Stone Chameleon (Ironhill Jinn #1) (24 page)

So as not to draw attention to ourselves, I sent Connor to buy tickets while I feigned interest in a small tank set into the wall where hundreds of tiny jellyfish bobbed about in front of a sapphire blue background. Black light shone down on them, turning their bodies luminescent. My gaze kept darting to the pair to make sure they stayed within sight. I ached to know what they argued about.

“Here.” Connor handed me my ticket, and we went through the gates, handing them to a uniform-clad woman who punched holes in them and gave us maps in return.

“I have an idea.” I leaned in close and giggled to make it look natural. “Look around, but keep them in your sights. I’ll see if I can hear what they’re saying.”

“How?”

Pressing a finger to my lips, I backed away, heading the opposite direction around the tank to get to the underside of the spiral walkway. Fish of every size and color glided by the multitude of portholes open in the glass to allow glimpses into their underwater world. Bright coral alive with anemones grew in a tangled twist up the center. I’d never seen such a striking display. Whoever had done it was an artist, whose medium of choice must have been water. I didn’t need to stretch my imagination too far to know who it would be.

Once I’d come round almost a full circle, the couple’s raised voices filtered down from above. I pressed my ear against the stone, tendrils of my magic spreading out from my touch to extend my hearing.

“How was I supposed to know that’s the guy Celeste wants?” Olivia said through sniffles. “Once I figured it out, I stopped talking to him. It wasn’t like I did him, or anything. I don’t know why you think she’s going to be pissed at me.”

“Have you met her, you stupid girl? She’s as territorial as they come, and she’s about to mark Ironhill as hers. Now, go and grovel at her feet and hope to hell you said nothing to tip him off, or you’ll be feeding her fish for the next month until they pick your bones clean.”

She grunted as if he’d grabbed and yanked her forward. Their footsteps ascended overhead. Sniffling turned to sobs as they exited my range of hearing.

Bloody hell. What did that even mean? I dashed around the tank to find Connor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Amun, Elias, and Harper—her blazing hair tucked into a baseball cap—laughing and pointing at one of the displays on the far side of the room. Ten minutes hadn’t passed unless I’d inadvertently walked through a rip in time.

Connor met me halfway, his expression grim. “You’re pale. Why are you so pale?”

“I’m always pale. You need to get Amun out of here. The jinn, her name is Celeste. Apparently, she’s about to mark Ironhill as her territory, whatever that means.” I imagined her peeing on everything, hoping that wasn’t some jinn custom I wasn’t aware of. “And she wants Amun as…I don’t know, a lover I suppose, by what I gathered from that dizzy blonde. If Amun walks up there and Celeste sees him, our cover is blown.”

Connor’s grease-stained hands dug into the pockets of his jeans. “If she knew about Dom, then Harper’s going to be recognized, too. And if Celeste knows Amun, she’ll have seen me before.”

Which left only Elias. Not on my life. “Then I’ll go alone and do my best to keep my face hidden.”

“You know Amun will never go for that. He told me what Isaac said to him about letting you out of his sight.” He narrowed his eyes at Amun. “Apparently he didn’t even trust me to keep an eye on you for five damn minutes.”

“I’m not asking him. If something bad happens, take Amun and the rest and get the hell out of Ironhill.” I headed for the spiral walkway, driven by a burning need to smash the woman’s head in. “If this piece of work thinks she’s claiming my city, I’ll drive another thought through her head with my fist.”

Connor called after me in a half-shout, half-whisper, but I dashed up, keeping my focus on the sand-colored tile lining the walkway. Solid wall gave way to wide glass panels, portraits into the saltwater world within. A hammerhead shark hovered in one. A fish as large as me and then some dominated the next, surrounded by smaller ones in shades of blue and yellow. It was a pity I hadn’t enjoyed the facility while I had the chance.

When footsteps approached from beyond the curve ahead, I slowed to a walk and turned to stare at an informational poster on the wall about sea turtles. Once the woman and laughing teenager disappeared around the bend below, I launched back into a run, listening for the couple we’d followed.

Harper’s phone vibrated against my hip bone, and then shouted to the tune of Pink’s
Trouble
, a song that summed my friend up perfectly. I pulled the device out and looked at the text on the screen:
Where are you?

