Passion (7 page)

Upset,
I tightened my jaw and turned away from him.

“I
don’t want you to think I’m deliberately misleading you.”

“No,”
I said, turning back to him.  “I know you're doing your best, Liam.”

Without
saying more, I started to walk down the hall.

“Kama?”
Liam followed behind me.  “Kama, where’re you going?”

“I
don’t know.  To find Torrid.”

“Where?”

“I
don’t know.  Somewhere… down this way.” I turned to the left as we arrived at
an intersection.

“Kama,
this hallway leads to the workers’ quarters... the Catchers’ quarters.”

I
stopped as we came to a door that opened onto a stairwell.  Up or down?  I
closed my eyes.  I could feel Torrid.  He was close and I wondered if he wasn’t
even calling out to me.  I didn’t perceive a distinct message, but I felt I was
getting closer.

“In
here.”  I pushed the door open and immediately headed for the steps that led up
to the next floor.  “He’s up here.”

“Kama,
wait.  You're randomly guessing.”

“No. 
I know what I’m doing.  I know he’s up here.”

We
emerged two floors higher and came upon a posh, elegant and distinguished
passage lined with thick oak doors, wall sconces and covered with plush
carpeting.

“Whoa,”
Liam muttered as he stepped up behind me.  “I’ve never been up here.”

“The
executive floor, I take it.”

At
the other end of the hall I spotted three Catchers standing guard.

“And
where else would you keep someone as important as a djinn prince.”

Liam
looked at me and grinned.  “Guess your intuition was right.”

But
as I took a step toward our goal, he grabbed my arm and stopped me.  “Not so
fast.  What do you think you're going to do once you get there?  They’re three
of them and I have no doubt there’s another Catcher inside with Torrid.”

“I
thought I’d improvise.  Do you have a better idea?”

He
checked his watch.  “We’re about ten minutes before the change in shift.”

“We’ll
go in and replace two of them,” I finished.

“Walk
at my side and don’t lag behind.  Keep your focus strong, stay cool and don’t
forget that you're just one of them.  That said, let me do the talking.”

My
shoulders brushed against his as we walked side by side.  Knowing I was about
to find and save Torrid, I felt strong and sure, and it came through in my
stride.

“Hey,
Noj.  Long shift?” Liam said.  He nodded to the two other Catchers.

Intimidatingly
large, all three guarded the door in a rather lax and casual manner.

“Not
bad.  Pretty quiet,” Noj said.  “You got clearance to come guard up here?”

“I
have the highest clearance I can get.  Pim Seer personally appointed me to this
task.”

“Sorry,
no offence.  It’s just that I was told Millen Conroy, Amite Lunerlang and Duron
Thegh was relieving us.”

“Duron
is on his way up, but Millen and Amite got caught up in some hassle down in the
ward.”

The
leaner Catcher shrugged.  “I don’t really care who relieves us, so long as we
can get out of here.  This is the dullest duty I’ve ever been assigned to.”

“And
what?” the last Catcher whined.  “I get stuck having to wait for Duron?”

Liam
walked past them to the door, turned around and effectively blocked the passage
with the breadth of his shoulders.  Tilting his head toward me, he said,
“Between the two of us, I think we’re more than capable of guarding the door.  Duron
will surely be here in a minute or two.”

“Sounds
good to me.”

They
walked away, eager to move on to something more exciting.

I
looked at Liam.  “I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

“Let’s
not celebrate too soon.  Like I said, there’s probably at least one other Catcher
in there, and chances are he won’t be so quick to let us take over.”

“Why
so pessimistic?  This was a breeze.  These guys are bored out of their mind and
are more than willing to let us take over.”

“That
might be the case for those assigned to guard the door.  The guys that are
assigned to personally, face to face, guard a djinn aren’t the kind of guys you
mess with.”  His hand on the doorknob, he looked at me.  “Again, let me do the
talking.”

He
opened the door and peered inside.  Pale and wide-eyed, he shut the door and
leaned back into it.

“What? 
What’s in there?”

He
closed his eyes and groaned while beads of sweat poured down his forehead. 
“It’s Zanlord.”

“What’s
Zanlord?”

