Tales of the Djinn: The Guardian by Emma Holly Read Free Book Online

had
been bugging her about was in one. Elyse simply didn’t have the
heart to search.
    David and her cousin had known each other at
college, both members of a group of undergrads who’d rented a house
together. They’d stayed friends, though David claimed Cara’s
bossiness kept them from hooking up. He liked to say the best thing
Cara ever did was introduce him to Elyse.
    You made my life complete , he
swore.
    Idly opening the desk’s left drawer, Elyse
found a legal pad with one of his tidy lists. Find door ,
he’d jotted and Buy flowers for Elyse . Her throat closed as
she shoved the drawer shut again. He must have written the note
while he was working on the cellar. He was always doing sweet
things for her.
    Sadness threatened to swallow her. She’d
never be loved like that again. David had been her first and last,
and now he was gone. Just like her father. And her mother, who
hadn’t lived long enough for Elyse to remember her. No one she
needed stuck around. Probably she’d end up like Mrs. Goldberg,
shuffling around alone in her bedroom slippers, calling handsome
but ultimately uninterested men like Arcadius galoots .
    Even as she choked out a little laugh, tears
spilled hot down her cheeks. She’d shed far too many lately, but
she let them fall anyway.
    ~
    Lost in thought, Arcadius and Joseph dropped
at almost the same moment to sit on the black modern couch in their
living room.
    “That was interesting,” Joseph said after a
short silence.
    Arcadius leaned forward across his knees.
    “She’s attracted to you,” the servant said.
“I saw her pulse beat faster a couple times.”
    Arcadius had noticed this as well. The
response was one he was familiar with. He shoved aside his
irritation that her excitement hadn’t been stronger. “What did you
think of the cousin?”
    “Beautiful,” Joseph said, “but
untrustworthy.”
    Arcadius pinched his chin. That had been his
impression too. “She knows something about this basement. Why else
would she suggest it was cursed if she weren’t hoping to scare us
off?”
    “Why would her father volunteer to take over
managing the building if he didn’t want more access?”
    Seeing they were on the same page, Arcadius
turned sideways. His elbow draped the couch’s back. “Do you suppose
it’s common for humans to turn cellars into homes?”
    “I don’t know,” Joseph said. “If it isn’t,
one might infer Elyse’s husband was a participant in whatever was
going on.”
    Arcadius’s mouth turned down. If that were
true, Elyse might be even more alone than they’d supposed. With a
start, he realized he was offended for her sake. Unsettled by that
idea, he spoke firmly. “We need to examine the magical nexus. Find
out what, if anything, has been done to it.”
    “I am ready to do that now,” Joseph said.
“Elyse’s meal restored my strength.”
    His expression said he was aware of the
irony. Djinn were sensitive to vibrations. Scents, emotions, even
colors were alive to them. Food cooked with care was more
fortifying than if it were prepared slapdash. Their landlady had
unknowingly benefited their mission.
    They proceeded without delay. Joseph had a
key he’d stolen from his previous master, a magician to whom he’d
been apprenticed—the same magician who’d cruelly castrated him. The
key was enchanted to open any physical lock. The padlock Elyse had
attached to the apartment’s forbidden door was no match for it.
Joseph slid in the instrument, released the hasp, and swung the
much-painted egress wide.
    Stale air rushed out through the opening.
Arcadius’s new body shivered. True to Elyse’s claim that this was a
mechanical room, the light from their narrow hall illuminated an
assortment of tanks and pipes. Beyond this he couldn’t see. The
darkness was as thick as if it were made of fur.
    “Do you wish to go first?” Joseph offered
politely. His poorly hidden grin revealed he was teasing.
    Amused but hiding it, Arcadius quirked one
brow at