No time for chatter. I shoved it back in my pocket and continued on. Amun would have to trust me, and if Connor failed to keep him away, he’d find my foot not-so-gently against his rear.

The walkway widened to a landing. Beyond that, the space opened to a floor full of colorful displays, shops, and a hallway, above which a sign stated “THIS WAY TO AQUA CITY”.

Now what?
Slouched forward, I walked a full circle around the main tank column in the center. The spiral walkway continued its ascent on the far side. I found no signs of Tweedle blonde or Tweedle bald, nor of Celeste.

If I were a water jinn, where would I be? My choices came down to continuing upward, or taking the door to Aqua City. My gut pointed me toward the latter. A nudge of the crossbar allowed me to pass through a set of double doors into a glassed-in bridge joining two buildings. Cars passed by on the street below as I did my best to appear casual. My backward and forward darting glances weren’t helping. At the late hour, I only passed one couple in their late teens.

Although uneasiness squirmed in my gut, a desperate need to rattle Celeste’s world kept me moving forward, ignoring the continued buzzing of Harper’s cell. It would seem Amun had grown impatient with me.

I stepped through an archway and found myself in another grand lobby. Cartoonish sea creatures dotted the shining white floors, waiting for children to climb upon them for photo opportunities. Along the opposite wall, another gift shop full of stuffed toys promised treasures for a lifetime.

A flashing sign hanging from the high ceiling announced an aquatic show currently in session, with an arrow pointing toward doors at the far end. Who better to train dolphins and whales than a water jinn? Yes, she would be there, I’d have bet my life on it. If Isaac didn’t already own it.

None of the patrons milling about seemed to notice me as I darted across the open space and headed for the show. Before entering, I took a quick glance behind to make sure Amun hadn’t come looking for me. No Elias, Connor, or Harper, either. Hopefully, they were searching the opposite end of the building for me by now.

Inside, stadium seating sloped downward, ending at an Olympic sized pool where a pair of seals played catch with the trainer standing on the edge. My fingers rolled into fists when I realized who wore the blue wetsuit: Celeste. I’d have known those emerald eyes and lilac hair anywhere. She tossed an oversized ball toward the seal to her left.

A fierce desire to tear her apart sent me forward a few steps before I stopped. With so many spectators around, I didn’t want to draw attention to my presence. Instead, I lowered myself into the nearest seat and gripped the empty one in front of me. Most of the crowd filled the lower seats, so the blonde and bald heads halfway up the opposite side of the pool stood out. Olivia appeared to be crying, her hands covering her eyes. The shaved headed guy stared down at Celeste with what I took to be reverence.

Why didn’t she have her fill of him?

Amun’s mine!

I raised a hand to my throat. Where had that come from? Even though I was consciously aware of the absurdity of my thought, it didn’t dissipate. Had jealousy driven me to confront Celeste alone? No such instinct had ever taken over me before. I needed to let go of my foreign anger and think it through. If I knew more about my people, it might have helped me make sense of it all.

“What are you doing?” A low voice rumbled against my ear.

I jumped and rammed my hip into the arm rest. “Ouch.”

Amun glowered at me from the seat to my left.

“What are
you
doing? I told Connor to keep you downstairs. If she sees you, this will get ugly fast, or she might just take off.” The cheering crowd covered my outburst.

He grabbed my hand and pressed it against his chest. His heart thundered against my palm. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through trying to find you for the last five minutes? I thought…never do that to me again.” Behind the anger flickering in his night forest eyes, fear peeked out.

A twinge caught me in the heart. I was still confused about whether he cared for me or viewed me as an object to protect. “I’m sorry. My instincts have gone haywire. This is all very confusing.”

I checked the show to be sure Celeste continued to wave her slender hands about, though the animals had been switched to dolphins at some point when I wasn’t looking. Her smile could have turned night into day, and even across the great distance to where we sat, her eyes shone like gems.

“She wants you, Amun.” I stared at him hard. “Tell me why, when I heard that, I had a sudden urge to rip her head from her body? I’ve never been the jealous sort. None of this makes any sense.”

His whimsical smile caused me to grind my teeth.

I gave his arm a shake. “Amun! Wipe that smug look off your face and speak.”

He cleared his throat, but before he said a word, the crowd clapped, stood, and filtered past our row toward the doors at the back. Apparently the show had ended.

