“Yeah.”
“What is that stuff?” I asked Rome.
“Calm. Chance left it with me yesterday.”
“What did I say? I didn’t mean to upset anyone.” Mingo held both hands up with his palms out.
Jax shook his head.
“You’re good. It’s just, he was convinced you’d know.”
“I can ask my mom, but don’t get your hopes up.” Narrowing his eyes, he tilted his head. “Why is it so imperative that you find my cousin, anyway?”
“He has my girl.” Kerry raised his face to the sky, and the drying streaks on his cheeks burned golden in the sun.
“That’syour missing team member? Why does Darius have her?” Mingo put the pieces together pretty quick. “Reginald Hubler wants her for something, doesn’t he? How do you know Darius didn’t hand her over as instructed?”
“We’re not one hundred percent certain one way or the other,” Rome told him, “but we’re fairly confident he hasn’t. At least not yet. The impact of him doing so would ripple through the Dark World in a way that none of us could miss.”
I wanted to ask him if he knew Hubler and his pals were mixed up with a demon prince, the same one who wanted a miracle worker. Both Kerry and Rome, though, had been crystal clear that we had to keep as much information to ourselves as we could.
“In that case,” Mingo nodded, “Darius is hiding her from him. If Mr. Hubler desires something and Darius sees a way tointerfere, he will. He fights against his master in any way he can.”
“He’s gonna try bartering Gemma for his freedom,” Kerry snapped, “which I do not appreciate.”
“You met Gemma that day at the Sanctuary,” Gigi interrupted, maybe because she was afraid that Kerry would get worked up again. “She came up to you while Hank was trying to talk Kerry out of killing Cole Fanishell.”
“Gina had asked me if I could get through your shield. Not a chance. It’s the best I’ve ever seen.” Mingo grinned at Kerry, who didn’t respond. Undaunted, he continued. “I remember your girl. Very pretty with long red hair and the kindest green eyes.”
Groaning, Kerry covered his face with his hands and doubled over.
“We’d appreciate it if you’d call your mom.” I glared at Mingo and made a slashing motion across my throat. “Do you know how soon you could reach her?”
“I’ll call her now. Too bad our queen isn’t here. She’d know how to contact them and probably where they stay.”
“I hope you find who has Parvenah soon,” Kerry rumbled.
Puzzled and a little suspicious, I cut my eyes over at him.
What is he doing? Heknowswho has her. Zick Black told us.
I’d promised him I would keep my mouth shut about it, though, so that’s what I did.
“And not only because I wanna ask her about Darius.” Kerry stood straight again. “Mumtaz is gonna get outta controlrealquick.”
Golden power suddenly outlined Mingo’s whole body.
“You might hafta shoot him, too,” I warned Rome outta the side of my mouth.
“We are aware,” Mingo ground out through clenched teeth. “Be gladhedoesn’t have her. Unless their master forces them to act otherwise, Darius and his brothers are men of honor. But Mumtaz and his boys are animals. They’d brutalize her and take their time doing it—”
No one was fast enough this time.
Kerry grabbed Mingo by the throat and slammed him hard against the brick building. As he leaned down to go nose-to-nose with the stunned peri, a thousand blue icicles erupted all over him.
“City of the Future was a temper tantrum compared to what I’ll do to those djinn if she’s harmed inanyway while in their custody.”
By then, Jax had him swaddled in power again, but didn’t seem to be doing anything and sweat beaded up on Jax’s forehead. Rome raised the baby squirt gun and fired, but most of the water had leaked out of the cheap plastic pistol and just a few bubbles fizzed out of the nozzle.
