Free Minutes to Midnight by Phaedra Weldon Page A

got your facts wrong. He's not a Djin."
    She laughed. "I'm not stupid, you little
monkey. I can smell it on him."
    "Smell what?" Mike said.
    "The 'Pheral. That's a reek that never goes
away. And that's where it belongs."
    I continued leaning against the wall and
cleared my throat. "First off, I'm not a Djin. There's no essence
like that possessing me. You are a Revenant. But not one I
recognize, so that means you're not part of Mephistopheles' little
family. You know about the Peripheral, and that's more than I've
ever heard from the others, so that makes you interesting."
    I don't know which part of what I said got
to her, but her facial features visibly relaxed as her grimace of
anger faded. Mike kept the gun pressed against her. "Dags, I don't
think we need to keep antagonizing it. This girl might have that
damn Djin in her."
    "Rippin' Ja—?" I shook my head. "Nah, he's
not in there. She is possessed, though—just not by a Djin."
    "You should keep your tongue silent, boy,"
she said in a low voice. "Mortals do not need to know of us."
    "Mike's my best friend. And he's ready to
blow your brains out until you tell us why you attacked me."
    "I told you. You're possessed of a Djin. It
is my right to hunt you and put you down."
    "I am not a Djin. I fought a Djin and lost.
But it's not inside of me."
    "I smell it on you. I feel power around
you."
    "How can I prove to you I'm
not what you think?" But I already knew the answer. To a Revenant,
the blood held the answers. It fed the First Born, strengthened the
human host, and gave power to the bond. And from tasting blood, a
Revenant could possibly know that individual's truth if they wanted
to see. Most often, a Revenant didn't look when it fed. Having a
human host meant a soul, and a soul wouldn't be able to accept its
new life bonded to a Daemon if it could know the secrets of another before it
killed it.
    Her red lips pulled up in a wide smile as
her teeth descended over her lower lip.

 
     
    DEAD MAN'S PARTY

     
     
    Mike couldn't see her face from his vantage
point, which sort of ruined the effect. He was listening, though.
"So? What does she want?"
    "She wants blood."
    "I know that. She tried to kill you. I mean,
what kind of proof does she want that you're not a Djin?"
    There wasn't any other way to do this, and
the energy needed to hold her in place was wearing on me. Expending
energy for the blast had already decreased the power meter by a
quarter, and I hadn't had nearly enough quality sleep not riddled
with fever or food to replenish any of it. This was the only way. I
just hoped she knew to stop before she killed me.
    I rolled up the right sleeve of my gi. "You
kill me, and Mike kills you. Got it?"
    "Wait…what're you doing?" Mike asked.
    "Just keep that gun at her head, please?" I
stepped forward and put my wrist against her lips. I felt the hard
surface of her fangs. "And if she kills me, blow her fucking brains
out." I was tired and irritable and this might have been a stupid
thing to do, but right now having a Revenant's trust and knowledge
seemed like a good idea.
    She didn't waste any time, opening her mouth
to take a wide bite. Most Revenants as they aged didn't bother
using their fangs. I'd seen Jason simply open skin with a wave of
his hand, feed, and then close the wound with little to no
scarring. He'd told me the ones who still used fangs were the First
Borns who enjoyed the taste of adrenaline in the blood as the fear
the sight of their teeth infused their intended food.
    Not to mention the vampire myth was still
pretty vogue right now. So…go figure.
    But vogue or not, it hurt like a mother and
I hissed as she locked on. My arm and shoulder trembled, still
aching from being pulled from its socket. She closed her eyes and
took her first swallow—
    I don't know if it was because I was already
tired or if the blood ended the magic, but I woke up on the floor,
cradled in her arms with Mike hovering over me. I noticed her head
wasn't blown off so I knew