I put a hand to the door and paused. Inside, the curtains were drawn, and in the lantern light, Prince Cao hauled something large and shadowy across the room. I placed a finger to my lips for Safiyya to be quiet. The princess crouched below me, and the two of us peered through the crack in the door.
The blue-eyed prince walked back across the room, carrying a gilded cage in his arms. He set it down on the desk and opened it. The bars were engraved with runes that I couldn’t read from this distance, and at the top of the cage, a large ruby the size of a fist glistened in the flickering light.
I didn’t tear my eyes away from the cage. Something about the way the gold shimmered in the light made it look enchanted. And the markings looked uncannily like they might be written in An Nimivah…
What’s Prince Cao doing with a magical artifact?
The prince reached down to a shadowy mound at his feet and pulled back a cloth. For a second, I glimpsed Prince Diyan, gagged and bound. Then a bright blue light blinded me. I squeezed my eyes shut, dazzled, and turned away from the door.
When I opened my eyes again, Safiyya still stared through the crack in the door, both hands pressed over her mouth in pure horror.
I followed her gaze and bit back a yelp. Where Prince Diyan had been bound just moments before there now sat a green bird, surrounded by a cloud of turquoise smoke. I froze, mute with terror.
What’s happening?
Prince Cao grabbed the screeching bird so hard its eyes bulged, then stuffed it into the gilded cage and slammed the door shut.
I gripped the elij. If I had to challenge Prince Cao, then I would.
Something from within the room groaned, followed by a scraping sound.
When I looked back through the crack, Prince Cao lifted a lantern from the wall in one hand, seized the birdcage with the other, then disappeared from sight.
The bird’s screeches faded, sounding more distant until we were left in silence.
“He’s gone,” Safiyya announced, her voice so loud I flinched.
I pushed through the door and into the shadowy bedroom. Only two lanterns were left alight, the room empty.
“Where did he–” I began, then stopped at the sight of a bookcase, open like a door. I turned to Safiyya. “There are secret passages in the palace?”
“S-some,” she stuttered, her eyes wide. “The servants use them sometimes. But I don’t know where this one goes.”
“Well, we’re about to find out.” I unhooked a lantern from the wall then turned back to the princess, who toyed nervously with the cuff of her sleeve. “Are you sure you don’t want to head back now?”
The princess shook her head violently.
“It would be helpful,” I tried, “for you to find Namir, or Elian, or Kassim. Tell them what happened.”
Safiyya just glared back at me.
Resigning myself to the fact that I had a princess and not a djinni at my side, I lifted the lantern and stepped into the dark passageway. The ring heated on my finger. That’s never a good sign.
I tried to keep my breathing quiet as I crept through the narrow passage, but it was difficult when my heart hammered in my chest. The stone felt cold, even through my shoes, and goosebumps ran up my arms. Even with the lantern gripped tightly in my palm, the darkness still seemed to close in on me.
Then the passageway divided before us. I halted abruptly.
“What is it, Zadie?” Safiyya breathed behind me.
I held the lantern up higher so she could see. “We’ve reached a fork…I don’t know which way to go.”
“What do we do now?”
I considered. We could go back for Kassim and the others, but who knew how far away Cao would have taken Diyan by then? Every minute we lingered in the passageway he grew farther away. We couldn’t lose him.
But there was another option…
Hoping I wasn’t making a big mistake, I called hoarsely behind me. “Safiyya…do you trust me?”
“What do you mean?”
I swiveled around, holding the lantern between us. The golden light reflected off her amber eyes, so strikingly similar to Kassim’s. Diyan’s words about the Astarian royal family being sorcerers echoed in my mind. Perhaps she’ll be sympathetic.
Without giving myself any longer to think about it, I rubbed the ring.
Soft, lilac smoke and the heady scent of frankincense filled the passageway. Safiyya took a step backward, her eyes wide with fright.
Tarak appeared in his preferred male form, his violet eyes focused intently on Safiyya. “Well, this is an interesting turn of events, princess.”
