Jinn and Juice (26 page)

Totally awkward silence followed. Yulia looked at me in horror.

“I thought you used melons?” Rachel said, unhelpfully.

“He’s not a normal Master,” I said, trying to get my friend to understand. “I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been thinking the same thing, up until super-recently. But he really is different.”

“What if he’s not?” Yulia asked urgently, taking my hands in her cool, long fingers. “What if he’s not different? What if he keeps you Bound? Keeps you cursed?”

I squeezed her hands, my anger fading away as I saw the real issue here. My friend loved me, and was worried about me.

“Then I figure something out,” I told her. “But I’ve realized something… I made a big mistake in the past, trusting Kouros. Since then, though, I’ve had pretty good people-dar. Like you guys. You’re amazing friends. And I think Oz is like you guys.”

“A snarky asshole who looks amazing in a wig?” Rachel asked, pulling both Yulia and me into a hug.

Yulia still didn’t look happy. “You also trusted Loretta.”

I sighed. “Yeah, well, she was never inner circle, no matter how hard she tried. I wasn’t entirely off with her.”

“None of this matters,” Trip and Trap said, taking turns finishing the sentence. “Trust him or don’t trust him, we have to kill the new Magi and save your Master, and then you can do what you like with him.”

“We can kill him, too, if you like,” Trap said, with a long yawn that showed off his fangs.

“He looks delicious,” Trip added, a long, prehensile tongue snaking out to swipe the air in front of her.

“Not that delicious,” Yulia said, shaking her head at me.

I tried to smile, but failed. I couldn’t pinpoint Oz to pull him back to me, but I could feel his fear, tugging insistently at my jinni.

“I’ve gotta get him back,” I told Yulia, letting her see all my cards.

She grimaced, but didn’t argue this time. “If that’s how it is, you know I’ll help you.”

“As will I,” said Bertha, cracking her knuckles.

“Girl, we got you faded,” added Rachel.

Trip and Trap grinned, a gruesome sight. “We only tolerate your various presences for the purpose of earning a wage. But we will help you kill,” said Trip. “And eat,” said Trap.

“That was beautiful,” said Yulia, dabbing at imaginary tears. The spider wraiths shifted their eerily expressionless attention to her.

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Thank you, all of you. But what should we do?”

Charlie frowned. “I have a plan.”

“Of course you do, boo,” said Rachel.

“It’s simple,” said Charlie. “We just have to get everyone who wants to use and/or kill Lyla in the same room.”

“Great,” I said, frowning at my friend. “Nothing can go wrong there.”

“Don’t worry,” Charlie said. “Lots can go wrong.”

Trip and Trap giggled, then skittered up the wall, humming tunelessly as they went.

T
he ransom call had come soon after we’d started prepping our counteroffensive. They’d give me Oz, if I came to them. We didn’t talk about what they wanted me for. We didn’t have to.

I agreed to come, but not until the next day. I told them I was hurt; that I had to heal myself. They told me, “No funny business, or the Magi gets it,” and I made soothing, pathetic whimpers, assuring them I was in no condition to start trouble.

That was a lie.

“Are we ready?” Charlie asked, eyeballing our ragtag bunch with a worried expression. We didn’t exactly look professional… in fact, we looked exactly as you’d imagine a gothic burlesque would look, if it decided to do a SWAT team number.

I was wearing tight jeans and this weird leather vest thing with a lot of pockets that I’d had for ages. I didn’t actually have much in the pockets, but knowing I could put stuff in them made me feel organized and proactive. A pair of boots completed the ensemble. Charlie looked dangerous in a long duster over his undead-ringmaster attire, while Bertha had modified
her usual black suit so that she looked a bit like a hedgehog, only instead of quills she had hafts and handles, pommels and grips, sticking out of her on all sides. Trip and Trap were extra nightmarish: buck naked, their white skin glittering as they skittered about on their hands and feet, their torsos combined into full spider mode.

For their part, Yulia and Rachel were wearing matching leather catsuits. I had no idea where they’d managed to get those, but I approved of the shotgun holster that Rachel had integrated into her costume.

“A lady is always prepared,” Rachel purred, stroking the shotgun.

Charlie bit his tongue. He’d tried to leave his human lover home, but that hadn’t worked. Not least because Charlie himself was still technically human, albeit slightly immortal.

“Should I go over the plan one more time?”

We all nodded. It was simple enough. And when Charlie was telling us what we were supposed to do it seemed completely logical and feasible.

When he stopped talking, it seemed batshit crazy.

“Okay, no problem. They want Oz and Lyla to rendezvous at Point State Park. But we’re all going, and we’re going our own route, back through the Frick Bridge, to give ’em a little surprise.

