Chapter 35
With my body submerged in the warm water of the bath, my muscles loosened, and I couldn’t stop the groan that left my lips.
It was eleven a.m. I had a Sunday-afternoon shift, and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to stack books and joke with Cleo as if the hands shelving novels hadn’t just killed two people.
I could have stopped at incapacitating them. I knew that—and in the moment I relished the sizzle of their skin, breaking into their bones. Now, the memory made me retch.
Zain was reluctant to let me out of his sight—berating himself for not being there to help me against the “jinn.” But he needed to be with his charge, and speak with Castiel, so I somehow convinced him I’d be fine, that I could handle myself for the few hours he was busy. He said he’d drop by the shop later.
The sound of the show Ehsan was watching downstairs faintly traveled up the stairs.
The walls in this house were thick, so he must have had it up at an ungodly volume.
It had been difficult to speak to Dad when I got home.
I had avoided his eyes, murmuring that I was exhausted because Cleo snored when she slept.
I didn’t know if he believed me; didn’t know if I could care either way.
He left soon after I got home to go to a baseball game with one of his new colleagues.
A small part of me was happy for him, that he had already begun making a life for himself here.
Even if everything I knew about my own was crumbling with each passing day.
I sank deeper into the bath until the only part of me not submerged was my head, my chin skimming the surface of the water.
The faucet dripped, the sound echoing in the bathroom. I tried to close the tap properly with my foot, but I couldn’t gain enough friction. I was too spent to move, so I accepted it as background noise. Under the guise of daylight being safe, I let my eyes flutter shut.
“I’m sorry to be coming to you at this moment,” the gravelly voice said. My eyes snapped open. I blinked repeatedly, searching for the speaker.
There was no one there.
That was until I turned to the left and jumped, causing bathwater to slosh over the side of the tub and onto the floor.
The Jinn King was sitting on the closed toilet seat, one leg crossed over the other, like this visit was planned and not at all disturbing.
I attempted to cover what I could of myself with my hands, glad that I had used a touch too much shower gel to create bubbles in the bath.
“You’re my granddaughter,” he said in a tone of disgust. “Kind of. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed?” I spluttered, in shock both at what he’d said and at the fact that I wasn’t paralyzed.
This was different from the other times.
Not only could I move and reply to him, but the room had a dull edge to it.
Whereas my dreams were usually crystal clear, there was a haze to the room now. “What’s going on?”
“You haven’t been listening to me,” he said, lifting himself up off the seat with a flourish. His cloak wafted in the limited space, and I saw one of the snakes beneath it, its tongue flitting out at me. He threw a nearby towel over to me.
I got out of the bath, wrapping the towel around me, glad to be covered.
My eyes darted to the door. What if I made a quick escape?
Then what? He would follow me and then Ehsan would see him…
No. I needed to get rid of him and say the words I knew he wanted to hear.
Then I needed to figure out a way to stop all this for good.
Or remember the spell to banish him. I racked my brain for what it started with.
I began to wonder if he could hear my thoughts now, like he had before, but he was busy studying himself in the mirror above the sink.
“I didn’t always look like this,” he mused, running a finger along the base of the mirror. “It was a deal gone wrong.”
“I know.”
He turned then, his lips curving into a small, closed smile. “Of course, you’ve done some of your own research. Jaleh should have told you, really, about your origins.” He shrugged. “She wanted you to have a normal life. I don’t know why anyone would want that, but she was always rebellious.”
Hearing my mother’s name softened something within me. I edged closer to where he stood and sat on the edge of the tub. “She was?”
“But that’s not why I’m here,” he said, shutting down any prospect of family story time.
“Well, then why?”
“I gave you strict instructions to stay away from that angel.” His lip curled on the last word, like it was dirty. “And you disobeyed me. More than that, you mingled with others like him.” He must have known about Sebastian’s lake hangout, about him protecting me while Zain was gone.
“I’m sorry,” I said, not sorry at all. I just needed to get him out. “I’ll stay away from him. If that means you’ll leave me alone, that I’ll have a normal life, then I’ll do it.” I couldn’t stop the quiver in my voice at the words. I didn’t know if I could stay away from Zain.
Zahhak smiled more broadly then. He threw his head back and let out a booming laugh that I was sure Ehsan would hear.
“This has been going on for centuries, dear Roxana, and judging by your recent behavior, it was futile to think strong words and a few tussles in the street would be enough. I am impressed, however, that you have harnessed your powers. Killing those angels was rather impressive.”
His approval made my stomach turn. I was exactly what Castiel had accused me of being, and if Zain ever found out, he would hate me.
“And yet,” he continued, “despite your words, I know you killed them for the angel, which is why I must do this.”
“Do what?”
In a blink, he was crouched down at the edge of the bathtub, face to face with me.
This was the closest I’d been to him, his scent overwhelming me.
Burnt coal and a hint of oud. The odor was so strong that I had to shut my eyes.
When I opened them, his hands clamped down on my shoulders.
I tried to scream, but I was cut short by what he said next. “Take you home. Enough is enough.”
And then he tightened his grip, and we were jolted down.
Down to the Underworld.