The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (34 page)

Finally
the man pulls away, wiping at his mouth. Around him, a dim aura swirls with
color. I grow dizzy.

“How
does it feel?” Kitra asks.

The
man flexes his fingers. “Good. I need more.” He lunges toward me.

“Ah,
but that is all I can give,” Kitra says, pulling me behind her and stopping him
with the palm of her hand against his chest.

“What
about me?” asks the woman.

“Tell
me where to find them,” Kitra says.

The
woman swallows and glances at the man. “You will find some in our homeland. They
walk amongst us humans, but you can always tell by their eyes. Bright green
like hers. If you follow our route back through the desert and then up North
toward the sea, you will find some. They live near the water. Our legends say
they like the water, it attracts them, as nectar does bees.”

Kitra
smiles. She pulls me back over and slices at my arm again, as the cut has
already begun to heal. She offers me to the woman, who drinks hungrily. I
stagger after a few minutes, unable to hold my balance. Achan pulls me from
them.

“That’s
enough,” he says, then stalks away with me in tow.

He
scoops me into his arms and lays me on his bed, shutting the door carefully
behind us.

“Are
you all right?” he asks.

“Yes,
I think so,” I say.

“She
was trying to weaken you. She will no doubt send the other two after these new
Djinn, if she hasn’t done so already. We must move quickly. I will distract
Kitra tonight. You get that stone. My life depends on it.”

Death and Pain

ephas
circles me until his hot breath inches down my neck. My own breath speeds up.
His hands grip the back of my shirt, and he rips it.

“The
last thing I remember,” he says. “Is Kitra telling Mira to freeze me in stone
because I let you trick me out of my own Djinni. Then here we are, Leela. It
took me a minute to understand that girl was actually Kitra. Obviously it’s
true even though she looks different. But your face I recognize. And you know
what?” he asks, drawing his hands down my shoulders and back, causing me to arch
in pain. “I blame you for everything. So, this is going to be fun.”

He
tugs at the remainder of my shirt, and it flutters to the ground. All I can
think is,
I must deserve this because of the mess I’ve made
. He comes
around to the front of me and grins. “What is this thing? Some strange body
armor?” he asks, pulling at the shoulder strap of my bra.

“Get
away from her.”

Jered?
I dare a glance. He stands in the doorway, staring at Cephas.

“Who
is this?” Cephas asks. “And what gibberish is he speaking?”

“I
said get away from her,” Jered repeats.

No.
Not Jered. It has to be Achan. Doesn’t it? Sorrow, fear, and memories flow over
and through me. They mingle with the searing sting of the lead, threatening to
drown me in pain.

Cephas’s
head rolls back on his shoulders as he cracks his neck. He turns back to the
figure in the door, only the figure has stepped further inside the cell. Closer
to Cephas. I see the power building in his hands. My eyes grow large.

“Who
are you supposed to be?” Cephas bellows.

Jered’s
hands let fly a blast of blue lightning that knocks Cephas off his feet. He
lands with a thud against the stone wall, and Jered runs to my side, opening
the shackles with a wave of his hand. I collapse into his arms, and he carries
me from the room, setting me gently on the floor.

“I
couldn’t understand a word he said, but I didn’t have to,” Jered tells me,
stroking my forehead. “Are you all right, Leela?”

“It
is you,” I say.

“For
now. I keep blacking out when he takes over.”

I
throw my arms around his neck, burying my head in his chest. “You have to go,”
I say, through my sobs.

“Not
without you,” he says pressing his cheek to my head. “I won’t leave you here
with them. I see now why you couldn’t trust me right away. Leela, I’m so sorry
that I didn’t trust you either.”

“You
couldn’t have known, but you have to go now, Jered. Please,” I tug at his shirt
with my fists, trying to make him listen. “When he wakes up...oh, Jered, he can
give me commands.”

Before
he can answer, Jered is plucked from my grasp. Cephas punches a massive fist
into his stomach. I watch as he crumples to the floor, and Cephas pulls him up
by a fistful of hair, drawing back for a second round.

“Stop!”
I cry, and Cephas turns his eyes on me. He drops Jered in a heap on the floor,
and I scoot back away from him, toward the steps.

“Get
over here,” he commands. His face is cast in shadow except for the torchlight,
which reflects off his eyes like two burning orbs.

I
stand, wondering how my feet can actually support me, but just as I take a step
forward, Cephas’s fiery eyes roll back in his head, and he crumples to a heap
on the floor. Behind him, Gabe is left standing, silhouetted in the glow from
the hall and clutching an unlit torch in his hands.

