Djinn's Passion Page 6

  “No doubt you created a great and honorable man.”

  “Of course. He was the personification of quiet strength, capable of fending off the worst foe yet able to hold my tiny little hand in his with the greatest tenderness. I loved him. No matter what had brought him to leave me, to leave my mother, I loved him.”

  “You weren’t too far from the truth.”

  “Maybe deep inside, I instinctively knew the kind of man he was, the kind of man my mother would fall in love with. She wouldn’t have anything to do with some dishonorable, dishonest or evil person.” I thought suddenly of Pim. How could she have loved someone like General Adon then turn and fall for someone so completely different? I shook my head, not yet willing to burst the bubble of this perfect evening with thoughts of Pim.

  “When I was in fifth grade, we were asked to draw our favorite hero for art class. I knew immediately who I wanted to draw.”

  “Your father.”

  I nodded. “I wish I could show you that drawing; a warrior with a huge saber, his armor shining, his gaze fierce and confident. For years that drawing hung on my bedroom wall.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  “Torrid,” I said. “Tonight has been as close to perfect as an evening can be, but I have just one disappointment.”

  He bit his lip and gazed sadly at me. “I was wondering when you’d bring it up.”

  “Throughout the evening I thought he’d show up. I know he must be busy. I know the uproar with Arcadia must take up a lot of his time, but… you're here, Prince Rodin is here and so many other warriors. Why didn’t he want to be here tonight… the night I was here?”

  “Please don’t take it personally. Believe me, General Adon would have liked nothing more than to spend this evening with his daughter. Unfortunately, the situation with Arcadia just didn’t allow him one moment to come back. My own presence here is limited. Before long every warrior will have to go back.”

  “And what about me? When do I go back?”

  “For now your place is here. I want to take a bit of time to fine tune your magical skills. I want to ensure you’ve mastered the more important skills. Like blocking your thoughts, conjuring various objects, objects that are a little larger than a cup. I also want to show you how to avoid getting caught by a Catcher. It can be rather tricky, but it’s vital.”

  “So that means I will be returning to Arcadia.”

  He grinned and pulled me into his arms. “We’ll see. If there’s no need to involve you, I have to say I’d be very happy with that. For now, all I want is to have you in my arms and hold you.”

  He pressed his lips to mine, heavy with longing. Spreading his fingers through my hair, he held me tight, keeping me close while his lips and tongue played wicked games in my mouth.

  Loud voices coming from the palace broke us apart.

  “The festivities have come to an end,” he said, grasping my shoulders with the remnants of passion that still simmered through his fingertips. “You’ll be expected to return to the palace, to your room.”

  “Will you still be here tomorrow?” Suddenly, the thought of being without him was suffocating. In addition to wanting him so much, I hadn’t realized just how much I needed him. I felt alive with him, strong and capable of anything.

  “Absolutely. I’ll be at your door, bright and early, so be ready for your first lesson. Tomorrow we tackle the Catchers.”

  He brushed my lips with a final kiss before leading me back to the palace.

  Though the night was filled with a variety of dreams, all involving Torrid, I awoke early the next morning, ready for whatever Torrid brought my way. The sun rose, promising a beautiful day, but as the morning wore on and Torrid didn’t appear, I began to fear he’d returned to the battle in Arcadia.

  Just as I prepared to spend the day alone, I saw him approach the palace. I’d just finished my second cup of tea when he rode up, a perfect white stallion carrying him right to the table.

  “I was just about to give up on you.” I quickly came to him, but it was the horse that so capture my attention. “What a beautiful beast you are.”

  “I apologize for the delay. Akita wasn’t feeling like his usual self this morning.”

  “Well, I’m certainly glad you waited until he felt better. He’s magnificent.”

  “I thought you’d like him. And he’s a flirt.”

  I giggled as Akita leaned his head into my hand, pressing me to continue scratching his cheek. “Aren’t you a beautiful boy? Oh…” I turned to the table. “I had an apple in my breakfast. Do you think he’d like that?”

