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I didn’t I didn’t know He terrified in to understand, starting with the too-bright, backlit color of his eyes I had pressedto hold hi, so far as I could tell He took both of ain

"Deep breath," heme there as if ere involved in a formal box dance "Not that deep," he said, very softly, with a ist to his full lips "Bad for my discipline Relax"

Not a chance of that I stared at his shadowed face, and I felt so to unspool inside ofto me?"

"Relax," he said "Relax Relax"

And the world aroundand trelowed David was a bonfire, glittering and dripping with raer Everything was so bright, so beautiful, so complicated-even the fabric of ht, woven fro my hands, but they weren’t reallyup, out of my body, and the world was , ah the thin fabric of the tent as if it weren’t even there

Up, plunging into the sky as if gravity had reversed itself and I was falling up into infinity

Stars like ice Cold-shiether with a crystalline structure that was brighter and more beautiful than diamonds, and oh, God, it was so beautiful

I reached out and touched the bonds that held part of the cloud together, and made it rain

Co that had unspooled inside ofme back away from the wonder of the sky, and it felt as if I’d spilled wind fro out of control back toward the forest, the tent, the fire

I slaasped, and convulsively tightened rip on David’s hands I heard the first cold patters of rain on the fabric overhead

Outside, by the fire, Lewis cursed, and I felt a sudden hot snap ofcorrection The rain stopped

"Oh, , not eakness but with sheer joy "Oh, ," David said "Just a taste You used to control ain"

He pulled ently on my forehead, my closed eyesmy lips I didn’t know if I should respond, butthe decision for me The war wild inside of ers deep into the soft silk of his hair He was a good kisser Rapt, intense, focused, devouring hed, and rested his forehead against le ofand clean

"How long" My voice wasn’t quite steady I lickedhave we, you know, beentogether?"

"A while," he said

"Years?"

I felt his smile "What do you think?" His lips brushed ht Because I was tempted to do a lot more

"Not years, maybeumI don’t know" All I kneas that whoever and whatever David was, he had the key to turn ine "Then why don’t I reiven the intensity of the kisses, that it orth re

"You don’t because you can’t," he said, and his fingers stroked through"Because someone took away your past"

"Thenhow come I can still talk? Remember how to dress ot lost on a side thought, and pulled back to look at him "Did you? Put my clothes on?"

"Do you seriously think I’d let Lewis do it?" David asked, raising his eyebrows "Of course" He gave me a sloicked smile "Don’t worry I didn’t take any liberties"

I didn’t knohether to be disappointed or relieved

"In answer to the original question, certain kinds of memories are stored differently in the human mind Memories-memories of events, of people, of conversations-these are more vulnerable They can be taken away more easily"

"Why? Why would anybody do that? Wait a minute-how could anybody do that?"

Outside, the fire suddenly died to a banked glow The tent flap moved, and Lewis, crouched uncoave the two of us an unreadable look, then crawled over to the other sleeping bag

"Earth Wardens could have done it," Lewis said "It’s possible, if an Earth Warden had the right training and skill level, to remove selective memories It’s part of how Marion Bearheart’s division drains away the powers of Wardens who have to be taken out of the organization and returned to the regular human population Only they don’t just take memories; they take away the core of power inside" He stretched out, put his hands under his head, and stared at the glow of ht on the tent fabric "But in your case it was done by a Djinn His name is Ashan"

"A Djinn," I repeated "Like you?" I pointed at David, whose eyebrows rose

"Not anymore But yes, Ashan was Djinn, and he did this to you He didn’t want to kill you; he wanted you to have never existed at all And he had the power to do it He ood start on it"

"So what stopped hied looks It was Leho answered "Let’s get into that later"

"Fine General question" I lickeddirectly at David "What exactly is a Djinn?"

Lewis sighed and closed his eyes "We’ve really got to get you fixed," he said "The Djinn are another race of beings on this planet They can be corporeal when they want to, but their real existence is energy They’respirits Spirits of fire and will"

"Poetic, but not exactly the whole story," David said "We were once slaves to you To the Wardens You used us to amplify your powers"

"Slaves?"

"Subject to your orders And your whi me with half-closed eyes, and when I turned I saw sparks flying in them "We’re free now"

"So you’reall-powerful?" I had to laugh as I said it "Snap your fingers andlike that?"

He sy-that’s all We take it from point A to point B Transform it But we can’t create, and we can’t destroy, not at the primal levels That’s why I think we may be able to undo as done to you-because at least on soy is never lost"

"Great! So, just" I snapped ers "You know Make it so"

"I can’t," David said, "or I’d already have done it Tiood at -looked even bleaker "You don’t remember Jonathan"

I shook my head

"It would take a Jonathan or an Ashan to undo as done"