Lianna nodded, ashen faced. No one else in the room said a word. Something was definitely missing from that story. I hoped it didn’t mean something bad for me.
“Josie, please leave us,” Lianna said.
Josie scurried from the room and slammed the door behind her.
“How do you know Gabriel?” Lianna demanded.
“Uh, I don’t. I don’t know anyone. I don’t even know who I am, remember?” It wasn’t the complete truth, but until I knew more, I wasn’t going to give them anything until I trusted them. I didn’t trust anyone at the moment. Just when I thought things were starting to make sense, things fell apart.
The goddesses stared at me for several moments, and then Kathryn let out a squeak. “What if she’s Bast?”
I rolled my eyes. Now they were talking crazy. “I’d think I’d know if I was Bast. Seriously, I’m seventeen years old. I don’t know who I am, but I am not some ancient goddess.”
“You might be. She was searching for a way…” Lianna stopped.
Kathryn glared at her, then glowered at me. “Why don’t you think you’re Bast?”
“Because I have weird memories. I know I have a brother, for example. And you tested me when I came in. I have the equivalent of a high school education. Don’t you think if I were Bast, I’d try harder to hide it? Besides, wouldn’t Goddess Lila’s test have shown if I was her?”
“You have a point,” Kathryn replied. “But you might not know that you’re Bast.”
“Actually, my test isn’t that exact,” Lila said. “We just know you’re close. I don’t have obelisks for any original goddesses, so there is no way to know for sure.”
Lianna sank into her chair. “Well, we’ll trust for now that she isn’t, but we should definitely do some further digging. What you did to that Jinn wasn’t easy, and I’ve never seen someone so young do it.”
“What did I do exactly?”
“You were able to get ahold of his true essence and send it away. It’s the closest thing we can do to killing them. Not all goddesses can do it. When you command him away while hanging onto his soul, he and his vessel effectively disappear. They always come back, but it’s usually a longer period. It takes a few hundred years for someone to find their vessel instead of a month or two.”
I sat up straighter. This was exactly what I wanted to hear. I had a power they didn’t, and I would seduce and persuade my way into the hearts of every Jinn I could find and send them away for hundreds of years.
I gasped.
“What?”
“My mother could do this, couldn’t she?”
“What do you mean?”
“The letter said that she was sought out. I bet she was good at sending them away for a long time.”
Lianna rubbed her neck and grimaced. “Not many goddesses can do it, and even fewer are that comfortable getting that close to the Jinn.”
The other goddesses watched us. Far too many people knew of my skill. I’d have to be careful who I trusted. Something was off about this. But I needed to hang out for a while longer and learn everything I could. Then I’d be able to take out any Jinn.
“This also doesn’t explain Gabriel. He knows you and wants you safe. No Jinn would try to protect a goddess. Something with him changed as well. He killed Jasper,” Lianna said.
Kathryn rolled her eyes. “According to that Jinn. He might not know what he’s talking about.”
“But if he did, that means Bast succeeded, and we have a new Djinn.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“Gabriel, come to us,” Lianna said.
The anticipation in the room was palpable, but nothing happened. Guess they didn’t have a new Djinn after all. If we had, Gabe would have had to come, because Djinn had to come when the goddesses called them. It was their sole weakness. Though the goddesses said Samir found a way to ignore the summons. Maybe Gabe had as well. At this point, it didn’t matter to me what he was.
Gabe and I were about to have a very long talk. And as soon as I had the answers I wanted, I was going to put him away for a long time. We might have been in love once, but now, I felt nothing but contempt and anger.
Someday, I would find that Jinn who killed my mother, and he would never again see the light of day. That much I knew for sure.
Chapter Fifteen
Liv
I was officially on every goddett’s bitch list. Maybe even a few of the younger girls as well. Josie was over the moon excited for me.
“I can’t believe I’m rooming with an official goddett. Course it’s because none of them would take you, but still. I feel special.”
I loved this girl. She was my only friend. I wondered if my old friends, the ones I had before I lost my memory, were this amazing.
“I wouldn’t want to room with one of them anyway. Besides, you’ll be joining us soon.” After they finally decided I wasn’t Bast, or sleeping with Gabe, they reluctantly made me a goddett. They probably wouldn’t have done that if they thought I was going to bail, but it didn’t matter. Maybe Josie could come with me. She could do the magic, and I could catch the Jinn. It wasn’t a bad idea.
“I couldn’t even get that Jinn to budge. How did you do it?” She flopped onto her bed.
I shrugged. “I dunno. I really don’t.” I could do it. It didn’t matter how.
“We need to find out more about your past. Someone should be able to help us. I bet you’re already some badass goddess, and someone put you here as a practical joke.”
“I doubt that.”
Gabe’s words came back to me. He said I was in danger. But from who? As far as I knew, the Jinn were the only dangerous ones. Maybe some psycho Jinn was after me. I bet it was the same one who killed my mom.
Bring him on. I would send him away for hundreds of years. Maybe I should give Gabe a chance. Let him tell me what he knows before I put him away. If he could lead me to the murderous Jinn, then I would be that much closer to my revenge.
