Chapter 12 #2
“I know you don’t. I’ll explain. You see, I find all kinds of treasure, and what I can tell you right now, is that Jima is calling out to me. You’ve claimed him, and although that claim is new, it’s already kicked off a chain reaction. You view Jima as treasure, and so now I hear his call.”
Helios appeared interested in the concept.
“My own treasure.” His voice was full of awe.
I had no idea what Gray’s plan was, but making Helios even more interested in Jima didn’t seem conducive to getting Helios to let him go.
At least Jima appeared to be breathing easier now, although I was even more worried about how little he fought now that Helios had given him more leeway.
The rapid-fire beating of his heart, visible against his lean chest, ramped my concern further.
“Yes,” Gray agreed. “Your very own treasure. Do you know that treasure sings?”
Helios tilted his head toward Jima, his larger-than-typical ear leaning in close as if he were listening. “I hear nothing but his rapid heartbeat.”
“That’s because you’re not a will-o’-the-wisp.” Gray swayed, eyes slipping closed. “Martin has a treasure; it’s his soil. Its song is full of love and joy. It’s so soothing. I could lie on top of that plot of land for the rest of my life and feel nothing but peace and happiness.”
I sucked in another breath, Gray’s description soothing my inner dryad. That soft feeling didn’t last long.
“Do you know what Jima’s song sounds like?” Gray suddenly asked, eyes slipping open but remaining at half-mast.
Helios remained quiet.
“Pain,” Gray said, voice strained. “His song is full of fear and pain. Listening to it is difficult. It is the worst kind of song treasure can sing.”
Doubt slithered across Helios’s face. “What is my song?”
Gray’s eyes widened and he appeared taken aback. “You have no song.”
“You lie.” Half a dozen tattoos flared to life, making Helios’s skin glow. “I am djinn. I am coveted. Others waste years of their lives trying to find us. They use us, covet us, and enslave us. I am treasure.”
More blue flames lit up Gray’s fingertips before he fisted those hands, dousing the flames.
“Maybe that was once true. I’m not certain what’s changed, but I can tell you that is no longer the case.
No one holds you in that regard. You are no one’s treasure.
You are simply you. You belong to no one, Helios of the djinn. ”
“I would suspect that is due to who Helios’s current master is.” Keir finally spoke up, his voice scratchy as if it hadn’t been used in far too long.
Before Gray could ask, Helios ground out, “Peaches.”
Gray glanced back at me, a single eyebrow raised. “Peaches is a nature pixie. From what I understand, he never wanted to be a master. Peaches believes djinn should have their own say, that they should lead their lives as they will.” Peaches gave Aurelia and Helios very long leashes.
“I see,” Gray answered, although his pinched eyebrows indicated that wasn’t completely true.
Helios stared at Jima’s lax body, his foot twitching now and again. Ferrets really were fragile creatures. They could only sustain so much anxiety and fear. Helios had pushed Jima to his limits.
“He doesn’t want to be yours,” Gray said, voice low. “Do you truly wish to enslave another as you have been?”
The reaction was immediate. Helios’s lips pulled back into a snarl. Power pulsed around him, suppressing the air in the room and making it difficult to breathe. “You would accuse me of being a master?”
Gray didn’t falter. He stood his ground. “I am pointing out the path you are currently traveling. Nothing more.”
The suffocating power dissipated, leaving all but Elvira gasping for air. Holding his hand out again, palm up, Gray pointedly looked at Jima. “I’ll tell you a secret, Helios. Treasure is better when it is earned than when it is stolen. Do you understand?”
In answer, Helios handed Jima over, gently depositing him into Gray’s cupped hands. Pulling away, Helios’s gaze remained fixed on Jima. “It was not what I imagined. Perhaps Aurelia is wrong when it comes to the idea of pets.”
Cradling Jima to his chest, Gray retreated until his back was flush with my front. Wrapping my arms around Gray, I answered, “I don’t know that that is true, but attempting to keep a dissenting sentient being as one is wrong. Just as it was wrong to keep djinn prisoners.”
“I have much to consider.” Helios was still staring at Jima when he disappeared, winking out of our existence and heading off to who knows where. As long as it wasn’t here, I was okay.
Gray shivered violently, rocking Jima in his hands.
“Here, dear, let me have him,” Tabitha stepped in, relieving Gray of his small burden.
“Is he okay?” Gray asked.
“I believe he’ll be fine,” Tabitha answered, “thanks to you. That was clever, my friend. Very clever.”
Gray winced, his shivering not abating. “Not really. What I said was true. Jima’s song was horrid. It… I would never wish that on any treasure.”
Gray’s shivering intensified. “Are you cold” I asked, holding him even closer, attempting to share my warmth.
“I don’t know,” Gray answered. “I think maybe I’m in shock. That was a djinn. A djinn! What the fuck did I just do? I just challenged a fucking djinn and—”
“And lived to tell the tale,” Keir answered.
“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Gray bent at the waist, a hand covering his mouth. “Fuck me, that was stupid.”
I leaned in, my fingers raking through Gray’s sweaty scalp. “Stupid, yes. Brave, without question. Rest now, I have you.”
Gray’s body went lax, as if he were little more than a puppet with his strings cut. My arms shifted, forming a myriad of branches cradling his body. My soil called to me. Gray and I might experience my birth soil differently, but the results were similar enough.
With that thought in mind, I said, “We’ll be in my quarters,” before lifting Gray into my growing canopy, safe and protected.