djinn wars 03 - fallen

by Christine Pope

  Frowning, Jace said, “I told you the plan. To rid the world of mankind.”

  “No. Not that. Afterward. What happens…after?”

  After they’re all gone, I thought. After the djinn have scoured every trace of humanity from the face of the planet, except for these small havens where the One Thousand live with their Chosen. And even those might soon be gone if the rogue djinn have their way.

  Jace was very still, watching me. The firelight awakened those warm little gleams in his hair that I loved so much, but I felt no warmth within me. Something at my center seemed to have gone cold.

  He said, “The djinn will establish their homesteads and courts and compounds here. There are not that many of them, not compared to mankind’s billions, and so they will all have as much land as they require. The air will clear, as there will be nothing to pollute it, and slowly the vines and the trees will grow, and in a hundred years, there will be nothing left to show that man once held dominion over this world.”

  The words were simple enough, but I could almost see it in my mind’s eye — the vast forests and grasslands that had once covered this continent coming back, taking over and hiding the gas stations and skyscrapers and mini-malls and everything else we’d left behind. Blue above, green below. And here and there djinn, in their houses or castles or whatever the heck it was that they called home.

  I finally found my voice. “And you, Jace? How much land do you require?”

  He did get up then, and moved around to my side of the table. To my surprise, he knelt beside me. “Only as much as the walls of our house in Santa Fe contain. That is all I need. Our home, and you.”

  I’d been wrong to think that my center had gone cold. Or if it had, it melted then, in a warm rush, and I put my arms out and drew him to me, feeling the strength of his body, the brush of his lips against my cheek. I wanted the whole world to be this — just him and me, the warmth of the fire, the sleeping dog by the hearth. That was all I needed. I wanted to will the rest of it away.

  But the world, as it often did, had its own way of intruding.

  A pounding at the door woke us up. Jace and I had been asleep in one another’s arms, where we’d collapsed after making frenzied, urgent love. I couldn’t even say which one of us had initiated it, only that we both felt compelled to reassure ourselves with our lover’s touch. It was as if I needed to let Jace know that I still loved him, despite everything he’d told me, just as he needed to reaffirm his connection with me after hearing of Julia’s treatment at the hands of Richard Margolis.

  Jace was out of bed first, making a short detour to the bathroom so he could grab one of the terrycloth robes that hung on their hooks behind the door. I sat up, clutching the sheet to my bare breasts. No one had ever knocked like this in our time there, no matter what the emergency, so I couldn’t think what might be happening now. Had the rogue djinn discovered some new way to attack us?

  The door opened, showing a rectangle of faint yellowish light from the corridor outside. To save power, the sconces there had been converted to hold pillar candles, and I guessed that was the illumination I was seeing now.

  Zahrias stood outside. As I stared at him, wondering what the hell he was doing, pounding on our door in the middle of the night, he said to Jace, “They have gone. Well, two of them. Rafi was not so lucky.”

  That news made me sit up straighter and blink the rest of the sleep out of my eyes. I thought I knew who he meant by “they.” The three djinn who had come to argue with Zahrias about escaping Taos, getting outside the field generated by Miles’s device so they could try to get some help from the other, more neutral djinn.

  But what had Zahrias meant when he said that Rafi was not so lucky?

  Since the two men were occupied with one another at the door, I slid out from under the covers and grabbed my discarded clothes from where they still lay on the floor, then hurriedly began putting them on.

  Jace asked, “What happened?”

  “I don’t know for certain,” Zahrias replied. “That is, I knew they would make the attempt soon. They were far too impatient to do otherwise, and I knew that nothing I said would change their minds.” He paused then; I could tell from his silhouette in the doorway that he leaned heavily on his cane. He must have expended a good deal of energy in rushing over to our suite. “Alif and Nizar got away, but Rafi…did not. They left enough of him that he was able to stagger back over the boundary — as a warning, I would guess — but he will not live the night.”

