Ring of Aandaleeb: The Hidden Ones (The Djinn Chronicles Book 1)

by Hutchins, S. S.

  Henry recognized the lamp and he knew what it did to djinn. The weightless, formless trapped body was here, attached to the lamp. So some djinn abilities were being used here, this was a good sign. Henry watched as Djoser rubbed the lamp.

  A djinn slowly faded into existence.

  Henry wondered how the djinn were surviving. His face looked pale and horrified. He had been obviously beaten, regularly. While djinn could heal, his face had been repeatedly broken and mended, but each time healing more and more crookedly. It was odd to look at.

  “Servant, I need you to do two things. I need you to make sure this boy doesn’t cheat with his djinn abilities. Second, when he loses, I want you to bear witness to his vileness and just as before you will bear witness to his punishment.” Djoser pointed to the crowd and at the pile of djinn bones and the crowd went wild.

  Henry could see the detached, crazed look in the djinn’s eyes. He felt sorry for the djinn. He knew he needed to help this djinn in some way and release him from this nightmare.

  Djoser could sense Henry’s thoughts.

  “Do not be so concerned for his fate, boy. He was tracked down by the djinn police, Ghilan enforcers, they trapped him in the lamp, not us. Tell the boy your crimes.”

  The djinn’s crazed eyes stared at Henry.

  “I am a Ghul; I eat human flesh, dead or alive.”

  Djoser glared at his pet djinn.

  “Speak up or you will receive the same punishment as last time you disobeyed me.”

  The djinn rubbed his upper bicep. Henry could see a thin ring around it. He dared not vocalize what he could sense in his gut, but it was not a pretty sight.”

  The Djinn opened his mouth, and for 1 second he was about to hold out on saying anything, when a flash in his eyes seemed to make him change his mind.

  “I devoured a woman’s child while the child was still in her belly.”

  The crowd hissed and booed.

  Henry was taken aback. Nothing had prepared him to hear this.

  “Henry, if you think this is rare, listen.”

  Djoser waved his hand again at the djinn.

  “Tell Henry of your tribe.”

  The Djinn once again was visibly struggling.

  “My entire tribe hates humans and has chosen to do our part, by killing as many as we can and devouring them and their souls, so that they cannot meet the divine in the end of days and will be forever lost.”

  The crowd booed and hissed even louder.

  “Just as he bears witness on the race, you, my dear Henry, must be his witness, so that his crimes may be recognized, just like the others did, before their own trials”

  Henry understood the anger that these humans, in the loose sense of the word, felt, wronged by this Imhotep, a djinn. They also felt wronged and abused by djinn in general. He was going to lose this race.

  “We request to be a part of these proceedings. As members of the “ancient kind”, we ask to represent and be true impartial witnesses to the proceedings this night.”

  To Henry that voice was like music to his ears. He looked over his shoulder and he saw a ten foot tall stone demon with horns, a tail and a pair of goat legs. At one time, the sight of this creature would have driven fear into his heart. Not anymore. Alongside Wally glided Sarah, his own personal angel.

  Djoser made a guttural sound, a cross between a bull and a jackal, and charged right at Wally and Sarah.

  Chapter Thirty-Three: Enemy of my enemy

  “Thanks, I guess.” Silas was shocked but happy to see Amirah there. “The last time we saw you, you were working to have us killed for breaking Marid law.”

  Amirah had wanted to help after her experience in the Haoma Tree, but she couldn’t quite explain the epiphany she had had there. The wisdom of the tree had led her in an unexpected direction and she really could not quite explain it to herself yet, let alone someone else.

  “That was then, this is now. “ She walked over to Yoshi to check on him, she could sense that possession fever had nearly taken a hold of him and almost gotten him stuck. She broke down the images and shapes and colors that had created the possession spell and removed it from Yoshi’s essence.

  “Silas, these corrupted Ghilan mandalas you use will kill someone one of these days. You have needed formal training for a long time. Yoshi nearly died.”

