jinn 02 - inferno (15 page)

I pressed the towel back to my head. “I’m fine.”

“I didn’t ask.”

I laughed, but he barely smiled which wasn’t unusual for Holden, but I had a gut feeling something was eating him so I went fishing. “It’s good the angel could stop the transformation. It might be enough to break her connection with Thomas which means we can find out why he chose Maggie.” I waited, there was nothing like an interrogation to snap Holden back to himself.

“Take it slow. Test your theory before you start in on him too much.”

So it wasn’t Maggie. “The kid probably hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in years. I mean, who could sleep in a house full of demons? I’m sure the shut-eye is normal.”

He glanced at me. “Did I say it wasn’t?”

“Nope. You surely didn’t, boss. I’m just taking stabs at what has put the stick in your craw.”

“Olivia wants me to embrace the jinni.” He raised an eyebrow at me and though he didn’t ask a question, it was implied.

“Ah.” I took a deep breath. “She’s not Olivia. The angel wants you to. Don’t forget that.”

Holden nodded.

“You know you don’t have to—”

He held up a hand, cutting me off. “I’m good, Baker. No need for a heart to heart. I’m going to head out. I need to look into the ley lines. Keep me in the loop.”

Femi came out of Phoenix’s cell, a smug look on her face. She glanced over at me and gave an exaggerated wink. I headed her way. “That expression can only mean one thing. Trouble.”

She laughed. “Just having a bit of fun.” Phoenix was stalking his cell, talking to himself. Femi grinned wider. “I told him we had to put the rune back in or he couldn’t stay.”

“That’s true.” Olivia came out of nowhere. “I placed the rune in him, and it must go back.”

Femi and I stared at her. “What does it do?” I asked.

She gave me a withering look. “Do you question my methods?”

“Yes. All the time,” I said.

“Step aside, chol.”

I shook my head.

“Step aside or I will allow Maggie to finish her transformation.”

Her tone left little doubt she’d do just that. Ultimately Phoenix wasn’t worth a showdown that I would undoubtedly lose. I stepped aside. Femi didn’t move to take my place. She just watched the angel go into Phoenix’s cell, shutting the door behind her as the room filled with a blinding light.

“What do you think it does?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Can you stay with the kid and keep an eye on the vampire?”

I expected an argument, but she just nodded. “I’ll keep a close eye on both of them.”

“He really pissed you off, huh? What exactly happened between the two of you?”

“I helped him once and he betrayed me. He should have never come back here.”

“Don’t let him get under your skin, kitten. His time here is limited.”

“I got this. We’re good. Watch your back, Baker.”

I half saluted her before leaving. I had a pretty good mental image of what the rune looked like. Whether or not the council could identify an angelic rune was another story. I could ask Uriel, but involving the angels would probably open us up to even more trouble. Not that the council was any picnic.

I arranged a meeting with Leilah. Anessa was the nicer of the two, but the dragon had a better chance of recognizing the symbol. I waited on the North Avenue Bridge for her as the afternoon traffic went by. It wasn’t exactly private, but people probably wouldn’t overhear us either.

“I gave you three days to make your decision. I hope the early meeting is a good sign,” Leilah’s smoky voice said in my ear.

I didn’t flinch. “I’m not here about that.”

“Oh?” She raised a thin black eyebrow. “Then why am I here?”

“Do you have pen?”

She scowled but produced a black ballpoint pen for me. I fished some random business card out of my wallet and drew the rune, careful not to connect any of the lines fully. Rune magic wasn’t something to be tinkered with. “Do you recognize this?”

“You’ve found it, haven’t you? That’s why you refuse to return. What do you plan to do with it?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re yapping about.”

She scowled at the paper as she took it from my hand, then studied it. “Even if you have found the angel, it can’t save you. I have known you too long to believe you would enslave yourself to anyone.”

I hesitated. “So it’s angelic.” Playing dumb was better than tipping off the council any more than I already had.

She rolled her eyes. “You cannot escape your obligation to the council. Why do you insist on playing games? You will come back. It might as well be now. Show me where you saw the sign. If we find the angel, it will smooth the transition of accepting you back with no, shall we say, hard feelings.”

“My obligation to the council has been fulfilled ten times over. If I come back, it will be my terms and my choice alone.” I crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the river. “I have no interest in angels, nor do they have any interest in us. If you’re looking to recruit, my guess is you’re sniffing the wrong butt.”

“You have forty-eight hours, chol,” Leilah said as I walked away. “Don’t make me find you.”

I waved her off. Olivia wasn’t freeing the jinn; she was enslaving them.

The sound of my boots clicking against the floor as I paced up and down the hallway from Thomas’s cell to the kid’s cell was annoying even to me. Olivia had come and gone from Phoenix’s room and he was passed out again. Maggie was quiet as far as I could tell, though she was still inside the coffin.

I chewed on my fourth protein bar. I needed to get lunch. I plopped the last bit in my mouth, then yanked open the door to Thomas’s cell. He looked up from the corner where he sat, back against the wall, and blinked. “I didn’t think you would be the one.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know how they did it, but they broke my connection with the girl. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t go insane. Connection is important to the stabilization of new vampires.”

