Part twenty-four of Misplaced Fire
Patanī tested his arms and legs. He was able to move with all the control and fluidity he’d had before his supposed demise. The words he spoke in Jinni translated to, “I am indebted to you, my deer nieces, for taking such a long time over your task. Had you been any faster I would have remained a passenger forever.”
Nesrin stepped forward, fists clenched. “Where are Isabelle and Jason?”
Patanī’s manner was off-hand. “Alive, but in no position to speak. Thanks to your needling, Nesrin, their unconscious minds supplied the focus needed to bring my consciousness into the fore, hoping I would help them prove their newfound superiority. You can see the result.”
He turned his attention to his surroundings. “My compliments on your creative skills, Dinah. And Ceylan, I must also congratulate you on your rise to Royal…”
“Hey,” Nesrin barked, “now that you’re awake again, get yourself out of my friends.”
Patanī smirked, but his eyes took on the subtle menace of a hand on a gun holster. “You should know, Wild Rose, that the saGkramastone has knit my essence to theirs. I can no more separate myself from them than you can separate your fire half from your human half.”
Nesrin bared clenched teeth. Her knuckles were turning white.
Patanī examined the faces on his four nieces. Dinah and Ceylan were circumspect at best, and Aravis just looked confused. “Are you not pleased to see me? After being supposed practically dead for centuries one would expect a warmer welcome.”
Ceylan semi-hugged Nesrin. “Uncle Patanī, pleased as we are to see you, surely you can understand your niece’s concern. Is there no way you can grant the Clements Siblings their liberty?”
Patanī morphed into a new from. It was Jason and Isabelle’s human bodies, standing right next to each other with no space between them, holding hands.
“Jason” said, “I can give her a close approximation if that will suffice.”
Nesrin lurched away from Ceylan. “May Heaven Above deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not find a way to free my friends from your wretched influence.” She vanished.
Ceylan turned to Aravis and Dinah. “You two get after her.”
Patanī returned to his natural form and continued examining Dinah’s garden. “Forgive me Ceylan, but I have much to learn about how the world has advanced, and must now take my leave. Nesrin will come around, in time. Do not concern yourself overly much.” He vacated the jungle.
Ceylan swore.
Continued next week
Link to previous installments: https://anindeterminatenumberofnights.blog/category/misplaced-fire/
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