djinn wars 03 - fallen Read online

  Since we’d been on these sorts of scavenging missions before, we’d thought ahead and brought flashlights with us, although we’d decided to get more when and if we found them. Candles would help to light the resort at night, but they weren’t inexhaustible. Flashlights and battery-powered lamps for camping would make a good supplement, depending on what the hardware store had stocked.

  The flashlights and spare batteries were easy; we put a dozen flashlights and twice as many packages of batteries in the shopping cart we retrieved from the front of the store. Toward the back, we located the camping section, and gathered up three of the lanterns we found there.

  “Good thing the Heat struck in September,” I said. “At least the stores hadn’t put their camping gear away in the stock room for the winter.”

  I’d expected Jace to nod, but instead he went still, staring down at me with a sad expression in his dark eyes. “It would have been better if it had never occurred at all, but we were not given that choice, unfortunately.”

  A protest rose to my lips. At the last second, though, I stopped myself from speaking. I’d wanted to say that if it hadn’t happened, then he and I would never have been together. But that was a terrible thing to think. I loved him and couldn’t imagine being without him. However, I could never say that our love was worth the deaths of millions of people.

  Billions, I corrected myself. That “B” is pretty damn important.

  Jace seemed, in that way of his, to pick up on what I was thinking. I wouldn’t say he was psychic exactly, but very good at reading my expressions, my silences, the things I didn’t say clearly just as important as the things I did.

  His voice was soft as he said, “Yes, the thought of not having you is not a pleasant one for me, either. I suppose I had a dream of still being with you, of coming to you as those of my kind had done with other mortals from time to time in the past.”

  “Would that even have been possible?” I asked. I’d wondered about it here and there, mostly because of his somewhat oblique references to other djinn/human pairings. From what I could tell, our relationship — and the relationships of the other elementals in Taos and their Chosen — didn’t seem to be unprecedented. If the notion of such relationships had been completely alien to the djinn, then the Thousand would never have tried to save any of us.

  “It would have been possible for us to be together. But not easy.” He ran his flashlight over the shelves in front of us. “Is there anything else here that would be of use?”

  I could tell he didn’t really want to talk about the situation. But these were the very subjects we needed to discuss. Yes, we’d spent months together, but it was only at the very end of that period when I’d learned what he really was. Now I felt as if I needed to make up for lost time.

  Still, it would be rude not to answer his question, so I quickly looked over the camp stoves and sleeping bags, then shook my head. “I don’t think so. They’re going to retrofit the ovens to run on propane, and beds and bedding are two things we really don’t have to worry about. So let’s keep looking for those generators.”

  Jace seemed relieved that I hadn’t pushed the subject, and maneuvered our shopping cart down another aisle as he headed toward the rear of the store. Not looking at me, he said, “There’s a question burning in your mind, isn’t there?”

  “Yes,” I replied simply.

  “Then ask it.”

  Well, he had once told me that I could ask him anything. And he’d always been truthful with me, once his djinn heritage had been revealed and he no longer felt he had a terrible secret to hide. It was something, knowing I could trust him in that.

  “Would you really still have chosen me if you had the whole world to pick from, instead of only a few Immune?”

  At once he let go of the shopping cart and came to me, taking my hands in his and pulling me close. His fingers felt cool against mine, but at least they weren’t cold, and his grip was firm enough. I could almost convince myself that nothing was wrong, that Miles Odekirk’s device was having very little effect on him after all.

  “Beloved, there never would have been anyone but you. I felt the resonance of your soul with mine from the time you came of age, and I mourned, because even then I knew what humanity’s fate was to be, that the time of reckoning was only a few scant years off. But then I learned from the creators of the disease that you would be one of the fortunate few who would be immune, and I laid claim to you as soon as I knew.”

  My heart leapt at those words, and something in me relaxed a little. He had always wanted me, had feared I wouldn’t survive the Heat. “How would that have even worked?” I asked. “I mean, it’s not as if we’re exactly from the same backgrounds. My parents had issues just the few times I dated guys who didn’t go to college.”

  He didn’t smile, even though I’d tried to keep my tone light as I asked the question. “Not so very differently from the way we met. That is, I would have approached you as one of your own, made sure you were comfortable with me before I told you the truth.”

  “And then?”

  Bringing one hand to his lips, he kissed my fingers gently before releasing them. “That would have depended on you. Whether you would have accepted what I was telling you, whether you would have made that very great leap.”

  Would I have? Of course I wanted to think so. I wanted to believe that what he said wouldn’t have changed the way I felt about him, that I could have accepted the truth of his heritage, but it’s easy to imagine the best of yourself when you’re considering a hypothetical situation. “So…would I have gone to your world, if I had made that leap?”

