Текст книги "Total Eclipse"
Автор книги: Rachel Caine
Соавторы: Rachel Caine
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I reached back and flailed for Davids hand.
He wasnt there.
I spun around and scissored my arms wildly, trying to find him, sure he had to be right there . . .but he wasnt. He was nowhere within reach. David! I shouted. David, can you hear me?
Nothing. It felt as if my words were swallowed up, as if the fog around me was so thick and heavy it was suffocating sound. It was like drowning in a cloud, and my breath came faster as the feeling of claustrophobia intensified. I held out my hands and took a step, hoping for somethinganythingto tell me where I was. This was worse than being blind, somehow. It felt like I shouldbe able to see, and my eyes constantly strained, trying to focus on nothing.
Hey! I yelled. Oracle? You wanted me, here I am!
The mist around me suddenly thickened, choking me, trapping me in a gelatinous blanket, and I struggled to get a breath that didnt feel like a ball was being shoved down my throat.
A shape appeared out of the mistbut only a shape. A shadow, like glass filled with the same mist that surrounded me. No features, no face, nothing but a chilly kind of menace. It was terrifying, and I realized that I was seconds away from dying if I couldnt get the Air Oracle to stop tormenting me.
I did the only thing I could.
I gave up.
I stopped struggling, stopped trying to choke in a breath, and relaxed. The mist supported me, flowing like syrup through my clothes, along my skin, caressing me in intimate and cold ways that felt repulsively invasive.
I let it happen.
The pressure of mist inside my lungs let up, and I whooped in a breath of air just as the edge of my vision started to go dark and sparkly from oxygen deprivation.
Human.
It wasnt a voice, exactly, or a thought either. It was more of a vibration that didnt register in my ears, but in my flesh. As if the Oracle was speaking through my bones.
It hurt.
I gasped, and suddenly the mist holding me up let go, dropping me to my hands and knees on the featureless white floorexcept that it still felt like more insubstantial fog. I had the dizzying sensation that I was standing on a cloud, that only the Oracles whim kept me from hurtling through the vapor tens of thousands of feet down to my death. . . .
Weak, the thought vibration came, this time rich with overtones of contempt. Useless. As I thought.
I coughed and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I tasted blood, but it seemed to be confined to my throat. The Mothers waking up, I said. Isnt she?
No answer. The ghostly form of the Air Oracle wavered, changing in fluid, subtle ways.
Youdont want her to wake up, I said, filling in the blanks. It will take away all your power. All your individuality. The Oracles werent necessary if Mother Earth, the consciousness of the planet itself, took direct command of her Djinn. Theyd be blown out of existence, burned awayor reduced to Djinn, no more or less. The Air Oracle, of all three that Id met, was by far the most haughty and power– mad. No wonder it had taken action. Look, its not in the interest of the Wardens or humanity for her to wake up, either. Or even the Djinn. They lose their individuality to her, their ability to think for themselves. They dont want that. Not even the Old Djinn.
No answer. The Air Oracle just hovered.
David and I both lost our powers, I said. If you help us get them back I may be able to stop this. I can try, at least. The Wardens need every bit of help they can get.
You ask a favor, came the reply, in slow, measured throbs through my body.
No. Im asking you to act in your own interests, I said. Its in your interest to put back what I lost, and restore Davids powers.
That was risky. The Air Oracle had neverbeen on the side of humanity. If anything, it was on its own side, only paying lip service to the other Oracles. There were a few times when it had intervened, but not many, and never from altruistic motives.
Mercenary little sexless bastard.
The Air Oracle was silent. I hated dealing with eternal beings. No sense of urgency. At least restore Davids powers, I said. He is a Conduit. He can reach the Mother. Maybe he can stop her.
No, the Oracle said immediately, and the single word, the concept, was rich with contempt. He cannot. It is a waste of energy.
Great. David hadnt made a fan out of this Oracle, any more than I had.
Once humans are gone, the Mother will release us, the Oracle continued, with cold and inexorable logic. The world will be ours. As it should be.
I swallowed hard. If you really believed that, why bring us here?
There were no features on that misty face, but I had the impression of a sharks smile, something hungry and merciless. To be sure you dont stop it.
The mist closed in, and this time, it wasnt just suffocating, it was crushing.I had time to gasp in one inadequate breath before the weight slammed into me from back and front, squeezing. When I opened my mouth, the mist jammed itself in, choking me.