  “I’m sure he would.”

  I held my hand out and Akita immediately took my gift.

  “I’m starting to get a little jealous.” His eyes glimmered with laughter as he jumped off the horse and came around to pull me into his arms. “Do I get such a warm welcome?”

  “Would you like an apple as well?”

  “Not really, but that scratching thing you do on his cheek looks interesting.”

  I put my fingers to his cheek and raked them up into his thick black hair. Just as Akita had done, he leaned his head into my hand, then turned to press a kiss into my palm.

  “Are you ready for a day of lessons?” he mumbled into my hand while his eyes held my gaze with interest.

  Pulling my hand away, I returned my attention to Akita. “Do I get to ride him?”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for you to learn to ride.”

  “Learn? What makes you think I don’t know how to ride?”

  “Hmmm, let’s see. I don’t really remember too many horses in Arcadia.”

  “Cute. Okay, so maybe I don’t really know how to ride, but how hard can it be?”

  He climbed back onto Akita. “Well, let’s get you on here with me and see what you can do.”

  I winked at Akita, hoping he’d take well to having me on his back. Torrid held his hand out, ready to help me up. Suddenly the prospect was more daunting than I’d expected.

  “He’s so tall,” I muttered as I reached up for the saddle horn.

  “Yeah, horses tend to have that little flaw.”

  I put my foot in the stirrup and pulled on Torrid’s hand to climb up. Seated in front of Torrid, I suddenly felt a new sense of excitement. My entire body was aware of Torrid’s nearness. How his presence radiated through mine as though we were one. The security of Torrid’s hold with the intimidating strength of Akita; joy and fear caused me to flush a little.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded. “So, where do we start?”

  With a feather touch to the reigns, he turned Akita away from the terrace and led him away from the palace. Before long, Torrid gave the signal, a barely audible cluck of his tongue and Akita took to a full gallop.

  The wind in our hair, the fields of wildflowers and the brilliant sun… who needed magic when everything was so perfect?

  Akita climbed a hillside, coming to a stop just short of the cliff.

  “How’s this for a classroom?”

  We had a view of the Nethers… the mountains, the valleys, the rivers and streams that glistened as they flowed out to the ocean.

  Torrid slid off Akita’s saddle and held his arms out to catch me as I slipped one leg over Akita and let myself into his arms.

  He whispered into my ear, “while I would love to simply spend the day gazing into your eyes, tasting your lips and breathing in the lovely scent that is distinctively yours, we have far too many lessons to see to. So…”

  “Let’s have at it,” I said with a clap of my hands. I was eager to learn more, eager to perfect what I'd already learned and eager to get back to the battle I knew I belonged to.

  We reviewed what he’d already taught me. After only a few minutes he sat back and leaned against a large oak.

  “Okay, so thought blockage… check. You did great. Not only did you manage to block your thoughts from me, but you actually misled me into believing your thoughts were going in one direction when you w
ere going in the other. That’s very impressive. It took me considerable time to master that.”

  “I’ve been practicing a lot. With everything that’s been going on in Arcadia… what with Dr. Sanz and everything, I really had to do my best to block him. It wasn’t always easy. Just a little distraction would easily open me up and I was all too easy to read. I don’t want to let that happen again.”

  “Okay, well, now that we’ve taken care of that, let’s see what your mind can do. I’d like to see you pick up that stone.” He pointed to a rather large rock.

  “Can’t we start with something a little smaller? I mean that thing must weigh a hundred pounds.”

  “I have complete faith in you.”

  I stared at the rock, so large, so formidable, so darn heavy. I concentrated, pulled all my mental energy together, but the rock didn’t move.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  “I’m trying. I’m trying. It’s just too heavy, Torrid.”

