Nicole didn’t say anything in return. Why would she? There was no point in speaking if there wasn’t a question to answer.
The jinni obviously didn’t think so, though, because he kept going.
“I’m Kain.”
She didn’t answer.
“I heard my brother call you Nicole,” he said. “I think your soul must have been very special. No wonder Shay was willing to fight so hard for you.”
Again, she blinked.
“I’m sorry that I have to bring you to Marrow,” he said. “And while I know this doesn’t mean much to you now, I promise I’ll honor my brother by doing everything I can for you out there. Just like you did everything for him.”
Then the jinni left her sight. She heard his footsteps moving over to the counter. She heard him slide something heavy off the top. A moment later, he returned with the book in his hands.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Nicole responded immediately to the command in his voice. He didn’t have to touch her or guide her forward. She knew to follow, and so she did.
She walked behind him out the door of the shop and into the street.
Two men stood on the sidewalk opposite the shop. Both were tall; both were pale.
Marrow and a fae soldier. She knew who they were, but their presence stirred nothing inside her. Her pace stayed steady as she moved toward them.
The one named Marrow stared at her intently. His eyes narrowed as she drew close. His lips curled up.
“So, it’s done,” Marrow said to the jinni.
“It is.”
“And Shay Madrid?”
“Gone,” Kain said.
“Good.” Marrow’s smile widened. “Give me the book.”
The jinni handed it over without hesitation. Marrow opened the book, and ran his hands over the pages.
“See, I told you I’d get what I wanted,” he said to her. “I have you and the book. Now nothing can stand in my way.”
The jinni started to laugh. Marrow shot him an angry look.
“What’s so funny?” Marrow asked.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” the jinni said.
“What are you blathering about?”
“Oh, I think you’re about to find out,” Kain answered.
“Just for your insolence I believe you should be the first to feel my new power,” Marrow said.
He reached out and wrapped his hand around Nicole’s arm. The tips of his fingers dug brutally into her flesh, but she didn’t flinch. She didn’t struggle. She just went where she was taken.
Marrow grabbed her hand and slammed it down on the cover of the book. “Now, kill him,” he said. “Kill him, or I’ll kill you.”
Nicole blinked. She’d never killed before. She didn’t know how.
“I have no weapon,” she said.
“No weapon?” Marrow snarled in her ear. “You have the most powerful magic any of us have ever seen at your fingertips. Now, do the same thing you did when you banished us from your ridiculous shop, and tell him to die.”
She could do that.
“Die,” Nicole said the word.
Nothing happened.
The jinni remained upright, standing before them. The smile on his face grew.
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” the jinni said. “Not anymore.”
Marrow let out a growl of frustration that rumbled down the street.
Nicole blinked, her hand still steady on the cover of the book. Marrow glared down at it before bracketing his hand around her wrist and yanking it up.
“What is going on?” he demanded. “Why aren’t you dead? Why isn’t this mortal trembling before me?”
“That’s a question you need to ask her.”
Marrow whipped Nicole around so she faced him. “Tell me.” Drops of spittle from his lips sprayed on her cheek.
“The magic in that book was bound to me by soul magic.” Her voice was flat. Totally devoid of emotion. “I no longer have a soul, so I cannot access it.”
Marrow’s lips pressed together. His face began to flush. Red spots appeared on his cheeks, nose, and forehead. His grip on her wrist intensified, growing so strong that his fingernail bit into her skin. A thin trickle of blood ran down her arm before dripping off her elbow.
“You made your last wish,” Marrow ground the words out between clenched teeth.
It wasn’t a question, so Nicole didn’t answer.
Marrow’s eyes narrowed. “What did you wish?”
“For Shay Madrid to return to Elysium.”
The red blotches on Marrow’s face grew brighter. Cords stood out in his neck as his whole body tensed. Then suddenly, he tossed Nicole down at his feet.
She landed with a thud against the pavement. She didn’t try to stop herself or break her fall. She didn’t recoil or call out when the pain shot through her legs and back. She couldn’t. Her body was no longer hers to control. Everything inside her was an empty void. She stayed where Marrow threw her.
“And you,” Marrow hissed at the jinni. “You lied to me.”
The jinni shook his head. “I did not.”
“You told me that Shay was dead. That you killed him.”
“That might have been what you heard, but it wasn’t what I said,” Kain said with a laugh. “You only asked me if he was gone. I answered truthfully.”
Marrow howled with rage. He thrust his hand out to gesture at the lone soldier at his side.
“Skewer this insolent maggot,” he commanded the fae.
The soldier straightened up, even though his knees shook. Even without a soul, Nicole could see that the fae soldier knew this was a battle he couldn’t win. Still, he brought his halberd to his side, and pointed the blade at the center of the jinni’s chest.
Kain didn’t try to get out of the soldier’s way. He didn’t dodge, or take a step back. He merely waved his hand, and the soldier crumbled to dust there on the sidewalk.
Kain smiled up at Marrow. “Next time you should remember to have your sacrificial lambs wish for their own safety as well as yours.”
