The Final Countdown [Beyond the Angel Pack 5] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Maggie Walsh

  “I am no Jinn, and if you take me home, then I cannot help Eakul. He will be lost here forever if I don’t train him,” Nobin protested.

  “Exactly. So start talking, and make it so that we all understand what you’re babbling about, not that damn genie riddle shit,” Lucifer demanded.

  “The Twilight Moon? And wait, you know about genies, Lucifer?” Jesse asked.

  “Hell yes. Bunch of tricky assholes,” he mumbled.

  “Hey!” Nobin said, offended.

  Lucifer gave Nobin a droll look. “Is anything I said untrue?”

  Nobin’s face softened, and he twisted his lips. “Well, no, but still, that kind of hurt.”

  “The truth hurts. Now talk,” Lucifer demanded.

  “First of all, it’s the Jinn who are the tricksters, not the genie,” Nobin said as he raised his chin in defiance.

  “Aren’t Jinn like dream suckers or whatever? Don’t they lock someone in a happy state as they feed from them, draining them of their blood?” Jesse asked.

  Nobin made a disgusted face, like he was about to puke. He started shaking his head as he said, “No, no. Whoever told you that? That’s just gross.”

  Micah chuckled as he pulled Jesse down on his lap, as Lucifer said, “That’s TV, Jesse. Just because Supernatural says it, doesn’t mean it’s so.”

  Jesse huffed and gave Lucifer a dirty look. “I know that, you ass. But I read somewhere in the paranormal history books that Jinn are almost like a Succubus.”

  “Really?” Micah asked, his face showing his surprise.

  “Yes. If I remember correctly, it said you should always beware of a Jinn, also known as a genie, because they will trick you into doing what they want, and most of the time it’s something evil.”

  “There is some truth to that, but not entirely,” Lucifer said.

  Nobin sat quietly, looking at Jesse in horror. When Jesse turned to him and noticed the look, he raised his brow. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Micah began to growl as he held Jesse closer.

  “You speak to the Lord of Hell like that? You must either have a death wish or have the biggest balls of anyone I know,” Nobin replied.

  Lucifer looked to the genie with a smirk. “You try talking to me like that, and I will have your balls, and not in a good way. Jesse can get away with speaking to me like that because I know he means no disrespect and is only teasing. That’s what family does,” Lucifer said happily with conviction. “Now start explaining yourself, genie.”

  “Genie and Jinn are basically the same thing, but many years ago, my great-grandfather tried to change things. The genie of old did run around trying to trick people and get humans to do as they bid, and most of the time it was evil things, but they also had an overinflated sense of superiority. They thought because of their magic and being able to manipulate others that made them better than anyone else. My great-grandfather hated their privileged, elitist attitude and did everything he could to change it. Those who believed as my great-granddad followed him, and to this day still go by the rules and laws he set forth. But those who didn’t believe as he did and fought the change formed their own tribe and still stick to the old ways. They are what we now call the Jinn, as we call ourselves genie.

  “Jinn will tell you that you are granted three wishes, and then twist your wish, and trick you. Once the person who has been tricked is so desperate because of what happened, they beg the Jinn to change everything back. That’s when the Jinn inform them that there is always a price to pay for what you want, and if they truly wish the Jinn to go back to the way things were before they made their first wish, then there would be a price. The humans agree, and that’s when the Jinn strike. They cannot just possess someone or force them to do anything. The human has to allow them in or agree to do whatever is asked. So with the Jinn’s trickery they get the human to do one of these things, and then the human is trapped into the unwritten contract. The Jinn either possess their bodies or make them do unspeakable acts.”

  Nobin uncrossed his legs, and in one fluid motion, he rose and stood. “Ask a Jinn for a million bucks, and he gives one million male deer. Now he knew what you meant, but he gave you what you asked for. Could you imagine what one million male deer would look like roaming through your home and your property? Eew. Now you quickly say I wish them away, so the Jinn zaps them away, but the damage has already been done. The Jinn then reminds you that you now only have one wish left. Most people look around at the destruction left behind by the deer and are so distraught over it, they ask for everything to return to where it was before the deer arrived, using up their last wish.”

