Paul clearly wasn't liking my polite, nonconfrontational attitude. "What's up with you? I'm telling you that you failed. If you'd stayed out of things like we agreed-"
"Then we'd all be dead," I said sweetly. "But hey, next time? I'm booking a spa, getting a massage. Wait for the end in style, you know?"
He didn't respond. I dropped the sweetness from my tone. "Fine. Let's get to the important parts. What's the damage?"
"You've been lying to us, sweetheart."
No kidding. Where to start? "About what?"
"Jonathan, for starters." Paul's eyes were full of bitterness. "He's not in the goddamn register. He doesn't fucking exist, Jo. Where'd he come from? You know, don't you?"
"No."
"Are there more like him out there? More Djinn?"
I kept quiet, watching Marion's impassive face. She knew. And she wasn't talking.
"Jo, I'm giving you a chance to speak up, here. Take it."
"Gee, thanks. But no."
I moved from looking at Marion to looking at Lewis. He was a closed book, too. Quiet. Self-contained. He'd taken Kevin in hand, as I'd known he would; the kid was safely tucked away with the Ma'at, back in Vegas. Lewis would watch out for him.
Whether he would be able to watch out for me was an open question. I was the one thing that could break the secrecy of the Ma'at and the Djinn.
We'd all said the same thing: David's bottle had been destroyed. He was lost. The blue glass was hidden in the bottom of my purse, wrapped safely in a cocoon of bubble wrap.
I still had him, if he lived. If he could recover.
Paul was getting impatient. "I want you to understand that you're part of the chain of command, kiddo. You have a boss-that's me, in case you didn't know-and you do what your boss says from now on, or I'm going to have to consider removing you from the association. You get me? That means you give up your powers-Marion and her guys see that it's done humanely, but it's done. That's how it would have to happen."
Over his shoulder, Marion gave me a tiny, definite shake of her head. Behind her, a shadow flickered into existence, then into three-dimensional life. He was beautiful… tall, broad-shouldered, with impenetrable midnight eyes-not brown, a true, lightless black-and long dark hair frosted lightly with gray. Lines at the corners of his eyes that softened him into something more human. He was dressed, like Marion, in blue jeans and cowboy boots, but his shirt was a matte blue silk, something that begged to be petted.
Marion's Djinn. Marion's lover. He was back. That was the silent message from her. I didn't know if it meant she'd openly disobey orders, but she wasn't following them with a whole heart.
I said, with a weird sort of calm, "Oh, yeah, Paul, I totally get you." I stood up. "Thanks for the opportunity to get reamed out for doing the right thing, and by the way, doing it better than any of you seem to have managed. But I hope you don't mind if I decline the verbal abuse."
He opened his mouth, and shut it again fast when I turned and headed for the door, for the bright, merciless sunshine. I had brand-new credit cards, provided courtesy of Rahel. Wads of cash, from the same source. A fast car, waiting outside.
I could go back to Vegas, catch a tan, heal up. Eventually, I'd need to figure out what to do, but hell, I figured I deserved a vacation.
And the Ma'at damn well deserved to fund it.
"Jo," Paul called after me. I turned, slid on sunglasses, and gave him my best, brightest smile.
"Bite me," I said. "I'm not playing Warden anymore. Go save the world without me. I quit."
Sound Tracks
My favorite songs contributed to the craziness of Joanne's Las Vegas adventure. Support the artists, buy the CDs!
"Harder to Breathe"… Maroon 5
"Gotta Serve Somebody"… Bob Dylan
"Burning Hell"…Joe Bonamassa
"Disease"… Matchbox 20
"Woke Up This Morning"…A3
"Professional Widow"… Tori Amos
"You're So Real"… Matchbox 20
"She Cries Your Name"… Beth Orton
"Blues Deluxe"…Joe Bonamassa
"Blood Makes Noise"… Suzanne Vega
"Mr. Zebra"… Tori Amos
"Crucify"… Tori Amos
Each of these songs contained something that evoked the mood of the book or the characters for me… and hey, damn cool driving music, too.
Enjoy,
Rachel Caine
www.rachelcaine.com
