Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,52
market and start spouting nonsense while she waved her arms in dramatic motions. “Once she predicted that the moon was going to fall from the sky.”
Kgosi appeared unimpressed. “She sounds more like a charlatan than a true oracle.”
“That’s what I tried to tell everyone, but would they listen to me?” Chaaya spread her fingers in a gesture of defeat. “No.”
A silence filled the vast space as Kgosi studied her with his unnerving gaze. “She didn’t get anything right?” he at last demanded.
“A few rainstorms. Some deaths.”
His eyes narrowed. “And?”
Chaaya snorted. “And she told me that she could see darkness in my future.”
Kgosi tapped a slender finger on the pillow next to him. “Didn’t you have darkness?”
Chaaya grimaced at the reminder of her endless centuries spent in the hell dimension.
“That could mean anything,” she protested. “Besides, I think it was more a fervent hope for something bad to happen to me than an actual prophecy. She hated me.”
“Shocking,” Basq softly murmured.
She widened her eyes with utter innocence. “I know, right? I’m oozing with charm.”
There was a rustle of silk and a soft breeze scented with jasmine as Kgosi rose to his feet.
“If you have no belief in oracles, then why did you seek me out?”
Chaaya tilted back her head, keeping her gaze locked on the male’s perfectly carved face. His broad, naked chest was more than a mere ghost girl could handle.
“Dabbler promised a way to find the Were I’m trying to capture. He didn’t say you were an oracle.”
“Ah.” Kgosi tilted his head, as if listening to a silent voice. “The Were. And a tiny gargoyle.”
Chaaya jerked in shock. Could he actually be a for-real oracle? One that did more than prance around for attention?
“You know where they are?”
“I thought you didn’t believe.”
She planted her fists on her hips. “Tell me.”
The male smiled. “Closer than you imagine.”
Disappointment flooded through her. “See?” She sent a disgusted glance toward Basq. “Mumbo jumbo.”
A ripple of magic slammed against Chaaya, a less-than-subtle reminder that this male might act like a lazy, self-indulgent, reasonably harmless demon, when in reality he was one of the most powerful forces in any dimension.
“If you want the right answer, you must ask the right question,” he told her.
Chaaya’s mouth went dry as she warily returned her attention to the jinn. “You claimed to see Dabbler’s future, and our past.”
Kgosi nodded. “I can see both.”
“What about the present?”
“Time has no meaning for an oracle.” Kgosi waved his arms in an expansive gesture. “When I have a vision it could be from yesterday, today, or a thousand years from now.”
“That’s…unhelpful,” Chaaya muttered before she could halt the words.
The emerald of his eyes began to swirl, as if they were caught in a whirlwind. Or perhaps they were about to shoot out tornadoes that would rip her to shreds. Hard to say.
“I have remained polite because this meeting was destined to occur, but don’t try my patience, Chaaya.”
Basq moved with blinding speed, placing his larger body in front of her. “Don’t threaten her.”
Chaaya’s gut clenched with terror. She didn’t particularly want to be shredded by a tornado, but that was a lot better than seeing Basq hurt. The mere thought was enough to send her into a panic.
No tornadoes appeared, however, and the jinn’s voice was more curious than threatening as he studied the vampire.
“Does she know?”
Chaaya stepped to the side, watching Basq’s face pale. He slowly shook his head.
“Know what?” she asked. No answer. “Basq?”
“Later,” he promised.
Her lips parted to demand an explanation when the jinn abruptly returned his attention to her, his eyes still swirling.
“Ask the question,” he barked.
Chaaya’s flippant attitude was decidedly absent as she searched her brain for the right words. She wasn’t afraid. At least, not for herself. But she wasn’t going to put Basq at risk because of her smart-ass mouth.
“Is the Were infected with the same darkness that I battled before?” she cautiously asked.
“No.”
Chaaya grimaced. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. The devil she knew or the devil she didn’t—which was worse?
“But she is infected with some new power?” she pressed.
“No. She’s being manipulated, but she’s not infected.”
Chaaya grunted in shock. Was it possible she’d been chasing after the stupid Were for no good reason? Typical. One day she’d cure her impulsive…
No. That was a lie. She would always be impulsive. But perhaps one day she’d have a partner who could whisper words of caution in her ear. She hastily shoved aside the weird thought. This wasn’t the time or place for