Tales of the Djinn: The Double (31 page)

“Good Lord,” Arcadius exclaimed.

Elyse shivered and turned away from it. “I’ll search Cara’s desk. See if she’s bought or rented new property. That thing gives me the creeps. Whenever we played, I had to be the ugly doll.”

Leo shot her a surprised look, so Cade guessed he hadn’t known that either. Leo had already started on the bedroom bookshelves, removing vases and treasure boxes to scan for animate contents. Since he seemed competent to do so, Arcadius checked around the bed.

Left to watch their backs, Cade probed the area for magic. Every sign he sensed was extremely faint. Cara seemed not to practice on the same level as her boyfriend. By this point, Elyse might have the edge in experience.

Cade was willing to bet Mario had supplied Cara with the “don’t blab” spell.

“If anyone notices a small book of love poems, they should grab it,” he said. “Carefully.”

“Haven’t seen one,” Leo answered. “I assume it’s an artifact.”

“Cara used it to make Mario fall in love with her. We might gain an advantage if we can break the spell.”

Arcadius rummaged through a bureau drawer full of colorful silk and lace. “I haven’t seen anything like that.”

“Cara wouldn’t leave that book where we could find it,” Elyse added from the sitting room. “David wasn’t as paranoid as her, and even he hid it well.”

“David?” Arcadius asked Cade.

“Her former husband. Now dead. By Mario’s hand.”

“Her husband spelled her to love him? That’s unconscionable.”

“It wasn’t quite that simple, but yes.”

“I’m not finding anything,” Elyse called from her search area. “Dad, how long does that sleep spell last?”

“Forty minutes or thereabouts. I’ve struck out here. I’m starting on the closet.”

Arcadius had finished searching around the bed. He moved as if he intended to join Leo, then paused to look at Cade.

“
Is
she all right?” he asked in an undertone. “It’s not like Elyse to let her imagination run away with her.”

He jerked his head to indicate the dollhouse, which she’d mentioned gave her the creeps. Suddenly, a memory prodded Cade. Elyse had claimed the nexus room above the Arch of Triumph was creepy too. He hadn’t thought it through at the time, but Mario must have been there already, impersonating Joseph’s statue. What if she were more sensitive to magic than they realized? What if she’d known, subconsciously, that the sorcerer was there?

“Elyse,” he called. “Come back here for a moment.”

She came to the doorway.

“Check the dollhouse,” he said. “I’m not sensing magic in it, but you might.”

“There’s nothing there,” she protested.

“It could be small. A shrunken spell like Samir put in the bouquet of roses to contact his sister.”

“Or a shrunken
thing
,” Arcadius added, seeing what Cade was getting at. “The missing djinn could be trapped in miniature containers. Look for anything brass, Elyse. Especially if it’s sealed.”

Still Elyse hesitated. Arcadius held out his hand to encourage her to come. “I’ll be right with you. You might be uneasy due to a magical repulsion.”

She went to him and took his hand. Cade was oddly touched to see how gentle his double was with her. Together, they bent closer to the dollhouse: one broad-shouldered back and one slender. Cade pointed out possible containers, but Elyse repeatedly shook her head.

“They’re nothing. I don’t think—” She stopped speaking and wrinkled her forehead.

“What is it?” Arcadius asked her.

“The root cellar,” she said. “I remember it opens.”

Arcadius unlatched the tiny doors for her. She’d drawn back, so he looked inside first. Cade sensed his excitement even before he spoke.

“They’re here,” he announced.

Chapter Eleven

IT
had been a while since she’d seen it, but the same black painted compartment Elyse recalled was under the miniature doors. Cara had used it to hide contraband—forbidden lipstick when she was little, inappropriate gifts from boyfriends as she got older.

Tonight Arcadius pulled out four teensy Aladdin lamps, none bigger than her thumb from the nail to its first knuckle. Though the patterns on the containers’ sides were small, she recognized the King Solomon seal.

Arcadius cradled his discovery carefully in one palm. The caution was necessary. One good sneeze could have tumbled them away.

“Holy smokes,” Elyse said, too shocked to avoid the pun. “Are they alive in there?”

“We’ll see when you let them out,” he said gravely.

“Should I? I mean, won’t they be disoriented? What if they think we’re working with Mario and panic?”

