The drive back to Austin went by in nearly total silence. Rawlins tried to make small talk, but neither Em nor I were interested. I considered apologizing a few times, but whenever the thought came to me, I shoved it away. Em sat in the front seat with her hands in her lap and stared, unflinching, at the window. It was actually pretty damn impressive. It was that resolve that would make sure I apologized first when my pride would finally allow it.

Rawlins dropped us off at the bank, and I followed Em to her car. The damn thing was so low to the ground that I had to drop into the seat. I thought the ride on the highway was terrible, but at low speeds and on surface streets, the suspension was useless. I jerked and bounced as Em drove us back to my apartment. It really felt like she was doing it on purpose.

“I swear to Christ,” I said. My throat was dry, and my voice came out harsh. “I’m never getting in that thing again.”

Em looked at me for a long time. She didn’t say anything, and I could see the uncertainty on her face. I wanted to reassure her, but I didn’t know what to say. I’d had a few flings in my life, but nothing serious. Em was the first woman I had any real feelings for. I was out of my depth, and she seemed like she was too. I decided to extend an olive branch.

“You coming up?” I asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “I’m going back to my place so you can have some space. I don’t want to be pushy.”

Yup, she was still a bit salty. I watched the golden thread connecting us as she drove away. It never diminished.

I didn’t waste any time walking upstairs to my apartment. I had thousands of jumbled memories in my head, and it was time I started the work of sorting through them. I stopped at my door. An eerie red light came from under the door, and I could hear scraping inside. I tried to pull a shield around me and was thankful when it appeared. It seemed Em’s wish was still in effect.

I burst through the door and jumped to the left. The umbrella stand jabbed me the side. Motherfucker, it hurt! I grabbed my ribs and grimaced. So much for my badass entrance. Rockslide sat in the middle of the room, running his hands through the broken glass. The red light was radiating from him. He turned his head slowly toward me.

“I still like thy abode,” he said.

I hadn’t thought of him as being male until now, but the memories told me I was right. His expression was wan, and maybe a little wistful. The light dimmed a little as some of the colored glass spilled from his hands. It looked like he’d separated all the glass into different colored piles.

“That’s nice,” I said. “Mind explaining how you got here?”

He adopted the childlike expression he had when I’d given him the glass. “Thou hast opened thy realm to me. I may visit at my leisure until thou revokes thy permission. Surely thou knowest this.”

I was a little offended by his tone. I couldn’t help seeing him as a toddler, and being lectured by a child wasn’t fun. Still, he had raised a valid security concern.

“So, Haliniel can come and go as he pleases?” I said.

“He may,” Rockslide said. “But, I do not think thou needs be concerned. His kind rarely keeps the company of thy kind.”

“Figures,” I said. “What do you like about this place so much? It’s just a crappy apartment.”

He ran his hands through the glass some more. “Mine overlord dost not care for such baubles. It pleases me to bask in thy luxurious gift.”

Damn, just how bad did this guy have it? I mean, his place did kind of suck, but I just figured that’s how he liked it. Different strokes for different folks. I thought about the memories of Anubis, and it made me wonder who his overlord was.

“Is your overlord Osiris?” I said.

His head jerked up. “It is forbidden to speak the overlord’s name. But since thou hast spoken it, and I am in thy realm, yes, he was once called by that name. He has claimed many names before, and many names since.” He looked at his hands for a long time. “Names are who we are.”

Holy shit, I thought. That’s why getting a name was so crucial to Rockslide, and why he was so happy about it. He would have had to wait until Osiris gave him one, and until then, he wasn’t an individual. Did I change something in him by calling him Rockslide? Was there a deeper reason why he was more comfortable in my apartment than in his own realm? Did I actually adopt a walking ruby?

“So,” I said, “what brings you here?”

“Mine abode feels…itchy I think thou called it,” he said. “I hath never noticed before. Here feels pleasant.”

Names are who we are. I called him Rockslide, and he sat there, letting colored rocks slide through his fingers. I wondered if he knew what he was doing.

“I’m not going to accept the bane,” I said.

Rockslide shrugged. “Tis thy choice. Many choose the Malak, but I shall miss thy generosity.”

“I’m not taking the mark, either,” I said.

The glass tumbled out of his hands, and his head jerked up. The look of astonishment on his face caught me off guard.”

“Thou art bound to choose,” he said. “The Zaeim Aljiniy hath decreed this!”

“You know what I am, right?” I said. “I’m pretty sure Haliniel does.”

“Thou art a Djinn, champion of the mortals, protector of the balance,” he said.

“You’re partly right,” I said. I watched Rockslide intently, looking for any sign of comprehension. “I’m an Alqanun. I’m not bound by shit.”

A look of wonder appeared on his face. “I hath heard of thy kind before. Thou art a myth, a being beholden only to Alkun. Is this is how thou has the power to name me? When only mine overlord should be able to do so.”

“Looks that way,” I said. A thought was worming its way through my mind. “Speaking of your overlord, how do you like working for him?”

“I hath not yet been honored by mine overlord’s attention,” Rockslide said.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” I said. “You’re, like, hundreds of years old, and he hasn’t even so much as said hi?”

Rockslide shrugged again. “There are many Shaytan. When mine overlord has need of me, he shall proclaim my name, and I shall know it.”

“Except,” I said, “you’ve already got a name. Will he know what it is, or will he just change it?”

Rockslide frowned. The red light was now all but gone, and the light coming in through the window refracted off his faceted face. It felt like being at a Halloween themed disco.

“To change one’s name…” Rockslide said. He sounded afraid.

“Tell you what,” I said. “Don’t worry about it, make yourself at home. You want some more glass?”

His mouth fell open. “There’s more?”

I went to the kitchen and pulled out the rest of the punch set. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning when I handed him six cups and saucers.

“This time, you can break them,” I said. “I’m going to my room. Enjoy yourself.”

I left the living room to the sound of Rockslide eagerly smashing glass.