The jinn paced around the tomb for a moment, walking the outline of the Solomon’s Knot while she considered something. She lifted her eyes to me, their hazel color shot with golden flames. “Butros said he could get me some freedom, but he claimed he couldn’t find my lamp. He said I’d need someone good at finding treasure to be truly free.”
With his gift of gab, I would have thought good ole Peter would have let something slip when he was with me, but he was a way better liar than I ever would have guessed. “How long ago did he unpin you?”
“Four days.”
The timeline fit. The Guild had already hired me. “Butros said you’d need someone good at finding treasure once he knew I was coming.” I tapped my foot and thought about my next move. I’d been brought to Rome under false pretenses because someone knew me well enough to know that once here, I’d be unable to walk away. There was a depressingly short list of suspects. “If you agree to stop the fires, I will help you find Idral, and then we’ll try to find your lamp,” I said. I had my own reasons for wanting to talk to the griffin about what other magical artifact was in Rome, but having the jinn go back to whoever was keeping her bound wasn’t an option at all.
Sidaffri blinked back tears. “You would really do that?”
I just nodded because the crying jinn was somehow more unsettling than the fires.
Sidaffri looked at me for a long while. “What’s the real cost? If you lie to a jinn, there are terrible consequences.” She said.
“Yeah, those are pretty much a given in my life.” I huffed. “No freaking end to those things.”
Chapter 15
Sidaffri leaned against the marble pillar in the center of the far wall. She was beautifully framed by the large arches on either side of her. The curves bordered the platforms where sarcophagi once rested, but somehow Sidaffri minimized the creepiness of the setting. Horus, the falcon-headed god of ancient Egypt, adorned the wall behind her. The jinn waved her hand, and purple flames sprang up in the nooks, casting a cool glow about the room that was just bright enough for us to see each other.
I turned slowly toward the door. That was one of the things that bothered me. I’d been sent to deal with the flames, but it seemed I had the entire necropolis to myself.
“Why isn’t there someone here trying to put out the fire, or at least monitoring it?” I asked, more to myself than my companion.
“That is a good question.” She said, crossing the room and peering out into the abandoned hallway. “Someone noticed the fire and sent you, right?”
“Not exactly. Someone called someone who called my agent and she sent me.”
“That would mean quite a few people know about the flames.”
I nodded. “Exactly. But they sent me and then did what? Just went home or got on with their lives like nothing unusual was happening?”
“Maybe the fact that the flames are controlled made them less worried.” She offered.
“You’re in a tomb beneath St. Peter’s Basilica playing with fire. Does that seem like something that wouldn’t worry people enough for them to stick around and at least monitor your blaze?”
Her eyes roamed around the tomb, and I joined her examination. If there were cameras or some other surveillance system, that would make sense. There was nothing I could see.
“What’s special about this particular tomb?” I asked, looking around the space and trying to ignore the more troubling possibilities that it might be a trap to catch the jinn and possibly me at the same time.
“I felt the summons, and when I found the tomb empty, I thought it would be a good place to try and call Idral. I was already here, and it’s reminiscent of something.” She said carefully. I waited, even though she had fallen silent, apparently lost in her thoughts.
I saw the far-away look in her eyes as if the tomb had stirred up sad memories.
“It reminds you of where you came from?” I ventured.
“Somewhat. It seems familiar, yet,” She trailed off and pointed at the inscribed Solomon’s knot and then up at Horus. “I can’t explain why.” Her tone sounded like she was perplexed, but her eyes told a different story. It wasn’t that Sidaffri didn’t want to tell me; it was because she couldn’t.
“It’s a spell?” I don’t know why I whispered the question, but I felt like we weren’t alone anymore.
She shook her head and looked around the tomb. The flames didn’t rise in her eyes, but her expression was cautious. “No.” She breathed. “It’s a blend of things that are all related, but not.”
That didn’t help me at all. Peter wouldn’t have called her and then risked me finding out about his jinn, so he wasn’t a likely candidate for the jinn-summoning. I went through what I had learned about jinn lore, and the pieces clicked together a little more as I examined the tomb.
