The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (23 page)

“She
probably won’t kill you right away. She’ll want to figure out what you are
doing here.” I smile, trying to encourage him, but I know I am not doing a very
good job. All I want to do is find Jered and leave this horrible place.

Gabe
readies himself by throwing his head back and shaking out his limbs. I try not
to laugh. He licks his lips and pulls at the door, which creaks open with an
ear-piercing screech.

Mira
is on him in a heartbeat. He is thrust up against the wall by his throat.
Inside the room, Sophie sits straight up on a small cot. She looks frightened
but unharmed. Her eyes are red from crying, and I see Little
Leela in her hands.

“Who
dares disturb my mistress’s domicile?” Mira asks. It isn’t very well like Gabe
can answer, since she’s crushing his windpipe. She waits, examining his face as
strangled sounds escape him and a deep shade of purple creeps up his cheeks.

I
motion for Sophie to run behind me. Just as the Djinni senses me, I pull my
arms up into the air, and Mira is lifted from the ground. Gabe slides to the
floor, then scrambles up and toward the doorway next to Sophie.

“Put
me down, you bitch!” Mira screams. It takes almost all my power to keep her
still. The moment I let go, she will be free to retaliate. The only thing I
could possibly do is conjure lead restraints. But I cannot bring myself to do
it.

Gabe
pauses at the threshold, waiting with wide eyes. Sophie hovers behind him,
still clutching her doll. He knows if he leaves, I will have to do so too. I do
not know what to do.

In
my mind I still see Mira there, cowering in the corner, unable to rip her eyes
from what remains of her lover. I see Taj crying like a child at Cephas’s feet.
See my own fingers holding the thing still around Mira’s neck.

My
hands tremble. Mira has grown silent and remains pressed against the ceiling
staring at me. What does she see? Does she see a monster? A murderer? A
traitor?

“I
will hold her here.” Taj’s voice in my ear startles me.

“But–”

“Yes,
I have a lovely butt,” says Taj. “No need to thank me, it looks ever so much
fun. Now, go save that handsome master of yours.”

“But–”

“Yes,
he also has a nice ass. Too nice to get beat to a pulp. Now go.” Taj’s hands
rise toward the ceiling, and I feel the burden lifted from my own. He refuses
to make eye contact with me.

I
lean in and kiss him on the cheek. Gabe’s face is white when I rejoin them,
but I focus my attention on Sophie.

“Let’s
get your brother and get out of this horrid place.”

“It’s
going to be hard,” Sophie says, tugging on my hand.

I
scoop her into my arms and follow Gabe back down the passage. “Not with all of
us working together,” I tell her.

“No.
I mean I’ve seen it. It was all in my dream. The mean person.”

Gabe
stops between two statues that reach toward us blindly as though we can save
them from some horrible fate.

“You
said I saved you in your dream,” I say, stroking some stray hair from her face.

“That’s
right. And you did. Just now.”

“Sophie,
what else did you see in your dream?” Gabe asks, taking her into his arms.

A
tear rolls down her chubby cheek as she looks back and forth between us. “Maybe
if I don’t say it–”

“On
the contrary, Little One. If you warn us, we may be able to prevent it,” I say.

She
shakes her head, her little mouth working as she mulls something over in her
mind.

“Jered.
He’s hurt real bad,” she says, no longer able to hold back.

“I
won’t let that happen,” I say, though I’m sure she can hear the urgency in my
voice.

“It’s
going to be too late,” she whispers, dissolving into hysterics, muffled only by
the sound of my pounding heart.

The Beginning

y
head hangs limp; my throat is raw from screaming. The pain has not subsided. If
anything, it has grown worse. Yet I cannot manage to react outwardly any
longer. I stopped begging to die ages ago.

Cephas
stands at my back, his enormous body pressed against mine. The remaining rags I
had on, he ripped away when he started. His giant hands run over the front of
my chest. The lead rings he wears on every finger leave trails of red, raw
flesh in their wake.

“If
you gave me your magic, I could make you enjoy it,” he says. I do not answer.
Do not try to explain that even I do not have that kind of power.

“Get
away from her!” Achan’s voice cuts through the room like a sword. My heart
dares leap to life, my eyes rising just enough to see him framed in the
doorway, aura glowing orange like a flame.

“Look
who’s decided to join us,” Cephas says. His hands press back over my body
eliciting an involuntary groan from my lips. Somehow my voice has returned.
Weak but present. I thought I could handle no more. Now I die another death,
worse because of Achan’s presence.

