Page 15 (1/2)

Binding the two of theether

Kevin took a step closer Then another one

"Kevin, don’t touch him!" I yelled "You can’t--he’ll kill you!" Because at his core, Kevin was still hu here

Kevin stopped inches away The fire was now blazing so hot around the diaainst the hot stone floor, every breath I gasped in was torturous and searing

And then, with a treht that seemed to char the entire world, Kevin collapsed He did it in stages: knees went first, then he folded backward and caught himself with one outstretched arm The arm failed, and he hit the floor, faceup

The heat in the room suddenly dialed itself down Way down, until it felt icy That probably only meant that it was down to survivable teh to make me sob I felt David shiver froet up he said, "No, don’t move" His voice was hoarse "Stay down This isn’t yours to do Trustabout He stood up, swaying on his feet, his face a dirty, pale color that didn’t look at all right

"David!" I started to get up to join him, but he didn’t pause

He walked into the center of the roo white-hot ball, and before I could stop hied into the fire

Chapter Six

I screamed I couldn’t help it--the shock and enor

I saw the man I loved most in the world burn

It took place in a ainst my retinas, but there it was, frozen in horrible detail

His skin flaring into black and red lace as it burned away

Hiswhite bone beneath

A single X-ray flash of his entire skeleton co flesh

A faint drift of ash falling to the floor

Gone

No

That was ments too small to notice Too small to matter

Like all of us

Like hu screa on the steps of the chapel in Sedona with the life leaving her eyes I sawin the way of a burst of power from my hand Destroyed Murdered, by me

I saw all the lives, the thousands and ht now, like sparks drowning in darkness

No more No more No , only now it had turned to words "What did you do? What did you do?"

The Oracle floated there, wrapped in a ball of blinding white fire, as uncaring as the sun

My screae, and I stu under the pressure of the fury that was boiling out of ed for the Oracle He could da son of a--

David , solid arms before I could finish my suicidal dash Not the same David who’d just disappeared in that horrible flash

This David was different, and achingly fa A littlein his eyes

This was the Djinn David

"Easy," he said, and his voice was the saainst him, ith relief, breathless "Easy, Jo I’m here"

I couldn’t speak All I could do was shake and hold on His fingers coles relax, felttide

His way of showing his love and concern for me It always had been

"Jo? Were you about to throw yourself into the Oracle after h it off, because his tone seemed so baffled and concerned

"Of course not," I said "It was getting cold out here Needed to warm up"

"Sorry," he said, and kissed me, and that was the same warm depth of emotion and love and promise as always "I had to move fast, once I realized what he’d done"

"The Oracle?" I looked over his shoulder at the silent, glowing orb

"He separated out the powers from Kevin and contained the in a bottle If I didn’t take it back right away, it would have been too late"

"So you decided to commit suicide, on the off chance it would all work out Nice Thanks for givingto sound unconcerned It wasn’t working, not at all

There was an edge to ainst ht ineither way," he told me "I never would have left this place alive as a huth It was the only chance I had"

"Did it--" I couldn’t ask that question, not directly "Did you feel it?"

David’s face shut down, but his eyes re, focused on hter

"We always feel death," he said "It’s that memory that makes us different from the Old Djinn We remember what it feels like to lose ourselves to the dark"

The Oracle pulsed light, just once, and David turned back to it As Kevin had done, David had silent communion with the power that lived in this place Unlike Kevin, it took a long time, and at the end of it, David didn’t fall down He just took a step back, looking thoughtful Was that a frown? Yes, I was pretty sure he was frowning He was staring down at the ground, so I couldn’t be sure One thing I was sure of, the place was heating up again, teree every few seconds In no tiain

"Uh, honey?" I finally said "What about me? My powers?"

He looked up and shook his head "Not from him He could take them out of Cherise and hold them for a few moments, but he can’t put them into your human body You’d have to be reborn as a Djinn, and those powers are designed for a human form, not one like mine

It wouldn’t work You’d never survive I’m not sure Cherise would, either"

My day just kept beco to do?"