Legends said that Solomon commanded the jinn, and Alexander the Great was also said to have an army of jinn, which helped him conquer most of the known world. The Solomon’s knot, Horus, the Star of Vergina. It all fit.
“Did you know Alexander or Solomon?”
Sidaffri smiled and lifted an eyebrow.
I didn’t get the impression she was being cagey, but she also wasn’t very helpful. I tried another question. “Why did you think Butros summoned you?”
Sidaffri pulled a dark red gemstone the size of a grape from her pocket and held it up between her thumb and index finger. “I thought this was a gift from him. A sign he’d found it.”
I doubted Peter could afford such a gift, and if he wanted me to help Sidaffri, he’d had plenty of time to ask me. The only way the summons made sense was if there were multiple jinn loose in Rome and various people summoning them without knowing about each other. Fear slammed into me, and I could feel the leaden weight of the serpent rock in my pocket. “We need to go.” I breathed.
Sidaffri stepped toward me, casting a cautious glance at the door.
“It’s a trap,” I said. “Someone has been calling jinn, either to capture them or to get to something more important, and you and I wound up here at the wrong time.” I pushed away from the wall and had taken two steps when a wave of magic hit me, driving me back into the tomb. My head buzzed with the concussive force of the wave, and I lost my balance, windmilling my arms to try and stay upright.
I crashed into Sidaffri, and we went down in a heap. Ka’Tehm evaporated into the wall, and I hoped the blast hadn’t hurt him. Sidaffri and I managed to scramble to our feet, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief as she raised a wall of purple flame to block the doorway. I looked at the jinn and saw sweat beading on her upper lip. She’d hijacked my ward and wove her magic around it, creating a latticework of purple flames that covered the entrance to the tomb.
“I can’t hold it for long.” She bit out, “Whoever’s out there is strong.”
“How can that be?” I asked, furious my magic had been hijacked by Sidaffri, but knowing my powers were were seriously diminished by something in Rome. It should be the same for everyone, so maybe Sidaffri knew our powers combined might hold off the threat. Sidaffri looked at me with panic because I seemed to be frozen in my thoughts.
“Never mind, it’s irrelevant.” I growled, toeing off my boots and ripping my socks off. I placed my hands and bare feet flat on the floor and hauled on the currents with everything I had to get enough magic to work with. I heard voices outside the tomb, but the Italian was so muffled and quick that I couldn’t translate it fast enough.
A second shock wave of magic hit Sidaffri’s barrier as I crouched on all fours trying to grab any current to work with. Almost nothing trickled in.
“Son of a monkey!” I hissed, standing up again and desperately searching my pockets for something useful. I looked at the flames and they seemed a little more transparent. Sidaffri was starting to shake with the effort of maintaining the wall and I pulled the two plastic water pistols from my pockets.
I grabbed Sidaffri’s wrist and slapped a pink plastic pistol into her palm. “When s
omeone comes through there, shoot them.” I whispered.
She looked at the toy and raised one eyebrow. She wasn’t too panicked to realize how crazy that sounded.
“Trust me.” I hissed. I shoved my feet back in my boots, jammed my socks into my sports bra and ran toward the entrance, stopping next to the pillars that marked the doorway.
I gestured with my hand for the flames to be lowered and watched as the purple blaze guttered. The tomb was plunged into darkness.
“Come out.” The man’s voice had a smug tone.
“Who’s asking?” I called back.
“It was not a request.” The voice responded. I tried to place it, but couldn’t. The echoes off the walls of the necropolis distorted the voice. I heard scuffling sounds and muffled Italian from far away in the necropolis.
“Well, maybe if you asked nicely.” I called, hearing my voice was pitched two octaves higher than my usual tone. I was just trying to buy a little time to come up with a plan.
“If I have to come in there to get you,” Said a second voice which was softer but still masculine.
The way he’d said it made it sound like, Don’t make me pull this car over.
