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Jax had him blanketed in orange and pushed up against the building while Rome pulled out a teensy-weensy squirt gun from the bag he’d started carrying that morning. Spilling a little in his hurry, Rome filled the squirt gun from a plastic bottle full of something that glittered in the sun.

Then he shot Kerry.

Twice.

Both streams of sparkly liquid hit right between the eyes, which I didn’t think was going to go over too well with Kerry once he calmed down, but Rome’s warrior instincts and training were too ingrained to not take head shots.

I was impressed that he hit the exact spot twice from ten feet out with a plastic squirt gun that was leaking even as he fired.

The sparkly water streamed down Kerry’s cheeks like tears and dribbled off his jaw to make wet spots on his jacket—and the tiger in his eyes blinked and went back to sleep.

“You good, K-man?” Jax pulled his power back as Kerry’s body relaxed.

“Yeah.”

“What is that stuff?” I asked Rome.

“Calm. Chance left it with me yesterday.”

“What did I say? I didn’t mean to upset anyone.” Mingo held both hands up with his palms out.

Jax shook his head.

“You’re good. It’s just, he was convinced you’d know.”

“I can ask my mom, but don’t get your hopes up.” Narrowing his eyes, he tilted his head. “Why is it so imperative that you find my cousin, anyway?”

“He has my girl.” Kerry raised his face to the sky, and the drying streaks on his cheeks burned golden in the sun.

“ That’s your missing team member? Why does Darius have her?” Mingo put the pieces together pretty quick. “Reginald Hubler wants her for something, doesn’t he? How do you know Darius didn’t hand her over as instructed?”

“We’re not one hundred percent certain one way or the other,” Rome told him, “but we’re fairly confident he hasn’t. At least not yet. The impact of him doing so would ripple through the Dark World in a way that none of us could miss.”

I wanted to ask him if he knew Hubler and his pals were mixed up with a demon prince, the same one who wanted a miracle worker. Both Kerry and Rome, though, had been crystal clear that we had to keep as much information to ourselves as we could.

“In that case,” Mingo nodded, “Darius is hiding her from him. If Mr. Hubler desires something and Darius sees a way to interfere, he will. He fights against his master in any way he can.”

“He’s gonna try bartering Gemma for his freedom,” Kerry snapped, “which I do not appreciate.”

“You met Gemma that day at the Sanctuary,” Gigi interrupted, maybe because she was afraid that Kerry would get worked up again. “She came up to you while Hank was trying to talk Kerry out of killing Cole Fanishell.”

“Gina had asked me if I could get through your shield. Not a chance. It’s the best I’ve ever seen.” Mingo grinned at Kerry, who didn’t respond. Undaunted, he continued. “I remember your girl. Very pretty with long red hair and the kindest green eyes.”

Groaning, Kerry covered his face with his hands and doubled over.

“We’d appreciate it if you’d call your mom.” I glared at Mingo and made a slashing motion across my throat. “Do you know how soon you could reach her?”

“I’ll call her now. Too bad our queen isn’t here. She’d know how to contact them and probably where they stay.”

“I hope you find who has Parvenah soon,” Kerry rumbled.

Puzzled and a little suspicious, I cut my eyes over at him.

What is he doing? He knows who has her. Zick Black told us.

I’d promised him I would keep my mouth shut about it, though, so that’s what I did.

“And not only because I wanna ask her about Darius.” Kerry stood straight again. “Mumtaz is gonna get outta control real quick.”

Golden power suddenly outlined Mingo’s whole body.

“You might hafta shoot him, too,” I warned Rome outta the side of my mouth.

“We are aware,” Mingo ground out through clenched teeth. “Be glad he doesn’t have her. Unless their master forces them to act otherwise, Darius and his brothers are men of honor. But Mumtaz and his boys are animals. They’d brutalize her and take their time doing it—”

No one was fast enough this time.

Kerry grabbed Mingo by the throat and slammed him hard against the brick building. As he leaned down to go nose-to-nose with the stunned peri, a thousand blue icicles erupted all over him.

“City of the Future was a temper tantrum compared to what I’ll do to those djinn if she’s harmed in any way while in their custody.”

By then, Jax had him swaddled in power again, but didn’t seem to be doing anything and sweat beaded up on Jax’s forehead. Rome raised the baby squirt gun and fired, but most of the water had leaked out of the cheap plastic pistol and just a few bubbles fizzed out of the nozzle.

The scent of cooking hot dogs filled my nose, and I hoped one of those push-cart hawkers hadn’t stopped nearby.

Last thing we need are human rubbernecks right now.

Abandoning the squirt gun, Rome pulled a different bottle out of his bag, one with a red lid.

