Forsaken (The Djinn Wars Book 5) (12 page)

He didn’t, however. He remained where he was, a certain sadness entering his deep, dark eyes. “You’re most welcome. Sleep well, Madison.”

Before she could say anything else, he’d turned and was walking down the hallway toward the stairwell for some reason, even though he could have simply performed another one of those blinks to get him to his own room. A mad impulse went over her to call out to him, to tell him to come back, but she pressed her lips tightly together and shut the door before she could do anything so stupid. Once it was closed, she leaned her forehead against the hard surface and wondered if she’d really made the right choice — or whether she was being a stubborn fool.

* * *

Q
adim went
down to the bar and poured himself a glass of late-harvest malbec. A large one.

He’d been so certain of her. The way her lips had parted, a certain flush to her cheeks — those were signs of desire, of need. And then she had coolly thanked him for dinner and shut the door behind her.

Perhaps he had been foolish in allowing his scruples to prevent him from using the djinn glamour. He sensed that she required only the slightest push, only the smallest bit of persuasion, to bring her to him. But no, he’d vowed that he would do no such thing, that he would wait for her to be ready. He wanted her on her own terms, and not because he had forced her into any kind of intimacy.

Even so, his body ached with need for her. He’d been so very sure that this evening would end with her in his bed. Or him in her bed. Either way would have been just fine.

He tossed back a large swallow of malbec, entirely disregarding the delicacy of the vintage he was drinking, a rarity that should have been savored in small, measured sips. Was Madison in bed already, or was she as wakeful as he, wondering if she had made the right decision?

“No, you did not, Madison,” he said aloud, and poured himself more of the wine. Perhaps the Council had thought they were punishing him by giving him Albuquerque as his territory, but he doubted they would have considered it such a hardship if they’d realized the quality of the wines to be had here.

It was not easy for a djinn to become drunk, as their systems were far more hardy than those of humans, but the thing could still be accomplished if one possessed a steady will and a large wine cellar.

Several more large swallows later, he felt the jangling in his nerves begin to quiet somewhat.
Patience,
he told himself. After all, he and Madison had only spent a few days together. She needed time to get used to the idea of being with him, to understand that there wasn’t anything terribly strange about the two of them becoming intimate. There had been many human/djinn liaisons throughout history, some consensual, some…not. But she didn’t know that. Somehow she’d managed to retrieve some information about the djinn, but Qadim had the impression that her sources had not covered that particular ground.

So…a few more days together, a few more meals, more shared wine…. He was fairly certain the situation would require little more than that, and she would be his. She was already very close. All it would require was a small nudge.

Thus heartened, he poured himself more of the malbec. One thing he knew for sure about Madison Reynolds.

She would be well worth the wait.

* * *

M
adison stared
up at the bits of bright sunlight reflecting on the ceiling, then over at the clock radio. Seven twenty-five.

She’d slept the whole night through without interruption. Why that had surprised her, she wasn’t quite sure. Qadim really didn’t seem the type to sneak up on an unsuspecting woman.

Now was the moment of truth.

She sat up in bed, then slipped the sling over her head and dropped it on top of the bedspread. Jaw clenched in anticipation of the expected pain, she slowly lifted her left arm and extended it so it was parallel to the ground.

A slight twinge, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

Next, she moved her arm forward and then swiveled it so her palm faced the ceiling. Again, she could feel a small ache in her shoulder, but it wasn’t significant. She clenched her fist several times, tightening the muscles all up and down her arm. Some pain, just not enough to stop her from doing anything she needed to.

All right, time for the real test.

Madison placed both hands flat against the bed and pushed against them, putting all her weight on them so she could swing her legs over the side of the bed and stand up. That hurt more, but she was able to do it. Her left arm didn’t buckle, seemed perfectly capable of supporting her.

Well, that seemed to clinch it. She might still have some healing to do, true. That didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of moving around more or less normally. Which meant….

There was no need for her to stay here. She could go back to the shelter, gather the necessary items, and strike out for Los Alamos and — possibly — the world’s only remaining community of humans. Qadim might be upset, but after some time had passed, she was sure he’d understand why she should be among her own kind. That would leave him free to focus on being with a djinn woman. Why he wasn’t already attached to someone, she didn’t know, but that was for him to sort out.

First of all, though, she needed to figure out how to get safely away.

She showered and got dressed in her jeans and a fresh T-shirt, then put the sling back on even though she’d determined she really didn’t need it. Through all these preparations, she resolutely ignored the beautiful blush-colored outfit Qadim had brought for her. That was for special occasions, no matter how good she might have felt in it, and it certainly wouldn’t do her any good where she was going. But she did put the colored balm on her lips and her cheeks, and did her best to tame her wild locks into something resembling orderly curls. She needed to make the djinn think that she was softening toward him, and that all she needed was a little extra time to come to terms with the idea of a possible relationship with him.