“You’re bluffing,” I said, hearing the scuffling noises of shoes on pavement. I imagined one of the men was pushing the other toward the door. “If you were brave enough to come in here, you’d have done it already.”
A burst of hissed rapid-fire Italian replied as if the voice and his friend were discussing the best way to proceed. I heard a thunk on the floor, and I looked down to see one loafer-shod foot inching closer to the entrance. The hem of a cassock brushed against the tassel.
“Seriously?” I asked. “It’s what, ten Hail Mary’s for giving a priest a beat down? Fifteen if I break a few bones?”
Yup, in a crisis, I’m all talk. I’m not even sure if I could beat up a priest, but I am pretty sure it would come with a heaping pile of Catholic guilt. I could live with that. If the man had been wearing work boots or even sneakers, I would have been more intimidated. Loafers and a cassock? If I couldn’t outrun, outfight, or out-magic a priest, I was going to go home and mow lawns for Kai if we were still speaking.
The distant voices were getting closer, and I could hear the pounding of running feet. Dread descended over me like a wet blanket. The rhythmic pace sounded athletic and precise. That could only mean one thing.
“You might want to go before they get here,” I suggested. “I’m not sure you have any more permission than I do to wander down here unattended. The Swiss Guard are well trained and dangerous, and I’ve heard your companion is fallow.” It was a blind guess, but Peter had told me about the fallow priest inside the Vatican.
“Send the jinn out. We need information from him.”
I looked toward Sidaffri, but the darkness made it difficult to see her expression. Sidaffri was a wrong number. Interesting.
“You can go, or I can make it impossible for you to go. Your choice, but you better make it quick.” I said, sounding like the tough Jersey-girl I’d always aspired to be. Empty threats are one of my specialties, but this one had a chance of being true if Sidaffri and I could work together against the men outside.
“There’s no place in Rome where we can’t find you. You’re only making it harder on yourself.” The voice said, and I noticed the faint accent that wasn’t Italian.
I wasn’t sure if the voice was speaking to Sidaffri or me, but I figured it didn’t really matter. “This is your last warning unless you really want to explain what you’re doing down here to the Papal guard. I’d love to see their reaction when they find out you were trying to summon a jinn beneath the Vatican. That would go over well, I’m sure.”
There was more angry, whispered Italian and then the sound of feet moving away. I peeked around the corner and saw two men walking away quickly. One was tall and thin, the other shorter and a little rounder. Neither one was bow-legged, so at least Peter wasn’t that shady, but I thought I’d heard three voices.
I rolled my shoulders and blew out a quick breath. I could see a glow starting from the other side of the narrow corridor, and it was spreading toward the tomb in small surges. The tiny lights installed in the ceiling must have been on motion sensors, and they were lighting up ahead of the running footsteps of the Swiss Guard. It was like a count-down clock that upped my fear as it drew ever closer.
There was zero chance I could outrun them, and there was no place to hide. I ducked back into the shadows, waving Sidaffri against the wall. I could see a brighter beam of light cutting through the dim glow, and I pulled back just as the beam from the flashlight swept into the tomb.
A burst of authoritative Italian sounded from outside, and one of the Swiss Guard entered, sweeping the space with military precision. He stepped further into the tomb, and turned toward where Sidaffri and I huddled against the wall.
He opened his mouth.
I shot him between the eyes before he could make a sound.
The potion splattered against his olive skin and dripped off the end of his hooked nose. He remained standing there, flashlight pointed at us, frozen in the act of leaning toward the corridor to call out that he’d caught the intruders. I didn’t have time to be relieved as three more guards rushed into the room. I shot the first two, and Sidaffi lifted her pistol to hit the third when I knocked her arm out of the way, causing her to shoot the first guard a second time.
From beneath a black beret, whiskey-colored eyes twinkled, and sculpted lips twitched up at the corners to reveal a dazzling smile. Kai swiped the purple-blue sleeve of his uniform across his brow in a dramatic gesture. That was when I took in the rest of the details of his ensemble.
