32. Playing with Fire

{Naya}

What the hell was happening to me?

One minute I'm about to embark on what could have quite possibly been the best sex of my life, and then before I know it, I'm getting man-handled by something straight from the set of a Guillermo del Toro film. With its hard, black skin, ram-like horns, and putrid breath, it seemed almost too terrifying to be real.

Not only did this eight foot monstrosity come into the apartment through the kitchen wall, but it seized me in a crushing grip. I screamed for Uri, who seemed a little preoccupied with the pizza guy. I didn't know how much more I could take of this devil trying to slide its tongue into my ear.

Suddenly, the creature stopped and held perfectly still. I looked up to see that someone else was in our apartment. By the way he held up his hands and glared at the creature behind me, I'd say it was his master.

Who are these freaks and why are they trying to ruin my breakthrough sex?!

"Get the hell out of my house!" Uri roared before doing something equally as strange as the monster hovering behind me. At first I thought he was about to puke when a flaming projectile suddenly shot out of his mouth and towards the blond intruder.

I thought that the man was dead for sure until the monster appeared before him, somehow causing the missile to disintegrate.

"Well, that was rude," the man said in a tone that was too casual to be normal. It was then that it finally clicked. He must have been a magus like Zayn. That could be the only explanation for his ability to control the monster and see Uri for what he was.

But wasn't there some other type of sorcerer that Uri told me about? Something more dangerous than a magus . . .

By now the man was sitting on Uri's couch like he owned the place. He and Uri exchanged words about what would happen next. He said something about the creature behind me not being able to hurt me unless Uri attacked. And as long as I didn't try anything with the monster, Uri would be safe too. Despite the terms, he still threatened Uri with bondage.

His threat made me remember the other type of sorcerer Uri told me about.

He's got to be one of those collectors.

+++

{Uriel}

Uriel sat across from a collector who called himself Janus Bergman while a full grown ifrit occupied the enchanted hookah with Naya. The only thing keeping Uriel from burning through this human skin and unleashing his fire right then was the spell designed to keep Naya safe.

It was clever how Janus had set it up. A human – even one imbued with temporary powers – would never risk an attack on something like an ifrit. Janus not only picked up on this, but he also surmised that Naya was important to Uri, which allowed him to fortify the other half of the trap. And he did this all within walking through the front door. There had been no chants spoken or visible hand signs. This told Uri that when it came to collectors, Janus had to be among the elite.

He had no idea in hell how he would get himself and Naya out of this. If Zayn were here, he could stand a chance against this sorcerer and the ifrit, but alone . . .

Just focus on finding a way to get Naya to safety.

"Changeling," Janus greeted from the opposite couch, "you don't know how long I've been looking forward to this. It has truly been quite the adventure trying to pin you down."

"What do you want?" Uriel said even though he already knew the answer.

Janus uncrossed his legs and leaned forward with his elbows balancing on his knees. "Hmm. That, changeling, is the question I have been asking myself for as long as I can remember. What do I want with these spirits, lesser and greater, that I have dominion over? What would I possibly want with a ghoul? A jann? An ifrit?"

Uriel could only glare, hoping that the intensity in his eyes could somehow melt the collector across from him.

Janus cocked his head to the side. "I suppose I could say that I want an army or power. With enough djinn, I could obtain all the secrets to any realm where modern humans like myself have no business wandering into. With the right djinniyah . . ." he glanced over at Naya's hookah pipe, "it would be possible to have any woman I desire."

Uriel bit down on his tongue, lest he say something that could put Naya at even more risk.

Janus's gaze returned. "Is that what you were expecting me to say, changeling? Or would you like the truth?"

Uriel was silent.

"You want to know what I want?"

Janus showed all of his teeth in an awful smile.

"I simply don't want to be bored."

+++

{Naya}

Where the heck are you, Ritsu? I thought in a panic. That collector had commanded his monster to watch over me in the hookah pipe so he and Uri could have some privacy. At least that's what I had guessed. By now, I was no longer completely freaked out by my demonic babysitter. Mostly, I feared for Uri and what that man was saying to him. Hopefully Uri wouldn't do anything stupid like give up his freedom for my release. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there might be no other way out of this mess.

"I've never tasted a human before," the monster said in a guttural octave.

I rolled my eyes, trying to mask my own discomfort. As long as Uri and I kept still, this lump of mutated coal couldn't do anything to me. I kept my gaze downward, determined to not let this Tim Burton freak show intimidate me.

In the meantime, I was trying to figure out where my monkey was and how he was oblivious to all of this. I mean, wasn't he supposed to be looking out for me? I fought the urge to call out for my furry companion and instead, just pouted. Why did this have to happen to us the day after I had severed ties with my dad? Why couldn't Uri and I have a little peace and time to ourselves before collectors and demons decided to come out of the woodwork and hunt us down?

I hung my head. This is serious, Naya. The collector doesn't look like he's playing games. This thing that he's got taking orders from him . . . he could very well command it to kill you.

I closed my eyes, thinking hard. I had to do something.

"Mistress?"

Both the monster and I looked up to see the hatch of a nondescript chest lift open and Ritsu's simian body climb out.

"Ritsu!" I gasped.

At the sight of the horned monster, my monkey let forth a sound crossed between a shriek and a hiss. The monster had all but forgotten about me. His batlike wings unfurled as he leapt up in excitement.

Once again, his tongue shot out and moistened his cracked lips. He gurgled, "Today just keeps getting better and better."

I saw the hunger in his eyes and scrambled to my feet. Like an idiot, I blocked the creature's path to my monkey.

"Ritsu, run!"

He scream-hissed again. "Mistress!"

Something hard banged against my ribs.

"Get out of my way, mortal!"

Without this djinni form, I probably would have been dead after being swiped to the side by the monster. I groaned and rolled to the floor while the enormous demon chased the smaller one. It was like watching an episode of Tom and Jerry, except nothing was funny about my pain or what lay in store for Ritsu once that thing finally caught up to him.