A little pang went through her at that thought. She hated the idea of misleading anyone. And the sad truth was, she’d felt how her body had reacted to him the night before. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she might lose any self-control she still possessed. Part of her wanted to be with him, wanted to know what it would feel like to have his mouth on hers, those strong arms, heavy with muscle, wrapped around her, holding her close.

Even now, the mental image was enough to make her flush with heat, then shiver. This would have been a lot easier if he hadn’t been so damn hot.

Courage,
she told herself. All right, the odds of finding anyone equally smoking hot in Los Alamos were probably slim to nonexistent, but she couldn’t let that little detail shake her resolve. He was a djinn, and she was human. They weren’t supposed to be together.

She took in a deep gulp of air and then let herself out of her room and headed for the stairwell. It was now getting close to nine, and so she thought she’d once again go down to the kitchen in the hope that Qadim would be there, preparing breakfast.

But the kitchen was empty when she got there, although she found evidence of his handiwork in the form of a large quiche with a couple of slices already removed, and a clean plate sitting next to it. Next to the plate was a piece of hotel stationery with the words “help yourself” written on it in thick black marker. The writing was in all caps, squared off and as neat as an architect’s notations. The note surprised her, although she supposed that if Qadim could speak English as well as he could, then it wasn’t that great a leap to being able to write in that language, too.

A pot of coffee sat on the stove, so she poured herself a mug and went back to the quiche and cut herself a large wedge. She wouldn’t ask where in the world a djinn had managed to learn how to make quiche — if he could figure out venison ragout and chocolate mousse, then quiche lorraine was probably a piece of cake, so to speak.

Madison ate quiche and drank coffee, and wondered where Qadim had gotten to. Maybe it was foolish for her to be sitting here and quietly consuming breakfast when this might be her one and only chance to make a getaway, but something kept her rooted in place. The problem was, she didn’t know where the djinn had gone. The last thing she wanted was for him to reappear suddenly while she was trying to make a break for it. Better to stay put until he returned, then get a better idea of what he planned to do with the rest of his day.

Also, staying here and finishing her breakfast would show that she didn’t plan to go anywhere, and that could only increase his trust in her. A misplaced trust, true, but she hoped that eventually he would understand why she’d felt she had to leave.

She was just pouring herself a second cup of coffee when he reappeared. Since he’d abandoned his robes and was back in Levi’s and a dark green T-shirt — and because that T-shirt was already stained with dirt and sweat — Madison guessed that he’d been out tending to his “garden.”

“Good morning,” he greeted her. If he was annoyed with the way things had gone the night before, his current expression showed no indication of it. He looked a little tired, but content enough. “I see you found breakfast.”

“I did, and it was wonderful, as usual.” She lifted her mug in salute. “I even left you a little coffee.”

“Thank you, but I’ve already had mine. I came here for some cold water.”

“It looks like you’ve been busy.”

He waited to reply until he had fetched some water from the big industrial refrigerator and poured it into a glass. Again Madison wondered how he managed to keep power going in the hotel when the rest of the town was completely dead, but she decided this probably wasn’t the best time to ask. “I wanted to check on how things were doing. I think I may have come up with a way to divert more water to this area.”

“I thought you were an earth elemental, not a water elemental.”

“I am.” Qadim tilted his head so he could drain the contents of his glass in one long swallow. That seemed to be quite the thirst he’d worked up. “But, even though I cannot have water come at my bidding, I can guide what’s already there. The infrastructure exists to bring water to this place — it only needs a little re-engineering.”

“And you can do that?” Madison asked, impressed despite herself.

“I believe so, yes.” He gave her a quick glance. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good,” she said. That seemed safe enough. “Better, I think. The arm still hurts, but I can tell I only need a day or two more in this sling.”

“That is good news.” He went back to the fridge and poured himself another glass of water. “Do you mind if I leave you here for a little while? I have things to do that require me to go to the river, but I have already done some reconnaissance, and I could find no sign of Hasan or any other djinn. You should be safe here.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Madison replied, praying that she sounded calm and unconcerned. “I just noticed that library room off the lobby. I can go into one of those little grotto things and read and put my feet up. I’ll be fine.”

Qadim appeared relieved by her answer, because he nodded, some of the tension going out of his shoulders. After drinking some more water, he set his glass down on the counter and said, “I won’t need to be gone for long. Possibly an hour, if even that.”

Better and better. In an hour, she could get back to the shelter, even if she had to walk the whole way. “Do what you need to do, Qadim. I’ll just rest and take it easy. And if this Hasan person does show up, I’ll tell him to go hunt you up by the river.”

The djinn’s face clouded. “I would not make light of it. If he does return for some reason — ” He stopped himself short, and gave the smallest shake of his head, as if telling himself not to borrow trouble. “But he will not. He is far from here, and has lands of his own to manage. And when I return, we can decide what to do for dinner.”

“Sounds great.” Was that too chirpy? She didn’t want to seem as if she was happy that he planned to leave her alone…but of course she was thrilled by the opportunity he was giving her.