Djinn

by Laura Catherine

  "None of them are alcoholic," came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Pyke, actually looking rather dashing in a suit. "Trust me; I tried all of them."

  "Nice suit," I said, pouring myself some orange liquid.

  Pyke smiled broadly and puffed out his chest. "It was my dad's," he replied, and a wash of guilt fell over me. I looked away at the other guests enjoying the party.

  "Enjoying the shindig?" he asked, leaning on the table.

  "Not really my thing, but I am enjoying myself," I replied. I found it easier to talk to Pyke about things without having to sugarcoat them.

  I glanced quickly around the room to see where Ivan was. He'd hate the idea of me talking to Pyke, but luckily I couldn't see him anywhere. He must have still been talking to Celeste.

  "It's alright, I guess. I had my own little party planned tonight, though, if you know what I mean?" He nudged my arm and winked.

  I scrunched my face at him. "Gross."

  "Don't be jealous. I was only joking. No other girls are even on my radar." He smiled. "You look amazing, by the way." Pyke looked me up and down with wanting eyes, but he restrained himself to only looking.

  "What are you doing here? You didn't join the Palace Guard too, did you?"

  Pyke leaned in closer to me. "I was hired tonight to keep an eye on you," he replied. "Which is a pretty easy job, I might add."

  "What?" I said, almost choking on my drink. "It wasn't enough that Ivan hired Mia, but now he has you, too?"

  Pyke gave me a confused look.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Ivan didn't hire me," he said. "Isabelle did."

  My eyes shot across the room to Isabelle talking with some woman from the council, including Millie's mother.

  "Isabelle hired you …" I whispered, turning back to Pyke. "But why?"

  Pyke shrugged and drank the rest of my drink. "No idea, but she's paying me a lot to make sure you're safe. I would have done it for free. Don't think Ivan knows anything about it."

  I was confused, like, really confused now. Why would Isabelle hire Pyke without telling Ivan? What was she worried about?

  "Looks like your lover boy has moved on," Pyke said, gesturing with my empty cup.

  Will was on the other side of the room by the buffet. He looked unbelievably handsome in his black suit and tie. Then I noticed Mia standing next to him—well, more like leaning in on him. She was sporting a purple gown with long black gloves.

  They were deep in conversation. Mia was standing really close to him. Will raised his hand and brushed Mia's hair out of her eyes.

  My temper flared and I felt the force in my mind. I practiced the exercises Seth had taught me to stop me from moving things with my mind, but I was still mad as hell.

  "If you want, I can kiss you to make him jealous." Pyke raised an eyebrow at me with a smug grin.

  "That wouldn't just make him jealous," I said. "It'd make Ivan murderous."

  "It'd be totally worth it," he replied, watching me the way he had that night in the park. Even though the drinks hadn't been alcoholic, I suspected Pyke had found a way to get some.

  My mind was focused on Will and Mia, though. The burning pit in my stomach was calling the shots, and it wanted to hit Mia really hard in the face.

  "Excuse me," I said to Pyke, and stormed across the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I stomped across the ballroom, headed straight for Mia and Will. I had no idea what I was going to do or say; all my mind thought about was punching them both in the face.

  I shouldn't have been this mad. Will had made it clear he didn't want me, and I had promised myself to get over him, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let them flirt like that in front of me. It was just cruel.

  "Hey, Kyra," Mia said as I approached. She could see the fury in my eyes, and it looked like she was loving it. She moved in closer to Will, who only stared at me with his usual demeanour.

  "Ivan hired you to guard me, not flirt," I hissed, fists clenched in tight balls.

  "You're not in any danger at the moment, except maybe of looking ridiculous in that dress." Mia laughed.

  "I suggest you leave now, before I make you eat those words."

  I didn't want to start a fight in the middle of the royal ball. Ivan would kill me, if Millie didn't kill me first, but Mia knew just how to rub me the wrong way.

  Mia stopped laughing and leaned in close. "You wouldn't dare," she said.

  "Try me," I countered.

