53. The Mirage

{Uriel}

The shinigami had interrupted Uriel's intimate time with Naya. Yet again.

As they prepared to get on their way the next morning, Uriel did his best to not let his frustration with the demon show. He didn't want Naya to worry about him lashing out at Ritsu. He decided that he would deal with the monkey later.

For now, his focus was on Naya.

As the hours went by, Uriel found himself watching her from his mount. Every time he looked in her direction he imagined tangling his fingers in wild, coily hair and losing himself in the euphoria that came with kissing her generous mouth. Whenever they were alone, her body seemed so close, so easily accessible. And yet there was always something preventing them from taking it all the way. It was beyond maddening.

Uri's gaze dropped from Naya's profile to the bend in the fabric concealing her breasts. He brooded at the realization that he hadn't even touched her there yet. He was exploring her body at a frustratingly slow pace.

<Oh. You really want her, don't you?>

Uriel did his best to ignore his inner fire's taunts.

<How easily you gave into her the other night. All she has to do is pretend to walk away and you're already stripping down to nothing begging her to – >

Uri cut him off. I don't have any regrets about the other night. This may be an unfamiliar concept to you, but we don't always have to exhaust all the options each time we get a moment alone together.

<If you say so. If you were willing to consummate your bond with Naya in the near future, I have a suggestion.>

Uriel gave his suit of fire his full attention.

+++

{Naya}

"Mistress, I'm hungry."

Ritsu climbed onto my shoulders and began to tug on my hair to emphasize his point. I reached back, took hold of his wrist and hoisted him over my head and onto the saddle.

"Take the reins for a moment while I find you something to eat."

While Ritsu steered the camel, I turned and rummaged through the satchel that Zayn had packed with food. Relying on our fires for energy, Uri and I could go without eating, but Ritsu was a real monkey and needed calories in order to function.

After I made him a trail mix of assorted nuts, dates, and other dried fruit, I took the reins and let him eat his breakfast in my lap. While he was preoccupied, I set my sights on Uri, who was ahead of us by a few strides. The sun had barely been in the sky for an hour and it already felt like a furnace. Thankfully, we were outfitted in clothing and headgear that was supposed to make our journey through the desert bearable. The protective layers of fabric did not, however, allow for easy conversation. Whenever Uri and I spoke, our voices sounded muffled and muted behind our veils. And it was hard to read Uri's facial expressions when all I could see were his eyes. I needed to keep track of his mood while we were here, and so far he had remained silent as he led us from ahead.

"Naya," Uri called without turning his head.

I gathered the reins and dug my heel into the camel's side. It grunted and sidled up beside Uri's camel.

"What's up?"

His eyes met mine. Once again, no thanks to the veil covering most of his face, I couldn't tell if he was concerned or relaxed.

He said, "Remember how we talked about visiting an oasis resort?"

I chewed on my lip. "Yeah, but I thought that would put us at risk of getting caught by Janus."

The skin around Uri's eyes crinkled. "You're right. We would have to worry if we checked in at a human resort. We wouldn't have to fear going to an oasis operated by djinn."

I blinked. "Is there such a thing?"

Uri nodded. "They're hidden and oftentimes you have to be granted special access by the djinn that protect it, but they are definitely out there."

"Oh." I thought about this new information. "And you want to take a detour to a djinn-infested oasis resort because . . . ?"

Something changed in both Uri's eyes and his voice. "Because I want to spend at least one night with you alone. With no distractions, no precautions, and," he looked pointedly at Ritsu, "no interruptions."

Under the veil, my throat bobbed. Uri and Ritsu shared a brief, mutual glare before they retracted their gazes. I got the feeling that neither of them wanted the tension to escalate for the time being.

If I was being completely honest with myself, I wanted to spend a free night alone with Uri too. It was like every time we were together, there were strict rules limiting our physical contact. As if we were students dancing at the prom with no-nonsense chaperones monitoring our every move.

It was becoming a real pain in the ass.

"What do you say?" Uri prompted. "For the past half hour, I've been leading us to what I sense is territory belonging to a jann. They usually know where to find these oases. Are you comfortable with us talking to it, or not?"

Something gently pinched my waist. I looked down into Ritsu's round, glassy eyes.

"Mistress, please." He kept shaking his head from side to side. "What Uriel isn't telling you is that if we approach this jann with a request, it will require payment of some kind. We are not in a position to be indebted to the wild djinn in these parts."

I expected Uri to direct some sort of threat at the monkey, but he remained silent. I looked back and forth between the two, weighing common sense with selfish desires.

Uri reached for his veil and tugged it under his chin. The gesture eliminated all of the questions I had regarding what he was thinking. The answer was painfully written across his face.

He was begging me to say yes.

