“And he helped me, all right. I’d meant for him to make me a man—a son, so that I could inherit my father’s property, not be married off to ensure it. Instead he made me a jinni.”
“What was that like?” Oz asked after a few moments, after I fell silent.
“It was horrible,” I said, feeling a tremble start deep in my bones and work its way out. Only Oz’s hand in mine kept me steady. “He told me that he’d been waiting for me to come to him. That my wish was his command. Then he reached into my chest…”
I took a long, shuddering breath. Oz squeezed my fingers in sympathy.
“He reached into my chest, wrapped his claws around my heart and… it ignited. I’d never felt a pain so terrible. I thought I would die, of course, but I didn’t. It just went on, and on, and on, until I blacked out.
“And when I woke up, I was as I am now.”
“What happened then?”
“Well, I was no longer an eligible bachelorette, as a jinni. So my marriage was off the books. But I learned that day just how much of a piece of property I really was. My dad went ahead and let our house Magi Bind me, so at least I could be of use to the family.”
Oz winced. “Oh, Lyla. I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged. “It was the time.”
“But what happened to Kouros?” he asked.
“That’s the weird thing. When I came to, he was gone. I was out for a few hours, until one of our eunuchs discovered me. The room Kouros had taken me to, after I asked for his help, was a big empty room in a part of our palace we never used. I was found buck naked but for my Fire, lying in a room that was totally empty but that reeked of sulfur and was covered in ash.”
“Ash?”
“The kind jinn leave when they die.”
“Oh. So Kouros died?”
I shook my head. “No. There were a lot of piles… way too many for a single dead jinni. And what he did to me was hugely, crazily powerful for a jinni… but Kouros would never have cursed me if it would have killed him.”
“So why is hearing about red eyes making you react so powerfully now, do you think?”
I felt my heart skip at the mention of red eyes and I took a deep breath. “Who knows? Maybe because I’m so close to the curse being lifted? Or maybe that little thing Charlie said about me giving birth to a monster.”
“Yeah, what was that about?”
“I have no idea. But I can’t. Give birth, I mean.”
“Oh,” he said, as if that thought had never occurred to him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, my voice dry. “It’d be hard to explain never aging to the other PTA mommies. And God knows what I’d give birth to, what with not really being human or jinni, and all.”
Oz’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “Do jinn give birth?”
“They don’t pop up out of the ether, so yes. But it’s obviously a different process. More like… kindling a new fire. But they do mate and gestate, and everything.”
“They mate? Really? How?”
I couldn’t help but smile at his curiosity. “Are you asking as a scientist, or a voyeur?”
“Admittedly, probably a little of both.”
“From what I can tell, they sort of… merge. Jinn aren’t strictly corporeal the way we are. So from what I’ve been told, it’s more like they decide to blend, which feels good, and then they can decide to blend and procreate, although that takes a lot of Will and a lot of magic.”
“From what you’ve been told?” Oz asked. “So you don’t, um, mate like a jinni?”
I felt my cheeks grow hot but I tried to keep my voice normal. “Nope. My lady plumbing’s human, even if it no longer works properly.”
“Oh, well, that’s good,” he said, his pale skin flushing. “I mean, that’s good for you. I mean, not the part about your plumbing, but… would you like more water?” He reached over to the nightstand and held up my glass.
“Sure,” I said. We both needed a moment.
He went to the en suite bathroom and I heard the sound of water pouring from the tap, then a glass being filled. He returned and gave me the glass and I noticed his hairline and neck were damp, like he’d stuck his head in the sink.
“So what, exactly, did you make of Charlie’s vision?” he asked, once I’d taken a long draft of water and he’d settled back in his chair.
I toyed with the glass in my hands, mulling it over. “To be honest, I have no idea. And visions are assholes. But we did ask about Tamina. And what we got in reply wasn’t anything about you, or her, but about me and red eyes.”
“So you think you’re connected to all of this?”
