Using their screams as impetus, I redirect my focus. I push against the pain until flames rise within me and send a fire ball in Sitna’s direction. Despite his shock, he’s able to take cover.
“So it’s true,” Sitna sneers. “The great Protector is more than a myth. I thought the Marid were crazy believing you to be the one, but here you are. Too bad you’ve come in such a weak form.” A flash of light screams towards me and a blinding pain bursts in my head. It feels as if he hit me with a burning whip.
Zane cries out behind me and I turn my head. Beelzebub has done the same to him, but Zane is bleeding from lacerations on his face, torso and legs. His pain exponentially greater than mine. Beelzebub’s smile is haunting. He’s enjoying the sight of Zane’s blood spilling to the ground; his head slumped on his shoulder as he becomes too weak to hold it up.
“Skye, you have to save him,” Brielle cries, tears streaming down her face. Despite her own pain, she can only think of saving her brother.
As I take this all in, my mind is not on Sitna. He takes advantage and hits me again. I feel the skin on my cheek burst apart. I hear Brielle’s screams as she is whipped and cut more times than I can count, but her wounds are still nothing compared to Zane’s. I believe Beelzebub did look into my heart and discovered that killing Zane would hurt me the most. I won’t let that happen. This has to stop.
Sitna has my full attention now. I stand up and block his next attack with my palm. It still hurts but I use that pain to ignite my need for revenge. The more determined I get, the more the air around me charges. Sparks begin to fall from me and Sitna’s next attack is defused before it can reach my skin. A blue flame forms around me and grows until I am covered everywhere with it.
“Skye…” Zane cries out desperately. His voice is hoarse, reflecting the pain coursing through him. “Stop! He can’t make you do this.” I suspect it is Beelzebub who quiets him. I don’t want to know how. The sooner I can take care of Sitna, the sooner I can free my friends.
I stalk towards Sitna, my fire growing. His power doesn’t even dim the flames as he throws hit after hit of electricity at me. As I approach, he backs up, practically stumbling over his own feet. His cocky demeanor is gone.
“Think about this,” he says. “Like my father said, my allies will avenge my death. Our civil war will spill over into the human world and many will die unnecessarily. But we can prevent that. You help me achieve my goals, rule by my side, and we can keep everything behind the veil. No humans involved at all.” He has backed himself up against a tree.
“How many innocents have your allies killed in my name or simply killed humans for sport? Those deaths can’t be ignored. Someone has to pay for them.”
“Skye, there must be another way,” Roman says and then cries out in pain. I don’t want to see what Beelzebub just did to him.
“I will hand them over to you. Anyone who has killed a human. Just think about this and what it will cause,” Sitna pleads. I must look pretty damn scary because he’s caving quickly.
Reading my mind, Beelzebub says in a bored tone, “I suspect no one has discussed with you what being the Protector truly entails. He fears you because your flames are the flames of justice.” I have no more idea of what that means now than I did when Mrs. Gregori said it. Which he realizes because he continues, “When you capture beings in your fire, the flames will elicit justice for any wrongdoings that your victim has committed. They will feel the pain, the devastation, etc, etc, yada, yada, that they inflicted on others.” He sounds even more bored now.
Beelzebub had told me that all I had to do was consume Sitna with my fire, but there were no details like that. My flames are judge and jury to those I choose to trap in it? Glad no one thought to tell me any of this earlier, maybe I could have prevented those human deaths myself. It seems like Malik should have mentioned it, unless he was afraid I’d use it unwisely. He and I are definitely going to have a long conversation. Soon.
It dawns on me how odd, and frightening, I must look standing here on fire as I ponder my life. I move closer to Sitna, still not sure if I can go through with this. I honestly don’t think I can. No matter what he’s done, I don’t want to be the one who carries out his punishment. I’m not the powers that be.
But when I’m close to him, I feel a pull that won’t ease. I struggle against it, trying to back away from Sitna, but it pulls me closer. I am no longer in control of the flames. They are in control of me. A fact that Sitna has noticed as well.
“Stop it!” he cries, uselessly holding his hands out trying to keep me at arm’s length.
“I can’t.” I truly can’t. I am propelled forward until I am nose to nose with Sitna. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer. He struggles for just a second and then goes limp in my arms as my fire spreads around him. I let him slump to the ground and back up, watching in horror as his body is covered with wound after wound. Even in his catatonic state, I can tell that he’s feeling the pain of every single bloody mark and bruise. Soon, he is bleeding from his head to his feet. His body jerks occasionally when a particularly nasty wound takes form.
The worst part is that I see the images in my head as well. I see him slice a man from his neck to his groin and watch as that wound materializes on his body. I see him strangle a woman after raping and beating her almost to death as I see the dark bruising around his neck appear and the blood seeping from his groin. I see him using his power to perform acts of cruelty on person after person, not stopping until most of them are dead. With him, I’m now reliving every sin he has ever committed.