  Nobin took a step and began to pace. “Here is usually where the human gets upset and begs for another wish. The Jinn will tell them how bad he feels for them and would love to accommodate them and offer them another wish, but to do so, it would now cost them something in return, and that’s where he gets them. But genies don’t operate like that. First of all, we don’t promise someone they get three wishes.”

  “But I thought you all were trapped to a lamp or something like that,” Storm said.

  Nobin stopped and gave Storm a smirk. “A lamp? Really? You’re going with the old tale? Okay, here it is. A lot of people think of the genie as someone you can trap in a lamp like the old show ‘I Dream of Genie’, or the story of Aladdin, and that once someone rubbed the lamp, setting the genie free, then that person became the genie’s master, but these are all just tall tales. But with the right spell, any creature, including a human, can be bound to an object.”

  “This genie history class is fascinating, but what the hell does it have to do with Thad?” Nicco grumbled.

  “I agree with Nic. I would love to revisit this conversation someday, but right now I am more interested in what is happening to Thaddeus,” Dante said.

  Nobin went to open his mouth, and Lucifer narrowed his eyes at the genie, silently warning him. Nobin swallowed and nodded, then began to explain. “Right. Eakul. I am the eldest son of my father, Haasfeeze the Grand. I have thirteen brothers and nine sisters. Because of my great-grandfather’s beliefs, he enacted a law that any genie in his royal bloodline was to live out their life as a human until their thirtieth birthday, when they would gain their genie powers. So after the babe was born, they were loved and cared for until they were five. Then their memories of their genie family are washed away, and they are put in the human world.

  “In this world, each babe would be placed in a communal home for the times. An orphanage or as they say today, social services and foster care. I realize it is not the best of places, but it allows each of the royal genie babies to grow up without that elitist belief. Once the baby is grown into an adult and cast out of the human system at eighteen, they are allowed to do as they desire. The oldest brother is appointed to watch over them through their lives and make sure they are not put in any harm. Like a foster parent abusing them in any way. We want them humbled, not harmed. So as my siblings grew, I kept watch over them, and as each made it to their eighteenth birthday, I knew what they desired. Some wanted to become doctors, so I made it possible for them to find the funds to go to college and pursue that dream. Others wanted to find a true family, so I helped with that, and so on. Then once they reached thirty, their powers would come to them, but because they had no idea who they were and would probably end up hurting themselves or others, my great-grandfather put a clause into place.

  “If at the age of thirty, they made a wish from their heart—which is not someone wishing they got more sleep or had a sandwich from Subway, but a wish right from their heart and soul, a wish that came from deep need or heartache, desperation—then their genie powers would be released. A genie is born with their powers, but when we are placed in the human realm, a spell is cast upon us to bind our powers, and only this desperate wish can release them. The moment the wish is made, and the binding spell is broken, I show up to protect my sibling as their magic consumes them and they go through their transformation. Then once the
y awaken, I explain everything to them, and when they are ready to listen, help them control their powers.”

  “What do you mean ready to listen?” Jesse asked.

  “If you had spent all of your life thinking you were a human, then all of a sudden found out you were not and had special gifts and were pretty powerful, wouldn’t you kind of freak and not believe?” Nobin asked.

  Jesse’s eyes got sad from that question. Yes, the alpha mate knew exactly how that felt, and Nicco got sad for him, thinking of what Jesse went through when he found out who he really was and when his powers showed up. Jesse had to be taken into the Underworld with his real father, Phenex, so the Legion Warriors could help him control his powers, so he didn’t hurt anyone. “Yeah, I can imagine,” Jesse mumbled.

  “So that’s why you’re here? Thad made his desperate wish and you appeared?” Micah asked.

