it’s there, and you say it made you sick, I’m not taking chances. But Jo—I can’t see it. I can’t sense it. It’s just not there .’’
‘‘Look, there are things that exist that are invisible to humans—’’
‘‘But not to Djinn,’’ he interrupted. ‘‘Nothing is invisible to Djinn. Nothing that belongs on this earth.’’
This was kind of the point. He must have realized it, too. He was quiet for a moment, and when I looked over, I saw that his eyes had taken on a fierce orange color, like the heart of a fire.
‘‘This isn’t something being done by the Djinn,’’ he said. ‘‘Not mine, and not Ashan’s. Whether I personally believe in it or not is beside the point. If an enemy is sending these things to you, personally, it’s someone human. Someone who wishes you harm.’’
No kidding. I remembered the angry phone call. ‘‘Maybe it’s a Demon,’’ I said. ‘‘They seem to like to drop in for regular visits.’’
‘‘Not funny, Jo.’’
‘‘Yeah, not from this side, either. Do you think it is? A Demon?’’
He seemed to consider it seriously. ‘‘Demons aren’t so . . . strategic in their approach. Their goals are simple and straightforward—consume, kill, escape. Whatever this is, there’s no sense to what you described before. The dead creature—’’
‘‘Djinn, David. He was Djinn. We’re sure.’’
He let that pass, but I could tell he was far from convinced. ‘‘And the black thing inside him. Who would do such a thing? Why?’’
‘‘Maybe,’’ I said slowly, ‘‘it was a test.’’
‘‘A test of what?’’
‘‘Of the Djinn,’’ I said. ‘‘A test that you failed.’’
He took his gaze away from the road, which was eerie and alarming, though I knew he didn’t need to be staring straight ahead to drive. ‘‘Failed how?’’
‘‘Failed to sense the danger. Look, that was a Djinn we found—’’
‘‘It wasn’t.’’
‘‘Argument’s sake, if it was, why can’t you admit it? It’s as if you just can’t bring yourself to—’’
‘‘There’s nothing to admit!’’ he said, and I heard the unmistakable vibration of anger underneath the words. ‘‘I would know if a Djinn had died!’’
‘‘Except you don’t, and one did,’’ I said, and closed my eyes. ‘‘So what does that mean?’’
‘‘It means—’’ David took in a deep breath, and I could see him struggle to get his temper under control. ‘‘It doesn’t mean anything. Because all this is an illusion, Jo. Just an illusion. There’s no dead Djinn; there’s no such thing as your antimatter.’’
Whoa. The blind spot the Djinn had was big enough to swallow the sun, and it was starting to really scare me. And there didn’t seem to be any point at all to trying to debate it, because he simply wasn’t going to listen.
I turned face forward as he steered the Mustang through traffic at speeds that would have made NASCAR drivers weep and flinch. ‘‘Glad we got that all straightened out.’’
Sarcasm was wasted on him, right at the moment. He sent me a heartbreaking smile of relief, and I realized he actually thought we had straightened it out.
Oh dear God .
We finished the drive in silence. Once the traffic cleared, David pulled off the road at a beachfront area, one loaded up with pleasure-seeking, bikini-wearing sunbathers, all one tequila short of a Girls Gone Wild video. He turned off the engine, and we sat for a while watching the waves crash and roll, and the tanners sizzle and flirt.
‘‘I need my cell phone,’’ I said. David . . . flickered . Like a bad signal, or a hologram. And then he reached in his coat pocket and handed over my cell phone, which I knew perfectly well I’d left back on the table in the apartment. ‘‘Hey. Don’t do that, okay?’’
He looked puzzled. ‘‘Don’t do what?’’
‘‘Don’t go back there. Promise me.’’
‘‘Why?’’
I swear, when I closed my eyes, I saw red. I
‘‘Look, there are things that exist that are invisible to humans—’’
‘‘But not to Djinn,’’ he interrupted. ‘‘Nothing is invisible to Djinn. Nothing that belongs on this earth.’’
This was kind of the point. He must have realized it, too. He was quiet for a moment, and when I looked over, I saw that his eyes had taken on a fierce orange color, like the heart of a fire.
‘‘This isn’t something being done by the Djinn,’’ he said. ‘‘Not mine, and not Ashan’s. Whether I personally believe in it or not is beside the point. If an enemy is sending these things to you, personally, it’s someone human. Someone who wishes you harm.’’
No kidding. I remembered the angry phone call. ‘‘Maybe it’s a Demon,’’ I said. ‘‘They seem to like to drop in for regular visits.’’
‘‘Not funny, Jo.’’
‘‘Yeah, not from this side, either. Do you think it is? A Demon?’’
He seemed to consider it seriously. ‘‘Demons aren’t so . . . strategic in their approach. Their goals are simple and straightforward—consume, kill, escape. Whatever this is, there’s no sense to what you described before. The dead creature—’’
‘‘Djinn, David. He was Djinn. We’re sure.’’
He let that pass, but I could tell he was far from convinced. ‘‘And the black thing inside him. Who would do such a thing? Why?’’
‘‘Maybe,’’ I said slowly, ‘‘it was a test.’’
‘‘A test of what?’’
‘‘Of the Djinn,’’ I said. ‘‘A test that you failed.’’
He took his gaze away from the road, which was eerie and alarming, though I knew he didn’t need to be staring straight ahead to drive. ‘‘Failed how?’’
‘‘Failed to sense the danger. Look, that was a Djinn we found—’’
‘‘It wasn’t.’’
‘‘Argument’s sake, if it was, why can’t you admit it? It’s as if you just can’t bring yourself to—’’
‘‘There’s nothing to admit!’’ he said, and I heard the unmistakable vibration of anger underneath the words. ‘‘I would know if a Djinn had died!’’
‘‘Except you don’t, and one did,’’ I said, and closed my eyes. ‘‘So what does that mean?’’
‘‘It means—’’ David took in a deep breath, and I could see him struggle to get his temper under control. ‘‘It doesn’t mean anything. Because all this is an illusion, Jo. Just an illusion. There’s no dead Djinn; there’s no such thing as your antimatter.’’
Whoa. The blind spot the Djinn had was big enough to swallow the sun, and it was starting to really scare me. And there didn’t seem to be any point at all to trying to debate it, because he simply wasn’t going to listen.
I turned face forward as he steered the Mustang through traffic at speeds that would have made NASCAR drivers weep and flinch. ‘‘Glad we got that all straightened out.’’
Sarcasm was wasted on him, right at the moment. He sent me a heartbreaking smile of relief, and I realized he actually thought we had straightened it out.
Oh dear God .
We finished the drive in silence. Once the traffic cleared, David pulled off the road at a beachfront area, one loaded up with pleasure-seeking, bikini-wearing sunbathers, all one tequila short of a Girls Gone Wild video. He turned off the engine, and we sat for a while watching the waves crash and roll, and the tanners sizzle and flirt.
‘‘I need my cell phone,’’ I said. David . . . flickered . Like a bad signal, or a hologram. And then he reached in his coat pocket and handed over my cell phone, which I knew perfectly well I’d left back on the table in the apartment. ‘‘Hey. Don’t do that, okay?’’
He looked puzzled. ‘‘Don’t do what?’’
‘‘Don’t go back there. Promise me.’’
‘‘Why?’’
I swear, when I closed my eyes, I saw red. I
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