Page 92 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

My fingers tightened when Erasmus showed, gripping just shy of pain. “Goddess, is he really going to—”

“I believe he is,” Leon answered. “The question is, will it truly work?”

Regardless, the ground steadied as Janus got his first look at a necromancer. Head cocked to the side, Janus asked, “What are you?”

“Something you haven’t seen before. Something that didn’t exist when you were made.” Raising his head, Erasmus’s dark, sweat-laden hair matted against his neck. “To be fair, I’d never met a djinn before Aurelia. It was a rather eye-opening experience.”

Arie’s temper flared. “I did not wish you to talk the enemy to death. I told you to destroy Peaches’s barrier.”

Janus’s eyes narrowed and his jaw ticked. “I will fulfill your wish in due time.”

“You will do it now!” Arie shot forward, grabbing Janus’s arm and attempting to twirl the djinn his direction. “I’ve waited long enough. I’ve been mocked and disregarded, and I’ll have no more. I am Alpha Arie Belview, and I will have my revenge.” Arie’s bellow rattled the surrounding trees. Most of his pack cringed, rolling in on themselves in an attempt to appear smaller and less noticeable.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait a little longer, Alpha Belview,” Erasmus calmly said. “To answer Janus’s earlier question, I’m a necromancer and—”

“I don’t give a shit what you are,” Arie slung back.

“You should.” Erasmus’s tone was deadly quiet. “You should care a great deal.”

Arie’s mouth snapped, his eyeteeth slipping past the edge of his lips.

“Despite being a necromancer, or maybe because of it, I value life a great deal. I don’t take lives; I bring them back, temporary as those lives might be.” Erasmus’s inhale lifted his shoulders. “Janus, a great and terrible wrong was done to you. To all djinn. I wasn’t certain, just from meeting Aurelia, but now that I’ve had a chance to feel you out, I’m surer than ever. Your life was stolen from you, woven into an object that has kept you trapped. The good news is that I’m about to free you from that trap. The bad news is that I’m not at all certain what that will do to you. I’ll apologize ahead of time if you find the experience painful.”

Only now realizing the potential danger, Janus retreated a step. “You’re lying.”

“I don’t think so. If I am, then it’s not intentional. Either way, let’s find out together.”

Without further conversation, Erasmus raised one hand and said, “Ah, there you are. Time to come home.” The faintest glow lit the area in front of Erasmus’s outstretched hand. Seconds ticked by and I thought perhaps we’d all overestimated what Erasmus was capable of. That fear dissipated when Janus’s mouth opened in a silent scream. Head thrown back, body contorting, Janus’s body lunged forward, as if being shot in the back.

ChapterThirty

Leon

Shocked silence filled the air. Janus’s body hovered and then collapsed as if the strings holding him were suddenly severed. The inked tattoos covering his skin evaporated like they’d never existed. Still broad and large, Janus’s ears became small, like a human’s. Curled into a ball, he lay there on the ground, shivering but alive.

Arie stared, mouth opened and eyes wide with disbelief. Alpha Belview recovered first and ordered, “Janus, I wish you to rise.”

Nothing happened.

“Janus! You will do as your master commands.”

Aurelia appeared again, this time outside the barrier, kneeling by Janus’s side. “He no longer has a master to command him.” Looking up at Arie’s seething face, Aurelia remained calm. “I believe he was warned. As were you.” Standing, her attention turned to Erasmus. “It is as you said it would be. The magical bindings were destroyed when you returned Janus’s soul. He is alive and…human.” Aurelia said that last with a bit of confusion. No one still living knew if all djinn were created from humans or if witches used other species. Given the similarities between Aurelia and Janus, most likely Aurelia’s original form had been human also.

“You…y-you can’t,” Arie muttered. “It’s not possible.”

“I believe you have just been proven wrong,” I answered, most likely echoing other thoughts.

“No.” The word started out low and grew in strength. “No!” Arie growled.

“I do not believe Alpha Belview takes defeat well,” Lucroy said, tone icy.

Peaches huffed and taunted, “You’d think by now he’d be better at it.”

Arie roared and when he turned, his arms were covered in fur and claws sprouted from his fingertips. “You think this is the end? You think you’ve defeated me?”

Vander sighed, long and deep. “He’s right, you know. This shit will keep going until he’s dead.”

“Alpha Belview’s sentence under fairy law is clear,” Ray answered. “Peaches, while your aide has been appreciated, I believe it is time to leave its safety.”

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