Fallen

Chapter One Eventually, Lindsay Adarian and I summoned the courage to emerge from the repair shop where we’d been hiding and blink up at the sky. It was still somewhat gray and lowering, but in an ordinary late winter sort of way. No livid clouds the color of a bruise, no circling, angry djinn. Nothing supernatural about it at all. We knew better, though. Lindsay stood on the crumbling concrete step outside the shop’s main door and shook her head. “It’s hard to believe that tiny thing” —and she pointed at the little black box I still held clutched in my cold and shaky fingers— “is holding off an entire army of djinn.” “Well, thank God it is, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” I glanced around but saw no one. Not that I’d really expected to; who would have the courage to come outside after that near-attack? The Chosen would be terrified, and the djinn probably not in that much better a frame of mind, their powers now more or less shut down by Miles Odekirk’s device. But then movement down the street caught my eye, and my heart began to beat a little faster. Not from fear, though. Even at this distance, I recognized that purposeful stride, the long black hair blowing in the harsh breeze. Jace. As soon as he caught sight of me, he began to walk even faster. I had to wonder where he got the energy, considering how much the box I was holding seemed to steal away the very life force of the djinn, leaving them listless and not much of a danger to anyone. I didn’t have to wonder for much longer, because in the next instant he was there, pulling me into his arms, crushing the device into my sternum. Not that I cared too much; right then it was just good to feel his arms around me, to hear his voice say my name. “Jessica, so it was you, wasn’t it? Zahrias said I shouldn’t venture forth to look for you, but I couldn’t hide in the resort like a coward, not when you were out here alone.” “Not exactly alone,” I told him, pulling away slightly so I could nod in Lindsay’s direction. “But considering how we both just got the crap scared out of us, I think I can safely say we’re very glad to see you.” “That’s for damn sure,” Lindsay put in as she approached, still shooting those wary glances skyward, as if she expected the djinn to return at any second and rain holy hell down upon us. “Glad to see you’re so…mobile.” Jace’s mouth twisted. “I suppose that is one thing for which I can thank Captain Margolis and Miles Odekirk. It seems that all those weeks under the influence of that device have made me a bit more able to tolerate its effects than the rest of my people. At any rate, while I am tired and wish more than anything that you could shut it off, I can still function, more or less.” “You’re amazing, you know that?” I said, then went up on my toes so I could give him a kiss on the cheek. His skin felt cool beneath my lips, but maybe that was only because of the cold wind blowing on us and not because of the device’s influence. Well, I could hope, anyway. His shoulders lifted a fraction of an inch, as if to brush off the compliment. “I’m not sure about that. There was no way I would wait any longer before coming to make sure you were all right. But now we must get back to the resort. Zahrias wishes to speak to you.” “Good,” I said grimly. “Because there are one or two things I’d like to bring up with him as well.” The draining effects of Odekirk’s device were a bit more obvious on the djinn leader. Zahrias was paler than I’d ever seen him, and, rather than standing, as he preferred to do during these sorts of convos, he sat in a chair by the hearth, where a fire crackled away. Despite that, the room was fairly chilly, and I didn’t bother to take off my coat, but only unbuttoned it. And I could tell from the way Zahrias seemed to shiver beneath his heavy brocade robe that the blazing fire wasn’t helping him all that much, although he sat so close to it that I worried a spark might fly out and set fire to his clothing or hair. Lindsay had gone to check on her own lover, leaving me to attend this briefing with only Jace at my side. Just as well; her usual composure seemed to have deserted her, and I sort of doubted she would have been able to make a very cogent report on what we had seen circling in the skies above Taos. Better that she have some alone time with Rafi while she attempted to restore her frayed nerves, rather than be subjected to Zahrias’ questions. “I suppose I should commend you on your quick thinking,” he said, tone wry despite his obvious discomfort. His gaze strayed the side table where I’d placed the device and then moved back to me. “But as it has only made all of us djinn mostly useless….” “Would you rather be dead?” I asked. Beside me, Jace shifted, although he didn’t bother to protest my harsh words. We all knew they were only the truth. “No, of course not,” Zahrias replied. Lips compressing to a hard line, he glanced up at Jasreel. “I see now what you mean. This is very…unpleasant.” “That’s one word for it.” Jace faced the other djinn squarely, arms crossed over his chest. Unlike Zahrias, he was wearing regular, “mortal” clothes — a dark sweater and faded jeans, motorcycle boots. In different circumstances, I would have found his current attire almost insanely hot. Unfortunately, I had other things occupying my mind at the moment. “But, as Jessica pointed out, it is still better than the alternative.” “And about that,” I put in, watching as Zahrias’ expression grew shuttered. While he didn’t exactly look away, neither did he meet my gaze directly. He knew what was coming next, and didn’t want to discuss it…probably because, like the rest of us, he had no answers. But I had to ask anyway. “Just what the hell is going on? I thought you had a truce with the other djinn, that they had sworn to leave the One Thousand and their Chosen alone.” “We did — we