So quickly he changed the subject, as if he hadn’t just killed a man. I frowned as I followed him toward the docks.
Perhaps he was right. The thief was likely one of the djinn’s minions. But killing him still sat wrong with me. My gaze roved over Damian’s back as we walked, imagining that I was seeing his wings.
Fallen angel.
Dark. Dangerous. He’d done what he thought he had to do, but I hated it. How could I ever trust a man like him?
8
We wound our way through the streets of Tayir for half an hour, and my anger cooled off a little. Although we were unfamiliar with the city, Damian’s seeker magic guided us directly to the sky docks, where he had booked us passage on the Jewel of Tayir, a flying merchant ship that sailed—or rather, flew—between the sky islands.
My breath caught as we founded the corner and entered the wharfs. We stood at the edge of the world. While a normal island would have been surrounded by water, Tayir was surrounded by sky. Step off the docks, and you would step into infinity.
The sky docks bustled with activity. Dozens of oddly sized wooden vessels hung in the air, bobbing gently in the wind. Many were ornately carved and brightly colored. My heart raced. I had never imagined anything like it.
As we approached our ship, Damian leaned close and said, “This is a merchant ship that runs between the sky islands. We’ll get off at Azura. It’s about twelve hours from here. The captain drove a hard bargain, but it was the only ship heading in that direction.”
The captain who met us at the gangway was a hawk-faced man dressed in wildly colored robes. He wore a stern expression and had seen a lot of sun. He threw his arms out wide when he saw me and beamed.
“Welcome, welcome. I did not know we’d have the good fortune of carrying a half djinn. What an honor.”
I smiled weakly. Did everybody in the Realm of Air know what I was?
“Your servant did not tell me we would be transporting such an illustrious person. We will have good luck on this voyage! Do you have bags?” He headed up the gangway. “Have your servant bring them up.”
I shook my head and glanced at Damian with a smirk. He scowled.
We boarded the Jewel with several dozen other passengers. It was primarily a grain hauler, though it was taking a load of fruit to the outer isles. The sleek and streamlined vessel had a raking bow and stern but was broad amidships. Magic runes carved into the bow and stern kept it afloat. They glowed and flickered whenever the wind rose.
As we departed the docks, the ship unfurled three massive triangular sails. Two were like wings, while the third rose from the middle of the deck. The crew climbed aloft, shouting to one another from the rigging. At first, it seemed like chaos, but I quickly realized it was a gracefully orchestrated dance.
I found a seat on the upper deck. The sails billowed in the wind as we rose above the buildings below. Up there, the city didn’t seem as large as it had from the ground. It was built on a massive chunk of rock—maybe two miles across, give or take—that floated in the sky. The heavily built citadel we’d seen on our arrival was positioned in the center, rising above all the other buildings.
“Who lives there?” I muttered to myself.
Damian took a seat next to me and handed me a leather water pouch that he must have bought. I was still salty about what had unfolded in the market, but my mouth was as dry as the Sahara, so I took the offering. The water was crisp and cool and tasted delightful.
As I drank, Damian turned and locked me with those brilliant green eyes. “Let’s take a look at your back.”
His anger seemed to have dissipated, replaced by an expression I couldn’t discern. I felt his energy wash over me. Warm. Strong. Comforting. It dampened the residual anger I had from our fight, but that, too, made me uncomfortable. He’d killed that man. I couldn’t forget that.
“I said it’s just a scratch,” I protested.
“I want to check on it anyway.” His voice was rough, and I didn’t feel like arguing.
I pulled my attention away from his hypnotic gaze and focused on the pain, then flinched as I shifted to let him inspect my back. The searing pain was spreading across my shoulders and down my spine.
“Okay,” I muttered, “maybe it’s not just a scratch.”
I peeled my jacket off, careful not to move my right arm too much. I felt the sticky dampness where blood had caked into my white blouse. I was hoping Damian didn’t expect me to take my shirt off here. The deck was empty, apart from a man who had fallen asleep on a bench across the way, but still…there was way too much chemistry between us for it not to be weird for me to get half naked.