No! Im aWeather Warden ! This cant happen!But it was happening, no matter how much I wanted to deny it. I had no power to fight an Oracle, no tricks, nothing but the sheer panicked will to live.
And that wasnt enough. Not here.
I felt hot sparks of pain through my body as muscles strained, joints began to fail, bones bent. It was going to smash me flat and leave me a leaking carcass, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. . . .
All of a sudden, a hurricane wind whipped through the mist, cold and clear and edged with ice. It tattered the forces holding me, revealing the Air Oracle looming over me in its faceless, sexless menace. Suddenly, I could breathe. I dropped to my hands and knees, gasping in ragged gulps, and looked around to see what the hell had just happened.
Oh crap.
Cherise stood there, tiny and cute in her flirty dress and perfect tan. She was showing teeth. It wasnt a smile. Maybe it had started out being a confident grin, but as the Air Oracle focused its attention on her instead of me, it became more of a demented, if terrified, snarl. Her blond hair was streaming in the wind, and as I watched, she extended a hand out toward the Air Oracle and pushed force at it.
No! I yelled, and dropped flat on the white, slightly spongy floor, pressing myself as low as I could go. Cherises attack rolled over me, and even as small a target as Id made, I felt it freeze my back as it glanced over me.
Cold air is heavy, and Cherise wielded it like a bat, slamming it into the fragile Air Oracle and scoring a home run. The Air Oracle broke apart into streams of white-hot energy, and its scream echoed through my bones with such force I actually thought something would break inside me.
Cher, stop! I screamed. You cant win this! Stop!
Shut up, she said, and grabbed me by the ankle with both small hands as she backpedaled through featureless white space. What the hell did you get me into this time? Stop kicking!
Stop pulling me like a toy pony! She let go, and I rolled up to my knees and bounced to my feet, driven by adrenaline and sheer terror. We have to leave. Right now.
Yeah, about that, how?
I made a helpless flailing motion with my hands, frustrated beyond any measure. JustI dont know do it!Gah! This is not the time for on-the-job training, because that Oracle is going to be
Really pissed, I was going to say, but honestly, that fell far short of what was happening about fifteen feet away, where the Air Oracle was reforming in a black, roiling cloud that glittered with icy edges. It was lit from within by flashes like swallowed lightning, and even as paranormally blind as I was right now to subtle forces, I could feel the menace in the air. It was going to kill us really, really dead, and it wasnt going to screw around doing it.
Out! I yelled, and grabbed Cherises hand. Think about the mall!
Cherise said, in a plaintive little voice, But I dont know whats inthis mall. . . .
Oh fuck, we were going to die.
The Air Oracle roared toward us, and the mist closed in, and hope vanished with the open space. I felt Cherises hand in mine but I could no longer see her, couldnt see anything but white, as if the mist had entered my eyeballs and filled them up.
Cherise let out a shriek of pure, full-throated terror, and suddenly we were falling throughthe floor, as if those imagined white clouds had given way. Ten thousand feet to the killing ground . . .
. . . but we landed on carpet in about six inches, just enough to jolt and send us both staggering a couple of steps. Mist curled off of both of us in thick, milky wisps, and as Cherise dropped my hands and frantically batted at her clothes, it leaked out in streams, sliding down her legs to pool on the carpet and disappear.
Oh my God, that is creepy! she said. Is it in my hair? Tell me its not in my hair!
I couldnt, because it was rolling down in waves down her back. From her hair. She was right; it was creepy and it felt wrong, like some kind of ectoplasmic slime instead of just an innocent water vapor. Ugh. I shook my hands and arms and watched it fly off me to melt in the air.
Then I took a look around. We were in a store. A shoe store, to be precise, and it was empty except for one store clerk whod apparently been in the back, and now came around the counter, having missed the whole appearing-out-of-nowhere-dripping-with-ectoplasm floor show. Hi, can I help you?
Sorry, I said, recovering whatever remained of my composure. Give us a second.
He looked doubtful, but nodded and backed off. I turned to Cherise and dragged her off to admire a rack of shoes neither one of us wanted, at least right at the moment. I have to find David! I hissed. We were together, but we got separated!
Oh my God, hes not still in there . . . ?
If he was, Id just lost him forever. The enormity of it slammed in on me so hard that I literally lost my balance, and Cherise had to grab my arm to keep me from toppling into the size sevens. If you hurt him, I thought to the Air Oracle, if you kill him, I will destroy you. I dont know how, but I will.
