Lamp Riders: A Jinn Motorcycle Gang Novella by Augusta Hill Read Free Book Online Page A

one of the men grumbled from the back.
    “Yeah, this is horrible advice,” Baktan agreed.
    The other men murmured in agreement, and even Abdul seemed inclined to ignore her and barge right into his doom. Celia couldn’t keep her shocked look from her face. They were expecting to go in with guns blazing for a high noon shootout at the old mine.
    “You can’t do that! They will hear you coming and be prepared for you well before you drive up. We need to sneak up the back!”
    “So it is just over that ridge?” Abdul asked, pointing towards the distance where the mine was tucked away from their eyes.
    “Yeah, and I really thin-,“ she tried to warn him, but was quickly cut off.
    “It’s ok. We get that you are scared. You just wait here by the car and let us take care of it. Trust us. Things are much easier when you have magic,” he said reassuringly, flashing her a cheeky grin.
    Celia’s began to burn in anger. “You can’t leave me behind! Besides, didn’t Juan Reyes have magic last time? How did he make you disappear? He can do it again!”
    “It was a simple trick, and we won’t be fooled again. Don’t worry. An easy spell wielded by a simpleton isn’t a threat to us without the element of surprise.”
    The guys all chuckled together and restarted their bikes in unison. Giving Celia friendly waves, they started to pull off, leaving her spurting in their wake. She was furious.
    “Idiots! You take nothing for granted in the desert!” she screamed after them, waving her arms for them to come back.
    They didn’t come back. They didn't even turn around as they roared away. Their motorcycles brought a hum to the hot air that could be heard for miles. Cocky bastards are going to get themselves killed, she silently fumed. Maybe get us all killed, she added on reconsideration.
    Celia looked up at the sky where the sun rose ever closer to its zenith.  It was already roasting, and it would only get worse soon. She would have to brave a trek across the rocky terrain, where the heat would make the ground shimmer like cool water every few feet, just to tempt her. It’d have to be a fast walk too if she wanted to get to the showdown before everything went horribly wrong. She set her shoulders in determination and grabbed a bottle of water from the car. Ready or not, she was committed to this bizarre show.
    She made good time across the desert, having spent much of her youth scrambling over rocks and learning to avoid numerous types of spiny plants that tried to stab hikers. It was silent as she walked, with only her labored breathing and the occasional breeze making any noise. She usually liked the relative quiet of the desert during the peak of day, when everything collapsed into a well-earned nap to avoid the heat. Today, though, the silence only made her uncomfortable.
    Eventually, she made her way to the edge of the canyon, keeping her body low and behind the scraggly shrubs that dotted the land. Down below she thought she could hear some faint talking, but the wind was beginning to pick up and drowned out any chance she had to pick up individual words. Grumbling, she got down onto her stomach and began to crawl out to the edge slowly, allowing her to look below without being seen.
    The first thing she saw was Abdul, collapsed on his knees. Surrounding him were the other genies, some also seemingly hurt and dazed. The few that were still fully standing were desperately sending bolts of lightning and blazing rays of heat towards a large bubble in front of them. A look of desperation was etched onto every one of the men’s faces, and it cut to Celia’s heart. It did not look good.
    She quickly turned her attention to the large bubble they were bombarding with magic. Taking up half the canyon, the bubble was translucent, but had a silvery shimmer that made its outline clearly visible. Whenever one of the attacks from the genies hit the shield, it merely bounced off, sending sparks flying dangerously out towards