38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

The chamber exploded.

Nasir dragged Kalia back as Reshef rushed forward, his gait clunky as though he were fighting the order with every cell in his body. Rahmi dove to the side, and Reshef staggered toward Alaric, his hand raised to chest height. There was a swell of power, one so terrible that Kalia wanted to fall to her knees before it blasted from Reshef. Alaric managed to lurch out of the way, but the tail of his tunic singed, filling the chamber with the smell of burning cotton.

The salt-and-pepper woman fell against Thomas, her pleas for forgiveness going unheard as she shot a crest of magic toward him. He slumped to the ground, blood pouring from between his lips.

The rest of The Mark of Malice crew streamed into the chamber, clogging the entrance and tripping over Thomas. But they were still no match for the magic-wielders. The third djinn, another woman with short, slicked-back curls and rosy cheeks, joined Reshef and the other woman. The wind whipped around, scattering coins and blowing sand into gritty twisters that pelted them with flying jewels and gold bars.

Then there were the ghouls. Without the power of the djinn holding them into place, the ghouls were free to roam. And they didn"t seem to differentiate between djinn or human, snapping their sharp teeth and clawing at the backs of both. The only distinction was that the djinn had been ordered to leave the ghouls, a command they had to take at face value. Cutlasses slashed through the air, metal meeting the ghouls, but they still surged forward, tearing at the shoulders of the djinn and shredding them into bloody strips of flesh.

If that wasn"t enough, Kalia gaped as seven flying carpets zoomed into the chamber, a rider tightly clutching onto each one. She spotted Elodie and Shirin, as well as Elric and Cobden. They threaded through the twisters of sand, slashing their cutlasses from above. Distracted by the magic carpets, the ghouls turned away from the djinn.

"Hi, Kalia!" Elodie waved as she whizzed by. We"re here to rescue you!" Kalia could have sworn one of the carpet"s corner tassels waved at her, too. Elodie whirled in the air, dashing back into the fray of sand, smoke, and pistol shots.

"Give that to me," Nasir gritted through his clenched jaw, but Rahmi had gotten hold of one of the flying carpets, zooming through the melee toward them.

He hopped from the carpet, tumbling head over foot before lunging forward and shoving Nasir away from her. "Now!" he shouted, fumbling with a set of keys at his belt. The carpet surged forward, wrapping around Nasir, who screamed and thrashed angrily as he fought against it. The Luminaria dropped to his feet. Rahmi grabbed the stone before dropping it into Kalia"s palm.

"What are you doing here?" Kalia breathed out as he took her shackles in his hands and inserted the first key from the ring into them. The key didn"t turn. "How did you get out? How did you find me? Did you know Reshef is a djinn?"

Rahmi"s smirk was devastating as he inserted a second key and then a third. "Where do you think the flying carpets came from?"

"Where did the flying carpets come from?"

Rahmi shook his head, lips pursed as he inserted a fourth key. "No time, ruehi. Do you have a handle on the Luminaria?"

Kalia clenched her fingers around the stone as he inserted the fifth key. It turned. "Yes, I have it."

Rahmi nodded, unlocking the first shackle before turning to the second. "When I get these off, I"m going to order the carpet to you. Take the Luminaria far from here, and bring Elodie and Shirin. Some of my crew are still aboard the ship. They"ll sail you back to the capital." The second shackle unlocked, the set falling into a heap of iron and obsidian at their feet.

Kalia"s power roared to life, filling her in ways she hadn"t known it could. She missed it when it was just out of her reach. "And you"ll be right behind me?" She lifted her stare from her free wrists, connecting her gaze with his. "Right?" she asked again when he said nothing in return.

Rahmi swallowed as a shriek echoed through the chamber. "You"ll seal us inside when you leave to ensure nothing gets out. The Mark of Malice is gone. I"m only allowed off the ship for one day every seven years. I went off once with you to get the NightWatcher. My countdown began again the moment I was removed from my ship." He lifted a hand to brace the back of her head. "It was an honor to love you, ruehi."

His lips crashed onto hers, meltingly sweet. For the briefest of moments, his tongue swiped against her seam, and she opened for him long enough for their tongues to dance. She loved the taste of him and didn"t want it to end, but he pulled away a second later.

As though unwillingly, Rahmi whistled over his shoulder at the flying carpet, which immediately unraveled itself from Nasir. "Go. Live your life. Forget about me and all of this." He pressed his lips to her forehead just as the carpet zoomed over, coming to a halt at her hip.

