"You are no less nor more than you need to be." The serpent slid out of the bathtub and slithered around Farren's arm. "I will eventually become a tattoo and you will carry me on your skin."

Farren didn't know how he felt about that idea, but he'd take all the help he could get.

63.

The snake didn't comment. Farren couldn't say he was surprised. The avatar seemed to thrive on half answers and portentous statements. "I will have to come up with a name for you."

Sighing over the complication of his life, Farren quickly dressed. Exhausted didn't begin to explain how drained his body felt.

He dumped his clothes in the hamper by the door then left the bathroom. He needed rest.

"Feel better?" Dan asked.

"I just want to sleep." Exhaustion turned his feet to lead blocks, his heels thumped on the ground like a marching beat. He slid into bed and immediately into the bliss of sleep. He only faintly wished Dan could join him, but by then it was too late to ask as darkness took over.

It started innocently enough. Fluffy clouds, green grass and trees as far as the eye could see. It only took Farren a few minutes to realise everything was a bit too perfect. The grass had an emerald tinge never seen in nature, the clouds were so white they were almost the colour of bleached snow and the trees were large and oddly shaped like they were created out of clay by a giant's hands.

"Where am I?" Farren wondered. He scanned the area but saw no one else around.

"Nice to see you again, boy."

The familiar deep voice had Farren spinning around. A broad-shouldered man with long black hair stood beside him. He wore jeans and a T-shirt with a picture of a lamp on the front.

"Sir." Farren nodded. Power rolled off the djinn like a thick perfume clouding the air with his magic. He might not be willing to take over the world for the djinn, but he didn't think it wise to antagonize the powerful being. It appeared human in his dream. Farren wondered if he was projecting.

"You have disappointed me, Farren." The djinn floated a foot above the ground, his bare feet tucked beneath him.

"Sorry, I'm just not cut out for world domination."

64.

The djinn nodded. "You will change your mind once we take over. For now I will let you go free. I have found another willing to do my bidding. This one is weaker willed and is a good minion but doesn't have your intelligence for a proper rule."

"Um, that's good then." Inside, Farren was panicking. Crap! He'd been vain to think he was the only one with strong djinn blood left in the entire fucking world. He was rare, not the last.

The djinn smiled, a predatory grin. "Don't worry, my boy. There will be room for you at the top. Once we take over, your moral dilemma will be over. I understand you don't want to participate in the subjugation of the others. I'll even let you keep your little wizard mate if you want. I can always find a use for more wizards. You will be my right hand man and together we will bring the djinn back to your plane and into power."

"Um, thanks for thinking of me." Inside Farren panicked. How could he stop the djinn if he didn't know where they were striking? Crap! He should've agreed, then at least he would know their actions.

The djinn laughed, a great booming sound that vibrated Farren's chest and the air around him. The djinn's jewel-green eyes shone with amusement. "Your powers are growing, child. I am impressed with your friend there. Few have won the favour of the fire god, and never a djinn. We are usually rivals for the same powers."

Farren looked down. His fire serpent swirled around the outside of Farren's sweats.

"Soon you will be able to transform into many creatures and become a true being of fire. Maybe in time you will even become a true djinn and overcome your human weaknesses."

"I don't think I have enough magic for that, but thanks." Farren didn't trust this creature beside him, he could feel malice pouring off the djinn, but the idea of denying him wouldn't end well. He'd better keep being polite and avoid any confrontation as long as possible. Farren knew he'd have to give in soon and talk to his lover about the danger.

"Don't worry, Farren, I will never abandon my children." That's what Farren was afraid of. This powerful being didn't really care about Farren's well-being as much as how he could use Farren's abilities to manipulate him into pulling the djinn back onto the earthly plane.

65.

The djinn's voice echoed through Farren's body like a tiny electric vibration. Farren rubbed his chest, trying to soothe away the sensation. The fire serpent curled around Farren's upper body as if trying to protect him.

"I appreciate that." Not. "But I'm sure you have others who can help you much more than me."

Please let there be someone! Anyone.

"None of them are as powerful as you. If you deny me, I will destroy the man you love.

If you agree to help, then he can stay by your side. See, I'm not a monster. I'm letting you keep your free will. My current minion can only help so much, she isn't strong enough to finish the job. That's why I need you. Your blood and magic along with her charm will be enough to help me across."

Peachy.

A chill winnowed through Farren's body, icing it over with fear for himself and panic for Dan. "Tell me what I need to do."

