Arms scooped under my shoulders and looped around my elbows. The world went right-side up and began to glow in vibrant colors. Maybe there was still some electricity in me that was fucking with my vision. My twitching had stopped—thank God—but the highlighter filter over everything was new.
Sandwiched between two djinn, one standing a little too close behind me, I faced Soloman for the first time on even ground. He was shorter than I thought he’d be; not more than an inch taller than me. And he looked like someone’s spry grandfather rather than a man in his mid-fifties. Trying and failing for world domination took a lot out of you, I guessed.
“I’ve decided that you’re more use to me alive,” he declared, and I startled.
It would have been nice for him to decide thatbeforeelectrocuting me. I snorted, and the djinn tightened their hold. He ignored the probably manic smile on my face and continued with his bad guy epiphany.
“So focused on destroying the witches, I didn’t think long term. I was too hasty. Undisciplined.” Hands clasped behind his back, he paced in front of me as if he were giving a lecture. “I’ve always prided myself on thinking things through before acting, and I’m ashamed to admit that this was not one of those times. You’ll have to forgive an old man for wanting to jump on an opportunity for revenge when it presents itself so readily.”
I wasn’t going to forgive him shit, the senile motherfucker, but I licked my lips to respond, and he actually stopped to listen.
“You really like to hear yourself talk,” I mocked, but I had sort of a lisp going, so it wasn’t that impressive. I was also out of breath from that one sentence. “Your son… does that too… or hedid.” It was hard to smirk when half your bottom lip didn’t want to cooperate, but I think I accomplished it, if the growing stain of red spreading up Soloman’s neck was anything to go by. “How’s he doing… these days? Still… need… a bib?”
The backslap was almost expected. At least it knocked my vision back into focus; I wasn’t sure what that said about the state of my brain. It still hurt to breathe, and now there was a cut on my cheek where his ring sliced my skin, but his drawn-out speech gave my legs time to strengthen. I didn’t have to lean on the djinn as much.
Ezra! Can you hear me? Help!
Every second not spent taking in my surroundings, I screamed down the bond. There was no response. I wasn’t exactly an expert on how this worked, but I assumed Ezra was too far to mentally communicate. I thought I felt a surge of reassurance, but it was probably wishful thinking. He had to have felt my pain at least, so he knew something was wrong. I just had to hold out until he got here.
He would be here. Of that I had no doubt.
“You have a smart mouth now,” Solomon spat. “But you won’t, once you’re the reason Kaiden and the rest of the Alantes line are dead. His nightmare bond, too.”
I jerked at the threat, but the djinn held strong. Inside, my magick churned.
“As if I would help you.”
His laugh raised the hair on my neck. There was too much confidence in it. “You’ll have no choice,” he promised. “You won’t even know you’re doing it until it’s too late.” The hands around my biceps tightened as Soloman stepped closer. “I’m going to plant a long-seeded illusion into your weak little mindthat will allow me to access everything you know. Hidden deep in your subconscious, you will spill all you see and hear to me and not remember doing so.” Chucking his knuckle under my chin, his eyes darkened in glee. “I won’t kill you, yet, but this is the next best thing. Retribution for my son.”
I refused to be this man’s puppet. I would die before I let him use me against my friends or my bond. But before I played the sacrifice card, I wanted to see if I could take him down. My body felt settled enough that I knew I could handle the djinn surrounding me.
Take them out first, then deal with Soloman.
A solid plan. If only my magick would cooperate. The electricity still running through the water molecules in the pond made them too unstable to control, and they refused to answer my call. Untapped power roiled in my gut. While Soloman called out to his men for whatever the next steps in his plan were, I focused on channeling that built-up power into something useful.
I pulled and coaxed it to the surface, spreading it to every corner of my body.
“There is also the issue of your sigil,” Solomon droned on, but it was hard to listen and work at the same time.
He said something about it making it easier to track and call me to him whenever he wanted. Which meant I couldnotlet him apply that damn sigil. The harsh grip on my arms lessened as I pulled more magick to the surface.
“It shouldn’t hurt… much. Think of it like a tattoo. It's definitely less painful than being electrocuted, one would think, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.”
Nowhe had my attention. I opened my eyes to a maniacal grin, a small jar of dark liquid, and the buzz of a tattoo gun. All those things were far too close for my liking.
“You’re not going to touch me with that,” I snarled, words no longer slurred.
I was clear-headed, steady on my feet, and full of magick. Fuck. This. Guy.
Soloman dipped the sharp point of the tattoo gun in the ink, soaking the needle. He had no idea his men had lost their grip, and I wasn’t about to show him. Not yet. I had one chance to break free.
“We have your precious witches to thank for this concoction,” he said, still stirring. Dipping. Drawing out the moment. “They were the ones who discovered that with the proper incantations and added ingredients, the ink can be put to skin and used to track dangerous criminals. The traditional sigil is usually a band around the arm, but I rather like it around your neck.”
My magick flared at the threat. It raced through me, answering my need for protection and demand for control. It was the first time I intentionally used the siren call, and I prayed it worked. I knew my skin glowed; knew I was as shiny as the disco ball Ezra told me I resembled. I just had to maintain some restraint. One slip and these guys would try to tear me to pieces out of obsession rather than obey my commands.
“Let me go,” I ordered, my voice fierce and solid. There was no room for argument.
The djinn didn’t quite listen, but they didn’t completely ignore me either. Two hands sat loose around my upper arms, barely touching my skin, like sloppy manacles. A bubble of space cleared around me, where before I couldn’t take a deep breath without brushing against someone. Small changes, hardly noticeable from the outside.
