Tales of the Djinn: The Double (10 page)

“Arcadius,” Elyse said in a conciliatory tone. “He just wants to do his job.” She shifted her attention to the young man. “Your bathhouse job, right? Not special services.”

“Right,” the young man agreed, whether that was what he’d meant or not. “I’m very good at it.”

Arcadius narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re not proposing to bathe
her
.”

“Of course not.” The young man tossed his head proudly. His hair was the color of canary feathers, but it seemed natural. “Follow me. I have just the room for you.”

“
Rooms
,” Arcadius corrected. The bath boy didn’t slow his roll down an adjoining hall. Arcadius jerked his head for two of the guards to move ahead of them and make sure the way was safe.

“Good cop, bad cop?” Arcadius muttered under his breath to her.

Elyse smiled. She guessed he’d seen some human television too.

~

Rooms
weren’t what Arcadius got, but he supposed the setup could have been worse. An open stonework screen provided partial privacy between the chamber’s separate soaping benches and plunge tubs. The advantage was that Arcadius would be able to question two bathhouse employees for the price of one—with Elyse helping to smooth the proceedings, as she’d already proved she could.

The disadvantage was that, unless he was especially self-controlled, he’d see Elyse naked again.

“I’m Sindil,” said the pretty bath girl who came in. “And that idiot is Kyros.”

“I told them that,” said the boy.

“You didn’t,” she disagreed. “You’re always forgetting.”

“I’m Kyros,” he huffed to Elyse and Arcadius, “assistant manager to the Thirty-Fourth Street Bathhouse.”

This was obviously a source of pride. Arcadius concealed his amusement with the process of disrobing. He took care not to watch Elyse doing the same on the privacy barrier’s other side. Kyros didn’t behave as if sneaking peeks tempted him. Arcadius supposed he’d seen too many undressed bodies to be curious anymore.

The room was warm enough to make Arcadius sweat but, fortunately, not too warm for Elyse. Her sigh of enjoyment as she stretched out on the cedar bench sounded as if it were an inch away.

“Face down, commander,” Kyros instructed him.

The bench was planed to fit the general shape of a male body. Kyros worked a foot pedal to bring him to a convenient level. Wet slapping sounds announced that both bathhouse employees were whipping their soaping towels in the age-old manner for creating a thick lather. Arcadius waited until Kyros dropped the warm creamy cloth onto his shoulders. Though it felt good on his tense muscles, he wasn’t here to relax.

“Tell me about Jeannine,” he said.

“She was a bath girl,” Kyros said unhelpfully. “She’d been here about a year before she disappeared.”

Arcadius turned his head to the side on his folded arms. “Was she young?”

He felt the boy shrug as the nubbly towel rubbed his back up and down. “Twentyish. Around the same age as me. I got the impression she’d run away from her family.”

“Did they come here to check on her?”

“Hardly.”

“Did
you
report her missing to the authorities?”

“Why would I do that? She’s just a bath girl. The police don’t care if people like us wander off.”

Considering the circumstances, Arcadius put off disputing that assumption. “If you didn’t report her, how did word get out that she was gone?”

“You tell me,” Kyros said. “You’re the big guardian.” He began soaping Arcadius’s legs. His hands were strong as they pushed the towel up his calves and thighs. Arcadius sensed the boy was thinking, so he waited in silence. “We talked about it at the tavern, wondering if her ship had come in after all. Maybe someone overheard us there.”

“Her ship?”

“That was a load of bull,” Sindil put in from the other side of the screen. “Something Jeannine invented to make herself seem special compared to the rest of us.”

“What did she say exactly?” Elyse asked.

“She hinted,” Sindil said in a sneering tone. “Claimed she had a way out and she’d been ‘chosen.’ She was going somewhere she’d be at the top of the heap instead of at the bottom like she was here. She’d have riches and parties and she’d never say ‘yes’ to sleeping with anyone unless she wanted to.”

“That’s quite a prospect,” Elyse said. “Did she drop clues as to where this wonderful life would be?”

“She couldn’t,” Sindil said. “Because it was nonsense. Probably she ran off to pretend it was true.”

Kyros’s hands hesitated behind Arcadius’s knees.

“Is that what you think?” Arcadius asked. “That Jeannine made it up?”

“I don’t know. She asked me once if I wanted to go with her. She said I was pretty enough to interest the recruiter.”