  “The weight has nothing to do with it. You’re letting it intimidate you. You have to focus on the task you want to achieve, not the reasons that’ll keep you from achieving it.”

  “Right… look, I’ll make a deal with you.”

  “I didn’t really come out here to deal.”

  “If you can lift that rock with physical strength, I’ll lift it with my mind.”

  He glared at me from under his brow, while a sinister grin spread across his face. Standing to his full height, he pulled back his shoulders and threw off his jacket. With a teasing flex of his muscles, he turned to the stone and gauged how best to lift it.

  “Not as easy as you thought, huh?”

  “I’m just ensuring I get the best grip.” And with that, he picked up the stone and hefted it up to his shoulder. “How’s that?”

  Blushing, I chuckled softly. It was obviously effortless. All of the preparation and hesitation had been a charade.

  “Can I set it down now? Or do you want me to…?” He placed his hand under the rock and raised it high above his head.

  “Okay, okay. I get it. You can lift the stone… easy.”

  “And so will you.” He let the stone fall heavily to the ground and came to stand behind me. “Forget the weight. Forget the size. It’s light. It’s airy.”

  Closing my eyes, I focused on lifting without actually thinking about the object itself. I let Torrid’s words break through my consciousness; light, airy.

  When Torrid’s grasp of my shoulders tightened, I opened my eyes and gasped. The stone hovered inches above the ground.

  “Higher,” Torrid urged.

  Simply hearing the command and transmitting it through my own thoughts, the stone rose higher still.

  “I want you to shift it over to the right… let’s say two feet.”

  I fixed my gaze to the stone and simply shifted my gaze two feet to the right. The stone followed. Letting out a little yelp of pride, I clapped my hands. “I did it.”

  “You did?”

  I turned to him suddenly only to be startled by the stone that fell once I’d left my focus. “Are you sure I did all that on my own, or did you help me?”

  “It was all you, honey.”

  Feeling more self-assured I turned my focus to a nearby log. Under my control, it rose and came to rest against the oak.

  “Very good. Now let’s see you put up a barrier. It’s similar to controlling objects with your mind, only now you want to keep people and sometimes objects from entering your safety zone. Generally speaking, it’s easier when you keep the barrier closer to you. Of course the disadvantage to that is you have little time to react should the barrier not be up as you’d planned.” He backed away leaving a few yards between us. “Now, focus on yourself, your safety. You want to create an invisible wall, but you want to be sure that wall is erected where you need it. Many novice djinns create a wall all right, but they put it where it’s of absolutely no use.”

  “Okay.” I looked at him, ready to go.

  “All right then, I want you to keep me from approaching you.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  He took a few steps and easily made it to my side. “We’ll put that down as a miss. Let’s try again.” He backed away and gave me a nod.

  Once again I prepared to block him and once again he took a few steps forward, this time stumbling only a few feet away from me.

  “Hmmm, building from the bottom up,” he observed with a chuckle. “Interesting, but you’ll have to go faster than that. One more time.”

  This time he bumped his shoulders against an invisible force, but still managed to squeeze through to me.

  “I’m beginning to think that I’m the problem,” he said.

  “How’s that?”

  “Well, how can you possibly want to keep me from getting close to you? Obviously, your great attraction to me is keeping you from barring me completely.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Really?” I droned with mock indignation. “Hold on a minute. Let me try it once more.”

  “Fine.” He backed away, a teasing gleam in his eyes. He marched confidently back to me only to come to a sudden stop just inches from me. After a groan of pain, he laughed. “Now that’s a strong barrier.” He put out his hands to embrace me, but was unable to due to the barrier.

  “Admit it. I’m a pretty quick learner.”

  He tried again to approach and was block. “Just as I knew you’d be. You can let it down now.”

  I relaxed my thoughts. “Okay.”

  But Torrid could still not approach. “Have you let down the barrier?”

  “Yeah,” I said with growing concern. “My mind is completely open to you.”

