Firestorm Page 0,57

your principles.

I didn't like the way Emily had elected to do this, but I could understand why she'd mousetrapped me. She was desperate. I'd have done the same thing, in her place. Because the lives I'd save would be more important than the nebulous big picture. Maybe that made me weak. Maybe that made me unsuitable for the role of great hero. Lewis would have walked away without hesitation--with regret, not hesitation--but I wasn't, and could never be, Lewis.

"I'm not putting Imara in danger," I said.

"But--"

"She's my daughter, Emily. My daughter."

Emily's mouth opened in surprise, then closed. She finally, reluctantly, nodded. "Tell me what you need," I said. "I'll do what I can."

"You'd damn well better."

"Oh, and--?" I made a gesture with my sore arm. She looked ashamed. Briefly.

"Might as well," she said, and reached out to finish up the healing. "You're no good to me passed out."

Imara wasn't any too supportive of my decision to hang around and brush up on my firefighting. "This isn't a good idea," she said. "You're not well. And the fire's too big."

We were standing outside, by the car. I put a hand on the smooth, satin finish, then scrubbed away my fingerprints. "You're probably right," I said. "But I can't walk away from it, either. Emily might be a bitch, but she's right. And I'm a Warden. I'm sworn to protect."

"There are others to do this kind of thing."

"Others who aren't here. I'm here. And it's my job, Imara." I looked up at her, and saw the worry on her face. "Relax, kiddo. It's not my first dance. Not my last, either. Emily's a very competent Fire Warden, and if there's a Fire Warden already working on this, I can work the weather angle. We can end this thing."

Her eyes went distant for a few seconds, then snapped back. "There are no Djinn," she said.

"What?"

"No Djinn near the fire," she said. I must have looked blank. "Djinn are drawn to fire. The bigger, the better. They leave human form and... bathe in it, I guess you'd say. Renew themselves. You remember what it was like to feel sunlight in Djinn form?"

Slow, sweet, orgasmic pleasure. Yeah, I remembered.

"If the Djinn aren't coming to this fire," she said, "that means there is something else happening here. It isn't natural. And it isn't--it isn't safe."

"Not for you," I agreed. "If the Djinn are staying away, I want you to do the same thing. Stay away. In fact, stay here and watch the car. Or go talk to your father, find out what we can do since we didn't exactly knock it out of the park in Seacasket. Right?"

"I'm not leaving you!"

I reached out and fitted my hands around her cheeks. Djinn skin, burning hot. "Yes," I said. "You are. I need you to find out what we do next, Imara. That's very important. In fact, it's absolutely critical."

"But--"

"Don't make me order you around." I pulled her into a fierce, warm hug. "Just go. I'll be all right."

"Is it because--I know I'm not--not as powerful as I should be. As you need--"

"No!" I pulled back and smoothed hair away from her face. "Honey, no. None of this is your fault. You're the only good thing that's come out of all this. Okay?"

She nodded slightly, but I could tell she didn't believe me. My Djinn child was getting a full-on inferiority complex. More than human, less than full Djinn. That was a burden I wasn't sure how to help her carry.

"Go find your father," I said. "Explain to him what happened with Ashan. Find out what we should do next. Okay?"

"Okay," she said, and stepped back. "Mom... be careful."

And then she was gone, blipped out without another sound. I heaved a sigh and turned to see Emily, on her porch, staring at me accusingly. I hadn't heard her come out.

"We really could have used her," she said.

"Imara's the only Djinn in the world we can trust right now. I'd rather not throw her at every single challenge. Besides, we can handle this on our own."

"You hope." She looked surly about it.

"What happened to I don't need a Djinn to solve my problems'?" I asked. "Buck up, Auntie Em. We're going to have an adventure."

I swear, her scowl could have fractured glass.

Imara, not being in much need of transportation, had left the Camaro sitting in the driveway. It was a choice between that and Emily's battle-scarred SUV, with a four-wheel drive that had seen hard use. We didn't, strictly