Magical Redemption Read online

  “I’m not ready to tell you my name. I’m sorry.” Jinx searched for more words to explain but fell silent.

  Lucian gaze grew hard as he released her hand. “Okay, forget I asked.”

  “Lucian–”

  “We should get some sleep. With fresh minds, we’ll figure out what the last wish should be.”

  Jinx winced. She hated to remember of how fleeting the genie-master relationship was.

  “All right,” she agreed, brushing a strange pointy-headed, green grasshopper off her shoulder with a quick jerk and flick. “I’ll create a magic shield around us, so we can’t be found by humans; however, if anyone one comes with a magical ion-sensing device we’ll be screwed.”

  “It’s unlikely,” Lucian said. He pulled some blankets for himself and curled up on them. Jinx rolled to her side and watched him. It was incredibly humid. The rain had finished, but the heat remained. Sweat glistened on his smooth cheeks. He removed his shirt with a huff. The tang of stale sweat swirled in the thick air around them.

  His sweat even smells good, she thought reluctantly.

  Without glancing at her, Lucian bunched the shirt to use as a pillow. A roaring heat rushed into Jinx’s cheeks as she admired the movement of his sculpted muscles. She found her spit stuck in her throat and coughed.

  “Yes?” he asked, rolling and turning to face her. His eyes were calm, but in their light brown depths, something flickered red. She recognized it as a flash of arousal. Jinx’s heart hammered. She licked her lips, her mind straying back to the kiss. Her body craved him to do it, again–but it was meant to. The incubi were intoxicating, addictive, and Lucian was no different. She said nothing.

  Yet, there was something incredibly intimate about lying face-to-face with a semi-clad and devilishly handsome man that no amount of trauma could erase. At this intimate distance, Jinx could examine him minutely. His eyes were marred by dark rings. He needed sleep. A slight amount of stubble covered his chin.

  She realized that being unable to use magic freely, she was neglecting her master. With a gentle, caressing arm of smoke, she charmed the stubble away and cleansed the grime and sweat from him. The spell was gentle, her smoke caressing and cleansing. As the last of her smoke dissipated from him, she used the same process on herself. She clothed herself in a new shirt and pants with Lucian looking on through unreadable eyes. Jinx expected a ‘thank you’ or something, but as usual, he said nothing. The silence stung.

  “Sleep well,” she said finally, though she thought sleep would be impossible. She felt his heat radiating through the small space between them. It made her body flip, twist, and yearn.

  Lucian again said nothing and rolled away from her. Using the last vestiges of her energy, Jinx flicked the grasshopper away, again. Why won’t it go away?

  Finally, she conjured a protective sphere around them and stared up at the concrete ceiling. Her mind was fractious, jumping from painful thoughts to distressing ones. She remembered her father, her mother, and the faces of every master she encountered since she became a genie. With a horrible lurching of her stomach, she thought about the bomoh. She really didn’t want a new master. Despite her best judgment, she liked Lucian much more than she ever dared admit. With this tormenting thought, Jinx finally fell fast asleep and dreamed.

  * * * *

  Jinx opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed she couldn’t remember entering. Her pulse was racing, and someone was moving nearby. Pushing herself up from the decadent softness of the bed, she saw him. Lucian stood beside the bed, clad in only a low-slung pair of black briefs. His muscles were tense, rippling down a taut, sexy stomach. His arms were raised, and his hands gripped the back of his neck. His hair was tussled and damp. He gazed at her with a look of unbridled hunger. His eyes, partly shadowed by his furrowed brow, flashed red. Jinx felt reciprocal lust flare in her body. She chewed her lip nervously.

  “Wake up, Jinx,” he said. “You’d better wake up, now.”

  She found herself irresistibly drawn to him and within an instant was standing before him. She could no more refuse to go to him than she could refuse to breathe. She ran a cool finger down between the cleft of pectoral muscles, following the line down his stomach. It clenched and spasmed underneath her touch. His breath came out in a short gasp.