“We’ve got exactly four hours to pull this off, including an hour to get to Tamina. We couldn’t get everything lined up before that, and we didn’t want to. Time is both our enemy and our friend here, considering Lyla’s curse is up tonight. We need to get in there, get them complacent, then wreck shop at the last minute. Our priority is to free Oz, but, again, only at that last minute. He unBinds Lyla, she turns human, they don’t need her anymore, we have the upper hand.”

“We still kick their asses because they suck, but the pressure’s off,” Yulia finished, shaking out her wisps menacingly.

“Concentrate on the plan first. Revenge is second,” Charlie reminded the wisp. “You all know your roles?”

“
We’re
supposed to hurt things,” said Trip and Trap, in unison.

“I free Oz,” Yulia said.

“I take care of the sorcerer,” Bertha said.

“I help our special guests keep Tamina busy,” I said.

“I look fabulous,” said Rachel, running a hand over her smooth updo.

“And I See for trouble,” Charlie said. “Good. I think that’s it. Shall we?”

We nodded, psyched to get started. It was a totally sensible plan… if we didn’t think too hard about it.

The trip to Frick, and then through the park, was surreal. We might as well have been off for a picnic after a long day of work. Yeah, we were subdued, but we gave no indication we were off on a dangerous mission to keep contained one of the world’s great evils. For Kouros was that bad, I had no doubt. He had been bad when I was human, and after nearly a thousand years in a cage he must be an absolute nightmare.

When we crossed the Bridge, I saw Bertha’s eyes linger on her family’s fading tribal markings. Other trolls would move in soon. They never let a bridge go to waste, even one in such a magically blighted city. But in the meantime, I felt bad for anyone on the receiving end of one of Bertha’s clubs. She was in no mood to pull her punches.

“You lead,” Charlie said, once we were fully Sideways. I did as he asked. The walk to the abandoned palace felt shorter and yet also longer this time. I knew where I was going, making it seems shorter, and yet every minute Oz was with Tamina felt like an hour.

Finally we were in sight of the palace.

“Still impressive,” Charlie grunted.

I nodded. “It’s held up, although it’s very confusing nowadays inside. It’s losing whatever logic it had. But I can find the throne room.”

“Good. That’s all we need.”

The wide gates through which we passed weren’t guarded, but there were two younger half-vamps playing checkers in front of the double doors that were the main entrance. There was no point in sneaking around, as we just needed to get in, and get in position, and invite our own special guests, who weren’t as expected.

The younger of the two hissed hungrily at us, lunging toward Yulia. She easily batted him down with a casual swat of her wisp. The other reined in his own attack, seeing his friend so easily dealt with.

“Tell your mistress we’re here,” Yulia said, her always chilly voice frozen.

They did as she asked, scurrying away like humanoid rats.

And then we waited.

“I told you not to bring anyone,” drifted a voice from the dark doorway. It was Tamina, sounding as polite as ever.

“I decided to ignore that request,” I said, with an insouciant shrug. “You already have enough of an upper hand, and I want to make it out of here alive with my Master intact.”

Tamina stepped from the shadows to eyeball my compatriots. The girl’s pale skin was white as a sheet, and dark smudges circled her now silver eyes. Initiation was hell on a body, and she wouldn’t have full control of her powers for a little while yet.

“You pose no real threat,” she said, after a moment. “And once I have what I want, you are free to go.”

I had no doubt that what she really meant was that we didn’t
stand a chance against Kouros, once she’d pulled him from his cage. So she was fine with us hanging out until he could flame-broil us.

“So generous,” I said to the girl. Tamina bowed her head in that beautiful tableau of modesty that she’d mastered. Charlie cast me a pointed look, stroking his watch fob as he did so.

“Can we get this started?” I asked, ever aware of the ticking clock standing between me and my freedom from jinnihood.

Tamina inclined her head, ushering us into her domain. We were flanked by her oldest half-vamps, all silent except for their obvious drooling as they stared at our necks. Charming.

“If you’ve hurt Oz,” I said, conversationally, “I’m going to rip those new silver eyes out of your skull.”

Tamina laughed, a rich, bell-like sound. “Oh, Lyla. You really are special. Your parents must have hated you.”

“So we have a lot in common,” I said, poking the bear. She shot me a less-than-pleased gaze.

“My family doesn’t understand me,” she said.

“And neither did mine. We’re not all that different, you know.”

For a second I imagined that was how we’d end this. That I’d share a heart-to-heart with Tamina, about where we’d come from and why it hadn’t been enough. Because we
were
similar; that was the real kicker. I felt for the girl, even though I also wanted to knock her teeth out. But her need for more was something I’d felt, and just as desperately as she obviously had. Could I blame her for grasping at an opportunity when it plopped in her lap?

Tamina turned to me, ending my little fantasy of peaceful reconciliation. Her face was impassive but her left eye twitched with anger.

“We are entirely different,” she said. “You are an abomination,
to both humans and jinn. You were made so by your own weakness, a weakness I do not share. I will not make the mistakes you did. I will be my own Master.”

