Did I fly?
When the scream released, it pulled Cara away from Duncan and whirled her around. At least, that was what she thought. So jumbled, she wasn’t sure what it was. Or maybe it was just a dream…
It felt like the scream’s force held her aloft like a sonic blast. It hurled her through the air, stirred all the sand, and carried her away.
Though where it took her or how long it lasted, she didn’t know. Only that it stopped, and she was lying back in the hot sand.
And what the hell was happening to her feet—was a dog licking her?
The sun felt warm and soothing on her body, and even with her eyes closed, she turned her face toward the light, letting the warmth bathe her. So much nicer than the cold of the sea.
She felt warm.
Hot, even…
She crossed her arms and—
Holy crap, she was naked.
In the middle of the desert. And there was that weird licking again. She twisted and pulled her legs away.
At least she tried to.
But her legs were held tight—as she blinked in the blinding sunlight, she saw a red blob near her feet.
It took a second, but it came into focus.
Cara screamed at the sight—what the hell was that thing? “Help! Let me go! Stop!”
Hey, she had a voice.
She’d marvel over that in a moment. Right now, she had a monster attacking her feet. Beyond the weirdness, it couldn’t be good. She tried to pull herself away, but it held on. All she could make out was the torso, shoulders and head. The rest of the beast? She couldn’t see it.
Was it burrowed in the sand?
Didn’t matter. The upper part was ferocious enough, and it was—
“Quit!” She tried to kick at it as a long, serpent-like tongue burst out of its mouth and licked the bottom of her foot. Eww! So gross!
“Stop it, now!” She tried to pull away and started flinging sand at the beast. Nothing fazed him. He continued licking her feet like some sicko with a fetish. With each lick, she felt woozier and woozier. Like he was sucking the life out of her.
No way. I am not dying now. Not after what I just went through…
Sitting up, she tried to reach for it, but it wouldn’t let go, and was just too far away. If only she’d taken those yoga classes with her sister, she’d be able to reach her toes.
The creature made an eerie hissing noise that scraped across her eardrums and made her cover her ears.
“Stop it! Stop it!” The adrenaline rushed through her system, and it had to be the only thing holding her upright as she kicked as best she could with her legs. Though it was more like her knees trying to pummel the creature. And it wasn’t working worth a shit.
A burst of wind made her shield her eyes from the flying sand.
“Tsk tsk, Sarsour,” a male voice said. “You know better than this…”
Cara turned and in silhouette was a man. And wait. Was his skin blue?
What the hell?
“I needs it… I needs…” the beast said at her feet, and he yanked on Cara again, his tongue flicking out.
The blue man leaned over, and Cara realized what he was. Her breath caught—she’d never seen a live djinn before.
“You’re a—”
He raised his eyebrow. “And so is he.” He gestured at the beast at Cara’s feet.
The one hanging on her feet was like no djinn she’d ever read about in school. Of course, there weren’t a lot of genies on Avalon. As a matter of fact, they were those “textbook mythicals” she read about in school, ones that would likely never step foot on Avalon. Like yeti and chupacabra.
He grabbed Cara and yanked her into the air, as though she were a coffee cup, pulling her out of the beast—Sarsour’s—grip, and tossed her over his shoulder.
As soon as he’d pulled her away, all her strength zapped from her body. She could barely think, only marvel at the fact she was on the shoulder of a bare-chested, blue skinned djinn.
Djinn…
Djinn…
How many different kinds were there?
She couldn’t remember. She never paid much attention in school because she knew she’d be stuck on Avalon for life, so she’d never cared about mythical beings in other realms.
Stupid!
She’d kick herself if she wasn’t in this bizarre predicament. She wracked her brain, trying to remember how many different kinds of djinn there were. And didn’t colors mean something? Red, gold, blue, green?
She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t make it work. Was this exhaustion or something else? Had she lost her voice again?
The beast on the ground hissed. “You can’t have her, Malik! Sheee’s mineeee! I needs! I needs!”
“You want her?” Malik said. “Take her.”
“No,” Cara cried out as she grabbed at the blue torso.
With a wave of Malik’s blue hand, Cara rose into the air, and a bubble wrapped around her. At least, she thought it was a bubble until she realized her foot dangled out the bottom, wrapped in a string.
Malik waved the string in front of Sarsour.
Good god, he’d put her in a balloon. What kind of sick, twisted bastard does that?
The beast watched the string like a hypnotized cat—and like a cat, his claws came out, his eyes narrowed, ready to pounce any second.
Cara curled into a ball in the bottom of the bubble and tried to pull her foot free.
It wouldn’t budge.
“Stop this,” Cara said.
Malik glanced at her, a smirk on his face. “As you wish.”
The bubble disappeared, and she dropped to the ground in front of the beast again, but this time, on her feet.
Both the beast and the blue djinn were eyeing her. She wasn’t sure who was more dangerous looking, either. So she bolted.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that running was probably both her best choice in the moment, and the worst thing she could have done.
Because they both took off, the beast on her first, flinging her into the ground.
“I needs…I needs… So pure!” He licked the back of her knee as his slithered toward her feet again.
But Malik wasn’t far behind. “That is enough. I think this little one has been through plenty this day.” Magic swirled around his hands and moved over to Sarsour. Malik pulled his hands together, and the magic started to wrap around the red djinn. Malik squeezed the beast into a ball, held it aloft for a moment, then punted it across the desert. It flew so far Cara never saw it hit the ground.
Then she glanced at him. “You did that on purpose.”
“Yes. I love drop-kicking palis djinn. They’re like silly little pets.”
“He was sucking on my feet.” She remained face down in the sand, so that the worst the djinn saw was her butt. At least she kept some semblance of dignity. Not that he hadn’t already seen everything.
Ugh, could she just bury herself in the sand?
“That is how he draws out your energy. Like a vampire, but not so bloody.”
“Well, thank you for running him off. Now, can you help me?”
“I don’t know, can I?”
“You’re a djinn, right, like a genie? Don’t you have to grant my wishes?”
He smirked. “Only if you control my bottle. And I see no bottle in your hand.”
It felt like she tried to deal with the devil—that twinkle in his eye looked quite menacing—but what choice did Cara have? She rolled over, covering herself with her arms. “I need to… Well, I need clothing.”
“Ahh, but your tan will be most lovely if you remain naked.” His gaze ran over her.
“Listen, I have to get out of here. I don’t know where I am. Will you help me?”
“Perhaps. For a price.”
Maybe the sun was beating her brain in, because the next words out of her mouth sealed her fate. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it. Please, just help me.”
Malik raised his black eyebrow. “Be careful, young one. You of all people should know we djinn cannot be trusted.”
“And why me of all people?” How did he know who, or what she was?
“You are a mythical—a banshee.” He sniffed the air, then gazed at her again. “And merrow. An interesting bloodline you have there, child. Why would such a water-oriented mythical be lost in the desert?” A sinister grin spread over his face. “You should know better.”
An eerie feeling swept over Cara. “What choice do I have?”
“Therein lies the question. What choice would you have?” His smug look reminded her of a confident god or goddess who saw everyone’s cards at the poker table.
Unfortunately, Cara saw none.