  “I don’t want to wake up,” she murmured. She trailed her fingers down the glossy, brown hair into his briefs. “This is a good dream. I don’t get many of those.”

  Lucian captured her hand as quickly as lightning. “Wake up,” he growled.

  His touch was electric and sent a frisson of sparks rioting through her body.

  “Nope, I’m definitely not doing that.” She pulled his hand up and brought it to her mouth then kissed his white knuckles. “Better?” she murmured, inhaling the aroma of his skin. His breathing increased. She wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled herself into him, pressing her face into his chest. He buried his face in her hair and moaned. His heart was screaming beneath the lean planes of his chest. He groaned.

  “You’re not safe,” he groaned, “Wake up. Please, wake up.”

  Jinx lifted her head from his warm, smooth chest, “Why aren’t I safe?” she murmured, nuzzling the nipple that lay close to her mouth. Lucian groaned, again. “What can get me in a dream?” she asked. She watched his nipple pucker and reveled in his sharp intake of breath.

  “I can,” he growled before kissing her with overwhelming ferocity. Jinx felt the need screaming through his body. Her body arched in response. He tore at the flimsy nightgown she wore, and the sheer pink garment fluttered to the floor like an injured butterfly. Her loins turned to liquid. Lucian tore his lips away from her, his fiery gaze devouring her nakedness. His chest rose and fell as his hunger mounted. She saw his body strain beneath the black briefs. “For the love of God, wake up. I can’t hold on much longer,” he groaned and fell on her, again. His mouth was brutal against hers. Both sweet and possessive at the same time, he gripped her hips and dragged her closer to him. He ground his hardness into the softness of her lower belly and began slowly working her back to the bed.

  Jinx felt the edge of the bed behind her knees as anticipation trilled through her. She knew she should wake up from this dream and tell him to stop, but heavens, she didn’t want to. The air whooshed from her lungs as she found herself thrown onto the plush softness of the bed. Lucian loomed above her, his eyes wild with promise.

  Something pinched her neck. She flinched, distracted. “Ouch.”

  Lucian didn’t seem to notice. He swiftly knelt on the bed and straddled her, his eyes hooded and dangerously red.

  The pinch happened, again. She reached to her neck. When she looked at her hand, it was covered in blood. “What the hell?” She jerked up into a sitting position and pushed Lucian away. Jinx twisted and stared at the bed. Next to the pillow sat the large, green grasshopper. Its pointed head dripped blood.

  “What the hell is it?” she shrieked and instantly woke.

  * * * *

  Jinx lurched into wakefulness, clutching her bleeding neck. Lucian wasn’t far behind her. He woke up with a major erection battling against his trousers.

  “What is that?” she exclaimed, her gaze finding the bug once again.

  “The erection or the bug?” Lucian groaned and rubbed his eyes before looking at the weird, green grasshopper.

  “The bug. It bit me.”

  Still enclosed in Jinx’s protective smoke sphere, the grasshopper sat where she laid. It stared balefully with strange, orange-red eyes. Carefully, Lucian picked it up with a finger on either side of its body. It was large for a grasshopper, close to five centimeters in length. Its head was sharply pointed, and a droplet of blood still hung from its spiky proboscis. It wriggled its legs in protest.

  “Squish it,” Jinx squeaked. “Kill it!”

  He smiled and rai
sed the creature to eye-level, examining it carefully. Jinx wriggled away from him. The grasshopper gave a loud tick-tick sound. Lucian raised his eyebrows.

  “It’s not a bug,” he murmured.

  “No, it’s a nasty, biting grasshopper,” Jinx growled, clutching her neck. “Squish it!”

  “It’s not just a grasshopper.” He turned it around. It tick-ticked even louder in protest.

  “Then, what the hell is it?” She took a calming breath and healed her punctured neck with a swathe of smoke.

  “It’s my pelesit―my spirit guide―and I’d appreciate you putting her down.”