And with that, Tamina turned with a flourish. Charlie raised his eyebrow at me, acknowledging both my attempt and what he’d seen in Tamina. While she put on a good show of bravado, she didn’t believe her own words. She was scared.

Flanked by our salivating honor guard, we walked into the long-abandoned throne room. Charlie and Rachel looked around appreciatively, Rachel muttering something like “Now this is a living room.” Trip and Trap—walking next to each other like the normal, if naked, humans they most certainly were not—also peered about, but they were probably deciding whom to eat first.

Tamina took her place on her throne, folding her ankles primly. “You know what I want.”

I nodded. “Kouros.”

“And I need you to free him.”

I nodded again. “Apparently.”

She looked down at me, her lips pursed in concentration. “I hate that I need you,” she said, conversationally. “If I didn’t, I’d have you destroyed. But I don’t have that option.”

“The Node,” I said.

“The Node,” she acknowledged. “You’re the only being with enough power to actually do anything with it, without poisoning yourself.” She sat back, her head cocked. “It’s ironic, really. That Kouros inadvertently created the one being who could free him, so many centuries later.”

“I would not assume his actions were inadvertent,” said Charlie. “Kouros has powers beyond those of a normal jinni.” He looked at me to emphasize his point.

“And this ain’t no Alanis Morissette song,” said Rachel, snapping her fingers.

“Be quiet!” Tamina growled. “None of this matters. You will do as I say, and help me free your creator.”

I wasn’t ready to call it quits on negotiating, however. “Tamina, please stop and think. You obviously have the same concerns we do. This whole thing, it feels like a setup. Why
did
Kouros create me? What does he really want? What’s he going to do to you when he’s free? Do you really think he’s…”

“Shut up!” Tamina shouted, standing so fast her headscarf slipped back over her hair. She adjusted it with shaking hands, visibly getting a grip on herself.

“I am the Magi,” she said. “He is a jinni. He will serve me. That is the way of things.”

I felt my eyebrow creep up my forehead. Before I could comment on her charming ideology, Charlie interrupted.

“He’s not serving anyone from his cage, and we’re not doing anything to help you until we see Oz.” Charlie’s colorless eyes surveyed the room, and I felt him tap into the Node at our feet—just a small snort of power to sharpen his gaze without his falling into a full-on vision.

Tamina’s eyes narrowed, but she lifted her hands and gave a sharp clap. “Bring our guest.”

Motion from a far corner attracted my eye, and our friend Loretta pulled away from the group she’d been hidden among and waltzed from the room. A few minutes later Oz was led in. Ropes bound his wrists, and the young sorcerer Dmitri held Oz’s elbow, the sorcerer’s free hand holding a ball of power that he could use to blow off my Master’s head. My Master looked mostly OK, although he had a fat lip and what would soon become an impressive shiner.

“Oz!” I shouted, suddenly recalling Charlie’s earlier comment about cutting out his tongue. They hadn’t, had they?

“I’m okay, Lyla,” he said, relief flooding through me when I heard him speak.

“Shut up,” said Dmitri, jerking Oz’s elbow and letting his ball of power flare disturbingly close to Oz’s ear.

“You’re quite the sorcerer,” Yulia purred, eyeing her countryman. Dmitri glanced at her, noticing she’d unzipped her catsuit perilously low. His cheeks went pink and his eyes turned to Tamina to ground him. “You pulled him all the way to you, and blocked him from his own jinni. Using his blood, I take it?”

Dmitri’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his hand moved surreptitiously to his breast, as if feeling for something in his pocket. Tamina moved toward him and grabbed his hand in a smooth motion, but he’d given us what we needed—the location of the T-shirt they were using to hold Oz. Yulia’s impassive face revealed nothing, but I knew from the telltale shiver of her wisps that she’d seen what she needed.

“Keep your pets silent,” Tamina told Charlie, “including that jinni.”

Charlie must have passed some sort of humanity paper bag test, and become our de facto leader in Tamina’s eyes. I didn’t argue with her—not only
was
he our leader, but he was also the least dangerous in a fight. The more attention people paid to him, the more damage could be done by the rest of us.

Charlie bowed graciously to Tamina, playing into the role she’d assigned him. “I’ll do my best. What do you need from us to secure our friend’s release?”

“It’s simple,” she said, straightening her shoulders. “Oz will command your jinni to feed me the power we need to Call Kouros, which will be done by both Oz and me. Once Kouros arrives, I will Bind him. Then you are free to go.”

Sure
, I thought, but Charlie didn’t express any doubts. Instead he said, “Are you sure you have the strength for that?”

Tamina’s silver eyes Flared dangerously. “You have no power here. Do not question me.”

Charlie only watched her until Tamina shook her head angrily. “I do not need to be at full strength.” Her voice was mulish. “Kouros wants me to Bind him. We have an agreement.”