Henry looked over at his companions and thought to himself how he had not only failed his parents and brother, but now he had failed his friends. They wore similar shackles and it was obvious that they were affected even more so. He had wished that he could turn back time to two days ago, when he had decided he was going to go on this trip. He had wanted to discover secrets, find out what had happened, and here he was, trudging on a green mountain toward a spot where he and his friends would be sacrificed. The stars above were beautiful and he appreciated how Isaac must have felt walking to be sacrificed, for no other reason than being born.
“Hurry Up. I want to get out of here before the vultures come.” The guard pushed Henry along in the middle of his back. Henry reached for the flames inside but there was nothing to grab a hold of. For the first time in weeks, he really felt out of touch with himself.
Wally looked at Henry and gave him a weak smile. Henry had never seen Wally look this bad, even when he had fought the Marj back in Long Beach. Henry couldn’t help but laugh to himself; that seemed ages ago. Here he was in another dimension/world/parallel world, discovering that he had powers, friends who were from story books—a grotesque and, to all intents and purposes, an angel. He had never believed in either until today.
The djinn looked over at Henry; welders mask completely covering his face. He tapped it. “You don’t scare me boy. You can’t see my eyes; that means you can’t read my name.”
They arrived at the plateau and it was beautiful. It had all of the elements of romance, secluded. The rock out cropping was polished smooth, stark white, jutting out over nothing. It was a sight to behold. The only problem was that the area around him, the rock, and the surrounding area, was littered with small fragments of bone and blood stains were scattered here and there on the craggy ground and on the outcropping.
“It’s great to be arriving, you will not last long.”
As they approach the outcropping they see small metal hooks, also painted white but, nevertheless, it was obviously meant to hold down something or someone, in place. Sarah’s face went as white as a ghost. The djinn pointed his spear at her. “Listen, girl, I am curious whether, when the vultures start eating you, that would be considered cannibalism.” The djinn laughed and Sarah looked away.
“I hope the vultures want you all; you may be too tough to digest. Typically, we bring our dead up here already wrapped up and pulped before they eat. Unfortunately, since few djinn die on this plane, they have had nothing to eat for quite a while. You will most likely be good enough.”
Beads of sweat formed on Wally’s forehead. “This is how the Greeks were inspired for the punishment of Prometheus when he brought fire to man.” Wally winked at Henry. In spite of his state of being, he still had a twinkle in his eyes.
Almost without their noticing, all their chains had made their way into the loops on the rock. Sarah had not wanted it to end this way, but she also knew she would no longer be in confusion, in pain. Part of her had resigned to death on this rock; the alternative was worse…
“Farewell, abominations. May God have mercy for you in the hereafter.” With that, the djinn disappeared, leaving them to their own devices.”
“Well this has been fun,” Henry said. He had resigned himself in much the same way as Sarah. Their dream of answers and finding the book were no longer of any importance. Their ambition had been too great and now they were paying the price.
“Snap out of it, you two!” Wally looked at them both sternly. “Do not get sucked into the malaise of the chains. Copper and brass sap the will of the one wearing them. This is not either of you really speaking.”
Wally rattled the chains making sure that both Sarah and Henry felt it. He wanted them to feel the snap of pain to shake them up. Wally could tell that too much of the brass and copper had poisoned their systems, because neither had responded to the jerk of the chain in any meaningful way. Once again Wally had failed his charges; he had allowed them to be tricked and captured and now to be sacrificed to vultures. Nothing about this rang okay.
Then Wally saw them coming out the mountains on the other side. In complete V formation, they flew, barreling straight towards them. Even from this distance they could hear their jaws gnashing and screeches. They were almost frenzied in their approach. The waiting and watching while impending doom approached put death into perspective. In order for the vultures to live, something or someone must die. It just happened to be them this time. Wally said his prayers, looked over at Sarah and Henry, registering the horror on their faces, and accepted that it was too late to do anything but die.