I crumble to the ground weeping for his victims. My stomach turns with each grizzly act and I am soon on my hands and knees retching in the grass. Sitna is still catatonic, but he’s not dead. I believe the flames are keeping him alive, even when he is eviscerated, his intestines strewn before him. Even when the sickening sound of bones breaking echoes through the glade and his body sags to the ground. They won’t let him go. Not until he’s felt every single one of his sins.
Finally. His final act of violence was committed against me, a lash across the palm. Finally the flames return and I absorb them within me. Sitna’s lifeless body lies in front of me, but the flames left their mark on me as well. I will forever carry those images in my mind.
Hands clapping together remind me that I’m not alone in this horror.
“Masterfully done,” Beelzebub says. There’s pride in his voice that turns my stomach again.
Slowly, I wipe the bile from my mouth and push myself to my feet. I nearly fall twice, but will myself up regardless of how unsteady I am. I turn to him and find that there are others here in the glade now. I recognize one of the newcomers, the one who left the first victim in the road for us to find. The first one to carve my name in a man’s belly and let him bleed out.
I feel myself moving towards him and his large, scared eyes. I watch him pale with every step I take. The brutal killer is gone, replaced by a being fearful of reliving his sins.
“Uh uh,” Beelzebub says as if chastising a dog. “Not today. You yourself did not want them to die.” He steps in front of the djinni, blocking my progress. “I brought them here as witnesses to fulfill my part of our bargain. They have seen what you can do and they will fear you now. I suspect this little show is enough to make them reconsider their actions.”
They may fear me, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop killing humans in my name. Beelzebub is right, though. I want them to live so they can spread the word of what I will do to my enemies. Hopefully, that will be enough to make them rethink their strategy. Reluctantly, I stop a few feet from the men. The devil is keeping a close eye on me, though. I wonder if I can make him relive his sins.
He knows the thoughts running through my mind. “It is not our time,” he warns me, his eyes flashing red again when he adds, “As long as you bare that mark, you are not a match for me and my power.”
That may be true, I don’t know, but the sins perpetrated by these djinn make my flames lust for more. “Take them away then,” I tell Beelzebub. “Take them away before I can’t control it.”
He inclines his head and in an instant, there are only four of us in the glade. Zane, Brielle and Roman crumble to the ground, their bonds broken. I rush to Zane, cradling him against me. I know for certain now that he took the brunt of the punishments meted out by Beelzebub. Because he is my lover and because I care about him, his body is covered with wounds and blood. He looks up at me, brushes my cheek with an index finger, then loses consciousness; his life force is slipping away. “Zane,” I cry into his hair. “Hold on. Just hold on.”
Roman comes to my side and gently removes my arms from around Zane so he can lift him from the ground. “I will carry him back home, Skye. Go check on Brielle. I got this.”
Grateful, I go to Brielle who seems to have smaller lacerations and a sprained ankle. I have no idea how much damage Roman’s body sustained, but he is obviously well enough to walk. He has already started walking through the woods carrying Zane. I wrap my arm around Brielle’s back and we slowly follow after him.
The walk back seems to take forever. Zane is in and out of consciousness. Mostly out. Brielle won’t let me help her as much as she needs, so progress is slow. I admire her resolve though. Roman is walking with a slight limp and there are many areas on his clothes that are torn and blood stained.
I open the back door that I slipped out of earlier and we enter the house. Victorious, though no one feels that way. The war of the djinn has just been escalated to the point that it will spill out from behind the veil. There will most likely be more human deaths as a result. I wish I could blame it on Beelzebub, but I know it’s my fault. I was rash and idiotic for thinking I could solve my problems by making a deal with the devil.
For me, the Djinn who were killing in my name may have been frightened enough to stop, however law enforcement here has only my name to connect the murders. That makes me a wanted fugitive. Roman’s photo is probably right next to mine on the most wanted list. Good thing Brielle is legally dead now, according to authorities.
After thinking about everything that was sacrificed and the sacrifices we will have to make in the future, we’re really not victorious at all. We simply mounted a hurdle that was concealing the truth. A devastating truth where we’re nothing but pawns in the devil’s game.
Hearing us come in, Hank and Mrs. Gregori meet us in the great hall near the elevator. Mrs. Gregori is torn between focusing on her injured grandchildren and wanting to kill me for letting them get hurt. She lets me live for now. Hank takes over with Brielle and helps her limp to the sitting room where he can assess her ankle.
Roman and I ride upstairs in the elevator in silence. We haven’t spoken a word to each other yet. Stepping out of the elevator with Zane still in his arms, he strides down the hall towards Zane’s room.
“No, bring him in here,” I say. I want him in my room, close to me.
Roman hesitates a moment and has an unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he nods and I open my bedroom door so he can bring Zane in and set him on the bed. After making sure he is as comfortable as he can be, I go to the bathroom and fill a basin with warm water and toss several washcloths in. I return to Zane and use them to wipe as much blood as possible from his body. The basin’s water is bright red when I finish cleaning his wounds. My god, he lost a lot of blood.