“It’s
not a what.  It’s a who.  He’s only the biggest and most powerful Catcher I’ve
ever come across.  He hates djinns with a passion.  When he’s down in the ward
he makes every Magical One sweat with fear.  He pushes them well past their
breaking point and last week, three died under his watch.”

I
swallowed the ball of fear that quickly grew and tried to control the flow of
tears that threatened to break my composure.  Torrid was in there with this
djinn hating monster.

“Don’t
worry, Kama.  Torrid is valuable property.  No matter how much Zanlord hates
djinns, he knows how to follow orders, and I have no doubt he was ordered to
keep a close watch on Torrid all while ensuring his safety.”

“Okay,
that’s a bit of a relief.  Then again, what are the chances we succeed in
subduing this Catcher?”

“You
mentioned earlier that you were able to conjure up magic.”

I
nodded.

“How
fined tuned are these magical powers of yours?”

“I’m
afraid it’s still a little hit and miss.”

“Do
the best you can, and remember, we only have a few minutes.”  He took in a
long, deep breath, hardened his gaze and opened the door.  

We
entered the large office and I had to swallow the gasp of heartache that
grabbed me when I saw Torrid.  Housed in a large bottle, he sat, his legs
crossed in front of him as he tugged at the leather band on his wrist.

I
knew how difficult captivity was for him and it made me want to free him even
more.

“What
business do you have in here?” Zanlord said.

“Sorry
to bother you, but my father sent me.  He wants me to bring him an update on
his prized prisoner.”

“Tell
him he’s fine.”

“Mind
if I take a look for myself.”

Zanlord
gestured toward the bottle.  “Look all you want.  He’s right there.”

Torrid
looked up.  With the eyes of a caged panther he stood and pounded his fist on
the glass that encased him. 

Before
he could call out my name, or give any indication he knew me, I shot him a
harsh glare and he calmed down.

“He
looks cramped,” Liam said.

“That’s
the biggest bottle we have.  You know how djinns are usually kept.  He’s lucky
to have the luxury of so much room.”

“If
you don’t mind I’d like to examine him.”

“Afraid
that’s impossible.”

“I
have my father’s order… Pim Seer, Governor of Arcadia.”

“I’m
well aware who your father is, Liam.  I have strict orders; I’m not to let that
djinn prince out of the bottle, and that’s that.”

I
felt the tension rise in the large room.  We were getting nowhere trying to
charm Torrid free and I knew we’d have to battle for his freedom.

Liam
gazed at me.  With only the blink of his eyes, he warned me of what was to
come.

Zanlord
looked quizzically at Liam then turned his gaze to me.  After a befuddled
moment his eyes narrowed and I knew he’d recognized me.

Before
he could act on that recognition, Liam jumped him, smacking his elbow up under
the large Catcher’s jaw.  Zanlord grabbed his throat as his mind tried to
register what had just happened.  I know I only had a few seconds before he
attacked Liam.  If ever my magical powers were to be of help, it would have to
be now.

But
what?  What magical trick could I conjure that would help us win this fight.

“Bind
his feet,” Liam called out.

I
immediately shut my eyes and envisioned a thick rope that wrapped around
Zanlord’s ankles.  Opening my eyes, I was pleased to see the very same thick
rope I’d imagined around his ankles.  Without waiting for another order from
Liam, I conjured up a rope to bind his hands.

This
time my magic missed the mark and the rope simply fell over his shoulder, limp
and useless.  It was just enough to give him time to lash out at Liam.  With a
fist hard and heavy like a sledgehammer, he swung at Liam’s head.

With
a quick blink I put up a temporary shield in front of Liam.  Zanlord slammed
his fist into the shield and even from where I stood, I could hear his bones
shatter.

Letting
out a roar of anger, he turned his murderous glare to me.  “You!  A djinn?  All
I need is a good excuse to crush one of you lousy creatures.” With his ankles
still bound together, he hopped forward and reached out to me with his good
hand, his fingers extended as he aimed at my neck.

Startled,
I stepped back and missed my chance to put up a protective shield, but Liam
intercepted him and though he wasn’t able to cause any damage to the mammoth Catcher,
he did manage to keep him from getting his hands on me.

With
Zanlord once again distracted by Liam, I conjured a strong wire cable to bind
his wrists.  I watched the struggle between the strong young warrior and the
oversized Catcher, my conjured cable snaking around him as it tried to get a
hold of one wrist.

