him.
‘Right back at ya. How much have you slept?’
‘Averaged out, a couple of hours a day.’
‘Can’t survive that way, Jo.’
‘You’re one to talk.’
Silence ticked. Lewis’s eyes flicked aside to Paul. ‘Sorry about the drama. I’d have done this on my own, but frankly, I think you could kick my ass right now.’
‘I could kick your ass anytime,’ I shot back reflexively, but I was a little appalled by the fragility I saw in him. He looked…breakable. I’d never seen him like this, not even when he’d been hurt.
Lewis was dying. Really dying.
‘Don’t blame Paul for this. It was my decision.’
That got my attention. ‘Since when do the Wardens take orders from you?’ Because even though, technically, he was a Warden – the most powerful one in the world – he’d been on the outside a lot longer than he’d been in. Lewis wasn’t a conformist, and he hadn’t exactly risen through the chain of command.
In true form, he blew past the question. ‘We can’t defeat Kevin by frontal assault. You already understand that.’
‘I’m having a hard time seeing how keeping me tied the hell up is winning the battle!’
‘We need to talk to him. Persuade him to give up. It’s our only real choice.’
‘How the hell are you going to get him to talk at all? He’s holding all the cards!’
‘You let me worry about that part.’ Lewis shifted, as if something inside hurt him. ‘First things first. We have to get Jonathan out of his hands. You agree?’
I had to. I knew what Jonathan was, and how important he was to the Free Djinn – plus, Kevin wouldn’t have the leverage and force multipliersnecessary to destroy the world if we took his Djinn away. ‘Sure.’
Did I imagine it, or did Lewis’s knuckles turn a little whiter? ‘That’s our bargaining chip. To Kevin, one Djinn’s pretty much like another. He doesn’t know Jonathan. He doesn’t know how much more powerful Jonathan is than any of the others. That’s why we’re going to offer a trade.’
‘A trade?’
He held my eyes. ‘Jonathan for David.’
‘What?’ I jerked upright, tried to pull my hands apart. Marion’s vine compensated by wrapping tighter. The slick, living feeling of it moving on my skin made me want to run screaming, but I forced myself to relax. Deep breaths . ‘You’re kidding. Tell me you’re kidding.’ Nothing from him but that slow, steady stare. Come on, Lewis, lie to me at least. Make a damn joke . Something. ‘You can’t give him David !’
‘We’d be a hell of a lot better off,’ Paul rumbled. ‘That Djinn you’ve got ain’t no small fry, but he’s a quantum level of trouble down from the current situation. And he’s been in bad situations before. He even knows the kid.’
‘David can take care of himself.’ Lewis’s eyes were inhumanly gentle. ‘We can recover him later. It’s a temporary situation.’
‘ You can say that? What, like Yvette was a temporary situation? Like Bad Bob was atemporary situation? He’s been through hell, Lewis. I’m not letting you put him through more just because it’s convenient!’
‘Jo, you need to remember that he’s not a person ; he’s a tool.’ The compassion in Lewis’s face was a cold, distant kind – the kind God might have when he looks down on all the unwashed billions. ‘Discussion’s over. This wasn’t easy, and none of us want it. But we’re up against the facts now, and the facts are that people are about to die. Millions of them. And if we can trade one Djinn, don’t you think it’s a good equation?’
‘In theory. Try standing on my side of the equal sign.’
Paul spoke up. ‘Look, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say it, but if you screw this up for us and we all survive it, that bottle over there gets sunk in a concrete block and dumped in the deepest pit in the ocean. David goes into history, trapped in that bottle. My hand to God.’
Lewis held up his hand without looking away from me. ‘Paul,
‘Right back at ya. How much have you slept?’
‘Averaged out, a couple of hours a day.’
‘Can’t survive that way, Jo.’
‘You’re one to talk.’
Silence ticked. Lewis’s eyes flicked aside to Paul. ‘Sorry about the drama. I’d have done this on my own, but frankly, I think you could kick my ass right now.’
‘I could kick your ass anytime,’ I shot back reflexively, but I was a little appalled by the fragility I saw in him. He looked…breakable. I’d never seen him like this, not even when he’d been hurt.
Lewis was dying. Really dying.
‘Don’t blame Paul for this. It was my decision.’
That got my attention. ‘Since when do the Wardens take orders from you?’ Because even though, technically, he was a Warden – the most powerful one in the world – he’d been on the outside a lot longer than he’d been in. Lewis wasn’t a conformist, and he hadn’t exactly risen through the chain of command.
In true form, he blew past the question. ‘We can’t defeat Kevin by frontal assault. You already understand that.’
‘I’m having a hard time seeing how keeping me tied the hell up is winning the battle!’
‘We need to talk to him. Persuade him to give up. It’s our only real choice.’
‘How the hell are you going to get him to talk at all? He’s holding all the cards!’
‘You let me worry about that part.’ Lewis shifted, as if something inside hurt him. ‘First things first. We have to get Jonathan out of his hands. You agree?’
I had to. I knew what Jonathan was, and how important he was to the Free Djinn – plus, Kevin wouldn’t have the leverage and force multipliersnecessary to destroy the world if we took his Djinn away. ‘Sure.’
Did I imagine it, or did Lewis’s knuckles turn a little whiter? ‘That’s our bargaining chip. To Kevin, one Djinn’s pretty much like another. He doesn’t know Jonathan. He doesn’t know how much more powerful Jonathan is than any of the others. That’s why we’re going to offer a trade.’
‘A trade?’
He held my eyes. ‘Jonathan for David.’
‘What?’ I jerked upright, tried to pull my hands apart. Marion’s vine compensated by wrapping tighter. The slick, living feeling of it moving on my skin made me want to run screaming, but I forced myself to relax. Deep breaths . ‘You’re kidding. Tell me you’re kidding.’ Nothing from him but that slow, steady stare. Come on, Lewis, lie to me at least. Make a damn joke . Something. ‘You can’t give him David !’
‘We’d be a hell of a lot better off,’ Paul rumbled. ‘That Djinn you’ve got ain’t no small fry, but he’s a quantum level of trouble down from the current situation. And he’s been in bad situations before. He even knows the kid.’
‘David can take care of himself.’ Lewis’s eyes were inhumanly gentle. ‘We can recover him later. It’s a temporary situation.’
‘ You can say that? What, like Yvette was a temporary situation? Like Bad Bob was atemporary situation? He’s been through hell, Lewis. I’m not letting you put him through more just because it’s convenient!’
‘Jo, you need to remember that he’s not a person ; he’s a tool.’ The compassion in Lewis’s face was a cold, distant kind – the kind God might have when he looks down on all the unwashed billions. ‘Discussion’s over. This wasn’t easy, and none of us want it. But we’re up against the facts now, and the facts are that people are about to die. Millions of them. And if we can trade one Djinn, don’t you think it’s a good equation?’
‘In theory. Try standing on my side of the equal sign.’
Paul spoke up. ‘Look, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say it, but if you screw this up for us and we all survive it, that bottle over there gets sunk in a concrete block and dumped in the deepest pit in the ocean. David goes into history, trapped in that bottle. My hand to God.’
Lewis held up his hand without looking away from me. ‘Paul,
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