Gale Force Page 0,58

seen who preferred the form of a child, and she usually liked to dress in Alice in Wonderland-style blue, with a white pinafore. Long blond hair, held back by a simple band, and big china blue eyes.

There was absolutely nothing human about her right now. The clothes - the body - were a disguise.

I took a long step toward her. "What the hell did you do to him?" I blurted. "Where is he?" Showing aggression probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in this situation; Venna could be deadly, although she'd also been my friend more often than not, and saved my life a few times. Putting her on my bad side wasn't a good career move.

But I couldn't stop myself.

She didn't react. Her hands stayed folded, but her eyes flashed a more intense blue, just for a second, and I found myself unable to advance. My heart raced, and I shuddered in every muscle, trying to fight, but it was useless. She had me shut down.

"Ready to listen now?" she asked mildly. "I'm sorry, but you're angry. I'm just trying to be sure you don't hurt yourself."

I hadn't known Venna was capable of doing this. I hadn't known any Djinn could do this, not so easily. Not against someone of my strength level.

As if she were reading my mind, too, she smiled. "Don't be scared," she said. "It's only because you have so much power, so many ways to get inside you. If you were any other Warden, I couldn't do it at all."

"Except for Lewis," I managed to say, and her smile took on dimples.

"I'd never do this to Lewis. Lewis would never make me."

As always, there was this subtle tone in her voice when she mentioned his name - all the Djinn had it, a kind of puzzlement, or awe. I'd gotten to my current status as a triple-threat Warden, controlling weather, fire, and earth, through a series of circumstances - died, reborn as a Djinn, then reconstituted as a human, then granted Earth powers by my half-Djinn daughter turned Earth Oracle.

Lewis had just been born that way. One in a thousand years, I'd been told, and nobody since the original - Jonathan, later leader of the Djinn - had displayed so much raw power from the outset.

If I were Lewis, that comparison alone would make me very, very nervous about my future.

Venna studied me for a moment, then nodded. I felt the force gripping my muscles let go. I lurched forward, then got control and glared at her. It had all the impact of an ant glaring at a galaxy a few billion miles away.

"David has been summoned," she said. "He'll return to you as soon as he can."

"Summoned? Who summoned him?"

That earned me a pitying look. "Who can?"

Oh. Mother Earth. I couldn't fight that, and neither could he, whatever his original intentions. "Why would she do that?"

"Her reasons are her own. Perhaps she wants to keep him away from you for a while."

"Why?"

Venna shrugged. "Some say you're corrupting him."

"You're sure Ashan doesn't have some ulterior motive here?" Because for better or worse, Venna had gone with Ashan when the Djinn had split between Old and New; I didn't think she belonged there, because she seemed genuinely curious about humanity, if not exactly caring. "What's going on?"

Venna shrugged. Not her business to wonder such things. "I was just dispatched to reassure you."

"You're doing a great job so far."

She cocked her head, her gaze growing sharper. "Is it true? That David intends to pretend to be human for the rest of your life?"

I cleared my throat. "We're getting married, if that's what you mean."

It obviously was. Her cute little-girl face scrunched into a frown. "Why?"

"If you have to ask, there's no way I can explain it."

"Are your sexual encounters not currently satisfying? "

"Venna! I know you're not a child, but really, that's just creepy. And personal."

She looked surprised, then thoughtful. "So many rules," she sighed. "All right. I accept that I will not understand your reasons. But do you understand the risks? There are many of your people who won't approve. Many who don't like the Djinn at all, and want us to leave you alone."

"Can't imagine why," I said dryly. "You're all just so darned nice."

There was that smile again, mischievous and dimpled. I thought she must have copied it from a young Shirley Temple, but for all I knew, it could have been a young Cleopatra. She didn't take the bait.

"How long is he