It couldnt, I said aloud, and tried to make myself believe it. Davids not just anybody. It cant just kill him. Even Ashan wouldnt ignore that.
Presuming anything made sense anymore. Presuming Ashan, the leader of the Old Djinn, had an identity of his own, still, and was capable of making his own decisions. If the Mother was waking up, the Djinn were lost to us as individuals, and while she might notice and care about the Djinn David, the human David might not even be noticed.
Ill go back, Cherise said.
Are you mental? Youre not going anywhere!
Well, youdgo back. And Im kind of you, now.
No, Cher, youre not! JustI told you to stay in the car!
Youd be dead if I had!
Well, she did have a point there. I have to find David, I said.
Yeah, whats your plan for that? Mall intercom?
No, I said. Movies.
We headed out of the shoe store, which was inexplicably halfway across the mall, and made the best possible time back to the multiplex cinema outside the food court. The sign was no longer flashing ENTER HERE, or making dire threats. It was advertising a Disney film.
I turned a slow circle, taking in the standard mall viewtiled floors, towering indoor plants, escalators, elevators, stores, shoppers, food vendors with all their flashing neon. Crying children and harassed clerks.
Someone in a black windbreaker and cheap uniform pants moved past us, walking fast. Mall security, talking on a brick of a walkie-talkie. She sounded tense, although she was keeping her voice down.
I zeroed in on her and followed.
Where are we going? Cherise asked. I didnt answer. Because we really need to get out of here. This Oracle person wasnt fooling around, you know.
The Air Oracle has no set space, I said. It can go anywhere it wants. If it wants to get to us, it will.
Oh, thatscomforting. You could have told me that before I pissed it off.
Despite everything, I smiled. Yeah, I said. I could have. But it wouldnt have been as much fun.
Bitch. Cherise fell silent, because the mall security lady was hurrying even more now, heading for a figure slumped on a bench with two more security guards around it. One pale hand was resting on the tiled floor, and I could see blood dripping.
As the security guards turned to look at the new-comer, I saw a glimpse of auburn hair.
David! I shrieked it, couldnt stop myself, and plunged for the knot of people without any regard for my own safety, or theirs. They sensibly got out of my way, and oh God, I was right. It was him.
David was lying on the bench, curled on his side, breathing shallowly. His face was shockingly pale, and he looked . . . fragile. Terribly . . . human. There was blood, but I couldnt tell where it was coming from.
He opened his eyes when I touched his face, and it took a few seconds for him to focus on me. When he did, relief flooded through him, and he tried to sit up. No! I said, and made him stop. What happened?
I was right behind you, he said. But you were gone. You were gone, and I was running
You know this man? one of the officers said. Miss?
Hes my husband, I said. My voice was shaking. David, are you okay?
He ran into a plate glass window, the guard said. Hes got a nasty cut on his side. Paramedics are on the way. Sir, have you been drinking?
What? I sat back on my heels, staring up at him. I couldnt honestly understand what he was talking about. Drinking?
He came out of nowhere and ran face– first into the glass, the guard said. Usually that means alcohol or drugs. Maybe both.
No. No, he justhe was looking for me. I looked down at Davids pale face, at the red, human blood soaking his shirt. He was afraid for me.
Guess I had no reason to be, he said, and tried to smile, but it turned into a wince. What happened?
Nothing.
Liar, he whispered. His eyes closed for a few seconds, then opened again. Cherise? I thought we told you to stay in the car.
She shrugged, back to her old self. Its the mall, she pointed out, blankly mystified. I thought you were kidding. Hey, and I saved your girl, so there.
He looked at me a little doubtfully, so I smiled. She did, I said. Although to be fair she almost got us both smashed, too.
Sounds right. Help me up.
Nope. Youre staying down.
The security guards didnt quite know what to make of us now. . . . Theyd pegged us as drunken troublemakers, but we werent acting that way. A little giddy with relief, maybe but not intoxicatedthough I admit, if somebody had passed me a bottle, Id have taken a generous swig right about then.
All three of the guards radios suddenly crackled, and a voice on the other end brayed, Get over here, guys, right now! South entrance, in front of the
It broke up into static. The three security guards exchanged a what now?look, and then the most senior of them looked down at me. Miss, you stay right here. Paramedics will be here in a couple of minutes.
I nodded, and the three windbreakers hustled off into the milling crowd, heading for whatever trouble was brewing. I started to return my attention to David, but I heard something.
