Gale Force (19 page)

‘‘Excuse me,’’ I said to the guy behind the counter. ‘‘I came in with a guy, a little taller than you, brownish hair, kind of long—’’

‘‘He left,’’ the guy said. ‘‘Said he’d be right back. I figured he’d just gone out to the car or something. He’s not out there?’’

I checked again. No sign of David anywhere. I waited out in the darkness, indecisive, and paced. Manolo Blahniks weren’t meant to be paced in, but I wasn’t taking off my shoes on the stained concrete of Moe’s All-Niter, either.

I finally stopped and said, ‘‘David?’’ Just in case he was there and watching, though why he’d do that I couldn’t imagine.

Someone answered me, but it wasn’t David. ‘‘He’s gone,’’ said a little girl, standing in the shadows at the edge of the building. She didn’t move, but she emerged from the darkness, as though the lights had brightened around her, and I saw that it was Venna. Venna was one of the most puzzling Djinn I’d ever met, and that was saying a lot; she was the only one I’d ever seen who preferred the form of a child, and she usually liked to dress in Alice in Wonderland-style blue, with a white pinafore. Long blond hair, held back by a simple band, and big china blue eyes.

There was absolutely nothing human about her right now. The clothes—the body—were a disguise.

I took a long step toward her. ‘‘What the hell did you do to him?’’ I blurted. ‘‘Where is he?’’ Showing aggression probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do in this situation; Venna could be deadly, although she’d also been my friend more often than not, and saved my life a few times. Putting her on my bad side wasn’t a good career move.

But I couldn’t stop myself.

She didn’t react. Her hands stayed folded, but her eyes flashed a more intense blue, just for a second, and I found myself unable to advance. My heart raced, and I shuddered in every muscle, trying to fight, but it was useless. She had me shut down.

‘‘Ready to listen now?’’ she asked mildly. ‘‘I’m sorry, but you’re angry. I’m just trying to be sure you don’t hurt yourself.’’

I hadn’t known Venna was capable of doing this. I hadn’t known
any
Djinn could do this, not so easily. Not against someone of my strength level.

As if she were reading my mind, too, she smiled. ‘‘Don’t be scared,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s only because you have so much power, so many ways to get inside you. If you were any other Warden, I couldn’t do it at all.’’

‘‘Except for Lewis,’’ I managed to say, and her smile took on dimples.

‘‘I’d never do this to Lewis. Lewis would never make me.’’

As always, there was this subtle tone in her voice when she mentioned his name—all the Djinn had it, a kind of puzzlement, or awe. I’d gotten to my current status as a triple-threat Warden, controlling weather, fire, and earth, through a series of circumstances— died, reborn as a Djinn, then reconstituted as a human,
then
granted Earth powers by my half-Djinn daughter turned Earth Oracle.

Lewis had just been born that way. One in a thousand years, I’d been told, and nobody since the original—Jonathan, later leader of the Djinn—had displayed so much raw power from the outset.

If I were Lewis, that comparison alone would make me very, very nervous about my future.

Venna studied me for a moment, then nodded. I felt the force gripping my muscles let go. I lurched forward, then got control and glared at her. It had all the impact of an ant glaring at a galaxy a few billion miles away.

‘‘David has been summoned,’’ she said. ‘‘He’ll return to you as soon as he can.’’

‘‘Summoned? Who summoned him?’’

That earned me a pitying look. ‘‘Who can?’’

Oh. Mother Earth. I couldn’t fight that, and neither could he, whatever his original intentions. ‘‘Why would she do that?’’

‘‘Her reasons are her own. Perhaps she wants to keep him away from you for a while.’’

‘‘Why?’’

Venna shrugged. ‘‘Some say you’re corrupting him.’’

‘‘You’re sure Ashan doesn’t have some ulterior motive here?’’ Because for better or worse, Venna had gone with Ashan when the Djinn had split between Old and New; I didn’t think she belonged there, because she seemed genuinely curious about humanity, if not exactly caring. ‘‘What’s going on?’’

Venna shrugged. Not her business to wonder such things. ‘‘I was just dispatched to reassure you.’’

‘‘You’re doing a great job so far.’’

She cocked her head, her gaze growing sharper. ‘‘Is it true? That David intends to pretend to be human for the rest of your life?’’

I cleared my throat. ‘‘We’re getting married, if that’s what you mean.’’

It obviously was. Her cute little-girl face scrunched into a frown. ‘‘Why?’’

‘‘If you have to ask, there’s no way I can explain it.’’