“Z-Zadie,” Safiyya faltered. “Is that…do you have…”
“Safiyya, meet Tarak.”
Tarak gave a small salute. “The pleasure’s all mine, princess.”
Before Safiyya could reply, the djinni snatched the lantern from my grasp, moving it to the right-hand fork. “I can still sense the enchanted cage that prince was carrying, but it’s already growing faint. Want to catch him or not?”
“Go on.” I flapped my hands at him, ushering him on, then glanced back. Safiyya bit down on her lip, her face still pale.
“He can help us,” I said in as reassuring a voice as I could muster.
She gave a small nod, but her bottom lip trembled.
We followed after Tarak, sliding through the narrow gaps between the walls and climbing up and down steps, the djinni sensing the trail of magic Prince Cao left behind. Soon, I lost all bearings.
“Look,” Tarak whispered, lowering the lantern slightly. Up ahead was a faint glimmer of daylight.
The spiral stairs opened up into a high-ceilinged room, which judging by the curved walls, I guessed was inside a tower. The stone was marbled with veins of black and lined with thin, arched windows that only let in slithers of light from outside. I wrapped my arms around myself with a shudder. Then I caught sight of Prince Cao, attaching the gilded cage to a chain hanging from the ceiling. Loud squawking and chirruping filled the air.
“Stop!” I cried, finding my voice and my feet at the same time.
Chapter Twelve
I ran straight for the prince, smoke stinging my eyes and throat, before finding myself standing between the two swaying birdcages…alone. I coughed, my eyes watering as I wafted my hands in front of my face to disperse the blue vapor.
“He’s a spirit!” Tarak appeared by my side, his warm hand clasped around my arm. He breathed in a lungful of the smoke surrounding us, his purple eyes glinting. “A djinni.”
Prince Cao materialized on the other side of the room, silhouetted against the window behind him. A soft halo of blue smoke surrounded his head
“Takes one to know one.” His voice sounded rough and hissing, nothing like Prince Cao’s usual smooth tone. He took a step forward, his eyes gleaming a supernatural turquoise.
“Buy me time,” I hissed to Tarak. But before I could say anything to the prince-djinni, someone else spoke first.
“What did you do with the real Prince Cao? Is he hurt?” Safiyya edged around the side of the room from the passageway, her eyes wide as she took in the djinni, her voice tremulous.
“As far as I know, your prince is still tucked up in his palace in Lyani, none the wiser, little princess.” The spirit gave a hyena-like cackle that had my hairs standing on end. “It’s odd. Your brother’s invite never reached him.”
So this spirit has been masquerading as Prince Cao the whole time.
“You can’t be that powerful a spirit if your party trick is turning princes into poultry.” Tarak examined his nails. “You’re letting the side down, blue-eyes. Where’s the fire? The drama?”
The imposter scoffed. “It’s called stealth, you ghul lover.”
“Ghul lover?” Tarak shrieked, pressing his hand to his heart in mock outrage.
The djinni let out a hissing laugh. “You’re right. As if a ghul would have you.”
Tarak grew to twice his normal height, his legs disappearing into a trail of purpl
e smoke that lifted him higher, until he was level with the spirit. “You must be bound to a grain of rice your powers are so weak! No, a grain of rice is too big. A grain of sand is more your level.”
Djinni-Cao scoffed. “I guarantee whatever I’m bound to is far bigger than whatever you’re bound to. I’ve seen more awe-inspiring imps than your feeble form.”
My heart hammered in my chest as I tried to tune out the jibes the djinn hurled at each other, trying to think of a way out of this. What did I know about djinn? They like to make deals.
But what could I offer this djinni?
My eyes scanned the room, searching the vast, marble walls for some kind of inspiration, but the tower was bare, save a bookcase, a grand desk, and a few soft furnishings.
Above us, the two djinn continued their verbal sparring match, each spitting insults about the other.
I bit back my frustration. Did Tarak always have to be so provoking? I glowered down at the ring on my finger…and froze. Djinn like to make deals…and they can be bound to objects.
Safiyya tugged at my sleeve. “What are you looking for?”
