“I have no idea. So far, Huxley hasn’t asked me to do anything like that. He hasn’t even hinted at it.”
“It should not be another shadow borne. They cannot die. They merely slumber.”
That tracked with the snippets of information we’d been able to cobble together. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s what he wants me for either.” None of us knew just how many shadow borne there were and if they’d been on friendly terms with each other or not. Too much time had passed since they’d been active.
“Perhaps the fairy queen would know.”
I shook my head. “We’ve explored that route and unfortunately, Queen Silvidia doesn’t know anything either. Per her nephew, Wendall, the fairy queen stated that shadow borne were of Earth and not related to Fairy.” If they’d been active when Fairy took over the Earth, then perhaps she’d have more interest, but that development had been too recent.
Aurelia’s lips thinned, and her eyes shifted to the side. It was a definite change from her typically disinterested expression. Itried quietly waiting her out, but my impatience, or perhaps desperation, spurred my mouth. “Did you think of something?”
Several of Aurelia’s tattoos flared to life, glowing in the dim light of my living room. A quiet “perhaps” slipped through her lips after several seconds of contemplation.
I grasped ahold of every drop of patience I had left. Pushing Aurelia would do more damage than good. “Would you be willing to share your thoughts?”
Aurelia’s Caribbean blue gaze pierced into my soul. “I am uncertain.” After a few more moments, she finally conceded. “Perhaps the first of us would know.”
I blinked, my eyes dry from staring too long. My brain tumbled over those words.The first of us? Who was Aurelia alluding to? The first humans? The first creatures to inhabit the earth or the heavens above? Gaia herself?
Swallowing hard, I pushed. “The first? Who—”
“Djinn,” Aurelia answered, voice flat.
My mouth opened, gaping like a landed fish. “I guess I’d assumed you were all created at the same time. Or at least relatively around the same time.”
Aurelia gave another shrug, this one not nearly as disinterested as the previous ones. “There is always a first. Ajita is…different than the rest of us.” Aurelia sounded bitter about that fact.
I had a feeling I was walking a very fine line. “May I ask how she is different?”
Aurelia huffed before pulling her lips back in a snarl. “She is a witch.”
“A…” Holy shit. “A witch djinn? How is that even possible, I thought…” I wasn’t really certain what I thought. We knew that witches of old took a living, breathing, sentient being and essentially hollowed them out—soul and all—then filled thevessel with magic, twisting it into a nearly unstoppable weapon. It was doubtful the living donors were willing.
“I am uncertain of the details. It was only known that Ajita was chosen somehow to be the first. However, like all of us, she did not wish to be controlled. Perhaps she was unaware this was the ultimate plan. It matters little. In the end, she slaughtered all who sought to control her.”
So far, this didn’t sound too different than the rest of the djinn. “What makes her different?”
Aurelia stood. She didn’t leave the charmed bubble, but she paced within it. “Ajita can touch her object of attachment. She keeps it on her at all times. No other djinn can do so.”
I thought my eyes might pop out of my head. That was the curse of all djinn. They could not dictate their fate. If they so much as touched the tip of a finger to their object of attachment, they were sucked inside and immediately put to rest, unable to emerge again until another had possession of their object and called them forth.
“How can Ajita do this?” I wasn’t certain if Aurelia knew or not.
“She is witch,” Aurelia hissed. It was all the explanation I was apparently going to get.
I could speculate what happened. Ajita took control of her own life, something the remaining witch creators took to heart and learned from. Learning from that mistake, they made it so their future creations wouldn’t have the same capability. It was already far too late for Ajita.
Still, I’d never heard the name before and wondered if this djinn was still active or if she’d opted to slumber through the never-ending centuries.
“Do you know if this Ajita is still…active?” I wasn’t certain if that was the correct phrasing but thought it sounded better thanawake.
Aurelia’s gaze tracked toward the ceiling as she remained silent. Finally, she said, “Three masters ago she was.”
I opened my mouth, ready to ask exactly how long ago that was but closed it just as quickly. I’d heard it again and again. Time had no meaning to Aurelia. It wasn’t that she was actively trying to be obtuse, but genuinely didn’t know.
Leaning into the couch cushions, I considered what I’d learned. If Ajita was still active and could be found… A shiver wormed its way through my body. Purposefully trying to find another djinn didn’t sound like a healthy way to live. And yet…Ajita might be our only link to the knowledge we needed.
“You are unusually silent, Erasmus Boone.” Aurelia stood before me, arms crossed under her generous breasts as she gazed down. Eyes narrowed, Aurelia cocked her head to the side. “You are wondering if it would be wise to reach out to Ajita.”