I checked on Gigi, whose eyes were fixed on what was happening with Kerry.

I wonder if she feels as useless as I do. I mean, I could call up a chunk of metal and bop him on the head with it, but that’s all I can contribute.

The roasting smell intensified and turned too acrid to be franks in hot water.

Where is that coming from?

“He’s burning!” Gigi shrieked.

Flames engulfed the hand Kerry had clenched around Mingo’s throat. The peri writhed to get away, but Kerry didn’t yield, not even when his skin blackened and cracked.

That’s when Jax tackled him.

I was amazed he could. I’d half expected him to bounce off because Kerry had reached mythic status in my mind, but Jax took him all the way down to the sidewalk and held him there in an elbow lock.

“Stop it, numbnuts! You’re costing us the potential to find Gemma faster! And drop your spikes! They hurt !”

Jax pulled on Kerry’s burned hand so hard, he mighta been dislocating his wrist, but we all knew it was his words, not the pain, that got through to Kerry. The spiky icicles disappeared in a wink.

While Jax had Kerry immobilized, Rome drizzled some of the new liquid onto Kerry’s head, and Kerry went as boneless as an overcooked noodle.

“That isn’t calm.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Coma. He’ll be out for a while.” Rome gave the water bottle a look of disgust. “I need a better delivery system.”

“A super-soaker, maybe?” Jax groaned and rolled away from Kerry.

“Jax! Are you okay?”

Gigi started to fall to her knees next to him, but he caught her elbows on his way to his feet and pulled her up with him.

“I’m all right.” He looked down, saw his clothes were peppered with bloody holes from the icicles, and kicked Kerry’s boot with his own. “Dude, I liked these pants!”

“We’ll get bottles with squirt tops,” I decided. “You know, like on cleaning bottles? The kind where the squirter has a nozzle to twist it on and off.”

“Can I be of any help?” Mingo shuffled over to us with a hangdog expression, and I noticed he didn’t have a mark on him. “Since that was all my fault.”

“I warned you,” I hissed, and repeated the slash gesture under my chin.

“Forgive me.” Mingo pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

“Mumtaz is a sore subject. If there is a way to end him, I will use everything in my power to see it done, but I should not have tortured Harker with a reminder of what can happen when dealing with the Dark World and those who dwell in it.”

A pretty speech.

My thoughts may have been sour, but I had to admit that his sincerity was unquestionable .

“Thank you.” Rome was so much better at not holding a grudge than I was. “Would you mind healing him and Jax, please?”

“Of course.”

While Mingo tended to Jax, I grabbed Rome’s hand and tugged him closer.

“Maybe we should have Gigi take Kerry back to the apartment. One of us can stay there with him while you finish talking with Mingo.”

“He’s going to have to go back now, anyway. Chance wasn’t sure how long the coma will last, but he figured at least a couple of hours. I’m not dragging his deadweight all over New York.”

His brow knitted, Rome hunkered next to where Kerry sprawled on the sidewalk.

Mingo crouched on the other side and touched his fingertips to Kerry’s blackened hand.

It was like watching a movie on rewind as the blackened skin turned back to normal.

A sharp snap and Kerry’s wrist straightened out, too.

“Thanks,” Rome said. “Especially since he attacked you.”

“As his words set me off, so my words set him off. We were both wrong to become so agitated with each other.”

The peri blew a heavy breath out of his nose and stood. He tilted his head back for a long moment, then met Rome’s eyes.

“I will find a way to contact Darius.”

“You said he and his brothers are honorable,” Jax said. “Kerry won’t be, not so long as Gemma’s wellbeing is in question. I don’t know if you know what he did at City of the Future—”

“Oh, that story is all through the Dark World.” One side of Mingo’s mouth curled up.

“How?” I demanded. “No one was there but us!”

“There’s a video—”

I whirled on Jax.

“ Who did you share that with ?!”

“Ajax Kosta!” Gigi whacked him on the arm. “What were you thinking?”

He rubbed his arm and gave her a wounded look.

“Well, I wasn’t, really, but I don’t see how it hurts anything. If anything, it only adds to the legend of Kerry Harker.”

“No more sharing things, even if it seems harmless. We can’t predict the consequences.” Rome narrowed his eyes at him.

“ Anyway , Mingo, like I was saying,” Jax turned to the peri, ignoring Rome, “we understand your cousins’ predicament and sympathize, but if Gemma comes to grief because of them, Kerry will have no mercy.”

“I know Harker’s reputation. I would not expect mercy from him.”

“You know his reputation from when he was possessed,” Rome corrected in a gentle tone. “He has something else inside him now.”

“And if it’s ever let loose,” I added, “you won’t have to worry about survivors.”

We all knew there wouldn’t be any.