Bound (Secrets of the Djinn) (20 page)

Unperturbed, Zane says, “Anyone can play, but I reserve the right to hit back harder and faster.  I thought you were off getting drunk?”

Roman shrugs.  “Couldn’t muster the enthusiasm.”

“Here, then,” Zane says, throwing a small, round object at him.  “Cut this up and try not to cry while doing it.”  Roman considers the onion in his hand for a second and then begins a search for a cutting board and sharp knife. 

“What can I do to help?” I ask.  Brielle opens her mouth to say something but I cut her off.  “Shut it, I wasn’t asking you.”  She laughs and sets the rice on the stove to start cooking.

“Plenty of other veggies that need cutting,” Zane informs me.  He starts pulling things out of the fridge and soon, we all have a task to keep us busy.

When all that is left to do is
waiting for the food to be done, Brielle disappears into the dining room with a stack of plates.  I follow her with wine glasses and Roman brings the silverware.  Zane retrieves several bottles of wine from the cellar. 

The smell of good food brings Hank and a begrudging Mrs. Gregori.  “Y’all been busy, I see,” Hank says, pulling out a chair.

“’Bout time someone in this house figured out what the stove was for,” Mrs. Gregori grumbles, stepping from her chair to the seat her husband holds for her.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell Za
ne, who’s carrying the curry chicken to the table.  He nods and doesn’t ask where I’m going. 

I find Malik in Jalynx’s room.  She’s sitting up and they stop talking when I open the door.  “We
made a nice dinner,” I tell them both.  “We’d love for you to join us.”

Jalynx snorts.  “Liar.”

“I doubt we are welcome company for anyone,” Malik adds.

“Maybe not, but you still need
to eat,” I say.  Turning to Jalynx, I add, “You’ve recuperated long enough, get up.”

“I see your compassion didn’t survive the move
to this side of the veil,” she grumbles but she pulls the covers back and swings her legs over.  She’s hit by a wave of dizziness due to the sudden movement and Malik moves to her side, steadying her.  Slowly, he helps her to her feet.  Gazing up at him, she says, “You’re one mean bastard when you’re pissed off.”

Chagrined, Malik mumbles,
“Sorry.”

I lead them to the elevator and then to the dining room.  Conversation stops when we enter.  I can tell that for all Jalynx’s tough attitude, she’d rather be anywhere than here.  Who wouldn’t?

“Have a seat, there’s plenty,” Zane says.  I give him a grateful smile and sit down next to him.  Malik and Jalynx sit in the two empty chairs left on one side of the table.  This puts Malik next to Brielle who stiffens noticeably, then turns to talk to Roman.

Dinner conversation is stilted and awkward but we manage to make it through the entire meal
without anyone throwing a punch or a hissy fit.  Mrs. Gregori is unusually quiet, which makes me believe her mind is busying planning Malik’s and my untimely demise.  I sure hope Malik’s binding is strong.

After dinner, I shoo everyone out and tackle the dishes myself.  I am in serious need of peace, quiet and a mindless task.  I forego the dishwasher in favor of washing things by hand simply because it takes longer.  Unfortunately, I can’t achieve the Zen-like state of mind I was hoping for and just end up with wrinkled fingers by the time the last pan is washed.  I suspect my relationship with Zen mentality is too broken to fix.  I guess that leaves harsh reality and the need for a good kick in the ass to get my head in the right
place so I can do what needs to be done.  I’m sure I can round up a few volunteers to perform the latter.

After wandering around the house for ten minutes, I finally find Zane.  He, Malik, and Jalynx are at the makeshift shooting range in the back yard. 
It consists of a large backstop with several targets and various items to shoot at.  The neighbors are far enough away that the sound of gun fire doesn’t bother them.

“Where is the finesse?” Zane asks Malik.  “Sure, you could blow up the whole damn thing, but you have no pinpoint accuracy or stealth.  You’d make a terrible sniper.”

I expect Malik to get mad, but instead, he says, “I can see your point, but war is not about finesse.  It’s about taking out as many of your enemy as you can.”