  "Mia," Will said, and she turned to him with puppy dog eyes, like she was the innocent one. "Ivan did hire you to do a job, and you should do it well."

  I felt smug that Will had told her off, but still furious. Mia put on a sweet smile. "You're right Will."

  She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. My own cheeks flushed red as I watched her walk away.

  "What the hell was that?" I demanded once she was out of earshot.

  "What?" Will replied, acting the fool.

  "Don't pretend like you weren't just flirting with Mia right in front me." I tried to keep my voice down, so as not to attract attention.

  "Whom I flirt with is none of your business," he countered.

  I was taken aback. He was right; we weren't together. I had no claim to him. He'd used me before, and if he used Mia now then all the better, right?

  "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? Seeing you all the time is bad enough, but flirting with Mia? Mia! She hates me, Will. You could have picked anyone. I never thought you could be that cruel."

  "Kyra, I …"

  "Save it. You and Mia deserve each other." I could feel tears welling up, but I forced them to stay down until I was somewhere no one could see.

  "Is there a problem here?" Nate appeared from nowhere, standing between Will and I. He looked like his usual dashing self, always acting the gentleman.

  "Prince Nathaniel." Will bowed.

  "Will." Nate nodded back. "Now, what's going on?"

  "Nothing." I breathed, glaring at Will. "Nothing at all. We're done talking." I slipped my arm into Nate's. "I'd much rather go with you."

  "Very well," Nate said. "I wanted to talk with you anyway, Kyra. Have a good night, Will."

  Nate led me away from Will and it took all my willpower not to look back. Burning heat raged in my stomach again. I was mad at myself for letting Will produce that reaction in me. I'd tried so hard to me calm, but all it took was for him to be with another girl to set me off.

  Nate's hand on my arm diverted my thoughts as he led me off to the side of the room where a twisted tree bench stood under the floor-length windows. He offered me a seat and sat next to me.

  "Would you like a drink?" he asked.

  "No, thank you," I replied.

  Nate had his head down and remained silent for a while.

  "What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked. "Is it to do with training?"

  "No," he replied. "Though I am sorry I haven't been around much lately."

  I waved it off. "It's fine. Seth has been a great teacher, plus we share the same ability. He's better suited for the job."

  "You look stunning, by the way," Nate said.

  "Oh," I said, surprised he would even notice. "Thank you. You look lovely, too."

  "Kyra," he began, taking my hands in his.

  It felt awkward; not unpleasant or anything, just strange. Nate's tone had me worried, like he was about to give me bad news, and I shifted in my seat.

  "My mother wanted to make the announcement soon," he said.

  "The surprise announcement," I recalled.

  "Yes, but I wanted to talk to you first before she said anything. I think you should know, so it's not just dumped on you."

  Now I was really worried. What was this announcement and why did I have to know? Was Celeste going to introduce me to everyone, as I was the newest member of the community lost for sixteen years? Would I have to make a speech?

  "Kyra, our parents made an arrange—"

  Glass s
hattered above my head. I looked up. Figures in black were entering the room. My heart caught in my chest and my breath came in short sharp bursts. Women screamed, and men stepped in front of them for protection. Glass from the window above us showered down on our heads and Nate shielded me with his arm as I watched a figure fly overhead.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "Blooders!" Nate realised and got to his feet. "Guardjinn!" he shouted. "Stop them!"

  Forty Gaurdjinn, including Will and Mia, stepped forward, ready to fight, but they were outnumbered two to one. The Blooders were dressed all in black gear, red eyes staring back. One Blooder made the first move, slamming his fist to the floor. He caused the ground to rumble and shake, like there had been an earthquake.

  Will was the first to retaliate, charging at the Blooder and tackling him to the ground. All hell broke loose as Blooders and Guardjinn leaped into battle.

  Nate grabbed my arm. "Come on."

  I could see Djinn fleeing the ballroom, though some were caught by Blooders and dragged away toward the windows, disappearing from sight. Their screams were drowned out by the battle, and I watched in horror, wondering what would happen to them.

  "They're taking them!" I shouted, pulling against Nate's grip.