I
rush forward and throw my arms around him. He lets the torch fall and pats me
on the back. “Wow, I should hit people over the head more often.”

“We
have to go before he wakes up,” I say. “I must obey him.”

Jered
climbs to his feet. “You can understand his commands?”

“Yes,
I understand all spoken languages. His is an ancient form of Aramaic.”

Gabe
takes one of Jered’s arms and circles it about his shoulder. I take the other
side, and we hurry up the stairs.

“Who
is that freak?” Jered huffs.

“He
was Taj’s original master,” I say. “Cephas.”

Some
kind of dark recognition passes over Jered’s face, and I recall Taj’s report of
my earlier babblings. I look away, toward Gabe.

“Um,
Leela, you might want to put, you know, a shirt on,” Gabe says.

I
glance down and conjure a new one.

“Okay,” I say. “Kitra’s probably figured out by now that Sophie
tricked her and Taj is not hers. I just hope they were able to get away before
she got back.”

“I don’t,” Gabe says.

“What?” I ask,
bringing us to a stop. Jered backs into the wall between two marble people,
clutching his head, and it is all I can do not to break down and sob. Achan
appears to win the battle as his eyes widen at the sight of me, and the coward
turns and runs.

I place a hand on
Gabe’s chest, stopping him from pursuing his friend. “Let him go. He is safer
away from me so long as I’m controlled by Kitra.” It hurts to say it, but I
know it is true.

Gabe pounds a fist
into his palm in frustration. “Maybe Taj is still around,” he says. “He could
probably kick that bitch’s ass, and then this whole thing would be over.”

“I would know if I’d been freed. Or if my keep were
transferred to someone else,” I say.

“Oh.” Gabe’s face falls.

“I’m sorry, Gabe. I wish Jered had never found me,” I say,
touching his arm.

“I don’t,” Gabe says. “Leela, this is the most exciting thing
that’s ever happened to me. You make me feel like a real superhero, you know?
Taking on the bad guys, well, it feels pretty damn good.”

I smile and hug him once again. When I pull away he’s blushing so
deeply, his skin matches the carpet below.

“You better be careful,” Gabe says. “First that kiss, now all this
hugging and shit. I might start thinking you like me or something.”

I
am about to answer when Gabe’s entire body shudders. His mouth forms an
O
of
surprise and a strangled sound escapes his lips. I reach for him as he falls,
blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. I lower him to the floor,
confused until I see his hand clutching the hilt of a dagger now protruding
from his side.

“Gabe!”
I grasp his leather jacket in my fists and will him to heal. “Breathe!” I sob,
shaking him. But he doesn't comply.

“He’s
dead,” Kitra says from behind me. “I don’t miss.”

Taj's Choice

itra bends over me,
yanking me up by my wrist. I wrestle myself away from her grasp and throw
myself on Gabe’s lifeless body, holding on with all my might as more tears
splash down on his shirt.

“How touching,” Kitra
says. “But we really don’t have time for this.”

I quake with rage,
standing slowly because I know I must face her. At least Jered got away. Maybe he’ll
listen to me and leave. Find a way to push Achan permanently from his body.

“I thought I left you with Cephas,” she says. “But then again, I
thought I had a second Djinni as well.”

If only I could strike her dead.

“He is gone and does not answer my calls. And the body of the
child is gone too. Tell me what it is that weakens my hold over my Djinn.”

I pause, considering the best way to fulfill this command.
“Perhaps I’ve just grown more cunning over the centuries,” I say at last.
“You’ve always underestimated others.”

“I see,” her face is nearly purple with fury. “And where will I
find Cephas?”

“Unconscious on the dungeon floor,” I say.

She raises her eyebrows. “And this human helped you escape?”

My eyes fall on Gabe’s lifeless body, and the tears threaten to
choke me all over again. “Yes.” He did. Just not alone.

“Then it is just as well he is dead.”

“I hate you,” I cry, and the sound of my voice echoes down the
massive walls.

A smile spreads slowly across Kitra’s face. “Good. You can dwell
on that while you serve me for the rest of eternity. Now get back in the
dungeon. Cephas and I are going to have some fun.”

***

I spot them both crouching in a dark corner alcove as we descend
the dungeon steps. They appear deep in conversation. I say nothing, hoping not
to attract Kitra’s attention, but stare wide-eyed as Sophie hands Taj something
that catches the light and makes me squint. A large brown and gold stone. His
eyes meet mine, as he crushes it in his fist. My fingers flex involuntarily,
ready to protect my master.