I looked over to reassure her, and my gaze snagged on the large jewel around her neck – the yellow diamond at the heart of her jasmine pendant that the fake Prince Cao had gifted her days ago.
“Hey!” I yelled up at the djinn, the elij still gripped in my hand. My gaze met the fake Prince Cao’s. “Didn’t Tarak tell you?” I switched to speaking in An Nimivah. “I’m a sorcerer. And if you don’t turn these princes back into humans, I’ll bind you to this world forever.”
The spirit began to laugh, a deep, booming sound that shook the room. “Nice try, but I’m already bound to this ghastly world of yours.”
The smoke roiled and churned in the air, then pooled down on the floor, materializing into a black tiger striped with fire, the flames burning with a blue hue.
“What is it with this spirit and animals?” I hissed to Tarak, trying to disguise my panic that my plan to bind the fake Cao to Safiyya’s necklace wouldn’t work.
“This enough fire for you? Enough drama?” The djinni leered at Tarak, stalking around the edge of the room and setting the gossamer drapes on fire. The thin, black fabric went up in flames instantly, the room heating uncomfortably, filling the space with a smoky haze.
“Oh spirits…” Safiyya scrambled back, coughing into the crook of her arm.
I held the elij in front of us, ushering the princess behind me as the flaming tiger prowled closer. I could feel the heat from the tiger’s flaming body, sweat dripping down my brow.
I would have to make another wish. I’d use my last four if it meant I could save Safiyya from getting hurt. But what could I wish for that would get us out of this situation?
The flaming tiger leapt toward us, and I swiped at him with the sword as we edged around the room with our backs to the wall. Safiyya screamed again, and I had to bite back a yell myself.
The tiger snarled at me. “If you really were a sorceress, you’d know that you can’t bind a spirit without knowing its true name.”
“Tarak!” I yelled.
The djinni leapt in front of us in the form of a leopard, sending the tiger careering back with a furious roar.
Tarak’s coat shone gold, every marking a perfect circle, as if it had been inked onto him. His long tail flicked back and forth, displaying a soft undercoat of purest white. He looked powerful and pristine.
Showy, as always.
“Tarak! How do I find out the spirit’s true name?”
The djinni made an impatient sound. “You can’t. Djinn never reveal their true names.”
I bit back my frustration at Tarak’s reply. “I know yours.”
“No, you don’t.”
I gaped at him. “Tarak isn’t your real name?”
“Now’s not the time, princess. We’re about to get mauled by a tiger made of fire.” Tarak deflected another fiery lunge from the tiger, and I cringed back as heat seared my skin. “Besides, you’re not a sorceress. You need magic in your blood to bind or free a spirit.”
My head snapped up at his words. For a moment I just stared at him, the obvious thing I had missed staring me right in the face.
The fire tiger whirled around with a low, throaty rumble, and the birds in the cages flapped and shrieked with terror.
Tarak spun around, his purple eyes narrowed. “Any more wishes up your sleeve, princess?” he asked in An Nimivah. “That sword’s not going to cut it with a being of smoke and fire.”
I shook my head, clutching the elij with both hands and glancing over my shoulder at Safiyya, who looked rapidly between leopard-Tarak and me, her eyes wide with terror.
“I think I have a solution…but for now, we’re going to talk our way out of this one. Head-in-the-smoke style.” I raised my brows, remembering the first time I’d encountered Tarak in the treasury and how terrifying he’d appeared.
I spun around and stepped toward the fire-tiger, the elij raised.
One second, the striking leopard stood at my side, and the next, it was gone.
The flames that had engulfed the room flashed blue-lilac, then died. Tarak’s head filled the center of the room, tendrils of violet smoke billowing from him, flowing and curling through the air like liquid.
Even though I knew Tarak, my body reacted with a primal fear at the head. He looked like a skull crossed with a wild animal, marked with slashes of purple and gold.
The nameless djinni paused its prowling, turning back into Prince Cao once more and looking up at Tarak as the smoke roved around the room like tentacles, coiling around the furniture and creeping along the floor until almost every inch of the room was tinged purple. The scent of frankincense was stifling.