Damian pulled free the book that was stashed in the back of my pants. “You went shopping?”
I shrugged. “It might be handy.”
“Perhaps,” he murmured as he inspected the gash. “This looks bad. The blade must have been tainted with magic. I need you to take off your shirt.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. We don’t have much time—the magic is spreading.”
Dang. The deck was still basically empty, and so I pulled my shirt off as gingerly as possible. Damian helped, his touch gentle. My heart raced, and I clutched my shirt over my chest.
He put his hand on the wound, and I gasped as his magic pulsed through me. The healing energy was warm, and the heat between us was impossible to ignore. His magic flowed into me, creating a connection that lit up all my nerve endings. I leaned toward him slightly, my mind going foggy.
The pain gradually subsided, and I felt my skin knitting back together, leaving a tender, itchy sensation. Damian didn’t remove his hand from my back. His warm energy continued to flow through me, and my skin erupted in goosebumps. I shivered, liking his touch far too much.
Please don’t notice, I begged the universe.
Of course he did.
He made a low noise in his throat and removed his hand. I felt a pang of regret, longing for his touch.
What was wrong with me? This guy was dangerous, and I needed to stop swooning. It wasn’t me.
“How did you do that?” I asked, clearing my mind.
“Despite what you may think, my magic isn’t all bad.”
I turned and looked into his eyes. They were a lighter shade of green than before, and I saw kindness in them. “So, you can heal. Is that part of your seeker magic, or…?”
“Angel. Most definitely.”
“Huh.”
There was a pause as he studied my face. “Ah…I see. You thought that since I was a fallen angel, it had to be something else.” A smile ghosted across his face. He did look angelic. “I’ve done many things…good and bad. None of them were because of what I am. I own my choices.”
Guilt tugged at me. Who was I to judge? I was half djinn, but that didn’t mean I inherently had a dark side, did it? I’d never considered that…
Then again, he’d killed that man.
Uncertainty tugged at me.
“What’s that tattoo?” Damian’s eyes had shifted to my right arm.
I looked down and nearly choked.
An intricate design snaked around my forearm. It looked like a tattoo in white ink…but I didn’t have a tattoo. Sweet fates!
I faltered. “Uh…my tattoo. I’ve had this for years. It’s just a doodle I designed.” I didn’t know what it was or why it was there, but I didn’t want to let on until I trusted him more.
“It’s beautiful.” He took my arm in his hand, gently turning it over. He traced the intricate pattern with his finger. It burned with heat where he touched. Good heat.
I looked at his face, feeling hypnotized. His lips were inviting.
Shit. Stop looking at his lips, I chided myself.
I pulled my hand away and took a clean shirt out of my bag. Fortunately, I had brought an extra set of clothes.
“Thanks. For the help.” I needed to get away. I couldn’t think clearly with him so close. It was like my mind and body were disjointed, each pulling me in a
different direction.
I snatched my book from the bench and headed to the observation deck at the prow of the ship, glancing back despite myself.
Damian watched me closely with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
I pulled my sleeve back and glanced at the underside of my forearm. The two spiral tendrils of white ink almost seemed like they had a life force of their own. I recalled the tingling sensation I’d felt after we planes-walked to the square. Was the tattoo tied to this place?
I looked out over the clouds, breathing deeply. The cool wind calmed my spirit. Time to focus on priorities.
Where was Rhia?
A couple passengers jostled around me as I found a seat and opened the book, in which I was immediately engrossed. The breeze blew my hair back as I skimmed the index and found the section on djinn powers. I had to learn more about what I’d done to the thief with my magic. Unfortunately, the book wasn’t an instruction manual—not that I’d gotten my hopes up. But it did speak of the djinn command over beings of air, the winds, and the storms.