But I couldn’t leave the castle again until Saturday because they only let us leave on the weekends. Could I wait that long? No. I could not. Time to plot a sneak out. Josie would definitely help there.
Someone knocked on the door, and Josie answered it. She brought me a box.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who’s proud of you.”
This was odd. I took the box carefully.
The box squeaked. I scrambled for the lid. Inside was an adorable black kitten with bright blue eyes. He meowed up at me.
“Oh my goddesses, you are Bast,” Josie exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes and pulled the kitten out of the box. “I am not Bast.”
“Why on earth would you get a black kitten? She always had black cats running around.”
I shrugged. “Because I’m descended from her.”
She reached into the box and plucked out a note and handed it to me. I set the kitten on the floor, and he went bouncing around the room chasing a string he pulled from Josie’s bed.
I opened the note.
Heard you passed your test. Thought I would send him back to you as a gift. His name is Tokyo. –G.
“Why would I name a cat Tokyo?”
Josie frowned. “The bigger question is, who’s G?”
“I don’t know. It could mean anything. Gina. Goddess. Genevieve. Grandma. Can we keep this between us? I don’t want Goddess Lianna getting the wrong idea or anyone hurting Tokyo.” If I could keep him a secret until the weekend, then I could claim I got him from town. Lots of girls had pets.
Tokyo had disappeared under Josie’s bed.
“Yeah. We should probably keep him a secret altogether. Other people are going to think you’re Bast too. Rumors are already flying.”
I let out a breath. I only needed until Saturday. Then I would get all the answers I could. I’d ask my questions, and then I’d send Gabe into a vessel. He wasn’t going to get away. Maybe Josie and I would leave then and not return to the castle. After all, by then I�
�d have all the info I’d need.
A squeal erupted from under Josie’s bed, and Tokyo came flying out, Cupcake chasing after her.
“Cupcake, no!” Josie screeched.
I raced for Tokyo, but before I could get to them, Cupcake raised her hood and bopped Tokyo on the head. Tokyo leaped for Cupcake and wrapped her paws around Cupcake’s body. Cupcake flung her off, but Tokyo went right back after her, squealing.
Josie laughed nervously. “Um. I guess they’re going to be friends.”
I watched the two of them carefully. Cupcake never opened his mouth, though he did use his head to throw Tokyo off. After a while, Tokyo got tired and curled up in a ball. Cupcake wound around him and laid his head across his body. Now I’d seen everything.
“Well, we know no one will hurt him. Not with Cupcake protecting him,” Josie said.
“I still would rather not tell anyone, at least not until this weekend.” I hesitated for a moment. Could I trust Josie? Yeah, of course I could. “Do you like it here?” I asked.
She drew her eyes away from Cupcake and Tokyo.
“Not really. But you already knew that.”
“If… if… I ran away, would you come with me?”
She cocked her head. “Why would you run away?”
“To avenge my parents. Now that I can catch Jinn, there’s no reason for me to stay here.”
Josie sank onto the bed next to me and put her arm around me. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. I can’t catch Jinn yet, and you still need to learn how to do magic, but after we become full goddesses, I’ll gladly come with you.”
“I don’t think I can wait that long. I can teach you how to catch a Jinn, and you can teach me how to do magic.”
“You don’t even know how you did it.”
“Yeah, but after a few times, I should be able to figure out how to show you.”
She shook her head.
I let out a sigh. I didn’t want to go at this alone, but I would if I had to. Nothing was going to stand in the way of me and my revenge.
Chapter Sixteen
Gabe
You know that was stupid.” Ali sat down next to me.
“What was stupid? I’ve done a lot of stupid things lately.” The list kept getting longer. After talking to Dylan, Ali and I had spent a lot of time trying to find Bast, but didn’t have much luck. So I’d reverted back to pouting and whining about Liv. Nothing seemed to be happening, and it was incredibly frustrating.
“Sending her the cat.”
London jumped up into my lap and purred.
“Maybe.” I scratched him behind the ears. “What I can’t figure out is why her grandmother left them all behind. I got the feeling she liked them as much as Liv.” I hated the thought of Liv up there alone with nothing from her past. Sending her Tokyo seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I wanted her to know I was still thinking of her.
“Bea probably knew we’d take care of them.”
“She’s a goddess. I’m surprised she doesn’t think we’ll eat them.”
Ali chuckled. “Well, Mel likes having them around. She was whining earlier about Tokyo being gone. That cat is going to put more suspicion on Liv.”
“So?”
“So, you know she caught a Jinn, right? The school is going nuts about her origins.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes. Of course I knew. It’s why I sent the cat as a congratulations gift, or at least that’s how I’d hoped she’d taken it. But I only knew that because I overheard Ali telling Melissa. “Yeah, you know the cat wasn’t the most stupid thing I’ve done recently.”
“What else did you do?” Ali shook his head.
“I talked to her last week.”
Ali hit me on the shoulder. “What the hell did you go and do that for?”
There was no explanation, so I just forged on, knowing he’d react badly. “She knows I’m a Jinn.”
