Fortune's Fool - Mercedes Lackey [120]
“Hmm.” She thought about that. “All right, then why put them in something that can be opened? What possible reason could you have for not dropping the thing into a volcano or the deepest part of the ocean?”
Sergei blinked at her.
“Mercy,” he said softly.
Her eyebrows rose. “Mercy? What, in the name of the good saints, do you mean by that?”
Sergei’s eyes softened, and for once, there was nothing sarcastic, ironic, or comical about his tone. “These are creatures that cannot be destroyed. You can’t allow them to run about loose, because of all the damage they can inflict. They are, simply put, a menace, and they do need to be confined where they can’t hurt anyone. But they are also thinking beings, things that can reason and are aware of their own existence. Yes, they have chosen paths of evil and harm. But don’t they deserve a chance to repent and reform?”
Katya opened her mouth, then shut it again. This was a question to which she really had no answer. “Can they?” she finally asked. “Repent and reform, I mean. Just listening to this one, it doesn’t seem likely.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know much more than you about Jinn. But the one who put him in a bottle obviously thought so.” The Horse sighed. “I’d rather err on the side of mercy, myself. I might be in need of some myself one day, and it isn’t only Fortunate Fools who get back what they give to others.”
She considered this. “Could you find the City of Brass?” she asked. “I know you’ve found a lot of other places, probably more unlikely than that, like the Well of the Water of Life and Death.”
“Probably. It wouldn’t take me long to get there if I knew the way. But since I don’t know the way, I don’t think I can get there and back with help from the lawful Jinni in time to help us.” His ears drooped with obvious regret. “It was a good idea though. I wish you’d thought of it sooner.”
“That wasn’t what I was thinking—or actually I was. If we lose, I think you should go there and get these lawful Jinni to help you, help Father, because we simply can’t allow this one to keep destroying the forest with his desert.” She bit her lip. She didn’t want to think about losing, because if they lost…Sasha would probably die. Not only that, but she might die if the Jinn thought she was too much trouble to keep alive. In fact, she would rather be dead, because she didn’t want to think of having to go on without Sasha. The very thought felt like a spear in her heart. “But if we win, the Jinn will be back in the bottle and no matter what we did with it, there would be a chance that someone would find it and open it again. So I want you to take the bottle to the City of Brass and the Jinn’s own people. If anyone will know what to do with him, you would think it would be them.”
“Good idea,” Sergei said, brightening. I will do just that.” His ears came up. “I promise.”
“Now, help me think, here. If you were a Jinn, where would you put such a bottle?” she asked.
“I would want it some place where ordinary mortals couldn’t touch it. Someplace where, however, I could. That would be—in a fire?”
She frowned. “Hot as it is, there are no fires anywhere around the Castle—” No—that wasn’t quite true! “—except the kitchen!” she all but shouted. “The bread ovens!”
Sergei picked up his ears even farther. “Is it late enough for them to have been banked?”
“Should be…can you tell if I am going to alert him by moving his bottle?” she asked. “I’ll have to take it out of the oven to read what is on it.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Go get the rest. I will meet you at the kitchen door.”
“The rest” were not hard to find; all of them were sitting disconsolately around their shared room. They all must have been pinning their hopes to the throne room. When she explained her idea, life came back to all of them.
“We’ll stand guard!” Lyuba said, as the bear-girl nodded.
“I’ll watch for trouble coming from outside,” Guiliette said bravely. “If the Jinn comes, I might be able to delay him.”
“Huh…” Klava said, and then grinned. “Oh, I