Screaming.
Coming from the south entrance, which was all the way at the other end of the mall. The screaming was dopplering our way, and as I stood up to look, I saw that at the long straight end of the hall, people had rounded the corner and were stampeding in full flight in our direction. Some were still carrying shopping bags, but I had the impression that it was only because it hadnt occurred to them to drop everything. They certainly werent slowing down as they ran, and I wondered exactly what could have put a full hundred dedicated shoppers to flight. Terrorism? Fire? Ebola?
I felt a tremor through the floor, and felt a sick twisting in my stomach. Change of plans, I said. David, up. Well help you get back to the car. Cherwheres Kevin?
In the car.
He let you go by yourself?
I told him I had to use the bathroom.
Well, that wouldnt hold him for long, if I knew Kevin. As I looked around, I saw that most of the mall crowd had taken alarm and was streaming for the exitsnot yet running at this end, but certainly moving with purpose.
One tall, lanky, skinny figure was pushing through upstream, heading for us. Jesus, he said, taking us in as he arrived. When you chicks go to the mall, you really tear the place up.
He was looking toward the south, where the screaming crowd originated, and I said, What do you see? I felt frustratingly handicapped, as I helped David to sit up and got his hand firmly placed over the wound in his side. Kev?
No idea, he admitted. Its just a mass of something. I cant see what it is, except its heading this way, and I think all these people running might have a real good idea.
He grabbed Davids arm and hoisted him to his feet, taking most of Davids weight, and we blended with the general exodus.
Behind us, something exploded. Kevin turned, staring back, and extended a hand to snuff out a ball of fire that was rolling through the broad tiled hall in a hellish, orange-black rush. He stopped it before it did more than singe the lagging runners. Before he could turn around again, another explosion rocked the building, prompting more screams and a mob of panicked, running people through the food court, sending tables and chairs flying.
Let go, David said. Go do what you need to do.
Kevin glanced at him, nodded, and spun away to plunge toward the danger. I quickly braced David as he wavered, and Cherise bit her lip and looked indecisive. Should I . . . ?
No, I said firmly. Cher, if you want to help, look out for people who cant get out on their own. There were plenty of thempeople in wheelchairs struggling to make headway through the sudden minefield of debris, people on walkers shuffling along at their best speed, a few whod tripped and were trying to get up but kept getting knocked down. Situations like this, people would get trampled.
I took a deep breath. David, can you stay up?
Go, he said, nodding. His face was ghostly, but his eyes burned with determination. Ill make it. You two help.
I headed for a grandmotherly type in a power scooter, who was stranded by a drift of fallen chairs, and kicked them out of the way as I offered a bracing arm to an older gentleman with a cane whod been knocked off his feet. Here, I said, and put them together. Buddy system. Make sure you both get out, okay?
They nodded, too scared to do anything but obey whatever order sounded official at the moment. It was a good partnership. The old guy shoved things out of the way, and kept one hand on her scooter for stability as they moved along.
I grabbed up a couple of screaming kids who were missing their parents and flagged down a lady with a stroller, who took the toddlers on. There was a teenage girl down near the Subway counterout cold, with a swelling bruise on her head from where shed fallen and knocked herself out on the tile. I dragged two teen boys to a stop and put them in charge of her. They looked shocked. It was probably the first time anybody had asked them to be in charge of anything. They grabbed her and towed her out.
By the time Id made it close to the north exit, most of those able-bodied shoppers had cleared out, leaving a few injured, and one asthma sufferer who needed her inhaler, dropped somewhere back in the panic. Nothing I could do for her but send her on her way, and appoint yet another unwilling Samaritan to make sure she got to emergency help.
Jo! Cherise yelled from the other side of the food court. Get out!
I wasnt about to, because not only was Cherise still inside, so was David. Hed stopped moving, in fact, and turned to face the south entrance. The food court was unnaturally empty and full of discarded bags, purses, coats, and spilled food and drink. Neon buzzed and blinked. I smelled acrid smoke and burning food on a grill somewhere.
Then there was a sound like nothing Id ever heard, and Kevin came flying from around the corner, driven back like a limp rag doll. He hit the ground unconscious, or dead, and rolled to a flopping, boneless stop against the far wall. Cherise screamed and did some broken-field running through the maze of debris, heading for him.
