Resistant Magic (Relic Hunter Book 5)

by R. Leonia Shea

  The fire I had just put out had been at the Basilica Beata Vergina.

  The realization slammed into me, and I stifled a laugh. It wasn’t a coincidence at all. Alexander the Great was rumored to command the jinn, as was King Solomon. Someone in Rome was fishing for a jinn, and they were using all of the tools at their disposal to get one.

  I crept closer to the purple glow, suddenly sure I was not completely alone in the necropolis. I pulled the amulet I’d kept from Peter out of my pocket and slipped it on. If there was someone in the tomb other than a jinn, a priest would be a lot easier to explain than a witch.

  As I rounded the corner, the light from the purple flames was nearly blinding in the otherwise dark necropolis. The spectral fire flickered, casting moving shadows on the walls. I looked around, disturbed by the way the flames made the picture of Horus appear to dance.

  I shouldn’t be alone. There were magical purple flames in the necropolis. Someone should be trying to douse them, or at least be monitoring the situation.

  The setup was so obvious only a total fool would have fallen for it. I shook my head at how easy it had been to get me down there. The lure of a mystery was too much for me to resist. In a way, it was just like old times, but I had learned a little restraint since the debacle that had ended my archaeology career.

  I backed up a few paces and felt the warmth of flames rise behind me. Ka’Tehm vanished from the backpack, and I whirled around, looking for him. He materialized above me, but his silver eyes were big as saucers, and he was looking behind me.

  “What is this blue animal, Butros?” A throaty female voice asked behind me. I gave an undignified yip and whirled around. A shiver ran the length of my spine as the dark-haired woman materialized from the flames.

  “What?” I asked, momentarily stunned by the spectacle. I held up my hands and grabbed at any current of magic in the tomb to defend myself as I backed toward the door. The flames behind me made an alarming whoosh, and I stopped in my tracks, turning slowly and thoroughly expecting to see another jinn behind me. I tried to keep one eye on the woman whose ankles were still engulfed in purple tongues of flame and watch my back at the same time. I sagged with a bit of relief when I realized there was only a single jinn until I realized she’d managed to raise the purple fire that blocked my path out of the tomb.

  The jinn smiled. “Why do you bring me this animal?”

  I glanced over my shoulder to confirm she still had me trapped between two walls of flames and found Ka’Tehm bobbing up and down, staring at the jinn. “He’s a magical blue beaver. We’re here about the fire.” I said, sounding lamer than I ever thought possible. I could feel the grimace on my face and I tried to turn it into an innocent smile.

  The jinn tilted her head to the side, and her hazel eyes fell on my amulet. She flicked her manicured fingers, and I felt the chain pop. I scrambled to catch it, but the charm dropped to the floor, taking my disguise with it.

  “You’re not Butros.” She said, with a middle-eastern accent.

  What? Butros? Peter! The jinn had been expecting none other than Peter Picenzia.

  “Nope. I’m not, but he did send me if that makes this better.” I spiraled the trickle of magic, trying to gather enough power to fry the jinn if she attempted anything more serious than stealing my borrowed jewelry, like setting me ablaze with purple flames. This really wasn’t a good idea at all.

  Her deep brown hair fell in loose waves that shimmered in multiple subtle colors around a perfectly oval face. Her almond-shaped eyes were what I always thought of as soulful, and her skin was a medium olive shade that seemed to glow from within. She wore a white silk blouse that slid off one shoulder, tied at the waist with a wide belt woven in shades of emerald and teal. Her dark blue pants ballooned out at the thighs but were drawn in at the ankles with the same woven material tied in little bows. Her feet were shod in white velvet flats with gold embroidered vines.

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and the stacks of gold bangles sparkled in the purple light. Her long nails were pure white and had tiny emeralds embedded at the ends of each sharp point.

  I was seriously underdressed.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why did you wear his face? Why does Butros wish to trick me?”

