jinn 01 - ember (12 page)

A fleeting thought of sympathy for Phoenix went through me, but it passed quickly. I patted Baker’s hand. “You still want to find Maggie?”

He looked up, his eyes tired. “She doesn’t want to see me. I was a piker last night. Just let her be. She was fine when she left my house.”

A sensation that something bad was about to happen prickled against my skin.

Three jinn entered your building,
the voice said.

The angel was fully alert now, and my skin stretched, like it could barely contain her. I went to the door and waited.

“What happening, ang—”

I pressed my finger to my lips. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway. They tried to break their way through the steel door Holden had made to no avail. I flashed Baker a smile and transported into the hallway. Sure enough, three jinn. Piece of cake.

I SCRAMBLED FOR the door the moment Olivia disappeared. That one needed a leash. Fumbling through three locks, I finally tore open the door. She had two jinn on the floor, mouths open in a silent screams, and the third was simply staring at her. Not that I could blame him. Light shot from her skin and her eyes glowed blue. Her face was blank and inhuman. One by one, the two jinn exploded. The chunks sizzled into ash before they hit the ground. Now was probably the time for the other one to run, but he was rooted in his position. Olivia reached out and grabbed him by the throat right before my phone rang. The blue glow turned to me and shit, she was scary. I held up my hands and took a step back. When she looked back at the jinn, I answered my phone.

“Let me talk to Liv,” Holden said.

“Ah, she’s a bit busy right now, boss.”

“Yeah, I know. Give her the phone.”

I considered chucking it at her, but I didn’t want to piss her off. “It’s for you, angel.” I held out the phone as I took a couple steps toward her. She held out her hand and I dropped it in her palm. The light surrounding her was warm, but not painful—at least not to me. It hummed with energy and power. She pressed the phone to her ear without speaking. Moments later, she released the jinni and he crumbled to the ground. He gasped for air as the blue light coming from her eyes faded. She handed the phone back to me. This time, the area around her felt peaceful, inviting, and safe. I had the fleeting thought that this was about as close to Heaven as I would ever get.

I looked down at the jinni then back up at her.

She leaned in close to the jinni but didn’t touch him. “I have a message for whoever you are working for.” She touched a finger to his forehead, branding him with a mark that was unfamiliar to me. The burn seeped and swelled, but it didn’t spread. “They’re going to have to try a lot harder than this.” The last of the light receded and she went back into the apartment.

I hefted the terrified devil up and dragged him outside. “Don’t come back, you miserable bum.” I tossed him out.

Olivia was sitting on the couch, leaning forward, her head resting in her palms. “Sorry,” she said as I came back in.

“No skin off my nose, angel.”

She sighed. “Was there just the one?”

Her eyes looked a little wet. Black smoke filled a corner of the room and Holden stepped from it. “Just the one,” I told her.

She smiled a little. “How’d things go with Phoenix?” she asked Holden.

“It’s a conversation in progress,” he said and lightly touched her cheek. “How are you?”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to run back here every time I have a problem. I’m okay.” She kissed his cheek. “I think I’m going to lie down for a little bit.”

Holden waited until she was gone for a few minutes before he looked away from the closed bedroom door. “How many were there really?”

“Three that I saw.”

“What happened to them?”

“She went full-blown angel. Two were smited…smote? Regardless, I’m smitten. She’s a little frightening, but she’s definitely the bee’s knees.”

Holden frowned. “I’m serious, Baker.”

“Her skin and her eyes were glowing like fireworks. She latched on to two of them and they exploded. The pieces were ash before they touched the floor, boss. I ain’t never seen nothing like that. Then you called and probably saved the other fella.”

“She blew up jinn? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Why?”

“I’ve seen her do it to demons, but never jinn.”

I nodded. “The angel’s getting stronger.”

Holden frowned. “Did they threaten her at all?”

I would have loved to say that they had, but in the time it took for the events to transpire, I doubted they’d spoken at all. “I don’t think so.”

He nodded. “Come back to Xavier with me. She’ll need space.”

My eyebrows nearly touched. “You mean you want to leave her here alone after we were just attacked? Who are you? What have you done with Holden?”

He smiled slightly. “Anyone who attacks her again has a death wish. Get a move on, Baker.”

A few blocks later, he still hadn’t explained his reasoning at all. “Are you sure it was a good idea to leave her alone?”

Holden nodded. “You were right. The angel part of her is closer to the surface than I thought, and according to what Liv heard, they’re still looking for a weapon to use on her. Right now, she’s probably the safest person in this city. You, however, aren’t safe around her if she goes full-blown angel again. I don’t know if she would recognize you. Or Femi for that matter. I saw what she did to the guardians she judged. Trust me—you don’t want any part of that.”

“I thought she was supposed to integrate with the angel.”

