Chapter 21

In the end, it wasn't so very difficult. Abdul could tell that Sarah was not completely happy to be going on this mission but at the same time understood it was necessary. And because they both wanted to get it over with as quickly as they could, he came up with a plan that he thought would work.

They traveled in djinn fashion from Ghost Ranch to the border of the protected territory, not too far from the original place where Sarah had told him she'd begun her original exploration into the lands around Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch. This time, however, she would not be going back on foot, but would instead drive herself to Los Alamos in the pickup truck he summoned for her.

"Not bad," she said with a grin as she ran a hand over the sleek black fender of the big Nissan. "There are a couple of guys I know who'd kill for one of these, even though we're only supposed to drive electric vehicles in town."

"Then you can leave it for them here when you are done with your mission," Abdul replied. "It is not as if you will need the vehicle after you return from Los Alamos."

Her expression turned thoughtful. "True. I'll let Lindsay know to have someone come pick it up later today. That's who I'm going to talk to," she added. "It makes the most sense. She and Miles are the ones in charge, pretty much, and that way I won't have to go into a bunch of explanations with a lot of different people. They can just get the information out to the community in the way they think best."

Sarah paused there, her expression distant, and Abdul reached over and touched her hand. She'd already confessed to him that, while she had quite a few acquaintances in Los Alamos, it wasn't as if any of them had been truly close friends, the sort of people she would have confided in.

No wonder she didn't feel a strong connection to the town, even though she'd lived there for nearly five years.

"It is a good idea," he told her. "Where will you find this Lindsay?"

A quick flash of a smile, one that felt infinitely warmer than the bright summer sun that shone down on both of them. "Oh, it's the middle of the day. She'll be at the lab. And if she's not there for some strange reason, then she'll be at home. Either way, I can make this work."

That sounded reassuring. It seemed as if the woman Sarah was looking for had a fairly set schedule, and if she was not where she was supposed to be, well, the town wasn't so large that it would be difficult to track her down.

"Then do what you must," he told her. "I will be waiting for you here."

"It's probably going to take a couple of hours," she said, now looking somewhat dubious. "Wouldn't you rather wait for me at the ranch?"

Should he say that he would happily wait for her in this desolate spot forever, if that was what the situation required?

He decided against being quite so bold, although he did lean down and kiss her softly on the lips. "It will be no trouble to remain here. I know you will be as quick about this as possible."

Her eyes locked on his, now warm with the same desire he knew he'd felt even after that very gentle kiss he'd just given her. "Oh, I'll be fast," she said. "No worries about that."

She reached over to touch his hand, then turned so she could climb into the pickup truck's cab and start the engine. Abdul thought she looked smaller than he'd expected, sitting up high in such a way, and for a moment wondered if he should have provided a more modest vehicle for her.

But no, even if she would be traveling through regions protected by Miles Odekirk's devices, there might still be stretches of rough road and places where it would serve her to be driving something sturdy like the pickup truck.

He lifted his hand to wave goodbye, and she rolled down the window so she could return the gesture. After that, though, the truck accelerated, bumping its way along the uneven road, until it traveled around a bend and was lost from view.

Even though he knew exactly where she was going and that she intended to come back to this spot as quickly as she could, Abdul could not quite prevent the pang of worry that went through him as she disappeared down the highway. What if something went wrong? What if Lindsay decided that Sarah wasn't thinking clearly and tried to keep her there in Los Alamos?

Well, if that happened, he would go and fetch the woman he loved.

No matter what doing so might cost him.

Miles had volunteered to head over to Pajarito's and grab a late lunch for both of them, so Lindsay had the lab to herself. She supposed she could have gone with him, except it had become routine for her and her husband to always eat lunch on-site rather than going out and sitting down at the town's only restaurant like a couple of civilized people.

Most of the time, she was fine with being here. At her suggestion, they'd brought in a small bistro set and put it in one corner so they could at least eat at a proper table rather than one of the workbenches, but today, she knew she was out of sorts, annoyed with their continued lack of progress at modifying the devices and at the same time fretting over the continuing mystery of Sarah Wolfe's disappearance. Both Shawn and José were healing fine — well, Shawn was pretty much back to normal, and José, while on crutches, should be back on his feet in another few weeks — so Lindsay knew things could be a lot worse.

On the other hand, they could be a lot better, too.

Or maybe this was all the effects of pregnancy hormones and nothing more. At least she hadn't been feeling queasy the past couple of days. No, she was turning practically ravenous, which made her hope that Miles would be back with their sandwiches soon.

The door opened and she turned, thinking it must be her husband and her long-awaited lunch.

