We dart across another intersection, turn right, turn left, and follow the curve of the street.
She's not far ahead. A few yards from a chain link fence. Without even a hesitation, she pulls herself onto it and climbs over. I follow after.
We're in a dirt lot with buildings. An open gate leads out to a road. We follow a long path between two buildings. Stacks of giant shipping boxes and parked semi-trucks make an obstacle course.
The next lot holds train cars. Syd is either planning something horrific, or she's really fuckin' lost. I'm betting on the latter.
She scrambles up a pile of wooden pallets and drops over another fence. I climb straight up and land on the other side. We cross another lot. Another fence. Another lot.
Train tracks cut in the path ahead, intersecting with a road. Syd makes a sharp turn and bolts with a sudden burst of energy toward the road.
Vehicles zoom by. She waves her arms and shouts. A car skids next to her. She yanks open the door and crawls inside. She urges the driver on. He steps on the gas.
Dirt billows up around me as I come to a halt at the side of the road.
The car is already gone.
Syd got away.
***
By the time I find my Corolla, I'm shaking. I can't remember when I last ate, drank, or slept. But I have to keep moving. The hum is already taking over my brain again. The fire is welling inside.
It's not going to let me rest. Not even for a few minutes. Every time it lets up, the urge to chase Syd fades away. Then the hum reminds me who is charge.
It's a cyclic beast. So I slide into my car and head for Santa Fe.
I want to call Syd to explain to her what happened. And what will continue to happen. I can't imagine what I would say though. That not fulfilling a wish drives me to the edge, pushes me over, and watches me tumble into madness? That I can only find reprieve if I obey?
She had told me the jinn were their own race, with both good and bad, but eventually they were considered demons. Maybe this is why. Maybe humans saw them—us—snap. What else could they possibly conclude after witnessing something like that?
Syd probably thinks I'm greatly in need of an exorcist now too. But I'm not possessed. No demon actually lives in my body. Just a genie bond in my blood.
My legs cramp again. Sweat is sliding down my face. I'm going to be right back to where I was before the hunt in a much shorter time. Something about my revulsion for what I have to do is encouraging the hum to push me harder. Break me faster.
I'm going to do everything I can to help Syd, though.
A jolt runs straight through the top of my head and down my spine. I twitch, head jerking.
I don't care. Despite how close I came to catching her earlier, I can't believe I would have actually killed her. I certainly believed at that time I would. Otherwise, the hum wouldn't have backed off. But when it came down to it, would I be able to look her in the face and watch the spark flicker and die?
I cared too much about that spark. She was my rockstar.
Still is, even if I can never have her again.
The jolt hits hard. I shudder, then clamp my jaw and settle in for a long trip. The thoughts aren't going to stop, and I don't want to control them anyway. Each time the hum sends me twitching and jerking with punishment, I'm more determined it will not win.
I will tip Syd off at every chance I get.
A bolt of electricity lights up every nerve in my body. I rock in my seat.
Maybe I can survive this until Karl has a more pressing matter. He can't send me on two wishes at once, can he? God, I hope not.
Eventually, he will need me to whack another businessman or scientist. Hell, maybe he will decide to finish off Patricia Kerr.
Then he will recant this wish. Syd will live.
I want Syd to live.
Another jolt. My teeth gnash. My head jerks then lolls forward.
I force myself upright and try to focus on the road.
My vision goes in and out. This time light flashes among the darkness. I strain to see the road.
Less than an hour, and I will be in Santa Fe. I will be near Syd again. I just have to keep it together long enough to tell her I want to help her.
Another jolt. My leg jerks, slamming into the brake. I step on the gas again.
I don't know how I'm going to approach her. Not after what happened in Albuquerque. But I think she will see me. God, I hope she will see me under this twitching, sopping, dirty mess.
The jolts come, one after the other, ripping through me. Singeing every pain receptor. Forcing a succession of twitching, shaking convulsions.
I taste metallic on my lips. I struggle against shuddering muscles to look in the rear view mirror. Blood is running down my face. From my nose. From my eyes. From my ears.
With great effort, I open my mouth. My teeth and tongue are coated in blood. I swallow hard, surprised I can swallow at all, and settle back into my seat.
I twitch with every jolt, but my foot stays planted on the gas pedal.
***