Forged
Page 29
“That is because it is hard to tell,” Grey said. “Being a half-breed it is not easy to define what you are. But I have my suspicions.”
“What are they?” she asked eagerly.
“Are you certain you wish to know? You may not like what you hear.”
Kat swallowed noisily at that. That definitely did not sound good at all. She shored up her courage. “Yes,” she said.
“What has Kamen told you about the castes?”
“Marids and Afreets are the most powerful. Janns are the weakest. Sheytans … well, I got the feeling they are very spooky. To be avoided.”
“Sheytans are definitely ‘spooky,’ ” he said with a small light of amusement in his eyes. But then that light faded. “Sheytans deal in the darkest of magics. Death magics. Curses. Power-stripping. They have magic that rains fire down on those who anger or offend them. They draw power from the darkest of niks. Cursed objects, violent things. Weaponry. Objects like those you are wearing right now.”
Kat reached out to fiddle with her necklace nervously. “This is cursed. Y-you’re saying I-I’m a Sheytan?”
“My guess is you were sired by a Sheytan and that you have Sheytan abilities. How far you can take it remains to be seen. But you dealt a tremendous deathblow to Panahasi without even trying to, and that should tell you something.”
“Does that mean I can accidentally blow someone else up? I’ve been afraid to practice because I don’t want to—”
“You were threatened by him,” Grey reminded her. “You dealt out what was due. I doubt you can deal death to someone who does not deserve it. There are rules to Djynn magic.”
“You mean … it was self-defense. So it was justified.”
“Exactly. If you’ve been giving yourself a hard time about that, you shouldn’t.”
“I’m not,” she assured him. “I was a little shell-shocked at first, but I know I had no choice. I would never have gotten out of there alive if I hadn’t fought. I’m okay with what happened.”
“Good! So let’s teach you a key skill, shall we?” At her eager nod he said, “Djynns turn to smoke at the touch of the sun to protect themselves from the burning and blistering you suffer. If you turn to smoke it will not hurt you. The only trouble is that you will also lose cohesion the longer you remain in smoke form, so you need to find a protected place as soon as possible once you turn.”
“I want to learn that very much. Can you give me a minute?” she asked, holding out a staying hand.
“Of course. I need to speak to SingSing before she flits away again. She is quite … mercurial, at best. Shall we meet here again in ten minutes?”
“Okay,” she said with a nod.
Once Grey left, Kat turned to Ahnvil, who had stood silently behind her the entire time. She realized just how important it was that he had not interfered. It must have taken a great deal for him to control his impulse to protect her from everything. “Are you okay with this?” she asked him.
“I already told you. I have no right tae stop you from learning about who you are,” he said, moving up to her and cradling the side of her face in one of his large hands.
“That isn’t what I asked you,” she said, covering the back of the hand that touched her face with one of her own. “Are you okay with this? With me. With me possibly being … a Sheytan. A death-dealing Djynn.” She shuddered. “I mean, I would understand because frankly I’m not entirely sure I am okay with it myself. But I know how you feel about magics … and I don’t want …”
“ ’Tis no’ magic I detest,” he said softly. “And even if it were I would no’ detest it coming from you. ’Tis one magic user in particular that rubs me wrong.”
“Kamen.”
“Aye. Kamen. But, as I said, I doona look on him wi’ as much hatred as I once did. No’ since his actions allowed you tae come back safe tae me. I will never like him. I will no’ ever trust him. But … well, I’ve said my bit on it. And truth be told … if it were no’ for magic … I wouldna ever have met you. I would have long ago been dead and dust. That alone made it worthwhile tae be forged.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes dropping down as she flushed with pleasure. “I didn’t think of that.”
“I’ve thought of nothing else,” he said softly, his knuckles caressing her gently over the rise of her cheek. “No’ since I got you back from Panahasi. I—” He broke off and then seemed surprised to hear what his own mouth was saying. “Anyway, ’tis time you learned how to turn to smoke and protect yourself.”
He turned her by her shoulders, making her face toward where Grey had disappeared to.
“But—”
She turned back, but he was already on his way out of the room.
Well, hell.
What did he mean he’d thought of nothing else? Surely not … not the way he made it sound. He made it sound as though he had been severely emotionally affected by what had happened. But in order for that to be true he had to have felt strongly for her in the first place. And sure, they had grown very close this past week. They had certainly been engaging in the most physical relationship she’d ever had. He had a way of making a girl think she was the be all and end all of his universe, but … that had all been perception. Hadn’t it?
No. This was dangerous. He had never said anything about having an actual relationship with her. Outside of the sexual? No. She was just reading too much into it.
Well, what was she supposed to think, she thought petulantly, when he kept saying things like that? If she was reading too far into things he only had himself to blame. It wasn’t her fault and he shouldn’t keep doing things or saying things like that when he really didn’t mean them to mean what they might have meant from any other man on the planet.
Damn him.
She sat there stewing, running it over and over in her mind, for another five minutes before Grey came back.
“Is something troubling you?”