  He shook his head. “Such a thing isn’t possible. We djinn can live there, but we much prefer it here. And a human being, even one under our protection, granted advanced life and powers of healing, couldn’t survive for more than a few hours on the plane where the djinn made their home, once the earth was taken from them. No, we would have lived our lives here, moving on when it began to become obvious to those around us that we weren’t aging normally. It isn’t the easiest of lives, but there are a few who’ve managed to do it successfully.” Something flickered in his dark eyes, a shadow that I could barely catch because of the bad lighting in the hardware store. But because I knew Jace, I did see it.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. It was the first question that popped into my mind, although I couldn’t stop myself from also wondering about that reference to having this world taken from them. “Did you — were you with someone like that?”

  Another head shake, this one even more emphatic than the last. “No. I wasn’t with anyone before you. That is, there were brief…liaisons…from time to time, but that’s all. Nothing lasting, nothing important. No, I was thinking of Zahrias.”

  I could actually feel my eyebrows shooting up. “Zahrias? He was with a…mortal?”

  “Yes. For quite a few years. But in the end, she was unable to live with the reality of her existence, that she would go on, and on, and that everyone she knew and loved would die around her, save her djinn lover. So she took her own life. Even though she had the healing abilities that we gift all our partners, if someone is determined enough to kill themselves, they can still succeed. As she did.”

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered. That shocking revelation answered a few questions. Why Zahrias didn’t have a Chosen, and possibly why he had come to be the leader of the group in Taos. Maybe he wanted to make sure his fellow djinn had the happy ending he’d been forever denied.

  “It was a terrible thing for him.” Jace moved closer to me and brushed a strand of hair away from my brow. A simple gesture, but something about it made me want to weep. Maybe it was his way of reassuring himself that I was there, that I certainly had no plans to go anywhere. “I worried that Evangeline’s death would make him less likely to look on mortals with any sort of kindness or compassion, but he surprised me. He offered to lead the community here, when no one else seemed inclined to take on the challenge.”

&nb
sp; “And he’s doing a good job of it, too,” I said. Strange how your feelings about a person could change so much, once you knew the truth. Yes, Zahrias still seemed far too formidable to me, and I was so very glad that I was Jace’s Chosen and not his, but in that moment I realized I wasn’t afraid of the djinn leader. Not anymore.

  “I’m glad you think so.” Something in his expression changed then, and he stepped a pace away from me before aiming his flashlight toward the back of the store. “But we should probably keep looking for those generators. Dark comes quickly at this time of year.”

  Yes, it did. Too quickly, although I’d begun to notice the gradual lengthening of the days. Spring was coming, even though it was still more than a month away. How long would we have to wait for it here in Taos? I had a feeling it would be slow in arriving, no matter what the calendar might say.

  The rear of the store was a jumble of various items that the owners obviously had dumped there because they didn’t really fit in anywhere else. That sort of casual chaos would never have flown in Albuquerque, but in Taos, the locals were probably used to it. Chaos or no, we did find two sturdy-looking generators back there, each with multiple outlets.

  “Those should help a lot,” I said. “At the very least, they’ll keep the refrigerators going. But with an output of 5,500 watts, they’ll probably do more than that.”

  “Success,” Jace replied, offering me a smile. Something about it looked a little wavery around the edges, though, and I put a hand on his arm just as he was reaching out to take the handle of the generator closest to him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. “Tell me the truth.”

  For a second he didn’t say anything, only watched my face, as if hoping to find some indication there as to how he should reply. Then, “I’m fine, Jessica. Yes, that device is hammering away at me, tiring me, but I can manage. In fact,” he added, “I believe that tonight I’ll have to prove it to you.”

  A flicker of heat stirred deep within me. “Oh, really?” I responded, trying to keep my tone light, teasing, just in case he was also teasing me. In the back of my mind had been the fear that the device was taking so much of his energy that he wouldn’t have anything left for me, but if he was serious, then apparently that wasn’t the issue I’d thought it would be.

  “Well, you might have to be on top….” He slanted a sideways glance at me, and despite everything, I couldn’t help laughing.

  “I’m willing to take that ride,” I said, still chuckling, and then he smiled, a real smile, the sort that made a pleasant little shiver run down my spine.

  Maybe there was a way we could manage to get through this after all.

  We hustled the generators out to the truck, then went back into the store to find a ramp we could use to wheel them up into the bed, since at the moment Jace wasn’t strong enough to lift one on his own, and I never would have been strong enough. Luckily, we found what we were looking for on the loading dock. We were just closing up the truck’s gate when we heard a voice that was halfway between a whisper and a moan.

  “Jessica….”

  As one, Jace and I whirled. I couldn’t help noticing the way he moved forward, placing himself between me and the owner of that voice, even though I was probably in better shape to take on an adversary at the moment than he was. But then when I saw who was speaking, who it was slumped against the wall of the store, I realized we weren’t facing an enemy at all.

  The man speaking was Aidan, one of our missing hunters.

  Chapter Three

  Two hideous gashes marred Aidan’s cheeks. Blood still trickled from the wounds, and also stained the camo parka he wore. His long hair had fallen out of its usual ponytail and hung in mud- and blood-spattered strands around his face.

