Page 17

Mira

“Who are these people we’re going to see?” Jax slung an arm around Gigi’s shoulders. “And what do we need to know about them?”

“Sheba.” Kerry lifted one shoulder and looked unconcerned. “Don’t start nothing with them and we’ll be fine.”

We’d timed our trip on the subway after the morning rush hour, so it wasn’t too crowded. Still, there were enough humans around to make us talk in quieter tones as we grouped together in one corner of a car and headed for Staten Island.

“What’s a sheba?” I asked Rome out of the side of my mouth.

“Descendants of an ancient queen from Sheba. Religious texts and scholars disagree on almost everything about her, but we know she was half-djinn. And her heirs are always half, too.”

“That makes no sense.” Chessie’s forehead bunched up in confusion. “After three or four generations—”

“What about any of us makes sense?” Kerry muttered.

“Don’t get them confused with Mugharribun.” Rome must have noticed the look on my face. “Half-djinni and half-human. Sheba’s line is its own special breed.”

“It helps to think of it like a mutant gene that’s dominant in the bloodline.” Chance gave Chessie a quick smile. “I bet you didn’t know that being tall is a recessive trait while having dimples like you do is a dominant one.”

“Don’t look at my dimples!” Her scowl was nearly as fierce as Kerry’s.

Chance’s eyebrows flew up as he stammered out an apology.

Ooo, how intriguing! My mischievous side rubbed its hands together. And we’re sending them off together. I can’t wait to see what this develops into.

Gigi musta had similar thoughts because she giggled. Sir Serious, on the other hand, was either oblivious or apathetic to what was brewing between those two.

“Do you think they might know something about our djinn?” Jax asked.

“Hopefully. Picking up my ride is just an excuse to go find out.” Kerry shifted his attention to Rome. “Mira says you like history. What do you know about the war between the divs and the peri?”

“From ancient Persia.” Rome went into lecture mode, and I bit back a smile.

“In Occult Sciences, we learned that Eblis, a sort of Islamic version of Satan, refused to bow down to Adam because one made of fire does not bow to one made of mud. He rebelled and, during the resulting war, the divs supported Eblis and the peris supported God. Eblis lost and was exiled from Heaven, but not confined to Hell, so he’s free to tempt humans and lead the divs against the peris. ”

“That doesn’t seem fair.” Gigi made a face. “For God to allow the peris to suffer after they were the loyal and faithful ones.”

“Trust me, the peris can take care of themselves.” One side of Kerry’s mouth pulled up. “Maybe we’ll have time to swing by the atelier.”

“Atelier?” Jax blew a huge pink bubble and popped it. “Is that French?”

“I dunno. It’s what the peris call their havens.”

“What are they like?” I tilted my head as my curiosity stirred. “Have you met any?”

“I’ve seen ’em. They’re pretty in a fragile-looking way, but they’re strong and know how to fight. They have wings and sing all the time, just like—”

He cut himself off and a muscle ticked in his cheek.

“I’d like to meet the peri,” Jax jumped in. “If not this time, maybe another. But how does that story relate to us?”

“The sheba.” Chance’s eyes widened.

“What about them?” I looked from him to Kerry.

“Chance is quick.” Kerry half smiled. “The sheba are part djinn, remember?”

“And let me guess.” Jax raised an eyebrow. “They’re djinn half is div, right?”

Of course they are. I shook my head. Who else would a demon-possessed boy rub elbows with?

“Yep, but, like us, they’re half human, so they have the free will to choose a side,” Kerry pointed out.

“And which side do the sheba usually choose?” Gigi asked.

“Their own.”

#

Rome

We came to a good-sized shop and Kerry led us through the open garage bay door.

“Ah!” Mira grinned at me. “Smells like home.”

A spat of arguing broke out between two overall-clad mechanics standing next to an old Dodge truck, drawing her attention.

“It’s the carb! You’re just saying that because I rebuilt it and you don’t think I did it right.”

“Then why doesn’t it have power coming off a stop? You tell me. Come on, tell me if you’re so smart!”

“I’m just saying it isn’t the carb, man.”

She made a beeline toward them and I ambled along.

I didn’t know squat about engines unless they were attached to a boat, but I knew a lot about guys with tempers who had access to heavy weaponry.

And yes, I was aware that she could take care of herself, especially when anything metal was involved, but after that scare with the raiders, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.

Call me needy, I guess.

“You check the intake manifold?” She ignored the surprised look of the two mechanics and stuck her head under the hood. “Bet it’s sucking air.”

“Who are you?” asked one of the mechanics.

“What’re you doing? Get out of there!” The other one reached out like he was going to grab her.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. I put my hand on his shoulder and made sure he felt it. He swung around to glare at me and had to raise his eyes up—and up—and up.

