Page 47 of Deadly Lineage
Fifteen
Erasmus
Oh, this was the very definition of clusterfuck.
I grabbed Franklin’s right arm with both my hands, tugging it down. The man might as well have been made of stone for all the good it did me. Gaia help me, Franklin had a gun pointed on Aurelia.
“Lower your weapon. She’s…” I started to sayharmless, but that was so far from the truth it might as well live on the other side of the universe. Instead, I said, “She’s not here to hurt me,” and silently prayed that still held true.
“Indeed.” Thankfully, Aurelia sounded more amused than offended. “Firing your weapon might be an interesting diversion, human.” At least she didn’t say Franklin’s species with the disgust many did.
“I need an explanation, Boone,” Franklin said, his voice laced with steel. “This…whatever she is…is contaminating a police crime scene.”
I rolled my eyes. “Aurelia’s not contaminating anything. I don’t think,” I added when I decided I wasn’t totally certain.
“Aurelia?” Franklin’s gun wavered for the first time. “As in…?”
“Yes, that Aurelia. I think you know your gun won’t do jack shit, so you might as well lower it before the pretty, powerful djinn decides to make it more of an issue.”
Franklin’s arm lowered, and he swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple bob. He still didn’t move from in front of me.
“I meant no offense, Aurelia. I was simply concerned about Boone.”
“Understandable. I have noted over the centuries that most mortal creatures are protective of their mates.”
I choked on my own spit while Franklin’s mouth fell open, catching on words that wouldn’t come out.
Aurelia’s attention focused on me, and she said, “You need to go home.”
I started to ask why when my pocket rumbled with Pops’s ringtone. I started to ignore it and let Pops go to voicemail, but Aurelia said, “Your father is calling. He also knows something is wrong.”
“Answer the phone,” Franklin ordered, and I nearly fumbled my phone while trying to get it out of my pocket.
“Pops,” I said when I’d finally tugged it free and hit the accept button. I didn’t get much further.
“Are you safe?” Pops asked immediately, voice panicked.
I looked around the room, my gaze catching Franklin’s worried stare and Aurelia’s slightly disinterested one. “I’m safe,” I answered, which seemed odd considering there was a dead body nearby. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. The wards on your house went off. Not just once. Someone is repeatedly trying to breach security. You need to contact your detective and have him come to the house immediately.”
“I’m with Franklin now,” I answered. “I’m not at home.”
Pops’s tone immediately eased. “That is good to hear. I’m checking available flights right now. I’ll be there as soon as possible. I—”
“Don’t do that. Not yet. Let me see what’s going on first.” I shot Aurelia a glance and said, “Aurelia’s here too. She came to warn me. Maybe. At the very least she came to let me know something is going on.”
Pops remained silent for a few moments before he said, “Djinn cannot be trusted, Erasmus. She is not a pet.”
I recoiled. “Of course not. I’ve never thought of Aurelia that way.”
“I misspoke. I did not mean to imply that you viewed her as a lesser creature. All I mean is that Aurelia is not as tame as she appears. How do you know it is not her that tried to get into your home?”
“Because she’s been in my home a dozen times before and never tripped the wards,” I answered.
It wasn’t the exact answer Pops wanted. “The djinn has been in your home?”
“Yeah, Pops. She’s been inside it, outside it, all around it…. What I’m getting at is that the wards have never seen her as a threat before, or even reacted to her. Before you say it, you’re right, she might be able to get around them, but if she’s done that in the past, then there’s no reason they’d be reacting to her now. Whatever’s going on, Aurelia’s not the cause.”