“It seems ridiculous. But if Kouros is somehow involved…” My voice trailed off. I couldn’t begin to finish that sentence.
Oz sat back. “So what’s our next move?”
I put the water down on the bedside table, and then twisted around, curling up into a fetal position.
“You’re gonna have to practice your Calling,” I said, closing my eyes on the sudden wave of exhaustion swamping me. “ ’Cuz we need a jinni. A real one.”
I heard Oz get to his feet, and then a swoosh of fabric as the blankets were pulled up under my chin.
“Why?” he asked, smoothing the hair around my face.
“So many reasons,” I said, yawning. “Help finding Tamina. Ask about what happened to Kouros. How he’s connected to Charlie’s vision…”
“Okay,” he said, as my voice trailed off. Then, a moment later, “Do you feel better?”
I opened my eyes again. “Yes,” I said, surprise lacing my voice. “I do, actually.”
“Good,” was all he said, as he turned to leave.
“Hey, wait.” I took a deep breath. “Thank you for listening. And thank you for waiting till I was ready. For not commanding me to talk about it until then.”
Oz’s head reared back, expressing his surprise. “I would never make you do anything I knew you didn’t want to, Lyla.” I could tell he was horrified I’d even thought that way. I didn’t argue with him, for a lot of reasons.
“I know you wouldn’t,” I said, very quietly, after he’d left the room.
Chapter Sixteen
Feeling better after your night’s sleep?” Yulia asked, glaring at me critically.
I ignored her while I finished drawing the circle of oil on the tarp we’d laid in Charlie’s basement, taking a few deep breaths as I called upon my patience. The floors and walls were concrete, as it was easy to scrub, with sconces set in the wall for torches. We didn’t do much ritual work here in Pittsburgh, since most of the creatures one might Call couldn’t do dick without a clean power source. But old habits died hard, and every once in a while we needed the space.
Luckily, concrete floors also lent themselves to Charlie’s favorite pastime, and I also ignored the stuffed, half-stuffed, or not-yet-stuffed animals strewn about, not to mention the jars full of… substances.
“Lyla,” Yulia said, proving once again that she was much harder to ignore than jars full of internal organs, “I asked you a question.”
“Yes, I am feeling better,” I said. “Why?”
“You had such attentive nursing, is all,” she said, as sarcastically as a Slav could, which was pretty fucking sarcastically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re getting pretty cozy with that Master of yours.”
“How was I getting cozy, exactly? Considering I was sleeping?”
She glared at me mulishly. I knew she was worried about me, but I kinda wanted to punch her. Instead I began coating the oil in a thick layer of coal-flecked salt.
“He was like your frigging nursemaid. We told him you just needed to sleep it off, but he wouldn’t leave your side.”
“So? I had nothing to do with that.”
“He’s your Master, Lyla. Not your bosom buddy. What are you doing?”
“I am not doing anything. I passed out. I have no control over what Oz does or does n
ot do when I’m passed out.”
I realized that sounded bad even as I said it.
“Not that he does anything when I’m passed out,” I told her, hastily.
“He’d better not. Because I swear to the goddess if I find out he’s touched you I will slit him from crotch to tongue.”
“Wow,” I said, sitting back on my heels. “That was vivid.”
“Thank you.”
“You know, he’s not that bad.”
Yulia looked at me like I’d just asked her to shop at Payless. “What?”
I fiddled with the bag of sea salt and coal dust, studiously peering at the curves of the circle and adding a little of the mixture here and there.
“He’s not that bad,” I repeated, finally, wondering why I was persisting in this madness. Yulia would never understand.
And what exactly is there to understand? screamed the part of my brain that was as uncomfortable as my friend with the direction in which my mouth was headed.
Ozan and Charlie came downstairs just then, keeping me from getting murdered by my bestie, which was sweet of them. She glared between me and Ozan, muttering and waving her wisps, causing him to blanch.
