Forsaken (The Djinn Wars Book 5) Read online

  “Where do you plan for this water to go, though? That is, I thought most streams and rivers had to empty into another body of water.” Since her own coffee seemed cool enough now to drink, she took a sip, then added, “Anyway, I thought you were an earth elemental. Can you really make a new river?”

  “I am an earth elemental,” he said calmly. “And that will stand me in good stead as I create a new channel for the water to flow through. But I will not be summoning the water, or creating it from nothing. As for where it will go, I thought a pond or small lake over there would complement the park area I left standing.” He gestured with his free hand in the general direction of the location where the convention center had once stood.

  “Oh.” Madison had to admit to herself that she didn’t know much about rivers and streams, or their general characteristics, since bodies of water of any size were something of a rarity in New Mexico. But Qadim sounded confident in his ability to take on the project, and it did sound as if it would be lovely to have a stream flowing past. She’d always found the sound of running water to be soothing, had had one of those tabletop fountains in her studio so she could listen to it as she worked. The djinn was watching her, clearly waiting to see what else she had to say. And she liked that. She liked that he wanted to hear her input.

  “Well,” she said. “I guess we’d better have breakfast. Then we can get to work.”

  Chapter Twelve

  For some reason, Qadim had not expected Madison to take such an interest in his work. He knew many women of the djinn who would have laughed at him for trying to make an oasis out of such a desert. But Madison didn’t think it laughable. She thought it a challenge.

  True, she was an artist, and as such probably wanted to surround herself with things of beauty, to create symmetry and grace where there had been none. Back in her jeans and T-shirt, she went with him to the river and watched as he made one last survey before he began the real work.

  The earth would obey his command, and so he told it to part, to create a channel approximately four arm’s lengths across and about half as deep. At once the sandy soil flowed out of the way, and the waters of the Rio Grande rushed in, following them as they walked ever eastward and the deep furrow in the ground grew longer and longer.

  “How does the water not rush past where you’re working?” Madison asked.

  “Because it knows not to,” he said simply.

  Her brow puckered at that reply, but she didn’t say anything. After only a few days together, she’d already begun to understand that some elements of djinn magic were almost impossible to explain. They simply were.

  The two of them walked along, the wild October wind catching at both their hair, his a blur of dark brown, Madison’s a shimmer of pale copper. And before them the ground continued to open up to receive the Rio Grande’s waters. They were making good time. He had feared that this task might require several days, but it seemed he would be done before the sun set.

  They were quiet after that initial exchange, but Qadim did not mind. He needed to concentrate on what he was doing, and Madison seemed to sense that. But he realized something else as they made their slow and steady progress toward the hotel.

  He was content.

  True, some measure of that contentment could be attributed to the way his body had been sated by the woman who walked along next to him. Her appetite surprised him, but he certainly wouldn’t change anything about that. Indeed, it was refreshing to find someone who was so responsive. That the woman who was such a close match to his needs had turned out to be human was perhaps the strangest part of the entire situation, but Qadim thought he could learn to accept that.

  But his had always been a restless spirit, never entirely satisfied with anything he had. No doubt that restlessness was another reason why he never lingered with any one woman for too long. And though he told himself that the scant few days he’d been with Madison was certainly not a long enough span of time to change him, he did find himself rather astonished that he should find himself so at peace. As one of his former lovers had once sourly remarked, he was not an easy man, in any sense of the word.

  When he and Madison came closer to the hotel, he had the new stream veer slightly to the south so it would skirt the edges of the small park-like area with the red rocks and trees, the only human-made thing still standing in the downtown area except the Hotel Andaluz. And there it waited while he moved the earth to create a pond nearly fifty meters across and twice as long. That earth he set aside for later use, and as soon as it was gone, the water rushed into its new home, filling the cavity he had opened in the ground.

  As the sun began to dip to the west, it painted the surface of that new lake with gold and amber. The wind ruffled the water, and off to one side, the cottonwoods and mesquite trees he had planted shimmered in the warm light as well.

  “It’s beautiful,” Madison said. She had stood next to him in silence as he worked, and now she slipped her hand into his. He liked the feel of it, the touch of her warm, slender fingers. They seemed to fit perfectly around his own fingers. “You know, as we walked, I was thinking.”

  “About?” he asked, hoping she would not bring up Los Alamos again. Yes, she’d retired the subject the night before, but he couldn’t get rid of the idea that the town, with its population of human survivors, still held some sort of unhealthy allure for her.

  “What you’ve done so far is amazing,” she said. “But I just remembered how Clay had stocked the servers back at the bomb shelter with all sorts of horticultural information, a lot of it about native plants and the sorts of crops that can be sustainably farmed in this part of the world. I know you’re not from around here” — she flashed him a quick grin, one so irresistible that he was forced to smile back at her in response — “and so I thought maybe I could go back to the shelter and see what I could dig up that would help. It’s beautiful, but it probably would help to start growing some actual crops. Not now,” she added quickly. “Winter is just around the corner, and it can get kind of brutal in northern New Mexico, although Albuquerque usually doesn’t get hit too hard. In the spring, though….”

