Burning Hearts (25 page)

Jenna focused on a girl, about ten, wearing a
white tee and overalls. She looked sweet with blonde pigtails.

“
Oh, sorry,” Jenna
apologized. “You just startled me, is all.” She bent down. “Are you
all right? Do you need help?”

The girl’s gray eyes seemed strange, glassy,
as if in a trance. “Saladin requests your presence,” she said in a
programmed robotic voice.

Jenna froze.

“
What does he want with
her?” Malcolm asked the influenced girl.

The girl didn’t even turn to him, staring
into Jenna’s eyes, but not really looking.

“
Saladin requests your
presence,” she repeated mechanically.

“
Where?” Jenna
asked.

“
The Devil’s
Path.”

“
What’s that?” Malcolm asked
Jenna.

“
It’s a trail in the desert
that winds between two canyons. Legend says that if you follow the
path, you’ll find the Devil, who’ll grant your wishes.”

“
Sounds like a trap,”
Malcolm assured. “From both the Devil and Saladin.”

Jenna made no comment to this truth. She
turned back to the little girl. “When?”

“
Now.” The girl finally
broke contact and turned to Malcolm. “Saladin insists that the Mage
come alone.” Then she turned back to Jenna. “If you do not follow
his command, then the events of the past three days will be just
the beginning of his wrath.”

Jenna nodded. “I understand. Now run along
home and…don’t talk to strangers.”

The girl, obviously done with delivering her
message, blinked, looked around, confused, and then walked
away.

“
I’m coming with you,” said
Malcolm.

Jenna shook her head. “No, you’re not.”

He sighed. “Jenna, please! I can’t let you go
alone.”

She held his hand, massaging
it. “Malcolm, I love you, but you have to lemme go.
Alone
.”

“
I’ll follow,” he
threatened. “And remember, even if you wear your amulet, I can
still see you.”

She sighed, feigning resignation and
cooperation. She couldn’t allow him to follow her. “All right, but
let’s go inside. I have to get ready.”

He nodded, satisfied and oblivious. “I can
help you.” He held her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.
“We’ll stop them together.”

She gave him a smile. “Okay.”

They walked back inside her house that by
some miracle hadn’t been lifted and thrown to Oz when the twister
touched down the day before. Her parents were at the funeral home,
dealing with more and more death. She went inside her bedroom and
retrieved the dagger and amulet, pocketing the bronze necklace.

“
Malcolm,” she began,
adjusting the straps of the brown-leather sheath around her belt,
tightening it in place at her hip, “have you ever been in a
fight?”

“
No, but don’t worry.” He
smiled. “I got moves.”

“
What’re your weak spots?”
she casually inquired. “I mean, you’re half-human, so I guess what
I’m asking is—”

“
Where am I the most
vulnerable?” He paused, and then said, “Well, I’m weak all over
just like a human, but still stronger than most.” He smiled. “Not
as strong as a Mage, like you. But anywhere on a human that is able
to be seriously wounded will affect me as well;
if
I recover, it’ll take awhile.” He
kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about me, okay? We’re the good guys.
We’ll beat the bad guys and save the day.” He smiled again. “And if
there’s a horse around, we’ll ride off into the sunset.”

She wrapped her arms around
his neck like she’d done so many times, but
this
time was different as she
readied her hand to strike. “I hope you think I’m still good after
this.”

He furrowed his brow. “I don’t under—”

He was cut off by her not-so-gentle slap to
the back of his head. His fiery blue eyes widened in shock, and
then drooped, until finally clamping shut as he fell to the floor.
She checked his pulse. He was alive, but unconscious. She just
hoped that he’d stay down until she got to Saladin.

She gave him a featherweight kiss on his
lips, trying not to wake him out of his stupor. “Don’t be mad at
me,” she whispered. Stealthily, she slipped her hand in his pocket
and pulled out his car keys, as he lay on her rosy carpet,
comatose.

“
Love you,” she said softly
before departing.

THE DEVIL COULDN’T
MAKE IT

Malcolm’s Challenger flew fast outside the
town limits of Oasis, where civilization ended and the wilderness
began.

