Tainted: Book Three - Enslaved

14. Sheikh of the Sheba

Mira

"Who are these people we're going to see?" Jax slung an arm around Gigi's shoulders. "And what do we need to know about them?"

"Sheba." Kerry lifted one shoulder and looked unconcerned. "Don't start nothing with them and we'll be fine."

We'd timed our trip on the subway after the morning rush hour, so it wasn't too crowded. Still, there were enough humans around to make us talk in quieter tones as we grouped together in one corner of a car and headed for Staten Island.

"What's a sheba?" I asked Rome out of the side of my mouth.

"Descendants of an ancient queen from Sheba. Religious texts and scholars disagree on almost everything about her, but we know she was half-djinn. And her heirs are always half, too."

"That makes no sense." Chessie's forehead bunched up in confusion. "After three or four generations—"

"What about any of us makes sense?" Kerry muttered.

"Don't get them confused with Mugharribun." Rome must have noticed the look on my face. "Half-djinni and half-human. Sheba's line is its own special breed."

"It helps to think of it like a mutant gene that's dominant in the bloodline." Chance gave Chessie a quick smile. "I bet you didn't know that being tall is a recessive trait while having dimples like you do is a dominant one."

"Don't look at my dimples!" Her scowl was nearly as fierce as Kerry's.

Chance's eyebrows flew up as he stammered out an apology.

Ooo, how intriguing! My mischievous side rubbed its hands together. And we're sending them off together. I can't wait to see what this develops into.

Gigi musta had similar thoughts because she giggled. Sir Serious, on the other hand, was either oblivious or apathetic to what was brewing between those two.

"Do you think they might know something about our djinn?" Jax asked.

"Hopefully. Picking up my ride is just an excuse to go find out." Kerry shifted his attention to Rome. "Mira says you like history. What do you know about the war between the divs and the peri?"

"From ancient Persia." Rome went into lecture mode, and I bit back a smile. "In Occult Sciences, we learned that Eblis, a sort of Islamic version of Satan, refused to bow down to Adam because one made of fire does not bow to one made of mud. He rebelled and, during the resulting war, the divs supported Eblis and the peris supported God. Eblis lost and was exiled from Heaven, but not confined to Hell, so he's free to tempt humans and lead the divs against the peris."

"That doesn't seem fair." Gigi made a face. "For God to allow the peris to suffer after they were the loyal and faithful ones."

"Trust me, the peris can take care of themselves." One side of Kerry's mouth pulled up. "Maybe we'll have time to swing by the atelier."

"Atelier?" Jax blew a huge pink bubble and popped it. "Is that French?"

"I dunno. It's what the peris call their havens."

"What are they like?" I tilted my head as my curiosity stirred. "Have you met any?"

"I've seen 'em. They're pretty in a fragile-looking way, but they're strong and know how to fight. They have wings and sing all the time, just like—"

He cut himself off and a muscle ticked in his cheek.

"I'd like to meet the peri," Jax jumped in. "If not this time, maybe another. But how does that story relate to us?"