  "They'll take us if we don't get out of here," he replied and pulled me back. "There's nothing we can do for them now. We have to get to safety."

  We were making our way across the room when two Blooders came for us. Their eyes looked at us with a savage hunger I'd never seen before. They wanted our blood, and I feared they'd do anything to get it. One charged, unable to control his thirst, and Nate pulled the flame from a nearby candle, setting the Blooder alight. The scent of burning flesh filled my nose and I tried not to gag. The second Blooder didn't seem deterred by Nate's ability; he thrust out his hand and the all the drinks flew into the air, mixing together only to crash down, dousing the flaming Blooder.

  "Nate!" I said, pulling on his arm.

  "Go!" he replied and pushed me away.

  I watched him engage in battle with the Blooder, but with all the commotion and the moving crowd I was swept away. I couldn't see Nate and I wasn't sure what to do. People and objects were flying around the room. Balls of fire and ice were being flung by Guardjinn and Blooders.

  I slipped on some broken glass and snapped my heel off, falling to the ground. My ankle was hurt, but not broken. I pulled off my shoes, deciding that cutting my feet on the glass was still better than running in heels.

  I hated my dress right then. It was too tight, too constricting. I couldn't move or fight, and it reminded me why I'd hated wearing dresses in the first place. I ripped the bottom of it off to free my legs.

  "Kyra!"

  I looked up to see it was Pyke who was offering me his hand.

  "Pyke!"

  He helped me to my feet as we dodged a flying couch.

  "Come on, I'll take you to your mother," he said.

  "Pyke …" I said unsteadily. I'd been trained to fight, trained to look after myself if I needed to; but I wasn't trained for this. I couldn't fight these monsters. I hadn't mastered my ability. I was useless, and it frightened me.

  "Kyra," Pyke said, sensing my fear. "I will protect you."

  He grabbed my upper arm and led me through the battlefield. Dead Blooders, Guardjinn and Djinn lay all over the floor. I tried to look away, but they were right in front of me: twisted, bloodied. My mind flashed back to the night when Will had come to rescue me. I nearly threw up on the spot when I saw a Blooder bending over a dead Djinn, or Guardjinn, I couldn't tell, and licking the blood pooling around their body.

  "Get back!" Pyke shouted. The Blooder smiled like it was all a game, and smoke erupted from his body, clouding the area. Pyke shot shards of ice at a Blooder who appeared to be making smoke spill from his hands. The Blooder fell to the floor with a spike of ice sticking out from his chest. My legs gave way, but Pyke held me.

  "Keep it together, Kyra," he said. "You're going to get out of this. Trust me."

  I did trust Pyke, so I forced my legs to work and we kept on moving. We were nearly across the room when a very large, tattooed Blooder appeared from the crowd. His face was smeared with blood; who knew how many he'd killed and drunk from? How many powers had he acquired tonight? I realised then that every fallen Djinn and Gaurdjinn was a new power source for the Blooders. Every time one of us fell, they became even stronger.

  "Kyra, get behind me," Pyke said. His eyes darted to the group of trees a little way away from us. I followed his glance and saw Isabelle's pink dress hiding behind it.

  The tattooed Blooder lumbered forward and swung his arm at Pyke. Pyke shot off two icicles, but the man simply smashed them to pieces. His swinging arm hit Pyke, sending him flying across the room like he was nothing.

  "Pyke!" I shouted.

  Now, there was nothing between me and the tattooed man. I couldn't move or breathe. I'd never been so afraid and useless in my life.

  The Blooder reached down to me with large, bloodied fingers. Ice smashed against his face, slicing his cheek. Pyke came running toward us; his eye was bleeding, he had cuts all over face, and his suit was ripped to shreds, but he had a look of determination on his face.

  He punched out more ice, driving the tattooed man away from me.

  "Kyra, run!" he shouted, tackling the big man.

  I didn't want to leave him, but what could I do? I had no powers, and my fighting wasn't a match for what these Blooders could do. I ran toward Isabelle, not looking back for Pyke. I couldn't be distracted. I reached her within seconds, skidding across the floor.