  Jinx froze. Lucian raised his head to stare through the shimmering haze of her shield at the bomoh. He stood resplendent in his orange shroud, apparently alone.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Jinx cried but did not move the shield. “How did you find us?” She paused. “How the hell can you even see us?”

  Her shield was meant to be invisible. Clearly, it was not—at least not to the toad-faced bomoh.

  “My pelesit has been following you for me.” As he smiled, his gross, pink tongue slimed its way across his swollen, grayish lips. “She has found you and bitten you and now will never leave you.”

  “What?” Jinx gasped. “Lucian, kill it!”

  Lucian looked thunderous. He squeezed the grasshopper between his thumb and forefinger. Aside from an angry ticking, the pelesit didn’t squish.

  “You cannot kill her,” the bomoh said smoothly. “Demon spawn,” he said, inclining his head toward Lucian, “how badly do you want to be free of this pledge?”

  Lucian stiffened.

  “I really want that genie, and I’m not the only one who does.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucian’s voice was tight. He gestured impatiently for Jinx to remove the shield. She did so with a reluctant wave of her hand.

  The bomoh’s eyes lit up. He took a step closer, the momentum ruffling his orange shroud. Jinx felt her skin crawl with disgust.

  “The Family. The Family wants her nearly as much as I. They were most eager to make a deal with me–”

  “What deal?” Lucian’s tone was weak. Jinx could discern a hint of resignation in it.

  “Ah, well. Your Pater Rex asked if I could get you out of Kuala Lumpur–which I must say has been my plan all along. The Family is most anxious to return you to its bosom.” He chortled. “You’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you?”

  Lucian was silent, grim lines etching his face. “What about Jinx? Will you give her to them?”

  “Jinx, Jinx, Jinx. Pretty but prickly little Jinx.” The bomoh cupped his genitals protectively in his hands. His small eyes glistened hard. “She will be mine.”

  “You said the Family wants her just as much as you,” Lucian said.

  “So they do.”

  “What will you do with her after the wishes? Will you give her to your government or the Family?” Lucian asked.

  Jinx rolled her eyes. Like it matters! She slid her gaze over to the bomoh, who considered his answer for a long while. He cocked his fat head to one side thoughtfully.

  “The decision will be mine and only mine. Don’t worry your head about it. You have far more pressing matters to deal with.”

  There was a clattering in the stairwell. Agitated Malay voices echoed through the building.

  “I suggest you get out of Kuala Lumpur,” the bomoh said. “Don’t worry. I’ll know where to find you. My pelesit will follow the genie everywhere she goes.”

  Black-bereted government personnel erupted from the stairwell.

  “They’re over here,” the bomoh called over the cacophony made by the heavy boots on the stark concrete. He turned to face Jinx and Lucian and rested a massive hand on one hip. “Well? I suggest you run.”

  Chapter Eight

  Jinx and Lucian glanced at each other as he flung the pelesit away.

  Using a shield of rainbow smoke, Jinx obscured them from view and halted the government men’s progress. “Where to?” she asked, hating the unsteady tremble in her voice.

  “I don’t know,” Lucian replied. “I―”

  “The Free Zone?” Jinx interrupted, flicking the returning pelesit off her leg with an ill-suppressed shudder.

  Lucian rolled the tension from his shoulders. His expression was torn.

  “They’re going to chase us out of KL eventually,” Jinx said softly.

  “I know, but–”

  “The Family will find you in the Free Zone, I know,” she finished for him. “What choice do we have?”

  “Very little,” the bomoh boomed. His candy-floss-scented magic swept unceremoniously around Jinx’s shield of smoke. The shimmering of his magic twisted and swirled around her shield as the combat men’s random magical-ion testing devices screamed with a panicked intensity.

  “Where?” Jinx cried. The bomoh’s magic was insidious, weakening her shield as they dithered and delayed.

  “Fuck, I don’t know. Anywhere. We just need to get out of here,” he growled.

  A spike of alarm shot through Jinx. Her instinctual response to his need was immediate. Her magic whisked them away in a maelstrom of rainbow smoke.