“That’s true behind the veil, but I think the human has a point,” Jalynx says and I frown at her.  The little smirk I get in return tells me the ‘human’ reference
was for my sake.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” I say dryly.  “Who knew they had brains?”

Jalynx laughs.  “I see more and more of the old Skye every minute.”

“I assume that’s a compliment,” I reply.

“Assume away,” she says.

“Are you skilled with a gun?” Malik asks me.

I shrug.  “I can hit pretty much anything as long as it’s within a four foot radius of me.”

Zane’s turn to laugh.  “You’re a little better than that.  You’ve hit the target once or twice.”

Disbelief on his face, Malik says, “Let’s see what you can do.”

Zane hands me the .5mm he’s been shooting.  I’ve held it enough that its weight and cold, hard steel are no longer intimidating.  Taking the stance Zane taught me, I aim and fire.  The target is about fifty feet away and I can see from here I took out the right shoulder of the paper man. 

“Not bad,” Zane says with a grin.  “You disabled his shooting arm.”

I decide not to tell him I was aiming for the paper head.  Handing the gun back to him, I ask Malik, “Have you ever fired a gun before?”

“No.”

“He doesn’t normally need a gun,” Jalynx adds.

“I was trying to explain to him that we humans aren’t used to seeing kinetic energy shooting from a person’s hands.  If there’s going to be war on this side of the veil, magic isn’t the way to go.”

I picture the mass hysteria that would ensue and I shudder.  “No, it isn’t.”

Malik holds his hand out and Zane gives him the gun.  Taking careful aim, Malik pulls the trigger.  A large chunk of the tree next to the backstop is torn from the bark. “Wow, something I can do better than you,” I tease.

Malik ignores me and aims again.  Pulling the trigger, he manages to hit the paper containing the human silhouette, but not the human shape. 
Peering down at the gun and then at Zane, he says, “Are you certain the barrel is straight?”  Jalynx hides a giggle with a cough.

Zane holds his hand out for the gun and taking only a second to aim, he squeezes off a shot.  It hits the silhouette dead center in the forehead.  He fires again and this one hits the heart.  A third shot lands in the neck.  With a grin, he says, “Seems fine to me.”

“Show off,” I mutter but I can’t help but be pleased that ‘my human lover’ is a better marksman than my brother.  Magic isn’t everything.

“Let me try,” Jalynx says.

Zane reloads the gun and hands it to her.  She has obviously fired a gun before.  Her stance is perfect and she doesn’t take much longer to aim than Zane did.  In rapid succession, she fires off three shots.  Each of them lands right next to the shots Zane had taken.  He smiles in appreciation of her perfect aim.  “Nice.  Can you do it again?”

Jalynx aims and fires three more shots.  This time, the shots hit the other side of Zane’s.  Handing the gun back to him, she says, “I guess so.”  She sneaks a look at Malik who is peeved by her skill.

“Where did you learn to use a gun?” I ask, ignoring my brother.

Shrugging, Jalynx says, “Standard combat training.”  Malik gives her a strange look but doesn’t say anything.  I don’t think it’s standard combat training for the djinn to learn to use a gun.  Unless they’re coming to this side of the veil.  Suspicion takes root in my mind and I wonder if there’s more to Jalynx than she’s letting on.

Roman and Brielle come barreling out from between the trees with Brielle just a nose in front of Roman.  As soon as she clears the last tree, she whoops, “I won!”

Out of breath, Roman says, “You…cheated.”

Brielle shakes her head and bends over, trying to catch her breath.  “It’s not my fault you can’t stay on your feet.”

“You pushed me!” Roman accuses, causing Brielle to pant out a laugh. 

“What’s the matter, Muscles, can’t take being beaten by a girl?”

Neither of them
has acknowledged us yet even though they must have heard the gunshots.  We’re about a hundred feet away from them and no one has said a word since we all tensed, waiting for whoever would come out of the path.  Out of the corner of my eye, I can’t help but notice the appreciative look Malik is giving Brielle’s tight jogging shorts,  Her fitted white t-shirt is so drenched with sweat, it’s practically see through. 

