All Your Wishes (23 page)

Tell me about it.
His mental voice held exhaustion, frustration, and worry. Before my most recent bout of training with my great-aunt, I wouldn't have known that, wouldn't have been able to “hear” emotion. Now that I could, I got to worry even more about the people I talked to this way. I'd known things were bad, but hearing his voice I wanted desperately to put my arms around him and give him a hug, to be there for him. That I couldn't sucked rocks.

Are you okay? How's your mom doing?

Not well.
He answered the last question first.
And I'm not okay,
he admitted.
You?

Nope. Did Dawna talk to you?

No. I've got a missed call from her. Is it important?

Only life or death.

The ifrit gave me a deadline to get to a cave in southern Colorado. If I'm not there on time, he's going to start killing people, starting with everyone I love.

Bruno is a master of colorful invective, but I was still impressed by his reaction. I would never have thought of some of those combinations.

There's this special magic circle at the University of Notre Dame. It has gems at the compass points. Hasan couldn't reach me in it when it was active. I'm hoping something like that will work for you guys too.

I pictured the circle in my mind, projecting the image as clearly as I possibly could.

Got it
.
I'm at Sal's. He's got a circle I can use, and Connie has plenty of jewelry
.

Why are you at Sal's?
I didn't mean to sound suspicious but apparently learning to hear emotional nuances brought with it the ability to project them as well.

I like Sal, I really do, but I have no illusions about what he does for a living, and I'm always nervous when Bruno spends too much time around his uncle.

In spite of everything, they're having a birthday party for one of Joey's kids later today. I said I'd help out with the magical protections. The boys are already here. Joey and Roxanne went to pick up the food.

It was hard to imagine the party being anything but a disaster under the circumstances. Nor could I fathom why a kid's birthday party needed magical protections that required a mage of Bruno's level. How bad had things gotten out there? I might have asked, but Bruno changed the subject.

A Mrs. Patel called—I assume that's your client's wife? She said it was a matter of life or death and she offered a good price, so we sold her the vosta we used at the Needle. Any idea what they plan to use it for?

I had an idea, all right. At a guess, the Patels needed to replace the stone that Hasan had stolen when he'd disrupted the ceremony on the beach. But I had no proof and I didn't want to alarm Bruno any more.
Look, I've got to go. Don't wait until the last minute to get in the circle. I don't trust the ifrit to keep his word.

I can take care of myself, Celie,
he grumbled.

I know. I know. But I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you and it was my fault.

He gave a huge mental sigh and I could picture him shaking his head.
Baby, this is not yours. If anything happens, and I don't think it will, it's not your fault. It's Hasan's. All his. You can't be blaming yourself for everything bad that happens to us. Yeah, that curse mark …

Oh!
I hadn't meant to interrupt him, but his words had reminded me. I looked down at my hand, once again marveling at the fact that the mark that had been there most of my life had vanished.

What?

My curse mark's gone.

What?!

It's gone. Disappeared. Hasan removed it.

Why would an ifrit do something good? That doesn't make sense.

I couldn't blame him for being suspicious. I mean, seriously, the man's not an idiot.

For the same reason he took out a couple of the assassins and warned me about Connor Finn's buddies. He wants me alive.

Why?

He plans to use me. I don't know for what.

Shit!
He paused.
Be
careful,
Celie. That the curse mark's gone is a great thing. Really great. We might even have a chance at a normal life. But you can't trust an ifrit. They're pure evil.

I know. I know
. A normal life? Like with kids and a house in the suburbs? Eep. I've always known that's what Bruno wanted, but it had never quite seemed
real
before. Just the thought of it scared the crap out of me.
Gotta go. Love you.

You too. Be careful!

You too.

I cut the connection between us before he could glimpse what I was thinking and feeling.

The rush of panic I felt had nothing to do with ifrits, magic, or demons. Bruno wanted a “normal” life. Did I? Was I even capable of one? After all, my own childhood hadn't exactly been normal. And what about kids? Did I want one? A bunch? Could I even have them, given that I wasn't entirely alive? If I couldn't, did I want to adopt?

A whole world of possibilities I'd never truly considered seemed to open up in front of me, scaring the living crap out of me.

I really couldn't afford to let thoughts like that distract me at a time like this. But, sadly, much of my life is made up of times like this … which might be a big fat clue. Then again, maybe I could change. Did I want to?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I was still turning all that over in my mind when Kevin and Bubba pulled up in a midsized rental car. Bubba hit the button to roll down the passenger-side window and I got to my feet, glad to see them and glad for the distraction.

“Hi, guys.”

“Hey, boss. Glad to see you up and around.” Bubba grinned at me.

“Good to see you, too.” I meant it.

“How come you're not on the client?” Kevin cut to the chase. “Are you having trouble being in the hospital?”

“No.” I wasn't, which was good. It had been some time since I'd eaten, and hospitals in general—and ERs in particular—could be a real problem for me if my bat was close enough to the surface to be aroused by the blood. But the whole time I'd been inside, I hadn't felt so much as a twitch. “I'm good. Did Dawna get hold of you?”

“I've got a missed call. Is it important?”

Jeez. Hadn't she been able to reach
anybody?

I was about to get into the car when I remembered Dottie's warning about Abha Patel. Dammit.

“Park the car,” I told Bubba. “We need to talk.”

I waited on the bench, trying to figure out the best way to break the news to them. There wasn't one. So when they walked up to me, I just cut to the chase.

“Rahim tried to kill me.”

“He
what?
” Bubba was outraged. Kevin just blinked. I could actually see him making connections in his head.