Black ankle boots with dark socks that went to his knees, loose blue pants were tucked into those, and a brown belt cinched the waist of his long jacket. He wore snow-white gloves and a large white collar over the puffy shouldered coat that ended in pleats at the v-shaped hem. He even made that look good.
“That was close. I would have forgotten to rescue you.” He said, nodding toward the pink pistol in Sidaffri’s hand and bringing me back to the moment.
“Memory charm.” I groaned. “I thought they were both immobilizing spells.”
“That would have been redundant,” Kai said, sweeping an arm in front of him. “How about we find another place to have this discussion? One where I don’t have to wear short pants and a silly collar.”
I snorted a nervous laugh. “I’m happy to see you, but I’m a little disappointed it isn’t the striped uniform,” I said. I wanted to apologize for my earlier insistence that he stay out of the way, but since he’d chosen a light tone, I kept with that because if I didn’t, there was a good chance I’d be sobbing with relief.
“I’m saving that outfit for a special occasion. So get your new friend, and let’s go.” He plucked the flashlight out of the first guard’s hand and waved for us to get on with it.
Sidaffri and I stood side by side and took aim, shooting each guard again to buy us enough time to get out of the necropolis. She laughed as she shot the final guard right in the mouth.
“You’re fun.” She said, nudging me with her hand.
Actually, Kai was fun. I was just fun-by-association.
We stepped out of the tomb to go back the way I’d entered. Ka’Tehm poked his head out from the bricks, nearly scaring me to death.
“Good work,” Kai said, fist-bumping the blue beaver. Ka’Tehm floated behind me, and I felt his cool water-weight reappear in my backpack. We hightailed it back the way I’d come in, me leading with my plastic pistol drawn, Kai behind me, and the latest addition to the team bringing up the rear with an amnesia-charm pistol that she seemed a little too happy about.
We made it all the way up into the kitchen when I realized we had another problem. I stopped at the door. “We’re women,” I said, turning back toward Kai.
He blinked. “If you would put more work into your studies, you’d know that’s not true.” He said, adjust
ing his white collar and tugging at his white gloves.
I bit back the nearly hysterical laugh. “You know what I mean.”
He looked at Sidaffri before turning back to me and narrowing his eyes. He stage whispered, “Did you forget to bring the supplies I left you?”
I snapped my mouth closed and reached into my pockets grudgingly. I flicked through the spells, settling on two envelopes that he’d labeled out of focus. I held them up for Kai’s inspection, and he nodded.
“We’re working on her planning skills.” He said to Sidaffri while looping his arm around my shoulders. “This is the improved version.” I elbowed him in the ribs lightly, and he chuckled before steering us out of the building toward the back gate.
Chapter 16
Kai left us standing in the shadows while he approached the small guardhouse. He leaned in and picked up a bag. He slung it over his shoulder, saying something in German to the guard on duty. With a casual wave, he walked out of the gate and called back to the guard, drawing him closer to the brick wall and iron gate that separated Vatican City from the rest of Rome. I opened the envelopes and blew the contents of one onto Sidaffri. I watched her blink and fade out of focus. She was a shapeless gray blob, and I smiled.
“Pretty impressive,” I whispered, holding out my palm with the contents of the second envelope toward her. She blew it onto me, and her eyes widened as I took on the same blob disguise. I turned and waved for her to follow as I jogged toward the gate.
The guard turned at the sound of our footsteps, but Kai said something else in German, and the guard swung back to him. As I neared the gate, I took the pistol out of my pocket and shot the guard in the back of the neck as I ran by. I heard Sidaffri giggle and assumed she’d shot him as well. It was unnecessary, but she was having a very good time.
We jogged a few blocks until we ducked into a dark courtyard with an unlocked gate. Kai stepped behind a wall of bushes, and I heard the rustling of clothes as he changed. Sidaffri looked a little too interested, but small talk wasn’t something I excelled at during panicked fleeing, so I decided to let her have her curiosity while I concentrated on gathering my scattered thoughts. After a few minutes, Kai emerged dressed in khakis and a black polo shirt. I looked at his bag and raised my eyebrows.
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