The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (12 page)

I
am about to disappear when I see him running toward me, over the hill. I relax
all over at the sight of his smiling face. He is not himself: he is more. But I
know he has not been hurt. On the contrary, he is dazzling. I have never seen
anything like it. Colors surround him like pieces of light carved from the
stars themselves, shifting, shining, and pulsing. It is almost too much to look
at against the black backdrop of the sky.

“Achan,”
I whisper. “What has happened?”

He
runs the last few feet, folding me into his embrace and cutting off my
confusion with kisses. I respond, giddy with his happiness. And we make love
like we did that first night, beneath the stars.

“You
can see it, can’t you, Little One?”

“Yes.
It is beautiful. But what is it?” I ask, tracing the muscles in his chest and
arms. The scarlet light swirls where I pull my finger through.

“Magic,
of course. I have it now. We all do. The three on the Council.”

“There
are only three of you?”

“The
source is limited. We would have risked diminishing the power if we’d shared
it. Besides, we will make the decisions for the others. We will lead them.”

“Lead?”

“You
said yourself, I will make a great king.” He turns so that he is above me, his
eyes sparkling brighter than the tiny diamonds in the sky beyond. His beauty
takes my breath away.

“Show
me your magic,” I say. To my astonishment, because I admit I did not completely
believe it possible of a human, he pulls an iris from the air and lays it on my
chest.

“It
is beautiful,” I say. “What else can you do?”

“Not
enough. Not yet. But soon. Soon, I’ll be able to do so much more.”

Any
more questions I have are buried beneath the urgency of his kiss.

Family Ties

“
ered!”
Sophie throws open the heavy oak door and leaps into his arms.

“How
did you know I was here?” he asks.

“I
heard you. You shouldn’t be mad at Leela. She wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose.”
She bobs her head, and her two neat pigtails swing back and forth like springs.

“You
don’t know that, Soph,” he says quietly.

She
looks at me, but I shake my head, begging her not to reveal my presence.
“Hmph,” is her only response.

The
truth stings, and I find myself wondering if I should have let Mira fulfill her
purpose. I would be free. Free of masters who always manage to disappoint me.

“You’re
here to see Daddy,” Sophie is saying.

“Yes.”
Jered sets her down on the gleaming hardwood floor of the entryway.

“He’s
sleeping. Come in and have breakfast, then when he gets up he’ll see you.” She
starts toward the kitchen, but Jered lays a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m
thinking I should wake him, Soph.”

“Oh
no. Don’t do that, please.” She sounds truly frightened.

“Why
not?” Jered squats to meet her eyes.

“If
you wake him, he’s mean. Like it isn’t even him. But if you let him get up on
his own, he’s much nicer.”

“I’ll
take your advice then,” Jered says. We follow her down the hall and past a
sweeping staircase with a curved balustrade worthy of my last master’s mansion.
Sophie doesn’t even bother a glance. She simply continues skipping toward the
enormous dining table to the left.

I
take in the gourmet kitchen along with Jered. Marble counters, expensive
appliances. Fine crystal and china in pristine lines behind the glass cabinet
fronts. Copper pots and pans hang from the ceiling decoratively. I doubt
they’ve ever been used.

Sophie
doesn’t notice Jered’s expression of surprise. She bounds over to the cabinets
and fridge to arrange two bowls of sugary cereal.

Jered
ruffles her hair affectionately, and I see him focus on his magic until he
appears clean and well kept in nice khakis and a polo shirt. Impressing his
father matters enough for him to resort to magic.

“Omigod,
there’s a burglar! Call 911.” A girl of about twelve is standing at the foot of
the stairs, golden hair sticking up in all directions, fuzzy purple slippers on
her feet.

“Relax,
Mandy. It’s just Jered,” Sophie says.

“Just
’cause he told you his name, doesn’t mean he isn’t some kind of perv or
something.”

“Wait,
did you say ‘Jered’?” A boy of about fifteen has joined the girl. “He’s our
brother, Mand. Right, Sophie?”

Jered
approaches the two siblings and holds out his hand in greeting. The boy takes
it gingerly, then becomes more enthusiastic with each shake, a grin breaking
over his face.

“I’m
Chris. This is Amanda, and you’ve already met Sophie.”

“What’s
going on down here?”

It
appears the mother has joined the party. I see now where the golden hair and
ice-blue eyes have come from. She’s a petite woman, but, judging by the
expression on her face, I doubt she lets anyone intimidate her. “Jered?” Her
mouth drops open.

