Dark shadows flew out of the walls and coalesced into Djinn-Ashan's bodyguards, who'd been
keeping their distance until they were summoned. A threat to their boss brought them running,
but once they were on the ground, the next step wasn't exactly clear, since Ashan wasn't the
target. I was.
And one more coalesced out of the air, a blur of motion, burning copper-bright. David. He was
coming, and coming very fast, heading straight for me, blind to everything else around him.
The Djinn bodyguards stopped him, but only for a few seconds. He was too strong for them,
even collectively, but the instant he broke free, Ashan lunged like a white tiger. The two of them
fell, rolling, a blur of motion that somehow still conveyed the fury and power of the conflict.
As David tried to fight his way to me, I drew all my power inside, fighting the invisible fist that
was trying to contract and squeeze my heart into red jam. I felt my distant, powerful daughter's
flow in to augment mine; she couldn't act directly, but she could help.
It was enough-barely-to keep me alive.
For now.
I opened my eyes. The fight between the two most powerful Djinn was already over.
David was on his knees, held fast with Ashan's arm around his throat and his hands twisted
behind his back, and the look on his face nearly made me cry out. It was shattered. Horrified.
Betrayed.
''Oh, God, no. Jo, hold on,'' he said, his voice rough and trembling. ''Ashan, let go, damn you.
Let me help her!''
The Djinn stood silently, watching. Waiting to see what would happen. Probably waiting to see
how fast I was going to drop dead. This was nothing but a gift to Ashan-I'd die, and his hands
would be clean. There was no reason for David to come after him.
I held against the assault, somehow pushing back the squeezing hand around my heart, and I
didn't dare speak to David. I couldn't. No breath and no strength left over, and I knew it
wouldn't do any good, no matter what I said. He couldn't act, not with Ashan in the way. If he
could have, he'd have already done it.
''Ashan, you can't stand by and see her murdered!'' David screamed. ''Let me go!''
Ashan said, in a soft but deadly cool voice, ''It's the business of humans. She told you that. I'm
only enforcing what you know are the rules.''
My vision was eroding, black spots appearing at the edges. Maybe that was why I didn't
immediately recognize that one of the Djinn standing next to Ashan was Venna, dressed not in
her Alice pinafore outfit, but in plain black. I focused on her. Her blue eyes were blazing hot, the
color of a gas flame.
She said nothing. She didn't try to help either one of us, not even David, whom I knew she
loved. She loved Ashan more.
No help was coming.
The Sentinels can't keep this up, not at this level of power, I told myself, trembling. Only maybe
they could. The assault continued on the aetheric, furious and unrelenting, and it required every
bit of concentration I possessed to keep myself from folding. Power was counteracting power,
and the resulting forces were out of control; I couldn't do anything to reduce the damage, or I'd
be instantly dead.
Around us, sparks began to crawl on every available metallic surface, zipping and popping.
Lightbulbs blew out. The Sentinels-if that was indeed who was behind this-pressed me
harder, and I had to respond.
Windows shattered. I heard the plate glass patio door break with a catastrophic crash. One of the
curtains caught fire from the constant sparking. It burned slowly, but it burned, giving off acrid
black smoke.
''Stop this! They'll destroy her!'' David screamed, and writhed to get free. Ashan held him, but
just barely. Venna looked visibly upset, and turned away from them. She brushed her hand
across the flame on the curtains and transferred it to her palm, then rubbed it contemplatively
between her fingers, frowning, and looked at Ashan. Something passed between the two of them,
something I couldn't understand.
The whole world was narrowing, darkness closing in on me. I could feel it all around me, eating
away, sinking into every nerve, every muscle.
And the hand around my heart tightened, and every labored thump seemed likely to be my last
on this earth.
David's face was taut, pallid, and desperate. He was still trying to twist free, but his strength, like
mine, wasn't up to the task.
The odds were too high this time.
''Ashan, give me your leave,'' Venna said. Her brother frowned, and nodded sharply, once.
Venna disappeared so suddenly there was a small thunder-clap of air left in her wake. I couldn't
even spare the breath to curse, or to cry out. The pressure was throbbing in every nerve of my
body, a constant, grinding pain that grew sharper with every heartbeat. The Sentinels weren't
going to let up. They were going to slaughter me one inexorable inch at a time, and the Djinn-
the Old Djinn-wouldn't lift a finger to stop it.
And they were going to make David watch, to make it that much more horrible.
I felt something new in the attack-a tremor. Just a flicker, but somewhere, someone was
weakening. If it was a combined attack, and I thought it must be, then at least one and maybe
more were faltering, running out of power. Hang on, I told myself. I felt sweat dripping from my
chin onto my shirt front. A little longer.
It was an eerie way to face the end of your life. If it had just been the Old Djinn, standing there
impassively, that would have been bad enough, but David– the dread and anguish in his eyes
was too much. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated harder.
Hold. You have to hold.
I felt another element of the attacking force weaken and drop away, leaving a purer signature to
it. If I could only outlast the rest, I might be able to trace it back to one source . . . at least get the
name of the bus that was going to run me down.
Even that cold comfort didn't seem too likely. I felt myself shaking harder now, as I pulled all
the power out of my muscles, out of my flesh, pouring my last vital resources into defending the
stronghold of my heart. I couldn't hold out for long; my reserves had gone shockingly fast, and
without David's help, even Imara's contributions weren't going to be enough. . . .
I felt something in me give way, and my next breath felt wet and labored. Pain flared through
me. I tasted blood, coughed, and felt warmth spray out of my mouth.
''No,'' David whispered. ''Ashan . . . please . . .''
Ashan didn't speak, not even to refuse.
Another element of the attack against me broke with an almost physical shock. I could count
them now: three. Three of them left, but one was unbelievably strong, much stronger than I was.
Stronger than I could ever hope to be.
My legs gave out. I fell to my knees, hardly felt the impact. Part of the carpet was on fire now,
and none of the Djinn were reacting to the emergency. I heard the shriek of the smoke alarm
going off, and knew that I was on the verge of creating yet another disaster, one that could claim
the lives of the innocent people living around me.
I closed my eyes and found one last tiny pool of strength. With that last drop of power, I pushed
back. Two of the three attackers dropped away, surprised by my sudden aggression, and I saw
the last one clearly.
On the aetheric, he burned a brilliant white, less a person than a star bound in human form. I