Dammit, once the stadium emptied, she’d see us. I crouched between the rows, feigning a search for something I’d dropped. Amun did the same.

“Mercy mother of hellfire,” I said, shifting to face him. “What do we do now?”

“She’s going for that door.” Peeking between the seats, he pointed to a small blue door behind where she’d been standing. Before she arrived there, the blonde and shaved head reached her. Olivia fell to her knees, her hands clasped. Celeste pulled her back to her feet and shoved her toward the exit, glancing first one way, and then the other.

“How do we get down there without her seeing us?” I whispered, winded from sudden panic, glad everyone else had gone. “She can go anywhere from in there.” The solution to my problem could get away, slip into the smallest crack and disappear if she turned to water. I had to do something.

My teeth clenched again as I imagined my hands around her throat. “I will not let her leave this place.”

The instant the trio disappeared through the door, Amun tugged me to my feet. “Do you trust me?”

I searched his face, but found no hints as to what he meant. “Not really, no.”

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around me. “Yes, you do. Stay still, or I might drop you.” Wind swirled around us. Amun’s arms turned to air as the floor fell out from under my feet. Suspended in a vortex, I clamped my lips together to prevent screaming as we sped above the pool to the other side, the walls blurring in my vision. Dizziness rolled my stomach. My feet contacted the ground hard. I toppled forward, cracking my knees against the tile, uncertain which direction was up.

“Are you hurt?”

I blinked at the hand before my nose and the two faces hovering behind it.

“Baylou?” Amun touched my face. “Have I hurt you?”

I shook it off and climbed to my feet, trying to ignore his nudity. His clothes lay draped over the seats where he’d changed to air.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, tearing my eyes from the fine line of hair crawling south from his navel along a very sexy V of muscle that led to…I shook myself. “Just dizzy. Let’s go.”

T
he blue door opened to a narrow hallway. “Left or right?” I asked, listening for any hint of sound. No voices carried from anywhere. I pressed my ear to the wall and called to the stone within.

“I’ll end this myself.” Amun blew away in a breeze that stole my breath.

“Amun,” I whisper-shouted, “come back here this instant!” I sprinted down the corridor after him. That infernal jinn would ruin everything. He needed to figure out how to go chameleon and retain his clothes.

Dammit, she’d see him!

Good lord. Of all I should have worried about, a woman seeing his business came to the forefront? Ridiculous.

Two exits presented themselves. The first led to a room that reeked of alcohol. A large tank sat in the center with harnesses dangling above it. An aquatic infirmary if I had to guess. The second opened to yet another hallway with several doorways along its length. The murmur of low voices greeted me.

I crept inside and eased the metal door closed behind me. A small squeak sent a jolt through me, but no footsteps approached. Maybe they hadn’t heard. Keeping to the balls of my sneaker-clad feet, I padded along with my back to the wall so I could look both directions from beneath the brim of my cap.

A screech shattered the near silence. Olivia flew out of a doorway, smacking against the opposite wall and falling into a heap on the floor. Her bloodied face tilted up. Her eyes showed too much white when her gaze landed on me.

Before I knew I’d done it, my energy sparked along the wall. I thrust my fist to my left. The rock next to Olivia mirrored my action, sending a narrow column of stone to knock against her skull. Her body slumped over and went still.

Breath held in horror, I gaped at what I’d done. A small amount of relief came as her ribs expanded and contracted with her breaths. A girl looks at me, and I clobber her? I’d been in worse situations and kept a cool head.

I wasn’t that frightened for Amun, was I? No matter, I couldn’t undo the action and would tend to her after I found Amun and put my blade through the water witch’s heart. If only that would have killed her. Too bad I didn’t know what I’d do when we finally came to blows.

After switching to the opposite side of the corridor, I continued on to the door Olivia had been propelled through and stopped to listen.

“And why would I do that, my handsome Amun?” Celeste asked in the same sultry purr I’d heard on my answering machine. “All the other pods are claimed already, and this one is mine. Even if she is ignorant of us, she’s coming of age now, and her instincts will kick in now that I’ve challenged her. I don’t feel like dueling every other week for what’s mine. It’s easier if she’s dead.”

