weren’t even aware of,” Roman interjects trying to calm things down. “Some meaningless thing to you, but unforgiveable to them.”
I can’t believe this. I’ve never done anything cruel or unforgivable to anyone. That I know of. Shit. Instead of acknowledging that Roman could be right, I fold my arms over my chest again and stare out the window.
Chapter 17 - Lore
We fall into a strained silence; my outburst and Brielle’s response effectively squashing any conversation attempts. I am so on edge now, my nerves are prickling. I have to say something, anything that distracts me from wanting to crawl out of my skin with stress and worry.
“What were you shooting at the djinni?” I ask Brielle.
She takes more time than necessary to answer me. She’s obviously still pissed about me being judgmental towards her and Roman. Eventually, she says, “Air.”
She’s going to make me work for this. “Why air?”
She scowls at me through the rearview mirror. “Because it works.”
I have to count to ten before I say anything else or I’m going to snap back at her and she’ll never tell me. One. She’s a really annoying bitch. Two. Annoying bitch. Three. Bitch. Four. I started this. Five. But does she have to be so nasty? Six. Her life is in danger because of me. Seven. Her knowledge is the only thing that may keep me alive. Eight. She’s still a bitch. Nine. I’m going to have to suck it up and deal with her on her terms. Ten. Deep breath. Apologize. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. You were right; I do need to buck up.”
Her eyes open wider in surprise. After a moment, she says, “The lower djinn aren’t really solid unless they’re in human form.”
My brows pinch together. “How does that work?” Roman has taken an interest in the conversation now. He’s leaning forward slightly so he can hear Brielle’s response. God I wish he had a shirt he could put on.
“Like I said before, there are different levels of djinn. According to the lore, the djinn were failed experiments by the powers that be that created the angels, with each level being closer to human but their magic kept them from being truly ‘humane’. So they were eventually all sent to a parallel dimension, behind the veil, to make way for humankind. The first of the djinn weren’t solid; they were made of smokeless fire. These are the lower level djinn. They have weight and mass, but their form is delicate. It’s just a bunch of molecules precariously clinging together in one area but not truly solid mass.” Of all the djinn I’ve seen so far, delicate is not an adjective I would use to describe them.
“I’m not explaining this right,” Brielle continues in frustration. “Okay, say you’re going to shoot a gun through smoke to try to get rid of it. The smoke may separate to let the bullet through, but you didn’t really get rid of the smoke. The molecules fall back into place as soon as the bullet passes. But if you put a fan in front of the smoke, you push the smoke away and the molecules blow apart.” I’m not really following her on this yet. “It’s the same principal with the lower djinn. When in their true form, their molecules will simply shift to let a bullet through, no harm done. Then, the molecules will come back together like the air does. But if you shoot air at them, it pushes their molecules forward and they are unable to fall back into place.”
She lost me at ‘the first djinn weren’t solid’. Roman is less confused than I am. “So the pressure of the air leaving the air gun pushes the molecules of the djinn too far away to fall back into place. Essentially, you’re putting holes in the djinn that won’t repair themselves.”
“You got it,” Brielle says, then gives me a ‘god
I can’t believe this. I’ve never done anything cruel or unforgivable to anyone. That I know of. Shit. Instead of acknowledging that Roman could be right, I fold my arms over my chest again and stare out the window.
Chapter 17 - Lore
We fall into a strained silence; my outburst and Brielle’s response effectively squashing any conversation attempts. I am so on edge now, my nerves are prickling. I have to say something, anything that distracts me from wanting to crawl out of my skin with stress and worry.
“What were you shooting at the djinni?” I ask Brielle.
She takes more time than necessary to answer me. She’s obviously still pissed about me being judgmental towards her and Roman. Eventually, she says, “Air.”
She’s going to make me work for this. “Why air?”
She scowls at me through the rearview mirror. “Because it works.”
I have to count to ten before I say anything else or I’m going to snap back at her and she’ll never tell me. One. She’s a really annoying bitch. Two. Annoying bitch. Three. Bitch. Four. I started this. Five. But does she have to be so nasty? Six. Her life is in danger because of me. Seven. Her knowledge is the only thing that may keep me alive. Eight. She’s still a bitch. Nine. I’m going to have to suck it up and deal with her on her terms. Ten. Deep breath. Apologize. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. You were right; I do need to buck up.”
Her eyes open wider in surprise. After a moment, she says, “The lower djinn aren’t really solid unless they’re in human form.”
My brows pinch together. “How does that work?” Roman has taken an interest in the conversation now. He’s leaning forward slightly so he can hear Brielle’s response. God I wish he had a shirt he could put on.
“Like I said before, there are different levels of djinn. According to the lore, the djinn were failed experiments by the powers that be that created the angels, with each level being closer to human but their magic kept them from being truly ‘humane’. So they were eventually all sent to a parallel dimension, behind the veil, to make way for humankind. The first of the djinn weren’t solid; they were made of smokeless fire. These are the lower level djinn. They have weight and mass, but their form is delicate. It’s just a bunch of molecules precariously clinging together in one area but not truly solid mass.” Of all the djinn I’ve seen so far, delicate is not an adjective I would use to describe them.
“I’m not explaining this right,” Brielle continues in frustration. “Okay, say you’re going to shoot a gun through smoke to try to get rid of it. The smoke may separate to let the bullet through, but you didn’t really get rid of the smoke. The molecules fall back into place as soon as the bullet passes. But if you put a fan in front of the smoke, you push the smoke away and the molecules blow apart.” I’m not really following her on this yet. “It’s the same principal with the lower djinn. When in their true form, their molecules will simply shift to let a bullet through, no harm done. Then, the molecules will come back together like the air does. But if you shoot air at them, it pushes their molecules forward and they are unable to fall back into place.”
She lost me at ‘the first djinn weren’t solid’. Roman is less confused than I am. “So the pressure of the air leaving the air gun pushes the molecules of the djinn too far away to fall back into place. Essentially, you’re putting holes in the djinn that won’t repair themselves.”
“You got it,” Brielle says, then gives me a ‘god
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