  Her words trailed off then, and Qadim thought that the flush in her cheeks wasn’t entirely from the wind. Perhaps she thought she might be presumptuous in assuming that the two of them would still be together when springtime came.

  Perhaps she was presuming things, but at the moment, he had to hope that she was correct in her assumption. All things came to an end; he knew that much. And yet he did not want to think about what it might be like for her to be gone, for him to never see her again.

  When it happens, it happens, he told himself. It could be sometime in the spring, or a year from now. I will worry about it when the time comes.

  “That is a very good idea,” he said gravely, and was gratified by the way she seemed to relax slightly. “If we gather that knowledge now, then when spring comes around again, we will be prepared. But,” he added when it looked as if she was about to speak, “you can go to gather that information tomorrow. The sun is setting now, and I think we have put in enough work for one day.”

  “You mean you’ve put in enough work,” she remarked with a small quirk of her lips. “Mostly I watched.”

  “It went easier, having you there.”

  That comment made her smile, so he led her into the hotel, where the fountains still flowed, and the large fixtures overhead still sent forth the illumination necessary to light up the lobby, even though the power companies that had once supplied their electricity were long gone.

  “Why don’t we eat in here tonight?” Madison said, pointing to the one casbah with the wall fountain of glimmering translucent tile. “It might be fun. Intimate.”

  Qadim thought he liked the sound of that. His labors had wearied him somewhat, but not enough that he wouldn’t be able to rise to the occasion, so to speak. A meal of small plates, tasty morsels as they served in Spain. He thought that would do very well.

  “Yes
, but let us change for dinner.” A glance down at the human attire he wore told him that he had gotten somewhat grubby during his exertions, and while Madison had fared better, he still would prefer that she wear something more elegant. He would have to make sure she had a few surprises waiting for her when she went upstairs to get out of the T-shirt and faded jeans she was wearing.

  “So formal,” she teased, but he could tell she really didn’t mind all that much. “Should I go now, or do you need me to help you? It seems as if cooking on top of all the work you did today might be pushing it a little.”

  “No, I will be fine,” he said. He didn’t bother to add that he planned to use his powers to create the entire meal, something he normally did not do. But he was rather weary, and since they really hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, it would be far easier and faster for him to magic up their meal.

  Her expression told him she was somewhat dubious, but she didn’t argue any further, and instead went on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek before she headed off for the stairs.

  The sensation of her lips pressing against him seemed to linger on his skin long after she had disappeared. Qadim thought he could get used to this.

  And that, he thought, was exactly the problem.

  Madison went up to her suite, since that was where all her personal items were still stored. The opportunity really hadn’t come up for her to ask whether she should take her things into Qadim’s penthouse suite. Maybe that was presuming too much. Yes, they’d been intimate, and yes, they were more or less spending every waking moment together, and yet that might still not be enough reason for him to make their cohabitation a bit more formal.

  Just as well, she told herself. She’d always been used to having her own space. Jacob had made hints about moving in together, but they hadn’t progressed beyond the talking stage before he got the offer to go to Bellingham, and that was the end of that.

  Well, at least Qadim had repaired her blush-toned tunic and pants, so she’d have something to wear. When she opened the closet, though, her eyes widened in shock. Instead of that one dressy outfit and a few shirts, she saw a veritable rainbow of clothes, silks shimmering with metallic embroidery and beadwork, each one more exquisite than the next. And on the floor of the closet were shoes to match, some little beaded flats, some jeweled sandals.

  Qadim, of course. Apparently he’d wanted to give her a little variety in her dress-up wardrobe. It still shocked her, the way he could just pull things out of thin air for her, but in this instance, she was all too happy that he possessed those djinn powers.

  She rummaged through the rack of clothes, trying to decide which outfit she should wear first, and then finally decided on a white tunic decorated in teal and gold beadwork, the yoke composed of heavily embroidered flowers in glass beads and metallic threads. The teal up near her face brought out the green in her eyes and seemed to make her red hair appear a little deeper and richer in tone than it usually was, and she smiled at her reflection after she applied some lip gloss and mascara. She didn’t look anything like the windblown woman who’d walked into the room a half hour earlier.

  The clothing wasn’t the only surprise he’d left her, though. Just as she was about to head out the door, Madison noticed a large wooden box sitting on top of the dresser. Curious, she went closer and raised the lid.

  Inside was a veritable king’s ransom of jewelry — heavy, intricate pieces in both silver and gold, picked out with precious stones in shades of green and red and blue and purple. She was no expert, but she recognized emerald and ruby, sapphire and amethyst, and many more. A pair of dangling earrings in gold set with opals seemed the perfect complement to her outfit, so she took out the plain silver hoops she wore and put in the gold earrings. There was a ring that seemed to match, and then a set of gold bangles that had a definite Bollywood vibe.

  All put together, the ensemble was quite impressive, and she tossed her head a little, feeling the earrings brush against her neck. Normally, she would never have worn anything so extravagant, and the effect made her feel a little wicked.

