Kissed by Smoke (7 page)

“Okay, so what are they, if not genies?”

Eddie shook his head slightly. “That’s the
thing, no one really knows. They’re shrouded in so much mystery.
What we do know is that the djinn can temporarily take the form of
a human or animal. But they live on another plane of existence most
of the time, which is why normal humans can’t see them.”

And I, as everyone knew, was no longer
anywhere near a “normal” human. Dammit. Could things get any
worse?

“Sorceresses, magicians and the like have
been known to trap a djinni and use it to perform some truly
amazing feats of magic,” Eddie continued, “but they — the magician
or whatnot — have to be extremely powerful.”

Something clicked over in my head. “Would a
sidhe be powerful enough to trap a djinni and use it?”

Eddie frowned and tugged at his lower lip. I
couldn’t help myself, I reached out and straightened his top hat
which had gone wonky. He gave me a distracted smile.

“I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “I
wouldn’t have thought so. The sidhe are powerful, but they are
earth and water to the djinn fire and air. Well, technically the
efreet class of djinn are the fire creatures, but that’s not the
point. The point is that the sidhe and the djinn would no doubt
cancel each other out.”

“What about the Fairy Queen?” There. I said
it. No going back.

“Oh, she could trap a low-level djinni, no
doubt, but that would start a war with the Marid.”

“The Marid?” Gods, it was like trying to
speak Chinese or something. I felt like I was swimming in circles
with no idea what was going on.

“The most powerful of all the djinn. They
would not take kindly to such a thing. And a war between the Marid
and the Fairy Queen would not be pretty.”

That I could believe. Still, my amulet had
glowed when I saw the djinni kill Daniel Vega. That meant sidhe
magic. “So, who else could control a djinni, if not the sidhe?”

“I honestly don’t know, Morgan. As far as I
know, there aren’t any magi or sorcerers in the area strong enough
to entrap a djinni.”

“What about clever enough?” More often than
not, sheer craftiness works where brute strength fails. I should
know.

Eddie shook his head. “They could trap a
djinni, but without the power, they couldn’t hold it for long.
Certainly not long enough to kill someone with it.”

Shit. Well, there went that theory.

“And a djinni wouldn’t kill Vega on its
own?”

“I wouldn’t think so, no,” Eddie said. “Not
unless Vega had offended the creature in some way. But then the
djinni wouldn’t have sucked Vega’s soul like that. He would have
tortured the man and then killed him. The soul feeding was very
specific.”

“So, we’re looking for someone with enough
cleverness to trap a djinni, and enough power to hold it and use it
to kill Vega. Someone who is not a sidhe.”

Eddie sighed. “That would be my best guess,
yes. Though, of course, I could be wrong. There is much that isn’t
known about the sidhe.”

Fabulous. “Okay, one more thing.” I told him
about the weird wind channelling back at the funeral home. About
the new thing I’d felt inside me where the Darkness and the Fire
lived.

“My dear, I don’t want to alarm you.” Eddie
reached out and took my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

“Too late.”

He smiled. “It sounds like you’re
channelling Air now.”

“As in the element of?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “The ancients often
referred to Air as Smoke.”

“So, I’m Kissing Smoke now, too.” Panic
coursed through me. That’s all I needed. Another freaky superpower
to add to the growing list. “Eddie, why is this happening to
me?”

His eyes were kind, and a little sad. “I
don’t know my dear. But I promise, if there is any way humanly
possible to find out, I will do it.”

I believed him. Eddie hadn’t let me down
yet.

“Now I should get back to the party before
people start wondering what we’re doing in here.” His eyes
glimmered with laughter.

I winked at him. “Just tell them I had my
wicked way with you.”

He laughed all the way back.

***

Inigo had wanted to stay the night at my
place, but I needed time alone. Time to think. There was just too
much going on in my head, and I was too used to handling this shit
on my own.

I was nearly ready for bed, makeup washed
off, silk pajamas on, when I heard something. A slight “thunk” in
the backyard. I froze, every molecule of my being focused on that
noise.