“We have to risk it,” Arcadius said. “Keeping them in smoke form any longer could lead to damage they can’t recover from. On the other hand, maybe Cade should shift first. Prevent them from fleeing or attacking before we have a chance to explain.”

Cade nodded, dissolving into a fog that spread across the window seats. He did this so easily it was breathtaking.

“Release them one at a time,” Leo suggested, positioning himself in front of the hallway door.

If this worked, it was going to be interesting explaining four news guests to Aunt June.

“Okay,” she said. “Hand me the first brass lamp.”

The thing didn’t weigh much more than a stick of gum. Troublingly, she didn’t feel the smallest tingle of magic. She breathed slowly in and out and told herself to focus. She drew the ritual circle with the tip of her pinkie. “If you are one who honors the Holy Name, I free you from captivity.”

Nothing happened.

“You forgot to remove the lid,” her father said. “I’ll fetch a tweezers from the bathroom.”

She prized out the bit of metal and tried again.

A trickle of smoke wisped from the small opening.

Please God,
she thought.
Let this kid be all right.

“We’re here to help,” Leo said soothingly. “It’s safe for you to come out.”

Her dad was the djinn whisperer, she guessed. The wisp grew stronger, and bigger, and then the air in front of her shook with a muffled
whump
. A very pale, very thin teenage boy materialized in front of her—full size, to her relief. He swayed on his feet, and she shot her hands out to catch his wrists. The skin she clasped was clammy.

“Balu,” she said, unable to mistake his beautiful gray eyes. “Yasmin will be overjoyed you’re alive.”

He tried to pull away but staggered again. She could tell he was afraid to accept her help. “Who are you?” he demanded. “How do you know my sister?”

“Explanations later,” Arcadius said in his steady commander way. “We’d like to free your companions too.”

Elyse repeated the process she’d used to get Balu out. Two girls appeared and then another boy. Balu turned out to be in the best shape. The others were white as paper and too shaky to stand, much less run. Arcadius helped each to Cara’s flowery princess bed, where they sat in a huddle together.

Elyse felt like she was meeting characters who’d escaped a storybook. The kids were dressed like normal teenagers in Wal-Mart type jeans and flannel shirts, but something about their eyes—or maybe
behind
their eyes—declared them to be not human.

Yasmin’s brother seemed to be the group’s spokesperson.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said politely. “Could we have some water?”

“I’ll fetch it,” Leo said, striding to the bathroom. He returned with a single glass, probably all he found. The way the kids shared the drink with each other was touching. Elyse was glad to see their color returning.

Recovering or not, they continued to throw their rescuers nervous looks, as if freedom were a state they’d given up on believing in. Elyse thought maybe she could ease their minds.

“You must be Patrizio and Celia,” she said to the pair who appeared the most romantic. The girl’s wavy cloud of golden hair hadn’t once left Patrizio’s skinny but broad shoulder. “Arcadius and I saw your pictures at the bottle house. I’m very glad you got through this together.” She turned to the remaining girl, who looked less soft and more defensive. Her sharp looks were very pretty, her auburn hair chopped in a punk human style. “Are you Jeannine?”

Her eyes went wide as she nodded. “How do you know who we are?”

“Balu’s sister Yasmin pieced together that you’d all gone missing.”

“How could she do that?” Balu burst out in confusion. “She’s stuck in the harem.”

Arcadius put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Your sister is resourceful. And very concerned for you.”

Balu’s expression revealed the struggle inside of him. “What about . . . did she realize our brother Ramis helped the human sorcerer kidnap us?”

His lips shook with shame and anger, his lustrous eyes on the verge of tears.

“She knows it now,” Arcadius said. “I don’t know if this will upset you, but your brother is dead.”

“Good,” Balu said. “I hope he rots in hell.”

Arcadius gave his arm a pat.

“What about the sorcerer?” Patrizio asked.

“Mario is still alive, as is his woman. Don’t be alarmed. They’re not here now, and we’ll protect you.”

Cade must have realized his double’s claim would be more convincing if he took physical form. He materialized where they could see him, right next to Arcadius. Standing side by side that way, they formed an impressive wall.

“Whoa,” Jeannine exclaimed with humorously human inflection.

“Hey,” Balu said. “Aren’t you two the sultan’s commander?”