  My hand went to my mouth. I wouldn’t say that Rafi was one of my favorites among the djinn, since he seemed possessive of Lindsay to a fault, but he certainly didn’t deserve to be set upon by some of his own kind and then left for dead.

  Zahrias seemed to catch a glimpse of my movement, because he shifted and directed his next words to me, “Jessica, you are friends with Lindsay. I came to ask that you would go to her and bring her to see Rafi. He’s been laid on one of the couches in the reception area, since I could carry him no further.”

  Those words startled me. If asked, I would never have said that I thought the djinn leader capable of such exertion. Maybe he’d called up hidden reserves of strength to bring Rafi someplace where he could be laid down with dignity. As to why he’d come to Jace and me, rather than Dani and Lauren, well, it was true that Lindsay and I had gotten somewhat close, just because of the time I’d spent down in the lab with her.

  “Of course I’ll go get her,” I said. It was not an errand I looked forward to; now I had an inkling of what those officers in the military must have felt like, the men and women who’d had to bring news of loved ones’ deaths in combat to family members. But it was something that needed to be done.

  I slipped my feet into some flats I had kicked off next to the bed and hurried to the door. Jace reached out and gave my hand a squeeze just before I slipped out. Our eyes met, and I could only hope he might see something of what I was feeling — how glad I was that he hadn’t done something foolish to endanger himself, how dear he was to me, and how devastated I would be if anything should happen to him.

  Something appeared to communicate itself to him, because he nodded slightly, just as Zahrias said quietly, “Thank you, Jessica.”

  Before that point, I hadn’t done much wandering around in the corridors at night. There hadn’t been any real need, after all. Now I couldn’t help thinking how creepy it felt, hurrying along, my way lit only by candles, with no other sound or movement in the resort. The djinn were sleeping more and more now, so it wasn’t surprising that I hadn’t run into any of them. And apparently their human companions weren’t leaving their sides.

  Lindsay’s suite wasn’t that far away, down another corridor that branched off from the one where Jace and I currently made our home. In a way, I wished her rooms were on the other side of the resort, just so I would have more time to rehearse what I was going to say. But she had to have known this was a risk, right? Rafi had said that he and the other two djinn had spoken with their Chosen, so this horrible news shouldn’t catch her completely off guard.

  Even so….

  I stopped outside her door, pulled in a breath, and then knocked. Not pounding like Zahrias had done, but two short, quick raps.

  She must have been expecting something, because Lindsay opened the door almost immediately. And I saw that she was fully dressed, as if she’d been anticipating receiving bad news. Or maybe she simply hadn’t wanted to go to sleep yet, perhaps thinking that Rafi and his compatriots would be quickly successful, and would come back with help.

  Her eyes widened when she saw me, but then I saw her square her shoulders, as if she had just realized what my presence must mean.

  “Zahrias sent me,” I said hurriedly. “It’s — ” Now that the time had come, it was harder than I’d thought to get the words out.

  “It’s Rafi,” she interjected, her tone almost too calm. “Something’s happened.”

  I nodded. “I’m so sorry, Lindsay. I’m supposed to tak
e you to him.”

  She inhaled deeply, obviously steeling herself. “Okay. Show me.”

  “He’s — he’s in the lobby.”

  That seemed to be enough, because she began walking in short, brisk steps toward the front of the resort. All I could do was trail along, wishing I could think of something to say that would hit exactly the right note of being sympathetic but not too much so — Lindsay was not the sentimental type. I had no doubt that she cared deeply about her djinn partner, but she wasn’t the kind of girl who would show it.

  When we reached the lobby, Jace and Zahrias were already there, as was Miguel. I supposed Zahrias had called him in to see what he could do to help, even though it had sounded as if Rafi was past any sort of assistance, human or otherwise.

  And when I looked at him, I could see that Zahrias’ assessment had been correct. Lindsay’s partner lay on one of the couches, bandages wrapped around his throat, his chest, his — well, from what I could see, there didn’t seem to be any part of his body that hadn’t been injured in some way. Although normally he had a warm olive complexion, now he looked pasty and drained, blood-smeared hair plastered to his forehead.