When he spoke his voice was even, almost flat. “Hasan can inhabit your body. You're alive, but part of you is also dead. You're the perfect vessel. He can use you for a lifetime, do all the things he couldn't without a physical presence.”

This was some of what I liked best about Kevin—he's got experience, a background in metaphysics, and the brains to figure things out on the fly.

“That's my guess, yeah,” I confirmed.

“Oh,
fuck.
Celia—” Bubba's eyes were wide enough that the whites were showing all around. “This is so bad.”

“I know. And it gets worse.”

“It can get worse?” Bubba sounded astonished.

I opened my mouth to give them the rest of the bad news, but said nothing. Two people were coming toward us from the ER entrance.

They were an interesting pair. The woman was beautiful. She wore a traditional Indian sari in pink and turquoise, edged in gold, the bright colors emphasizing her warm brown skin and liquid brown eyes. Over one shoulder she carried a large pink bag that was meant to be a purse, but was the size of a tote. With her was a boy of about ten, wearing a striped T-shirt over blue jeans. He looked like a younger version of Rahim, down to the mark on his wrist.

“You are Celia Graves,” the woman said, her voice soft and lilting, with a bit of a British accent. There wasn't the least bit of hesitation in her manner.

I nodded.

“I am Abha Patel. This is my son, Ujala.” She extended her hand. I shook it, but only after spraying mine with a bit of holy water. Ujala and I repeated the gesture and I got a jolt of magical energy for my trouble. He was a mage, and already a powerful one despite his youth. My natural magic reacts to mages. With Bruno and John Creede, the reaction definitely included a sexual element. This was just pain. I managed not to flinch, but wasn't sorry when the boy released his grip.

“These are my associates, Kevin Landingham and Bubba Conner.”

Everybody shook hands. When we were all done with the polite greeting ritual, Abha spoke. “I am a seer. I know what my husband did. I know that you have the evidence that would convict him—the dagger and your recording.”

Kevin's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't say anything. Bubba just stood there, never taking his eyes off of Ujala. It was clear to me that he didn't trust the boy. I didn't know what Bubba had sensed, but I trusted his instincts.

“I am here to offer you a deal,” Abha continued.

“What deal?” I kept my voice even, calm.

She didn't answer directly. “Ujala is very powerful. He will be an excellent Guardian when fully trained. But he has just begun his training. Pradeep was a powerful Guardian, but he is old and is more feeble than pride would let him admit. Tarik is too ambitious to be trusted. Rahim is needed, whether his family believes it or not.

“So I offer you a trade: information and protection in exchange for your evidence.”

“And how do I know he won't just try again? Holding that evidence protects me from future attempts.”

“No. It does not. Because to perform his duties, Rahim is willing to go to prison or to die. At the start, he did not want to kill you, but Pradeep convinced him that it was the only way, that you are too much of a risk left alive.” She broke off, her eyes filling with tears.

Ujala picked up the tale. “Great-grandfather and Tarik have accused my father of incompetence and have turned many of the members of our family against him. Great-grandfather claims my father is incapable of doing what is necessary, and that he and Tarik are now our only hope.”

I said to Abha, “You're helping me because—”

“I've seen the various futures. We have little chance, but what hope there is lies with you. Ujala,” she added, turning to her son. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and withdrew a drawstring bag made of black velvet.

Loosening the string, he poured its contents into his palm. The gold of the chains and charms shone brightly. The gemstones set into each of the three circular charms sparkled and the air around us buzzed with magic. It felt like I was breathing power rather than oxygen. Normally, magic burns across my senses. Not this. This was cold, cold enough that goosebumps broke out over every inch of my exposed flesh and my breath misted the air.

“I am not fully trained yet,” Ujala said softly. His voice still had a childlike pitch, but the tone and emotion behind it were eerily adult. “But I know enough to make the
sujay
, the protection amulets worn by those of our family who are not Guardians. While these are around your necks, Hasan cannot use magic against you, cannot control your mind or possess you.” Ujala held out the necklaces with their sparkling charms, offering them to us … to me.

Abha said, “When you are thus protected, though Hasan cannot harm you, or act directly against you, he can, and will, attack indirectly—using humans he can influence or control, nature, or even objects.”

“So he can't take my body, but he can have his minions shoot me?” I said.

“Or make the earth swallow you whole, or—”

“Got it,” I interrupted, not really wanting to hear a more extensive list. My imagination could supply enough horrific possibilities without help, and the memory of what had happened on that oil rig was still fresh in my mind.

“Will you take our deal? Will you accept these and leave my husband free to do what he must?”

I looked from the glittering gold in Ujala's hand to Bubba and Kevin. What we were being given wasn't complete protection, but it was the best we were going to get. And since I didn't have time to deal with the authorities right now, I figured, why not? Reaching into my jacket, I removed the sock-wrapped dagger and passed it to her. I took the recorder out of my pocket and, while the Patels watched, hit the delete button to erase the scene I'd recorded earlier.

“Good.” Abha gave a short, satisfied nod. “Now you must go. Rahim should be in surgery for one hour. I will wait another thirty minutes after that before reviving him, to give you a head start.”

With a low bow to each man, Ujala carefully handed one necklace to Kevin and one to Bubba. Last, he turned to me. Bowing, he said, “May the
sujay
protect you in your quest. May you be blessed with courage and insight to do what is right, and good to protect all others.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“No. Thank you,” the boy said sincerely.

Mother and son moved away, reentering the hospital as we put on our
sujay
.

The metal was quite cold when I first put it around my neck, but soon warmed to my body temperature. The circular charm fell gently against my breastbone. I felt a warm tingling and the gemstones flashed brightly, once, before returning to normal. If the same thing happened with Bubba and Kevin's necklaces, I didn't see it.