“You feeling okay?” I asked Charlie, in an overly loud voice. He looked curiously at me and Yulia, but nodded amiably.
“Yes. How are you?”
“Recovered. Mostly,” I said.
We stared at each other, communing companionably in silence in the way of long friends. I knew he was worried about me, and I was acknowledging that I was worried about myself. Charlie sighed. “We should begin.”
I nodded, indicating that Oz should sit next to the circle.
“Why?” he asked.
“If your Will is strong, the circle will hold the jinni you’ve Called in its confines, until you’re ready to Bind it. It will also amplify your power,” I replied, “which we need. This isn’t a normal Call. There aren’t many jinn in North America, and none anywhere near Pittsburgh. So we’ve not only got to call one from Sideways, but also from a distance.”
Apparently satisfied with my response, Oz stepped close to the circle. I told him to go ahead and sit.
“We ready?” I asked everyone. I really only meant the question for Oz, as he was the only one who mattered. Yulia was here because she was nosy, and Charlie could help ask questions.
Oz nodded, and I began his instructions.
“Okay. First things first, you’ll need to command me to help you Call. I can feed you power.”
“Are you sure? You just recovered from the last bout.” Ozan looked worried. Yulia nearly choked on her own tongue.
“This’ll be nothing like that,” I assured him. “This is pretty simple. But like I said, we want some juice. Go ahead and command me.”
He did so, asking me to help him Call.
My jinni responded, causing me to wince as Pittsburgh’s steel-stained magic washed over my admittedly raw channels.
“I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth, when Oz said my name, jinxing Yulia, who said it at the same time.
Ignoring their shenanigans, I focused the filtered power at Oz.
“Focus,” I said. “Just as you were taught.”
Oz closed his silver eyes, focusing his Will. All magic worked as much on Will, on intent, as on raw power. I felt the power I was feeding Oz being channeled immediately outward. My Master’s Will was considerable, which surprised me. But it shouldn’t have.
I needed to stop underestimating my Master, on a number of levels.
“Now Call,” I whispered, feeding him even more power as I assessed how much he could take.
Oz opened his eyes, his Flare so bright even Yulia, a being made of light, flinched back. Charlie calmly pulled a pair of Dolce and Gabbana shades from his front pocket, as if he’d been expecting this to happen. Maybe he had. Despite having known him for centuries, I still wasn’t sure how much my friend Saw every day.
“Te vash anuk a si,” Oz said, his accent atrocious, but effective. He repeated the ancient jinni words of Calling, “Te vash anuk a si,” over and over, rocking gently back and forth as his Will built.
“Let it collect,” I instructed, gently. “Can you feel the circle binding the Call?”
Oz nodded almost imperceptibly, never ceasing his chant. The power built and built till it was sparking around him, visible energy waiting to explode.
“Can you feel a target?” I murmured. Oz nodded, a faraway look in his glowing silver eyes.
“Then release. When you’re ready, release the Call.”
He nodded again and a few seconds later, it was done. With a whoosh of power that made the torches gutter in their sconces, my Master Called with a strength and clarity that gave me goose bumps.
Within seconds a swirl of dark smoke formed in the center of the circle. It was so dark and thick it resembled a trickle of sludge, but it quickly grew, the trickle turning into a man-size tornado of smoke that began to coalesce. I shuddered, catching the sight of red eyes in the dark smoke.
What if we Called Kouros himself? I thought, nearly bolting in panic at the idea.
The smoke continued to condense, until a masculine, humanoid figure crouched on the tarp. He opened his eyes, glaring around the room at all of us with a furious scarlet stare.
He wasn’t Kouros, of course. He was a jinni of medium power, from the thickness and opacity of his smoke and the brightness of his internal fire, glowing from his red eyes.
“You Called?” he said, his voice full of barely contained wrath. The only reason he wasn’t killing us all was that the words of Calling effectively dampened a jinni’s powers, even if he wasn’t fully Bound yet, and the strength of Oz’s Will kept him contained in the circle we’d created.
