The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (36 page)

I
open my mouth to speak, then snap it shut. I nod my head instead, feeling Taj’s
hand on my shoulder.

“Goodbye,
Mir,” he says.

“Goodbye,”
I say. “And thank you. For coming back.”

She
nods before disappearing from our lives. Forever.

“Are
you going too?” I ask. I am unable to look him in the eye. Afraid of his
answer.

“No,”
he says, lifting my chin so I can see his smirk.

“But
on the roof you said–”

“I
lied. As it turns out, I have a lot of living to do as a free Djinni. And I
don’t plan on ever getting caught by another Magician,” Taj says.

“Where
is Sophie?” I ask. “I thought when you both left...”

“That
I deserted you? I can’t blame you, but no. I merely needed to retrieve Mira to
make sure we could overpower you while Kitra was in control. And as for Sophie,
she is home. Safe. I’ve erased her memories, Lee.”

“It’s
for the best,” Achan says.

We
both turn to glare at him, our eyes glowing green. He cowers back into the
shadows of the dungeon corner.

“She
won’t remember ever meeting us,” Taj says gently, turning his attention back to
me.

I
feel a pang of sadness but have to agree that this is best. She’s witnessed too
much horror for someone so young. “She was really wonderful.”

“The
best Master I ever had,” Taj says. “Smart too. And powerful.”

“I
believe she will use her powers for good,” I say.

“She
just may break the mold,” Taj says, moving toward Achan once again.

“I’ll
do anything,” Achan says.

Taj
squats beside him and pokes a finger at his forehead. “The question is, how do
we get you out of there?”

“You
can’t,” Achan says. “Not without killing Jered.”

“If
I found you another body, could you transfer to it?” I ask.

“I
won’t,” he says. “Even if you find one that would work.”

“Work?”
I press.

“A
Magician related to me by blood. Anyone else would be too strong to take
control of.”

I
swallow, thinking.

“You
will not use Sophie,” Taj says.

“No,”
I agree. “What if the Magician is no longer occupying his body?” I ask Achan.

“Where
would I find a fresh Magician’s bod–” He stops cold, following my gaze to
Cephas’s lifeless form. “No! I won’t leave this body.” He grasps his head with
a moan, falling to his side. Then with deep breaths, he looks up at me.

“Jered?”
I ask.

“Leela,
I can’t hold him long. You have to hurt me. I don’t think he can stand the
physical pain. I think he’ll move to the other body just to get away.”

“I
don’t want to hurt you, Jered,” I say.

“Please,”
he says, then falls into his hands yet again.

“You
won’t do it,” Achan says. “You won’t hurt him.”

“She
doesn’t have to,” says Taj. “I have no particular emotional attachment to the
boy.” He twists his hands together, and Achan shrieks, doubling over in pain
and clutching his leg.

“Jered!”
I cry.

Taj twists again. More shrieks. And again.

“Stop,”
I sob, tugging at Taj’s arm. “Please, Taj.”

“Please,”
echoes Achan.

“Hmm,”
says Taj. “No.” He twists again. “Leave.”

“Wait!”
I scream. “It isn’t working. I think I know another way.”

Taj
holds with hands raised at the ready. I nod, grateful, and rush forward all at
once, diving and squeezing into Jered’s body, just as I had with Gabe the day
that I met them.

Jered
is a crowded place. I feel around, finding his thoughts, which now fade dimly into
the background. He’s expended so much energy trying to save me.
Don’t leave
me, Jered
, I beg.

Achan’s
mind is the one that answers. Loud and frightened.

Leela,
how can you? I didn’t know you could...

I
force myself on him, prying into his thoughts, digging back for the answers I
need while I have this chance. I find old memories buried deep within. Things
seen from his own eyes.

I
see him making love to Kitra. Promising to bring me to her as a prize. I see
myself being dragged into the lead cage by Cephas’s chain. I feel the sick
twisting in his stomach when I ask “why,” and he has to turn away from my
sunken eyes, unable to face me. I see him wince from the shadows, where I never
even knew he’d been, as Kitra and Cephas drink my blood – as the inhuman screams
scrape my throat raw.

