Jinn and Juice Read Online Free Page A

him. “Unless you have somewhere you need to be?”
    He shook his head, and I realized I knew absolutely nothing about my new Master. But that didn’t matter; we were still far from safe. I knew my friends wouldn’t listen to Bertha, even if they knew she was right. They’d bust down the door in about two minutes if I didn’t work fast.
    I led him up the stairs and through the interior door that led into our actual apartment. I pushed him through, slamming the door behind us, and immediately put my hands on its frame in order to reset the wards that protected our home. Unsure of exactly what would happen when I reached for Pittsburgh’s Deep Magic, since I’d not been Bound here before and had no idea how the Node would react to my intrusion, I homed in on Yulia’s magical signature and reached for the ley line beneath us.
    I gasped as my newly Bound power surged with Pittsburgh’s potent, steel-stained magic. My knees buckled and strong hands caught my elbow, keeping me standing. Apparently Iwould have no more trouble using the Deep stuff while Bound than I had had skimming off it while unBound.
    A point in favor of my mostly human, if cursed, genetic makeup, I guessed.
    “What’s wrong?” My Master sounded genuinely worried, despite the fact that he’d just Bound me. I also had to answer his question, even though I’d rather have punched him in the goolies.
    “The magic’s a lot stronger now that I’m Bound…,” I managed to get out between panting breaths.
    The Magi’s grip on my elbow tightened, his other hand clamping around my waist. I went ahead and leaned against him as I shut my eyes and followed the rabbit down its hole, trying desperately to adjust to the amount of juice flowing through me even as I reached for what I’d need for the wards.
    “Lyla?” From a distance I heard the Magi’s voice. For a second I wondered how he knew my name, then I remembered he’d seen me dance.
    “Talk to me,” he said. “You’re scaring me.”
    Forced by the magic of his request, I heard myself respond. Despite the fact that I was locked in a desperate battle, my voice was calm, matter-of-fact.
    “It’s being Bound,” I explained, wondering who was in charge at moments like this. A corner of my brain reserved for jinni duties? The magic of all jinn, itself, that flowed through us? Whatever it was, it talked real nice, although I wished it would shut up.
    “When jinn are unBound, our powers are limited. When we are Bound, we have access to the Deep Magic.”
    “But what are you doing?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”
    “I’m changing the wards on our door. They’re magical locks. I don’t want Yulia trying to kill you in your sleep.” Intruth, I’d love it if Yulia killed my new Master in his sleep. But the jinni in me wouldn’t let that happen and I didn’t want to have her up all night guarding him when we could both be sleeping.
    “And it’s difficult?” he asked. I wished I could tell him to shut up, but that wasn’t how our relationship worked.
    “It’s just that I haven’t had this much power in a while. It’s like having something really big suddenly thrust inside of me…” The Magi’s grip on my hip tightened and I suddenly remembered I was wearing only my burlesque costume. I’d stopped having much body shame after about the fifth century of my existence on this planet, and the supernaturals I now lived with were all equally louche, so that didn’t bother me at all. But Magi, despite their abilities with jinn, were still human, with human mores.
    So maybe I shouldn’t talk about thrusting.
    “It’s also Pittsburgh,” I said, changing subjects. “This city’s magic is… funky…” My voice trailed off as I finally wrestled back control of my magical channels. I kept them open just enough to suck in a strong draught of steel-tainted magic, which I knew I’d regret later even as I funneled it at the wards.
    The rest was easy. First a quick reset, which