  “Yes. Some of my siblings have never made the wish, so their powers are still bound, but at thirty, Eakul made a heart wish out of pure desperation, so here I am. And it was so heartbreaking too. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything would be okay.”

  “Wait a minute. So his whole life you could see him, hear him, no matter where he was?” Viktor asked.

  Nobin’s eyes filled with guilt, and he began to bite his bottom lip. “Technically yes,” he said hesitantly.

  “What does that mean?” Dante demanded.

  “Although I can see him and hear him wherever he is for his whole life, and I can protect him without him knowing, there are times when I am not with him because I have to check on my other siblings. If one of them is in danger, I can feel it and immediately go to them.”

  “So are you the one stalking Thad?” Vik demanded with a fierce growl as his eyes turned red.

  Nobin’s eyes widened with fear, and he took a step back. “No. I would not do that.”

  “Then who the hell is it? If you have been able to see him and hear him, then you must know what he is running from now? The danger that he is in and who is behind it, right?” Vik asked.

  Nobin looked down at his feet, and Nicco could see from his body language that Nobin did know but was afraid to say. “Yes. I know who stalks Eakul and why. I have tried to stop him. I tried to block him so that the vampires could get Eakul away without him being able to follow, but I have been unsuccessful. Oshi keeps getting around my blocks and has been able to follow.”

  “Can we take a step back for a minute?” Nicco asked, and everyone turned to him. “You said that when they are eighteen, you help them get what they desire most, so does that mean it was you who put Thad on the path to rock stardom?”

  Nobin’s cheeks pinked as he began to bite his lip again and look really nervous. “Yes. I was responsible for that. I controlled that horse shifter guy, Lenny, and I appeared to Eakul as the guy from the record company and had him sing, then got him out to Hollyweird and got the record company to sign him on. But I didn’t give him his voice—that talent is all him.”

  “What are you keeping from us? I can sense you’re not telling us everything,” Lucifer said as he took a step toward the genie.

  Nobin’s eyes got wide again, and he took a step back. “He found his mate too young,” Nobin blurted out. Now it was everyone else’s turn to open their eyes in surprise.

  “What does that mean?” Dante asked in a voice so deadly and cold that even Nicco shivered in fear.

  “It is great-grandfather’s wishes, his laws, that we all go out into the human world to learn struggle. To learn about being humble and good. But Eakul found the vampire there too soon,” Nobin said and pointed at Nicco. “We are not to have our heart’s desire before thirty. Before we gain our powers.”

  “So let me guess,” Viktor said and moved closer to Nobin. “You are supposed to help them get their hearts’ desire, but Thad…Eakul, met his heart’s desire at sixteen, then at eighteen moved in with us so he could be with Nicco, but because of your great-grandfather’s rule, you couldn’t let that happen. You knew because you could see them, that Eakul and Nicco were in love and getting closer, waiting for Eakul to turn twenty-one so that by vampire law Nicco could claim him, but you couldn’t let that happen. So you gave him a new dream, didn’t you? Thad had never once talked about going off to be a rock star until the day Lenny said he played his CD to some record executive.”

  Nobin pleaded, “You must understand. If Eakul was allowed to mate his fated mate so young and not go out into the world to fend for himself until his thirtieth birthday, I feared my grandfather would come to this realm and take him away. If that happened, then all of Eakul’s memories from his life here as a human would have been forgotten. All of you, and even his mate.” Nobin looked to him and their gazes met. “If he did not leave you when he did, my grandfather would have come for him when you mated him, and he would have taken him and made Eakul forget you. I knew how much he loved you, and how much you loved him. I couldn’t let you both suffer like that. Eakul’s memories would have been erased, but he would have known there was something big missing and would have spent the rest of his days suffering with that hole inside him, never to be happy again. And you. Once you mated Eakul and claimed him as your own, you would have died without him. You would have never been able to find him because Eakul would have been brought back to our realm, The Twilight Moon. I know you and all your family would have ripped the world apart trying to find him, but you never would. Then you would have gone mad and died. I had to do something. If I took Eakul away for a few years and let him live a dream, then I could always return him to you when he reached thirty. Then if you both still wanted to be together and claim one another, then my grandfather wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

  “So, are you the one causing all this havoc in the world just so that Thad would come back here to Nicco?” Storm asked in horror.