Teeth bared, I dared a peek around the door frame. Amun stared down his nose at the lilac-haired bitch. He wore a stern expression, one I’d only seen him point at Isaac. The bald guy lay in the corner without his shaved head. A thin swath of water ran across him, and a broken glass littered the blood-stained floor.

“If you kill Baylou, you’ll break our most sacred law.” Amun stood there, nude and at ease. Didn’t it bother him to have his endowment on display?

I wanted to hide him from her sight, and from mine, since it seemed I couldn’t help ogling his lovely landscape, either.

She twittered a laugh that grated against my bones. “But my dear Amun, I haven’t laid a finger on her, nor will I. And besides, we’re liquid and solid, impervious to one another on the battlefield. How else do you propose I eliminate her?”

“That’s why you need Isaac, because you’re afraid you’re not crafty enough to kill her yourself. If you cause her death, you’ll condemn yourself to the same fate by the highest-ranking male, that being me. There are so few of us left, don’t make me do it.”

Lashes falling low, she slid her finger along his shoulder, drawing a sigh from him. “That’s why I intend to mark you my
Taru
first, and once I finish my claim on you, you’ll be powerless to do anything but bend to my will.” As she circled around him like a stalking cat in heat, she drew her lips back to reveal needle-like teeth.

“No.” His body shook. “I won’t be yours. She’s already shown—”

“I see no marks.” She traced his throat while I strained to keep my place and not bash her face in. “She’s too late.”

Foreign words spilled from her lips. Although I didn’t understand the individual words, the jinn part of me recognized the magic in them. “You cannot refuse me.”

His eyes took on a dreamy state. Staring at her with intensity no less than worship, he knelt before her, waiting. When she opened her mouth to bite him, instinct launched me forward.

My fist connected with her cheek with a satisfying crack. “He is mine!” I bellowed, slicing my lip on the extra daggers in my mouth.

A squeal of rage rushed from her as she righted herself, those green eyes flaring. Throwing Amun to the side with strength I didn’t know I possessed, I crouched in front of him, teeth bared. A growl burned in my chest, a primal, terrible sound.

“Can’t…fight her. Help me.” A glance over my shoulder revealed Amun’s eyes shouting terror better than if he’d screamed.

“Get out of here,” I snarled. “Before I’m done, her blood will paint the walls.” Marble tile lay beneath me. Yes, that would do nicely.

I kicked off my shoes and peeled away my socks to place bare skin against the cold surface. As my power awakened the marble, the singing and vibrations flavored my own cells. “Come on, then, if you dare.” I waggled my finger to beg her forward.

My feet changed first, hardening, growing larger at my will. It happened much slower than with my ebony, because I’d never assimilated marble before. As the rest of my body morphed, my clothes shredded and broke around me, though I gave no thought to my nudity, as my stone forms were androgynous. I grew taller by two feet and wider by a proportional amount, leaving me a giant mass of white and black stone that moved as freely as flesh and bone.

Celeste’s glossed lips parted, a tiny flash of fear passing across her eyes before they returned to cold portholes of her tarnished soul.

“You caught me off guard last time, water witch.” My tone came out deeper than normal due to my larger stature. “It won’t happen again.”

Her gaze darted to her left where a glass of water stood on a wooden desk in the corner. As she dove for it, I tapped into the earthen materials that made up the gyprock in the walls. I swirled my arms about my head. Tiny shards sprang from the walls. I slammed my hand down to the floor hard enough a crater opened in the marble, the force of my energy propelling the projectiles toward her.

Her speed allowed her to escape all but a few that skewered her calves. She squealed and rolled, crashing into the desk. The impact knocked the glass of water down on top of her.

Mercy mother of hellfire.

Pointing to the door, I nudged Amun with my foot, who seemed locked in place. “I told you to get out.”

He hesitated, straining as if whatever spell she’d cast drew him to her like a bee to nectar. Desperate, I shoved him through the door. His legs gave out, so he lay in the hallway, watching with part awe, part pride, and part hope.

Fingers curled toward the ceiling, I chanted to the marble beneath her. When it shivered its willingness, I thrust both fists to the ceiling. The floor exploded upward, smashing her into the drop tiles above. Instead of thudding back to the floor, unconscious, as I’d hoped, water squirted out from the point of impact. It formed into a column and came at me like a fist, but barely registered a sting on my face as it broke around me.