  I chose not to point out that Peter had tried to trick both of us but realized that if he’d known the jinn could identify him, he would have never given me the amulet. At least I had an in with the crazy fire spirit standing in front of me. “He sent me, and I figured if I got caught, it was easier to pretend to be him,” I said, trying to look non-threatening. “He thought I could help you?” I didn’t intend that to sound like a question, but it was the best I could do since I was grabbing at straws.

  The jinn laughed. “If that were true, he wouldn’t have summoned me like this.” She waved toward the floor, and I saw the Solomon’s Knot that had been traced into the dust. “He wouldn’t have used this, either.” She hurled something at me, and I caught it with only a slight fumble.

  I turned the rock over in my hand and saw the serpent carving. “I don’t think he summoned you because I seriously doubt he expected us to meet. He gave me that disguise charm, and he would have insisted I give it back to avoid this situation.” I said, pointing between us and slipping the serpent rock into my pocket.

  “But you said he sent you to help. You lied?” A flicker of yellow flame sparked in her eyes.

  I puffed out my cheeks and shook my head. “Not really. He sent me to deal with the fire, but he didn’t mention you at all.”

  “Did he mention my lamp?”

  “Nope. Nothing about a lamp, either.” What was she talking about?

  The jinn paced for a few seconds, thinking over things. I was occupied with my own thoughts, but somehow I managed to snap a protection ward up in front of myself. Granted, it was thin, woven from the fragile strands of magic, and I wasn’t very optimistic it would hold up if the jinn got itchy. It was still better than nothing.

  She whirled around when my ward snapped into place and pointed an accusatory finger at me. “Butros must think I tricked him into setting me free, so he’s trying to trick me by sending you.” She gave a mocking laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. “If he’s had second thoughts, I won’t let you get close enough to put that pin back on me. I don’t think you’re powerful enough, and I’m not going back.” She made the fire flare a little brighter for emphasis, as she narrowed her eyes in defiance and set her fists on her hips.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t have any pins on me,” I said, raising my hands before sliding them into the pockets of my cargo pants. Her eyes narrowed, but I didn’t flinch. I had no idea if Kai’s spells worked on jinn, but I didn’t have many other options since the puny threads of magic I had managed to amass wouldn’t even stun a rat. “I was on the other side of town putting out another blaze when they called me to come here.”

  “You put out my fire?” Her tone was incredulous.

  “It seems like your fire’s doing pretty well here.” I said, watching the purple flicker dance along the walls and feeling the mild warmth of it brush against my skin. I stepped a bit closer to the jinn, unsure how accurate my aim would be with an immobilizing potion from a distance.

  “I’m talking about the other fire.” She pointed one of those sharp-nailed fingers at me and tilted her head to the side. She walked a wide circle around me, sliding her eyes up and down with a thoughtful look on her face. “Why did you put it out?”

  “I didn’t know it was yours. Why are you setting fires?” I asked.

  “If you knew it was mine, you would have let it burn?” She asked, raising a knee-high wall of flame between us. It sizzled up my ward, tiny flames illuminating every thread of magic I had woven together. The jinn raised one perfectly arched eyebrow, and I funneled a bit more power into my ward, driving her flames back into the floor of the tomb. She smiled and gave a curt nod, but she didn’t try to fry my ward again.


  Lying wasn’t one of my skills, and battling the jinn wasn’t going to help anything. I shook my head and answered her question. “No, I would have put it out no matter who set that blaze because you’re calling unnecessary attention to magic,” I said, shrugging. “Now answer my question: why are you setting fires all around the city?”

  “Butros knows why.”

  As if that made it better. “Okaaay, but he didn’t tell me, so perhaps if you enlightened me, we could come to an agreement. Maybe help each other out.” What was I thinking? I already had enough trouble. Before I could backtrack, she nodded.

  “I haven’t found Idral, so I must continue to set the beacons.” She said, pacing toward the flames. “Your habit of putting them out is slowing me down. And the constant interruptions,” she waved toward the Solomon’s knot with distaste, “are annoying.”