I couldn’t hear anything, but something told
me all was not right in my world. Gritting my teeth, I closed my
eyes and reached down for the Darkness. It raised its head, slowly,
almost reluctantly. I beckoned it forward.

It tried to surge then, but I held on
relentlessly, only allowing a small tendril to snake out of me and
ooze its way along the floor and up and through the window. Though
a long dark tunnel I could see my backyard, the grass dry and dead
now that winter was in full swing. A tree moved slightly in the
night breeze, bare branches making a rustling sound. Nope, that
wasn’t it.

The Darkness oozed through the yard, taking
my vision with it. It crept around the corner to the side gate.
There it was. A human-shaped shadow.

The Darkness tested the shadow, eager for
prey. The back of my skull suddenly felt like it was being squeezed
in a vice grip. I knew instantly what the shadow was: Vampire.

What the hell was a vampire doing in my
backyard? Granted this wasn’t the first time, but Inigo and I had
sent a pretty good message to the local clans when we wasted a good
dozen of the bloodsuckers a few months ago.

The Darkness wanted out. It wanted to
torture and kill. But if there was one thing I’d learned, letting
the Darkness kill was a good way to let it take me over. And that,
I would not allow to happen. I reeled it back in, fighting it all
the way.

Once it was safely tucked away inside me, I
focused on prep. I was in my freaking pajamas, for crying out loud,
but I didn’t have time to change. I needed to get to that vamp and
find out why it was there so I could dust the thing.

I yanked on the steampunky boots I’d been
wearing at the party and then grabbed the nearest coat-like object
I could find. It just happened to be my slinky silk robe. Dammit
all to hell and back.

I didn’t have time to find anything else. I
snatched up the nearest weapon and hit the door running.
Fortunately the nearest weapon just happened to be a really awesome
dao
I’d
bought from Tesselah for my “happy birthday to me” present.

My cell hummed against the bedside table. I
wondered vaguely who the hell was calling so late at night, but I
ignored it and headed for the backyard. I was on the hunt.

I let a tiny trickle of the Darkness back
out to play, just enough so that my vision turned the dark backyard
bright as day. My booted feet crunched slightly against the dead,
icy grass. Damn, it was cold.

The vamp had made it around the corner and
was headed for my backdoor. He froze when he saw me, then whirled
and ran.

So, we were going to play, were we?
Excellent. A smirk crossed my lips and I wasn’t entirely sure if it
was me or the Darkness. At that moment, I didn’t much care.

I gave up all pretence at silence and let my
boots pound out a staccato on the pavement as we hit the sidewalk.
The vamp was running hell-bent for leather, but I was right on his
ass. I could have caught him, but honestly, I needed to work out
some frustration.

Fortunately it was gone one in the morning
and the neighbors were sound asleep. I couldn’t imagine what they’d
think if they saw me running down the street wearing nothing but
boots and silk pajamas and carrying a Chinese saber. Hoo, boy. I’d
never explain that one to the cops.

The vamp turned a corner and dashed down a
street which dead-ended at a parking lot. He was headed into the
park. He apparently thought he’d lose me among the trees.

In a single bound, he cleared the gate
blocking off the park entrance. Granted, that sounded impressive,
but the gate was only waist high. I followed him with ease, though
being shorter I had to brace myself with my left hand to clear the
fence.

In a flash, he’d disappeared in the deep
shadows of the heavy trees. Fortunately my special Hunter
Spidey-senses were working fine. I could still feel that vice at
the base of my skull and I could still “smell” him with that weird
psychic thing I seemed to have when it came to vamps.

I cleared a rise in the trail and paused. He
was near. I could feel it.

He flew out from the shadows. His body
weight sent me crashing to the ground, and my
dao
went flying. My robe was
going to be totally ruined, dammit. And it was brand new.

I snarled and grabbed the vamp around the
throat. I let the Darkness curl up my arm so that with one thrust,
I sent him flying.

My fingers scrabbled along the ground,
finally touching the hilt of my sword. I snatched it up just in
time as the vampire made another rush at me.