“No,” Ahnvil said to Jackson, frowning at the Pharaoh even though his reply was absentminded.
“Then why the frown?”
“I was just thinking abou’ something. ’Tis no’ a matter of concern.”
“Oh?” Jackson smiled, his eyes light with amusement. “Anything that has my chief Gargoyle frowning like that might have to be my concern.”
“No. ’Tis nothing. ’Tis just that … I doona like the idea of Grey making my Kat feel like she might be something to be fearful of.”
“Fearful? Why would she think that?”
“He thinks she might be Sheytan.”
“I see,” Jackson said, his amusement tempered with a measure of seriousness. “Sheytans are a very serious business. Not to be messed with. I don’t think her being one is a bad thing at all. However, I, for one, wouldn’t mind having a Sheytan Djynn in my camp.”
“I dinna think you would. ’Tis no’ you I’m worried abou’ ’tis Kat. She’s had tae learn abou’ so many wild and strange things these past days. I doona want her tae think she should fear herself.” He frowned. “I’ve seen how she’s behaved this past week. Afraid tae use her power. Afraid she’ll blow someone up.”
“A healthy fear to have, considering. At least until she learns more about her abilities and how to control them.”
“I doona see the health in it.” His frown deepened. “No’ for her. She’s feared herself enough. ’Tis time she got to revel in what she is.”
“And she can’t do that if she’s a Sheytan.”
“No. I mean … no. I doona mean—” His brow wrinkled.
“Seems to me the only one not liking her being a Sheytan is you.”
“That’s no’ true!” Ahnvil snapped. “I’d love her no matter what she is!”
Jackson leaned back against the counter, folded his arms over his chest and raised a brow. He waited.
It took a moment. A very long moment.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Ahnvil said, shock widening his eyes as he ran a hand down over his face. “This is no’ good,” he
said, taking a deep breath. Then another. Before he knew it he was practically hyperventilating.
“Hey. Easy, big fella,” Jackson said, amusement in every line of his body as he went over to the Gargoyle and thumped him on the back a few times. “Take a good breath. Easy now. It’s always like this the first time you figure it out.” He suppressed a chuckle, simply for fear of getting decked. “It’ll be okay.”
“No, it willna!” Ahnvil bit out at him. “This is horrifying!”
“Ahnvil … it’s not as bad as all—”
“I have nothing to offer her!” the Gargoyle snapped. “What do I have for her? A life here, ground zero for Apep’s next demented scheme? You barely survived Apep’s last incursion onto this territory. She’s got nothing to protect her from him!”
“She has you. And if I’m not mistaken, she protected herself pretty good from Panahasi … and she wasn’t even trying.”
“Panahasi is one thing, a god quite another,” he returned sharply, although not sounding as convinced as he had a moment earlier.
“And you do have something to offer her. You said it yourself. You love her. From what I hear, that’s more than enough for a woman.”
Ahnvil scoffed.
“You know, I won’t hold you here if you do not want to be here. You are free to take her somewhere safer any time you like. I am sure any one of the Bodywalker nexus houses would be happy to have you.”
Again, Ahnvil scoffed. “And leave the center of things when you’ll be needing me most? I doona think so!”
“You know what it sounds like to me? Excuses,” Jackson said. “You’re afraid. And you should be. It’s a big responsibility, to love and care for someone.”
This time Ahnvil looked at him with interest instead of reactionary emotion.
“How do you do it? I mean, how do you keep from being afraid?”
“I don’t. I’m terrified. All the time. And so is she about me. It’s just the nature of the beast. If you think you can reap the glories of love without paying the price, then you clearly aren’t willing to do the work and you should end it right—”
“No,” Ahnvil said hastily. “No, ’tis no’ that. No’ at all. I just … I doona want tae … I’m afraid I’ll …”
“Hurt her?” Jackson filled in for him.
“Oh aye,” Ahnvil said on a big, gusting breath.
“You will. You’ll fight. You’ll make up … one of my favorite parts, by the way. But if you want to find out your favorite part …” Jackson trailed off. But he could already see the fever of excitement laced with fear in the Gargoyle’s eyes.
“I’ll fuck up. I just know I will fuck up.”
“Oh aye,” Jackson said with a chuckle.
“How … how do I tell …”
“Sorry, big fella. There you are totally on your own,” Jackson said with a grin as he turned and looked in the refrigerator.
By the time he turned back, the kitchen was empty.
“Dude, you were so just looking for an excuse,” Jackson said to the empty room.
“There, see? Just imagine your fingers floating away on the air … but not too far from the rest of you. Cohesion is important,” Grey said.
“Whoa. This is so cool,” Kat murmured as her fingers dissolved into smoke. “I thought this was going to be so much harder!”
“When the sun hits you your body is naturally trying to do this, but since you are a hybrid something in the instinctive mechanism is mis-wired. Now bring yourself back to cohesion. That’s very well done. Not bad for an hour’s work.”
