Dale coughed and gasped. With the destruction of the box, Riadh immediately began to go grainy around the edges of his form. Dale was damn near panic stricken.
There was a splutter of protest from Archimedes and the man launched himself around the desk. “f**k it all! I’ll kill you myself then.” He plucked a long slender crystal from his pants pocket and started to aim it at Dale.
Dale was faster. He scrambled out of the chair and punched Archimedes in the face as hard as he could. The older man crashed to the floor. Score one for Marine Corps hand to hand training. “Riadh! Babe!” He gripped Riadh’s shoulders. The djinn was beginning to feel less substantial, softening along the edges of his body. “I don’t want you to die. Please, Riadh, I want you alive. I love you!”
Riadh touched his f