Chapter Twelve: Meeting Anka
The vultures swooped low in a tight formation, then fanned out separately, landing right next to the rock outcropping. They each waddled up to a different person, testing their ability to defend themselves. Henry yelled rattling his chains in the process, Sarah screamed and wildly kicked her legs, and Wally just knelt down and stared his vulture in the face.
When the vulture moved its head left, Wally mirrored it; when the vulture moved its head right, Wally mirrored it. When the vulture waddled left, Wally shuffled left. When the vulture waddled right, Wally shuffled right. It was an intricate little dance that the vulture and Wally performed. And then the Vulture was hypnotized. He couldn’t keep his head up or his eyes open. Then he fell over, with a thud.
“One down, seven more to go…”
The other vultures had taken off when they heard the thud. Sarah and Henry felt relieved, but they knew it was a pyrrhic victory at best. In the sky above them, the remaining vultures circled and waited to fly in for the kill. Without question, Henry knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be dead. Henry looked up at the circling vultures and the starry sky. Then the stars abruptly faded away above the vultures. A screech from the birds made it clear that they longer cared about their new meal.
The vultures began to scatter, but they could not escape the descending dark, then Henry made out wings, jet black against the night sky. Then he saw a beak dart down and grab a vulture and swallow it. It raised its head and breathed out fire, burning two more vultures up until there was nothing left.
Then the giant bird dived down towards the trio, with little to no wind, then it slowed down and landed lightly next to Henry. Henry knew that he and the bird had business with one another. It was not so much something that needed to be spoken, but something that he felt. The bird cocked its head, looking at each of them, Sarah, then Wally and back to Henry, then he spoke.
“Suleyman.”
His voice rattled the bones of them all. Then he reached out one of his talons and tapped the chain binding them together and they fell away into dust. Henry stood up, looking at both Henry and Sarah, then back at the bird.
“I am not Suleyman,” Henry stated, hesitantly, lest the bird snap him up and eat him for stating the obvious. The bird raised its head and let out a broken screech, obviously he was laughing at Henry.
“I know you are not the Suleyman, boy. You have his blood though and since there has not been a Suleyman in a long time, unless someone says otherwise, you are the Suleyman to me.”
“I say otherwise. “ The boy in green and his dog appeared out of nowhere. “There will be no more Suleymans; this boy must weave his own destiny.”
The bird looked at the boy and snorted, then looked away.
“It has been a long time, Anka.” The boy walked over to the bird. The bird pulled away and shook his feathers.
“It has been a long time. Only the ghosts of birds visit me on their flight to the next life. You abandoned me.” Anka made a small hop closer to Henry, keeping the distance between himself and the boy.
“The time has not been right, there have been many djann, but this boy is the only one who can fulfill the prophecy.” The boy in green said with a hint of pleading in his voice.
“I know it is time, but nevertheless you should not have left me alone for all this time.”
“I know.”
Anka dipped his head down and the boy in green hugged him as best he could around the neck.
“It is time. Henry, you must go with Anka to the White Haoma Tree in the eastern Varkash Sea. This sea sits atop the peak of mount Qaf. There is something you must retrieve, something long since thought gone.”
“Do you think we are just going to turn around and trust you after you almost had us killed!!!?” Sarah yelled at the boy in green. She glared at his dog, the dog just slunk down with his tail between his legs, next to the boy in green.
“Sarah, show some respect. You do not know who you are speaking to.” Henry tried to calm Sarah down.
“I don’t care who it is.” Sarah began to glow, her wings flared up from her aura. While not made of flesh, they were magnificent. This time a sword appeared in both her hands. She was prepared for battle, just as she had fought the Marj.
“Enough, changeling.” The boy’s voice descended an octave or two and a slow, green fog rolled from his body and engulfed Sarah’s light. Then it was gone just as quickly; Sarah’s aura had diminished—wings, weapons and attitude gone.
