Angels and Djinn, Book 3: Zariel's Doom Read Online Free Page B

stared down at them intently.
    “Hello, Nezana,” the seer said.
    “He missed you.” Zerai Saqir stepped into the narrow lane with a sheepish look. “Sorry for the intrusion.”
    “Missed me? I had no idea Nezana even liked me,” Iyasu said. “He’s never paid any attention to me. He did bite my finger once, but it didn’t seem like a gesture of affection at the time.”
    “I know, I remember. I suppose if I’m honest, I’m the one who missed you.”
    Iyasu let go of Azrael, walked over, and wrapped his arms around his old friend. “Are you all right?”
    “Yes and no.”
    Iyasu let him go. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
    Zerai shook his head. He had let his hair grow longer and it now hung in a thick black mane around his shoulders. His arms seemed even stronger and leaner than before, criss-crossed with taut veins and the white scars from his many birds of prey perching on him, and taking their food from him. But despite all his apparent health and strength, his face seemed tired and wasted. “It’s fine.”
    Iyasu knew perfectly well that it wasn’t fine. The falconer had wanted so badly to have a family of his own, and apparently not even Raziel could help him and Veneka to conceive. Wishing he could offer some comfort, all he could think to say was, “Maybe you just need to give it more time.”
    Zerai’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve given it time, and more time. I think maybe it’s time for…” He grimaced, unable to finish.
    Iyasu glanced back at Azrael, who nodded and faded back into the shadows, moving farther down the lane, giving them the privacy they needed. “I think you need to be honest with yourself, and with her. I’ve only been here half an hour and I know you’re not happy, and she’s not happy. That’s not a crime, Zerai. You didn’t fail or anything. It’s just… things happen. Things change. Or they don’t change enough. That’s life.”
    The falconer nodded. “I shouldn’t even be here. I’m no cleric. I spend more time with Nyasha and Nezana than actual people. Nothing’s the way I thought it would be. I want…”
    “What?”
    “A normal life.”
    Iyasu smiled wistfully. “So do I. You could have that, you know. You just have to make it happen.”
    “I know. But it’s hard.”
    “I know.” He embraced his friend again. “Promise me you’ll do something about it. Maybe not right now, in the middle of all this djinn business, but soon. For everyone’s sake, yours especially. All right?”
    Zerai leaned back and smiled a real smile. He still looked tired, but now there was relief in his eyes as well. “How did you learn so much about these things?”
    “Oh, you know.” Iyasu nodded his head back toward the distant figure in the lane.
    “Right.” Zerai’s unease returned. “How’s that going, by the way?”
    “Rael and me?” Iyasu grinned. “Wonderful. Just… fantastic, in every way.”
    “In every way?”
    Iyasu blushed. “Yes.”
    They laughed together.
    “So, you’re going east? Beyond the desert?” the falconer said.
    “That’s the plan.” Iyasu nodded.
    “All right. And you’ll be careful out there?”
    “No, he won’t.” Azrael called from the end of the lane. “He’ll be reckless and silly and naïve and over-eager. But I’ll make sure he comes back in one piece.”
    Zerai nodded. “I know you will.”
    “Hey, I’m not the one you need to worry about,” Iyasu said. “We’ll be far to the south of Shivala, heading east across the sea. What could be safer?”

Chapter 3
    Iyasu frowned at the sea. “I don’t think it’s supposed to do that.”
    Azrael stood next to him on the sandy shore, staring out across the black waves at the huge white masses of ice sailing south across the sea. A chill wind howled across the whitecaps, filling the air with gusts of snow and ice. The angel shook her head. “The sea can be… fickle.”
    “Not this fickle.” Iyasu started walking along the water’s edge, nudging the