“You think that you’ve won? You both think that you’ve bested me? You haven’t.” Marrow glared over the jinni. “I can still kill you with my own hands when I’m done with you.”
“Done with me?” The jinni leaned against the wall of the building at Marrow’s side. “You forget. My bond to fulfill your lackey’s wish died when he did. That means I can do whatever I like. Has it crossed your mind yet that I’m the one done with you?”
Some of the anger left Marrow’s face. What looked like fear flashed in its place for a moment.
“Are you threatening me?”
“Funny question from someone who just instructed two separate people to kill me.”
“So why haven’t you done it?” Marrow narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”
“Want?” Kain laughed. “I just want to give you a fighting chance to save yourself before I erase every shred of your existence.”
“You want me to make a deal,” Marrow said flatly.
“That’s up to you,” Kain said. “Though if I were you I’d be hard-pressed to see any other option. You’re all out of underlings to do your dirty work.”
For a long moment, Marrow was quiet. Anger shone in his eyes, but also frustration. He had to know that the jinni was right. There was no doubt that the powerful creature could kill him with a thought.
“Fine,” Marrow eventually said. “Kain, I wish that you will deflect the harm that anyone tries to do to me and return it to them tenfold.”
The jinni closed his eyes and rolled his head back against the building behind him. Nicole knew he was feeling the rush of Marrow’s soul and soaking in the power it gave him.
She knew because she remembered that had happened between her and Shay. The memory didn’t stir any emotions, though. It just floated through the empty void of her mind before dissipating completely.
“I have to commend you,” Kain said. “That w
as very detailed wish.”
“I don’t care about your approval.” Marrow growled at him. “And don’t think this means you hold any power over me. Our deal is temporary.”
“What makes you think that?”
“As soon as I’m able to harness the magic inside this book, I’ll be more powerful than you can imagine. Powerful enough to sever the bonds of our deal and regain my soul.”
“That does sound like a powerful book.” Kain nodded slowly. “There’s only one problem. You can’t get inside it.”
“Not yet.” Marrow said. “But I still have the book, and I know where to find the soul that unlocks it.”
“But there are places that even the fae can’t go, and Elysium is one of them,” Kain said.
“True.” Marrow bent down and wrenched Nicole off the ground. “But something tells me I have the perfect bait to draw him out of it.”
Chapter Seventeen
Shay didn’t hesitate.
The moment he found Asphodel’s secret gate, he threw himself through. Once more the darkness between the worlds swallowed him, but this time he didn’t feel anything close to fear. There was no sadness. No trepidation.
He knew where he was going. He knew where he needed to be. He knew who he belonged with.
There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind. Certainty surrounded him as the cosmic pathway delivered him back to Earth.
The only surprise was when he stepped out he found himself back in familiar surroundings. He’d been fairly sure that the Elysium gate would take him back to San Francisco—after all, that was where it had carried Asphodel—but it had gone one step farther and delivered him straight back into the Starling’s bookshop.
Asphodel’s work, no doubt.
Shay sent up a silent prayer of thanks to both the Heavens and the long-gone jinni for making sure that Shay came right back to the place he needed to be.
At least, he assumed he was still in the right spot.
Shay rushed over to the window. Sure enough, Marrow was still there.
And he had Nicole.
The bastard’s hand was wrapped around her arm and she dangled from his grasp like a doll. She didn’t fight or struggle. Not even her eyes moved as he roughly dragged her out of the street and onto the sidewalk. Not one single emotion flashed over her face.
But why would it? She was an empty shell. Everything that had once been inside her now lived in him.
Sadness stabbed at Shay’s heart. Regret. Grief. All the terrible emotions that he’d done his best to avoid throughout the years. But he couldn’t escape them now.
He’d always known this could happen. From the first moment he’d felt the brilliance of Nicole’s soul, he’d recognized the pull that she had on him.
If he’d only walked away then…
But he hadn’t. And wishing for a different outcome wouldn’t change the situation they were currently in. He couldn’t save Nicole by drowning himself in a pool of guilt and shame.
You can either run from the consequences of your actions, or you can help make things right.
She’d taught him that.
Right now, he had do whatever he could to make things right for her.
Shay stepped back from the window and started for the door.
“Wait,” a voice called out before he touched the knob.
Shay turned around to see Emily and Fenrir coming in the side door. In an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Emily rushed to his side and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight.
“You’re back,” she said. “Thank God. I was worried we’d never see you again.”
“You were worried about me?” he asked.
Fenrir shook his head. “She was worried you’d trapped the rest of the exiles here on Earth.”
“There was only one I was worried about being stuck with for the rest of my life,” she said under her breath.
“I found another gateway to Earth in Elysium,” he said. “It must have been the same one Asphodel used to escape here years ago.”
Emily stepped back and looked up at him with a confused expression. “But why would you come back at all? You were already home.”
“Because Nicole is still here,” Fenrir answered for him.
Emily cocked her chin to the side. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
“I do,” Shay said without hesitation.
She let out a defeated sigh. “Great. Another friend lost to another exile.”