As the hours passed, the other passengers retired below deck. The sky was a bright blue, and apart from a few thunderheads in the distance, there was nothing up or down—no land, no ships, no sign of civilization, just the sparse clouds and an occasional bird. An overwhelming sensation of freedom swept over me. The ship sailed at a steady clip, and I leaned over the railing, focusing my mind on the wind. The breeze quickened, and I opened my eyes.
I was hovering!
I lowered myself back onto the deck and gripped the railing. Oddly, I didn’t recall speaking the name of the wind. Still, it would be a good idea to practice.
I spent the next half hour practicing until I was confident I could levitate on command. I couldn’t zip about like a bird yet, but I was getting there.
Gradually, the winds strengthened and turned cold. I didn’t notice at first, but it soon became difficult to hold position in the air. The sky darkened, and low rumblings echoed around us. The dampness cut to my bones. When thunder boomed, I scanned the sky. The thunderheads from earlier had moved closer. In fact, it looked like we were headed right towards them. The Practical Guide had mentioned the unpredictable ice storms that blew through the realm. They were strong and dangerous, and you didn’t want to get caught in one.
Small chunks of ice floated around us.
Great.
As I turned to take shelter below deck, the ship suddenly shuddered, and I lurched against the rail.
“What the hell?” Had we hit something? No way, there was nothing out there.
Damian was suddenly at my side. I’d barely had time to wonder where he had come from when the ship quaked again, and I lost my footing. Damian caught me before I hit the deck. As he helped me to my feet, I felt the solid plane of his chest under his shirt.
I tried to ignore his grip around my waist, but heat zipped through me all the same. Fates. I needed to focus on what had just happened. “What did we hit?”
He let go of me and looked over the side of the ship. “I don’t know. But we’re turning.”
There were shouts from the deck below. Several crew members were adjusting the sails.
“Ice!” one of the crew shouted.
There was a loud crash, and then another. I turned, following the origin of the sound. A large chunk of ice shot down from the sky and exploded across the deck, sending shards everywhere.
I grabbed Damian’s arm. “Fates…is that hail? It’s massive!”
The storm clouds enveloped us, darkening the sky. The air grew colder by the second. Bolts of lightning flashed in the distance, and a deep rumble vibrated through the hull. Something moved below the observation deck just as another block of ice crashed onto the deck below.
“We need to take cover!” Damian gripped my arm, towing me toward the stairs.
“Wait.” I peered over the railing, trying to get a better look. What was moving down there? Another ice ball plummeted from the clouds, this time landing a few feet from us.
I pointed. “There!”
A strange creature rose by the mast. Its form gleamed, tall and translucent, as if its body was hewn of ice.
Holy fates, it was.
Icy spikes protruded from its shoulders and back. The creature turned and looked up at us with two black hollows for eyes. Horns protruded from its temples. It held up a spear and gestured at us.
I gasped. “Ice devils?”
9
The deck of the Jewel shuddered again, and I ducked as ice fragments exploded around us. Screams sounded from below. We had to get inside before one of those projectiles hit us.
I started for the stairs, but Damian stopped me. I followed his gaze. The ice particles that were scattered across the deck in front of us were moving and pooling together.
“Oh, shit.” Chills danced up my spine.
The pieces became one and began to grow, expanding until the thing was taller than I was. The devil morphed into its crystalline, bipedal form. I unsheathed my dagger and fell into a defensive stance, my knees slightly bent, alert and ready.
There was a thump behind us, and I pivoted. A second ice devil had scaled the railing and was moving to engage.
Damian shifted between us, thrusting his hand out to his side. A dark purple smoke boiled forth from his palm and took the form of a radiant black sword.
Damn. That was a nice trick.
At that instant, something scraped behind me. I turned as an icy claw swished past my face. I deflected the monster’s attack, and then another as he thrust in with an iron spear.
I dodged sideways and slashed his back with my dagger, slicing off a chunk of ice. He turned and whipped his spear in an arc. A blast of icy slush jetted from the tip of the spear and smashed into my chest.
