“This is perfect,” I said, standing in the middle of the room and looking around. I set my flashlight on the floor and pulled out the rock with the carved snake motif. I placed that in the corner of the room, and I took a stylus out of my pocket. Carefully, I inscribed a Solomon’s Knot on the dirt floor, making sure the links remained open. I looked up and found Kai and Idral watching me.
“I’m about to do magic.” I said.
Kai nodded and crossed his arms. “Idral and I will wait outside, when you get closer.”
I thought I was close, so I narrowed my eyes and looked around the room. I had the stone set in the corner, the knot on the floor, and no idea what I was missing. I looked at Kai and held my hands out at my sides.
He closed his eyes and bit his lip. His elbow nudged the griffin’s leg, and he pointed at me, rolling his hand to indicate that Idral needed to supply some more information.
Idral cleared his throat. “To entice a jinn, an item of great value must be offered.”
Oh, crapola! I folded my arms and thought about that for a minute. I didn’t know Sidaffri well enough to be able to predict what she’d like! I stuck my hand in my pocket to search for something useful, and my fingers brushed the handle of the water pistol. I pulled it out, remembered her glee when she got to shoot the guard and smiled. I walked toward the stone when Idral cleared his throat.
My gaze swung to the griffin, and he lifted a talon to point toward the Solomon’s Knot. I backtracked and laid the pistol in the center of the symbol, looking at Idral for confirmation. His cheeks puffed out in a griffin-smile.
“I’m going to do magic, now?”
Idral tapped Kai on the shoulder with his tasseled tail. “We will wait outside and discuss the important position you have asked me to consider.”
Kai looked at me over his shoulder and mouthed the words: you asked?
I shook my head and bit back my laughter as I watched them step back into the tunnel. The darkness gathered across the opening, and I was alone in the small alcove. I was jittery, and I didn’t want to think about the fact that there was a slight possibility that I would accidentally summon a different jinn instead of Sidaffri.
I still wasn’t sure if the carved stones were jinn-specific or if you simply got whichever jinn found the offering irresistible. My eyes fell on the pink plastic water pistol, and I reasoned there was probably only one jinn who’d respond to that offering.
I hauled on the currents, remembering that jinn were fire spirits and that Sidaffri had mentioned fire magic being the only thing that worked in Rome. I sat on the ground, pulled a ball of snapping currents out, and balanced it on my forearm while holding the polestar in my palm. With my other hand, I concentrated on separating the threads of magic until I found the glowing and flickering one that I thought was fire. I dropped that on the edge of the Solomon’s Knot, and nothing happened.
I blew out a sigh and stood up, deciding to try the carved stone next. I pulled out another ball of magic and repeated the process, sending the spark into the stone. Before I could blink, the stone erupted in multi-colored flames that nearly singed my eyebrows off. I yipped and scrambled back as the fire took on the shape of a twisted spiral that undulated and lit up the entire alcove with a purple glow. I swear I saw forked tongues darting out of the flames and licking at my boots. I crab-walked further back, feeling my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
“You came back!” Sidaffri said from behind me.
I spun around, and she stood on the edge of the knot, looking down at the pink water pistol. She scooped it off the ground and tucked it into the pocket of her khaki cargo pants. Her tank top was olive green, her hair was piled on the top of her head in a messy bun held in place with a velvet scrunchie, and her military-style boots were olive green suede. She looked like a middle-eastern version of me; if I had bought my outfit in Paris or Dubai and had never seen a speck of dirt in my life.
“Hi,” I said, too stunned to come up with anything else.
Sidaffri smiled and walked toward me. She helped me up and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “You came back.” She repeated, sounding so utterly grateful and relieved. I patted her back and tried to think of something to say.
I heard Kai’s stifled laugh, and I looked toward the doorway where he and Idral were watching. Sidaffri saw them and her eyes lit with delight. She ran forward and threw herself on the griffin.
