jinn 03 - vestige by Liz Schulte Page A

at the warehouse the living room was empty, though I could hear soft echoes of Olivia’s voice coming from the back. I did a cursory once through of the building before I followed the sound of her voice. She sat on the bed, her ankles crossed out in front of her, reading some story about monkeys while the little girl rested beside her, not looking at all tired.
    The kid stared at Olivia’s face as she read, her forehead wrinkling. Olivia was animated and did voices and made faces as she read each line, still looking strong and healthy. I stood in the hallway, watching the two of them interact. I’d originally kept the two of them apart because the kid was terrified of her and I had to be sure the angel was gone. But once I was certain, I don’t know why I kept it up, other than I still had no idea what to do with the child.
    Sending her away wasn’t an option anymore. She had the seal of Solomon inside of her, which meant she would always be a target. Her welfare wasn’t up to group decisions and Olivia didn’t need to get attached. Like you aren’t, my own voice ran through my thoughts.
    Olivia’s head snapped toward me, all easiness fading. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    I stepped inside the room. “Nothing.”
    Her eyes narrowed, but the kid climbed out from under the blanket and took Olivia’s face in her hands, turning it toward her. She moved her mouth, mimicking Olivia’s earlier expressions.
    “You want me to keep reading?” Liv laughed.
    The child had a look of supreme concentration on her face as she studied Liv’s. Olivia mirrored the little girl’s movement, putting a gentle hand on either side of the kid’s face, too. As they stared at each other, Olivia glowed gently. The girl was even more fascinated by the glow, poking her little finger at Liv’s chest.
    Olivia sucked in a pained breath, and released the girl, pressing a hand over her heart to prevent further jabs. “We need to teach her how to talk and she needs a name. She’s trapped in there.”
    “You should have seen her when we found her,” I said.
    “I thought she might take a nap if I brought her in here, but apparently not.” The kid pushed a finger over Olivia’s eyebrow in the wrong direction hard enough to wrinkle her skin. Olivia removed the girl’s hand and put it back at her side. “Sleep,” she said and closed her eyes, pretending to rest.
    I came over and picked the kid up, laying her back down in the bed.
    “Sleep,” Olivia said again, scrunching down so she could lie across from her.
    The girl watched Olivia feign sleep, and gave me a doubtful look, punctuated with a yawn.
    I touched my fingers to her forehead and released enough energy to put her to sleep.
    Olivia shook her head. “Cheater,” she said as she stood up.
    I winked at her. “I’m just good with kids.”
    She followed me back into the hallway. “Now are you going to tell me what’s really wrong? You stormed out of here, and returned, eyes blazing. Now you have that line between your eyes you get when you’re stressed.”
    I considered putting her off and not telling her, but that would only prompt her to do the same—and I wanted her to talk to me, needed her too. . . . But at the same time she had her own problems and no matter how she looked, she wasn’t healed. She didn’t need anything else to worry about. “There were too many feelings in here, so I had to get some air.”
    “And?”
    “And I was approached by two women who knew Baker. They want me to join the council.”
    She frowned. “What council?”
    “I don’t know. All I know is Baker used to be on it, but then got out. Mentioned that dying would at least buy him time before they made him come back—hardly a ringing endorsement for the group. I know he went to them to get information from time to time. I think the half-elf bartender knows more about it.”
    “Huh.” She studied me for a moment. “But that’s not what’s bothering you.”
    I bit the inside of my