Then
comes the moment I have been searching for. A conversation between him and
Cephas.

“If
you can wear her down,” Achan says. “I can come to the rescue. We can make it
look like I best you, though of course I never could.”

Cephas
grins, obviously flattered. “We’d have to make it look good.”

“I’m
not sure she’d be able to tell at this point. But we have to make sure. Make
absolutely sure she will do it. She must feel that there is no alternative. And
that I am the safe choice.”

“You
will share her with me?” Cephas asks, taking a long swig of ale.

“Of
course I will.” Achan claps him on the shoulder.

Cephas grunts in acceptance and rises from his chair. “Give me some time.”

“Not
too much, Cephas.” Achan is nervous now, contemplating how to convince Cephas
to take it easy on me. “She has to be conscious.”

“I
can arrange that.”

“And...and
Kitra won’t be gone long; we must do this before she returns from the
neighboring village.”

“You
do your part; let me do mine. I want time with her. A good hour at least, or
you can wait and do it Kitra’s way,” Cephas says.

Then
I am there, inside, while Achan waits in the shadows as Cephas tortures me.
Pain. His pain. But it is not enough to force him to move early. He does not
come into the light until I seem nearly ready to lose consciousness. He needs
me awake.

I’ve
had enough. I have my answers.

You
will leave now, Achan. I have already lost someone I care
about; I am not losing Jered too.

I
move Jered’s body forward. Achan fights, but I am far stronger. I press our
fingers to Cephas’s temples.

Leela,
wait. No! I can explain...You don’t know what it was like.

Actually, now I do.

I
push with all the force of my power, wrapping myself around Achan’s essence and
catapulting us both outside of Jered’s body.

I
tumble onto the floor to find Jered collapsed on top of Cephas.

We
wait, Taj’s hand on my shoulder. My own on my mouth. Jered’s fingers twitch at
the same time Cephas’s do. I scramble forward, pulling him away and into my
lap. Healing his wounds.

His
eyes open, drinking me in.

“Jered?”
I whisper.

“I
don’t know how to prove it,” he says, sitting up.

“Kiss
me,” I say.

He
reaches out tentatively, drawing my face to his. I close my eyes as his lips
brush mine. So soft, so gentle, that the kiss is that of a phantom. I breathe
in sharply and press forward, kissing and crying and laughing all at once.

“I
take it he passes the test,” Taj says, watching Cephas’s body rise from the
floor.

I
cannot remember ever seeing Cephas frightened. It is an interesting sight.

“Lee?
I got mine. Mir got hers. Your call.”

I
rise, Jered’s hands locked with mine. He holds me tight, and I lean my head
against his chest for strength as his aura, a deep purple, enfolds me like a
blanket.

“What
should I do with you?” I ask, facing Achan.

“Let
me go. Being in this body is punishment enough,” Achan says.

“Jered?”
I ask, turning back to him. “He tried to kill you.”

“That
doesn’t mean murdering him is right,” he says, mouth on my hair.

“Even
after all you’ve seen?” I ask. “All you’ve been through. You don’t want him
dead?”

Jered
takes my shoulders in his hands, and holds me at arm’s length, looking me in
the eyes. “I’d be lying if I said I thought he didn’t deserve it. But if you
kill him, his blood will be on your hands.”

“Do
you know how many people’s blood are on my hands because of him?” I ask.

“Whatever
you decide, I will stand by you, Leela. But you don’t have to do this. You
don’t have to murder. This is your own choice,” Jered says.

“He
made me what I am,” I say.

Images
flash through my mind. Achan and I making love on the desert sand. Rhada’s
bloated body on the wall. Cephas’s hands burning tracks in my skin. Kitra’s
mouth covered with my blood. Achan saying, “From now on you will refer to me as
Master.”

“I
really did do it for us,” Achan says, pulling my attention away. “It was the
only way.”