Idral’s eyes glistened with tears. Sidaffri turned back to me, and her expression was one of such pure joy that I was afraid I would start crying if we didn’t get back to work.
Kai rolled his eyes, but his voice had that familiar trace of amusement. “You might want to remember that reaction the next time I buy you a new plastic gun.” He raised an eyebrow, and I bobbed my head like I’d think about it. Kai poked the griffin, “Idral, this would be a great time to show us where Sidaffri’s lamp is, if you know.”
The griffin blinked rapidly and nodded. He probably couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat, either. Sidaffri clapped and wiped at the tears that streaked down her face.
“I didn’t think this day would come. I wasn’t sure you’d find Idral.” She sniffled.
Kai looped his arm around my shoulders and leaned over, and his eyes swept over me and then over Sidaffri. “This is like that game ‘who wore it better?’.” He whispered.
I snorted. “I’m warning you; you’d play that game at your own risk.”
Kai laughed. “Only you can muster enough magic to work a pair of cargo pants and boots.”
I sighed. There was a chance that he meant it, so I was going to believe it for as long as I could. After all, I’d recruited a griffin, summoned a jinn, and solved not one but three mysteries. As much as I wanted to bask in my current success, I had work to do.
“Um, I’m going to need a little tutorial on how jinn are bound before we do anything else.” I knew my smile was weak, but there was no point in trying to fake it. I had no idea what I was doing, but there was also no shame in asking since I had two expert consultants.
“Why?” Idral asked.
“Because the last thing I need is Chairman Mariani summoning Sidaffri to attack me. It wouldn’t go well for either of us.”
Sidaffri took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll tell you everything you ask.”
I waited, but she didn’t offer anything else. “Okay. How is a jinn bound?”
“Once someone finds the lamp and releases the jinn, they must put an iron pin through the jinn’s clothing or through their flesh.”
Eeew. “I don’t have to do that, right?” I asked.
“You can’t because you don’t have my lamp yet.” She smiled patiently.
“So then I was right, Mariani could summon you to attack me?”
“Jealousy isn’t something I’d expect from you.” Kai teased.
Sidaffri ignored him, “I have to obey the summons, but I don’t have to follow the commands.” She smiled and tilted one shoulder toward me, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her pants and looking pretty pleased with that loophole.
That was an interesting twist. “But are you sure your…uh...” I hated to use the word master, but I couldn’t think of another one.
“Warden?” Kai suggested from beside me.
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Are you sure your warden doesn’t know that you’re not bound anymore?”
Sidaffri’s smile widened. “Not at all. When Butros removed the iron pin, I replaced it with a tarnished silver one so my warden,” She hit the word with emphasis, “wouldn’t realize what had happened.”
“Why?” Idral asked, looking perplexed. “Why would you not just obey the summons and kill the warden?”
I blinked. The thought that jinn are dangerous had never occurred to me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to steal Mariani’s jinn if being killed by her was even a remote possibility.
Sidaffri laughed and waved away Idral’s question. “Because of the jinn-inherit
ance laws. You griffins have it easy. You’re assigned a task and spend eternity accomplishing that one thing. I guess that makes your task your warden, so maybe that isn’t much better.” She seemed to trail off to consider that while we all waited. She started speaking again just as the tension hit an unbearable level. “Jinn are passed from one person to the next. Whoever has the lamp can control the jinn, and then the next person takes over, and the cycle starts again. The debt is never fully paid until the lamp is unbound.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Sounds like the same terms I had on my student loan.” My companions turned and looked at me like I had four heads. “You’d have to be human to understand. How does a lamp get unbound?”
“There are several ways. If someone finds the lamp and releases the jinn but doesn't know to place their own iron ring on the handle, the binding is only temporary. Once the jinn fulfills the contract of granting three wishes, he or she is free. If the lamp has iron rings, you have to break the metal bindings and dip the lamp in saltwater to unbind the jinn from the previous mas...um, warden. I’ve also heard that breaking the lamp works, but there’s some debate about the jinn surviving that method.” Sidaffri didn’t look too nervous about that last part, but I sure was.
