Not a word from the others interrupted the intense air that filled the vehicle as we all watched, riveted to the orange car speeding along in front of a Chevy truck ahead of us. As the turnoff for the marine park approached on the left, I strained against my seatbelt, chanting, “Come on, come on. Turn, damn you!”
A gasp burst out of Harper. “You swore!”
“Oh, shut it.”
The Mazda approached the entrance flanked by two stone dolphins perched atop granite columns. The car’s brake lights flashed, and then the left turn signal. “Yes! They’re going in. So what’s the plan?” I twisted toward the back.
Connor and Amun hid grins behind their hands, and Elias edged away.
“What?”
Amun cleared his throat. “We continue following at a distance to see if Olivia is actually here to find the one we seek.”
“Okay, but we can’t all of us go or we might as well walk in tooting horns and announcing our intent.”
“Agreed. You go ahead with Connor—I think it would be too obvious if she sees the two of us together, and I’d trust Connor with my life—and the rest of us will follow in ten.”
He spun to look at Harper. “You’ve got your phone, right?”
“Yup.” She held it up for him to see while twirling the sweet in her lips. “Never leave home without it.”
“Can you lend it to Lou until we’re through here?”
She sighed, gave it a longing glance, and then handed it to Amun. “If it rings, Lou, don’t answer it or you might hear something that’ll make you blush. And don’t look at the texts for the same reason.” Giggling, she patted her shirt, winking up at Connor, who grinned back at her. “Got enough heat hidden under here to take down fifteen giants, so we’re ready to roll.”
“Do not shoot anyone unless you’re in imminent danger.” I took the phone Amun passed to me.
“Yeah, yeah, heard it before.” She flicked gold-tipped fingernails at me. “Stop nagging me, Mom.”
Our young driver pulled up to the front entrance, and my stomach burned at the thought of taking him anywhere near that witch.
“Elias should stay with the van in case we need to leave in a hurry.” I ignored his hurt expression and glared at Amun, expecting a protest.
Amun’s fingers curled over the seat. “Elias is capable and would give his life for the protection of his people, as we all would. I won’t let anything happen to him.”
Elias’s proud smile made my heart clench. I suffered another motherly urge to hug him, unable to bear the thought of him near danger, knowing what the water witch was capable of. More protests gathered on my tongue, but the males in the vehicle all pointed resolute stares at me, and we didn’t have the time. “And you say I’m stubborn.”
The Mazda pulled into a parking spot. The man and woman got out, still arguing. I opened the door to extend my senses through the soil, but Elias touched my arm, drawing it back as if he’d grabbed something electric.
“If they see you,” he said, “they’ll be gone before we catch up with this lady you’re after.”
“Good point.” It wasn’t worth the risk. I waited until they climbed the long expanse of stone steps and disappeared through the entrance before getting out of the van. Connor followed, smoothing out his dark green T-shirt, then settled a ball cap over his copper-brown hair.
“Be careful.” A hint of fear weakened Amun’s normally strong voice. “We’ll be right behind you. Text nine-one-one if you need us sooner.”
I nodded, offered him a smile of truce, and headed up the steps. I’d have plenty of time to figure him and his reasoning out later. We would have a later, I vowed silently.
Connor offered his arm, his storm cloud eyes twinkling with humor.
I stared at him for a moment before slipping my hand over his elbow. “This is just for the sake of cover, I’ll have you know. After your little stunt the other night, I’d rather be smacking you silly than pretending I enjoy your company.”
Laughter burst free from his mouth, a bright, melodious sound that made me smile despite our situation. “Amun had it half-right,” Connor said, holding the door open for me. “You’re not only adorable when you’re jealous, but also when you’re angry.”
I snorted at that. “I think you’re both a few Twinkies short of a snack pack.” Wondering when they’d had that conversation, I released him and strode into the vast lobby of the aquarium, pulling my hat down farther on my head.
