The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (47 page)

A muffled sound drew their attention. A bang, like a cellar door closing. Another bang followed. “You picked the wrong hole, rabbits,” Seth called. “This one only goes down.”

Donatti took a step back. “Queens,” he whispered – and vanished.

Jazz might have loved him, but she didn’t like him very much right now.

She knew exactly what he meant. When they were both still working, pre-Cyrus, they’d done a job in Queens lifting some electronics from a high-end specialty place. The owner had showed up in the middle of the gig, and Donatti had sent Jazz out to play the lost and horny distraction while he legged the rest of the stuff out the back. With one word, he’d just told her to seduce Seth while he did . . . whatever.

He’d better do whatever real goddamn fast. If she had to go any further than second base, she’d shove his picks up his nose. One at a time. Slowly.

Footsteps approached the door to the room. She debated throwing herself at him, telling him that he was the sexiest thing on two legs, but Seth didn’t strike her as stupid. She’d have to play things a little less directly.

At the last second, she remembered something critical. She’d bashed his skull in – and she wasn’t supposed to know he’d survive. Time to change tactics. She moved to the steamer trunk and started climbing inside.

The door banged open just as she was swinging her leg over. She stared at him and let out a startled cry. “You,” she whispered. “I killed you.”

Seth laughed, a harsh sound far from his earlier indulgent amusement. “You must not have hit me as hard as you thought.”

“But there was blood. I saw it.”

“A scratch.” He walked closer, his gaze sweeping the room. “Where’s your friend?”

She let herself shiver, put a tremor in her voice. “We got separated in the woods.”

“So the thief taught you how to pick locks.”

“We’re both thieves. Retired. We were on vacation.” She swallowed. “Why are you trying to kill us?”

“I wouldn’t have hurt you, Jazz with the beautiful eyes.” The beginnings of a smile eased across his lips. “Your friend was in the way. Sadly, he’ll probably die in the forest. It’s so easy to get lost out here.”

“Lost,” she whispered. Not all of her confusion was faked. Dizziness swirled around her, and her thoughts tried to centre themselves on Seth, on touching him, holding him. He was hypnotizing her again.
Come on, Donatti, do something.

“Yes, but you’re not lost any more.” Seth closed more of the distance between them, his eyes practically flashing. “You’ve found me. And now you’ll stay, won’t you?”

Stay with you.
It was an effort not to speak the words. Part of her wanted to cry out
yes!
and fall into his arms swooning, like some idiot woman in a herbal shampoo commercial.

Seth’s smile dropped away. “I sense . . . impossible. You can’t be.”

“Do these things actually work?” Donatti popped into view across the room behind Seth, holding the panpipes. They were splashed with blood – his own. One of the things he needed for the spell to destroy them. “Not much of a musician myself, but this seems pretty cool.”

The moment Seth turned to look at him, Jazz felt normal again. She held off on the sigh of relief, though. She still had no idea what Donatti was planning, and if Seth was like Ian, he could do just about anything.

“Lost in the woods, are you?” Seth glared at him. “Give me those.”

“Not until you tell us where your mirror is. I know you have one somewhere.”

“My . . .” Seth’s brow furrowed in what looked like genuine confusion. Then his expression shifted to mockery. “Ah, I see,” he said. “A human who believes he knows something about us. What do you think you’re going to do with my pipes, human? Make me grant wishes?”

Donatti grinned. “I’m not human,” he said. “At least, not completely.”

“So you’re a thief
and
a liar.”

“Oh, yeah?” He stopped smiling.
“Ant lo’ahmar nar—
”

“Stop!” Seth cried.

A shiver went through Jazz, genuine this time. That was the destruction spell. Damn. Donatti had gotten a lot better at bluffing.

Seth took a few staggering steps and sat down hard in the bucket seat. “Who are you?” he said hoarsely.

“Hold on.” Jazz stepped out of the trunk and crossed the room to stand with Donatti, giving Seth a wide berth. “Before we get to the Q&A here, can’t you do something to make sure he doesn’t throw any magic at us?”