“We are.” Cade’s boyish grin pointed up the difference between him and his spirit twin. “Your sister wasn’t messing around when she got help for you.” He touched Elyse’s shoulder. “This is Elyse and her father Leo. They’re friendly humans who are experienced in magic.”

“Especially my father,” Elyse said, not wanting her skills exaggerated beyond what they really were.

“Can you tell us what’s been happening to you?” Arcadius asked.

“You don’t know?” Balu sounded surprised.

“Our information is sketchy,” Cade responded.

“Okay,” Balu said. “I guess I’ll fill you in . . .”

Balu’s Tale

So . . . we’re all lost kids, in one way or another. My situation wasn’t too bad—though I thought it was at the time. My brother turned ifrit, which you know. My sister left home to join the harem, sticking me with parents who didn’t understand me blah blah blah. I hung out at the view café because I like human stuff, but a privileged kid like me didn’t really fit in there either.

Jeannine’s parents were actually worth running from. They beat her and . . . other stuff, and working at the bathhouse—while not the best—was an improvement.

Patrizio and Celia were on the streets due to having no folks at all. When they got tired of being poor and hungry, they asked the bottle house to store them. They were hoping a good foster situation or job would come in that would let them stay together. They’re in love, you see, and can’t bear to be split up.

Ramis selected them from the pictures in the bottle house’s record book. Mario hired my brother to find good-looking young djinn who weren’t likely to be missed. Jeannine he discovered at the cosplay club. Me, well, I didn’t take much convincing. I wanted to believe Ramis was the same big brother I’d loved before. He promised us new lives in the human world. Said we could be supermodels or princes of industry—anything we wanted, because our magic would give us a leg up.

Ramis convinced me Yasmin would join us here someday, and we could be a family again. I could tell he wanted that. I just didn’t realize that was the only thing he told the truth about. He’d never been the djinni I thought he was. Yasmin and I wouldn’t have been free in the human world. We’d have been his and Mario’s slave labor.

Anyway, none of us guessed what we were in for.

Mario said he had to make us small to send us through a portal without it needing a big charge. Crossing dimensions like we planned to do was illegal. If someone official noticed the door was used, the operation would be shut down. Worse, the sultan might send men after us. Because we knew this was true, we let Mario spell us into those lamps voluntarily. Probably we should have refused when we saw they had seals. We wouldn’t be able to smoke out on our own. Mario talked his way around us, claiming the seals were there to protect us from damage on the journey.

He promised another human would pick us up on the other side.

He also promised she’d let us out.

We don’t know where we landed except that it was cold. The oil lamps got really chilly once we arrived. Someone collected us—Mario’s girlfriend, we guess—but no one let us out for days. After a while, we discovered we could hear each other if we yelled loud enough. Jeannine was the one who badgered us into turning physical periodically. We weren’t going to otherwise. We didn’t have food or drink, and we were afraid we’d use up the air. She was right, though. We got thin and shaky but not crazy. When Mario finally let us out, usually one at a time, we had our wits about us.

He had a bunch of things he wanted us to do for him. We smoked through walls to steal stuff and spy on his rivals—drug dealers, we think they were. He used the girls a couple times to seduce people he wanted favors from. None of us wanted Celia and Jeannine to have to do that, but we didn’t know how to prevent it. Each time we went out on Mario’s assignments, he used his wishing rights to compel us. We couldn’t resist obeying, no matter how hard we tried.

He also wanted us to be assassins. He didn’t care if we turned ifrit and went to hell once we died. It wouldn’t be him burning. Luckily, I convinced him none of us were as good at illusion as my brother. Ramis could pass as human, but I warned Mario we’d look too frightening.

He bought it, I think, because he gave up the idea for the time being.

Then again, that might have been because he had another brainstorm to keep him occupied. He thinks the way portals work is too inconvenient. You can only go one way between dimensions, and then you have to find
another
door to bring you back where you came from. Mario didn’t like that. We overheard him and Cara talking about a pair of linked portals here in the human world. Twin nexuses, they called them. He said wouldn’t it be good if they could use them to make round trips? You know, go to our world and then turn around and come back through the same door. He said if the nexuses had the right energy source, he wouldn’t need to recharge them. They’d be a magical perpetual motion thingummy.