Forsaken (The Djinn Wars Book 5) Read Online Free

All djinn had the ability to influence matter and energy, although their alignment with one of the four elements gave them additional talents when it came to interacting with earth or air, water or fire. At any rate, his inborn powers were enough to light the sconces on the wall, to let water flow once more down the waterfall in one of the grottoes that ringed the lobby area.
    There had been some looting in the city before the last of the survivors were picked off, but none of them apparently had thought to come here. The food in the refrigeration units had long since spoiled, and Qadim disposed of it with a flick of his finger, but the wine cellar had survived completely unscathed. He poured himself a glass of shiraz and went back out to the lobby so he might sit in the grotto with the waterfall and congratulate himself on a good day’s work.
    The Council had most assuredly wished to punish him by making this town his new home, but he doubted they’d known of the existence of this hotel. Otherwise, they might have made a different choice.
    The soothing sound of flowing water filled the silence, and he let his eyes close halfway as he sampled the wine, the dark fruit of the vines, the spice of the oldest grape in the world. He’d been drinking wines made with this grape for millennia, although it had been called something quite different back then.
    Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad after all. In time, once he’d transformed this barren cityscape into a garden, he should be able to find someone to share it with him. Djinn had long memories, but even so, he thought that eventually his disgrace would be forgotten.
    In the meantime, though, he thought he could enjoy himself well enough and learn to embrace his solitude.

    * * *
    S leep had been one of the most difficult parts of her solitary existence in the shelter. At first Madison’s sleeplessness had stemmed from worry and grief, and nothing more. Her mind hadn’t wanted to grasp the enormity of what had happened to her, to the entire world. It had all happened so fast — within a few days of the first reports of the mysterious disease known as the Heat, the world had ground to a halt, its people dying in numbers so overwhelming that it was almost impossible to grasp the situation.
    At the time, she was living in an apartment about fifteen minutes away from the house where she’d grown up. Unlike a number of her fellows in her master’s program, she actually had been making a living from her art, although most of her income came from illustration work rather than the landscapes she loved so much. But that was all right; the freelance work still proved she could make it, that her decision to get a master’s in studio art hadn’t been complete insanity.
    The Heat had begun to strike at the population while she had her head down, feverishly trying to finish a commission for a card set, an expansion pack to a Magic: The Gathering sort of game. When she was under deadline like that, she didn’t turn on the TV or go on social media. She barely checked her email, and that was only because she didn’t want to miss anything work-related. So although the disease had already begun to take its toll, only two days after it was detected, it wasn’t until she got a phone call from her father late on the second day that she realized anything was wrong.
    His voice had been hoarse and weak. She hadn’t heard him sound like that since her mother’s funeral. All he’d said was, “I need you,” before the phone went silent again.
    She’d put down her paintbrush and hurried out the door, not even bothering to throw on a jacket. Traffic had been oddly light, but she really didn’t think about the number of vehicles on the street, was only intent on getting to her father’s house as quickly as possible.
    He was lying on the couch in the living room, his dropped cell phone on the floor next to him. Madison had picked it up and put it on the coffee table, then knelt by his side.