Free djinn wars 03 - fallen by Christine Pope Page A

appreciate the offer, Evony, but this is going to be a dangerous expedition. Are you a trained warrior?”
    “Of course I’m not,” she retorted. “I’m a former cocktail waitress who also knows how to wrench on cars. But it’s not as if Jessica used to be in Special Forces or something.”
    I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Jace beat me to it.
    “True, but her father was a policeman and trained her how to shoot and fight. Also, she’s been inside the Los Alamos labs and can help guide us to where Miles Odekirk might be working.”
    “I’ve been there, too — ” Evony began.
    “In one building, on one occasion. We appreciate what you want to do, but there are important things to do here as well.”
    “Oh, what?” Her dark eyes were blazing. “Change the oil in one of the trucks? Bring Zahrias his hot chocolate? You can’t stop me from going. If you won’t give me space in one of the vehicles, I’ll just hot-wire one and follow you.”
    She probably could, too. And would, unless Lauren had a couple of the guys who were staying in Taos hogtie her and lock her in her suite.
    “It’s not safe for you,” Jace told her.
    “And it’s safe for the rest of you? Sounds you’re all taking a pretty big risk.”
    His expression was grim, but also sad, as if he knew he was about to tell her something she really didn’t want to hear. “Yes, we are, but once we’re away from the field that device projects, our powers will return to us. That also means our Chosen will heal more quickly if they are attacked. Evony, you will have no such protection, because Natila is gone. That sort of bond only exists between the djinn and their Chosen. Do you understand why you must remain here?”
    While Jace was speaking, Evony had stood very still, her eyes going narrower and narrower. What I didn’t see was any sort of surprise or shock in her expression, as if she’d already guessed that with Natila gone, she had none of the supernatural protections the rest of the Chosen enjoyed. And when she spoke, her tone was flat, unyielding. “No. You say your powers will come back, but I saw how wiped out you were after we left Los Alamos. There’s no guarantee all you djinn will just bounce back right away once we’re out of here. I mean, that’s why you’re driving instead of just blinking over there, right?”
    He gave her the smallest of nods. “You’re speaking of my condition as I was after being subjected to the device’s effects for weeks and weeks,” he replied gently. “The djinn here will have only experienced it for a few days, and those at its lowest viable setting. It is not the same situation at all.”
    To my own surprise, I found myself cutting in then. “If you’re really determined to go, Evony, then you’re right — there probably isn’t much we can do to stop you. And you do know Los Alamos, which can only help. I guess all I can ask is that you stick close to someone who can help protect you when the shit hits the fan. Maybe Dani. Lauren isn’t going with us, so he won’t be worrying about her.”
    “I don’t need anyone looking out for me — ”
    “But you do,” Jace interrupted, although his tone was gentle. His voice sounded in my mind.
    Are you sure, Jessica?
    Yes. She’ll come anyway, no matter what we do. At least this way, she’ll be with the main group and will stand a better chance. Do you really want to run the risk of her following us to Los Alamos and getting jumped by those same bastards who mutilated Aidan?
    The slightest tremor went through him. I doubted that Evony even noticed it, but he was standing right next to me. I could tell my reminder about the fate of the hunting party was not something he wanted to think about. To tell the truth, I really didn’t want to think about it, either, but it was important that we always keep in mind what we were up against. And right then I began to suspect that we were up against even more than we’d originally thought. We still