“We can, but we’re not supposed to,” Remi explained. “I’d be in a lot of trouble if the Elders found out. And I mean alotof trouble. It’s forbidden.” His brown eyes were beseeching. “That’s why I came in the night, actually.”
Naomi frowned a little, trying to make heads or tails of this. Weirdly, her thoughts seemed scrambled, and it was hard to think clearly. “But… you said you know Jacinth, and Talya.”
“Yeah, but they’d never tell,” he responded, his confidence appearing to be returning. “I’ve known Jacinth since I was a baby, we’re from the same village in Qaf. Talya’s been teaching me about technology stuff. Like cellphones, and blogs, and TikTok. We don’t have that stuff in the sixteenth century.”
“Uhh…” Naomi had no idea what to think, and her gaze moved to Angus and Renee, who were both looking decidedly amused.
A question came to mind. “Wait… you’re Djinn, so you’re immortal. How come you don’t come here in the current time. I mean, you’re around now, too, right?” She frowned. “Wow, this is kinda complicated to think about.”
“Well, yeah, but I’m borednow,” Remi complained. “In this time. I mean, my time. I’m still too young, I can’t do almost anything with my Djinn magic, and everybody always yells and scolds, except my best friend, but she fell in love with this vampire dude, and, well, her life took a different direction after that.”
He hurried to add, “It’s not like I’m not happy for her, ‘cause I am. Totally, I am. She the best! But it’s not the same anymore.”
Vestiges of sympathy stirred . “I see,” she said gently. “I’m Naomi, and you’re welcome to visit me any time. At least,” she broke off, looking at Angus and Renee questioningly, “as long as it’s okay with Angus and Renee. They own the inn.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Remi said, glancing in apology at the couple. “I’m really sorry I scared everybody.”
“Perhaps next time, you could come in the front door,” Renee suggested, her eyes going to the spilled cider and the mug that had rolled beneath a table. “It would be preferable to scaring our guests half to death.”
He scuffed the floor again, looking down. “Yes, Ma’am,” he mumbled, before looking up hopefully. “Does that mean I can come back, then?”
“Through the front door, young man,” Angus told him sternly.
“Yes, Sir.”
Naomi had to bite her cheek to keep herself from smiling at the young Djinn’s woebegone face.
“And you can clean up that mess,” Renee pointed to the cider on the floor.
“Yes, Ma’am, right away.”
Remi turned to look at the floor where the spill was… and suddenly it was gone! The highly polished, hardwood held its usual sheen, without a single stain, and the fallen mug was no longer beneath the table. Turning to look at the buffet, Naomi blinked, not seeing the mug there, either. Where had it gone? Into some kind of Djinn ether?
“Naomi?” Bringing her attention back to Remi, she saw he was holding up the mug to her, fragrant steam rising from it, redolent of the mulled cider. “I’m sorry for making you spill it.”
“Apology accepted,” she told him, taking the mug from him.
And there was something else, too, she suddenly recalled, and the hair on the back of her neck gently raised. “You said your friend fell in love with a… a… a vampire?”
“Mmhmm. Who’d have thought, right?”
That wasn’t quite what she’d meant. She gulped, glancing at Renee. “Vampires are a thing?”
“Yes, but not to worry,” Renee reassured her. “They cannot pass through our wards to come into the inn.”
That wasn’t entirely reassuring. Before she could voice her concerns, Beth’s face peeked around the corner of the doorway.
“Oh! There you are!”
She came on into the room, looking like a thinner, paler version of Naomi, though in matching flannel pajamas. Naomi got up to run hug her twin. “Sis! I thought you’d be out for the night.”
Beth grimaced. “Nightmare,” she said succinctly. She glanced around. “What’s everyone doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came down here for some cider. Beth, this is Remi, a Djinn from the… sixteenth century?” she asked Remi, who nodded, looking back between the two sisters with wide eyes. She giggled at his expression. “Beth and I are twins,” she explained.
“Yeah, I can see that. Hi, Beth.” Another mug, identical to the one Naomi held, appeared in his hands, and he offered it to Beth. “Have some hot cider?”
“Well, now everything is under control, we’ll be getting back to bed. Good night, you lot,” Angus said. Hand in hand, he and Renee departed to a chorus of goodnights from Naomi, Beth, and Remi.