  She’d have to see what Qadim thought.

  Her jeweled sandals slapped against the metal stairs as she hurried back down to the ground floor. As she came out into the main section of the lobby, she paused and looked up in awe. Qadim had taken the same fabric he’d used to decorate the rooftop bar a few days earlier, and this time had draped it from one side of the mezzanine to the other. Underneath, a number of wrought-iron candelabras glowed with numerous pillar candles. All of the casbahs, however, were dark — except one. The little alcove with the water feature on one wall had more candles gleaming on every side, and on the table in the center was a number of small plates, each with a different but equally delicious-looking item placed on it.

  And there was Qadim, standing outside the entrance to the casbah, obviously waiting for her. Madison’s breath caught at the sight of him, because instead of his usual somber robes, he had on garments in dark wine-colored silk. Wide bands of gold covered both his wrists. The effect was not feminine, though — really, the exact opposite. With his heavy dark hair falling down his back, he had a sort of barbaric splendor, and Madison could feel her heart begin to beat faster at just the sight of him.

  “You are stunning,” he said, coming forward so he could get a better look at her.

  “So are you,” she replied. “I like the new outfit. And mine, too,” she added hastily. “That’s some wardrobe you conjured for me.”

  “You needed more clothing that would suit your beauty. While I understand the need for the utilitarian nature of some of your things, there is no reason why you can’t have something more elegant for the times you are here in the hotel.”

  True, there really wasn’t a reason why she shouldn’t get dressed up while she was here. She wouldn’t wear these things while she was out with Qadim, helping him with his reconstruction of Albuquerque. That just didn’t make sense. But she liked the idea of making their dinners together something of an event, one that required clothing far more formal than her usual attire. Back in the day, people had dressed for dinner. It would be fun to reinstitute that custom.

  “Well, they’re beautiful,” she said. “And the jewelry, too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this impressive outside a museum, or maybe some of those really high-end stores up in Santa Fe on the plaza.”

  His expression darkened ever so slightly when she mentioned Santa Fe, but then his face cleared. “I am glad you like everything. But now…are you hungry?”

  “Famished,” she said honestly.

  “Then let us sit down.”

  Madison followed him into the casbah, where she took a seat next to him. A bottle of white wine sat chilling in one of those ceramic coolers, and Qadim pulled it out and then poured some for each of them. She was a little surprised by that choice, simply because they hadn’t shared anything besides red wine so far, except during their first dinner, but it did seem to work well with the lighter fare he’d set out for them tonight. There was a board with cheese and fruit, and bacon-wrapped dates, and all sorts of other delicious morsels — a kind of patty of stacked potatoes and cheese, and broiled chicken on skewers, and a bowl of sliced mushrooms and peppers bathed in olive oil, with bread for dipping.

  A few of the items she recognized from the times she’d had tapas, but others she’d never tried before. Once again, she wondered how Qadim had managed to put all this together. Their other meals he’d basically cooked the old-fashioned way, and yet she couldn’t figure out how he’d done so on this go-’round. There simply hadn’t been enough time.

  “You want to let me in on your secret?” she inquired as she picked up a small slice of toasted sourdough bread and spooned some of the mushroom/pepper mixture on top.

  “I am a djinn,” he replied, a glint in his dark eyes. “Is there any other secret besides that?”

  “Well, no, I suppose. It’s just that I actually saw you cooking the other meals, but….”
>
  He lifted his wine glass and sipped before replying, “Yes, I did use my powers to prepare this one. I hope that does not make it any less appetizing.”

  She had to think about that revelation for a second. Then she realized it really didn’t matter one way or another. After all, she was fairly certain that he’d coaxed a few things along while putting together all their meals, even if he’d done most of the work himself. “No, it’s all wonderful,” she said. “In a way, that makes me feel better, because then I know you didn’t wear yourself out trying to get all this ready.”

  “No, I most certainly did not wear myself out.” His gaze lingered on her mouth, and a welcome warmth stole over her, the one that told her it didn’t matter that they’d already had sex multiple times in the last twenty-four hours. Her body still craved more.

  “Well, that’s good to hear.”

  He slanted her a sidelong look but didn’t say anything, and instead popped one of the bacon-wrapped dates into his mouth. They ate in silence for a few moments, both of them content to concentrate on the varied flavors of the food before them. In the background, the sound of the waterfall, and, a little farther away, the fountain in the center of the lobby, both combined to soothe away the quiet. For the first time, Madison realized that Qadim never put on any music during their meals. She wasn’t sure why this was the first time she’d noticed that lack, except maybe she’d had so many other things to focus on that it really hadn’t entered her mind.

  Back at the bomb shelter, she’d had music on all the time. Anything to fill the silence, to make her feel that she wasn’t so alone. Clay had compiled an eclectic library — everything from Mozart to Daft Punk — and she’d loaded the favorites she’d had on her phone as well. The playlist varied from day to day, but the only times she wasn’t playing some kind of music were those occasions when she’d watch one of the numerous movies or TV shows he’d stockpiled on the shelter’s servers.