Out of Tune, стр. 38
“There are other seers,” Saif said with confused concern. “We will find one.”
“Yes.” I cleared my throat. I'd tell them about Daha later, if we managed to save the Jinn. Talking about him now would only make me weep, and the last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of royalty. “We will. Is there anything else that could help us? Anything about this prophecy?”
“I haven't read it for years,” King Baha murmured. “I will have my advisers look it over. If there's any weakness we might be able to exploit, I will contact you.”
“Here.” Darc pulled a contact charm from his pocket. “Take this, Your Majesty. It's a Shining One contact charm. Are you familiar with them?”
“I've heard of such stones but have never seen one,” Baha said with wonder as he took the gift from Darc. “Is it true that I simply call out the name of the person I wish to speak to and it will carry my voice to them across any distance?”
“Yes, it's true, but only if that person also has a contact charm,” Darc confirmed. “We all possess charms; you may contact any of us.”
“Thank you,” Baha said sincerely.
“And I will attend you,” Prince Saif added.
“That's not necess—”
“The fate of my entire race hangs in the balance, Your Majesty,” Saif cut me off. “I must insist.”
“Of course,” I gave in. “Honestly, we can use all the help we can get.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Instead of using our traveling stones, Saif took us to a traveling portal. I had a destination in mind that made the portal the better choice; it could take us directly to the Public Portals of the Grand Beneather Bazaar in Istanbul. The Bazaar was the only place where I was certain I could find a seer.
The Felinae Stretch, an area of the Bazaar where feline shapeshifters lived, was conveniently located near the Public Portals. We strode through the crowded streets, receiving warm greetings from the Bazaar residents as we went, and Saif lifted a surprised brow at me.
“We helped the Bazaar once,” I said to his look. “We united them against the Demos Family.”
“The crime syndicate you mentioned?”
“One and the same.”
He chuckled. “I had heard you were a mercenary, Spellsinger. But it seems instead that you are a philanthropist.”
“I don't go around looking for lost causes.” I shrugged. “But when my friends ask me to help, I try my best, and I happen to have an amazing support team.”
“Speaking of your amazing friends,” a familiar voice drawled. “What are you doing in my stretch of the Bazaar, Spellsinger?”
“I don't believe I said my friends were the amazing ones.” I couldn't stop the grin from taking over my face as I turned and opened my arms to Kasteo Terrencal. “Hey, you. I was hoping to run into you,” I murmured as I hugged him. “How's your brother?”
“Kos is good,” Kas said as he eased back and nodded a greeting to my men. “We're all good. I'm hoping you're not a harbinger for the end of that goodness.”
Saif cleared his throat uneasily.
“Funny that you should use those words,” I grumbled.
“Oh, fuck me, El, what have you brought to us now?” Kasteo flicked his tabby-cat hair out of his handsome face and crossed his slim arms across his chest.
“Nothing. I just need to see a psychic to try and prevent an apocalypse.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. No big deal.” Kasteo grimaced. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
Passerby paused to glance at us warily, and I smiled brightly and waved. They frowned in confusion but waved back and moved on. As long as I didn't start singing, they wouldn't panic.
“It's an apocalypse that will affect the Jinn alone,” I explained. “This is their prince; Prince Saif. Your Highness, this is one of my oldest and most aggravating friends, Kasteo Terrencal.”
“A prince, eh?” Kasteo looked Saif up and down.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Terrencal.”
Kas chuckled and held out his hand. “We're a bit more informal here, Your Highness. Call me Kas.”
“Thank you, Kas. You must call me Saif.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Kasteo shook his head and looked back at me. “So, you want to see Shani?”
“Yep.”
“I'll go with you. I wanna buy my girl something pretty anyway.”
“Your girl?” I asked in surprise.
Kasteo grinned. “Yeah, I've got myself a new kitty. She's beautiful and has some of the sharpest nails in the Bazaar.”
Sharp nails on a female Cat-Shifter is akin to multiple tails on a Kitsune, which is to say; it's desirable.
“Good for you, Kas,” I congratulated him, and I meant it. After the hell he'd been through recently, mostly due to a woman, he deserved some sharp nails in his back.
“What does jewelry have to do with a seer?” Gage asked us.
“Shani sells jewelry,” I explained. “She only does the psychic stuff by special request. I've never employed her myself but I've bought some nice necklaces from her.”
“Then how do you know she's any good as a medium?” Torin asked.
“Reputation, man,” Kasteo drawled. “Shani's the best in the Bazaar but you have to convince her you're worth her time before she makes the effort.”
“Great.” Declan rolled his eyes. “A psychic diva.”
“A psychic with standards,” I amended. “She doesn't deal with people asking about their loves lives or wanting to contact a dead pet.”
“Fair enough,” Gage said.
“People want to speak with their dead pets?” Darc asked.
“You'd be surprised.” I widened my eyes at him.
“But you're in luck. Shani happens to like me,” Kas boasted.
“She does not,” I scoffed. “Shani thinks you're an annoying flirt and a thief.”
“They all say that.” Kasteo rolled his eyes. “It's a way of reconciling themselves to the fact that I'm a one-woman man.”
I chortled.
“I am!” Kas declared. “I don't tom around.”
“Maybe not anymore.” I made a face that declared what I thought the odds of that were.
“Whatever,” Kas huffed and started to lead us through the press of shoppers and vendors; Beneathers going about their daily business.
Felinae were prevalent in that stretch for obvious reasons but the Bazaar,