jinn 01 - ember (22 page)

I COULDN’T CATCH a break.

A fist grazed my jaw as I unsuccessfully tried to dodge it. “I’m getting really sick of people hitting me,” I said, swinging my fist at the big oaf in front of me. I connected, sending him back a couple steps. The fella had at least two feet and a hundred pounds on me.

I took a step back, shaking my arms out at my side as I shifted to match his proportions. It wouldn’t make me any stronger doing it, but normally just the act of changing into to something else gave people pause. Not this demon though. He hit his chest with both hands and growled before he charged. I used his momentum against him, the hit damn near shattering my arm. The demon fell back and then the bastard laughed.

Shit.

Obviously, no one else was in this particular part of this freak show. I hightailed it back outside to continue my quest to find Olivia or Holden. After a bit of a run and a few turns to make sure gigantor wasn’t following me, I went back to just plain Baker. No need to attract bigger enemies than I could handle. This carnival was quite enough for me. I had no idea where anyone else was or if they were even here. For all I knew they, whoever they were could have taken us to three different places altogether, but I wasn’t about to let that bother me. I had a mission with two objectives: regroup and figure out how to save Olivia and Holden. It was too late for them to break up, not that they would, but it wouldn’t change anything. If they made Hell look foolish, heads would roll. I had to figure out the game before it was too late to win it.

It was the game more than anything that was confusing me. Why play it? Why bring me along—unless they meant to use me against them. I had to assume Hell knew what I was. We all had to assume they knew everything we had ever done. By the time this fight was over, there would be no secrets left for any of us who managed to survive.

“There is still time to leave, chol.”

I turned slowly to see trouble sitting on the fence behind me. Trouble came in the form of a stacked redhead with legs that went on for miles.

“It’s been a long time since I have been called that,” I said.

“Obviously someone still remembers.” She uncrossed her legs and jumped down. “This isn’t really your fight. We gave you an opportunity to get out of it in New Orleans, but here you are.” She swung her hips from side to side as she came toward me. “You don’t want enemies like the ones you are about to make. Let me help you.” She went to brush her hand over my arm.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I said, avoiding her and wagging a finger at her. “Fool me once and all that jazz.”

A succubus was dangerous enough while talking. As for touching, you might as well forget about free will for a few hours. Smart. They knew Olivia would clear out demons or jinn without trouble, but succubi were a more of a challenge. I didn’t know how an angel would react to one, but my fingers were crossed that she was immune. Holden probably was, but I most definitely wasn’t.

“Let’s just keep our hands to ourselves, doll.” I winked at her.

She smiled. “I like you. Don’t make me kill you. Just leave.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “So let me get this straight. I was brought here to be told to leave? You aren’t going to use me in any way?”

She raised an eyebrow. “How would we use you?”

“You know the drill. ‘Do what we want or we kill your friend.’” I started walking so she would fall in line with me.

She laughed, following me. “You give yourself too much importance. We don’t need you. They have plenty of real weaknesses. You’re not really one of them, chol. You never will be. You are little more than a blunt weapon. Just leave. Save yourself the embarrassment of another rejection.”

“It wouldn’t be the first or the last time I get the icy mitt. It’s no skin off my nose.”

“Sure it is.” She moved in closer. “I understand. You don’t have to pretend with me. It isn’t easy to always be alone. You have no equals. No one even remembers what you are.”

“How can you understand, doll? You have your sisters of Lilin. I only have my friends.” I was where I wanted to be. I turned to face her.

“I can change that for you.” She leaned toward me, her stare mesmerizing. “I can make you feel like you are a part of something again.”

When our lips nearly touched, I moved to the side, bringing her face to face with a mirror—a fading and cracked mirror, but a mirror nevertheless. Whatever energy she had been sending into me reflected back into her and she crumpled to the ground, her young skin drying and wrinkling. Her hair fell out in clumps and her limbs twisted.

“I’m already a part of something bigger than any of us, sweetheart.”

I didn’t stay to watch her croak. I broke the mirror above her and took the biggest shard I could find, about the size of half my forearm. Then I kept moving. I needed to stay ahead of the succubi or I would never find Olivia and Holden.

“Olivia,” Femi’s voice called out.

I stopped and listened for a moment before turning in the opposite direction and heading toward the sound of her voice. I had no idea how she’d managed to get here unless they’d brought her in too, but if they didn’t want to use us against Olivia and Holden, why bother? Succubi were typically known for their impersonation skills, but that didn’t mean Hell didn’t have a whole slew of trouble waiting here for us. I approached the general direction as cautiously as I could. Creeping through the white, peeling shack and rusted rides, I didn’t see anyone.

A whistle came from above me. I sighed. Why did I always forget to look up?

Two feet in black leather boots with impossibly high and thin silver heels softly thudded on the ground beside me. I looked up with a smile. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? How did you get here?”

The grimace on her face eased into a grin, but she put a hand over her side, slightly shaking her head. “I have no idea. One minute I was driving and the next I was here.” She scooped up a feral cat. “I don’t want to even think what that means for my car.”

I nodded. Femi loved her car more than most any other possession she had. “Are you hurt?”

She winked. “I’m indestructible.”

I laughed. “So you decided to stand on top of a merry-go-round and shout for Olivia?”

“I saw her come out of a building over there.” She pointed southwest. “Then a succubus captured her. I was about to go save the day when you showed up.”