“There are things happening that you cannot be privy to, and it is time for you all to follow your own paths.” The boy in green began to speak in earnest.
“In two days will be the equinox and the twilight of Qaf will expand across the world, the veil will be thin and, when that happens, the ifrit and the ghouls have decided to awake my brothers, the seven sleepers, to bring about the end of times. This must not happen.
“Henry you must go with Anka at once. Sarah and Wally, you must find Silas; head to the city of Ubar and discover what he knows.”
“I will not leave his side again,” Wally said, firmly. “The last time I did his family died, as his protector I will not let him down. “
“Neither will I. “Sarah piped in.
The boy in green assessed the situation and then looked long and hard at Sarah.
“Anka, can you take 1 more?”
“I can take a dozen more. I am a Simurgh, the last of my kind.” He shook his head indignantly.
“Wally, you have done your job well, you have safely brought Henry to me. Now you must complete, possibly the hardest task, you must find Silas; he is part of the key.”
“Sarah, you go with Henry. He may need back up.”
“What about you?” Henry said.
“As of now, I cannot leave. You have seen the Marid; they want no part of the pending Armageddon. I must watch and keep the balance here until the equinox and then I may travel freely.
Wally turned to Henry and gave him a look. It was the look of be careful, I will be back for you, you will be okay. It was the look of family.
The boy in green wiped his hand across the sky and a mandala tapestry appeared. It was beautiful and it opened up a doorway. They all could see through to the bustling city on the other side. Wally stepped into the city and the image folded in on itself and closed up.
Anka snorted. “That is no way to travel.” He began to beat his wings, yet nothing was disturbed. He lifted himself up off of the ground, talons right above Henry and Sarah. “We have a long journey to the top of the mountain, so hang on tight.” Anka opened his talons and, ever so gently, grabbed both of them. He beat his wings once more and lifted into the air with both Sarah and Henry in tow.
The boy in green knelt down and petted his dog. Then they both vanished.
“They think they can flout the laws of the Marid; they have another thing coming.” Amirah stepped from behind a rocky outcropping and began to transform into a bird; once completed, she was beautiful—a phoenix with red and orange plumage, with soft green and blue highlights. She beat her wings, once, twice, and then took off after Anka, to finish what the vultures began.
Chapter Thirteen: Swords and Sushi
Wally hadn’t been in Ubar for over half a century and, as with all things djinn, he was astounded. Spires of glass and steel reached into the sky beside food stalls and vendors hawking their wares. Humans would never be able to see this. From their vantage point, the humans could only see sand or abandoned buildings. Qaf connected them all; a full network of cities and communities hidden from Human sight. This is why the djinn have always been called the hidden ones.
Some humans had caught a glimpse of one of the cities during an equinox, when the veil between Qaf’ and the Earth was thin, and they saw “Shangri-la”. Sometimes, when there are mirages in the desert, there are glimpses of djinn cities or homes. There was one world, but two societies, one knowing about the other, the other having long since forgotten about the djinn except for the dark places and sounds that go bump in the night. This is what Wally lived for.
Of the races, he had felt that djinn had drawn a good lot in the diversity department. In a cosmopolitan city like this Henry knew there would be all manner of tribes and some Nephilim floating around. He had met Silas only once before, that was when he had been assisted by Henry’s mother. Silas was Henry’s uncle and if anyone knew some information on how and why his sister died, it would be him.
Anka pulled up and up, circling mountain after mountain. The twilight of the surrounding sky, with its stars, was in stark contrast to the emerald colored mountains that rose up around them. It is always assumed that only the sun can illuminate, but the thousands of stars, all suns in their own solar system, share their light and this cannot be seen more beautifully than in Qaf.
The hillsides dotted with trees, creatures and animals never before seen by human eyes raced beneath Anka. With each beat of the wings they climbed higher and the peak of the mountain was pulled closer. Then it was reached and they dropped down into a valley that covered the expanse of the mountain top and there sat the lake. It was huge, almost like a mini-ocean itself.