  “I’m not the one interrupting you,” I said. “You might want to find another way to get Idral’s attention besides purple flames, though. They’re frowned upon, so they sent me to make you stop.”

  She regarded me with a curious expression. “You should not be able to put my fires out. How did you do it?”

  That wasn’t a question I was willing to answer. “Trade secret,” I replied. “Back to Idral and the fire. Is Idral a fireman?” I wondered if I had managed to encounter the first-ever stalker jinn.

  Her eyes widened, and she laughed in a deep, throaty tone that I envied for its scorn. “Not unless they’ve lowered their standards and they’re letting griffins in.”

  I took a deep breath and blinked a few times. At least that piece almost fit. “A griffin. As in half eagle, half lion.”

  “With enormous wings.” She held her arms wide. “Quite vain, too. Always preening and fluffing. It’s so tiresome, but he is my cousin and my last hope.” She leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms in front of her. “Idral should be able to feel my magic. Are you going to continue to interfere?”

  “I’m afraid my job is to mess everything up for you,” I admitted. “Magical fires aren’t good for business. Especially in churches and other holy places. Isn’t there another way to call Idral without endangering the ruins?” I pointed around the room.

  She waved my concern away with a flip of her wrist. “Griffins must guard their treasure, so unless you know where his treasure is hidden, the fire stays until he shows up to investigate.” She said, examining her white nails and flexing her fingers as if utterly unimpressed with my assignment.

  I flexed my hand because another cramp seemed to be blossoming, but the jinn took the gesture another way. Her dark brows drew down over eyes that sparked with golden flames.

  I held my hands up. “I have no idea where he or his treasure is. I’m sure there has to be a better way to find him besides starting fires and collapsing buildings.” I said, sliding my hand back into my pocket and gripping the handle of the potion-loaded pistol a little tighter. If she charged me, I was definitely going to shoot her.

  Her eyes were wide. “I certainly didn’t cause any buildings to collapse. I’m just trying to find Idral because I need his help.” She sounded desperate.

  “Well, someone’s going around Rome causing some pretty major damage. Buildings collapsing, explosions in the tunnels.” I looked at her with suspicion.

  She held up her hands. “None of those things are my fault!” Her expression shifted from confused to something more curious. “Maybe that’s why Idral’s not answering my calls.” She seemed genuinely worried for the griffin. She let out a string of hissed words I didn’t understand, but I took them to be curses in some language I didn’t speak.

  I remained silent, going over the details for a few seconds. “If you’re not responsible for the explosions,”

  “Then someone else might be trying to find Idral or his treasure. We must not let that happen.”

  “Well, that complicates things, but I’m just the fire marshall. It would have been enormously helpful if I’d known the whole story, that someone’s been summoning jinn and hunting for treasure.” I mumbled, rolling that over in my mind.

  “We have both been deceived. By Butros.” She growled.

  I shook my head. “We’ve both been conned, but I don’t think Butros is the mastermind. His employer sent me to put out your fire, and you think you were called here to be captured?”

  She nodded but changed her mind in the middle and shook her head in denial. “No one except Butros knows I’m free.” She narrowed her eyes and glared at me as if I was in cahoots with Peter/Butros.

  Maybe they were trying to capture another jinn? I gave a wry smile. “I think we might have a common problem, but I doubt it’s Butros.”

  “My name is Sidaffri.” She said, drumming a pointed nail against her bottom lip as she thought about our predicament.

  “Sidaffri the rampaging jinn.” I nodded and gave her my first name.

  “I’d hardly call a few small beacon fires a rampage.” Sidaffri replied, looking put out.

  “Well, flames aren’t good things in places like these,” I said, gesturing around. “You can’t set fires here. It’s too risky.” The archaeologist in me comes out at the damnedest times.

  Sidaffri looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

  I waved away her scorn. “So why are you calling Idral?”