‘‘Are your sexual encounters not currently satisfying? ’’

‘‘Venna! I know you’re not a child, but really, that’s just creepy. And personal.’’

She looked surprised, then thoughtful. ‘‘So many rules,’’ she sighed. ‘‘All right. I accept that I will not understand your reasons. But do you understand the risks? There are many of your people who won’t approve. Many who don’t like the Djinn at all, and want us to leave you alone.’’

‘‘Can’t imagine why,’’ I said dryly. ‘‘You’re all just so darned nice.’’

There was that smile again, mischievous and dimpled. I thought she must have copied it from a young Shirley Temple, but for all I knew, it could have been a young Cleopatra. She didn’t take the bait.

‘‘How long is he going to be gone?’’ I asked. She shrugged. ‘‘Well, should I wait?’’ Another tiny shrug, as if it didn’t even matter enough to her to waste the energy on a gesture of indifference. ‘‘Let me say it another way: Can I go?’’

Venna rolled her eyes, a shockingly human gesture for her. ‘‘Please,’’ she said. ‘‘Go. I do have better things to do.’’

And she misted away, just like that. I was on my own.

I felt alone, driving away from the truck stop; I’d entered it feeling peaceful and excited and happy, and now I was back to living on the edge. All because Mommy Earth had yanked David’s leash. That could happen any time, and I’d forgotten about it, or wanted to. The car felt empty without him, and I felt exposed.
So much for my 24/7 protection,
I thought, but then I felt guilty. Was that why I wanted him? To make myself feel safe? Boo. Boo on me.

Sunrise dawned warm and clear, and by the time the heat grew oppressive I was upstairs in my apartment, eating a small container of yogurt. Exhaustion was blurring my eyes, and I didn’t care much about eating—hence the yogurt, which wasn’t really eating, per se. All I wanted to do was take a shower and nap.
Can’t do anything until David comes back,
I reasoned.
Might as well rest up.

Instead, after my shower (which was every bit as wonderful as I’d anticipated) I ended up, phone book and phone next to me, parked in front of the Internet, obsessively researching so I could cross off items on my wedding checklist. I was puzzling over the catering problem—$18.95 per plate for a meal that was going to be served on
plastic
? Really?—when the phone rang. I picked it up immediately, thinking it would be a callback from the florist.

Instead, it was Cherise, and man, was she
pissed
. ‘‘You don’t trust me,’’ she said. ‘‘I can’t believe you!’’

‘‘Where are you?’’ I asked in alarm, because I’d left strict instructions that Cherise could not be seen or heard from, under any circumstances, until this charade with Kevin and Rahel was over with. ‘‘Cher—’’

‘‘Oh, relax, this is a secured line. My buddies from the Wardens and Homeland Security all say so, plus my own personal Djinn bodyguard. So I’m being a good little convict,’’ she said. ‘‘By the way, thanks for booking me at a nice hotel. Lewis said I could order room service any time I wanted, but no bonking the waiters, no matter how hot they are. Oh, I’m ordering movies, too, and you guys are paying. Even if I order porn.’’

If that was the worst of it, I’d gladly pony up the cost of pay-per-view. ‘‘You need anything? Clothes?’’

‘‘What’s the point? Not going anywhere. I’m just lounging around in a T-shirt. It’s like a pajama party, except I’m going to get really bored with painting my own toenails. So I’m going to call you and take it out on you.’’ She paused for a second, and her tone grew more serious. ‘‘Is this really dangerous? You know, for Kevin?’’

‘‘Maybe.’’ I couldn’t be dishonest with her, not Cherise. ‘‘But he wanted to do it. In fact, he kind of insisted.’’

‘‘He would. Rahel’s doing me, though, right? So he’s covered?’’ She made it a question, painfully eager for reassurance. I swallowed hard.

‘‘He’s covered,’’ I said. ‘‘Rahel’s smart, and she’s strong. If anything goes wrong, she can get him out.’’

Not if she can’t see the danger.
But I’d fought that battle with David, and lost. All I could do was hope that Kevin, whom I’d properly prepared with all the information I had about the antimatter, would be able to recognize trouble coming and help her avoid it.

‘‘These Sentinel people. Do you know who any of them are?’’

‘‘No,’’ I said. ‘‘Well, one, but he’s dead now.’’

‘‘Then how do you know who you can trust?’’

‘‘I trust you,’’ I said. ‘‘I trust Lewis. For this, I trust Kevin. I always trust David. But believe me, my trust circle’s getting smaller all the time.’’