Guttural sounds of fury poured from Celeste as she reformed at my rear in the shape of a woman, her eyes floating where they’d have been in her flesh form. Disturbing, to say the least.

Offering a warrior’s laugh, I turned for her next assault, which yielded no more damage. If she’d had a few thousand years to wear away at me it might have worked, but as it was, with a low ceiling and not enough water to drown me, she couldn’t cause me any bodily harm.

I plowed my boulder-sized fist at her, but it went straight through her to the wall. Oh, splendid. I’d forgotten about that aspect of her. As enemies in our jinn forms, we were at an impasse, as she’d said. Isaac could get the job done handily, without a drop of my blood marring her perfect, dainty hands.

She seemed to accept our stalemate at the same moment, because she dove for an air vent in the floor and vanished. I roared in frustration, threw myself down, and ripped at the vent, the rational part of me shouting that it was too late. She’d be out of the building and gone before I found her. I pounded fists on the marble until the last unbroken bit shattered.

Huffing, I hung my head and slowed my breathing while the adrenaline abated. Amun approached as I imagined my body flesh and bone. I suffered the sting of it in silence. He draped the shreds of my shirt around my nakedness.

“I didn’t think she’d even know about the old ways, let alone exercise her rights under jinn law and bespell me.” He sighed and helped me to my feet. “Females fighting to own pods hasn’t been a custom since the last time our numbers dwindled enough territory wars broke out, more than a few centuries ago. I remember my father talking about it.”

Still lost in a haze of battle lust and a possessive need to lock Amun away for my own, I pulled him close by his wrist. “You are mine, Amun.”

“Yes.” His smile sent a flutter across my belly. “Oh, yes. Make me yours, Baylou, and nullify her claim.” He knelt before me as he’d done with Celeste, though his devotion shone true, unclouded by magic. His arms trembled with anticipation.

I crouched before him, taking in his bare beauty, his strength apparent in the bulk of his arms and chest, the definition of muscles rolling beneath his skin. His manhood lay thick against his thigh.

My palm rested against his throat. “
Maka, alu Taru
,” I said in the same language Celeste had used. Crackling energy surged through my palm, not bespelling, but opening, accepting, cherishing.

“
Romka, ilora Taru
,” he answered, tilting his head to the side.

My breasts pressed into his chest, sparking an electric sensation that opened all my pleasure centers at once. I kissed his exposed throat below the ear, tasting saltiness, inhaling his sandalwood scent. A need so great it overrode all reason drove my teeth into his flesh where his throat met his shoulder. Driven by blind, primal instinct, I bit down hard, his cry and flinch sending my arms around his shoulders to keep him still as I made my mark.

The sweetness of his blood coated my tongue. I moaned, clamping him tighter to me, learning every curve of his body and how it molded against mine. I released him and inspected the oblong ring of needle marks on his shoulder, smiling at my work as I lapped at his wound with gentle strokes.

Buzzing with the high of what I’d done, I moved back and kissed him gently on the lips. “Mine.”

He gave a slow nod, his mouth locked in a lazy smile, his jagged teeth showing. “Yes. I’m yours, gladly.”

I stood, stroking my fingers through his soft curls as he gazed up at me with those starry night eyes. When he tickled his fingers over my waist, I didn’t protest. My body seemed to know what he would do and accepted it, ached for it.

His kisses feathered along my stomach. I drew in a shuddering breath and let my head fall back as his bite found my side. Sweet, sweet agony laced with pleasure burned through my veins, blasting a cry from my lips.

Heat filled my belly. Delicious tingles spread out from my core, leaving no part of me untouched by their glorious fingers. Amun, making small, happy sounds, lavished my wound with the same affection I’d given his. Blood trickled down my hip and his shoulder, evidence of our union. His licking ceased, and I moaned my complaint.

Those dark eyes rolled up to stare at me. I found hunger in them, promises.

I’ll worship at your temple
, they said.
I’ll sate thirsts you didn’t know you had. Say yes, and I’ll show you the meaning of passion.

I lifted a foot and set it down farther away, spreading my legs in invitation. The nub of nerves below throbbed like a tiny heart. I wanted everything his stare promised. Needed it. Might wither and die if he didn’t give it to me soon enough.