“I don’t have to. He’s just about tapped.” Donatti almost looked sorry for him. “He would’ve had to transform to heal himself, and then change back. That takes a lot.”

Seth fixed him with an astonished stare. “How could you know that?”

“Because I hang around with a couple of djinn. And I’m descended from one.”

“Who?”

“Gahiji-an, but we call him Ian.”

“The Dehbei prince.” All the colour faded from Seth’s face. “I’d heard . . . he was supposed to have been killed. Centuries ago, when he was banished here.”

Donatti grimaced. “Oh, nice. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear he’s dead. I wouldn’t tell him that, if I was you. He might kill you for it.”

“By the gods.” Seth looked away and slumped in the seat. “I don’t believe this,” he muttered. “All this time, and I . . . wait. You said there were other djinn. Who? Where are they?”

“Wait. First, it’s your turn,” Donatti said. “Who are you really?”

He looked at them with hollow eyes. “My name is Seti-el, of the Anapi clan,” he said. “At least, I was. I’m sure my clan’s disowned me by now.”

“Just a guess, but I’m thinking Anapi means fox,” Jazz said.

Seth nodded. “Tricksters and thieves, the lot of us. Some more than others,” he said with a healthy dose of bitterness. “That’s why I’m here, instead of in my own realm. I was tricked into an arranged marriage to someone I despised, someone who despised me and only wanted the bond so she could make me miserable forever. I couldn’t change things, so rather than marry her, I came here. I’m sure you noticed I have no windows or mirrors in this place. It’s so they can’t find me and force me to come back.”

A glimmer of sympathy passed through Jazz, and she swept it aside with the image of the wrecked cars and the corpse. “So you settled down and started killing people,” she said.

“No! I’ve never killed anyone.” Seth let out a shuddering breath. “The dead man on the road wasn’t my doing. He crashed deliberately. Took his own life. I never came into contact with him.” He looked straight ahead, and his gaze unfocused.

“Yeah, right.” She frowned at him. “Even if that’s true, it means you caused the other wrecks. And you tried to rip Donatti’s throat out.”

He shook his head and looked at Donatti. “I knocked you down, yes. But I only nipped you, and you passed out from your other injuries. The blood was rabbit’s blood. I wouldn’t have let you die.”

“So I didn’t heal myself? Damn.” Donatti raised an eyebrow. “That’s seriously fucked up. Why would you do that?”

“To see how you’d react.” Seth stared at the floor. “I’d been here fifty years, alone, before humans started coming into the area. They were building that road. At first I only watched them, but when I realized whatever they were planning would bring them to my cabin, I . . . scared them off. Convinced them the place was haunted. And it was fun. The first entertainment I’d had in decades. Of course, after that it was years before anyone else came this way. A couple who’d gotten lost. So I decided to have some fun with them.”

“Let me get this straight,” Jazz said. “You crash people’s cars and chase them around the woods because you’re
bored?“

He offered a miserable nod. “The first time, I didn’t play with them long. I healed their injuries before they woke from the crash, ‘miraculously’ unharmed. I let them see the fox, and turned myself invisible to play ghost. I created a few small illusions. Nothing too terrible. And when I’d finished, I brought them to the nearest town with altered memories and enough money to replace what I’d stolen. Your money is easy to reproduce.” A half-smile appeared and vanished. “But with each new arrival, I kept them a little longer, and played more elaborate tricks, until . . . well, you know what I’ve done with you.”

“Yeah. You tried to make me think Donatti was dead so I’d sleep with you.”

“I’ve been lonely,” he whispered. “I’m afraid that’s no excuse. But you are the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen and I couldn’t resist trying.”

Donatti made a disgusted sound. “Good thing it didn’t work, or I wouldn’t be able to resist kicking your ass. Not that I would’ve succeeded. But I’d try.”

Jazz stopped herself from making a reflexive caveman comment. Usually she hated it when he went all defend-the-little-woman on her. Tonight, it didn’t annoy her so much. “If you’re so lonely, why didn’t you just move somewhere else?” she said. “You know, somewhere with a population bigger than one plus a bunch of rabbits and bears.”