Her eyes widened.

Sarah Wolfe stood in the doorway, expression diffident. On the surface, she didn't look much different from the woman who had disappeared more than a week ago — she was dressed in jeans and hiking boots and a sleeveless cotton blouse — but at the same time, something seemed to have changed about her, since she almost looked as if she was glowing from within despite her obvious uncertainty.

"Hi, Lindsay," she said, casual as though she hadn't gone missing without a trace, as though no one had known what the hell had been going on with her for the past ten days.

"Sarah!" she exclaimed, and got down off her stool so she could go to the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the other woman replied. "I just — I wanted to come and let you know I was all right so you wouldn't send anyone else to come looking for me."

The words sounded normal enough, and yet Lindsay thought the situation was anything but normal. "Where have you been all this time?"

"At Ghost Ranch," Sarah said. She hesitated for a moment, as if deciding the best way to go on. "I…met someone there."

"A djinn?" Lindsay asked, although she couldn't think of any other possible reply, not after the elders had warned them off…not after what had happened to José and Shawn.

A pause, one so brief that it was almost imperceptible.

Lindsay noticed it, though, and couldn't stop herself from frowning.

"Something like that," Sarah responded, which wasn't much of an explanation. "He's — he's not like anyone I've ever met. I'll be staying with him there, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew to keep away from the place."

This was sounding sketchier and sketchier. True, Sarah Wolfe looked like she'd just come back from a spa vacation with lots of expensive skin treatments, but if everything was going well for her, why would she need to warn everyone to stay away?

Well, nothing like going straight to the heart of the matter.

"Why not?"

Sarah stared back at her steadily. If she'd been trying to hide something, wouldn't she have glanced away or at the very least done her best not to lock gazes like this?

"Because he values his privacy," she said. "That's why he went to live in Ghost Ranch in the first place. He had no idea we were planning to try settling there."

That sounded almost plausible. After all, the town council had only recently decided to see whether expanding in that direction was even a good idea or not. It wasn't something they'd discussed with the Santa Fe djinn until after the fact, so there was no way anyone else could have even known about their plans.

"‘He values his privacy,'" Lindsay repeated slowly. "But he's okay with having you there."

Maybe the slightest tilt of Sarah's head. "Something like that. We've come to…an understanding."

That brief hesitation in the other woman's voice told Lindsay pretty much everything she needed to know. This mysterious djinn or whatever-he-was wanted the rest of the world to be hands-off, but he was absolutely fine with having a pretty human woman around.

And it really wasn't any of her business. If anyone had a problem with Sarah being there with her djinn, that would be the djinn elders, not a mortal woman who was just trying to keep Los Alamos going and knew when she needed to keep her nose out of things.

"That's good," Lindsay said. "But…you're really going to stay there, just like that?"

"I am," Sarah replied. She took a step forward, and something in her expression turned almost pleading. "I know this must look crazy to you — and probably to just about anyone else. But he loves me, and I love him. In the end, what else really matters?"

Lindsay had seen that look before, on the faces of the Chosen in Santa Fe who were head over heels for their djinn partners. Hell, she'd probably worn it herself, once upon a time, back when she thought she was in love with the djinn Rafi…only to realize after he was gone that he'd probably cast a glamour on her so she'd be willing and compliant.

But there was nothing compliant about Sarah's expression now. In fact, there was maybe just a hint of defiance in it, as if she'd known she might come up against some resistance and was now willing to fight the good fight if necessary.

Not much point in that, though, not if the object of her affection was a little something more than a djinn. He hadn't accompanied her on this mission, true, and yet Lindsay knew that the elders could come to Los Alamos if they absolutely had to, even though being around that many of Miles's devices was painful for them. There was no reason to think that Sarah's otherworldly lover wouldn't come in search of her if she was held here.

Lindsay wouldn't do such a thing, however. Sarah Wolfe was a grown woman with her own free will, and even if other people might think she was making a foolish decision, it was hers to make.

"Do you need to go to your house and get anything?" she asked then, and something about Sarah's stance seemed to relax.

She'd obviously guessed that Lindsay wasn't going to throw up any roadblocks to keep her here.

"I already did," she replied at once. "A ring that belonged to my grandmother. There's nothing else in that house that I need."

She stopped there, but Lindsay thought she understood. Like so many others — like herself — Sarah had run from the djinn reavers in her hometown with pretty much the clothes on her back and not a whole lot more. Some might have wondered why she hadn't acquired some more personal possessions during her time here in Los Alamos, and yet there had always seemed to be something about her that held back despite her outer friendliness, as if she'd never truly allowed herself to become a part of the community.

