29. Moving On

{Uriel}

Uriel and Ritsu watched Zayn console Naya from atop one of the indoor balconies. She lay on a divan with her head in the magus's lap, and although her sobs were silent, the weight of her emotions could be felt even as far as where Uriel stood. Stroking her head and humming nomadic lullabies, Zayn easily assumed the role of the comforting sage.

"I take it dinner didn't go so well." Ritsu said. Something in his voice made Uriel suspect that the demon was far more concerned for Naya than he let on.

Before speaking, Uriel thought back to the argument between Naya and the reverend, as well as the physical abuse that followed. The memory caused his inner fire to pulse against his ribs like fresh lava against the walls of a volcano.

"Had that man not been Naya's father . . ." He didn't need to say the rest for Ritsu to get the idea. The monkey turned away from the edge of the balcony and scratched his butt.

"So where do we go from here?"

Without taking his eyes off of Naya, Uriel said, "Zayn will be able to take care of Sinbad. Naya said that Portia is going back to Atlanta tomorrow morning. We'll be joining her. As far as the bonding problem goes, Zayn gave me some powerful repellent. It's supposed to disguise our location from even the most acute instruments. All I have to do is put them up around the city in the same locations where I drew the wards."

Ritsu crossed his arms. "You make sure to do that the moment we get home."

Uriel rolled his eyes. "Of course."

+++

{Duffy}

"Where the hell are they?!!"

A glass shattered against the wall of the kitchenette.

Duffy closed his eyes and inwardly groaned. His so-called vacation had become a nightmare within a nightmare. For two days he had been forced to stay in this suffocating hotel suite with an impossible boss and his ghoulish demon pet.

Please, if there is a God . . .

The weekend was almost over and there was still no sign of a djinni or shinigami or whatever the hell else Sabur swore he smelled in that apartment. The unsolved mystery was driving Janus literally up the walls.

Duffy had done everything in his power to keep them occupied until the damn djinni showed up, but after Janus had maxed all his credit cards on shopping and spa treatments, he began to take his frustration out on Duffy.

After the second glass broke against the wall, Duffy decided that he couldn't take it any longer. He got up from the desk in his room, rushed into the shared space and roared, "That's it! We are going home."

Janus stood half-dressed in boxers and an unbuttoned shirt. Judging by the red color in his cheeks and light trail of perspiration on his forehead, he was a little more than tipsy. Along the counter were tumblers filled with bourbon. It appeared that every time Janus finished a glass, he would chuck it at the wall.

Duffy looked in the corner to see Sabur nursing the bottle with a murderous look in his soulless eyes. The sight of the ifrit consuming alcohol made Duffy lower his voice and walk up to his boss. He took him by the arm as gently as he could and guided him out of earshot of the demon.

"What in the actual fuck are you giving him bourbon for?" Duffy spat through gritted teeth.

Janus hiccuped. "Oh Sabur? Don't worry, he's just holding it for me. And relaaax, Gordon. We're on vacation!"

As soon as Duffy heard his first name, he knew he had to take action before Janus got any worse. He walked him to the couch and sat him down. Then he removed the tumbler from the sorcerer's hand and said, "We need to go home, Janus. You've been after this rogue djinni for weeks and look what it's doing to you. It's not worth it. Besides," He made sure to make eye contact with Janus, "did you forget what happens when Sabur gets alcohol in his system? We established a long time ago that we were not going to go down that road again."

Janus was already crying. "I don't want to go home." He bent forward, wedged his head between his knees, and heaved twice before releasing everything onto the carpet.

Duffy suppressed a gag while he got up to find something to clean it. Janus seized his wrist in a desperate grip. "Wait, Gordon. Please."

"Janus! Let go of me – it's coming out of your nose for Christ's sake!"

But his boss did not let go. "Please. One more day. Can we stay one more day? If the djinni-made is not back in his apartment by five tomorrow, I promise that I will walk away from everything. I'll abandon this whole expedition and move on."

Duffy nodded. At that moment, he didn't care whether they stayed another night in Atlanta or not. He just wanted Janus to let go of him.

"Get yourself cleaned up." He wrenched his arm away. "And get control of that ifrit before someone in this hotel gets hurt."