“No touching.” I let a little power flare from my eyes.

“Gimme a spray bottle of water,” she called over her shoulder. “Or a vacuum gauge.”

The two shebas looked at each other, then at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and might have flexed my biceps more than necessary.

“The lady’s trying to help you fellas. Isn’t that nice of her?”

“Uh, yes. Nice.” The first one nodded, then went over to a workbench and returned a few seconds later with a spray bottle. “Here’s the water.”

After he handed it to her, he braced his hands on the grill of the truck and watched what she was doing. The second mechanic narrowed his eyes at me for a moment, then joined them.

“Well, your mounting bolts were torqued right. Let’s have a look at that carb.

” She moved and I saw a chunk of metal float up in a gray cloud.

“Seems fine. Good rebuild, by the way. Ah! There. See the mounting gasket? Look at that! Now that’s what I’d call a manufacturing flaw.

You woulda done better making your own.”

“Thanks. We might just do that.” The first mechanic nodded, then introduced himself as Eskander and his buddy as David.

“I’m Mira. And this,” she half-turned toward me, “is Rome.”

Her hair slid over her shoulder in a golden waterfall, and her eyes gleamed as a little smile played with her lips. Thank God Eskander started talking right then or I might have done something stupid.

“Are you looking for a job, Mira?” He handed her a rag. “We could use a girl who knows her way around an engine. And Rome looks like he could be our jack when the lift broke down.”

She laughed as she cleaned her hands.

“We’re tied up with something else right now. Sorry.”

“Well, come back if that changes. Thanks again for the help.”

“No worries.”

Then she sashayed over to me with a grin and tried to tuck her hand through my elbow, and I realized I had to relax my arms so she could.

“No, I haven’t!” I heard Chance half-shout. “And stop snickering about it!”

I swung my eyes over to see him standing with his arms akimbo and an angry scowl, which was unusual. Jax, on the other hand, was laughing and Kerry had turned his face away to hide a smile.

“Haven’t what?” I asked as we went over.

“Driven a motorcycle!” He shot me a dark look, and I raised my eyebrows. “You’d think it was criminal by how they’re acting!”

“Motorcycle?” If Mira were an animal, her ears would have perked up. “Your ride’s a bike, Kerry?”

He jerked his chin toward the far corner, where a fast-looking bike sat in solitary splendor under the fluorescent overheads. It was so clean, it could have rolled out of the dealer’s showroom maybe an hour ago.

Mira whistled softly and did a slow walk around it.

“Wanna take a spin?” Kerry asked her.

“Does Jax fry Gigi’s fritters at least once a day?”

Everyone laughed, even me.

“Mira might have fun with that, but it doesn’t solve our current problem.” Chance scratched his head.

“It’s okay. We can use public transportation.” Chessie’s dark lenses flashed toward Chance. “We can pay cash for bus or plane tickets. No worries.”

“No.” Kerry shook his head. “You need wheels in case you hafta move fast or have a chance to grab Mrs. H. and make a run for the Sanctuary.”

“Harker,” Eskander followed us over and nodded at Kerry.

“Kander.” Kerry inclined his head in return. “This is Eskander Hussein Al Molhem. He’s the sheik of the sheba.”

Ope! I was far from diplomatic, but at least I didn’t hurt him like I wanted to.

“Something wrong, Harker?” Eskander turned to Kerry. “Your bike’s ready to go. Key’s in the ignition.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need something else. Apparently, not everyone knows how to handle a bike.”

“It’s not an actual requirement for life, you know.” Chance shrugged, back to his usual easygoing self. “But I guess I should probably learn sometime.”

“I don’t know how to drive a motorcycle, either.” Chessie gave him a sympathetic smile, and his eyes warmed up when he saw it.

Wait a minute …

“You want to borrow, buy, or trade?” Eskander asked.

“No trade. I keep what’s mine.” Kerry grin showed too many teeth.

Eskander stepped back, and I thought I better take over.

“What do you have ready to go right now? Nothing fancy. Something that will blend in.”

“Let’s see. You want a car, truck, or SUV?”

“Whichever one has an automatic transmission,” Chance said.

“You can’t drive a stick, either?” Jax’s eyes bugged out. “How did you spend your time growing up?”

“I’m sorry I’m so challenged in the driving department.” He made a snide face. “Chessie, can you drive a—”

“Uh, I think I should confess something.” Her cheeks flamed. “I can’t drive at all.”

Of course, that made Jax burst out laughing again. Gigi covered her mouth with one hand, but I still heard her giggles.

“Well, you two are a fine pair to send on a mission.” Kerry glowered at them both.