  “Me? No. I can’t do things on that kind of a scale. Take up that beef with the damn pretty boys and their horses,” Nobin huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Who? And what horses?” Ryland asked.

  “The Four Horsemen of the apocalypse. Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. This total destruction of earth is their handiwork, not my kind.”

  “Are you fucking telling me the Four Horsemen are real, and they have been set loose on the earth, and this is the beginning of the fucking apocalypse?” Storm said.

  “Pretty much, yup.”

  Lucifer began to pace as he rubbed his hand across his mouth and mumbled, “I should have known, but there is no way. I don’t understand. Why the hell would the gods release them? Don’t we have enough shit to deal with? No, the gods wouldn’t release them. They set up a fail-safe for themselves.”

  “What do you mean, Lucifer?” Micah asked.

  Lucifer stopped pacing and turned to face them. “They all have to agree. If even one of the gods doesn’t, then they don’t do it. If they all agree, then they call in the Lamb. Jesus himself. Jesus is the only one in all of creation who knows where the book is hidden. And he would never break the seals unless all the gods came to him together and unanimously said to do it. There is no way Aurora would ever say yes to that. Especially not now.”

  “So Jesus did this on his own?” Ryland asked, shocked.

  “No, there is no way he would. He swore that even if it was agreed upon, he didn’t think he could ever do it. It would take some good convincing to have him make that decision,” Lucifer replied.

  “So then who? Jesus is the only one who knows where this book is hidden, and if he didn’t release them, then who has released the horsemen? But most importantly, how do we stop them?” Phenex said.

  Lucifer looked around at everyone with sad eyes and whispered, “We can’t. They will continue on what they were created to do until their job is done.”

  “Meaning?” Micah asked.

  “Meaning the complete annihilation of all the creatures on the planet, and then the total destruction of the planet itself,” Lucifer repl
ied.

  * * * *

  “I still don’t understand why you would scare your own brother like that. Making him think he had a stalker,” Vik said.

  “I told you—I didn’t do that. Eakul really does have a stalker, but it is not someone you can find,” Nobin replied.

  “What does that mean?” Nicco asked.

  “Oshi is a Jinn. He is the son to the leader of the Jinn tribe I told you about. Oshi’s father swore that he would bring the two sides together again, and the best way to do that was to bind one royal from each side together. Seeing as Oshi and Eakul were born on the same day, Jimu, Oshi’s father and leader of the Jinn, promised that Eakul would belong to Oshi when he came of age. A genie, or Jinn, does not come of age until they are thirty. So when Oshi gained his full powers on that day, he knew that Eakul would also, so he set out to find him so that he could claim what had been promised him and bring the two tribes back together again. But what that asshole Jimu forgets is that my grandfather and father, who are the leaders of our tribe, didn’t agree to this, and they will not allow it to happen. Even if Oshi gets a hold of Eakul and claims him, binding them together forever, my father and grandfather will never allow the tribes to join unless Jimu steps down as leader and the Jinn conform to what grandfather wants. They would have to follow the laws of the genie as set forth by my great-grandfather, and there is no way Jimu will ever do that. So if Eakul and Oshi bond, it is up to me to kill them both.”

  “You would kill your own brother?” Dante asked.

  “I don’t want to, but to keep the genie safe I would have to. It is my job as eldest son to watch over my siblings and to stop them if they take on the ways of the Jinn and become a threat to us or any kind.”

  “So essentially you are your brother’s keeper,” Jesse said as a statement.

  “Yes. All of them,” Nobin replied with a sigh.

  “What can we do to stop this Oshi from getting to Thad and claiming him as his own?” Dante asked.