Sarah and Henry locked eyes. Henry mouthed the word “Wow” to her. In the center of the lake sat a tree. Beside the tree sat two boys.
Wally had often wondered to himself why the djinn even kept their cities; so many of them could simply blend in with humans and so many did. Yet every time he came to one of these cities he could see the influence of human culture or maybe it was vice versa, you could never really tell.
As he walked down the boulevard, he passed his favorite sushi bar. The stools sitting outside hadn’t changed in the 50 years since he’d been there. He thought to himself that he hoped that the sushi had.
He looked into the sushi display case and he was amazed at the variety. There were fish from all over the 7 known seas and the eighth sea that bordered Qaf and the earth. Since there were no limits to where the owner would and could go, there were always fish here that could be found nowhere else, not even in any other djinn city.
Wally could see kraken abaia—a type of magical eel. They even carried Wally’s favorite isonade—a shark-like creature, hard to kill, which tasted like lobster, with a hint of rosemary and melted butter. His mouth watered. As a grotesque, he had never needed to eat, but he enjoyed food, when he could. Then he saw the fish he was looking for, nare-zushi, fish that had been sitting in fermented rice for months, sliced thinly. Wally knew Yoshiro still ran the place.
“Yoshi, Yoshi!!” Wally yelled into the bar.
“Who dares call me by my boyhood name?”
Out stepped a giant of an octopus, a purple djinn, easily 10 feet tall, but what was most shocking was his girth. If Wally imagined the largest sumo wrestler, he still would not come close to how large Yoshi appeared. Wally was well aware that a djinn’s life was quite blessed; solely by the nature of their kind all djinn had a couple of things going for them. First, their features were malleable, so even the ones that could not fully change form, like the Silas djinn, could pass for human by making the smallest changes to their features. Second, they were mass-less and thus weightless. So Wally knew that Yoshi not only preferred this form, he relished it.
“Oh you!” Yoshi pointed his sausage sized fingers—the big hotlink sausage size, not the small Italian sausage kind—in Wally’s face.
<
br /> “You still have not paid your tab,” Yoshi began to rustle around under the counter and pulled out a scroll, “10,362 orders of isonade, 2,579 orders of abaia, 126,253 shots of sake…” Yoshi looked up at Wally and shook his head, then looked back at the scroll. “…and another 5,281 orders of assorted fish…” Yoshi stopped, looked up at Wally and back at the scroll. “…and 1 order of mixed tempura. What’s wrong with my tempura?”
Wally began, “I’m particular about my tempura, your grandmother’s was better. You don’t pound your shrimp up and it curls… I’m sorry.”
Yoshi’s face turned from purple to beet colored, “Well isonade is neither cheap nor free. You need to eat within your means,” and he pointed those fat sausage fingers at the Ancient Egyptian eatery across the street. “You should be eating loaves of cyllestis and barley beer and dried foods. You little peasant.”
Then Yoshi broke out in a great barrel of a laugh and swept Wally up in his arms in a giant bear hug. “Where have you been you mongrel?”
Wally smiled, “Alright already! Put me down, I have a story to tell you.”
Wally sat down and brought Yoshi up to speed. As always, the sake was flowing, with Yoshi drinking the majority of it.
“The prophecy is coming to fruition. Whew. I knew one day it would come, but I did not expect to see it in my lifetime. I thought an isonade or an abaia eel would do me in long before I would see this.” Yoshi shook his head and poured his 50th shot of sake.
Yoshi was a djinn whose family had long ago taken to the element of water. Many of them had emigrated to Japan thousands of years ago and lived and worked among them. Yoshi was no different. Like all djinn he carried the flame in him, but Wally always suspected that Yoshi’s affinity for water is what allowed him the ability to drink like a fish.
Ring of Aandaleeb: The Hidden Ones (The Djinn Chronicles Book 1) Page 5