Which meant she might be making a wiser choice than Lindsay had first thought.

"Then I guess all I can do is wish you good luck," she said.

Sarah smiled then. "I already have good luck. That's why I found Abdul. But thanks." A pause, and she added, "Oh, and I'm going to leave the truck I'm driving at the place in La Chuachia that we used as our rendezvous point. It's a really good truck, but I'm not going to need it after today, and I figured maybe someone here would."

Obviously, a truck conjured by her djinn — Abdul — so Sarah could drive here in style to say her goodbyes. However, Lindsay wasn't about to turn down the gift. While they'd done their best to switch over to electric vehicles as much as possible, they still needed to maintain a fairly sizable fleet of trucks and SUVs to do any real hauling or other heavy-duty work. Having a brand-new vehicle to add to that fleet was welcome news.

Not that a truck would ever replace Sarah, of course.

"We can definitely use it," Lindsay said. "Thank you."

A quick smile, and Sarah turned to go. As she was halfway out the door, however, Lindsay couldn't help calling out a final question.

"Are we ever going to see you again?"

Sarah stopped and appeared to consider for a moment.

"I don't know," she said at last.

He had always known she would return to him, and yet he couldn't ignore the leap of joy in his heart as the big black truck came rumbling down the highway. The sun had risen further as she was gone and now rode high in the clear blue sky. A mortal would perhaps have been hot as they waited here, especially if they had been garbed as he was in his black clothing, but djinn did not suffer from the heat and the cold, and neither did he.

The truck came to a stop, and Sarah climbed out. More than that — she hurried over to him as soon as she was on solid ground and threw her arms around his waist so she could hug him close.

"That's done," she said, and he bent down and kissed her, tasting the sweetness of her lips.

Yes, she was sweet, but sweeter still was the realization that she truly did love him, and had returned of her own volition.

"Lindsay did not try to stop you?" he asked after he ended the kiss.

Those green-blue eyes seemed purer and clearer than anything he had ever seen, clearer than the sky overhead or the rushing waters of the Rio Chama, a hundred yards or so from where they stood.

"Well, I could tell that she didn't completely understand," Sarah replied. "But she didn't press me, and she didn't call for backup to keep me there or anything like that. She had a djinn partner once — he was killed by some rebel djinn years ago — so at least she knows a little about this kind of thing, even if our situations are very different."

Abdul knew something of the rebellion mounted by Khalim al-Usar and his followers. A messy, bloody business. It was unfortunate that Lindsay had lost her partner to that violence…but her past had also apparently provided her with enough context to understand that Sarah was only following her heart.

"Then are you ready to go home?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Very."

They still held one another, so all he had to do was tighten his grasp before they whirled away to the house he had so recently made his, and which now felt truly like home because Sarah lived there as well. He let go once their feet were on firm ground, but only so he would be able to look more deeply into her eyes.

"Now that you have said your goodbyes, we must talk."

A faint furrow appeared between her brows, but she sounded natural enough as she said, "I thought we'd already talked."

"About some things, true." He took her by the hand and led her over to the sofa, where they both seated themselves and she gazed at him, expression partly earnest, partly concerned. "But I want to make sure you know exactly what is to come next."

She continued to hold his hand, saying, "I know how it works for djinn and their Chosen. Is this really all that different?"

"It is, only in that I am not bound by any agreements with the elders." Abdul stopped there, trying to think of the best way to express what he needed to tell her. "I made no bargain to love you. I simply do, nothing more, nothing less. When I commit to you, you will also share in my powers and enjoy unending health and life. But if there ever comes a time when you weary of me, then I will let you go back to your people."

"I could never get tired of you, Abdul," she said, her voice hushed and fierce at the same time. "I love you, and I made the decision to be with you."

Her words warmed him, but at the same time, he wanted to make sure she knew she had choices here. "I am glad to hear that," he replied. "But still, I wanted you to know that you have more freedom than the Chosen do. You are not bound to me for all eternity unless you truly wish to be."

"I do wish it," she said. "I can't imagine a future where I would ever change my mind." She hesitated, although her fingers tightened on his as if she wanted to underscore her words. A garnet ring flashed on her right hand, one he hadn't seen before, and he guessed it must be an heirloom she had recovered during her short visit to Los Alamos. "Thank you, though," she added. "Thank you for telling me."

"We promised always to be honest with one another," he told her. "Even in this…or rather, especially in this. And now, I only want to say that your life is entwined with mine, just as my energy is entwined with yours. All that I have, I freely give to you."

As he spoke, he knew that he had done much the same thing as the djinn when they declared a human to be their Chosen — a small part of his magic went to her, ensuring that she would never fall ill, would never be anything more than the perfectly lovely age she was now.