Jalynx notices as well and a tiny growl escapes her throat before she can pull herself together.
  “Nothing ruins a good time like the arrival of the Defiler,” she mutters, though it’s obvious it’s not Roman’s presence that bothers her the most. 

What a weird love triangle she, Malik and Brielle make.  I can’t imagine any of them letting themselves be vulnerable enough to be in love.  Then again, I don’t suppose my
own hellish love triangle is any better.  Though, is it really a love triangle if only one person is making it so?  Zane and I aren’t participating in it.  Not really.

Brielle’s head snaps in our direction when she hears Jalynx.  After a brief glower, she says to Roman, “I’m going to jump in the shower.”  She turns and walks into the house without another word to any of us.  Roman looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.  He simply follows Brielle inside. 
Just yesterday I didn’t think life could get any more awkward.  Perhaps an old flame of Hank’s could show up to top things off.

Chapter 24

Malik and Zane continue target practice for another hour before Malik is satisfied with his aim.  Watching my brother, I get flashes of us growing up.  I see Malik as a child and he was so full of life.  Jalynx says it was me who encouraged her to be a rebel, but I only had the courage because Malik taught me to be strong.  We were forever sneaking out of the house and going on ‘adventures’, as we liked to call them. It was a game to get past the guards at our front door so we could wander the city.  This was how I learned to street fight.  My mouth and Malik’s cocky assuredness got us into trouble with the city children, the vagrants, the thieves.  Malik expected me to hold my own in a fight.  A deep sadness rolls over me that he no longer feels I can.

Remembering him as a child brings back Jalynx’s words. 
She thinks Malik became a different person when I was exiled, but it started before that.  It started when our parents died.  When he was forced to kill our father.  Malik’s childhood ended then, and he turned into someone I barely recognized as he tried to deal with both his grief and his guilt.  All while taking care of a sister who caused more trouble than I could fix myself until I did something so damning even he couldn’t fix it for me.  I was wrong to accuse Malik of the things I did earlier.  He didn’t just dump me in the human world.  He found me new parents who would love me and he gave me the possibility of a different future than the one destiny wants to fulfill.  While I went to college and dreamt of doing great things as a doctor, Malik stayed behind the veil and fought against everything he was taught to try to make a better world for the djinn.  I would say he suffered much greater for my crimes than I did.

“You look deep in thought, or did I addle your brain so much you’ve sunk into a coma?” Jalynx asks.

Startled out of my reverie, I say, “I’m remembering things.  Being around Malik seems to be bringing my memory back.”

“Are you remembering what a pain in the ass you were?”

I laugh.  “There were moments when my behavior could be qualified as that.”

Feigning bewilderment, she says, “Moments?  You only remember
moments
?”

Malik
glances at us over his shoulder.  “You were never a pain in the ass.”  A distinct snort comes from Zane’s direction though his expression is completely innocent when I look at him.

A wide yawn takes over my mouth.  “I’m beat, you guys.  I’m going to turn in.”

Jalynx shakes her head.  “The mighty warrior prophesized millennium ago gets tired at ten o’clock.  We’ll try to fit it into the war schedule.”

I punch her in the arm hard enough for her to say ‘ow’.  “Shut up.  It’s been a really long day.”

Zane comes over and puts his arm around my waist.  “I’m feeling tired myself.”  Funny, the glint in his eye is not fatigue.

Shaking her head, Jalynx says, “I can’t believe you ended up with a human.”

Malik, who has joined us now, gives her a warning look.  “Your thoughts are not required to be spoken aloud.”  This causes Jalynx’s cheeks to blush scarlet.

Before this gets any more uncomfortable, I’m going to make a quick escape.  “Good night, I’ll see you two in the morning.”

Malik kisses my cheek.  “Sweet dreams.”

“He was getting pretty good towards the end,” Zane says as we walk down the hall towards the foyer and the main stairs.