“It took her that easily?”

Femi shrugged. “She didn’t put up a fight. She just sort of crumbled. I figure she must have done something to her.”

“Did you see where she took her?”

Femi rolled her eyes. “Do I look like an amateur? Enough talk. Let’s go get her.” She dropped the cat to the ground.

I let Femi lead as we wove our way through the maze of buildings. “Have you encountered anything yet?”

“Just a succubus, but I ganked the bitch.”

I snorted. “That’s all I’ve seen too.”

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “Nothing about this place feels right. The whole thing is off. I don’t trust any of it.” She stopped at the base of a Gravitron—a round room that spins so fast it glues it occupants to the wall. It was sitting still, but the room was locked.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Shh,” Femi said. “I can hear voices.”

I couldn’t hear a damn thing, so I watched our perimeter for trouble, and it wasn’t long before it found us. Four succubi approached, eyes blazing. “We got company,” I told Femi.

She pulled a bowie knife and I retrieved my shard of glass. Femi laughed. “Old school. Nice.”

We stood back to back, but the succubi didn’t approach. They only surrounded us and waited. Femi and I moved in a slow counterclockwise circle until I felt her shoulders pull up in a sigh behind me and she threw her knife, hitting one dead center between the eyes.

“I never was patient,” she said before she made a dive and roll to retrieve the knife. The two on my side raced toward me. I never was any good at fighting with dames. I kicked one, pushing her back as far as I could, and held the mirror up to the other. When I heard her body smack against the ground, I held the mirror out to the other. But she caught my hand. I was slipping away and everything around me was becoming foggy. Somewhere in the distance, there was the sound of glass shattering. Then suddenly the world came hurtling back into focus. The succubus’s mouth was agape and her eyes were wide and unblinking. A thin trail of blood seeped from her hairline and ran down her face like a tear. She had Femi’s bowie knife sticking out of the top of her skull. Femi pulled it out and the woman sank to the floor.

“Thanks,” I told her.

“No problem, champ.” Femi rolled her shoulders, her hand hovering by her side again. She looked pale.

“Hey, kitten, you sure you’re jake?”

“Yeah. I don’t see anything.” She lifted her shirt and her side was completely smooth and clear.

I pressed my hand to her side. “Does this hurt?”

“No,” she said.

I poked her hard in the side and she hit me.

“Did that hurt?” she asked, her cat eyes flashing at me.

“Maybe it’s a broken rib.”

“Doesn’t matter. We have to get in there before we are all old and gray.”

Light burst from the elevated round room, making it glow like a UFO. The wall panels trembled and vibrated before they exploded outward. A succubus fell at our feet, scorched and writhing in pain. It looked like the angel was awake. I looked up and own at us, glowing like a Christmas decoration. An instant later, she was in front of us and over the fallen temptress. She reached down and plucked the knife from her crispy hand and the succubus screamed. Femi and I weren’t stupid enough to utter a damn word at her. Holden was the only one who’d ever gotten through to Olivia in this state. Maybe neither of us was certain what they angel would think of us, or maybe we both knew our verbal diarrhea would probably end with something like the smoking heap at our feet. Either way, our lips were zipped.

She looked us both over then blinked several times and the light faded into nothing. Olivia smiled back at us. “I knew you’d be here,” she said, looking entirely too pleased with herself. “Holden’s here too.”

“Have you seen him?” I asked.

“No, but I know where he is and what they want.”

She started to walk, paying no attention to the still living succubus at her feet.

“You want me to take care of her?” Femi asked.

Olivia glanced back, her eyes flickering down. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary. She’ll live.”

Femi looked at me. “That’s kind of the point.”

I shrugged and went after Olivia. “You care to share what you’re talking about, angel?”

She smiled. “This is all a dream. They brought everyone who agreed to play in the game. It was the only way they could bring the two of you here. You aren’t really here.”

“Where are we?” Femi asked.

“Whatever you were when you were when you were taken…I think.”

I looked back at Femi quickly. She was driving so she was still in the car. The image of her tiny little sports car in a heap of twisted metal and broken fiber glass filled my mind. Shit, that wasn’t good. “How’s your side, kitten?”

Olivia stopped walking and turned to us. “What’s wrong with your side?”

Femi waved us off. “Nothing. I’m fine. Let’s find chuckles.”

Olivia didn’t look fooled. “Were you hurt here or in real life?”

“I haven’t been hurt here.”

“She was driving when she was taken,” I told her.

She closed her eyes. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Femi looked slightly panicked. “What does that mean? I’m fine. We will find Holden then get out of this freak show.”

“I think I can send you two back,” she said.

“We all leave together,” Femi said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I still don’t understand why they wanted us here.” I said.

Olivia opened her eyes, her face serious. “They wanted me and Holden. The two of you volunteered so they brought you too, but they want to tempt us, plant doubt in us. Holden has been quiet too long. I don’t have time to explain right now. If you want to go, now is the time. Otherwise, we need to find Holden.”

“Where is he?” I asked.

“Tunnel of Love,” she said. “At least he was last time I talked to him.” Her eye twitched.

“A succubus can’t tempt Holden, angel.”

“Lucifer can.” Her eyes met mine.

Lucifer. Great. “Well, isn’t that just the berries?”

Like we were already out of our depth.