“I
said, take your hands off of her,” Achan says. He takes several strides into
the room, eyes locked somewhere behind me. I see that his robes are no longer
those of a shepherd but golden silk, those of a king. Yes, as far as I have
fallen, he has risen out of my sight. And I would have given it all to him
freely had he only asked. Instead, he murdered my friend, drank her blood, and
gave me over for the same.

“You
want a turn? She’s all yours. I’m bored anyhow. Maybe I’ll watch you for a
while.” Cephas pushes me away, and I swing freely from my chains. He spits on
me, then walks past Achan toward the other side of the room.

In
a single fluid movement Achan reaches out, flattening him on the head with a
heavy sword conjured from nothing. Cephas clutches his skull in one massive
hand and turns growling toward Achan. He swings, but Achan darts to the side,
bringing his sword’s hilt up hard into Cephas’s chin. Blood spurts from his
mouth as he staggers backward, reaching for anything in range, but Achan is
faster and uses magic. Within moments, Cephas lies unconscious on the floor.

As
soon as it is over, I once again drop my head, unable and unwilling to look
Achan in the eye. I hear the heavy clang of the sword hitting the ground, then
movement, but I pay little heed until a cup of water is pressed to my cracked
lips. I can barely swallow, so he tilts my head back and tips it slowly down my
throat. Some slips over the edges of my mouth and down my skin, making me more
aware of the stinging fire everywhere else.

When
the cup is emptied twice, Achan runs a hand down my cheek. I squeeze my eyes
shut so I cannot see him. Then I feel the impossible. He is lifting me,
untangling my bonds. Pulling them from my wrists with magic.

I
collapse into his arms, familiar and comforting despite the pain. But I have not
the ability to protest. I simply lie back as he sits on the floor, cradling me
to him like a baby. He presses his lips to my forehead, and I feel his aura
running over my body, healing me. Cleaning me. Caring for me.

“I
still feel it. It is just hidden,” I say. My own voice sounds foreign.

“That’s
because this room still has so much lead. The longer you are here, the worse
the reaction. At least that’s how it was with the other.”

I
fall silent again, letting myself drift away to the sound of his heart.

“I
can get you out of here,” he says, and my eyes snap open again. “I’ve found a
way.”

“But
you brought me here,” I say. I have been avoiding the very thought all this
time. Focused only on what was happening in the moment.

“I
know, Little One. I am so sorry. So sorry. I didn’t know. I thought they’d let
me explain. If they knew you were harmless they wouldn’t treat you this way.
You aren’t savage like the other one.”

I
do not think he understands Kitra at all. But I remain quiet.

“Take
me out of this room, Achan. Then I can stop this.”

“It
isn’t that simple, Little One. I’m sure you want to hurt us for what’s been
done. But I can’t let you do that either.”

“I
won’t, Achan,” I cry. “I will leave if that is what you want.”

He
rocks me tighter. “That is what you say now. But when you heal you will see
things differently. But do not cry. I know a way...”

Willpower

e
race down the corridors, my senses stretched before us, searching for a way into
the dungeons. I wish with a pang that I could send Sophie home with Gabe. But
he has to stay, or I will be drawn away with him.

“To
the right!” I yell, and Gabe switches course immediately. “Behind that door.”

I
open it myself this time to avoid the tell-tale scrape of metal on stone. It
simply disappears, showing the way to a winding staircase where the walls are
lit with gas torches. I pause, remembering Kitra’s face as she blew out a flame
a thousand years ago.

“Are
you okay?” Gabe asks. “Is there lead or something?”

“No.
Not yet. But there will be.” I set Sophie down on the ground and focus on Gabe.
He is my best hope. “You will need to be strong.”

“Haven’t
I proven that yet?” he asks. I decide his eyes look older than they did when we
first met.

“Yes.
Do not underestimate Kitra. She is powerful, Gabe, and evil. Truly evil.” I did
not realize I was crushing his sleeve, but he gently pries my hand off, holding
it in the air between us.

“I’ll
try to keep it in mind,” he says.

“We
already know there is lead in the room, so I will not have long before I am
unable to perform magic. I’ll have one spell at best.”

“Can
you transport Jer out of there?” Gabe asks.

“It
is likely protected by the magic of the other Djinn so I won’t be able to
unless he commands it,” I say. “We can’t risk it. He could be confused or...or
incapacitated.”

“Can
you remove the lead since you know it’s there?”