She kept the smile, but there was tension in it. “Of course I can. I have the ability to conjure up riches and other wonders. I can make your dreams-”
“Stop it. I’m not falling for this.”
The myths about djinn granting wishes aren’t entirely fabricated. She wasn’t all-powerful, but she could definitely pull some tricks out of her hat. When faced with danger, a djinn’s most common strategy is to try bargaining with the enemy. Unfortunately, the “wishes” they grant rarely turn out the way others expect.
Uneasily, she backed up toward the wall. She hit the edge of the circle first. Glancing around, she realized she was trapped. The smile slipped, replaced by true fear.
“Surely there’s no need for violence,” she said. Her eyes widened. “Please.”
I stared. I rarely had Otherworldly creatures beg for mercy. I hesitated for a moment, then my Kiyo-induced bad mood took over. I poured my will into the wand, ready to push her through the gate.
She felt the power charge up in the air and kicked into true self-defense mode, now that she realized her wheeling and dealing wouldn’t work. Her magic trickled into the circle. It reminded me of mist or fog, a soft dampness filling the air. I blinked in surprise. I didn’t usually sense magic in this way. Most often, I felt Otherworldly power as a tingle or a pressure. This was tangible.
She saw my surprise. Her eyes widened with hope. “You see? You have no need to tear me apart. Like calls to like.”
Like? I was puzzled but didn’t hesitate to take advantage of her distraction. Her magic might be weaker in my world, but I still didn’t want to fight it head-on. Far easier to deal with her this way.
A moment later, I had made my connection to the Underworld. She grew more pale when she realized I’d used my wand to ensnare her and begged me again for mercy. Gritting my teeth, I thought about the way Kiyo had used me and grew angrier. No. No quarter for Otherworldly creatures.
And yet…staring into her eyes, I recalled the brief feel of mist from her magic. Like calls to like. I didn’t know what that meant, but it had struck me. At the last possible second, I decided to spare her after all-in a manner of speaking. There was no way I could allow her to stay in this world. Instead, I shifted my focus to the Otherworld and sent her over there in entirety, rather than giving her instant death via the Underworld.
When it was all over, I stared at the empty bathroom, wondering what had come over me. “Going soft,” I muttered.
It took Lara awhile, but she found something about Kiyo a few days later, the same day I decided to go see Roland and break the news that I was going to go after Jasmine. Something about that encounter with Kiyo and the elemental in the room had made me decide I couldn’t leave that poor girl to the mercy of the Otherworld. Roland might not like it, but he couldn’t stop me, not anymore. My powers had surpassed his awhile ago. I also intended to ask him about my newfound status as bachelorette of the year in the Otherworld.
At least in the few days since being with Kiyo, there had been no other attacks specifically targeted at me. Wil had left a million messages with Lara, but we’d been putting him off. I’d had only a handful of small jobs: one banishing and a couple of exorcisms. I could almost have said it was a slow week. Not much was happening while I waited.
What also wasn’t happening was any healing of the scratches on my back. The blood had dried up and scabbed a little, but the marks didn’t fade at all. They stayed red and angry-looking, although they didn’t hurt. Every morning I would look at them, hoping they had disappeared. They never did.
I harbored a secret thought that if the scratches went away, so would my feelings about Kiyo. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I’d spend my days venting and fuming over him, and at night, scandalous dreams would play through my head, making me wake up hot and restless. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I’d never behaved this way, especially with a guy who represented everything I stood against.
“I finally turned up a Kiyo Marquez at a vet hospital in Phoenix,” Lara told me as I drove out to my mom’s house. “I had to call around a lot. They say he doesn’t work a full schedule there and is on vacation for the next two weeks. I couldn’t get anything else. His address and phone number are unlisted.”
I thanked her and pondered this. So Kiyo hadn’t completely lied. He had a job, a very human one. It still didn’t mesh with what I’d observed or knew.
I saw my mom bent over in her garden when I arrived, requiring me to sneak inside quietly so I could speak with Roland in private. I found him in the kitchen, almost exactly in the same place as last time.
We exchanged greetings, and then I dove in, deciding to save the Jasmine thing for last.
“More of them know my name. I’ve fought with two now who knew me as more than Odile. I also heard about a third who knew who I was.”
“Were the attacks specifically targeted at you, then? Like revenge attacks?”
“One was. The other was part of a job. Why? Did they come looking for you when your name got out?”
“A little. Inconvenient, but not the end of the world.”
“The weird thing here…”
“Yes?”
“Well…they’ve also sort of been, like, soliciting me…”
He arched an eyebrow. “Like for sex?”
“Yeah.” Roland undoubtedly had done all sorts of sexual things in his life-most with my mother, God help me-but he was enough of a father figure that I didn’t feel entirely comfortable discussing such things with him.
“Well, you know how they are with human women. If one were trying to get back at you…well, rape is a common enough act of retaliation.”
“Great. I’d rather they just beat me to death.”
“Don’t make jokes like that,” he warned. “If your name was just discovered, it’s probably pretty hot right now. But I imagine the hype will die down eventually. Just wait it out. In the meantime, watch your back-not that you don’t already. Do the usual things. Keep your head clear. Stay armed at all times. Don’t drink.” He cut me a look. “Stay away from the peyote.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, I haven’t done that in years.”
He shrugged. “You’ve got something else to unload. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Well…speaking of watching my back…”
I stood up from the chair and took off the loose button-up shirt I wore over a tank top. I swept my hair aside and turned around so he could view my back.
He gave a small grunt when he saw the scratches. “Those look nasty. You get in a fight today?”
“They’re from four days ago. They won’t heal.”
“Do they hurt?”
“No.”
“What gave them to you?”
“Not sure. He looked human, but…I don’t know.” I let my hair drop and turned around, putting the shirt back on.
“How’d he get you at that angle and position?” Roland looked puzzled. “Were you wrestling?”
“Uh, that’s really not important,” I said hastily. “Have you ever seen anything like it?”
“Not exactly, no, but I’ve seen enough to not think this is too out there. If there was enough magic or whatever used to inflict them, they may just take awhile to heal.”
That didn’t really make me feel better, but I was unwilling to elaborate on my encounter with Kiyo.
I took a deep breath. “There’s one more thing.”
“I know. You’re going after the girl.”
So much for my dramatic proclamation. “How’d you know?”
“Because I know you, Eugenie. You’re foolish and headstrong with a naive sense of righteousness. You’re like me.” Not sure if that was a compliment or not.
“Then you understand.”
He shook his head. “It’s still dangerous. And stupid. You cross in your own body and-”
“And what?”
We both looked up like guilty children. My mother stood in the doorway in a wide-brimmed hat and dirt-covered gloves, further evidence of her gardening. I had a few planters out in the rock garden that passed for my backyard, but she maintained a veritable oasis. Her long, slightly graying hair streamed down her back as she regarded us. Her hair lacked my reddish hue, and her eyes were just blue, not violet-blue. Otherwise, everyone said we looked alike. I wondered if I’d age like her. I hoped so, although I would probably dye any gray away.