Roman looks him over carefully, assessing each wound for signs of broken bones or arterial damage. Though some of his wounds are deep, it looks like he only needs some stitches here and there. Roman goes off in search of the supplies he needs for that.
While I wait for him to return, I sit on the bed and take Zane’s hand in mine. His eyes flutter open. “Am I dreaming?” he asks, trying to smile. “Or did we actually make it home?”
“We’re home,” I say, sweeping some of his brown hair from his forehead. I lean down and kiss his brow. “Roman’s going to have to stitch you up. You have some really deep cuts. He’ll be back in a minute.”
He grimaces. “I hope there’s a shot of whiskey to go with those.”
I shake my head. “Sorry, no. You’ve lost too much blood. The alcohol will just make your blood thinner which will make you bleed more.”
“Guess I have to man up, then.”
I laugh. “I think you’ve already done that.” Sobering, I whisper, “I’m so sorry, Zane. I didn’t know he was going to drag any of you into this.”
He lifts a hand and brushes a tear from my cheek that I didn’t even know was there. “If hurting me meant that he wasn’t hurting you, Beelzebub could do his worst and I’d take it gladly.”
My heart swells and tears are flowing freely now. “I don’t want you to be hurt because of me. I don’t want you involved in any of this. This isn’t your war.”
He scowls. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been fighting the djinn a lot longer than you have. I’m not going to sit back and watch them kill humans.”
“I’ll stop them.”
He smiles again. “I’m sure you will. I think you’ll still need help along the way.”
“But…”
He puts a finger on my lips. “This is not a debate. So, either I fight the djinn with you or by myself. I think we’d both be better off if we did it together. Now quit arguing and kiss me.”
I run my finger softly across his lower lip. “Your lip is swollen, it may hurt.”
“That’s a pain I’m willing to suffer through.”
I lean forward and kiss him as gently as I can. He barely winces. Lifting his arms that I know are painful, he holds me to him and kisses me until I forget about everything but him. It’s not until Roman clears his throat, letting us know he returned, that we part.
I stand up and let Roman take my place on the bed. He has a first aid kit that’s better stocked than most. He takes out some sterile thread, a needle and a clamp and gets to work.
Zane grimaces from time to time but other than that, he doesn’t show any signs that Roman is hurting him. Roman is quiet while he works, concentrating on the task at hand. It takes about twenty minutes for him to stitch every wound that needs stitching. When he’s done, I clear away the bloody gauze pads and extra thread while he applies bandages. When he’s done, he stands up.
“Thank you,” I say eager to get back to Zane’s side.
“May I speak to you a moment?” Roman asks. “In the hall.”
I peek at Zane and he’s not thrilled with the idea, but I can’t help that. “Yes.” I walk to the door and out to the hall.
Once we’re both in the hall, Roman pulls my bedroom door closed. “How are you?” he asks. “Are you badly hurt?”
I shake my head. “No, and if I was I seem to have healed already.”
He nods. “Same here. Strong immune systems and healing abilities seem to come with our heritage.”
“Lucky us,” I say, thinking of how long it’s going to take Brielle and Zane to heal.
Roman puts a hand on my cheek and rubs my skin softly with his thumb. “Do you believe now that anything I did was done out of love?”
I step back and his hand falls to his side. The hopeful look on his face begins to fade. “Roman, that may be true…it probably is true, but you’re forgetting something. You have a wife behind the veil. A wife I don’t think I knew about when you and I were together.”
His expression hardens. “A wife I don’t remember. That woman you met may have made that claim just to get to you.”
I shrug. “I don’t know.” I sigh softly. “Roman, there’s so much history between us that we don’t remember. I can’t be with you the way you want me to with all of that baggage out there.”
He tries to force a smile onto his lips. “Then I guess I’ll have to find a way to sort through it all so we can be together again.” He steps forward and I have to fight not to take another step back. “I know you love me. You feel for me what I feel for you. We’re supposed to be together, Skye.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I don’t. “I need to get back to Zane.”
He nods. “Of course.” He turns the doorknob and opens the door for me. “I’m going to check on Brielle.”
I watch him walk away towards the stairs. A part of me wants to go after him. A bigger part of me doesn’t. Letting go of that thought altogether, I return to the man that I want. The man who’s now waiting impatiently for me to return.
“How’d that go?” he asks, an edge to his voice.
I lie down next to him on the bed before answering. He’s covered with a sheet now and I snuggle close, trying not to hurt him. “About as well as you would expect,” I tell him, kissing a spot on his chest that isn’t wounded.
“Did you tell him to piss off?” he asks.
I chuckle. “I said it nicer than that.”
“As long as you said it,” he says, wrapping his arm around me. “I say we take a long nap and then I’ll show you how happy I am that you chose me.”
I grin against his chest. “Do you ever think of anything besides sex?”
“Not when I’m around you, I don’t. Though you may have to be on top for a while.”
“Deal.”
The djinn war is just going to have to wait until tomorrow.