Jenna had been to the Devil’s Path only once
before. It’d been the summer of her ninth birthday, but the night
her grandpa had driven her out there, the weather had been cold and
biting. They’d paused at the beginning of the trail, beholding the
massive two canyons in the distance. She’d remembered cactuses that
spotted the desert sand around them, prickly to the touch. The
nocturnal animals that roamed the arid landscape had made their
presence known, each echoing their peculiar calls. The moon had
been bright and full, hanging low in the sky, as if it were about
to crash into the earth. There’d been a red tint to it; an omen of
death…if the legends were true.

Her grandpa had told her not
to be afraid, saying:
The desert consumes
those who show fear.

After taking in their surroundings, they’d
driven down the path, through the canyons, and had pitched a tent;
they’d roasted marshmallows and watched the sun rise, replacing the
red-tinted moon that’d turned out to be harmless. It was one of her
happiest memories.

Now the desert wasn’t so tame. It was dark,
oppressive, and the moon was shaped in a crescent, smiling
maniacally at her. But the animals remained quiet, submitting their
territory to a more threatening predator, something lurking in the
shadows, waiting to consume a wandering fool.

Well, Jenna was no fool. She knew what lay
ahead: the fight with Saladin and Fatima—the baddest of the bad
Jinn she’d yet to face. Fatima was the curve ball: would she
portray the lovesick, jealous, prone-to-overreact ex-girlfriend? Or
would she be cool, calm, and deceptively unthreatening?

Jenna parked Malcolm’s car in the middle of
the trail, between the canyons, and proceeded on foot, wearing her
amulet, invisible to her foes. The dagger was sheathed at her hip,
but she curled her fingers around the cedar hilt, prepared to draw
and kill the last remaining enemies of Oasis; and the last
remaining hindrance to Malcolm having a normal life with her, free
of the invading Jinn.

A snake with alternating red, yellow, and
black rings dared to appear, quickly slithering past her, not
caring to stop and bite. A few steps further, atop a rock, a red
scorpion skittered off and disappeared into a dark crevice of the
canyon.

A species apart, Jenna sensed their fear.

She kept walking, slowly, mindful of the
rocks on the trail. Even with her amulet, Saladin and Fatima could
see the effects of her movements. If lower level Jinn could sense a
distortion around her, Jenna was worried that the two royal
siblings could see more than that—perhaps an out-of-focus shape as
Malcolm saw. She hoped not. What good was an amulet that makes you
invisible if the enemy could still find you?

Yet, she kept it on. Any advantage, however
small, was better than none at all.

The trail ended. Where her grandpa’s tent had
been erected all those years ago was now an empty spot of
desert.

The Devil had failed to show.

Anticipating trickery, she unsheathed her
dagger, and took another step forward.

Suddenly the ground shook beneath her. She
steadied herself, ready. The desert sand rose up in front of her in
a magnificent dance, shaping into a grand castle with turrets and
waving banners. But this was one sand castle she couldn’t stomp out
with her foot.

The ground sunk in a circle around the
castle, creating a moat. Beautiful blue water filled the void. A
sandy drawbridge was lowered, bidding her entrance.

The time had come. She was ready, but
nervous, not knowing what to expect from the brother and sister tag
team of evil. She summoned up whatever courage remained in her soul
and walked with a fractured confidence across the sandy drawbridge.
Once passed, it collapsed into the moat; the sand descended into
the water, cutting off her retreat.

She held the dagger firmly as she traveled
under an arch, emerging in a courtyard of sandy fountains with
flowing waters. The sun’s rays followed her wherever she went, but
that wasn’t far. As she traveled up sandy steps to open sandy
doors, only sandy walls greeted her. There were no rooms. Despite
being aggravated, she was also amazed at the construction of the
sand castle that didn’t look like a typical castle from fairy
tales—but still simplistically beautiful. She had to remind herself
that it was the work of a demon, the bad guy.

And a skanky ex-girlfriend.