If nothing else he could learn and grow his own powers. He had to find the djinn's minion and destroy her while keeping the fire beings in the other realm. At one time he would've said it unfair to banish the entire breed, but the more he learned from his relative, the more he began to think the wizards had made a good call. The djinn were too dangerous to run free among mankind. They had to be contained.

Without warning, the scene fractured, shattering like a window when a ball was tossed through it. Not that he'd ever been caught doing that.

"Farren!"

Farren blinked until Dan's worried face came into focus. "What?"

His mind struggled with the abrupt return of consciousness.

"You were mumbling in your sleep and I couldn't wake you up."

"I-I was having a bad dream." After all, having a scary djinn visit him in his dreams and tell him to build his powers and prepare for world domination wasn't his idea of a happy story. Soon he'd have to share the truth with his lover. He'd need as many alliances as he could for the upcoming battle. This wasn't just between him and one djinn anymore. This was between the djinn and every person on the planet.

Dan sat on the edge of the bed. Farren scooted to give him more room.

66.

Light streamed through the window. "What time is it?"

"Ten."

Farren tried to care about missing class, but it was difficult to be concerned about failing a single subject while millions of lives hung in the balance. He searched his mind but he couldn't think of anyone he could talk to. Who would believe him? Whatever he said, he'd have to prove his djinn background, which would only end with him being thrown into a containment room and possibly being banished to the other plane.

For the first time he wondered if the minion the djinn referred to was the one creating the fires. What better way to get Farren to step forward than to make him look guilty for the fires? Farren bit his lip as he tried to consider what to do next. He couldn't give in to the djinn, but he couldn't risk Dan either.

He settled for a warning. "I want you to be really careful."

Dan frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

Farren's voice stalled in his throat, the words choking him. He tried again. "Just pay attention when you're walking around campus. There are some weird things going on."

There, that was suitably vague.

"You mean weirder than my boyfriend having an obscure tattoo and an avatar granted by a fire god?" Dan's eyes glittered with amusement.

"Yeah, stranger than that." He'd hoped to have more time to come up with a believable lie. Dan wasn't stupid. He was letting Farren have his secrets now, but how long could he possibly expect that to last?

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on." Dan stroked Farren's arm in a reassuring gesture.

"Where are your brothers?" Farren desperately grasped for a change of subject.

"They're in class."

Farren grabbed Dan, yanked him down then rolled until Dan lay beneath him.

"Whatever will we do with this time alone?"

Dan grinned. "I guess that's up to you. You've had a rough night."

He couldn't argue. The past few days had been more than Dan even knew about. Farren needed comfort, to know he was still alive and worth touching. Dan wouldn't want anything to do with Farren once he found out his secret. From the way things were going, Farren *

67.

didn't know how much longer it would stay that way. He was quickly losing ground and the djinn were coming.

Dan smelt good. Farren pressed his nose to Dan's neck, inhaling the scent of the man he'd come to really like and could easily grow to love. He would fight to keep his lover. The djinn already knew about Dan. Pushing Dan aside now wouldn't do him any good, instead it would leave Dan vulnerable without knowing his enemy.

"Shh, you're thinking so loud I can almost hear it." Dan nuzzled closer.

Farren laughed. Even in dark times his Dan could bring him joy. Farren tightened his grip on Dan. "I'll keep you safe."

Dan grinned. "I think you've got that backwards."

Farren kissed him. "No. I don't think I do."

He bit down on Dan's neck, not breaking skin, but leaving a mark. Dan convulsed beneath him. Farren licked the spot he'd bit. It would bruise. Good. He needed to leave a possessive sign on Dan-to claim him.

Dan's phone buzzed. He ignored it.

"Aren't you going to check? It could be important."

"Nothing is more important than lying here with you." Dan cupped Farren's cheek.

"Anything else can wait."

Farren dived into the kiss, unable to resist his mate.

He pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. "Leave," he ordered the snake.

The fire serpent slithered off Farren.

"You snake is kind of freaky." Dan scooted closer to the headboard.

"She's just protective."

"You can tell me, Farren, what are you?" Dan's piercing gaze searched Farren as if he could see the truth by peering at his soul.

Bile tried to come up Farren's throat. He swallowed it back down then climbed off the bed. The moment was lost. He jerkily yanked on his clothes, determinedly not looking at Dan. "I-I'm going to class."

"Are you going to the party tonight?"

Farren focused on his shoes. The fire serpent slithered back around his ankles and wiggled up his leg. Farren actively ignored it. "What party?"

68.

"At the Wolf house. Jay and Kevin invited us. I'd like to bring you."

"Maybe." He didn't think he could concentrate on his plans for the evening, not with the shadows of the djinn dream clouding his head.