We peeled out at an inhuman speed, leaving the storm-swept beach and the rest of the Djinn behind.
David came closest to catching us. I twisted to watch him disappearing in the back window, a tall figure standing in the road, coat blowing and belling in the wind.
“Are you all right?” the black-haired Djinn asked. I blinked at her. She looked familiar, but I had no idea why. “Hey! Can you hear me? Are you all right?”
I opened my mouth to tell her that I was, but something was happening in the back of my mind, something enormous and unbelievable. I knew something, but I couldn’t think what it was.
She must have seen it in my eyes, the knowledge and the fear, because she smiled, and when I saw the smile, it all came into blinding clarity.
That was David’s smile.
That was my face.
That was my daughter.
“Imara,” I said. She closed her hand around mine, and her skin was hot and smooth and real. “Oh, my God. How…”
“Jonathan,” she said, and the smile turned sad. “It takes death to make a Djinn. He told you.”
I remembered him taking the spark of life from me and walking away. He’d known, even then, what he intended to do. Die. Put his power into David.
Give life to David’s child.
I had a child. Okay, she was a six-foot Amazon goddess dressed in flawless, tailored black, but she was my child. And she wasn’t like the others. She wasn’t in thrall to the Earth, at least not completely; she could still think for herself, act for herself. Act against them.
And Jonathan must have known that, too. Maybe this was his way of apologizing.
Cherise gulped and said, “Jo? Is this some kind of alien thing? Are you really, like, from space and a thousand years old and going to take over the planet? Is this an invasion?” She was serious. But then, I supposed that explanation made more sense than the reality.
“You’re kidding, right?” Imara asked, grinning. “Do we look like aliens to you?”
Cherise took her eyes off the road for so long I was afraid we were going to find out the crash-test rating of a Mustang. “Yeah,” she said. “Well, youdo. With the eyes and all.”
Imara winked at her, and through the touch of her hand on mine she poured power into me, healing power, easing my various cuts and wounds and restoring some of my life energy.
“Maybe I am,” she said. “You never know, right?”
Cherise was oddly cheered. “Nope,” she said. “Jo? Where do you want me to go?”
I raised my eyebrows at Imara, who shrugged. So strange, seeing myself from the outside. Although I could see hints of David in the highlights of her hair, and the golden wash of her skin. Me, made exotic.
I couldn’t feel anything yet, but I knew this was going to hit me later, in big, strange ways. Grief and love and terror and awareness of my own mortality, in ways I had never considered.
“New York,” I said. “The Wardens need to get their act together, right now, if I have to kick every ass from here to Beijing. We can’t afford to lose.” Because if the Wardens folded, then there was nothing between the 6.5 billion people on the planet and Mother Earth in the grip of dreams, nightmares, and rage.
With the Djinn at her command.
David had told me, explicitly. Tell them they need to stop her. Stop us.
The Wardens were at war with the Djinn.
Track List
Music to read by (or at least, it really worked for me to write to…)—and this time, it’s a double album!
School… Supertramp
Paper in Fire… John Mellencamp
Larger Than Life… The Feelers
I Scare Myself… Thomas Dolby
Pain and Sorrow… Joe Bonamassa
Harder to Breathe… Maroon 5
Madonna… Jude Christadel
Let Go… Frou Frou
Tell Your Story Walking… Deb Talan
Travelin’ Shoes… Ruthie Foster
A New Day Yesterday (Live)… Joe Bonamassa
Better… Brooke Fraser
Building a Mystery… Sarah McLachlan
Budapest by Blimp… Thomas Dolby
Serve Somebody… Bob Dylan
I’m Ready… Aerosmith
One Way… Amelia Royko
Lifeline… Brooke Fraser
Woke Up This Morning… A3
Highway Robbery… Amelia Royko
Cannonball… Supertramp
CrescentHeights Shuffle… Jude Christadel
Woke Up Dreaming… Joe Bonamassa
I Love You, Good-bye… Thomas Dolby
Support these artists. Without your contributions, they can’t continue to devote themselves to making music. And none of us want that.
And go buy Had To Cry Today by Joe Bonamassa. A special request from me… and a treat for you, too.
—Rachel Caine
A Public Service Announcement
Do you know what to do to prepare for most emergencies—especially those pesky weather-inspired ones? Follow this simple advice:
1. MAKE A PLAN. Create a list of important phone numbers, including an out-of-town contact. Agree on a meeting place with your family or loved ones in case you become separated. Keep your list of numbers and meeting places with you at all times.
2. GET A KIT TOGETHER. Assemble everything on the Ready Kit Checklist below, or pick up a Ready Kit at a local store. Keep it in a safe, dry place at home. This is a recommended list of items. You may want to add things to it, especially if you’ve got pets, small children, or elderly people depending on you.
3. BE INFORMED. Know your local emergency plans, including those at your child’s school. Participate in workplace emergency drills.
Battery-powered flashlight
Battery-powered radio
Extra batteries
Whistle
First-Aid kit
Dust mask or cotton T-shirt
Three-day supply of food and water
Wrench to turn off utilities
Plastic sheeting
Duct tape
Moist towelettes
Rain gear (ponchos and hats)
Warm clothes
Emergency blanket
Container for extra water
Extra doses of important medications
Personal identification
Leather gloves
Garbage bags and ties
Family communication plans
Special needs items
Visit www.ready.gov to find out about different emergencies and how to prepare for them. Alwayslisten to weather warnings from your local authorities, and seek shelter if bad weather approaches.
And please… leave stormchasing to the professionals.
Best wishes,
Rachel Caine
About The Author
Rachel Caine is the author of more than fifteen novels, including the Weather Warden series. She was born at WhiteSandsMissileRange, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, and an insurance investigator, and still carries on a secret identity in the corporate world. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas with their iguanas, Popeye and Darwin, a mali uromastyx named (appropriately) O’Malley, and a leopard tortoise named Shelley (for the poet, of course). Visit her website at www.rachelcaine.com.