Once her fingers were solid, she beamed at Grey … only he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking with obvious surprise at a point above her shoulder behind her. Curious, she turned and saw …
A very big, very tall … Scot. And she did mean Scot. As in, a kilt of green and black with strands of violet, a matching sporran with a white furred beard around its base and a white shirt with pirate sleeves dressing up her big Scot. All he needed was a bag of pipes and he’d be complete.
“What is going on?” She looked around the room, looking for the joke. And while she was doing that her big Scot dropped to both his knees before her … which almost brought them eye to eye. She snickered out her nose. “Have you been drinking scotch with Ihron again?”
“No. Though I wish I’d thought of it. I need tae speak wi’ you.”
“Well, I …” She looked over her shoulder only to find Grey had disappeared. She sighed. “I wish people would stop doing that,” she muttered.
“Doing what?”
“Nothing,” she said dismissively. “What is all this?” she wanted to know.
“You canna tell? I’m on my knees before you, lass.”
“Well, I didn’t really think …” She frowned in consternation. “Can’t you just speak plainly?” she almost whined. But she hated whiners, so she didn’t. Barely.
“Och, lass, doona be so blind tae me. Canna you see how much you mean tae me? I’m trying tae ask you … can you no’ be my wife or am I just too stupid tae deserve you?”
“You are not too stupid!” she snapped off. “Why do you have to put yourself down like that? Why can’t you j—”
She stopped.
Blinked.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
“Kat lass, I love you wi’ all my heart. You have tae understand, my heart was made of stone, but now … you make me feel things I never thought I would. Things I doona deserve tae feel.”
“Why not? Why don’t you deserve it?” she numbly wanted to know.
“Because … because I have nothing to offer you, Kat lass. No home of your own. No true security or safety, no normalcy. Life with me would be … hard.”
“Life is hard, period. Life for me, as a Nightwalker, is going to be hard.” Suddenly a thread of true understanding slid through the eye of the needle. “You’re … you’re serious? This is serious?”
“As a bloody heart attack, woman,” he said, looking completely offended.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said hastily, squeezing the hands that now clasped hers. “Just give me a minute to catch up. Just … just a minute.” She took a deep breath. Two. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her teeth. She opened them.
Yup. He was still there. Still real. Still looking for all the world like he was expecting an answer.
All this time … he had meant it. All those times he’d made her feel as though the sun rose and set with her … they had been real.
“You doona love me,” he said dejectedly, his breath leaving him on a deflating sigh. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe … Och, I’m an ass!” He went to get up and she lunge forward to keep him on his knees.
“No! No, I do! I … I …”
I do! Kat thought. I do love him! All this time I kept telling myself I was seeing too far into things, that I was making things up in my head … but all this time … I do!
“You do?”
“Yes, I do,” she breathed.
“So … will you please marry me, Kat? Or is this too soon?”
“No! Not too soon!” she said hastily, gripping his hands harder as tears leapt into her eyes. “Just soon enough! Oh my God. Oh my God! I never thought …” She began to cry in earnest and he hastened to his feet, wrapping big arms around her.
“Never thought what, Kat?” he asked gently as he comforted her.
“I never thought I would get married,” she sobbed. “I was always thinking … what if I pass this disease down to my kids? How can I expect to find a man who would put up with living in the dark? And now … here you are … all handsome and big and … here.”
“Oh aye. I’m here. And I’m no’ going anywhere,” he promised her.
“A-are you sure? I mean, you never even said or acted like this was something you might want.”
“Are you trying tae talk me ou’ of it? Because it willna work,” he warned her.
She sighed and smiled. “Okay, then. Just checking.”
She grinned up at him.
“Oh. Aye,” she said. “A great big aye!”
“Good,” he said with a relieved sigh. “Now give us a proper kiss.”
“Aye.”
“Stop that. You sound like a bloody pirate.”
“Aye.”
“Kat …”
“Aye! Aye! Aye!” She whooped and jumped up into his arms. He accepted the leap with a laugh. He hugged her tightly to himself, as always careful not to hurt her.
“I’ll always be careful no’ tae hurt you, Kat lass.”
“I believe you,” she said with a smile as she hugged him back. “I really do believe you. And I promise not to hurt you, too.”
“You canna hurt me. I’m forged from stone, lass.”
“Mmm. Just the same. Some parts of you, while hard, are not always made from stone.”
“Here I am being serious and you’re being lewd and dirty.”
“I am not!” she gasped. “I didn’t mean that!”
“Sure. Whatever you say, dear.”
“Ahnvil!”
“No, I mean it, I believe you,” he said kindly.
“Stop it!”
“I understand, you’re no’ that kind of girl …”
“Ahnvil! I am, too, that kind of girl!”
“See, I knew it all along.”
Kat threw back her head and laughed. “You’re horrible.”
“Oh aye. But you said aye, so now you’re stuck wi’ me.”
“That I did,” she said with a happy sigh as she hugged him again. “And that I am.”
For Alisha and Mitchell
May your future together be filled with
many blessings
BY JACQUELYN FRANK
The World of Nightwalkers
Forbidden
Forever
Forsaken
Forged
Three Worlds
Seduce Me in Dreams
Seduce Me in Flames