Thea Harrison - Serpent's Kiss

At that Khalil stirred. The Djinn had moved to one corner of the room to watch everything that happened with his arms crossed. His long raven hair was pulled back severely from his face, and he wore a high-necked black tunic and trousers. He said to Grace, “I cannot speak to what the other two may have brought here. But I will see to it personally that the small ones are not in any danger. You have my word.”

Carling narrowed her eyes on Khalil. That was why he had stayed, instead of blowing off as soon as he had dropped her and Rune on the Oracle’s doorstep. He had heard the baby crying. Oh, Khalil.

Grace gave Khalil a leery glance. “Is that supposed to mean something to me, like your word is somehow supposed to be reassuring? Because it’s not. I might be new to this Oracle gig and I might have a lot to learn, but at least I’ve figured out that you’re a Djinn, which in and of itself is not reassuring in the slightest. And I still don’t know who the hell you are.”

Carling said to her, “Khalil is one of the oldest and strongest of the Demonkind, and if he promises to keep your children safe, he will keep them safe.”

“You’re telling me my kids now have a demon bodyguard?” Grace muttered. “Are you telling me my kids might need a demon bodyguard? That’s just freaking great. That’s the best news I’ve heard all week. All month.”

Khalil raised an eyebrow. Other than that, he looked supremely indifferent to the human’s opinion.

Rune said, “No one will intentionally bring any harm to your children. No matter what our conflicts are, children are precious to us. We don’t put them in harm’s way.”

“I have a problem with the ‘intentional’ part of your statement,” Grace said. “So excuse me if I’m still not reassured. Why are you here?”

“We need to consult with the Oracle, of course,” said Carling.

After that, there was no stopping Grace. She dug out a notebook to consult an on-call roster of phone numbers from the local community of witches. Carling knew that the witches provided help to the Oracle whenever she was called to act in the capacity of her office. It was part of the witches’ tithe to community service, but apparently the help was not enthusiastically given.

“I know it’s not even five in the morning, Janice,” said Grace. “But this is an emergency, you’re next on the roster and you know I need somebody to stay with the children whenever I have to do this.”

The unhappy witch on the other end of the line promised to come right over, and Grace hung up. She said to them, “We can do this as soon as Janice gets here, in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Rune said, “We could have waited until morning.”

Grace shook her head. “The laws of sanctuary that are supposed to protect this place only work on those creatures that are law-abiding. How many weapons do you have strapped to your body? After the two guns and the sword on your back, I lost count. The sooner we do this, the sooner you leave and take your trouble with you, and that means the safer we’ll be. Janice is unhappy I got her out of bed. She’ll get over it.”

Khalil scowled. “I could have sat on the children.”

“Sat with the children,” Carling murmured, as she fought the sudden urge to laugh. “With, not on.” She set their two bags at Rune’s feet and shifted toys and a college calculus book to sit on the end of the couch closest to the armchair he occupied.

The others ignored her. Grace said to the Djinn, “Do you have a list of references for all the times you have babysat very small, fragile human children?” She waited a heartbeat. Khalil’s scowl darkened but he remained silent. She continued, “No, I thought not. They didn’t start out as my babies but they’re mine now, and you’re not looking after them.” She paused again as if reconsidering what she had said, then added, “Ever.”

As Khalil spat out an angry comment and Grace snapped back, Rune and Carling looked at each other. “She’s right,” Rune said. “The sooner we leave, the better.”

“I know,” she said quietly. Would Julian pursue their dispute over demesne borders? She would have said no before the confrontation outside of the Fairmont. Now she was no longer sure of anything. “I’m not the one arguing with her.”

Rune worked one-handed to loosen the fastening of one of the armbands. His energy was still roused from what had happened earlier. He appeared calm but felt battle-ready, still burning with an edged anger at both Julian and Dragos. The sensation jumped along Carling’s nerve endings like an ungrounded electrical cord.

He said quietly, “I haven’t had a chance yet to ask you how the examination with Seremela went.”

She held open both empty hands to him, and he offered one forearm to her. “The exam itself wasn’t any surprise,” she told him as she worked to undo the armband fastenings. “The conversation proved useful. She’s really bright. I think she’s a talented pathologist, and you were right about her bringing a unique perspective to the whole thing. We may not find a cure, at least not right away. Our first priority has to be to buy some time.”

“Did you come up with any way how we can?” Rune asked. His head was bent close to hers, his gaze intent on her face.

Carling murmured to him, “I need to try to get in some form of remission. Seremela also took blood to run some tests—”

A sharp staccato knock sounded at the door. Grace threw up her hands in a “We’re done here” gesture at Khalil and turned away from him. Out of the corner of Carling’s eye, she saw Rune put a hand on one of his guns as Grace opened the door to reveal an unhappy, disheveled witch. The woman was middle-aged and comfortably rounded, and wore jeans, sneakers, a hooded University of Kentucky sweatshirt and a sour expression. Grace stood back and let her step into the house. The woman jerked to a halt, her sour expression fading and eyes widening when she took in Rune, Carling and the Djinn.

“You got here in record time,” Grace said to the woman. She sat on the opposite end of the couch from Carling to jam her feet into a battered pair of sneakers. “The kids are in bed where most sane people are right now, and you know how this goes, Janice—it’ll take however long it takes.”

Janice’s fascinated gaze bounced around the room. Then she focused all her attention on Grace. “I’ll make a pot of coffee.”

Khalil crossed his arms and informed Janice, “And we will both sit on the children to make sure they remain safe.”

The older human witch’s eyebrows went up. She stared at Grace, who said, “Pay no attention to anything this Djinn might say to you while we’re gone. I’ve never met him before tonight, and he has no authority to dictate anything here. I don’t think he understands that, so apparently he’s not a very bright one either.”

“And she is an impudent, disrespectful child,” said Khalil between his teeth. “Who does not understand the value of what she has been offered.”

Janice said to Grace with a bright, fixed smile, “In the meantime, you’ll hurry back as fast as you can, right?”

“Right,” Grace said. The bitterness was back in her voice. She turned to Carling and Rune. “Are you ready?”

Rune and Carling exchanged a glance then stood. “Of course,” Carling said. “What do we do now?”

“You come with me.” Grace turned and walked out, leaving the front door open for them to follow.

Rune scooped up their bags and gestured for Carling to precede him. They caught up with Grace, who was waiting for them in the front yard. She led the way around the house and along a well-worn footpath that cut through overgrown grass and a tangled line of trees and undergrowth. After twenty yards or so, the human’s gait turned uneven until she walked with a decided limp.