Overhead, a skeleton of a whale hung from the ceiling that had been painted to look like the ocean in rich blues and sea foam greens. A quick scan of the ticket counters didn’t turn up either the man or the woman.
“There.” Connor gave a nudge of his chin toward a circular walkway that twisted around a giant columnar tank in the center of the building. The blonde woman, her arms crossed over her breasts, pouted at the floor while the man gestured toward the tank, chewing words at her a mile a minute.
So as not to draw attention to ourselves, I sent Connor to buy tickets while I feigned interest in a small tank set into the wall where hundreds of tiny jellyfish bobbed about in front of a sapphire blue background. Black light shone down on them, turning their bodies luminescent. My gaze kept darting to the pair to make sure they stayed within sight. I ached to know what they argued about.
“Here.” Connor handed me my ticket, and we went through the gates, handing them to a uniform-clad woman who punched holes in them and gave us maps in return.
“I have an idea.” I leaned in close and giggled to make it look natural. “Look around, but keep them in your sights. I’ll see if I can hear what they’re saying.”
“How?”
Pressing a finger to my lips, I backed away, heading the opposite direction around the tank to get to the underside of the spiral walkway. Fish of every size and color glided by the multitude of portholes open in the glass to allow glimpses into their underwater world. Bright coral alive with anemones grew in a tangled twist up the center. I’d never seen such a striking display. Whoever had done it was an artist, whose medium of choice must have been water. I didn’t need to stretch my imagination too far to know who it would be.
Once I’d come round almost a full circle, the couple’s raised voices filtered down from above. I pressed my ear against the stone, tendrils of my magic spreading out from my touch to extend my hearing.
“How was I supposed to know that’s the guy Celeste wants?” Olivia said through sniffles. “Once I figured it out, I stopped talking to him. It wasn’t like I did him, or anything. I don’t know why you think she’s going to be pissed at me.”
“Have you met her, you stupid girl? She’s as territorial as they come, and she’s about to mark Ironhill as hers. Now, go and grovel at her feet and hope to hell you said nothing to tip him off, or you’ll be feeding her fish for the next month until they pick your bones clean.”
She grunted as if he’d grabbed and yanked her forward. Their footsteps ascended overhead. Sniffling turned to sobs as they exited my range of hearing.
Bloody hell. What did that even mean? I dashed around the tank to find Connor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Amun, Elias, and Harper—her blazing hair tucked into a baseball cap—laughing and pointing at one of the displays on the far side of the room. Ten minutes hadn’t passed unless I’d inadvertently walked through a rip in time.
Connor met me halfway, his expression grim. “You’re pale. Why are you so pale?”
“I’m always pale. You need to get Amun out of here. The jinn, her name is Celeste. Apparently, she’s about to mark Ironhill as her territory, whatever that means.” I imagined her peeing on everything, hoping that wasn’t some jinn custom I wasn’t aware of. “And she wants Amun as…I don’t know, a lover I suppose, by what I gathered from that dizzy blonde. If Amun walks up there and Celeste sees him, our cover is blown.”
Connor’s grease-stained hands dug into the pockets of his jeans. “If she knew about Dom, then Harper’s going to be recogn
ized, too. And if Celeste knows Amun, she’ll have seen me before.”
Which left only Elias. Not on my life. “Then I’ll go alone and do my best to keep my face hidden.”
“You know Amun will never go for that. He told me what Isaac said to him about letting you out of his sight.” He narrowed his eyes at Amun. “Apparently he didn’t even trust me to keep an eye on you for five damn minutes.”
“I’m not asking him. If something bad happens, take Amun and the rest and get the hell out of Ironhill.” I headed for the spiral walkway, driven by a burning need to smash the woman’s head in. “If this piece of work thinks she’s claiming my city, I’ll drive another thought through her head with my fist.”