do have a truce.” It was my turn to cross my arms. “Well, it seems like someone on the other side didn’t get the memo, because that sure looked like a whole bunch of pissed-off djinn to me. Not that I claim to be an expert. Please, tell me I’m wrong.” “You are not wrong,” Jace said, and Zahrias gave him a pained look. Appearing to ignore his leader’s glare, Jace went on, “I saw them. Or rather, I felt them coming. We all did. It was the sort of gathering of our kind that is impossible to ignore. As they moved in above us, I tried to call out to them, to ask what they were doing here, but they acted as if they couldn’t hear me. Or at least they pretended not to.” “The same way they ignored me as well,” Zahrias said. His brow looked positively thunderous, but his voice sounded calm enough as he continued, “From which I gathered that they did not come in peace.” “No kidding,” I remarked. “So…what’s going on? Why aren’t they honoring the truce?” “I don’t know.” Just three words, the syllables ground out from between clenched teeth. I could tell from the dark red flicker in Zahrias’ eyes that he was angry, so angry that flames should have been dancing all around him — but they weren’t. That manifestation of his abilities must have been tamped down by the device as well. Too bad, as they provided a helpful bellwether for his emotions. Not that I really needed the extra assistance at the moment. The frown he wore was fearsome enough, and I saw it mirrored in Jace’s features as well. “So they have broken their faith with us,” he said, and Zahrias nodded. “It would seem that way.” “You’re awfully calm about it,” I told him, and his mouth pulled into the same flat line I’d seen a few moments earlier. “I have no choice but to be calm,” he replied, pushing himself to his feet. He seemed to falter for a second, as if having difficulty maintaining his balance, but then he walked normally enough to the fireplace and leaned back against the mantel of carved juniper. In doing so, he blocked a good deal of the heat from the fire as well. Then I realized he probably needed it more than I did, or even Jace. My own djinn partner had, as he’d said, far more experience managing the debilitating effects of Miles Odekirk’s device. Zahrias went on, “For the moment, we are protected. I was not indulging in sarcasm when I thanked you for your quick thinking, Jessica, because only a moment more, and all here might have been lost. We are few, and they brought many against us. However, I doubt that any of the djinn living here wish for the current situation to continue indefinitely.” He paused, and the shadows beneath his eyes seemed to deepen. “The draining effects are bad enough, but throttled like this, we can no longer use our powers to keep the lights on, the heating systems running. It is going to be a very cold night.” A shiver went through me that didn’t have much to do with the temperature in the room. It had been a cold day, but not freezing. But overnight, it would be back in the teens if we were lucky, and possibly colder than that. I hadn’t even stopped to think about the way the djinn had been quietly providing everyone here with heat and light…and running water, too, for all I knew. Those were issues that would need to be addressed, and soon. “At least all the rooms here in the resort have fireplaces,” Jace said evenly. “We will not want for heat, not in the near term. As for lighting, we can look for candles and oil lamps and such in the shops in town. Luckily, the device will protect us as we move about, since the central part of the town should be mostly protected as well.” “And in the long term?” Zahrias asked. There was very little inflection in his voice that I could detect, but a certain hardness to his jaw told me he didn’t expect we’d be able to make do for very much longer. “We’ll figure it out,” I told him. No, I didn’t like the idea of being without central heat or electricity. However, there had to be something we could do. “I’m sure there are places around here that have generators. Houses with propane tanks for heating and cooking. We can start scavenging for what we need. It’ll be all right. There’s technology all around us — we just have to figure out how to use it.” “And what about the other djinn? Do you think they’ll stay away forever?” Jace asked. We’d been standing next to one another, but right then I felt his hand slide into mine and grip my fingers. His own flesh was cool, and a shiver went through me. He might be managing to give a decent impression of someone coping with the loss of his powers and the associated drain on his vitality, but I knew better. Every hour, every minute, every second that the device operated meant accompanying hours of discomfort, if not outright pain. One hand went through Zahrias’ hair in a nervous gesture I’d never seen him make before. “They will for now, as they assess the situation. For how long?” His shoulders lifted. “I’m not certain. Jessica, will that thing continue to operate once it’s been switched on?” “Yes,” I replied. “That is, I can’t say for absolutely sure, since I’m no expert, but from what I could tell, it seemed to be pretty much a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of thing. From what we’ve been able to find out, it’s self-powered. That is, we don’t need to recharge it or anything. Beyond that, I don’t know much about how to dial it in — that’s Lindsay’s field of expertise — but I do know it’s covering the widest area possible right now. If you want it set up differently — ” “I do not,” Zahrias cut in. “I remember you said that it becomes more powerful as the area it ‘protects’ shrinks. I doubt any of my people would appreciate having its effects intensified. Besides, even though we are gathered here at the resort for safety’s sake, it is probably better that as much area here in Taos is shielded as possible.”