This time I was ready. I lashed out with the
dao
even as
I rolled to the side. He missed me, crashing to the ground instead.
Unfortunately, I only nicked him. I could smell the old copper tang
of his blood, but it wasn’t anything that would keep him down.

I jumped to my feet and ran at him, but he
somehow managed to grab one of my boots and yank my feet out from
under me. I slammed to the ground, the air rushing from my lungs,
my vision going dark around the edges.

In one pounce, he was on me. His legs
straddled my waist. He grabbed my chin in his right hand and yanked
my head to the side, baring my throat. That pale column of smooth
skin over throbbing vein, it was like crack to a vamp. And I
couldn’t stop him.

A sudden roaring filled my ears and a pale,
silvery column of smoke billowed out of the center of my chest. It
wrapped itself around the vampire like a snake. He froze, eyes
wide. “What the hell?”

The smoke lifted the vamp up and off me,
almost like it was a third arm. A very strong arm. Only I wasn’t
controlling it. My brand new Air ability was playing all on its
own. All around me dead leaves and bits of twigs and old candy
wrappers whirled around as though caught in a mini tornado.

“Put me down,” the vampire screeched,
thrashing against the hold of the Air pouring out of my chest. To
no avail. The Air didn’t budge. The vamp’s eyes were wide with
terror.

I scrambled to my feet, heart beating like a
wild thing in my chest. The whole situation was totally freaky, but
I tried to play it cool. “Why were you at my house?”

“Put me down,” he begged. “Put me down and
I’ll tell you.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “Do I look
stupid? Tell me why you were at my house.”

“Will you put me down if I tell you?”

A very unpleasant smile flitted across my
face. “Oh, yes,” I purred. “Of course I will.”

“Promise me.”

I stepped closer, caressed his cheek with
one finger. “I promise.”

“Okay. There’s a contract out on you.”

“A contract?” Someone wanted me dead? Huh.
Wouldn’t be the first time.

“Yeah, yeah. Ten thousand dollars.”

“Is that all?” In a weird way, that pissed
me off.

“Hey, that’s a lot of money in this
economy.”

Good gods, what was the world coming to that
vampire assassins worried about the economy? “All right then, do
you know why someone issued the contract?”

He shook his head vehemently. “No idea.”

“Now for the million dollar question:
Who
issued
the hit?”

“I don’t know. Really I don’t. I just found
it posted in a chat room.”

“A chat room? Seriously?”

He shrugged.

“Give me the address.”

He babbled off the website address which I
committed to memory. Or hoped I did.

“You promised you’d let me down.”

I sighed. “Oh, yes. Of course.”

Slowly the tendrils of smoke lowered him to
the ground, though the Air still swirled around him. With a single
thrust, my
dao
sliced through skin and muscle and bone until it
pierced the heart.

His eyes widened, dark blood spilling from
his lips. “You promised,” his voice was a whisper.

“And I kept my promise,” I whispered back.
“But I never promised not to kill you afterward.”

With a final twist meant to destroy the
heart, I pulled the saber back out. The vamp’s body crumpled to the
ground and then burst into dust.

The Air did one last swirl around me,
scattering the ash to the winds. I smiled a little. So, someone
wanted me dead and was willing to pay for it. That would be the
last stupid move they’d ever make.

Darkness lurked in my eyes as I started down
the hill.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to
find Jack on my doorstep when I got home, but I was. I also
shouldn’t have been surprised to feel a stab of longing mixed with
regret as my eyes scanned the physique that would put
Michelangelo’s David to shame. I brushed those feelings aside. That
was a dark path I was not about to go down.

“It’s late, Jack.” I didn’t really have to
ask why he was standing on my doorstep in the middle of the night.
He was the Guardian, after all. My Guardian.

“You didn’t answer your phone.” His voice
was grim and just a little angry. I could sense he was trying to
keep his temper in check.

“Let me guess,” I said, letting myself in
through the kitchen door I hadn’t taken the time to lock. I didn’t
bother turning on the overhead light. “You were calling to warn me
of impending danger. Thanks, but I’d already figured that one
out.”

“What on earth are you wearing?”