Firestorm Page 0,114

Djinn matter! You can't kill us just because you're--depressed and angry!" It was an impassioned speech. I don't think she got a word of it. Probably sounded like a fly buzzing in her ear as she sobbed in anguish, but for just a second, the Earth was surprised enough by the simple appearance of the nagging fly that she paused in the act of ripping us to pieces.

And the Djinn all looked at me with their own eyes, in varying stages of worry and disquiet.

"And fucking ow!" I yelled, and cradled my right arm. God, that hurt. I mean, really. "How much time do I have?"

"Not much," Rahel breathed. Of the three of them, she looked the least concerned, but I wasn't convinced that meant much. Rahel had always been good at hiding her feelings. "She's waking. It's done, my friend. It's finished. You should let us kill you now, without pain, before the choice is gone for all of us."

"We can't kill her," Alice observed. Her voice sounded preoccupied. "She won't allow it. There's something about this one."

"Venna," Rahel said. I looked around, curious, but there were just the four of us. Alice cocked her head attentively. Oh. That was right, her name wasn't Alice, I'd just gotten to thinking of her that way--she'd kept the Alice in Wonderland pinafore and silky blond hair, but she was a very old, very powerful Djinn. And her name, apparently, was Venna. "Can you sense David?"

"No," she said. "Although part of him is in this plane."

"Part of him?" For a breathless second I thought she meant an arm, a leg, a disembodied spirit...

"The child," she clarified. "Ashan has her."

"Go and get her," Rahel said. "Now."

"He'll resist."

"Yes," she agreed. "Enjoy yourself."

Venna raised one eyebrow--a very odd expression for an Alice look-alike--and smiled coolly. "How much?"

"Until you stop enjoying yourself."

She nodded once, folded her hands primly, and vanished. My hand was starting to feel normal again, though incredibly hot, as if I'd stuck it in an oven to bake all the bones back together. I tried not to move it. As if he felt my pain, the big Djinn reached out to touch my hand. His fingers stroked up and down over the aching cracked or broken bones.

"You shouldn't put your thumb in your fist when you punch someone," he said. My broken thumb reset with a snap, and I yelped. "That's to help you remember."

"Good enough," Rahel said. "Give us a minute."

The big Djinn didn't comment, just shrugged and walked away, around the corner of the convenience store. Maybe he was going to buy a Slurpee. Anything was possible, at the moment.

My legs just flat stopped working, and all of a sudden I was pitching forward, helpless to prevent it, and the asphalt parking lot was coming up fast and straight for my nose. Rahel grabbed me and hoisted me upright, then leaned me back against the wall. I gave a deep-throated moan, let my head rest against the rough adobe, and closed my eyes for a few seconds. Stars. I was seeing stars, and they were moving fast. Too fast for me to keep up.

"It's all happening," I said. "Right? I'm too late."

"A few minutes left," Rahel said. "Not so many, though." She accompanied that with a shake of my arm. "You must finish it," she said. "She won't listen to us, but she hears you. She doesn't understand you, but there's something about you that... sings. Finish it. Make her understand. Go."

"I can't."

"You have to."

"Rahel, I can't!" I wanted to stay here. I wanted to wait to see Imara's face again. I wanted--

I just wanted to be like the rest of the world, filling up my car, buying my Slurpee, unaware I was half an hour or less away from dying.

There was no forgiveness or mercy in her expression. "You will," she said. "Because it's who you are. I have seen this in you from the first moment I saw you."

"Bullshit!" I burst out. "I don't even know where--"

"Get in your car and drive."

"Did you hear me? I don't know where I'm going!"

"Drive!" she snarled, and practically threw me across the parking lot toward the BMW. My legs worked fine this time, holding me upright as I braked my forward momentum against the side of the car. I whirled to face her, and the fear turned white-hot with rage.

"Don't you ever do that again!" I shouted. "Ever! I swear to God, Rahel--"

"Yes," she said, walking toward me with fast, choppy steps.