“Well, the last one’s out for sure.” I promised.
Sidaffri beamed. “I trust you.”
She’d already implied that she didn’t think I’d come back for her, so her trust seemed a little too easy to win. Perhaps I needed to look closer at that ‘kill the warden’ thing Idral had mentioned. “All I have to do is find your lamp and summon you? Then I can set you free? And you won’t kill me?”
“Oh, no!” Sidaffri held her hands up as if fending me off. I wondered how big a chance there was that she’d automatically kill me if I didn’t do this right. Sidaffri took a deep breath and tried again, “You must find my lamp, bind it yourself, summon me, make me do three tasks, and then break all the rings and dip the lamp in saltwater.”
“That seems like a lot, but there’s no killing at the end, right?” I said.
“Better get those three wishes ready,” Kai whispered. “I have one in mind if you need a suggestion, but I’d definitely include ‘don’t kill us’ as one of the other two.”
I looked at him and nodded. “You can have all three as long as you remember that.”
Sidaffri shook her head. “If you want him to assign me three tasks, you have to leave your ring on the lamp after you do all of the other stuff, then hide it, and he has to find it without any hints from you and follow the steps again. Those are the rules.” She smiled brightly.
Kai and I both shook our heads. We talked over each other: “We were just kidding,” and “You’ll be free as soon as we get that lamp.”
Sidaffri looked horrified. “No! You can’t do that!”
Kai and I exchanged worried looks. “Why?” We asked in unison.
“Because it just isn’t a good idea.” The jinn looked as panicked as the griffin had when he’d realized his new job wasn’t just across the street.
Kai and I exchanged a worried look. “It’s the killing thing again, isn’t it?” I asked.
Sidaffri put her hands on her hips. “Did I mention anything about killing anyone?”
We all looked at Idral who lowered his eyes. Sidaffri blew out an exasperated sigh. “There is no killing. I swear.”
I held my hands up and kept my tone calm, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I need to find the lamp and take it from the person who has it, right?” They nodded. “Great, we can talk about the rest of it later.” That seemed to reassure her.
“Okay, Idral. Are you ready to show us where the lamp is hidden?” Kai asked.
“Please, follow me.” He said, sounding regal.
We followed the griffin through the tunnels, and I noticed the noise coming from the street was getting louder. We were close to the surface but a few miles away from where we’d started our journey. “It’s up there and to the left,” Idral said, pointing at the ceiling.
“Which way is the exit to the street?” I asked. Idral pointed down the tunnel. “Great. Sidaffri, can you tell me what your lamp looks like?”
“It is an ancient bronze lamp.” She said, widening her hazel eyes.
Kai whispered. “Well, that should narrow it down.”
I bowed my head in shame that I didn’t see that one coming. “Sidaffri and Idral, you two should wait here. Kai, do you want to come with me and see where we are?”
“Does a griffin like to pose?” He asked, taking my hand and practically dragging me toward the exit.
We emerged in an alley and ran down the side of a very old building toward a busy street. We turned left and stared up at the building that housed the headquarters of La Gilda Maghi.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said, looking up at the building.
“This does complicate things.” Kai agreed. I tapped my foot.
“Not really,” I said, dragging Kai back down that alley before anyone could recognize us. I leaned against the building. “You have a meeting here in a few hours. While you’re talking to them about my suggestion, they’ll be completely occupied.”
Kai grinned. “You want me to be your tactical diversion while you steal something from right under their noses?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
His hands settled on my hips, and he pulled me to him. His teeth grazed the tip of my ear, and his voice was soft. “I wouldn’t dare to suggest one since you clearly spent so much time planning this elaborate heist.”