Connor called after me in a half-shout, half-whisper, but I dashed up, keeping my focus on the sand-colored tile lining the walkway. Solid wall gave way to wide glass panels, portraits into the saltwater world within. A hammerhead shark hovered in one. A fish as large as me and then some dominated the next, surrounded by smaller ones in shades of blue and yellow. It was a pity I hadn’t enjoyed the facility while I had the chance.
When footsteps approached from beyond the curve ahead, I slowed to a walk and turned to stare at an informational poster on the wall about sea turtles. Once the woman and laughing teenager disappeared around the bend below, I launched back into a run, listening for the couple we’d followed.
Harper’s phone vibrated against my hip bone, and then shouted to the tune of Pink’s Trouble, a song that summed my friend up perfectly. I pulled the device out and looked at the text on the screen: Where are you?
No time for chatter. I shoved it back in my pocket and continued on. Amun would have to trust me, and if Connor failed to keep him away, he’d find my foot not-so-gently against his rear.
The walkway widened to a landing. Beyond that, the space opened to a floor full of colorful displays, shops, and a hallway, above which a sign stated “THIS WAY TO AQUA CITY”.
Now what? Slouched forward, I walked a full circle around the main tank column in the center. The spiral walkway continued its ascent on the far side. I found no signs of Tweedle blonde or Tweedle bald, nor of Celeste.
If I were a water jinn, where would I be? My choices came down to continuing upward, or taking the door to Aqua City. My gut pointed me toward the latter. A nudge of the crossbar allowed me to pass through a set of double doors into a glassed-in bridge joining two buildings. Cars passed by on the street below as I did my best to appear casual. My backward and forward darting glances weren’t helping. At the late hour, I only passed one couple in their late teens.
Although uneasiness squirmed in my gut, a desperate need to rattle Celeste’s world kept me moving forward, ignoring the continued buzzing of Harper’s cell. It would seem Amun had grown impatient with me.
I stepped through an archway and found myself in another grand lobby. Cartoonish sea creatures dotted the shining white floors, waiting for children to climb upon them for photo opportunities. Along the opposite wall, another gift shop full of stuffed toys promised treasures for a lifetime.
A flashing sign hanging from the high ceiling announced an aquatic show currently in session, with an arrow pointing toward doors at the far end. Who better to train dolphins and whales than a water jinn? Yes, she would be there, I’d have bet my life on it. If Isaac didn’t already own it.
None of the patrons milling about seemed to notice me as I darted across the open space and headed for the show. Before entering, I took a quick glance behind to make sure Amun hadn’t come looking for me. No Elias, Connor, or Harper, either. Hopefully, they were searching the opposite end of the building for me by now.
Inside, stadium seating sloped downward, ending at an Olympic sized pool where a pair of seals played catch with the trainer standing on the edge. My fingers rolled into fists when I realized who wore the blue wetsuit: Celeste. I’d have known those emerald eyes and lilac hair anywhere. She tossed an oversized ball toward the seal to her left.
A fierce desire to tear her apart sent me forward a few steps before I stopped. With so many spectators around, I didn’t want to draw attention to my presence. Instead, I lowered myself into the nearest seat and gripped the empty one in front of me. Most of the crowd filled the lower seats, so the blonde and bald heads halfway up the opposite side of the pool stood out. Olivia appeared to be crying, her hands covering her eyes. The shaved headed guy stared down at Celeste with what I took to be reverence.
Why didn’t she have her fill of him?
Amun’s mine!
I raised a hand to my throat. Where had that come from? Even though I was consciously aware of the absurdity of my thought, it didn’t dissipate. Had jealousy driven me to confront Celeste alone? No such instinct had ever taken over me before. I needed to let go of my foreign anger and think it through. If I knew more about my people, it might have helped me make sense of it all.
“What are you doing?” A low voice rumbled against my ear.
I jumped and rammed my hip into the arm rest. “Ouch.”
Amun glowered at me from the seat to my left.
“What are you doing? I told Connor to keep you downstairs. If she sees you, this will get ugly fast, or she might just take off.” The cheering crowd covered my outburst.