  “Thank you.” Yoshi’s eyes lingered a little too long on Amirah, so she slapped him.

  “This is not the time for ridiculous flirtations. This holding spell will only last so long. We need to possess them and get back into that castle.”

  Yoshi mouthed to Silas, “I’m in love.”

  Silas rolled his eyes. Leave it to Yoshi to fall in love with a psycho woman. He still didn’t understand her intentions, why she was here, what her purpose was. But truth be told, he was grateful for her intervention.

  Silas and Yoshi brought Amirah up to speed while she constructed a new spell tailored for each of them to perform a successful possession.

  “Iblis? Are you sure?”

  Amirah, like all djinn, thought he had disappeared after the Time Wars. But here he was, the father of all Djinn, figuratively, and he was here to destroy humanity. The depth of the prophecy was greater than anyone expected. All over a djann, not even a true djinn, and now another Time War was on the near Horizon. The equinox was fast approaching and Mount Qaf could not be reached easily from Mount Ararat. The closest link was Shangri La, but they were a group of djinn even more reclusive than the Marid.

  Amirah would have to sort out an escape route or else they were doomed. The Tigon rubbed up alongside Amirah and she realized that the escape was more obvious than she expected.

  “Okay we will go back into the castle, this is what they expect, we will make the Tigon seem dead, and we will get the ring. Henry needs this ring in order to unite us. In the hands of Iblis, it cannot be trusted. The first Time Wars were started that way and I cannot participate in that.”

  Silas and Yoshi nodded in agreement. This was a necessary evil.

  Amirah began to chant and, as time sped back up, they possessed the bodies of the three remaining Ifrit and then the Tigon went from furry large kitty cat to a ferocious animal in a manner of 6 seconds flat. Amirah, Silas and Yoshi had not anticipated this. This was going to ruin their plans.

  Chapter Thirty-Four: Something to prove

  Djoser’ jackal headed face had fury burning in his eyes. It was obvious that he did not expect a grotesque or a Grigori at his little ceremony yet, at the same time, as King, he had to make sure he saved face with his subjects.

  “You wish to bear witness to the Heb-sed ceremony?” Djoser said, more rhetorically than looking for an answer.

  Wally strode over to stand beside Henry; Sarah lightly flew over to Henry’s other side.

  “I am Henry’s protector, a grotesque, and I am Wali, his guardian, until his parents are once again united with him. I will bear witness to the Heb-sed ceremony.”

  Djoser snorted, a sound more of frustration than of anger. He knew that, with a protector in their midst, it would be impossible to perform the ceremony without honor. The bull half of Djoser pawed at the ground nervously.

  “I am Sarah, I am Grigori, daughter of Samyaza, companion to Henry. I will also bear witness to the Heb-sed ceremony.”

  A hush fell over the crowd. They all knew the story of the watchers, the Nephilim, and to have one of their children amongst their midst made them uneasy. The Grigori roamed the earth and you never knew if you were going to find one of destruction or of creativity and their looks gave no indication of which type they were.

  “I also bring a gift to Henry.”

  She pulled from her bag an ebony stone, egg like in shape, and handed it to Henry.

  “This fell out of a portal behind us. When I touched it, it hummed. I reached out with my senses and it let me know it belonged to you,” Sarah whispered.

  Henry could feel the humming, more like a buzz vibrating through the rock. He smi
led. He watched as the rock slowly began to ember along the edges, it spread along the outside of the rock then burst into flames. Then nothing was there.

  Djoser smirked, “That was interesting.”

  The crowd cackled and laughed. Henry looked at Sarah and Wally; they both shrugged their shoulders at him.

  “Now that all the witnesses are here,” Djoser waived at the djinn of the lamp and at Wally and Sarah, “the race can begin.”

  The lights went dim in the arena and a path lit between two throne seats. The seats were maybe 200 meters apart.