I turned to Ritsu. "Look, I understand your concerns, but I think all three of us need a break. We'll get to the resort and spend a little time apart relaxing and recharging our batteries. If the jann asks for something unreasonable in exchange for a ticket, we can always turn him down. Okay?"

Ritsu left my lap and relocated to a spot on the camel's rump. He kept his back to me, his arms crossed, and his tail wound tightly around his midsection.

"Ritsu," I sighed, "please don't be that way. Come back."

He ignored me. It felt worse than when the reverend used to show his disappointment in me.

Uri's hand folded around mine. While readjusting the fabric over his face, he whispered, "Don't pay him any mind. He'll get over it."

***

Ritsu was right. It was as if the jann knew someone was on their way to make a request. Not long after we made our decision, a patch of green suddenly materialized about a mile away.

"A beacon," Uri confirmed. The three of us grew ever more cautious as we approached the mirage of palm trees and cool waters. The wind picked up as we closed the distance. I remembered Uri telling me that the jann were shape-shifters that often took on the form of whirlwinds and sandstorms.

I looked behind me to see that Ritsu was no longer sitting on the camel's rump. He had retreated into the wicker basket that carried our hookah pipe. I could tell because his black tail was sticking out.

An enthusiastic voice boomed between my eardrums.

Weary customers! Welcome!

I sensed an underlayer of suspicion in the greeting. The jann didn't recognize us, but he didn't want to pass up the chance to sell his product.

The sand around us picked up in a fast, spiraling pattern. I called on my fire in case we needed to defend ourselves, but Uri remained calm and urged his camel forward.

"Jann, show us the way to your true oasis."

I gasped at the sight of a creature materializing in the dust cloud above us. It had paws like a lion, followed by a hooked beak and an owl-like face. A smaller, third eye dotted the middle of its forehead. Its avian face was framed by two layers of pleated frills. Tusks snaked out on either side of its beak. Its lion-like ears were adorned with gold rings.

Only the head and arms were visible, as if the jann was trying to peek over the cloud.

The djinni stretched its head in our direction and blinked all three of his predatory eyes.

My land. My rules. What would an ifrit do for a sweet dip in the pool?

Uri pulled down his veil. "What do you need?"

The jann made a noise crossed between a chirp and a purr. It rolled onto its back and pawed the air. If I wasn't so close to peeing on my camel out of sheer nervousness, I would have thought it was cute.

A generous ifrit! What luck. It's been so long since someone was so willing to grant me a favor.

Uri growled, "We don't have all day, jann. Tell us what you want quickly or we'll find a different oasis."

The jann returned to its original position and grumbled. Ifrits. So testy and demanding. Always thinking they know best. The jann's third eye swiveled in my direction. Djinniyah, how do you put up with him?

Uri's eyes flashed red. He steered his camel in front of me, hardly blocking me from the jann's huge, inquisitive eyes.

"You don't talk to her!"

Some kind of recognition passed over the jann's foreign face. He backed up until his chin was hidden behind the dust cloud. He must have caught a glimpse of Uri's aura.

Go on and find one of my cousins to harass. I've changed my mind. Your aura is not welcome at my resort. Too risky. Djinn come here to bathe, not to brawl. Be gone, ruby ifrit!

My hand shot out. "Wait!"

The jann had all but disappeared behind the cloud. Only its third eye was visible, peering down at me in uncertainty.

I slipped off of my camel and walked up to the jann.

"Please don't leave. My friend is just really exhausted from the heat. He won't be bad for your business, I promise."

The jann peaked his bird-like face over the cloud and shook his frilled mane.

Blue means wisdom and yet you speak such nonsense. What are the djinn becoming these days?

"Look, it's impossible for him to cause anyone harm because he's trying to become a human. Take a closer look and you'll see that he may be an ifrit deep down, but his form is mostly human. He's harmless."

It wasn't a total lie. Uri's powers were significantly reduced as long as he maintained a human vessel. But even when using a limited amount of magic, he could cause some serious damage. Hopefully, Uri would play along and refrain from doing anything that could blow our cover.

Even though my voice was shaking, the jann seemed to buy it. He reemerged from the wall of dust and sand.

My apologies. Let me tell you what needs to be done so we can get you checked in straight away. I have a little cave not far from here that I like to rent out to nomadic hinn clans. They're often too poor to pay their way into the oasis.

By now, I had gotten back onto my camel. I maintained eye contact with the jann, doing my best to avoid Uri's disapproving glare.

A little while ago a demented ghoul found the cave and has made a home of it. I can't very well rent out a cave to a tribe of hinn with a ghoul fouling up the place, now can I? Well, actually, I have tried, but the hinn catch on and then refuse to pay. So that leaves me with no other option except to kill the ghoul or lose profits.

I took a deep breath. "Tell us where we can find the cave."