  He pounded his fist at the barrier which was just as solid as the stone I’d picked up earlier. “You're not relaxed enough. Are you miffed by what I said about your attraction to me?”

  “No, absolutely not. Tell you the truth, I thought that might be the problem myself. I really had to imagine you were someone I didn’t want near me. I imagined you were Dr. Sanz.”

  “Do you still feel the fear of Dr. Sanz, now?”

  “Hmm, I guess. I mean, I’m a bit scared of what will happen if I ever see him again.”

  “If you put up the barrier with the fear of Dr. Sanz and you still feel that fear, the barrier could remain. It takes practice to fear one foe while being able to tear down a wall when faced with a friend. Set aside your fear for the moment. Think only of me. Think of holding me in your arms. Think of cuddling up with me.”

  I focused solely on him, on his touch, on his voice. His hand sunk slowly into the wall and soon his whole arm passed through and he touched me with his fingertips. With that single light touch, the rest of the wall crumbled and Torrid pulled me into his arms.

  A wave of relief spilled over me. I hadn’t realized just how profoundly my fear of Dr. Sanz had taken over. “I was beginning to think the barrier would never come down. What if it happens again? What if I put up a barrier and it won’t come down when I need it to?”

  “You saw how it worked. Fears can be very helpful in erecting a barrier. For some it’s vital. They can’t put up a barrier if they don’t have that initial fear… those are also the ones who can more easily be caught off guard. Use your fear to help erect a barrier, especially in an emergency, but don’t allow fear to be the sole instigator.”

  Feeling reassured, not only by his words but by his touch, I relaxed completely and melted into Torrid’s arms.

  “Tired?” He whispered. His fingers worked through my hair, rubbing away whatever remained of the fear, tension and strain of the past weeks.

  “This is more exhausting than I’d thought.”

  “Yeah,” he said flippantly. He pulled away and led me to our now familiar stone and sat down. “Most people think magical powers just come at the snap of your fingers… not so easy.”

  I took the space beside him and leaned heavily into him. “What else did you want to teach me?”

  “We�
�ll take a break, relax and make sure you don’t over-exert yourself. Then we’ll take a stab at corporal displacement.”

  “Corporal what?”

  “To shift your body from place to another.”

  “Sounds complicated.”

  “A bit, but it’s vital, especially these days.’

  “Especially with Dr. Sanz on my back.”

  Torrid remained silent and I could feel the tension. His fingers threaded through mine and he fiddled and fidgeted with my fingers.

  “I’ll learn, Torrid,” I finally said, sensing his fear for me.

  “I don’t want you to go back,” he said, his voice a soft whisper. “I know you’re already good with levitation and blocking thoughts, and I have no concerns regarding the set up of barriers… I know you’ll get the hang of it in no time. But there’s so much out there; Catchers and Magical Ones who’ll want to destroy you. Catchers are so tricky, their magic, their ability to transcend physics. It’s not too much of a big deal for experienced djinns, but many inexperienced or careless djinns have gotten caught.”

  “I will learn, Torrid, and I’ll never be careless. I’ve seen up close what Magical Ones can do. I won’t let it happen to me, I promise.”

  His tight hug spoke of his fear… and his growing love. I felt the emotions mirrored in my own heart, but was still reluctant to speak them aloud.

  A tug of guilt touched my heart and I knew it was Liam. I shouldn’t be here, so happy, so secure and safe. I shouldn’t be learning magic from a perfectly divine looking djinn. I had to go back to help Liam, to help Jocelyn and Matthew. Despite my fear of Dr. Sanz, I had to face him again. That was my destiny.

  Chapter 10

  “Good morning, beautiful.”

  I recognized his voice, even his scent before turning to greet Torrid. Like clockwork he arrived every morning just as I finished my breakfast, ready to perfect every lesson he’d taught me. Though proud of what I’d achieved so far, I felt increasingly eager to get to Arcadia and the battle that continued to be waged.