Tales of the Djinn: The Double by Emma Holly

Author:Emma Holly [Holly, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Paranormal, Erotica, General, Contemporary, Fantasy, paranormal romance
ISBN: 9780988894389
Google: J5myBAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Emma Holly
Published: 2014-10-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

THE trip through the nexus was as dizzying as Elyse remembered. Her brain felt like a clock whose hands spun in both directions. She couldn’t tell if she were big or small, awake or dreaming. Light beamed all around her or maybe she was the light. Her ears rang with music that played a thousand tunes. Then, like a guillotine chopping the illusory from the real, she was in an actual place again.

Fortunately, Cade’s hold on her hand saved her from stumbling.

Weirdly, her palm wasn’t bleeding anymore. Her face and neck weren’t either. Maybe going through a door was like shifting?

“Whew,” she said, unable to hold back a breathless laugh. “Those portal thingies are quite the ride.”

Cade grinned and both of them looked around. It was nighttime, and they were on the roof of a broad building, easily a block long but just a few stories tall. Elyse didn’t see or hear Mario. She did, however, recognize the skyline.

“That’s the Empire State Building!” she exclaimed delightedly. “We’re back in New York. Mario mustn’t have had a chance to re-key the door.”

“You’re right. This is the same post office Joseph and I originally landed on.”

A thud and a curse behind them caused them to snap around.

“It’s me,” Arcadius said, pushing up from his hands and knees. “Don’t attack.”

Cade had drawn his scimitar. He slid it away slowly. When he spoke, he seemed amazed. “You followed us.”

“I . . . obeyed an impulse,” his double said. “The portal was closing. I had to make up my mind quickly.”

Elyse thought his usual unemotional tone held a hint of embarrassment. Maybe her heart shouldn’t have sped up, but it did. Had his impulse involved her? She couldn’t deny the possibility was appealing. She’d experienced a definite wrench at leaving him behind, and he’d looked forlorn to see them go. Now that he was with them, she felt as if someone she liked quite a bit had brightened up a party.

His arrival made it perfect.

She glanced at Cade to check his reaction. He wasn’t angry or displeased. Surprised, she thought, and maybe a bit doubtful.

“We did warn Murat he might have to stand in for us,” Arcadius reminded. “And he has Joseph to help him.” He scanned their surroundings with the same professional composure Cade had displayed. “I take it the sorcerer got here too far ahead of you to catch. Do you know where this is?”

“This is Manhattan,” Cade said. “Elyse’s home.”

“Well.” Arcadius’s expression was better guarded than his double’s. What a poker player Cade must have been once upon a time! “Is it always this cold?”

She laughed. Cade had put his arm around her shoulders. She wasn’t chilled at all. “The temperature has got to be in the forties. The real icebox weather was back when Cade arrived.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Arcadius drew half a breath and spoke. “Perhaps, since this is your city, you’d like to suggest how we proceed?”

His formality reminded her of Cade when she first met him—that wonderful old world politeness.

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