The words come next: “This … I … wish.”
The hum is sort of comforting. Maybe if I let it grow loud enough, it will drown out any thought I ever had about Syd. Then I will be able to focus on the wish. I can't keep the monster locked out anymore, so I'll let it in.
Why not? Syd had said it herself: the jinn aren't even human.
I have been relieved of my moral compass.
As I exit the summoning chamber, I slip the papers from the envelope to meet my latest lucky contestant. His name is Mark. He has his Masters in Biological Anthropology. He lives local, but just returned from staying abroad for a year.
I study his picture. He's not much older than me. Clean cut. Beaming smile. Bet it's hiding a lot of terrible deeds. Those kind of smiles always do.
It won't be for long though. Welcome back to the wild, wild west, asshole.
***
I sit in the Civic in the mansion carport and sort through the case file more thoroughly. Mark lives in Tempe, which one of those cities that pretends not to be part of Phoenix, but no one really cares. It's all one big sprawl of buildings and people.
I punch his address into my phone GPS.
Someone taps on the driver window. I jump and look up.
Silvia is staring at me, her eyes lifeless enough she might be a possessed doll.
I roll down the window. Before I can get a word out, she bursts into tears. Then she hurries around the front of the car and drops into the passenger seat. Her hair is frazzled, and black makeup streams from her eyes.
Yeah, this is exactly what I want to deal with right now.
“I'm not going back in there,” she says around her sobs.
“Well, you're not staying at my place.”
She glares at me. “My father owns that house.”
“Gee, thanks for the reminder, Silv.” I back the car onto the road. “What's got your hormones in a twist this time?”
Her tone is bitter: “My father has been sleeping around.”
Somehow, that doesn't faze me.
“Got tired of the Venus Flytrap, eh?”
Her head snaps up so fast I think she might actually strike. If she were in her natural form, she would be rattling her tail.
“These things happen.” I try to sound like I give a shit. “They'll probably go to counseling and fall back in love with each other's deplorable personalities. Or, your mom could get a boob job. That'll work too.”
Silvia replies, indignant, “He wants a son.”
“Ouch,” I say, without any emphasis.
“And you know what that means.” She lights a cigarette.
I shrug. “Maybe he just wants a son so they can go to Little League.”
“I wouldn't be laughing.” She puffs out smoke. “He could turn out more demanding than my father.”
“Maybe it'll be another girl, and then you won't have to worry.” I stare at the desert stretching before us, my mind a hazy mixture of nothingness.
Silvia scoffs. “He'll just keep trying.”
“That Doctor Glenn must've hooked him up. Maybe his heart will give out.” I grin at the thought. “They do always warn about it on the commercials.”
A little smile plays on her lips before she scowls and takes another puff. “Can't fertility doctors make sure it's a boy these days?”
I shrug. “Probably, but once Mistress Darkness—I mean, your mother—finds out, she'll castrate him. Problem solved.”
“She's already aware.” Silvia tosses her cigarette out the window. “She told me herself. He doesn't know she's onto him.”
“And the wholesome Walker family comes to an end.” I mentally wander through the different possible scenarios.
If Eileena takes half of the Walker wealth and runs, Karl is going to work me overtime to recuperate his loss. If Karl does produce a son, the kid might not delight in drowning kittens, but he will still be a Walker—and he will still own me.
Basically, I fold.
“My mother leaving or not has no impact on where the inheritance goes, anyway,” Sylvia says, interrupting my thoughts. “It's all about blood. If he does have a son, I hope it gets eaten by a bear.”
“All right, Queen Bavmorda, take a deep breath. You can stay the night at my place if you promise to keep your clothes on and not steal any of the neighbors' pets.” I glance at her. “Got it?”
She lights another cigarette and flutters her eyes. “Whatever, Dim.”
“No, not 'whatever'. I have to get rollin' as soon as we're in Phoenix. I'll take you back to the mansion after I'm done.”
“What is there to do around your place?”
“What do you mean? You're wanting to go out?” I frown, because Silvia running amok on her own does not sound like a good idea.
“No, Dim, I'm going to watch Wheel of Fortune while you're away.”
I sigh. “Just go get something from McDonald's and chill for a bit. This wish shouldn't take too long. Maybe you'll be calmed down by the time I get back. Maybe you'll be ready to talk to your father by then.”
She takes a puff. “Maybe he'll be dead by then.”
***