fingertip.
I knew her, or the
her
she’d been before Mother Earth had awakened. Priya—like me, one of the original Djinn, formed out of fire and primal instincts. But Priya had always been kindly disposed toward humans, and this… this was none of her doing. Not of her own choice.
In that image burned upon the aetheric plane, Priya’s face was cold and set, her eyes blazing with power. She had simply walked into this place, touched the man on the forehead, and left.
And he’d sickened and died, within minutes.
Luis saw me, wiped fog from the window of the truck cab, and frowned in concern. He rolled the window down and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Lookat me in Oversight,” I said. “Check me for infection. Do it quickly.”
He didn’t waste time asking; I saw his eyes lose focus as he used another kind of vision to inspect me. It didn’t take long.
He shook his head. “Nothing. What the hell?”
“The man inside is dead,” I said. “Infected with… something. Something very nasty. We can’t take the risk of touching anything in there. It must be burned, all of it.” I felt shaken, I realized. No, more than that: I was
actually
shaking. My muscles were loose and trembling. “Others have been here. We have to find them. This will spread quickly.”
Luis froze for a few seconds, then nodded. “We need the gas for the truck,” he pointed out, ever practical. “There’s a button inside, behind the counter. Somebody has to press it.”
“No,” I said. “No one goes inside.”
I heard the door slide up at the back, and the sound of someone jumping down… then the whispering slither of Esmeralda’s descent. Isabel looked around at me, then at the store. “What are you doing standing in the rain?”
I didn’t feel like explaining again. “Can you trip the switch to get gas from here?”
“Yeah, but there should be someone in there who—”
“Just do it, Isabel!” My voice sounded unlike my usual self—to raw, too sharp, too shrill.
She gave me a dark look. “Tell me why.”
Esmeralda slithered toward the door, and before I could tell her not to proceed, she recoiled—literally, pulling her snakelike body into tight, defensive coils. I heard a faint rattle. “Dead guy,” she said. “Damn. He looks sick.”
“He was,” I said. “And is. Going in is not an option.”
“Then what?”
“There is a switch under his hand. It must be flipped from
out here.
”
Isabel looked toward Esmeralda, who nodded decisively. “I wouldn’t be eating no Ho Hos out of this place—that’s for sure. Flip the switch and let’s get the hell out before we’re puking all over ourselves and bleeding from the eyeballs.
Vámanos.
”
Ibby was stronger by far in Fire Warden powers than her uncle; for her it was a mere shrug to trigger the connection that powered the pump. As I set it in action, the counters rolled on a price that would never be paid now. I filled the truck to the brim, then replaced the nozzle and climbed back inside to drive the vehicle off away from the building, slowly.
Esmeralda and Ibby stayed behind, and Luis watched them in the rearview mirror. It took only a moment for the fire to begin, consuming the little store. The two girls made it to the truck and slammed the door down just as the gas pumps blew in a spectacular orange-and-red mushroom of power. What was left of the station store collapsed in on itself, burning even more fiercely.
Ibby thumped on the wall behind my seat. “Go!” she yelled.
“First of many,” Luis said quietly. “Don’t know his name, but I’ve got to think he wouldn’t want to infect anyone else. Best we can do for him now is purify him.”
Purify. That was, I thought, a good word, a hopeful word. The dead man was purified.
I, on the other hand, felt sick and filthy within. There would be no honor today, no
purification
for those
I knew her, or the
her
she’d been before Mother Earth had awakened. Priya—like me, one of the original Djinn, formed out of fire and primal instincts. But Priya had always been kindly disposed toward humans, and this… this was none of her doing. Not of her own choice.
In that image burned upon the aetheric plane, Priya’s face was cold and set, her eyes blazing with power. She had simply walked into this place, touched the man on the forehead, and left.
And he’d sickened and died, within minutes.
Luis saw me, wiped fog from the window of the truck cab, and frowned in concern. He rolled the window down and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Lookat me in Oversight,” I said. “Check me for infection. Do it quickly.”
He didn’t waste time asking; I saw his eyes lose focus as he used another kind of vision to inspect me. It didn’t take long.
He shook his head. “Nothing. What the hell?”
“The man inside is dead,” I said. “Infected with… something. Something very nasty. We can’t take the risk of touching anything in there. It must be burned, all of it.” I felt shaken, I realized. No, more than that: I was
actually
shaking. My muscles were loose and trembling. “Others have been here. We have to find them. This will spread quickly.”
Luis froze for a few seconds, then nodded. “We need the gas for the truck,” he pointed out, ever practical. “There’s a button inside, behind the counter. Somebody has to press it.”
“No,” I said. “No one goes inside.”
I heard the door slide up at the back, and the sound of someone jumping down… then the whispering slither of Esmeralda’s descent. Isabel looked around at me, then at the store. “What are you doing standing in the rain?”
I didn’t feel like explaining again. “Can you trip the switch to get gas from here?”
“Yeah, but there should be someone in there who—”
“Just do it, Isabel!” My voice sounded unlike my usual self—to raw, too sharp, too shrill.
She gave me a dark look. “Tell me why.”
Esmeralda slithered toward the door, and before I could tell her not to proceed, she recoiled—literally, pulling her snakelike body into tight, defensive coils. I heard a faint rattle. “Dead guy,” she said. “Damn. He looks sick.”
“He was,” I said. “And is. Going in is not an option.”
“Then what?”
“There is a switch under his hand. It must be flipped from
out here.
”
Isabel looked toward Esmeralda, who nodded decisively. “I wouldn’t be eating no Ho Hos out of this place—that’s for sure. Flip the switch and let’s get the hell out before we’re puking all over ourselves and bleeding from the eyeballs.
Vámanos.
”
Ibby was stronger by far in Fire Warden powers than her uncle; for her it was a mere shrug to trigger the connection that powered the pump. As I set it in action, the counters rolled on a price that would never be paid now. I filled the truck to the brim, then replaced the nozzle and climbed back inside to drive the vehicle off away from the building, slowly.
Esmeralda and Ibby stayed behind, and Luis watched them in the rearview mirror. It took only a moment for the fire to begin, consuming the little store. The two girls made it to the truck and slammed the door down just as the gas pumps blew in a spectacular orange-and-red mushroom of power. What was left of the station store collapsed in on itself, burning even more fiercely.
Ibby thumped on the wall behind my seat. “Go!” she yelled.
“First of many,” Luis said quietly. “Don’t know his name, but I’ve got to think he wouldn’t want to infect anyone else. Best we can do for him now is purify him.”
Purify. That was, I thought, a good word, a hopeful word. The dead man was purified.
I, on the other hand, felt sick and filthy within. There would be no honor today, no
purification
for those
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