  “The race requires the runners to unite upper and lower Egypt, but starting with the throne of Upper Egypt, running to lower Egypt, and back to upper Egypt. Each marker is laid out for you. Each marker must be passed in order, with none being skipped. There are four markers up and four markers down.”

  Henry realized these last four hundred meters would go quickly; with Djoser having half the body of a bull, there would be no way for him to win.

  “King Djoser, you obviously have a distinct advantage over me,” Henry said with a hint of trepidation, “how do you expect me to succeed without my abilities?”

  “So you forfeit?” Djoser and the crowd laughed again. Henry was getting tired of the laughter.

  “I’m just saying that I don’t have the advantages you have.”

  “And you want the book that will make you King of Djinn, boy? You should give up now. Go back home or wherever you came from and call it a day. You are not King material.”

  Djoser went to the starting marker and began to warm up.

  “I am here to unite a nation, upper Egypt and lower Egypt, these people need me. Who really needs you?”

  Henry’s anger flared in him, a different burn. He needed to avenge his brother and his parents’ death. He had to stop the end of the world. He had to fulfill a prophecy he didn’t understand and wasn’t quite sure if he was the cause of the problem.

  “Henry, you don’t have to do this, you don’t have anything to prove.” Sarah walked over to Henry and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot; you may be able to get the book a different way.”

  Wally walked over and took Sarah’s hand, “They aren’t going to let us leave, Sarah, until the Heb-sed is completed. They may not even let us leave after that.”

  “I have to do this, yes they will most likely kill us either way, but I am not going to let you guys try to fight our way out. I will win this.”

  Henry walked over to the beginning of the starting line. He leaned forward and looked to his left at the Jackal headed Djoser.

  “So, the boy who wanted to be King is going to try to race me.”

  “I’m going to do my best.”

  The Djinn floated between them and counted to three and then they were off.

  Chapter Thirty-Five: Not quite safe yet

  Yoshi used his new ifrit body to flip the Tigon over his back. The Tigon hit the ground running and lunged at Silas. Silas shot straight in the air two feet. The Tigon missed. Amirah, in her ifrit body, slammed into the Tigon, then froze it.

  “We are your friends.” Amirah walked up to the Tigon and showed it her true face. The Tigon calmed down and began to lick Amirah’s hand. “Good Tigon, now you have to go to sleep.” Amirah waved her hand across his body and the Tigon slumped. Yoshi picked the Tigon up and carried him across his back.

  “We’re off to see the wizard,” Silas said as they all flew up towards the throne room.

  “This body definitely feels better than the last; it felt like I was struggling the whole time,” Yoshi said as he flew past Amirah and Silas. Amirah smiled at Silas. Silas just scowled at her as he ascended up the mountain.

  “What have you here?” one of the al Ghul guards said as they entered the castle.

  “It’s a Tigon.”

  “The Tigon! The one that killed those 13 ghuls?”

  “It could be, we don’t know yet, we will let Iblis decide. Let us pass before we all are in trouble with Iblis.

  “I thought I saw two ghuls go out with you,” the second guard agreed.

  “Unfortunately, the Tigon attacked the ghuls first. He’s become accustomed to Ghul flesh over these many months.”

  The two ghuls mumbled something to themselves. They then came back to the gate.

  “We are watching you,” said the first Ghul. “We cannot keep dying with impunity during this truce between our two tribes. Someone will pay.”

  They let them enter the gate.

  Upon arriving at the throne room, Ornias was gnawing on a human hand. Silas couldn’t help but feel completely disgusted. His inner dialogue couldn’t help him, but made a mental image note. Ornias was his when it was all over.

  The throne’s back was to them, but it slowly turned around and there sat Iblis. Iblis was known as the father of the djinn. While not literally the father of all djinn, figuratively he was treated as such because of his choice and willingness to stand up for his belief. This was phenomenal and, while not everyone agreed, they definitely respected him for it.

  Silas, Yoshi and Amirah, in their borrowed ifrit bodies, approached Iblis cautiously.