“You
know me?”

“What
are you...does your mother know you’re here?”

“She’s
in the hospital,” Jered says, turning away to collect himself. “I had to come.
I have to talk to my dad.”

“Well,
you can’t. You can’t just come waltzing in to my house, unannounced at all
hours of the morning demanding to see people.”

“It’s
all right, darling.” I follow Jered’s gaze to the man on the stairs above, and
I gasp. How could I have missed it last night? Because his eyes were closed, I
realize. And because he was only an aura surrounded by a blanket in the dark.

Achan.

But
how? How is this possible? I am so stunned by his appearance, I hardly notice
his hand glow on his wife’s shoulder. The glassy look in her eye.

“Yes,
of course it is. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Kids! Time to get ready for
school. Come on, now. Your father and Jered have to talk.”

Sophie
throws herself into Jered’s arms for one last hug before bounding off after her
siblings. But his eyes are only for his father. The man who betrayed me over a
thousand years ago. It has to be a coincidence. It couldn’t possibly be him. A
descendant, perhaps?

“It’s
good to see you, son. But why are you here? And why so early in the morning?” I
want to shout at Jered not to fall for the deep and genial lull of his voice.
But I keep silent. He has never taken my advice over his desire for family. Why
would he start now?

“Mom...she’s
in the hospital. I thought you ought to know.”

“What
happened?”

“A
fire. At the house. Somehow I got her to the doctors, but she...she may not
wake up.”

“I’m
sorry.” Jered’s father places a hand on his son’s shoulder, and I twitch,
wanting to remove it.
Don’t believe him
. “You will come stay with us.
Until she recovers, of course,” he says.

“Dad,
I...really?”

“Of
course. I had planned on asking you this summer; I was hoping you’d agree to
shared custody. Now that you’re older, it would be up to you. If your mom said
no, well, then between the two of us, we could convince her.”

“Wait.
Mom
didn’t want shared custody?” Jered takes a step back.

“Didn’t
she tell you? There’s a court order saying I can’t come within a hundred feet
of you. So you’ll have to excuse Elle’s reaction when she first saw you here.”

“That
can’t be right. I always thought–”

“Son,
I would never leave you on purpose. You’re my flesh and blood. I need you in my
life more than you could ever know.”

I
believed that line once as well, but I will not let anything happen to Jered. I
can’t. And I refuse to listen to the part of me that says I may not be able to
stop it.

Mistakes

ered
must sense something too. I can see it in his face. So there is hope.

“I’m
taking the kids to school now, Pete,” his wife calls from the doorway.

“Bye,
Daddy!” Sophie runs in to hug her father goodbye. “Kiss Little Leela goodbye,
too!” she giggles, holding up the doll.

I
want to stop it, but it is too late. The recognition in his eyes is too much. I
fight the tears that well up in my own eyes. This cannot be happening. Even
Jered’s face turns white when his father holds up the doll to examine.

“Well,
well, well. Where’d you get this fine lady?” he asks.

Sophie
looks at me, biting her lip. I try to smile. To let her know it is okay. But
I’m finding it hard just to keep my feet firmly beneath me.

“It
was a present,” she says.

“I
gave it to her,” Jered says, taking the thing and holding it out to Sophie to
kiss. “Have a great day at school, sis.” He pats her head again, and I see his
father’s eyes fall on the ring. His fist clenches at his side, an all too
familiar gesture. But by the time Jered looks over, he’s recovered and grants
his son a winning smile.

“Where
were we?” asks Achan.

“You
were saying you want me to move in with you, while mom’s in the hospital.”

“I
wouldn’t have it any other way, son.”

Jered
swallows as his eyes fill with unmistakable longing. He clutches Sophie’s doll
so tightly that I fear he may snap off its head. I want to go to him. To tell
him not to believe it. That something here is not what it seems. But I cannot
risk appearing in front of his father. There would be no time for explanations,
and he would never let me do what I might have to in order to protect him. For
the moment, I ignore the part of me that whispers,
He may not let you even
after all is explained
.

“You
said Mom has a restraining order against you,” Jered says. “I mean, I don’t
want you to get in trouble or anything.”

A
muscle twitches in his father’s jaw. “I shouldn’t have said a word about it.
Believe me, son, I can take care of myself.”

“I’ll
be fine at home on my own,” Jered says.

“I
thought there was a fire? How much damage was there? What did the firemen say?”