  Jace surged forward first, slipping an arm under one of Aidan’s shoulders, since it was obvious he had trouble standing, even with the wall to support him. A second later, I went to him as well, sliding under his shoulder and feeling his weight settle on my arm as he slumped against me.

  “What happened?” I asked, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew. It had to be the other djinn, the ones whose attack on Taos had been thwarted by Miles Odekirk’s device. How Aidan had managed to survive, I had no idea. And I didn’t even want to know what had happened to the other two in the hunting party, Martine and Clay. Judging by Aidan’s current condition, it couldn’t be anything good.

  “They found us,” he gasped. Above his head, Jace and I exchanged a knowing glance.

  “Yes,” Jace said calmly. “Can you walk at all? Our truck is just out in front.”

  “Yeah.”

  I had my doubts, but we began shuffling over to the fire lane where we’d parked the truck. Aidan did his best to stumble along, although I’d say his forward motion was probably at least ninety percent our doing. I opened the passenger-side door and pushed him inside as best I could, with Jace lending what little strength he had to spare for the operation. At last Aidan was more or less parked in the center of the bench seat, head lolling to one side.

  “I’ll hold him up,” Jace murmured to me, voice carefully neutral. “You drive.”

  “Got it.” I hurried around to the other side of the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat. Obviously, we had to get Aidan back to the resort, but what we’d do with him once we were there, I had no idea. As far as I knew, no one in the Taos community had any sort of medical experience. Yes, I had a few basic first aid skills, thanks to some coaching by my father when I was younger. That didn’t mean I knew the first thing about patching up the sort of horrific wounds Aidan had suffered. I’d just have to hope that they’d heal quickly on their own. After all, he was one of the Chosen. Lilias, his djinn, would have given him accelerated healing, just as Jace had done with me.

  I took a quick glance over at him as I maneuvered the truck down the icy streets. Icy, because the djinn couldn’t keep the roads clear the way they had before the attack. It would be just our luck to be hit by a major snowstorm around now on top of everything else.

  Like things aren’t bad enough without you borrowing trouble, I thought grimly. Worry about that later. Much later.

  We were all silent as I drove. That is, Aidan didn’t seem to be in much shape for any kind of speech; his eyes had shut, and I thought he probably would have fallen over to one side if Jace hadn’t maintained a grip on his arm so he stayed more or less upright.

  I ventured, still not completely used to the mental communication we could share, He’ll be all right, though. I mean, his healing powers should kick in soon enough.

  Jace’s voice in my head sounded grimmer than I’d ever heard it. No, they won’t.

  What do you mean?

  His jaw tightened. I mean that those powers come from your djinn partner. With our own powers blocked, we have no way of sharing them with you. If you’re hurt, you will heal like any ordinary human. This small power we use now, the way we can speak with one another through our bond…that’s all we have. And even that only works when we are in close enough proximity.

  Holy crap. I hadn’t even stopped to consider that the device would affect our shared powers, since I’d never lost the ability to share this silent speech with Jace, as long as we were in the same building. But of course it made perfect sense that the healing, the long life, would require far more energy. If that was the case, though…if our healing and extended life came solely from our djinn, then….

  So…Evony? I asked, pretty sure I knew what Jace’s answer would be, even though I hated to hear it.

  She has lost Natila, and therefore the protections her djinn lover gave her. She has returned to the way she was…before.

  This just kept getting better and better. I wondered if Evony had begun to guess. I hoped not, but she wasn’t stupid. All it would take was one scrape, one ragged hangnail to persist when it should have been gone in an hour or so, and she’d know something was wrong.

  Even so, we’d have to tell her. That would be fun, considering she
wasn’t even speaking to me. Much.

  But first things first. Despite her protestations that she was just fine with going out and finding the lost hunting party — an expedition that clearly wasn’t needed now — as far as I knew, Evony wasn’t going anywhere. We had to get Aidan taken care of as best we could, and hope that he’d revive enough to tell us what had happened. I stole a glance over at him. Even under the blood smearing his face, I could tell the wounds he’d suffered would leave a set of horrific scars. And he’d been so handsome. Not my type — even before Jace came along, I’d preferred darker men — but still.

  That’s the last thing you should be worrying about, I scolded myself. The important thing is that he’s alive, and we’ve got to do whatever we can to make sure he stays that way.

  Even though the hardware store was only half a mile from the resort at the very most, it still felt as if it took forever to get back there. But at last we were pulling into the parking lot. I drove right up to the front doors — it wasn’t as if I’d be preventing any late-arriving tourists from dropping off their luggage — then put the truck in park and hurried around to the passenger side.

  Jace was already opening the door. The two of us had more or less wrangled Aidan out of the cab when I heard Lauren’s shocked voice.

  “Oh, my God. What happened?”

  “Two guesses,” I said grimly, propping Aidan up as best I could while Jace shut the truck door. “We’ve got to get him inside. We did find two generators. They’re in the bed, so — ”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Her worried gaze rested on Aidan’s ruined face, and I saw her shiver. “His rooms with Lilias are toward the back of the hotel. There’s no way you’ll be able to carry him that far.”