  They landed heavily on moist ground with a thud. The darkness had fallen swiftly away from the bright lights of Kuala Lumpur. Jinx created an orb of smoky light to help them see.

  Lucian was on his feet instantly, gazing around at their surroundings. He looked relieved as a slightly bemused look settled on his face.

  “Well, this could definitely be anywhere,” he said. The hum of insects roared like chainsaws through the thick, tropical Sarawak Forest surrounding them.

  “The genie curse works with or without my decision,” Jinx replied. She stood up and wiped damp dead leaves off her rear. “If you truly need something as my master, the genie curse will grant it. It’s only when you want something you need to use a wish, and you needed to get out of there–so voilà!” She gestured to the isolated patch of forest.

  Lucian caught her gaze for a breathless minute. “He’s not having you,” he said softly.

  The world was silent for a moment. Jinx closed her eyes and inhaled a lungful of thick, rainforest air. With a heavy heart, she released the breath and opened her eyes, only to find Lucian still staring at her. “It doesn’t matter. Him or someone else; I’m not yours to keep. You’re just going to make it harder by saying things like that.” She dropped her gaze to the leaf-covered ground and the large, green pelesit sitting there.

  Lucian didn’t say anything as he let his gaze drift. He was an incredibly difficult man to gauge.

  “Tell me about your pledge,” Jinx said. “We’ve got a few hours at best before someone comes searching for us, so let’s make good use of it.”

  “How is talking about my pledge making good use of time?” Lucian’s tone suddenly dripped with displeasure. All manifestations of uncertainty fled.

  “We need a plan, and I can’t be free. You still have a chance. You have only one wish left. Maybe if I knew more about the pledge, I could help free you of it. As it stands, I can’t move it, but maybe that’s because I don’t know anything about it. Enlighten me, and perhaps, I can be of more assistance.”

  In the dull light of her magical orb, she saw his gaze was guarded. “Do you really think you can help?” he asked.

  “Given time, of course I can. I am a genie.” She shrugged carefully.

  “Okay.” Lucian heaved a sigh. “First, we need to decide where we’re going to go next. That pelesit is a tracking device leading straight to you and subsequently me. Away from the magical ion-sensing devices of Kuala Lumpur, there is nothing at all to stop the Family from sending a pack of chupacabras to get me.”

  Jinx nodded. “Where do you think would be the next safest place?”

  Lu
cian shrugged, and again, the uncharacteristic uncertainty in the gesture caused a trickle of fear to slip down her spine. “I’ve spent most of my life in London and Prague. I know a few people in the Kuching Free Zone who we could use as a last resort, but other than that–” He faded off.

  “Oh,” she exclaimed. “I’ve got it. I know a place. It’s back in Western Australia. I used to go there when I was younger. Some of my friends and I used to do magic there, away from our families. It’s steeped in old magic, and it would be very hard to be traced there. It will give us ample time to work on your pledge.”

  Lucian’s face brightened, but his gaze flickered nervously to the pelesit. “Shhh.”

  He brought a warm finger to her lips. Jinx absurdly fought the urge to lick it. “Don’t say it aloud. That damn pelesit will relay everything to the bomoh.”

  Jinx nodded, then as an afterthought conjured a glass jar and dropped the ticking, struggling pelesit into it. “There, like that? Nasty bug,” she hissed and unceremoniously dropped the jar onto the sodden ground. “Now let’s get more comfortable.” She set about creating some comforts.

  Within ten minutes, they were sitting in a tent, lounging on soft, squelching beanbags and eating Lebanese food. Once again, away from immediate threat, Lucian was charming. Jinx loathed bringing up the subject of his pledge again, but knew she must.

  “So,” she said, refilling his bowl with more rice and curry. “While you eat, tell me about the pledge and what exactly the Family is punishing you for.”

  Lucian’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. The food caught there. He coughed and raised his hand to his mouth. “Uh.”

  “Okay, I’ll start with an easy question. Why did you pledge yourself to the Magical Mafia?”