  “Because Butros promised he’d find my lamp, and he hasn’t done so yet.” Sidaffri opened her mouth to say something else, but my furrowed brows and pursed lips must have stopped her.

  “I was hired to stop you from causing a scene with all the fires. But now that you mentioned the treasure and your lamp, I think this job has one complication after another.” I said.

  Sidaffri waved her hand, and the purple flames died down, casting a faint glow around the tomb. “Butros asked you to stop me?” She looked crushed.

  “The people he works for asked me to stop the fires, but he knows why I’m here, and he didn’t mention anything about you. That seems suspicious. Or maybe just naive.”

  Her dark eyes flitted to the floor, and I swore I saw tears glistening for a second before she squared her thin shoulders and looked me square in the eye. “How much?” She asked.

  “All of the fires need to stop.”

  “No. How much to help me instead of stopping me?”

  Okay, that was not the way I had pictured it going at all. “Um, I don’t really work like that.” When Sidaffri narrowed her eyes at me, the flames got higher and began to lick at the stone ceiling overhead. I narrowed my eyes in response. “Seriously? Blackmail is your first line of defense?”

  Sidaffri shrugged. “Is it working?”

  “Only if you’re trying to tick me off,” I said, contemplating my potions again. That fragile ward wasn’t going to do much to protect Ka’Tehm or me if she intended to attack.

  The flames died down. “So, what would work?” She sounded resigned. “If Idral is in danger, and I’m in a mess, maybe you’re the answer. Maybe that’s why Butros sent you to me. Name your price, witch.”

  I had no idea if solving Sidaffri’s problem would be the exact opposite of doing the job Majeedah had called me in to do, or even if I should do Majeedah’s job at all since Paolina had implied…

  “They set me up.” I shook my head, fuming at the conclusion I’d drawn. Being misled by La Gilda was only one part of my irritation. Impulsively, I decided that as long as I got Sidaffri to stop the fire-setting, I had probably fulfilled my obligation to them, which pretty much made me a free agent. One with an ax to grind, but one who could also help out a jinn if I wanted to.

  Not me; I corrected myself. The Crux Crucio Orbis. The ancient order that was dedicated to maintaining the balance of magic. The supposedly independent organization whose strings were a little too easy to pull now that it was under new management. That added a whole new level to the dishonesty that had brought me to Rome.

  “Holy crow!” I bit out the words and slammed my palm into the wall. “It’s the balance thing, that’s
the ulterior motive.” Sidaffri looked at me like I was a lunatic. I waved away her concern. “Never mind. It’s a long story that probably doesn’t involve you at all. Why did you come here?” I was burning mad, and as soon as I dealt with Sidaffri, I was going to deal with the people who’d sent me on the sham mission in the first place.

  The jinn looked baffled.

  I took a deep breath and shook my head at my blunder. Jinn are enslaved, so Sidaffri didn’t choose Rome. “I mean, why are you trying to find Idral in Rome?”

  Sidaffri thought about her answer for a moment. “Because I heard he came here a long time ago to retrieve something, and knowing Idral, he’s probably still here. He might be my last chance to get my lamp back.”

  The smart thing would be to get her to agree to stop the fires and get the heck out of Italy, but there were too many parts to the job that needed a little more attention. I didn’t like being manipulated, especially by people I had once trusted - even if they recommended my services to magical crisis managers like Majeedah.

  I needed to focus on one problem at a time, and Sidaffri seemed the most urgent issue. Someone could be after the jinn, the lamp, the griffin, or something else that was even more valuable. Like a magical artifact to help win a magical war.

  Oh, that wasn’t a good thought at all.

  “If you started setting fires, and the griffin answered, would someone be able to follow him back to his treasure?”

  Sidaffri thought about my question, and I saw a flicker of understanding on her face. “That’s why Butros took the pin out of my dress. Because he wanted me to find Idral?”

  I rolled that around my mind for a minute. I needed time to think about all of the players and their possible motives, but while I was chasing rabbits around my brain, Sidaffri was puzzling out her own angle.