I dropped into the Nocumat and fought the pinpricks of pain that needled into my skin. Hands grabbed me, and the red clone of myself leaned close…
Chapter 37
Tessa
“Marcus?” I stared wide-eyed around me. “Cadmus, Aerolus?” Then I caught sight of Jonas. “Oh, my God, Jonas. You’re the Djinn!”
But his dark, flaming body had nothing on the mess in front of me.
Marcus lay in a red pool, from which hands clutched at him like something out of a horror movie. He looked pale, his face pinched with pain while a wax-like copy of him faced him.
At least it wasn’t a wraith again, I thought hysterically, trying to convince myself this had to be a nightmare. Stuff like this didn’t happen in real life. Not to me.
His brothers tried in vain to free him. But they became contaminated by the red goo that acted as if it were alive. And maybe it was. God, how could we get Marcus free?
Aerolus muttered under his breath, his forehead streaked with sweat as he cast a spell that seemed to be working. The creature, this Nocumat thing, slowed its movements. And several of the grasping hands released Marcus and Cadmus.
The red goo crept instead of flowed over the Storm brothers.
Cadmus trembled as he pulled the rest of himself free. His brown eyes looked dark with pain, but then his skin suddenly flashed gold and black flames surrounded him, just like Jonas. What… Could a Storm Lord turn Djinn?
I had a tough time processing everything at once. Jonas, my boss, looked like a man covered in flame. But I could see his face in the fire, no skin, just bright, white-gold light.
And Cadmus could have been his twin.
At least Aerolus looked normal, if a lot more intense as he battled Marcus’ red clone, for lack of a better term, with magic that seemed to have little to no effect on it.
But Marcus appeared lifeless, except for the slow blink of his eyes, as he lay in part of that red goo.
I held onto the back of the couch in a death grip, feeling helpless and weak and achingly lost at thoughts without him.
And that vulnerability seriously pissed me off. “Tell me what to do, Marcus.”
I glanced at Sin Garu, who by now had shed himself from the waters trying to drown him and stared from me to Marcus with murderous delight. He took a step in my direction.
Jonas intercepted him with a blast of vaporous black mist, diverting the sorcerer’s attention.
Marcus looked around until he found me. “Tessa, run,” he rasped as water rushed from his body to free him from the Nocumat. I was relieved until I realized that part of him remained tied to it. He lay on his side, one arm buried in the red liquid while with his other he tried to float away on a tide of water.
He looked at Sin Garu and Jonas fighting, spotted me again, and pointed at me.
“What?”
He shot elemental and psychic energy at me, and they immediately took root, the taste and touch of Marcus now a real part of me. “Use it to defeat Sin Garu,” he said hoarsely, sliding back into the ooze. “Once he’s gone, the Nocumat will follow. It has to.” He sounded desperate. “Do it now, before I’m unable to help you.”
I knew he could have used his powers to free himself first, while Jonas had the sorcerer occupied.
“Get out of there, Marcus. Jonas and I can hold off Sin Garu until you’re free.” Now that I had his power, I’d work to do what I could.
“No.”
I blinked at him, astonished at how authoritative he’d just sounded, despite his obvious weakness.
“I won’t have you battling Sin Garu, not while I’m still breathing,” he promises, his voice hoarse. “I have to do this, Tessa. You matter most.” He groaned as one of the red hands seemed to reach into chest. “Aerolus, stop dicking around. Grab Cadmus and protect Tessa.”
Aerolus quirked a brow but didn’t take his attention from Cadmus, putting out the flames caging him.
“Help Marcus,” Cadmus said between coughs, looking shaky.