Arcadius’s ears pricked up. “The recruiter?”

“That’s what she called him. She said he only chose djinn who were beautiful and smart, djinn who deserved to better their fortunes. I told her it sounded like a scam.”

Sindil made a sarcastic noise. “I bet she hated that. She had a thing for you.”

Arcadius suspected Sindil had a thing for Kyros too. The yellow-haired bath boy was out of the ordinary good-looking. “Did Jeannine ever point the recruiter out to you?”

“No. And I can’t remember her exact words. A lot of what she said was chatter. Sometimes I tuned her out. She did seem convinced he’d want me. Like maybe she’d pointed
me
out to him.” The bath boy’s tone was uneasy. “Do you think I’m in danger of disappearing too?”

“I don’t know,” Arcadius said honestly. “Probably you and your friends should stick together. Avoid walking anywhere alone. I’ll speak to the police in the area. Have them include this bathhouse in their patrols.”

“Like that’ll help,” Sindil said, more resigned than angry.

Her reaction saddened him. “All right,” he said, his next decision firmer than he expected. “I’ll leave a personal scroll with Kyros. If anything alarming happens, as long as you and your friends are with him, you’ll be able to reach me instantly.”

“Even if we’re just afraid?”

“Even if,” Arcadius said, privately hoping he wouldn’t regret the promise. “At the least, I’ll read your message immediately.”

He sensed Sindil and Kyros exchanging glances through the privacy screen.

“That’s fair,” Kyros said.

Arcadius smiled and put his head back down.

“Turn over,” Sindil said briskly to Elyse. “I need to get your front.”

“Um,” Elyse hemmed. “I washed that side of me this morning.”

“Really?” Sindil exclaimed. “You’re going to be modest in a place like this?”

“Yes,” Elyse said, adding politely: “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Fine, then. You can plunge and rinse off.”

She helped Elyse off the table, leading her to the step-in bath. Elyse’s naked skin shone with wetness, suds dripping down her slender back to trickle over her perky ass and surprisingly strong legs. One lashing of suds flirted with the crack between her butt cheeks. Realizing he was staring, Arcadius turned his head the other way on his arms. The formerly comfortable molded bench wasn’t providing comfort anymore. He fought against his urge to lift his hips and let one particular part of him adjust.

“Ah,” Kyros observed softly. “Your companion is
not
your lover.”

“Are you forgetting which of us is the interrogator?” Arcadius murmured back.

“I was simply going to suggest I hook you up with Sindil before you go. She’s good with soap in more ways than one.”

What sort of slang was
hook you up?
he wondered.

“Thank you, but no,” Arcadius said, less coolly than he might have. It had occurred to him—though hopefully not to Kyros—that giving the bath boy his personal scroll could potentially turn him into a longer-term informant.

“She could get your rocks off quick,” Kyros said. “Your companion need never know.”

Arcadius believed he understood the meaning of getting his rocks off. For a moment, he was tempted. His cock throbbed between the wood and his groin, his balls aching like they’d shoot their load in no time.

“I can make my own arrangements,” he said gruffly.

“As you like,” Kyros said. “I assume you know an oil rub follows the plunge bath. There isn’t a woman alive who won’t moan like she’s coming when Sindil massages her.”

“Nonetheless,” Arcadius declined, privately praying he’d survive it.

~

“Oh. My. God,” Elyse moaned as they stepped back onto the sun-dappled street with their escort of guards. “That was the best massage ever.” She rolled her shoulders, the muscles of her back warmer and more relaxed than she’d known they could be. “Did Sindil use magic on me? Because it felt like she used magic.”

Arcadius grunted. Elyse checked his expression.

“Did something go wrong that I didn’t notice? You’re looking dourer than usual.”

Arcadius stopped at the side of their parked carpet, where the fifth member of their escort, the pilot, patiently awaited. Arcadius rested his hand on the carpet’s upfolded edge. His fingers combed the fringe idly.

“Elyse,” he said. “Is ‘hook you up’ human slang?”

“It can be. People say they’ll ‘hook you up’ with something you want, or to ‘hook up’ means to get together sexually. Why?”

“Kyros used that phrasing. And Sindil must have noticed you were human, but it didn’t startle her.”

Elyse saw he thought this was important. “Maybe they go to those view cafés. I know Kyros and Sindil didn’t recognize the other names on Yasmin’s list, but maybe different cafés are the link between the disappearances.”