  Lindsay rushed forward, then dropped to her knees and took his hand in hers. “R-Rafi?”

  It was probably the first time I’d ever heard any real hesitation in her voice. But now her usual brisk, no-nonsense veneer had been stripped away, and I could see how scared, how vulnerable she was.

  He didn’t move. I thought I saw his fingers tighten on hers, though, just as he whispered, “They’ll be here soon.”

  “I know, Rafi. Just — try to stay so you can meet them when they get here, okay?”

  “Take care of you. That’s all…I wanted. Take care of you.”

  Those words seemed to be the last he had the strength to utter, because his hand fell away from hers, and he went completely still.

  “R-Rafi? Rafi!” A shudder went through her as she seemed to realize he was gone. “No! No!”

  Jace and Miguel both stepped forward, but then Jace hesitated, as if realizing that perhaps one of her own kind should be the one comforting Lindsay now. Bending down, Miguel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not!” she raged. “It is not okay! Rafi’s gone, and those animals killed him!”

  “And we will have our vengeance,” Zahrias said quietly, his deep baritone cutting through her words.

  Something about his voice seemed to calm her, and she went limp then, allowing Miguel to guide her away from the body of her djinn lover. A nod from Zahrias, and Miguel kept walking with her, obviously taking her back to her suite.

  “I’ll go with her,” I offered.

  “Thank you, Jessica,” Jace told me, while Zahrias’ gaze shifted away from the two of us to where Rafi lay, his blood staining the pale tan leather of the couch.

  Something in his grim face made me stop, though. I stared at him, thoughts churning away at Rafi’s final words. Finally I asked, “Do you really think help will be here soon?”

  His eyes wouldn’t meet mine. Then, heavily, “I don’t know.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I ended up sitting with Lindsay for several hours, until she at last cried herself to sleep. By then my body was practically screaming with exhaustion — first hearing Julia’s story, and then going through this with Lindsay had sapped all my reserves — but I made myself wait until a soft knock came at the door. Lauren was outside, offering to spell for me.

  “Get some rest,” she whispered. “I’ll stay with her for the rest of the night.”

  “Are you sure?” I glanced back at Lindsay, who was huddled into a ball, one of the pillows hugged against her chest, as if she was clinging to it in a desperate attempt to pretend that Rafi was still with her.

  “Yes. I can tell you’re about dead on your feet.” There wasn’t much perky about Lauren at the moment; her eyes were wide and scared, and I thought I even saw some tears glistening in them. “This is awful. If I’d only known — ”

  “If you’re trying to beat yourself up for not talking them out of this, just stop.”

  “I didn’t have the chance. Zahrias didn’t say anything to anyone. Even Dani didn’t know until Rafi — well, until that happened.”

  I was so tired that I didn’t have the energy to put a filter on my words. “Probably because he didn’t want anyone else trying something so crazy.” Right then I yawned, the kind you can’t stop, the kind that feels like it’s about to crack your face open. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.” She reached out and patted me on the arm. “Go to bed. We’ll take turns staying with her as needed.”

  I didn’t have any energy left for arguments. Shooting Lauren a grateful smile, I slipped past her and left the door open so she could go inside the suite. The door shut quietly behind her, and I took that as my signal to head for home.

  By then I had no idea what time it actually was. Two in the morning? Three? I had to hope that Julia was resting peacefully in her own suite on the opposite side of the resort, because there was no way in hell I had the strength to go and check on her. She must be completely dead to the world; after an ordeal like the one she’d just survived, I probably would have slept for days.

  Despite the late hour, Jace was still awake and waiting for me when I got back to my own rooms. The only illumination was the dying fire, which sent odd little shadows into the corners of the room and seemed to throw into deep relief the contours of his cheekbones, the pools of darkness beneath his eyes.

