It turned, tracking to follow us.

David! I yelled.

Old Djinn! he said back. Not one of mine! Not good news under the best of circumstances, and these were far from the best.

The Djinn suddenly turned as we slid along, leaving it behind, and ran after us. In only three long strides it had hold of the bumper of the car, and I felt the slamming jerk of it stopping our skid. We were all thrown forward, hard enough to make my head feel a little fuzzy. Before I could blink, my drivers-side door was open, and the Djinn was leaning over me, close enough to bite my throat out. Which they had been known to do.

I yelped and flailed, but the Djinn put a hand flat on my chest and shoved me firmly against the seat. I thought for sure he was going to lean in and smash me like a bug, but the pressure seemed just enough to keep me still, not enough to shatter bone.

He unhooked my seat belt, picked me up like I weighed no more than a bulky bag of feathers, and came around to Davids side of the Mustang. David was fumbling for the door latch, just about as out of it as I felt. The Djinn got there first, dumping me unceremoniously on my husbands lap. I pulled my legs in as he started to close the door again, and put my arms around Davids neck.

What the hell is going on? David asked. I shook my head, mystified, as the unknown Djinn got in on the drivers side, ignored seat belt laws, and slammed the car into gear.

Whoever he was, he could drive like the proverbial devil. The Boss roared like a lion as he opened the engine up, and no matter how fast Id gone, this was faster, wet roads be damned. I tried not to look. It was way too scary.

Hey, Cherise said, in an out-of-it kind of voice that gained strength as she went along. Whos driving this thing? By the end, she sounded positively paranoid, which was a very bad thing. A scared Cherise was a dangerous one right now. I shook away my lingering bleariness and looked at her over the seat.

Its okay, I said. Everythings fine. Were in good hands. I dropped back down on Davids lap and looked him in the eyes as I moderated my tone to a whisper. We are, right?

David cleared his throat and addressed himself to our new driver. I dont know you. That was a neutral opening gambit, neither aggressive nor friendly. Considering the dude had just supernaturally carjacked us, I thought it was quite thoughtful. It was also quite useless, though. The Djinn didnt even glance at us. He just drove like a machinelike some extension of the car itself. He didnt even blink. His eyes were glowing, an unsettling color that hovered somewhere between green and gold, andlike most Djinnhe was striking in features. His were prominent and blunt, not handsome as most chose to be. A face of strength and immovable power, and a body to match. Greek sculptors would have adored him.

Chatty, I said. So what do we do?

David shrugged very slightly. Hes taking us in the direction we were going anyway, he said. Hes better protection than we could ask against whatever might want to get in our way, including bad drivers. I suppose we wait and see just what he wants. He shifted a little, settling my weight better on his lap.

Sorry, I said. I know Im not that light.

Youre fine, he said, and dropped his voice to an intimate whisper by my ear. This is going to be a very enjoyable ride for me, you know. But frustrating.

I smiled and touched my lips gently to the pulse point below his jaw, where I knew he was especially sensitive, and felt him shiver. His hands tightened around me. Well, I whispered back, well just have to see about that once we have some privacy.

Time was I could make our privacy.

I didnt say anything to that, just put my hand flat on his cheek and looked into his eyes. He was tired, and still, on some level, quite sick. Lewis had done his best, but Davids nature had been Djinn for a long, long time, and being human wasnt something he was good at dealing with long term. Some essential core of him couldnt deal with it. I could no longer feel the slow, inevitable drain of energy inside of him, but I knew very well that it was there.

Nice as it was to pretend that everything was going to be fine, we needed to get Davids powers back where they belonged. That was much more important than recovering mine, at the moment. I could live without them for now. Not well. But . . . live.

Im okay, he said, and kissed my palm. I rested my head against his shoulder, content for the moment to be cuddled in his warmth as we hurtled at Djinn- inspired speed toward . . . what?

I couldnt begin to guess.

And somehow, with him, that was okay.

I fell asleep, and when I woke up the sun was blazing in the window like the fiery wrath of God. I winced and groaned, shifted my weight, and felt uncomfortably locked muscles protest. David woke up, too, and must have felt identically horrible, because he winced and tried to stretch out his legs.

The Djinn at the wheel hadnt blinked, moved, or otherwise communicated, as far as I could tell. I looked over Davids shoulder. Cherise and Kevin were tangled together on the backseat. Kevin was snoring. Cherise was drooling on the knee of his blue jeans.

Where are we? I mumbled, and swiped hair out of my eyes. How the hell did my hair get messed up when I had nowhere to move? Mystery of the universe. I didnt seriously expect anyone to answerKevin and Cherise were obviously in La-La Land, and David wouldnt have any more of a clue than mebut I got a response.

The Djinn who was driving opened his mouth, and said, Im taking you to the Oracle. He had a very odd voicealmost a chorus of voices, as if some group was speaking through him. Chilling, in fact. Well arrive in a few moments.

I felt a bolt of pure adrenaline that sent my heart racing at uncomfortable speeds. Which Oracle? There were three to choose from, and only one of them could be said to be on our side, even a little. The Earth Oracle was my daughter, Imara. . . . But we hadnt magically sped across half the country overnight, either. This still looked like eastern seaboard, to me, not the desert around Sedona. Which meant one of the other two Oracles, most likely . . . Air, or Fire.

God, I hoped it was Fire. Please.

David was looking . . . odd. I guessed he didnt know how to feel, considering that he used to have every right to talk to the Oracles, and nowbeing busted back to humanhe wasnt sure whether hed even be allowed to enter their presence. Or survive the experience.

Relax, I said. If whichever one it is hired us a driver, Im guessing theyre not going to just kill us on sight.

But it was a guess, pure and simple, and he knew it. I turned to Cherise and Kevin, who were waking up, yawning, stretching, and groaning just like David and I had done. Before you ask, I said, were almost there. Wherever that is. And when we get there, the two of you are going to stay in the car. I dont want you anywhere near this.

This what? Cherise mumbled around a jaw-cracking yawn. Ow.

You dont need to know, I said. And you dont need to do anything stupid, like try to rescue us, no matter what happens. Understand?

Kevin nodded, not looking overly concerned one way or the other. Comforting. Cherise, at least, frowned and looked cutely annoyed, but she finally agreed.

Me, I was just hoping that wherever our newfound chauffeur was taking us had a bathroom, because I was in need. Badly. And my throat was parched, too.

It only took another five minutes or so after that for our driver to pull off the freeway, expertly whip in and out of traffic (which he could do with impunity, being Djinn and therefore beyond the reach of human law enforcement), and pull to a stop in front of a . . .

A mall.

He shut off the engine and sat there like a marble statue. David and I exchanged looks. I finally said, Uh, hello? Instructions? Are we supposed to go shopping?