“Maybe.” He pinched his lower lip. Cade did the same thing sometimes. Elyse fought an inappropriate impulse to press her thighs together. Arcadius probably didn’t realize the gesture was sexy. “I think it’s interesting that Jeannine referred to her mystery man as a recruiter.”

“These missing kids are being cherry picked.”

“It seems so.”

“You were kind to them,” Elyse said, wondering if she could coax him to let down his guard with her. “Giving them that scroll so they could call you.”

He’d told Kyros and Sindil to notify him if they or their friends noticed anything suspicious. Someone hanging around or approaching them with offers that sounded too good to be true.

What if they are true?
Kyros had responded.
Come on, Kyros,
Arcadius had said.
What are the odds the disappearing djinn end up living out their dreams?

“I wasn’t being kind,” Arcadius said. “I made them my eyes and ears. Also, I gave them your scroll.”

“My scroll?”

“The one I was holding for you so you could contact the other me if anything went wrong.”

“Oh.” Elyse had forgotten all about that. She laughed. “That was sneaky.”

“I’ll have Joseph transfer the receiver spell to me. Cade won’t have to answer their messages.”

“He won’t like that you gave away my panic button. You’ll have to make sure nothing bad happens on the way home.”

Elyse was teasing. The blue green gaze that locked onto hers was not. Arcadius’s stare was so penetrating it was hot. Her toes curled inside the slippers he’d given her. Had he seen something while they were in the bathhouse, something he liked maybe? She’d checked a couple times, admittedly shy about undressing with him present. Every time she looked, he’d been turned away. In truth, she’d caught more of an eyeful than she’d intended.

Even through a screen, Arcadius’s back view was just as spectacular as Cade’s.

“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised.

His voice was rumbly. Elyse’s vocal chords didn’t feel up to telling him she hadn’t doubted that for a second. She looked away and cleared her throat.

Apart from the rustle of leaves and the chirp of birds, the shady street was quiet. The traffic sounds all New Yorkers grew accustomed to didn’t disturb this place. Magic was the power that ran things, for the most part. The hair on her arms stood up as she had the thought. A man had stepped out of the next building down the block and was walking away from them. He wasn’t close enough to see distinctly, but he was tall and wore dark blue robes. Something about his silhouette made her skin prickle.

Arcadius asked if she was ready to get back on the rug.

She heard him with half an ear. “Wait,” she said, touching his sleeve lightly.

She began walking after the unknown man. His stride was longer, and he had a head start. Even hurrying, she’d have trouble catching up.

“Excuse me,” she called. “Sir, could I speak to you one moment?”

The man glanced briefly over his shoulder. She caught a flash of dark brows and eyes she didn’t recognize. Her pulse sped up for no good reason.

“Wait!” she cried, and began running.

The man started running too.

“I just want to talk,” she pleaded nonsensically. If the man didn’t want to speak to her, this wouldn’t convince him to. Realizing this, she nearly gave up the chase, but why was
he
running? She was just a woman, no danger to him at all. He
was
acting suspiciously.

Her illogical desire to apprehend him intensified. She hauled up her tunic’s hem and pushed her trousered legs faster.

“Elyse!” Arcadius called, now sprinting after her.

Elyse kept going. The running man rounded the next corner. She saw . . . she wasn’t sure what. A sparkle reflecting off a window? A brightening of the air?

“Stop!” she yelled. Her slippers didn’t have much traction. She skidded to a wobbly halt at the intersection of the next shady street.

Her quarry had disappeared.

“Damn it,” she swore, swiveling her head to look for him. She was out of breath. She needed more exercise. Caught up to her already, Arcadius seized her arm angrily.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

She spotted a sweet shop with a few empty tables on its sidewalk. Hadn’t she heard the jingle of an over-the-door chime?

“Come,” she said, tugging him after her. “I think he ducked in there.”

“Elyse—”

“Come,” she insisted.

He gave in and jogged with her to the shop. What she saw through the large front window astonished her. The sweet shop’s dozen or so customers were stone. White marble figures occupied the indoor tables’ chairs, little cups of coffee frozen halfway to their mouths, little plates of Turkish delight still set in front of them. She supposed the djinn had wanted one last treat before Armageddon descended. She spied one last statue behind the display counter, standing beside an old fashioned cash register.