Ali jumped up. “What are we still doing here? We have to get out of here. The goddesses will rip apart the town looking for us.”
“No. I’m not leaving her.”
Ali gripped his hair and growled. “They’ll find us. I’ve spent the last eight years with Melissa. I’m not about to go back into a bottle because you let something slip. We’re leaving today.”
“I understand, but I’m not going with you. I’m staying here with her.”
“If those goddesses figure out you’re a Djinn, you’ll be under their power for the rest of your days.” Ali glared at me.
“Yeah, probably. But how are they going to figure that out?” Ali was completely overreacting. There was no way they’d discover I was Djinn. I wasn’t leaving Liv behind.
“I’m just saying. You have to be careful. Mel and I are leaving. I love you, man, but I am not risking everything for that girl.”
I glanced up at my one and only friend. I’d miss him, but I understood. If the tables were turned, I’d be saying the same thing. “I totally understand. Can I have your contact at the school so I can keep tabs on what she’s up to?”
“Of course. I’ll introduce you tonight. Then Mel and I are out of here.”
I nodded, and he left the room. I was about to be alone. I could do things just fine on my own, but lately I’d been so lost. I needed Liv. Everything felt so pointless without her.
I was pathetic.
Two hours later, Ali sank down on the couch next to me. “Melissa won’t let me go.”
I had to hide my grin. Melissa might yell at me sometimes, but she cared more about me and Liv than she ever let show.
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
He let out a breath. “No. She’ll just be mad at me for telling you. But what’s next? I’m not going to sit here in the house and wait for them to come.”
“We try harder to find Bea. She took away Liv’s memories. She can give them back.”
“How do we do that? She doesn’t want to be found. We’ve done everything we can.”
I thought for a second. “Could we use a tracking spell? Like we did for the sickle?”
“That was an item. Not a person.”
“You’re telling me the witches can’t track a person?” We could go to the witch we used before, but she’d probably want to kill us because I lost the sickle. But it was a chance I was willing to take.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’d have to ask. Let me see if I can get Dylan to come over,” Ali said.
“Dylan? Shouldn’t we be going to that witch who helped us find the sickle?” Dylan was a useless prick.
“Hardly. Did you forget? She wants the sickle.”
I frowned. “But Dylan’s just a kid. Don’t you know more powerful witches?”
He chuckled. “Believe it or not, I don’t make it a point to befriend witches. I actually know very few. Besides, Dylan is more powerful than you think. He’s the one who told me about the witch who did our tracking spell, but I have a feeling he could’ve done it on his own.”
“Why didn’t he then?” That would have saved us so much grief. It was hard for me to reconcile Dylan with someone who had immense power. He was too young and dumb. Mostly, I wanted to punch him in the face because of the way he looked at Liv.
“Because he hates your guts,” Ali said with a smirk.
“What makes you think he’ll help us now?”
“Because of Liv. Let me call him.”
“Okay. Thanks. This means a lot to me. I know this is risky, and I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“You realize this could backfire, right?” Dylan asked. He sat at our kitchen table, chowing down on Melissa’s lasagna.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Old ones, goddesses, witches, vampires, whatever, they know how to protect themselves, and summoning them often has gruesome consequences.”
“What makes you think Bea is one of them?”
“Maybe she isn’t, but I don’t want to take that chance. I only do tracking spells on humans with no
supernatural powers at all. I wouldn’t even do it on Liv.”
“What if she was in danger—kidnapped or something?”
“I still wouldn't do it. Whoever kidnapped her might have put a booby-trapped spell on her if someone tried to locate her. I’ve heard of witches being killed because of it.”
He was being completely unreasonable. He was our only hope, and I couldn’t believe he was trying to talk us out of finding her. I slammed my fist on the table. “There has to be something you can do.”
He smirked at me. “Don’t like feeling helpless?”
“I’m doing this for Liv. Bea may be the only one who can give her memories back.”
“Liv’s missing memories don’t affect her at all, but if she doesn’t remember you, then she’ll never love you again. Don’t pretend this is anything different.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn’t. He was absolutely right. This was so that Liv would love me again. Not anything else. I ignored him and ate my own food. At least Melissa knew how to make this meeting a little more bearable.
“Gabe may be doing this for selfish reasons,” Ali said, “but it is imperative that we find Bea. She holds answers that Liv needs. Plus, without her memory, Liv is in more danger. She wouldn’t know that Samir is out to kill her. She probably wouldn’t trust him because he’s a creep, but she won’t know to be cautious of him either.”
Dylan flicked his eyes between the two of us. “You know, my life was easier before you guys came around. I’ll need to go home and get some things, but then we can see if we can find her. But I’m going to protect myself first. I won’t do that spell and risk Bea killing me.”
I let out a sigh of relief. We’d find Bea and convince her to give Liv her memories back. Then we’d talk about her future. She was safe in the goddess sanctuary for now, but as long as Samir was out there, her life would always be in danger.
After we got Liv back to normal, Ali and I would have to redouble our efforts to find and kill Samir.
The Glowing Sands (Sons of the Sand Book 3) Page 8
