Free Alaskan Fury by Sara King

Kaashifah’s
feet.  ‘Aqrab arrived without warning, as he always did, blocking her path like
an obsidian statue.
    “You and I,” the djinni growled,
without preamble, “need to come to an understanding, Fury.”
    Kaashifah fought the immediate
surge of panic at ‘Aqrab’s sudden appearance and re-composed herself quickly. 
While it frayed her nerves to stand her ground, she did not allow herself to
retreat out of arm’s-reach of the massive beast.  To do so would have admitted
she was afraid of him, and she would rather die than have the djinni witness
her fear once again.
    Lifting her head in feigned
arrogance, Kaashifah sneered, “An understanding of what, beast?  The terms of
your death?”
    His face tightened at the word
‘beast,’ as it always had, but at least he didn’t seem to recognize the fear
thrumming through her veins, the same ancient terror that had been with her
since the day she’d left her sword buried in the sands of an oasis, her hands burned
to the bone from where its hilt had seared her skin.  “The terms of our
arrangement, mon Dhi’b,” he rumbled, his arms folded over his big chest.  “I
would offer a bargain, of sorts.”
    Kaashifah laughed.  “A ‘ bargain ,’
‘Aqrab?  You think I have spent three thousand years bound to a djinni and have
not learned to avoid a Fourth Lander ‘bargain’ at all costs?”
    He narrowed his violet eyes at
her.  “I would remove my curse.  You would be free to kill again, little wolf.”
    Kaashifah’s heart stopped.  Never
before had the djinni offered the removal of his deathbed curse outside the
context of a wish.  A wish, of course, that both of them knew he would mangle
just as thoroughly the first two times she’d wished it. 
    Warily, she glanced back up at
the djinni.  Somehow, she sensed that this time, ‘Aqrab was being truthful, and
that thought left her heart suddenly slamming against her ribcage.  The ability
to kill again…  It made her blood sing with hope.  She had long ago given up
any real optimism that he would ever willingly remove his deathbed curse, and
that he was offering now, when she needed it most, left her both ecstatic and
suspicious. 
    “And what would you want in
return, djinni?” she asked, carefully keeping her excitement from her voice. 
Unfortunately, she couldn’t kill the djinni with just teeth and claws.  Surely
he knew that, which was probably the only reason he was offering. 
    “Relinquish your shadow,” ‘Aqrab
said, watching her closely.  “Give up your ability to hurt me, mon Dhi’b.  Do
me that favor, and I will lift my curse.”
    This time, Kaashifah did take a step backwards, automatically reaching for the djinni’s soul-cord in her
mind.  “You would leave me helpless against you.”
    “ Helpless , mon Dhi’b?” he
snorted.  “You carry the Third Lander wolf with you, and if you follow through
with your scheme to pass me on to the dragons, you doubtless shall have your
full glory returned to you after that.”
    “And the time between now and
then?” Kaashifah demanded.
    He shrugged.  “We’ll come to an
understanding.”  He lifted a hand, reaching out for her.  “You’ll have to trust
me.”
    “You cross dangerous sands,
‘Aqrab,” she warned, preparing a fistful of shadow, should she need to keep him
at bay.
    He cocked his head at her,
irritation flashing in his unnatural purple eyes as he dropped his hand. 
“Why?” he demanded.  “Because I ask that you stop treating me as an animal?” 
This time he took a step towards her, anger lighting his face.  Leaning down
until their noses almost touched, he said too softly, “I saved your life ,
little wolf.  I spirited you from those who would have spent years draining
your lifeblood from your veins.  How did you repay me?  You drowned me in
shadow so deep I had trouble breathing for hours.”  Fierceness glared back at
her, spurring that inner terror to a crescendo.  “Show some