Kat gaped at him a long moment. “Cool.” That was all she could think of to say in response.

“As for the Mysticals, I have the Empress of the Mysticals in my care. In fact, Leo and his Night Angel helped to rescue her from her captives.”

“You mean the winged horse?” Leo said, gaping at him. “She was an Empress?”

“Yes. Is. It is taking her some time to recover from the poison they were giving her … the eggs. Mysticals cannot eat eggs. It freezes them into either their mystical form or their human form, depending on what state they are in at the time. The Tsar of the Phoenixes will also want to know about this. I recommend we all inform these Nightwalkers of the curse and then, perhaps, we can figure out a way among us to lift it. And if their prophecy is correct, a great evil is upon us and we will need to be in tandem in order to fight it off.”

“Even the Wraiths?” Jackson asked dubiously. Wraiths were pure evil in his book.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Grey said.

“Do you think it’s Apep? The great evil?” Docia asked.

“Perhaps. The thing about prophecy is it is often unclear how to interpret it until after it is too late … or has run its course.”

“Agreed,” Kamen said. “It would seem I would best serve this action by researching the magics and prophecies.”

“There we are again,” Ahnvil said harshly. “With you trying tae get at our knowledge stores. You’re pushing pretty damn hard for it, are you no’?”

“It’s what I’m best at. If you don’t want me to do my spellwork, then what good am I to you?”

“None at all,” Ahnvil said with dark punctuation.

Kamen turned to lift a questioning brow at Jackson.

“Very well,” Jackson relented. “You could hardly do any more harm than Apep can.”

“I’ve told you,” Kamen said quietly. “I brought this evil onto this earth and I will not rest until I have eradicated it. I know my duty here. I also know you have little reason to trust me.” He looked pointedly at Ahnvil. “But it has been a long time since you were in my care. Things have changed.”

“Your care? Your bloody care?”

Kat leapt up and put herself in between Ahnvil and Kamenwati, probably the only reason why Ahnvil’s hands were not presently around Kamen’s throat.

“You. Come with me,” she commanded, grabbing up his hand. “All of you,” she pointed to the room. “Talk among yourselves and figure this out.”

She then pulled Ahnvil out of the room and headed for the stairs. When she had him in his rooms at last, she shut the door hard behind them. Then, hands on her hips, she frowned at him.

“Look, I get that he pisses you off. I get that you hate him. You have every reason to. But you have to see the bigger picture here.”

“No, I doona! I—”

“Hush! I’m talking! You will listen to me or … or … or there will not be a spectacular blowjob in your future. Got it?”

Oh, he obviously got it all right. His jaw dropped nearly to the ground for several beats, and then his eyes darkened with what could only be described as pure, blistering desire.

“Spectacular?” he repeated, moving slowly in her direction.

“Out-freakin’-standing,” she promised with a lift of her chin. “But only if you stop being such a thickheaded pain in the butt. I just found out I’m a Nightwalker, like, ten minutes ago. And then I found out I can learn how to turn to smoke! Do you have any idea what that feels like? It’s really fricken scary, that’s what it feels like! So instead of being all mad and grumpy and stuff, can you please please please help me out here?”

Ahnvil had been standing there, fists clenched, body ramrod straight, but at the sound of the pleading and desperation in her voice he sighed and relaxed, his hands falling open.

“Of course I can. But I have tae tell you, I doona trust Grey all that much either. I always feel like he knows more than he’s letting on. I dinna like the way he was looking at you.”

“Well, be that as it may, I need him. I need him or SingSing or somebody to teach me how to be … to be a Djynn. God, I hear myself say it and I can’t even believe it. To be honest I’m starting to think I’m back at home in my little bed having, like, the coolest dream ever.”

“I’d much rather have you here,” he said, his voice rich and low. “In my bed.”

The remark made her eyes widen a little, but then she felt herself smiling slowly. Naughtily. “Oh, really?” she asked.

“Yes, really.”

She moved forward, her body falling against the intense warmth of his as her eyes drew up slowly to meet his amber ones. “I wonder … How would you like to make love to a Djynn?”

He chuckled at that. “That’s a bit like asking me if I want that spectacular blowjob. ’Tis what I would call a no-brainer.”

“I would call it that, too,” she said, her eyes lighting with merry mischief. “So which will it be? Door number one”—she reached to run drifting fingertips up the length of his fly—“Or door number two?” She reached next for his hand and drew it up over her belly, over her ribs, and then settled the weight of her breast in his palm.

“Christ,” he muttered, the light in his eyes nothing short of virulent fire. “Do I have tae choose? Why canna I have both?”

“So greedy,” she said with an exaggerated pout. Then she smiled. “Okay, you talked me into it.” She reached for his belt buckle, her fingers nimble as she unhitched the two sides of it. The hand on her breast tightened briefly, as if he couldn’t help himself, but then he turned his knuckles to her and ran them up the length of her breastbone. He traveled up her throat as she pulled his belt free and was touching gentle fingers to her lips as she reached to unbutton his fly.

“I doona know if I can even bear the idea of it. I think of your mouth on me and—” He grabbed hold of her hand and turned her palm in toward his body. He rubbed the heel of her hand tightly down the length of a very hard erection. “Just the idea of it and I’m randy enough tae come in my pants like the greenest lad in the township. You’re too new tae me for me tae have an ounce of control. I’m afraid I’ll … I doona want tae hurt you.”