Grinding
my teeth, I turn back to Jered and lay my head on his chest. I want to scream
so many things. That he was not the one who had to pay the price. That he never
had to turn me over in the first place. That he could have actually let me go.
But I know that no matter what I say, he will never understand.

“I’m
sorry,” I say to Jered instead, grasping his shirt in my hand. Achan crumples
behind me, writhing on the floor. As I let go of Jered’s shirt, Achan stops and
retches in the dirt.

I
wave an arm behind me, and Achan vanishes from view.

“Where
did he go?” Jered asks.

“He
can spend eternity with his true love,” I say. “Or at least the rest of his
miserable life. If it was good enough for Mira, it is good enough for me.”

I
feel Taj’s hand on my back. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait,”
Jered says, looking around. “Where’s Gabe?”

“Jered,”
I say, reaching up to stroke his face, tears streaming down my cheeks. “He’s
gone. I’m so sorry. It was Kitra.”

Jered
stumbles back slightly, but I grab onto his hands, steadying him. His Adam’s
apple works up and down in his throat, as he stares off into space.

“I’m
sorry,” Taj says.

Jered
jerks to life. “No. No, you have to bring him back.”

Taj
and I exchange a glance.

“Jered,”
I say, reaching for him. “He’s gone. There is nothing we can do.”

Jered
shakes his head, nearly backing into the stone wall. “There are two of you. You
can. Right? I mean he can’t...he can’t be gone.”

“Jered,
I’m sorry,” I say. I wouldn’t have thought there could be more tears in me, but
here they are, falling freely once again.

Jered
looks desperately to Taj, who nods to confirm what I’ve said.

“I
want to see him. Where is he?” Jered searches wildly around for his best
friend.

I
wave an arm, and Gabe’s body appears at our feet. Seeing him there again, so
pale and still, clothes matted with blood, I fall to my knees by his side,
crying.

Jered
freezes at the sight of him, then turns away, vomiting onto the straw. When he
finishes, he turns back toward us, clutching his stomach.  

Silently,
I arrange Gabe’s hands to rest across his chest and fix his glasses, askew on
his face. Taj claps, and Gabe rests on a satin sheet in clean clothes. The
dagger is gone.

“Thank
you,” Jered says, unable to tear his eyes from the body. “I...he...I should
have listened to you, Leela. I shouldn’t have told him about you in the first
place.”

“This
is all my fault,” I say. “I did this. Please believe I would give anything in
the world to change it.”

Jered
pulls me into his arms, rocking me. “This isn’t your fault, Leela. This was
Kitra’s fault. And my dad’s. I’m so sorry I ever doubted you.”

“You
had every right to, Jered. I’d give all my power to get him back.” My throat is
too tight to say any more.

We
stand in silence for quite some time, each of us remembering the boy with the
glasses and the goofy grin.

“Let’s
get you home,” I say, finally.

“Aren’t
you coming?” he asks, voice still laced with pain.

“Coming?”
I repeat.

“Home?
I mean, I just thought that you felt the same way I...but I guess you don’t.”
He looks away embarrassed, but not before I see more tears escape down his
cheeks.

“How
is it you feel?” I ask, turning his face toward mine and stroking the moisture
away with my thumbs.

“You
know how I feel, Leela. I told you before,” he whispers.

“But
Achan had tampered with your emotions.”

“He
couldn’t change how I felt, Leela. Just how strongly I reacted. Leela, I really
do love you.”

Of
course Achan could not change his actual feelings. It would take several Djinn
to accomplish that. I am such a fool.

Jered
swallows, waiting with wide eyes for me to respond. I glance over at Taj, who
rolls his eyes back, placing a hand on his hip, and I laugh. Jered’s face
falls, and I realize he thinks I am laughing at him, so I grab hold of his
shirt, pull him to me and press my mouth to his. He goes rigid for a moment,
then relaxes into the kiss.

“Home
it is then,” Taj says behind us, and we are still kissing when he deposits us
on the hotel roof.