Letting
out a snarl of surprise and aggravation, Zanlord fought against the cable as it
finally got a good hold of one wrist and quickly reached out for the other
wrist.

He
was sufficiently subdued and I took advantage of the situation.  I rushed to
the large bottle in the corner and pulled off the cork.  In a plume of violet
fog, Torrid rushed out and materialized in front of me.

Thrilled,
ecstatic and beyond relieved, I smiled at him and threw my arms around his
neck.  “I thought I might never see you again,” I whispered into his ear.

Hearing
a grunt from Liam we both turned to see him struggle against Zanlord.  I gave
the big lout a mental push back and he fell into the corner.

“We
don’t have much time left before his replacement arrives,” Liam warned.

“I’m
still bound by this leather band.”  Torrid held the band away from his wrist
and tried to pull it off.

Liam
whipped out a small jackknife, flicked the blade under the band and rid Torrid
of his confinement.

“Have
you guys been to the ward?”

Liam
and I nodded.

“We
have to do something.”

I
smiled. “I was thinking the same exact thing.”

A
tight grimace quickly flashed across Liam’s face, but he shot his disapproval
aside and nodded.  “Fine.  Let’s hurry and get as many of them free as we can
before all hell breaks loose.”

Liam
opened the door to the office and peered down the hall.  “Okay, Gorge is coming
to replace Zanlord.  He just stepped off the elevator.  We’ll hurry toward the
right and head down the stairs.”

“You
guys are aware that the moment that replacement sees Zanlord tied and bound,
and sees that I’m no longer in the bottle every alarm bell in this facility
would go off,” Torrid said.

“Unfortunately,
yes.  I’m well aware of that,” Liam said with a hint of annoyance.

“We
have to hurry,” I threw in.

“Walk
out in front of me,” Liam ordered Torrid.  “I’ll step in behind you and block Gorge’s
view.”

Torrid
stepped out with Liam and I close in behind him.  The temptation to look back
was hard to fight, but it was important we all walk calmly, slowly as though nothing
was going on.

But
when we reached the door to the stairwell, Liam stopped.  “Kama, you head down
with Torrid.  Few take the stairs so chances are slim you’ll run into someone,
but once on the ward floor your chances of being seen are greater.”  He turned
to Torrid.  “Keep your head down, don’t make eye contact and hold your hands
behind your back.”

“Liam,
why are you telling us all this.  Where are you…?”

“Listen
to me, Kama.  Just strolling into the ward with a large djinn is not going to
pass unnoticed.  You have to be convincing.  You have to show other Catchers
that this is your prize; that you're bringing in a new Magical One.  You also
have to pray no one will recognize him as the Prince.  Hold onto his arm and
guide him into the ward, even push him around if you have to.  Other Catchers
won’t pay any attention to you if they see you're just doing your job.”

“Once
inside, what do I do?  Where do I go?”

“As
you enter the ward you’ll see stairs that go up to the first landing of bottled
djinns.  Go up, always keeping Torrid in front of you. When you reach the
landing take a left and follow the row of empty bottles until you reach the
ones that are occupied.  This is where you’ll be expected to bottle Torrid,
but…”

“We’ll
start cracking those bottles open instead,” Torrid finished.

“And
what will you be doing?”  I glanced down the hall to see Gorge approach the
door where Zanlord was bound.

“I’m
going to see what I can do to stall Gorge for a few minutes.  At least give you
guys a chance to make it down there.”  He gave my shoulder a gentle yet firm
push.  “Hurry!  Go!”

He
turned and called out to Gorge in a very relaxed and matter of fact tone. 
“Hey, I was wondering when you’d arrived.  Can you imagine I had to get stuck
keeping watch with a girl who has to go to the bathroom every two minutes.”

The
last thing I heard as I led Torrid down the steps was Gorge’s derisive
chuckle.  Liam’s attempt to stall him and keep him from finding out what had
happened inside that office seemed to be working.

I
followed Liam’s order to a tee and took a firm hold of Torrid as I led him to
the ward, while Torrid did a wonderful job of playing the down and out Magical
One who’d just been caught.  He hung his head low, and slumped his shoulders
down in despair while shuffling his feet.