Page 35 of Bewitched By the Djinn
Ten
The courtyard at Fritzel’s is quiet on a random Tuesday night in October. Just me and Bennet, a scattering of empty picnic tables bathed in the soft glow of overhead fairy lights—orange colored, for the season—and the fake vampire in the corner, posing for pictures with a handful of giggly tourists. Jazz notes float on the breeze, muffled by the brick walls that surround us.
Bennet shifts beside me, tapping his foot against the uneven cobblestone. “When I looked on the magic mirror Kevin gave me, it said vampires drink blood.”
I glance at him. “I’m guessing you don’t have vampires in Aetheria?”
“No.” He tilts his head. “We are all djinn. Among us, there are the jann, which are my people, the marid, the shaytan, and theifrit.” He says “ifrit” like Jackie would say “cringe.”
“What are ifrit?”
“They are technically djinn, but they are different from the jann and the rest. They have magic, they can shapeshift when they have enough power, but it is hard for them to maintain. They are mostly made of smoke and fire. To take form, they must feed on us, drawing from our energy until they have the strength to take a form. Even then, it cannot last long.”
I frown. “So, they steal your magic and use it to become something they’re not?”
“Yes. They take from us in order to exist in the light.”
I think on that for a second. “Sounds like fictional vampires.”
Bennet’s brow furrows. “Fictionalvampires?”
I nod. “TheVampire Diariesisn’t real. It’s a show. Fiction. In reality vamps don’t hurt people, at least, not any more than anyone else. There are at least a dozen vamps in the New Orleans area, though I’ve only met a couple.” Haven’t really had much use for them until now. “They are magic manipulators, of varying ability. Some can feel magic in others and feed off of it—like it gets them high, I guess, but it doesn’t hurt the person they are taking from. There are made-up stories about vampires drinking blood, but it’s not true. Simple human paranoia, making up monsters to explain what people don’t understand.”
Bennet hums, glancing toward the fake vamp, who is now ushering the tourists toward a staircase leading up to the bar. “Like him?”
“Right. No magic. Just a guy in a costume, playing a fictional vampire. There’s a bar up there—it’s actually kind of fun. You pay him, and they let you go up. The bar overlooks the street and it’s decorated really cool, antique furniture, pictures that move, black lights, other visual effects. Stuff like that.”
His eyes flick back to me. “Have you been there before?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “A long time ago.”
Years ago. Before Jackie got sick. Before everything changed. Back when my biggest worries were college, friends, and whether I had enough gas money to make it through the week. Those problems were crushing at the time, all-consuming. If only I had known what was coming.
Bennet studies me. “You sound sad.”
I test the barrier around my mind. Still latched. Still intact. “Can you feel me?”
“No.” His voice is quiet. “It’s in your voice.”
I turn to face him fully. The fairy lights above cast a soft glow over his face, highlighting the sharp angles—the aristocratic cheekbones, the straight, austere nose. He looks like a royal.A royal pain in my ass.
Except, not so much a pain in my ass. Not really.
My eyes slide over his chiseled jawline. What I need is a nice burlap sack to cover all of that up.
“It reminds me of a different time.” I force my attention back to the present. “It’s amazing how much perspective you gain when the real shit hits the fan.”
He watches me for a beat. “It was before your parents left.”
“Yeah.” I glance at my watch. Eight o’clock. Any second now. Richard is never wrong.
“Have you met this vamp who will be here tonight?”
“I don’t think so. He’s kind of the big kahuna. Hard to find, hence the need to ask questions to get his location. He is the strongest vamp in the city. If anyone can find Helen, it’ll be him.” And hopefully he will help us. Otherwise... I am not sure what to try next.
The door to the bar slams shut as the fake vamp disappears with his latest group. The air shifts, the pressure dipping ever so slightly.
There.