I headed for David. He was very still, tense, gasping in shallow breaths that told me he probably had cracked ribs. Or, God forbid, internal injuries. Blood was a thick, dark stain spilling down the side of his pants, dripping over his shoes, and spreading on the floor.
Djinn, he said. Its the Djinn.
Thats not possible.
Except it was.
A Djinn walked out of the smoke and darkness, and where she walked, flames broke out, concrete shattered, glass powdered, water gushed. She was the touch of destruction, neatly packed in an almost human form.
Tall, strong, dark-skinned, with a multitude of thick black cornrows that shifted like snakes on her head. She was wearing bright blood red, and her eyes had taken on a pure white shine.
Rahel.
But she was no friend of mine. Not anymore.
Cherise made it to Kevins side and tried to drag him out of the way. A fireball blasted out of Rahels hand, heading straight for them. Cherise screamed and shook Kevin to try to wake him, but he was out completely. . . .
Sheer instinct guided her, and desperation, andI strongly suspectedlove. She flung out her hand, and the fireball smashed down on themand flared around them in a white– hot glowing blast, diverted to gouge steaming chunks out of the wall on either side.
Rahel stopped, cocked her head, and considered Cherise for a second before renewing the attack. Again, Cherise blocked it. Barely. When Rahel ended the fire stream, I saw Cherise collapse back against the wall, weeping, shaking, unable to summon up the energy to even put a brave face on it.
Rahel raised both hands.
No! I screamed, and flung myself forward, swinging my arms over my head and jumping up and down. Over here! Fresh meat!
What the helldo you think youre doing? David hissed. Rahel turned her head and locked on us with those white, blind, shimmering eyes, and I felt panic well up in my throat, strong enough to choke me.
I had no ideawhat I was doing. Except buying time for my friends to live another moment. And maybe that was enough. Right now, in this one instant, I had a kind of shining clarity of purpose that I didnt understand, and really couldnt have said was sane, exactly.
David took my hand in his, and Rahel turned to face us. Pieces of the mall were falling apart behind her, smashing and shattering. Choking dust and smoke flooded the hall, and the neon lightsno, allthe lightswent out.
We were going to die in the dark.
I could still see Rahels eyes in the dim glow of the distant skylights overheadunblinking and predatory, the eyes of something with no purpose but destruction.
Shed lost herself to the madness of Mother Earth, who was lashing out against what had hurt her, with no rational thought. There was nothing David or I could do to reach her. I thought about Rahel lying in the hospital bunk on board the ship, and I felt tears burn in my eyes that werent due to the smoke and dust. Id thought wed lose her then, but at least she would have died as herself.
I wished I was dying as myself. My oldself. That would have been . . . better.
Rahels lambent eyes blinked.
She didnt fry us.
David? I whispered. Is that her, or?
I dont know, he whispered back.
Whatever internal battle went on, Rahel lost it. She raised her hand, palm out, and I knew we were going out not in a blaze of glory, but just in a blaze.
Fire streaked at her from her left and slammed into her with overwhelming force, knocking her sideways and to the floor. In the sudden lurid light, I saw that Kevin was turned on his stomach, still flat on the floor, but holding up a hand and burning the holy hell out of the Djinn. She flailed, trying to get up; he kept up the attack, not letting her get her balance or counterattack.
He cant, David said. He cant do that!
What, act like a flipping idiot? He does it all the time! I yanked on Davids arm, trying to get him to move with me. We need covercome on!
No, he cant do that, David said, and I watched as Kevin continued to pour more and more power through his body, crushing Rahel down. Jo
I knew, in a blinding flash, what he meant. Oh crap. No freaking way.It made a weird kind of sense, but . . .
Kevin surged to his feet, and his eyes flared into colors that shouldnt have been possible in a human. Hot, fluorescent green. He bared his teeth and walked towardRahel, pummeling her now with massive pieces of concrete he levitated up from the wreckage.
You think you can take me, bitch? he said, and laughed. It rolled through the devastation like thunder. You think you can hurt us? Think again!
Something in Kevin had woken up. Something terrible and powerful and raw.
And it wasnt just Warden powers, no matter how powerful; there was something else inside him.
Djinn powers. Davidspowers.
Can he kill her? I asked. David was shuddering slightly now, taking in the full extent of what had happened. David! Can he?
Yes, he said, in a faint, distant voice. If he doesnt stop.
I let go of Davids hand and lunged forward, vaulting over the debris, ignoring the resulting scrapes and bruises and cuts as I scrambled toward Kevin.