“Now…” I took a step forward, the elij raised. “Listen to me. You’re going to turn those princes back into people.”
“I don’t answer to humans. That blade can’t harm me.”
I forced myself to laugh, to step forward with the easy sort of swagger Aliyah and the thieves had.
I took another step as Tarak’s smoke wrapped around me like a cloak. My body felt warm for a second, then it dissipated into a mist. Below, my clothes transformed into long, fluid robes of striking amethyst. I raised the sword, which burst into lilac flames, the blade glowing as if it had been rested in a forge.
Thank you, Tarak.
Behind me, Tarak’s giant head boomed with laughter, making the whole room tremble beneath our feet. The ring burned hot on my finger. I winced. Tarak was using every ounce of his restricted magic to put on this show.
Djinni-Cao took a step backward, his glowing eyes trained on Tarak.
“I’m willing to make you a deal, djinni.” When I took a step forward, my new silk robes whispered across the black-veined marble. “I know how your kind love making deals. How would you like to be free?”
The spirit-prince scoffed. “The sorcerer who controls me is powerful. Do you really think you could best them? You’re not even a sorcerer yourself.”
I laughed loudly, trying to channel Aliyah’s easy confidence as I paced before the prince, all too aware that he could snap his fingers and transform me into a beetle, or something else equally crushable.
I stopped laughing suddenly and whipped the sword up, pointing the tip of the elij at the spirit-prince’s throat. My face hardened as I whispered, “I’m not a sorceress…but she is.”
I pointed triumphantly at Safiyya. The blood drained from the princess’s face and she leaned back against the wall, her limbs trembling.
Please, Safiyya, I willed. Please, trust me on this.
The sword still glowed with a soft lilac light. Tarak cackled behind me, the sound echoing from the walls of the vast chamber.
The spirit-prince disappeared into smoke before rematerializing out of reach. His blue eyes didn’t leave Safiyya. “What’s this deal?”
Purple smoke whooshed toward me, Tarak brushing against my legs in his leopard form again, his tail waving fr
om side to side. “What are you doing now?” he hissed in a low voice.
I paced back and forth in front of the window, hoping I cut an imposing figure against the light in my long, dark robes. “You give us your name, your true name, and she can free you,” I declared. “When you’re free, you break the spell on these princes.”
The spirit-prince paused to think, his skin glowing with an eerie blue light.
I looked toward Safiyya, who raised her amber eyes to meet mine.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, princess,” Tarak muttered from behind us.
Prince Cao cleared his throat. “You have yourself a deal.”
Here goes nothing.
I stood, turning to face him. “I need to know your name. Your real name.”
With a rush of turquoise smoke, the prince-spirit shot forward, halting just inches in front of me. A wicked smile made the handsome prince’s face look feral. Then he grabbed my hand, the smoke twisting around my arm, so hot that it burned.
I gasped, trying to wrench my hand away, but he held on tight, the smoke hot and sore against my skin.
Tears pricked my eyes as the djinni yanked me closer. “It’s Chimaeus,” he hissed in my ear. The blue smoke flared up again as he disappeared and then rematerialized on the other side of the room.
I dropped my hand to my side, gritting my teeth. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts. I had to deliver on my end of the deal now. Otherwise, the princes might be stuck as parakeets forever.
I took a breath and held out my other hand, motioning for Safiyya to stand next to me. “Safi, I’m going to ask you again. Do you trust me?”
Her hand slipped into mine. I pretended not to notice how much she was shaking.
“Tarak,” I whispered, “I wish to know the spell to free a spirit.”
Warmth spread through me, letting me know my wish had been granted.
“Safiyya,” I said softly, giving her hand a squeeze, “in a moment, I’m going to need you to repeat everything I say. I’ll speak very slowly, but it’ll be in a different language. Can you do that?”
She nodded.
I cleared my throat, trying to look relaxed even as I gripped Safiyya’s hand so tightly, my knuckles turned white.
Palace of Wishes (2020 Reissue) Page 10
