casimir nodded. “Shawn was the name of a great king on my world Kyure.”

  “Good king Shawn. Got it.” Then I paused. “Wait, what do you mean ‘your world’? What’s that about?”

  At that moment, Theiya cleared her throat and stood up. “All right, I have delayed this conversation long enough. In truth, I should have started it sooner, but,” she paused, and her face flushed, “it is complicated, and it involves a rather complex treaty that has existed for generations between my people and the Lyrium.”

  “Who’re the Lyrium?”

  “Created guardians of the dimensions.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “So what? Gods?”

  That would screw with my worldview.

  Diza shook her head. “Not as such. There is only one who holds the universes. The Lyrium merely have their place at a lower level.”

  “So, angels?”

  “No.” She pressed her lips together. “The beings you call that have other assigned tasks.

  It’s complicated, and going into it right now wouldn’t be helpful.”

  “Huh.” I sat back, holding my mug. File all that away to ponder later.

  Jack frowned and looked a
way from her private conversation with Matthias. “I always knew the light elves had more going on, but off-worlders?”

  “You know about them?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “As kitsune get more tails, they level up in knowledge and magic on this world, and cosmically. I don’t have that many tails, but I can sense if someone’s not from this place. I’ve never followed up on it, though. I like trouble, but that seemed to be too much, even for me. I got kits, after all.”

  Theiya nodded. “Understandable. Well, if you want to leave this meeting, you are more than welcome to—”

  “No.” Jack’s blue eyes gleamed. “I’ll stay.”

  “Very well.” Theiya tugged at her scarlet uniform. “If I may?”

  Jack flashed her a grin. “Go ahead.”

  “Off-worlders have wandered to Earth periodically throughout history. Light elves have always been able to detect them due to our magic. The Lyrium chose our race to be protectors. Pathminders. Agents in this world monitoring interdimensional travel and preventing any incursions. Dizandra is the current Lyrium …” Theiya paused. “Are you using the title ‘empress’? You mentioned at your initial installment that you found it fussy.”

  The redhead shrugged. “I’ve grown used to it. It’s ironic, considering what my job entails, but there are times when a royal title is very convenient.”

  “Yes, your predecessor thought the same way.”

  Cendric raised his eyebrows. “So, are you and your companion here for a holiday?”

  “As much as Earth is a great place for that, no.” Diza gave me a sideways glance. “My … aide and I were sorting through copious amount of interstellar messages after my brief sabbatical on my homeworld, and we were interrupted by a rather huge explosion of magic from Earth. Very unusual magic.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You mean, intense, out-of-control, mixed-blood Jinn magic.”

  “It was partially controlled,” Casimir replied. He studied me intently. “You’re of mixed race?”

  “Yeah, I’m mostly Jinn and partly human. If human terms matter, my mother was Russian and my dad, I assume, is some kind of Jinn from the Middle East.”

  “You assume?”

  I smiled thinly. “He ditched my pregnant mom. Never heard from him. Don’t think I ever will.” I downed the last of my latte. “So, you showed up to make sure I didn’t explode the planet? Well, it’s all still here.”

  But the dumb elf wouldn’t leave it alone. “Why do you assume so little of yourself?”

  “It boggles the mind,” Gideon muttered.

  “Lay off, bro.” I set my mug on the table and pushed away. “Thanks for stopping by, you two. I’m sure you have lots to discuss with your main rep, Theiya. As for me, Cid and I have the love potion situation to deal with, and,” I tapped the turpentine bottle, “a trapped Jinn in the bargain.”

  Jack raised her eyebrows. “Don’t be stupid, Al. We’re all here for that too. It’s gotta stop.”

  I glanced at Diza and Casimir. “So you guys are, what, here to make sure I don’t screw things up?”

  “Yes,” said Casimir.

  Diza shoved him in the side. “More than that. We see a great deal of potential in you and would like to explore the possibility of adding you to the Lyrium representatives here on Earth. Your mastery of portal creation is extraordinary. I’ve tracked your magical signature. You appear to have been accessing other parts of the multiverse intuitively. Apparently a star dragon was suddenly inundated with mysterious innards from a cellular device.”

  So that’s where part of the cell phone went. “Yeah? I’m sorry. That just sort of happens.”

  “Stop apologizing for your power.” Casimir leveled me with glare. “You have astonishing gifts and a destiny.”

  “Dude, I know. I have the gray mark and everything. So do Cid and Gideon. All three of us, called by destiny.”

  Casimir turned to Diza. “They get marks on this planet?”

  “Oh, yeah. Part of the way that manifests here.”

  “Convenient.”

  She nodded. “Very. Although I wish they came in different colors and patterns. Maybe holographic.”

  I liked Diza.

  Casimir turned to face me again, leaning over the table. “All the more reason why you are without excuse. You have a mission, and you need to fulfill it. Your team senses this.”

  “My team?” I glanced around the table. “I mean, we all sort of band together and help each other out. I’m not the official leader or anything.”