“We seek answers,” Charlie said, even as I fed more power to Oz. Just because the jinni was Called didn’t mean he was happy, and my Master was feeling the strain.
The jinni’s eyes flicked around the room, and I felt his dampened Will reaching toward the power he could feel pulsing under his feet. But his Will recoiled with an audible snap when he tasted the filth in that power.
“Pittsburgh,” he said in a deep, smoky voice laced with disgust. “You Called me to Pittsburgh?”
I sighed. “Relax. We’re not Binding you. We just need some answers.”
The jinni looked at me as if he had only just seen me, although I knew he’d clocked me second only to Oz.
“Ah,” he said. “I should have known this is where you’d end up, you abomination. A filthy city for a filthy little bottom-feeder.”
I squared my shoulders, the sting of rejection having long since lost its real edge.
“My people,” I said, faking a sweet tone. “I’ve forgotten just how hard you suck.”
“And I’d forgotten what abomination smells like,” the jinni replied, unfazed, taking a long sniff of the air. “Rotten meat and rejection. What a disgusting cologne.”
I rolled my eyes. “That the best you can do?”
His eyes Flared, an intense red far darker and wilder than my own. My own Fire ripped up in response, standing above me in clear challenge.
“Put your hackles down,” the jinni said, waving a limb lazily at me. “I wouldn’t waste my power on a smear like you.”
He watched as I struggled to bank my Fire. I hadn’t been around another jinni since moving to Pittsburgh, and my natural defenses were freaking out.
I didn’t have a very good history with my smokier relations.
“That was pathetic,” he intoned, when I’d finally gotten myself under control. “How are you still alive?”
“As the lady says,” Ozan interrupted, pulling me back by the elbow so he stood in front of me. “We have questions.”
The jinni cocked its head at my Master, assessing him with burning eyes. “So this is what Called me? Another mongrel?” A slit of red cracked the black smoke of the jinni’s face at mouth level: a smile. “You two are suited to one another.”
Oz�
�s big hand wrapped around my own, causing me to start.
“I’ve heard it all already,” he said, calmly. “As I’m sure Lyla has too. So why don’t we get down to business?”
“Why did you summon me?” asked our guest. “You can’t do anything with me, not in this shit hole of a city.” The jinni eyed me again. “Although this explains so much.”
“Explains what?” I asked, despite myself.
“We were looking for you,” he said. The smile widened, not a nice effect.
“Why were you looking for Lyla?” Oz asked, although I already knew.
“We don’t like loose ends,” he said. “Or the abominations they’re attached to.”
“My end is anything but loose. Now stop wasting our time. Where’s Kouros?”
The creature blinked at me. “What?”
“Kouros. We need to know about Kouros. Where is he?”
The jinni shook its head. “Oh no, little mongrel. We’re not talking about Kouros. Anything but that.”
I’d been expecting general noncompliance. “Then we Bind you. And ask you Bound.”
“I still won’t answer.”
That would be tough to do, Bound. But I didn’t bother to argue, instead keeping with the threats. “Then we leave you in this cage until you get hungry. And the only power available is our Node.”
That brought the jinni up short. I felt his magic reach, touch the steel-tainted juice beneath our feet, and withdraw like a burnt paw. The jinni would have a little fat reserve of magic, of course. But if he burned that off, he would need more, like a human needing food for energy. Unfortunately, like cakes in which the sugar had been replaced with rat poison, our magic was deadly.
“You bitch,” hissed the jinni.
I shrugged. It was accurate enough. “First off, what happened to Kouros?”
I thought that was the best place to start. Maybe Kouros was dead and I was wrong about Charlie’s vision.
Please tell me he’s dead, I thought. The jinni didn’t.
“Even if I tell you where he is,” he said instead, “you’ll never find him.”
Jinn and Juice Page 14
