Read Online Tales of the Djinn: The Double by Emma Holly - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Emma Holly
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God-loving djinni and didn’t wish to be reckless. Sparing the moment she knew she should, she sat on her haunches, curled her crooked tail around her, and bowed her furry head.
Blessed Mother, she prayed silently. Please protect me on my journeys as You protect the world. Guide my feet as You guide all Your children.
She immediately felt more confident. Out the pipe she wriggled, into the soft night air. As always, her sense of freedom invigorated her. Accustomed by now to running on four legs, she bounded like a shadow through the shaggy grass of a dark courtyard.
Maybe she’d head to the market down near the port. Young people who had no homes often went there when it was closed, to scrounge for leftover food or sheltered places to curl up. Like anyone, rich or poor, they’d gossip with each other when they met up. Her cat form had learned a lot by eavesdropping.
A current of displaced air teased her sensitive whiskers. Yasmin turned to see where the draft came from.
A flying carpet was settling on the marble pavers that surrounded a small fountain. No lights announced the rug’s arrival, nor was this an official landing site. If Yasmin’s cat senses hadn’t been so sharp, the vehicle might have slipped in unnoticed.
A tall man stepped off and began to roll up the rug like he meant to carry it. Was the pilot an assassin? Had Empress Luna’s surviving allies come to finish what she’d begun? Yasmin’s little heart thumped hard in her narrow chest. Should she run for help or should she attack? Could she attack, for that matter? Penetrating the palace’s barriers required strong magic. She had some spell craft but probably not enough to combat a skilled practitioner.
Try, she thought. At the least, she could claw the intruder until he screamed.
She could also yowl herself, she thought a moment later. That would bring someone running, if only to shut her up.
Though she’d never made a noise in her animal form before, she drew in breath and forced out a terrible caterwaul. Despite the situation, she nearly laughed. No cat she’d ever heard sounded so ridiculous.
“In the name of God,” swore the man with the rug tucked beneath his arm. “Quiet yourself right now.”
His words had power. She shut her mouth and sat back on her rump, startled. The man who’d ordered her was Joseph the Magician, the very man she’d asked the commander’s consort to turn to for help. Why was he flying in here so stealthily? He wouldn’t act against the city. He was an honorable man.
Had he perhaps been using his magic to find Balu?
If he had, the commander’s consort was unlikely to report to Yasmin until morning. Yasmin didn’t think she could stand to wait that long. With no offense to her honorable parents, her younger brother was the closest person to her in the world. Losing their older brother Ramis in such a scandalous way had thrown the two of them together. Balu understood what it was to walk on eggshells in a fractured family.
With that to goad her, and possibly more besides, she trotted after the handsome magician into the main palace.
~
Joseph’s guilt followed him to his rooms like a stubborn ghost. He did his best to shove it away. So he’d looked at a naked woman. His eunuch self might have done the same. The female form was lovely—no matter what a male did or didn’t have the power to do with it. He’d admired the Almighty’s creation. That shouldn’t qualify as a sin.
He pushed his door shut behind him with extra emphasis.
He was alone, only the shadows keeping him company. His body seemed to vibrate with extra life, the pulse and thrum heaviest between his legs. He put his hand there and found his cock rigid.
He knew enough to recognize an erection when he felt one. Though those days seemed distant, he’d experienced the same swelling in his youth, before his parents sold him to the cruel sorcerer. He rubbed the ridge beneath his trousers testingly, sharp sensations washing out from
Blessed Mother, she prayed silently. Please protect me on my journeys as You protect the world. Guide my feet as You guide all Your children.
She immediately felt more confident. Out the pipe she wriggled, into the soft night air. As always, her sense of freedom invigorated her. Accustomed by now to running on four legs, she bounded like a shadow through the shaggy grass of a dark courtyard.
Maybe she’d head to the market down near the port. Young people who had no homes often went there when it was closed, to scrounge for leftover food or sheltered places to curl up. Like anyone, rich or poor, they’d gossip with each other when they met up. Her cat form had learned a lot by eavesdropping.
A current of displaced air teased her sensitive whiskers. Yasmin turned to see where the draft came from.
A flying carpet was settling on the marble pavers that surrounded a small fountain. No lights announced the rug’s arrival, nor was this an official landing site. If Yasmin’s cat senses hadn’t been so sharp, the vehicle might have slipped in unnoticed.
A tall man stepped off and began to roll up the rug like he meant to carry it. Was the pilot an assassin? Had Empress Luna’s surviving allies come to finish what she’d begun? Yasmin’s little heart thumped hard in her narrow chest. Should she run for help or should she attack? Could she attack, for that matter? Penetrating the palace’s barriers required strong magic. She had some spell craft but probably not enough to combat a skilled practitioner.
Try, she thought. At the least, she could claw the intruder until he screamed.
She could also yowl herself, she thought a moment later. That would bring someone running, if only to shut her up.
Though she’d never made a noise in her animal form before, she drew in breath and forced out a terrible caterwaul. Despite the situation, she nearly laughed. No cat she’d ever heard sounded so ridiculous.
“In the name of God,” swore the man with the rug tucked beneath his arm. “Quiet yourself right now.”
His words had power. She shut her mouth and sat back on her rump, startled. The man who’d ordered her was Joseph the Magician, the very man she’d asked the commander’s consort to turn to for help. Why was he flying in here so stealthily? He wouldn’t act against the city. He was an honorable man.
Had he perhaps been using his magic to find Balu?
If he had, the commander’s consort was unlikely to report to Yasmin until morning. Yasmin didn’t think she could stand to wait that long. With no offense to her honorable parents, her younger brother was the closest person to her in the world. Losing their older brother Ramis in such a scandalous way had thrown the two of them together. Balu understood what it was to walk on eggshells in a fractured family.
With that to goad her, and possibly more besides, she trotted after the handsome magician into the main palace.
~
Joseph’s guilt followed him to his rooms like a stubborn ghost. He did his best to shove it away. So he’d looked at a naked woman. His eunuch self might have done the same. The female form was lovely—no matter what a male did or didn’t have the power to do with it. He’d admired the Almighty’s creation. That shouldn’t qualify as a sin.
He pushed his door shut behind him with extra emphasis.
He was alone, only the shadows keeping him company. His body seemed to vibrate with extra life, the pulse and thrum heaviest between his legs. He put his hand there and found his cock rigid.
He knew enough to recognize an erection when he felt one. Though those days seemed distant, he’d experienced the same swelling in his youth, before his parents sold him to the cruel sorcerer. He rubbed the ridge beneath his trousers testingly, sharp sensations washing out from
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