  “Just unofficially,” Jack piped up.

  “Shut up.” I cleared my throat. The last thing everyone needed to think was that Allis was here to take over and boss them around. “I just like connecting people to each other. That’s all. Anyway, the love potion thing—”

  Casimir scoffed. “The sooner you acknowledge it, the more effective your team will be.”

  I slammed my hands on the table. “Shut up and let me talk, okay?”

  The table rippled beneath my fingers. Then the entire surface turned to chain maille. A million tiny links tightly wound into each other, forming a nubby surface of steel-gray metal. I sighed. “Well, that could’ve been worse.”

  “It’s an interesting new style,” Matthias said. “What were you thinking of?”

  “Um … connections?”

  Cendric laughed softly. “Your mind is truly amazing.”

  “Thanks.” I shot my husband a smile, then turned toward everyone. “Okay, so about the love potions. After taking over Kiran’s portion of Pittsburgh, I also got his knowledge. Malda Nazari is at the root of the potions. She worked with someone in the alchemists guild to make the potions powerful enough to work on Jinn.”

  Gideon made nasty, spitting sounds. “The alchemist will be raked over the coals for this treason.”

  “Any leads?”

  He shook his head. “They’ve been good at covering their tracks. Finding Malda is the key to identifying the alchemist who helped her.”

  “Awesome.” I reached into the magic once more, sifting through the memories Kiran’s magic had left in the place he’d once owned. “Kiran said Malda cursed him. When Kir was dating Terezal a while ago, he was completely into her, glazed eyes and everything. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Jack pursed her lips. “You think he was under the love potion then?”

  “I know he was, although I don’t know why, unless his mother just wanted to be able to control him. Maybe if he was lovesick enough, he could be coerced into giving up his territory. Melrose said Jinn were big into that.” I rubbed my fingers along the ridged surface of the chain maille table. “When Cid broke my curse-mark, it activated an old bond Kiran had tried to form between us. Then he got mad. Real mad. He started resisting the effects of the potion and fixated on me to help him do that.”

  “Which, in turn, upset Terezal.” Theiya make a note on a pad of paper. “All of this makes sense. But we have no proof, and unless you want to go the route of assassination, that closes off our options.”

  “You know how I feel about malicious kills. Rare occasions only. And is taking out a Jinn even possible?” I glanced at Cendric.

  He shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve killed a noble of the Fae court, but I must admit, if her power is equal to or greater than her son’s, it might be a slight challenge. She’ll undoubtedly have allies.”

  I squeezed his hand. “We’ll deal with her together, then. All of us.” I glanced around the table. “Everyone okay with that?”

  “Have been from the start, Al,” Jack threw in. “We can do this.”

  Theiya’s expression looked thoughtful. “An accusation before the Fae court in a public setting might be wise. Lady Malda plays her cards wisely as a meek Jinn Lady who simply wants to dwell in a safe place. At least she did, for a while.”

  “Not so much now?”

  “It’s a rare Fae whose intentions are the same as their appearance. I’ve been wary ever since Malda created the G
rant Foundation and began bringing other wish granters into the city under her sway.” Theiya’s expression softened ever so slightly. “I don’t know much of Jinn, but from my research, they tend to want to keep to themselves and live quiet lives.”

  I sighed. “Like Kiran.”

  “Yes. Amassing power is another matter entirely. If we can prove that Malda is in some way working against Queen Epriana and disrupting the balance of power in the Fae court, she will be cast out.”

  Cendric’s eyes narrowed. “Then that is what we’ll do.”

  My eyes rested on Diza, who’d been observing the proceedings with interest and amusement. “Excuse me, were we meant to include you?”

  “You misunderstand. Our role,” she gave Casimir a sideways look, “is to assist positive developments, not take over. We are here to help in whatever way we can.”

  I spared a look at Casimir. He returned it steadily, as if trying to turn my head inside out. “Well, currently I can’t think of anything—”

  In front of me, the turpentine bottle started smoking orange magic and rocking back and forth. Gideon frowned. “Is it supposed to be doing that?”

  “Uh. Sure.” I had no idea. It was my first time trapping a Jinn in my personal Dreamscape, and hopefully, the last.

  My head started throbbing with sudden impulses. A deep desire to escape. To become. To fulfill. And then an equally strong fear. All of it vibing all too clearly from one person.

  “Kiran,” I whispered. “Stop it.”

  Cendric’s hand clasped mine. “When I left him in the Dreamscape, he was unconscious.”

  “Well, he’s not anymore.”

  “So I surmise.”

  Another blast of those same desires and fears struck me, almost knocking me out of my chair—and knocking the empty bottle of turpentine over. Sparks and flashes of orange magic filled the café, snaking toward the corners and the windows, feeling for any way to escape.

  But he couldn’t. Not unless I let him.

  Whoever trapped a Jinn in a bottle or another object had mastery over that Jinn.

  Matthias’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Allis, do you need to handle that?”