“I have to go.” Shay turned back to the door. Nicole was out there, and he didn’t know how much longer Marrow was going to let her live.
“Wait.” Emily grabbed on to his arm before he could walk away. “You don’t want to rush out there without a plan.”
“I have a plan.” Shay shook off her hold. “Kill Marrow.”
Emily wasn’t the type to be tossed off so easily. She wedged herself between Shay and the door. The look in her eyes was dead serious.
“That’s not going to cut it,” she said. “You go out there, and you’re going to get yourself killed. We’ve already seen it happen.”
Shay froze. “What do you mean you’ve seen it?”
“We tried to escape with Nicole after she sent you Elysium, but the jinni wouldn’t let us,” he said. “He zapped us up to your apartment with his powers, and sealed the windows and doors. Nothing unlocked until you arrived.”
Why would the jinni do that? Why wouldn’t he send Fenrir and Emily somewhere far away, someplace they couldn’t get back from?
It’s what he would have done if he wanted someone out of his hair.
Maybe that was the key. Maybe the jinni didn’t want them gone. Maybe he wanted witnesses.
But why?
“Quickly, tell me what you saw,” Shay said.
“We saw the jinni kill the fae soldier,” Emily rushed to say. “It was the coldest thing I’ve ever seen. The soldier raised his halberd and the jinni didn’t even blink. He just waved his hand, and the poor bastard instantly turned into a pile of ash.”
Obviously, protection hadn’t been a part of his wish.
“But more importantly, we heard Marrow make a deal,” Fenrir said.
Shay’s eyes widened. Marrow?
“You’re certain?” he asked.
“Positive,” Fenrir said. “Though it didn’t sound like he had much of a choice. The jinni was threatening to kill him.”
Really? That was interesting. Perhaps there was more to this jinni brother of his than Fenrir and Emily were giving him credit for.
Shay’s mind whirled as he tried to figure out what the jinni’s plan might be. Obviously, his brother was no fan of Marrow. Perhaps he wanted revenge on the bastard as well. It was an understandable urge.
What was harder to figure out was why he’d been so careful not to hurt Shay’s friends. Sure, the jinni had seemed truly unhappy to be sent to fight him, but that wasn’t uncommon.
All jinn shared a common bond. A brotherhood. A mutual respect that was born from the same homeland and life force, but Shay had never seen that same courtesy extended to other creatures before.
So, why had he been so careful not to hurt Shay’s friends? He wondered if that protection extended to Nicole as well. If so, it was quite possible that his brother was the reason she was still alive.
But pondering and guessing wouldn’t bring him answers. It would only waste more time, and cost Nicole her life. If he wanted to figure out what the other jinni was up to, there was only one way to find out.
Shay turned to Fenrir.
“There’s a lot of magic at play outside right now, and I don’t know what’s going to happen when I walk out that door,” he said. “I think it would be best if you took Emily somewhere far away from here. Somewhere safe.”
“You want us to run?” Emily asked.
“Yes.” That’s exactly what he wanted, and the faster and the farther the better. “The last thing I need is more lives to worry about.”
“But Nicole—” Emily
started.
“Is in good hands,” Fenrir finished.
“Easy for you to say,” she said. “My friend is being held hostage by a madman out there. I don’t care how big or powerful either of you are. No one is going to stop me from helping her.”
A proud smile spread across Fenrir’s face. “Do you know what a magnificent queen you will make one day?”
Emily had just enough time to shoot him a baffled expression before Fenrir wrapped one arm around her waist and hoisted her up on his shoulder.
“Good luck,” the wolf said and headed for the back door. A kicking and screaming Emily pounded him the whole way.
Shay waited until they were gone before turning toward the front door and stepping out into the street.
Both Marrow’s gaze and the jinni’s snapped his way as he stepped out onto the pavement. Nicole didn’t move at all. The steady rise and fall of her chest was the only sign that she was still alive.
“Shay.” Venom practically dripped off Marrow’s tongue as he spoke his name. “I was told you’d been cast back to the Realm.”
“True,” he replied. “But I found a way back.”
“And so quickly too,” Marrow said. “It seems you were motivated.”
Marrow raised his arm and lifted Nicole off the ground. Her feet dangled straight down, her toes inches above the sidewalk, but she didn’t struggle in his grasp. She didn’t move at all except to blink.
“I must have something you want,” Marrow continued.
Pure hatred rose up inside Shay’s chest. He wanted nothing more than to unleash all of his fury on Marrow and watch his flesh melt away from his bones. But it wouldn’t do any good.
Not while Marrow was under the protection of another jinni.
He forced his gaze away from his enemy and focused his eyes on the jinni instead.
“Brother,” Shay said, nodding in acknowledgement.
“It’s good to see you again,” the jinni said. “Though I have to admit it is a surprise. I thought I would find you in Elysium.”
“I found it a little lonely there.” He moved closer, toward the edge of his warding.
“You’re telling me that you gave up paradise for this husk of a soulless mortal?” the jinni asked.
Jinn: Exiles of the Realm Page 16