“Djinn can’t . . . I mean, it didn’t seem possible that a djinn could live with humans, or form relationships with them. I thought I’d be an outcast. I’m already shunned by one realm, and I wouldn’t do well if this one hated me, too.” He blinked a few times. “But it obviously worked for Gahiji-an, or you wouldn’t exist, Donatti. And the two of you are together.”

“Yes, we are,” Donatti said with a little scowl. “Very together.”

A smile forced itself across Jazz’s mouth. Damn, he was cute when he was jealous. “You’ll do fine,” she said. “There’s plenty of people more freaky than you.”

Seth almost smiled. “I believe you. But then . . . I don’t know. It’s such fun here, and I’m hardly hurting anyone. There are so many of you humans. If I had access to more, the temptation would be great to—”

“Don’t even think about it,” Jazz said. “I may be human, but I
will
kick your ass. And it won’t be so easy getting up again next time.”

Donatti gave Seth a withering stare. If she didn’t know him, she’d be afraid of that look. “She will,” he said. “And when she’s done, I’m sure Ian’s gonna be next in line. He will hear about you, and he’s not going to like it. We’ll be watching.”

“Well, if you put it that way.” Seth blanched and looked away. “I’ll stop. Really.”

“So it’s settled, then,” she said. “You’re out of here.”

“Maybe.” Seth spent a few minutes staring at the floor. Finally, his features grew resolute and he stood slowly. “I think I will,” he said. “Yes. I’ll join the world. There are so many things I’d like to see. Disney World. The Sahara desert. Strip clubs.”

Jazz laughed, and even Donatti cracked a smirk. “I guarantee you’ll enjoy at least one of those things,” she said. “But you have to stop fucking with people. Trust me, that isn’t going to go over too great in civilization.”

“I swear I won’t hurt anyone. Just a few harmless tricks now and then.”

“Really. And what, exactly, do you consider harmless?”

Seth grinned. “I was thinking of making Mount Rushmore disappear.”

“Holy shit,” Donatti said. “That’d be awesome! It’d drive so many people crazy trying to figure it out. The brilliant scientists, the conspiracy nuts, the FBI, the—”

“Donatti.”

He coughed. “Sorry. I mean, don’t do that. It’s a bad idea. Very bad.”

“All right.” Seth made a show of crossing his heart. “No vanishing national monuments.”

Jazz sighed. “I really hope we’re not unleashing the eighth plague here,” she said, and turned to Donatti. “I don’t know about you, but I’m filthy and starving and exhausted.”

“Ditto. Seth, please tell me you have something to get around with.”

He nodded, headed for the back wall and stopped. “Before you go, could I please have my tether back?”

“I don’t know,” Donatti said. “I’m thinking maybe I should keep it for a while. Maybe mail it to you, or send it up with the park rangers. What’s gonna stop you from fucking with us all over again if I give it back?”

The corners of Seth’s mouth twitched. “You have my word,” he said. “You’re free to go, and I won’t harm you.”

Donatti frowned. “What do you think, babe?”

“I think he’d better show us how we’re leaving first,” she said. “Besides, we can always find the pipes again if he screws up. Akila can track those things.”

Seth went still and blinked rapidly. “The Bahari princess?”

“Yeah. She’s Ian’s wife.”

It took him a minute to recover. “You have powerful friends.”

“We’ve got a few connections,” Donatti said.

“Understood.” Seth moved to the bumpers mounted on the wall and said, “I had to have some way to bring the people off the mountain.” Reaching for the middle one, he grabbed it and pulled, and part of the wall swung out to reveal a recessed area with a tall shape draped in black canvas. He tugged the canvas away. Beneath it was a free-standing mirror. “I assume you know what to do,” he said to Donatti.

“Yup. Blood, words and poof. Instant portal.”

His features contorted for an instant. “My tether?” he said softly.

“Here.” Donatti handed them over slowly. “Don’t worry about the blood. I’m not contagious.”

“Good to know.” Seth accepted the pipes with a grateful nod. “I’ll get your bags for you,” he said. “I’m sorry for putting you through this. And I . . . thank you. For proving me wrong, and setting me free.”