“Yeah, well, nothing turns out the way you think, does it? As far as I can tell, she is all one or the other. Neither wants to share, and so far, Olivia is winning more time than the angel. Or at least the angel is letting her have more time. I don’t know how much longer that will last.”

I let that thought tumble around in the old noggin. “It’s sort of like you’re dating two chicks.”

One side of Holden’s mouth twisted down. “Not really.”

I watched the boss-man. His expression didn’t give away any more than the wall next to him, but I would bet money he was worried about one particular part of what he had told me. “So far Olivia is winning.” What would happen if Olivia’s Dr. Jekyll went a little more Mr. Hyde? “Do you think someday the angel part might fully take over?”

His eye twitched. “I don’t think about it.”

“Do you think maybe you should?”

“No. The only reason Liv is still here is because the angel sacrificed her life and fell so we could stay together. I have to believe that isn’t going to change.” He cracked his knuckles. “Are you ready to tell me what you and Liv are keeping from me?”

It was my turn to clam up. There was absolutely no reason to bring up Maggie, especially if she was out of the picture. As if thinking about her had the ability to conjure her, my phone rang.

Holden frowned. “Are you going to get that?”

“Heh. Yeah. Sure. Swell. Why wouldn’t I?” He rolled his eyes and I answered the phone. “Hey, doll. Glad to hear from you.”

“You have a lot of nerve calling me doll, Baker,” Maggie said. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

“What happened to you? One moment we are fine and the next you are acting like a completely different person. I want to see you. Now.”

“No can do, sweetheart. I should actually go. I have to get a wiggle on.”

“Why are you talking like this? Baker, what’s happening? Are you in some sort of trouble? You can tell me. I will help you. I love you.”

The words caught in my throat. Holden gave me a motion to hurry up. “Gotta go, baby. I’ll call you later.”

I felt like a giant schmuck. She was saying what I’d thought I wanted to hear, but now wasn’t the time to hear it. We were all better off this way. I had no idea if I loved her or could love her, and I didn’t intend to find out.

“Girl trouble?” Holden asked.

“When aren’t girls trouble?”

“Hmph.” He glanced at me. “If you want to cut out, Baker, you don’t have to stay.”

“Applesauce! You trying to get rid of me?”

“Just saying.”

“Well, you just keep it that way.”

We went into Xavier’s and up the steps to the office just like old times. There was something exhilarating about being back in the game. Inside, Phoenix was tied to a chair with a knife protruding from his stomach and a gag in his mouth. Two jinn were on either side of him with broken necks.

“Sorry for the delay,” Holden said. He twisted the knife slightly and Phoenix grunted. Holden pulled off the gag. “Care to tell me what really happened in New Orleans?”

Phoenix spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor and looked back at Holden. “I told you.”

Holden pulled out the knife a little and pushed it back in. “Why don’t I believe you?” He raised an eyebrow. “You see, Baker has a different account of the events that night. Your story better fucking start matching his soon.”

Phoenix glared at me, and I smiled and waved at him, leaning against Holden’s desk. “By the way, Olivia dispatched the goons you sent.”

“Oh, I had forgotten about that.” Holden punched him hard enough that Phoenix spit out a few teeth. “Why are you sending jinn to my house?”

“I didn’t send anyone.” He was hard to understand through the blood, but we managed.

Holden sat back on his haunches in front of the chair. He tore the knife from his stomach and methodically wiped the blade off on his shirt before tapping it against his cheek, and Phoenix’s eyes darted nervously. Jinn might be able to heal, but they couldn’t grow things back. I knew Holden fairly well and eve I had no idea what he had planned for this asshole. “And in New Orleans?”

“I don’t know what happened there. I was given him and told to take care of him. I sent him back to you as a warning.”

Holden stood and walked back behind the desk to the window. He stared out into nothing like I had seen him do so many times before.

After a few minutes, Phoenix cleared his throat, his face pinched with pain. “Would someone mind untying me?”

Holden ignored him. “Why would demons masquerade as jinn?”

“What makes you think they are demons?” I asked.

“They turned to ash. So either Olivia’s power has changed or they were demons. The latter is more likely. Also, how else could they sneak up on you? Who delivered him to you?”

“Why should I fucking tell you anything?” Phoenix asked, looking put out by the whole ordeal.

Holden sighed. “Baker.”

I stood up and shrugged at the bleeding jinni before I punched the other side of his face.

“Hit me all you want. Hell, kill me. That’s what they will probably do when they find out I gave you back your pet.” He directed a bloody sneer at me. “Until we have a deal, I’m not saying anything.”

“Maybe he don’t know nothing from nothing,” I told Holden.

“Untie him.” Holden folded his arms behind his back. When Phoenix stood, he took a couple steps toward him and held out his hand. Phoenix flinched. “You have a deal.”

My mouth fell open. Holden was being Zen and Olivia had agreed to free the jinn? What in the hell was going on?