Crap!
I staggered backward into the railing, my ribs throbbing.
The devil strode toward me, lifting his magic spear, ready to thrust it into my skull. I darted to my feet and leapt over the railing, dropping nearly ten feet to the deck below. I landed with a loud crunch, cracking the thin veneer of ice that now covered every surface of the ship, and barely maintained my footing.
This was going to be tricky.
Momentarily winded, I looked back up. The devil had turned his attention to Damian, who was now facing two of them. He extended his arm, and the first creature convulsed and flew over the side of the ship.
I was suddenly grateful for his magic, however sinister it seemed.
The other devil lunged toward Damian with his spear. He dodged it, but not in time. Damian shuddered as the point gouged his torso. He hissed in pain and looked down at the wound, then growled. With a powerful thrust, his black blade slammed through the devil’s skull.
The beast shattered into a thousand fragments, and my breath caught in my throat. Would they reform like the gallu had in the museum a few days ago? When the shards remained immobile, relief flooded over me.
But the sensation didn’t last long. I heard a clatter from above and looked up.
One of the devils was in the rigging, leering down at me. A second approached from my left flank.
I raced forward to amidships, hoping to get out of the trajectory of the one above. The creature to my left followed suit, glaring at me with those soulless eyes. His face was grizzled, and he stood at least a foot taller than the other devils.
“Man, you’re ugly!” I yelled, and darted toward the mast.
He growled.
I slipped on the ice as I rounded the mast, colliding palms first into the wooden deck. My wrists throbbed, but I forced myself onto my knees just as Ugly came in for the kill. He didn’t have a spear, but his razor-sharp fingers were just as deadly.
I rolled to my side as he lashed out. When I attempted to use my momentum to kick his legs out from under him, my foot collided with an immobile wall of ice. Swearing, I scrambled sideways, dodging his fist as it slammed into the deck. Splinters flew into the air, and I tried to ignore the pa
in radiating from my foot.
He swung again, and I instinctively reached up to guard my body. Suddenly, a blast of wind erupted from my palm, propelling the ice devil into the air. It landed with a thud on the deck, ten feet away but still upright and on its feet.
My arm tingled again, and I looked down at my hand. “Not bad,” I muttered. “What else can you do?”
Ugly bounded across the deck toward me. He was fast.
I sprang into an offensive stance and sucked in the cold air, whispering the name of the wind. Currents of air rose around my arm. When I jabbed my fist forward, I felt the wind surge off me. A gust hit Ugly in the chest like an invisible fist. He was unfazed, but I was sure I could use this.
Ugly snapped his arm out at me. I dodged by instinct as two giant icicles slammed into the mast.
Fates. This got shitty quickly.
I darted behind the mast as two more icicles shot through the air, which brought me face to face with Ugly’s brother. “Crap!” I ducked as he took a swing.
Damian must have heard my shout. He pulled a black bow from the ether and fired a burst of three matching arrows in rapid succession. One missed, but the other two flew home into the back of the ice devil lurching toward me. Each of the arrows exploded in radiant energy, and cracks cascaded through the ice devil’s body. The creature exploded in a burst of ice shards. One grazed my forehead, burning my skin like dry ice.
The air behind me chilled, and I turned as Ugly’s hand raked my shoulder. My jacket was thick, so his claws didn’t break the skin. Nonetheless, a searing cold surged through my chest, and I gasped. My lungs felt like they were freezing solid. I staggered to the rail, almost out of control, and convulsed as shivers wracked my body and panic flooded me. I looked for somewhere to hide.
There was nowhere to run, however, and so I turned to face Ugly.
He stood about fifteen feet ahead, grinning maliciously, and raised his arm.
Oh, shit.
An icicle shot toward me with lightning speed. I crouched and lifted my forearm to block it, bracing for the impact.
But it didn’t hit. The bolt of ice stopped midair.
Wicked Wish (Dragon's Gift: The Storm Book 1) Page 6