She stared at him, eyes wide. "Was that…was that it?"

"Yes, my love," he said. "As I said, our energies are joined, and that means you will never get sick again, will never suffer an injury that does not heal almost at once…will never grow old."

A long silence as she absorbed those words, and then she smiled. "That's a lot to take in."

"It is," he agreed. "But you will have all the time in the world to learn how to live with it."

She honestly didn't feel a bit different. All right, a little thrill had gone through her as Abdul spoke, but that was more because she could recognize the solemnity of the moment even if she couldn't exactly pinpoint how.

And yet…here they were.

Are you well, my love? echoed in her mind, and she blinked at Abdul, at his grave, handsome face.

"What was that?" she gasped aloud, and he smiled at her.

You did not know that the djinn speak to their partners thus? It is much the same for you and me, even though I am not precisely one of them.

Well, there was something. She supposed she'd heard somewhere that djinn and their Chosen shared a sort of telepathic bond, but because that little detail wasn't anything that affected her day-to-day life in Los Alamos, she hadn't stopped to think about it much.

I — I guess I knew something about it, she responded, marveling a little at how easy it was to slip into this kind of communication. I have to admit, it is kind of cool.

Very. Something in that inner voice changed as he went on, But because I am more than a djinn, I have other talents as well. I thought it might give you hope to see what I have envisioned for the people of Los Alamos and the world in general, just so you will know that you have not abandoned them, and instead are part of better times to come.

And then — well, Sarah wasn't sure she could ever adequately explain the experience to anyone else, not when she was having a hard time grasping it herself, but it was as though she was seeing with Abdul's eyes. Not the room where they stood, with its big kiva-style fireplace in the corner and the large windows that provided endless vistas of the high desert landscape surrounding them, but of a place it took her a moment to recognize as Espa?ola, since it was so very changed from what she knew of the town.

On either side of the Rio Grande, which was full of snow melt and moving fast, stretched fields of corn and squash and beans and so many other types of vegetables, all lush and green and approaching their peak. The ugly strip malls and gas stations and businesses that had crowded along Highway 68 were gone, and the road itself was wider, mainly because of a median thick with trees that ran right down the center. More trees lined either side of the highway, providing shade and shelter. Here and there, houses peeked out from among the greenery, but each sat on its own large plot of land, at least two or three acres. North along the river valley, grapes flourished in Velarde and Embudo and Dixon, and to the west, people gathered hops along the banks of the Rio Chama.

Everything was peaceful and lovely and flourishing, and her heart warmed at the vision. This was what they'd hoped for in Los Alamos, even when it seemed as if such a dream would be a very long time coming…if it ever arrived at all.

And beyond that, she saw djinn walking the streets of the mountain town that had been her temporary home, and humans strolling in Santa Fe, and people who seemed somehow in between and who she guessed must be the children of the djinn and Chosen who lived there, offspring who were neither quite one or the other, but a bridge between the two races.

It will be like this all over the world, Abdul told her. Or rather, the children of djinn and humans will come together to meet and learn from one another, and soon enough, those djinn who thought to live apart will become connected to them as well. It will be a better future for all of them, and as time passes, no one will even remember there was once a division between the two peoples. The devices will be set aside, and all will be able to come and go freely as they wish.

You really think that? She wanted to believe in such a wonderful vision of the future…and yet she couldn't quite forget the bloodthirsty past of both humans and djinn.

I do. His inner voice was firm, unwavering. It is the only possible outcome of what occurred before.

Her fingers stole into his, and she breathed in, glad that he felt so strong, so reassuring.

If he was sure of this perfect future, then she would allow herself to be certain as well.

One question remained, though.

What about us?

This time, that inner visualization was more of a flash that came all at once, rather than something that felt like a movie she was watching. She saw Abdul at the piano as she sang…she saw the two of them laughing in the kitchen as they prepared a meal…she saw them riding into the mountains, accompanied by a pair of friendly dogs that looked like they might be border collie mixes…

…and she saw herself standing in front of the window in this very room, an infant cradled in her arms, as Abdul bent to press his lips against the top of her head. The entire space seemed to float in warm light, surrounding them, and she could practically feel the contentment of their future selves wrapping itself around her, letting her know that all would be well.

"I love you," she said simply. The words needed to be said aloud, she thought, and that was why she had spoken that way rather than thinking them to him.

"I love you, Sarah Wolfe," he said.

"And love will heal the world."

The End

This concludes the Djinn Wars series. Thank you and blessings to everyone who went on this long journey with me!

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