He grabbed my hand and pressed it against his chest. His heart thundered against my palm. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through trying to find you for the last five minutes? I thought…never do that to me again.” Behind the anger flickering in his night forest eyes, fear peeked out.
A twinge caught me in the heart. I was still confused about whether he cared for me or viewed me as an object to protect. “I’m sorry. My instincts have gone haywire. This is all very confusing.”
I checked the show to be sure Celeste continued to wave her slender hands about, though the animals had been switched to dolphins at some point when I wasn’t looking. Her smile could have turned night into day, and even across the great distance to where we sat, her eyes shone like gems.
“She wants you, Amun.” I stared at him hard. “Tell me why, when I heard that, I had a sudden urge to rip her head from her body? I’ve never been the jealous sort. None of this makes any sense.”
His whimsical smile caused me to grind my teeth.
I gave his arm a shake. “Amun! Wipe that smug look off your face and speak.”
He cleared his throat, but before he said a word, the crowd clapped, stood, and filtered past our row toward the doors at the back. Apparently the show had ended.
Dammit, once the stadium emptied, she’d see us. I crouched between the rows, feigning a search for something I’d dropped. Amun did the same.
“Mercy mother of hellfire,” I said, shifting to face him. “What do we do now?”
“She’s going for that door.” Peeking between the seats, he pointed to a small blue door behind where she’d been standing. Before she arrived there, the blonde and shaved head reached her. Olivia fell to her knees, her hands clasped. Celeste pulled her back to her feet and shoved her toward the exit, glancing first one way, and then the other.
“How do we get down there without her seeing us?” I whispered, winded from sudden panic, glad everyone else had gone. “She can go anywhere from in there.” The solution to my problem could get away, slip into the smallest crack and disappear if she turned to water. I had to do something.
My teeth clenched again as I imagined my hands around her throat. “I will not let her leave this place.”
The instant the trio disappeared through the door, Amun tugged me to my feet. “Do you trust me?”
I searched his face, but found no hints as to what he meant. “Not really, no.”
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around me. “Yes, you do. Stay still, or I might drop you.” Wind swirled around us. Amun’s arms turned to air as the floor fell out from under my feet. Suspended in a vortex, I clamped my lips together to prevent screaming as we sped above the pool to the other side, the walls b
lurring in my vision. Dizziness rolled my stomach. My feet contacted the ground hard. I toppled forward, cracking my knees against the tile, uncertain which direction was up.
“Are you hurt?”
I blinked at the hand before my nose and the two faces hovering behind it.
“Baylou?” Amun touched my face. “Have I hurt you?”
I shook it off and climbed to my feet, trying to ignore his nudity. His clothes lay draped over the seats where he’d changed to air.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, tearing my eyes from the fine line of hair crawling south from his navel along a very sexy V of muscle that led to…I shook myself. “Just dizzy. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The blue door opened to a narrow hallway. “Left or right?” I asked, listening for any hint of sound. No voices carried from anywhere. I pressed my ear to the wall and called to the stone within.
“I’ll end this myself.” Amun blew away in a breeze that stole my breath.
“Amun,” I whisper-shouted, “come back here this instant!” I sprinted down the corridor after him. That infernal jinn would ruin everything. He needed to figure out how to go chameleon and retain his clothes.
Dammit, she’d see him!
Good lord. Of all I should have worried about, a woman seeing his business came to the forefront? Ridiculous.
Two exits presented themselves. The first led to a room that reeked of alcohol. A large tank sat in the center with harnesses dangling above it. An aquatic infirmary if I had to guess. The second opened to yet another hallway with several doorways along its length. The murmur of low voices greeted me.
I crept inside and eased the metal door closed behind me. A small squeak sent a jolt through me, but no footsteps approached. Maybe they hadn’t heard. Keeping to the balls of my sneaker-clad feet, I padded along with my back to the wall so I could look both directions from beneath the brim of my cap.
Stone Chameleon (Ironhill Jinn #1) Page 22