And when I got there, I slapped him across the face. Hard.
Kevin blinked, shocked, and turned those eerie Djinn-green eyes on me.
Then he backhanded me ten feet across the floor.
Hey! Cherise yelped, and stepped in front of him as he tried to come after me. Enough! What are you doing?
Cherise brought him back to himself, enough that he dropped his attack against me and looked back at Rahel, who was buried under a mess of rubble, motionless. When he blinked this time, his eyes faded back to their normal color, and he staggered and almost fell. I rolled slowly to my feet, feeling every twinge myself. Id been lucky he hadnt shattered bones. If there had been a wall in the way, Id be drowning in blood.
David was picking his way slowly toward me. I motioned for him to stop, and looked at Kevin and Cherise. We have to go, I said. Now.
They both nodded, clearly not sure what the hell was going on anyway.
We left Rahel where she layalive, I presumed, though she wasnt stirringand our bruised little band of heroes limped out into the parking lot of the mall.
Which no longer looked like a parking lot.
Cars were twisted and smashed, rolled over on their sides and tops, some torn into scrap. People wandered helplessly, looking shell-shocked and confused. One woman, clearly not thinking at all, kept pointing her key-chain remote at one wreck after another, trying to identify her own car, as if it would matter.
Shivering clumps of people were huddling for comfort. Nobody was screaming now. It was too overwhelming, and there was nowhere to go. The woods beyond us were on fire, and smoke darkened the sky. So did roiling black clouds, streaming in from the south.
My God, Kevin breathed. It sounded like a prayerwhich was new, coming from him. Its really happening, isnt it?
The Mustang was sitting right where wed left it. The Djinn was sitting motionless behind the wheel, like some crash test dummy. His head swiveled to regard us as we got near. Get in, he said.
I didnt. I didnt trust the Djinn anymore, after what Id seen of the Air Oracle, not to mention Rahel. Still . . . his eyes werent that tell-tale shining white, and hed managed to keep the car safe in the middle of a truly world-class disaster scene.
Get in, he repeated, and I heard that odd chorusing effect in his voice again, as if more than one person was speaking through him. Lord, you people are so hard to save.
The voice had shifted again, one taking prominencea honey-dark voice with a Southern accent. Female. I knew it, but I couldnt exactly place it. Whowho am I talking to?
Who did you think youd be talking to, sugar? the Djinn mouthpiece said, and all of the doors blew open on the car, inviting us inside. Whos still locked up like that damn genie in a bottle that all the stories talk about?
David smiled in pure, wild relief. Whitney, he said. Its Whitney.
Kevin and Cherise looked at us both like wed gone insane. That guy is talking like a girl, Kevin pointed out. Like a Southern belle.
More like down-South trailer
Hey, the Djinn said, annoyance curdling the honey in her voice. This is mylong-distance call, children. Dont waste my minutes. Now get in the car, please.
Shes okay, David said. Get in.
And we did, although none of us except David felt a hundred percent good about it, I thought. As soon as we were strapped in, the Djinns out-of-character voice said, Yall hold on now. This is going to get real interesting. She said it with all the vowels. Int-er-est-ing.
I gulped as I felt the car lurch, and then it rocketed straight up, twenty feet in the air, and zoomed like a jet over the wrecks in the parking lot. Well, more like a sustained, long jump, maybe, because as we reached the road the trajectory sharpened, and we thumped down on the pavement in the first open space available.
The Djinn hit the gas and started his Jeff Gordon impersonation again.
Whitney is the Djinn I left behind as insurance when we sailed out, David said. Sealed up in a pocket universe at Jonathans house, away from everything. She was my backup as Conduit.
Still am, sugar, Whitney said. This time, her voice came out of the radio, which was only about half as weird as when it was coming out of the male Djinn. And Im just about the only damn help youve got, so be grateful. I cant believe you stuck me with this job.
Not intentionally, David said, and winced as I prodded his wounded side. Believe me, Id rather have my powers back.
Neither of us mentioned the big, stinky elephant in the car, which was Kevin, sitting in the backseat, looking shaken and deeply disturbed. Kevin, who had somehow acquired powers he shouldnt have had.
Like Cherise.
Surprisingly, it was Kevin who interrupted the pregnant pause. I dont want it, he blurted. He looked green, and I wondered if he was about to get sick all over us. He swallowed twice, and finally seemed to get himself together. I want to give it back to you. Whatever the hell that is.