I smiled a little, more to myself than him. Thomas misread the gesture, stood up and moved toward me with the lightning speed of a vampire. My fist stopped him short, connecting with his face, once, twice, maybe three times. Who’s counting?

He stumbled back a few steps. “Damn it, Femi. You’re supposed to at least ask a question before you resort to torture.”

“Oh, that wasn’t torture.
That
, you deserved.”

He flashed a crooked smile made less cute by blood. “Perhaps you’re right.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t tell Sy and Paolo you’re here.”

“I suppose it would be too much if I suggested you not turn me over for the sake of an old friend?” He raised an eyebrow and gave me a pouty lower lip. I considered hitting him again. “I thought so. Then do it for your current friends. I know things. Things that could help you.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why would we believe you? You’re a liar.”

“Maybe I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“And maybe I haven’t hit you enough.”

“Fine. Perhaps then you’ll believe me because it’s in my own best interest to help you now.”

That made more sense. “I’m listening.”’

“If I go back without the girl—or, at the very least, without a connection to her, they’ll kill me. Hell isn’t a very forgiving employer.”

I shook my head, but what I wanted to do was shake him. What kind of idiot willingly worked for Hell? Even if you did everything they wanted, it still never worked out well. “Sounds like someone should’ve asked the wizard for a brain. You can’t possibly be so stupid as to work for them. What’s wrong with you?”

He glared. “Sometimes the choices before us are less than desirable. I made the best of a bad situation. Neru was after me. I was ostracized from my people. Not only were bounty hunters tracking me, but vampires hunted me as well. I needed protection. Where do you get off being so self-righteous? You played no small part in putting me in that position.”

“Don’t even.” I held up a hand. “You found me. You’re the one who brought me into this.
You
put yourself in that position. You chose to traffic rare races. You got into bed with the devil long before you knew me.”

“I didn’t only get into bed with the devil.” He gave me a sultry look, switching tactics fast to keep me off balance. “And none of this would’ve happened had I not let you go.”

“I’ve got news for you. You never had me to let go of.”

A slow smile spread over his face. “I seem to remember it differently.”

I hit him again. It couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t my fault he made me feel homicidal. “I’d treasure that memory if I were you. You aren’t going to have many more.” I pulled out my phone and started dialing Sy.

“Wait,” Thomas said with just enough panic to stop me. “I meant it. I can help. They’re trying to find a pathway to Hell.”

“Why?” My finger hovered over send.

“They want to open the doorway so they can bring back something that can turn the angel. Lucifer wants her by his side. If she won’t go to him, he’ll bring Hell to her.”

“How?”

“I have no idea.” He splayed his hands.

“Why did they need your help?”

He sighed. “There’s supposedly a vampire who knows his way in and out of Hell. I might’ve told them I could find him, if they protected me.”

“Do you have any idea who it is?”

“Of course I do. Everyone knows, except the demons. If they spent more time with the rest of us and less time hanging out with each other, they wouldn’t have needed me.”

“And did you tell them?”

“Do I look stupid?”

He sort of did.

“Don’t answer that. If I tell them, then they don’t need me anymore. So instead, I found out the information they want. I know where the pathway is. If you and your friends agree to help me, I’ll share that knowledge with you instead of them.”

“None of this explains Maggie.”

He sighed. “They were getting impatient the longer I put them off, starting to lose confidence in me. . . . They wanted the girl and they wanted her compromised—apparently she can’t be possessed. I don’t know why they wanted her, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to do it.”

“Is that always your excuse? It’s time to face facts. You make bad decisions and expect other people to help you out of the holes you dig for yourself. For once, just take responsibility for the choices you make.”

I turned and left the room.

“Femi, wait—”

I shut the door. I had to think. Sy would expect me to tell him, but I couldn’t trust him not to bring in Paolo. It wasn’t that I didn’t think Thomas deserved whatever justice the vampires chose for him, but he might be useful. I stared at the closed door, chewing on my bottom lip. Yep, useful. That was the only reason to keep him around. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was fun and exciting and kind of adorable even if he always managed to be chest deep in shit. It definitely had nothing to do with the memory of his lips on my skin or the brush of his teeth over my—I shook myself out of the thought. Food. I needed food. This was obviously low blood sugar talking.

I started toward the sorry excuse for a kitchen, then heard a shuffle in the back room where the kid was. I made a quick detour in her direction, gun in hand. The little one was awake and looking around Holden’s room. Chuckles wasn’t much for personal items or decoration, so there wasn’t a lot to look at, but the kid seemed interested never the less. I slipped the gun back in its holster and knocked on the door. Her head snapped up, eyes wide.

I mimicked eating in the least threatening way I could and said, “Eat?”

She hesitated a moment, then came and took my hand. I led her to the kitchen and managed to find a box of macaroni and cheese I could make on the hot plate. She sat at the small table and watched. I slid two plates onto the table and took a seat across from her. She eyed my serving. “What? I’m bigger than you. I get more food.”

She gave me a confused look, but picked up her fork. What do you know? She couldn’t talk, but she could use a fork.

“Right. You don’t understand. No wonder Holden likes you. You’re quiet.” Still the kid just stared at me. I sighed, pulled out my phone and found a picture of Holden. (Yes, it was the shirtless picture I took earlier, but it was the only one I had.) I zoomed in so it was mostly face and showed it to her. “Hol-den.”