Page 37 of The Void

She smiled. A travel mug appeared in her hand, and she handed it to him before another one appeared for herself.

“Scones?” he asked, feeling his stomach growl. “There’s this little place down the street from my apartment in New York, Rubio’s Bakery. I stop there at least a couple times a week.”

“And you look like that?” she pointed out with a smile.

“I hit the gym five times a week just so I can enjoy a scone three times a week.” He chuckled.

She tilted her head and frowned. “I’ve never thought about a specific place before when getting items. It’s all fairly new to me.” She sighed and waved her hand, then smiled when a bag with the name Rubio’s appeared.

Lucas took the bag, opened it, and sighed. “Blueberry. My favorite.”

“I like chocolate scones,” she said, looking in the bag, then up at him with a nod after seeing several of both flavors in the bag. “Ready?”

He nodded and then wrapped his arms around her.

Once they were in the cave again, she asked, “Do you think I’ll get to keep all these extra powers if we return?”

The fact that she was now thinking about the possibility of returning to Earth had him smiling. He hoped that he had something to do with her changing her mind.

“Maybe. Maybe you just had to learn how to use them. You said yourself that most of your family members who were djinns had multiple powers.” He set the bag of pastries down on the table.

Mia was quiet for a moment. “Do you think he’s out there?” she asked, nodding. Then she gasped. “The cave. It must be near where we spotted him last night.”

He frowned and, without waiting, shifted into his animal form. Instantly, he smelled the air and knew they weren’t alone. He smelled the rotting carcasses of the animals the shadow creatures had been devouring the previous night. The scent of burnt bark and trees was just as strong. As was the smell of one human.

“Yes,” he sighed. “He’s close.”

“He can’t get in,” Mia assured herself and him. “Only djinn can enter.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s why I always have to go with the elders when they come here.”

“How did they get back here after leaving your brother?” Lucas asked as he shifted back to his human form.

“He wasn’t djinn yet. No doubt my great-uncle and the elders brought him here and…I guess left him,” she said with a frown. “They brought me here several times before I was finally chosen,” she explained. “On one of his trips like that, they must have seen something in him…” He watched a shiver race over her.

Then she turned and sat down in a chair and started eating a scone quietly. He joined her and they ate in silence.

“How difficult is it going to be to find out what your brother wants?” he asked her once they were both done eating.

She shrugged and closed her eyes and held out her hand. “I don’t feel the pull I did last time I did this.” She dropped her hand. “Guess we do this the old-fashioned way.” She stood up and started walking to the first bookshelf.

He joined her in the search, unsure of what he was looking for.

“It’ll probably be the oldest thing in here,” she said a few moments later.

“Then we’re looking in the wrong place,” he suggested. “The oldest items in here are in the farthest rooms.” He motioned towards the hallway.

She followed him through the maze of hallways and side rooms until they both stepped inside what he figured would have been the first space chosen to house the Li family secrets.

It was much smaller than all the other spaces. The wood cases that held the thousands of scrolls were worn and almost completely covered with cobwebs.

“I’ve never been in this room before,” Mia said as they stepped inside.

The moment she stepped into the room, something shifted. The walls began to shake, the floor jerked under their feet.

He held onto her only to realize she was staring directly ahead of them. Her gaze was locked in place as if she was frozen.

“Welcome, djinn,” a soft voice said, echoing.

He turned and gasped when he noticed the new room that had shimmered into being in front of their eyes. The space had opened up and was now much larger than the biggest main room in the cave.