But this creature didn’t give me the same vibe. I had no clue whatsoever what it wanted or what it was doing.
“Someone needs to stay here and watch over this thing,” I said.
The others were gathering supplies. Garrett had his sword and O’Halloran had his daggers, but the rest of us were pretty much defenseless. Santana’s family had a few extra bits and pieces around the cabin, but they weren’t nearly as impressive as the weapons from the SDC museum. Santana had managed to find a shotgun, which she had slung over her shoulder. Dylan had a crossbow and a sparse quiver of bolts. Meanwhile, Tatyana and Wade had knives from the kitchen, and Finch had a baseball bat. Levi and Raffe didn’t have any weapons—they were the weapons. Well, their djinn were. As for me, I didn’t have anything.
“Harley Quinn, I’m coming for your crown.” Finch chuckled to himself as he made a few practice swings.
“Harley, take this.” Santana passed me a switchblade.
At least it was a tool I was vaguely familiar with. I’d gotten out of several scrapes involving these things. Stick ‘em with the sharp end, right?
“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the Purge beast,” Krieger said. I’d noticed his reluctance to gear up and had sort of been expecting him to volunteer. “Someone will need to keep watch over Jacob and Alton also, and I suppose I’m meant to be the one with the most medical knowledge.”
This loss of Chaos thing had really hit Krieger hard, but he was doing his best with the tools he had. Namely, a fairly impressive first-aid kit, courtesy of the Catemacos.
Jacob shook his head and tried to get up. “I’m coming with you.”
“Sorry, Jacob, you’re going to have to sit this one out,” Wade replied, his tone soft.
I nodded. “You’re still recovering. If you go out there with us, you’ll get hurt.” He looked heartbroken but stayed silent. “You should stay here and keep an eye on our misty friend, make sure it doesn’t do anything it’s, uh, not supposed to.” I had no idea what would qualify as unusual behavior, but it was the only thing I could think of to say that might give him a sense of purpose.
“I would also like to volunteer to stay,” Levi chimed in unexpectedly. “I still have Zalaam at my disposal.” His face twisted up, letting us all know that the djinn didn’t take kindly to his phrasing. “I mean, I still have Zalaam working alongside me. While djinn aren’t normally versed in magic spells, nor do they possess Elemental abilities, they are still products of Chaos, as we know; they have stemmed from Erebus directly. For that reason, they can resist the attack of another creature forged of Chaos. Should the black mist become hostile, it will be useful to have a line of defense.”
“Pfft, and he calls himself the wise one,” Kadar muttered, Raffe’s skin flushing a pale shade of red. “Don’t you know anything about our history?”
Levi frowned. “I haven’t taken much time to speak with Zalaam about it, nor did I seek to learn much before he was… restrained. He always wanted to talk before then, but I figured out a number of ways to shut him out fairly early on. I suppose I was never comfortable with having a djinn.” His face twisted up again, a hint of red peeking through his skin.
“Well, if you had bothered to listen to him, and if you had accepted your union, you’d know that there were ancient djinn who used to perform crazy powerful magic and curses.” Kadar still had a big chip on his shoulder, that much was obvious.
“That is a thing of the past.” Zalaam’s voice boomed through, turning Levi a dark crimson. “These days, ordinary djinn—those who roam free of such parasitical unions as ours—lead much more secluded lives. Many are locked within the Bestiary, as it happens, and have been for many a year, despite the fact that we are so much more than generic Purge beasts. I suppose magicals rarely care to make the distinction.”
Looks like Papa Djinn has a chip too.
“So, Jacob, Levi, you’re going to stay here with Krieger and watch the black mist? And take care of Alton?” I glanced at them, realizing that Astrid hadn’t said anything at all. She was just staring at her father like she was urging herself to feel something. I could see the strain on her face.
“Astrid?” Garrett stepped in, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She jumped in surprise. “What? Sorry, I was miles away.”
“Are you staying here?” he asked.
She paused for a moment. “Yes… Yes, I think I should stay here and look after my father, help him recover.” She took Smartie out and swiped her fingertips across the screen. “I’ve got Smartie, so I can assist you all remotely with anything you need. He’s still linked to the covens, so I should be able to gather a bunch of intel and send it over to you. I’ve already got the number for Harley’s burner. If you text me everyone else’s numbers when you’ve got new phones, I’ll be able to communicate efficiently.”
I nodded. “Will do.”
“Wait, won’t Katherine be able to trace Smartie?” Tatyana peered at the device.
Astrid shook her head. “He’s untraceable. I made him that way.”
“Then the four of you will stay here to watch Misty and Alton.” I looked back out at the rippling fog, still baffled by the thing.
“Misty?” Finch chuckled. “A bit too sappy for something that could choke us all to death, don’t you think? It’s like calling a polar bear Marshmallow.”
I shrugged. “I like it. Subverting expectations.”
“Names are important,” Kadar cut in. “Misty is practical.”
“Okay, if everyone’s ready, then we need to talk logistics.” Wade jumped into business mode. “Our first destination should be neutral ground, and Kenzie is definitely our best option so far in terms of getting some temporary Chaos back. Thanks for that tip, Krieger, Finch.”
Finch gave a comical bow. “No problem, guv’nor.”
“I hope you can find the items you need,” Krieger replied.
“Yeah, she’s got burners and all kinds of not-so-legal stuff that we can hopefully use to move around. So, even if we don’t get any of those Hermetic Batteries, we’ll at least have a bit more freedom,” I added, looking at our motley crew. We didn’t exactly look formidable, but appearances could be deceiving. And I really, really hoped Kenzie did have some Hermetic Batteries, otherwise we’d still be screwed Chaos-wise.
“From there, we’ll have to assess our options.” O’Halloran came in as the military man. At least he looked the part. “As non-magicals, we’re not just locked out of the covens. We’re locked out of Waterfront Park and every other interdimensional bubble you can think of. The barriers have gone up, lads and lasses, and we’re going to have to get creative to move forward. A little military improv—nothing we can’t handle, I’m sure.”
“Like black ops?” Finch’s eyes widened like he was a little kid.
O’Halloran smiled. “If you like, aye.”
“I’m… I’m coming with you.”
All of us whipped around to see Alton gripping the side of the sofa and pushing himself up, his chest heaving as he struggled to stand.