Chapter 27
When we rejoined Idral and Sidaffri, they were obviously catching up hundreds of years of family gossip. I explained the situation and the plan to them. They nodded hesitantly.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
They shook their heads, but they looked a little embarrassed.
“If it’s something that’s going to make our job harder, you really should tell us,” I said, leveling my best no-nonsense glare at them.
Idral didn’t meet my eyes, but Sidaffri gave me a weak smile, complete with glittery tears in her eyes. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just we’re so close to getting what we’ve wanted for so long.” Her voice trailed off, and she looked distressed.
“It's terrifying.” Kai supplied in a gentle tone.
My eyes flew to him because of the empathy in his voice. He lifted his shoulder in a dismissive gesture, but that was a story I very much wanted to hear at a later date.
“Yes, it is terrifying right now.” Sidaffri agreed. Idral stared hard at the floor because apparently, griffins don’t admit such things.
Yeah, there was no pressure at all to get this mission right.
“We’ll come back,” Kai said. I looked at him, and he gave an encouraging grin to the cousins. “We promise.”
“Lying to a jinn has terrible consequences,” Sidaffri said brightly.
“Yeah, lots of things come with those.” Kai winked at me, laughed, and threaded his fingers through mine.
Back in the hotel room, I did a fast research on jinn-lore and a reluctant investigation into my genealogy. There wasn’t much that I could find on my father, but there was plenty of information on Matteo Serafini and Chairman Mariani, but nothing particularly useful. I kept feeling like I was missing something, and a sneaking suspicion began to grow that taking Sidaffri’s lamp would lead me down a path that I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow.
“You look a little green around the gills,” Kai said, standing in front of me and knotting a purple tie around his neck.
I took a moment to appreciate the view. The suit was so well cut that I was afraid I’d drool on my laptop. Every inch of Kai looked exquisitely tailored, and there were echoes of his raw power that I hadn’t seen since his magic was taken. I didn’t miss the fact that the dark purple was the same color worn by Roman nobility.
“Holy mother of Fred...I think I just had an,” I held the silence for a beat and finished
with, “aneurysm.” I said, standing and walking around him, taking in every angle.
“I thought for sure you’d use another word.”
“You look amazing in everything, don’t you?”
“I look more amazing in nothing if you’d care to call in sick and order room service.” He drawled.
I leaned toward him and whispered. “But going to your funeral after would be such a drag.”
“If you’d study more, there’d be little risk of that.”
“What can I say? I’m in high demand these days because I’m exceptionally talented.” I ran my hands down the lapels of his gray suit and smiled. His hands settled on my hips, pulling me toward him.
“You would find that I am equally talented in other ways that are also quite magical.”
“Eh. I’m still pretty sure you’re all talk.” I teased. “Fortunately for you, I love it when a man’s all come-hither-bedroom-eyes and then unexpectedly produces a sparkly rock.”
Uncertainty flickered in Kai’s gaze, and I replayed my words in my head. Holy cow, I’m an idiot! “The polestar. I meant the polestar.” I said, rolling my eyes and gripping my forehead with my hand.
“I know.” He laughed, but his coppery skin looked a little more pink than usual. I’d made the mythical coyote blush!
I spun away from him and pointed at my laptop, beating a hasty retreat to the bed to retrieve it so I could hide my pink cheeks. I turned and held the device out in front of me like I was showing Kai a new puppy. “Look. Information on Uncle Matteo.” I said. Just the words made my awkward flirtation die because I didn’t want to consider my paternal side of the family tree.
“That’s why you looked distressed.” Kai surmised.
I nodded because he was part right, and I silently willed him to let it go.
“Well, that and the sparkly rock thing.” He added, running his hand across his face to hide his grin.
“Let it go.” I said through clenched teeth.
Kai sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. I slumped down and showed him what I’d found on the Serafini family. “This whole thing gives me a bad feeling.” I admitted.
Resistant Magic (Relic Hunter Book 5) Page 24