  As soon as I entered the suite, he rose and came to me, folding me into his arms. Feeling him, I almost wanted to begin crying. I couldn’t even say why, except that maybe I was just so glad he was safe, that he was here with me. Back in Los Alamos, I’d come perilously close to experiencing the same kind of loss Lindsay was suffering now, and seeing her tragedy made me realize once again how much I needed Jace, how I didn’t think I could live without him.

  “Some of the Chosen came to help move Rafi to a more secluded place,” he said quietly. “And in the morning, we’ll have to let everyone know — and also let them know what those three were attempting. Zahrias did not want the word to get out, just because false hope can be a very dangerous thing when a group of people walk on a cliff edge as they do now. But it is a secret that can’t be kept any longer.”

  “Is it really false hope?” I asked, lifting my head so I could stare up into his eyes and try to see the truth in them.

  “It is very long odds,” he replied. His gaze met mine directly. I could tell he thought he owed me the truth, not some pretty platitudes he might use to dance around the issue. “First, to escape this world at all — as Rafi was unable to do, in the end — and then to search out those in our world who might come to offer help…the chances of success were not good. It is hard to explain, but our world is not the same as yours. Palaces float on the air, and no one may necessarily be found in any one fixed location. So even though Alif and Nizar know they must go to the elders to appeal to them for assistance, they will have to be found first. And that may not be an easy thing.”

  I shivered. “Your world doesn’t sound very welcoming.”

  “It has its own beauties. But it is very different from yours, and yes, we djinn prefer it here. Else we would not have had all this ugliness, because the djinn would have had nothing they coveted.”

  Yes, this world was a beautiful one. I thought of a family trip we’d taken to the Grand Canyon once, and how I’d watched the sun rise over the South Rim. At the time I hadn’t thought there could be anything more beautiful, the kind of beauty that awoke an ache deep within you. I could see why the djinn would want the earth and all its wonders.

  “So,” he went on, “while it is possible they might be successful, it’s nothing we can depend on, or wait for. We have our own resource here in Miles Odekirk, and although he hasn’t found a solution yet, I believe it’s more
likely he will come up with something to help us, rather than the cavalry galloping in from the djinn world.”

  I nodded, yawning again. At once Jace pulled me over to the bed, his fingers working at the buttons on my shirt. It was a testament to my current exhaustion that I wasn’t even aroused by the thought of him taking my clothes off. I knew he was only doing that to help me, since I was so tired I could barely slip out of my shoes.

  The jeans came next, and then Jace was pushing me into bed while I still wore my bra. The last thing I remembered was him pulling the covers over me, and then everything slipped away into darkness.

  When I awoke, I was alone. Well, not completely alone — Dutchie came over as soon as I stirred, and stuck her cold, wet nose into my hand, which was hanging down over the side of the bed. She didn’t seem particularly urgent, though, which meant Jace had probably already fed and walked her.

  “Morning, girl,” I mumbled.

  A tail thump, and then she went back to her favorite spot by the fireplace. The room smelled good, of wood smoke and coffee and cinnamon. I discovered the reason for the latter two scents when I focused on the little table by the window. Sitting there were a carafe of coffee and a plate with a couple of muffins. Jace must have left them for me before he went out.

  And it was late — I retrieved my watch and saw that nine o’clock was long gone, and ten almost here. I could understand why Jace had let me sleep, but at the same time I worried that I hadn’t been there for Julia when she woke up. All I could do was hope that Lauren had sent someone to check on her. If Lauren was even awake, either. She might have been up until dawn, keeping watch over Lindsay.

  Since I knew I wouldn’t be very functional until I had my coffee, I went over to the table and poured myself a cup. It had cooled enough that I could drink it right away, so I took several large swallows, then broke off a piece of the muffin, which turned out to be apple spice. I couldn’t help wondering right then how long all this luxury would last — we were only feeding some hundred-odd people, so it would take a while to work through all the supplies in Taos. Sooner or later, though, we’d have to start focusing on becoming more self-sustaining rather than using up all the resources in the immediate vicinity.