  "Isabelle!" I shouted, grabbing her attention. Her dress was ripped and make up smudged from crying.

  "Kyra?" she gasped, pulling me close. "Oh, Kyra, you're safe."

  "What's going on?" I demanded. Somehow I knew Isabelle knew something about all of this. "Why did you hire Pyke to guard me?"

  She was in shock, hysterics really, so I shook her hard.

  "Tell me!"

  "I had to protect you," she muttered. "I knew they might come."

  "The Blooders?" I asked. "How did you know they'd come to take people?"

  "No, no, no," she said, holding onto me tighter. "They came for you."

  Everything paused for me then. The sounds of the battle were silenced, and it was just me and Isabelle.

  "They came for me?" I repeated. "What are you talking about?"

  Someone was thrown against the wall behind us, and Isabelle's grip tightened on my arm like a vice.

  "I won't let them take you," she said. "I won't."

  I was so confused, but I couldn't focus. The Guardjinn were losing the battle because the other Djinn refused to fight. I could see them cowering around the room or trying to flee. They weren't going to lift a finger to help the Gaurdjinn and that was why they would lose.

  Why we would lose.

  "We can talk about this later," I told Isabelle. "I have to go help."

  "No!" Isabelle screeched. "You can't. They'll get you."

  "Mum, let go."

  I didn't know what I could do, but I knew if I didn't do anything, then all hope was lost.

  "I have to help," I told her, ripping my arms from her grip and running into the thick of the battle.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  I didn't look back to see if Isabelle had tried to escape after I ran away. I was too involved in the fight in front of me. I wasn't sure how I could help; my powers didn't exactly cooperate with me, but I still knew how to fight with my hands. I wasn't sure how much damage I could do against monsters with superpowers, but I'd try my best to defend my people.

  I spotted Will on the far side of the ballroom. He was fighting two Blooders at once. They circled him, like foxes hunting a chicken; but Will was no chicken. The Blooders attacked him with blades, long samurai-looking swords that would slice a normal man in two, but Will's tough skin was stronger than their steel. Will defended the blows with ease, leaving barely a scratch
on him.

  A third Blooder was sneaking up behind Will with a fist full of fire. Blades might not pierce Will's skin, but fire would still burn him alive. I dashed across the room, jumping over bodies and dodging fireballs. I leapt through the air and onto the Blooder's back, causing him to stumble under the extra weight. The distraction extinguished his flame, giving me the opportunity to throw my weight forward, slamming the Blooder's face into the floor. He groaned through bubbles of blood, and I lifted his head and slammed it once more to knock him out cold.

  I ran to Will's side, kicking one of the Blooders hard in the groin. He dropped to the floor, and I followed up with another swift blow to the head. Will dodged the other Blooder's blade and elbowed him in the jaw. The Blooder dropped the sword into Will's hands, and he spun it around into the Blooder's stomach. I turned away, unable to watch such violence up close. I had only knocked out my Blooders, but Will had murdered his.

  Will yanked out the sword and the Blooder fell to the ground. He turned his blade on the Blooders I'd knocked out, but I grabbed his arm to stop him.

  "Will, don't!" I screamed, but he pulled free of me and stabbed one in the neck.

  "We have to kill them," he said. "Or they'll kill us."

  Will turned to the last Blooder, the one I had slammed into the floor. The look in Will's eyes was one I had never seen before: savage. I grabbed Will's arm again and held on with all my strength.

  "Will, please don't murder him."

  "Kyra?" he said with surprise, like he hadn't realised it was me fighting by his side. "What are you doing here? Get out!"

  "I can't," I replied. He seemed to lose interest in the Blooder, and the old Will I knew returned.

  "You need to get to safety," he said, looking for an exit to push me toward.

  "No!" I said, with more force than I knew I had. "You can't fight them all on your own."

  "The Guardjinn can handle this."

  "They can't," I said, almost pleading. "There are too many of them. The Gaurdjinn can't do this all on their own. The Djinn need to help, too."