"Don"t make me do this, Rahmi," Kalia pleaded with him as he grasped around her waist and lifted her onto the carpet. It folded slightly against her weight but remained steady. "Come with me, please. We"ll get you back to the sea. We"ll—"

"It"s too late for me," Rahmi cut in with a curt shake of his head. He slapped the back of the carpet as though it were the hind of a horse, and Kalia grabbed ahold of the edge just as it dashed away. When she glanced over her shoulder, Rahmi had already turned toward Nasir, his cutlass cutting and swiping.

Kalia had never felt so helpless as she looked on at the battle raging below. Alaric was unconscious, his body wedged between two piles of gold coins. Thomas hadn"t moved, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth. Elodie was fighting two ghouls who hooked their claws into her flying carpet, desperately slashing her cutlass to get them to let go. And Reshef…and Reshef…

The Luminaria burned heavily in her hand. "Stop," she ordered the carpet, lurching forward as it came to a sudden halt. She glanced down at the gemstone, then back to Reshef, then back to the stone. She had never attempted to enter a mind with known magic, especially one as powerful as his. It might take all of her energy; the layers of his mind may be complex and untested. There was a chance she wouldn"t recover if she anchored to him at all.

But Kalia had never backed down from a challenge, especially concerning those around her. She learned that her friends made up some of the best parts of her and had taught her to love the parts of herself that she thought didn"t deserve it. And she needed to know if there was a way out of this without using the stone. So, without another thought, Kalia thrust all of her Voyant power toward Reshef, barreling every ounce of her magic to punch through his mind.

His body went ramrod straight, the fourth djinn looking at him with concern, and then they were on a beach. The breeze was warm and sweet, something scented of coconut and citrus in the air, softly flapping her skirt around her ankles. She had imagined the sand to be sugar-fine, nothing like the rocky coast of the capital, and she took a moment to wriggle her toes into it. She wanted to keep them in the bright sunshine and under the blue sky. Safe.

"If you"re going to take me out of the battle, you"re going to have to imagine a cold drink in my hand," Reshef joked, that boyish charm tugging a smile on his lips. One that Kalia didn"t return. He swallowed thickly, nodding to her. "I know that you"re upset with me, that finding people who were honest with you was important, but what is going on out there…it"s still happening. My body is still moving, still carrying out the order of my master. You have to use it, you have to order the magic to you."

Kalia shook her head. That was the last thing she wanted: to be tethered to the Luminaria. The very thought of it disgusted her. "No, Reshef, I can"t. There has to be another way. I don"t want this. I don"t want to take away your freedom, your choice."

"You shouldn"t have even tried to get into my mind. You"re already bleeding," Reshef said, his eyes growing with unfiltered concern. Kalia lifted her hand to prod her upper lip, not surprised to see that blood had already begun to drip from her nose. "It has to be you."

"Why? Why can"t it be someone else? I don"t want to be your master, I can"t—"

"Because our magic chose you to remove the Luminaria. Because fate brought you here, brought us together. And I know you wouldn"t use it to harm others…but Nasir would." Reshef"s tone became clipped and frantic as more blood began to pour down Kalia"s face. "You have to, Kalia, please. You"ll have everything you ever wanted. We can provide that for you. Please. I"m going to— I"m going to kill Alaric if you don"t. I won"t have a choice, and it will end me. Please."

For a brief moment, Kalia imagined what that might look like. She imagined the wealth she could have, the property she could own. She could buy the bordello if she wanted to, but she would have to put the madam out of business for good.

She wrenched out of Reshef"s mind, her vision clearing in time to look down and see the salt-and-pepper-haired djinn had turned toward Elodie, who was still battling one of the ghouls. Her hair was loose, her face sweaty and flushed. It was clear to Kalia that she was tired by the swings of Elodie"s arms and her grip on the hilt. And she certainly wouldn"t last battling a ghoul and a djinn.

Kalia made up her mind at that moment. She turned over the gemstone in her palm, clearing her dry throat and licking her lips. "I order the djinn to me!" she cried, raising the Luminaria. "I order them to heed my command!"

The four djinns below stilled just as the salt-and-pepper woman"s hands rose to target Elodie. The battle ceased, the sand twisters fell into piles, and even the ghouls seemed to slow. Nasir looked up at her, his mouth open in a scream that she could not hear. Even Rahmi had stopped. His cutlass hung above his head.

There was immense power that flowed through her, limitless and terrible. She could have everything she ever wanted. She knew that now. It was endless, that well of magic. But she knew that wasn"t what she truly wanted. Being the master of four djinn would only endanger her…Elodie…Shirin…Rahmi. She knew that she had no business taking any more from them.

Rahmi.

Kalia could free him, break his curse, and they could be together. But Kalia also knew that she only had the strength to do this once, only had enough strength for one command before that terrible power swallowed her whole. And she had to take it—for Reshef, for Alaric, for her.

"Djinn, I order you to destroy the Luminaria and set yourselves free."