‘‘Good. Maybe you won’t get yourself hurt quite as often.’’ I heard the TV come on in the background, and the bed creak. ‘‘Okay, I’m going to my happy place. Russell Crowe movie festival, baby. Sorry you can’t be there, but if you decide to come over—’’

‘‘I’m not in New York,’’ I said, ‘‘and even if I was, going to see you would blow our whole operation.’’

‘‘I guess.’’ She sighed. ‘‘Okay, Mr. Dreamypants is on. Call you later?’’

‘‘Yes,’’ I said. ‘‘Hey, Cher?’’

‘‘Yeah?’’

‘‘Do you know any good caterers?’’

Cherise’s question about the Sentinels stayed with me the rest of the day, as I went about my so-called normal life. If anybody had turned up likely suspects for the Sentinels list, they weren’t sharing it with me. No sign of David, and no messages from beyond. I got calls from various Wardens either congratulating me about the upcoming marriage, or fishing for gossip about the confrontation with Kevin. I answered honestly to both, so far as it went. I didn’t try to hide my frustration with Kevin, but I told them it was Lewis’s problem, not mine.

None of the phone calls had seemed overly strange, but my paranoia dials were all on high. I couldn’t rule anyone out.

Hearing my doorbell ring only made my self-preservation alarms go off. I was boiling pasta. I took the precaution of turning off the burner—in case I died, no sense in burning the building down again— and went to look through the peephole.

It was David. Oh. I
had
told him to start acting like a human, hadn’t I? I needed to get him his own key. I unbolted the door and swung it wide—

David lunged forward, grabbed me by the throat, and drove me back to the wall as he kicked the door shut. It was a real threat; his grip was bruising my neck, making parts of me panic in fear of imminent strangulation. I grabbed for his wrist, which was stupid, and tried to get a scream past his hand.

No good.

He smiled, and I recognized the expression. It wasn’t David’s, although he was wearing David’s face. I croaked out, ‘‘Don’t you fucking pretend to be him!’’ and David’s body shrugged, and the Djinn morphed into his more usual form.

It was Ashan, leader of the Old Djinn. Venna’s brother and boss, and the least likeable creature I’d ever met, including the ones who’d tried to kill me. Ashan was a cool, smooth, handsome bastard, all chilly grays and ice whites, and he didn’t care for people at all. He liked me a good deal less than that. ‘‘I’ve come for a purpose,’’ he said, ‘‘but I don’t need to hear your prattle.’’

I made some incoherent noises, which got the point across that his grip on my throat was impairing my ability to curse, and he finally let up enough to allow breath in, profanity out. After the profanity, I got my pulse rate dialed back from Going to Die to Total Panic, and said, ‘‘What the
hell
are you talking about?’’

‘‘You brought this on yourself,’’ Ashan said. He emphasized that by slamming me back against the wall with painful force. ‘‘I was content to let you live, but you, you push, you always
push
.’’

‘‘Let go!’’
I snarled. He must have sensed I meant business, because although he didn’t obey instantly, he finally released his grip and stepped back. Not far back, though, and the cold fury in his eyes stayed in place. ‘‘Where is David? What have you done to him?’’

He slapped me. A solid man-slap, one that I was not prepared for; it burned and I felt a wave of total rage crest at the top of my head and flow down every nerve ending. Somehow, I held myself back, but my hands clutched into convulsive fists. ‘‘You will destroy him,’’ Ashan said flatly. ‘‘I care nothing for you, but I
do not want
another war among the Djinn, and you will bring it on. It is best if you disappear from this world before you can rain destruction on all of us.’’

Word had gotten around fast, even on the outer reaches of the aetheric. I hadn’t expected the Djinn to approve, but I hadn’t expected
this
. ‘‘All because we’re getting married?’’ Venna was right about one thing: The two of us engaging in a little sexual adventure hadn’t bothered too many people. It was the wedding that was pissing them off.

‘‘It is a vow,’’ Ashan said. ‘‘And a vow is, for us, unbreakable. Do you understand? You will bind him to humanity, and he is the Conduit.’’

All at once, I got it, and it was like a second, harder slap, only this one was directly to the surface of my brain. ‘‘Oh crap,’’ I breathed, suddenly not angry at all. ‘‘You mean that by taking vows to love and cherish in sickness and in health—’’

‘‘Through him, all of the New Djinn could also be bound,’’ Ashan said. ‘‘Conduits to the Mother must
not
make such vows. We became slaves the last time such was made. I will not allow it to happen again, not for such small gain as your personal happiness.’’