With renewed courage and purpose, she strode
forward, ready for the fight. She finally found the interior of the
castle when an open archway bid her entrance to a sandy hall. Balls
of fire, floating near the ceiling like small chandeliers
illuminated her way, but if there was a sure path to take, she
couldn’t find it. It was an endless labyrinth. Lost, unsure, she
took passages to only find dead ends. Her resolve to finally finish
the siblings kept her sane, and after traveling for what seemed
like forever, the sandy maze came to an end, forcing Jenna into an
enormous chamber.

It was the first real place that she’d found.
Actual chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but lit candles took the
place of glass bulbs. A balcony looked out upon the stretching
desert. Elegantly-carved cedar furniture was strategically placed
around the room for comfort, and a lone loveseat had a pair of
embroidered cushions instead of lovers. The rugs on the floor were
designed in an intricate Arabesque style of interlacing vines with
bloomed flowers and curved leaves. A black grand piano sat quiet in
one corner. On sturdy wooden shelves, red leather-bound books were
at attention like little soldiers. A multi-colored tapestry on the
wall told a story that she didn’t understand.

She stood in awe of such beauty and lowered
her weapon as she felt a pillow propped against the arm of a cedar
chair; the fabric was silky and warm. For the first time since her
arrival, she felt at peace.

But it wasn’t to last.

A deep male voice began to sing the opening
lyrics to “Rolling in the Deep.” He sang about his heart being on
fire, seeing her clearly, and giving her a warning to take him
seriously, capable of anything.

Jenna raised her weapon. She turned and
looked all around, but couldn’t find Saladin.

“
You like Adele?” she
inquired, trying to draw him out—and curious about his tastes in
music.

He didn’t take the bait, remaining unseen.
“Who doesn’t?” It was a rhetorical question.

She tried a more
straightforward tactic, and sang, “
Come
out, come out, wherever you are
.”

She could hear his smile as he said, “You
first, Jennifer Rosalyn Love.”

The way he said her name—her whole name—was
creepy; she would’ve preferred him to call her “Mage” like the
other Jinn. She took off her amulet, figuring there was no point in
leaving it on; he already knew that she was there.

“
All right,” she said,
placing it in her pocket. “Let’s get this over with.”

He chuckled, still unseen. “Why the rush?
We’ve just met.”

His voice was deep, alluring, and exotic. Not
rough as the other Jinn. But silky like the fabric of the pillow
that she’d so lovingly fondled earlier. Her body was hot all over
and it wasn’t just the desert heat.

She gripped the hilt of her dagger, worrying
about her sweaty palm. “I’m not one for prolonged greetings.”

“
But I’ve heard so much
about you. You’re uglier than they claimed.”

She rolled her eyes. “What
is it with you Jinn? I’ll admit, I’m no
America’s Next Top Model
, but I think
I look darn good considering all the stress in my life.”

He chuckled again, finding her amusing. “A
jokester Mage. Now there’s a first. The ones I’ve come across—brief
as our encounters were—seemed very serious about their work.”

“
I
am
serious. Now you can see me. Isn’t
it only fair that I can see you?”

Her heart was pounding away like a
jackhammer, afraid.

“
I’m here, Jenna. You just
need to look.”

Something was off. His voice was unnervingly
close to her ear. She couldn’t see him out of the corner of her
eye, but assumed that he was there, ready to emerge. Anticipating
his arrival, she quickly struck with her dagger, but the blade only
pierced empty air. She rotated in a 360 degree turn, waiting for
him to appear, but he stayed annoyingly hidden.

Her frustration came through
as she fumed, “Why are you playing with me? You’re the one who
wanted me to come here. Where’s your sister by the way? I’d
really
like to meet
her.”

Jenna could hear his smile. “She’s occupied
with our other guest.”

“
Guest?” She shook her head
in disbelief. “No, not Mal—”

“
Yes!” He sounded giddy with
delight. “Precisely him. Fatima has been so eager to see her lover
again. He was doing a very good job of resisting her, but that was
until you knocked him unconscious.” He chuckled. “When his Mirage
vanished, Fatima found her little half-breed.”