  “Ah I see you have the Tigon, please bring it closer, put It down.”

  They all cautiously walked to where Ibis sat. Yoshi dropped the Tigon onto the stone floor.

  “Good! Tigons are rare creatures. It’s unusual to see them in nature, much like us; they are considered a lucky omen taking the best attributes of both tigers and lions and melding them into a fierce predator.”

  Iblis knelt down and stroked the fur of the Tigon.

  “It is said that if you eat their liver, their good fortune and luck will pass on to you.”

  Yoshi, Silas and Amirah took small steps back from the Tigon. Silas gave Amirah a quick nod and she wiped away her spell on the Tigon. It awoke and began to attack Iblis. Iblis disappeared instantly, the Tigon ran to attack what appeared to be the air just as Iblis reappeared there. This time, the Tigon latched down on Iblis’s forearm and he could not change or disappear.

  Silas, Yoshi and Amirah, as Ifrits, flew across the room and attempted to help him remove the Tigon. In the confusion Silas slipped the ring off of Iblis’s finger. Amirah touched the Tigon and willed him to release Iblis and jump out of the window. He obeyed faithfully. The Tigon leapt through the glass of the throne room window, plunging straight down into the side of the mountain.

  “We will get him.” Silas, Yoshi and Amirah dove out of the same window, flying straight after the Tigon.

  “I have the ring,” Silas mouthed to Yoshi and Amirah over the roar of the wind. They released the ifrit bodies from possession, smoke and sand pouring forth through the Ifrits’ mouths and noses. In the process they wrapped themselves around the Tigon and carried him aloft, as the ifrits were dashed hopelessly onto the rocks.

  “It seems as if they took the bait.” Iblis turned from the broken window and smiled at Ornias. Ornias stepped from the deepest shadow of the throne room.

  “You were right, they had no idea you were on to them.”

  “As the father of the djinn and the first Ghilan, I have a few tricks of my own. I have for a long time been able to discern the possessed from the unpossessed. Many of the tapestries that you see in the libraries of djinn tribes I either invented or was there when it was invented or it’s based on some study of something I invented.”

  Iblis sat back down on his throne and changed. He went from the large, stocky djinn that everyone recognized, to almost half the size. He looked older, wizened, almost frail. The left side of his body was burned black. His left eye simply showed white as though he had cataracts. He raised his left hand up and admired the ring that Asmodeus had taught Solomon to make.

  Four jewels, each representing an element, forged half of copper and of brass; one metal to control the good djinn the other metal to control the bad djinn. Included was the knot of the Suleyman. It was a beautiful piece of Sihr.

  Iblis coughed u
ncontrollably. Then he stopped abruptly. He put his hand down.

  “What will the ring they have do?” Ornias rushed over to help take care of Iblis’s cough.

  “It will let them know that some things you don’t play with.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six: Walkabout

  Legion put his head up to the sky. Like rain drops he could feel strong Sihr, ancient and corrupt, yet not quite evil. He could sense it was coming from the North from the pyramid of Djoser. He knew that the hour was coming; the hour of retribution was closing in. He needed to consume to stay strong. He needed to do as Samyaza requested. He sniffed the air; she was there already, friend/foe. She had always been there. Friend/foe had helped and chastised. Friend/foe had shared pain but shunned group. Friend/foe was okay to kill if she got in the way. Legion stepped forward into the haze of the desert and began to move quickly to the Djoser pyramid.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven: All out

  Henry saw King Djoser touch the first marker and realized that he could not keep up with the king, he was too fast. Then the unexpected happened, King Djoser disappeared on contact with the marker. Henry tried to halt his running, but it was too late, he was actually being pulled to the marker like a magnet. He couldn’t stop himself and his hand hit the marker and he tumbled forward into darkness.

  There was nothing he could see or touch or feel. He was lost and disoriented. There was a sense of weightlessness and yet he knew exactly where he was in space. Then a pinprick of light could be seen in the distance and it approached him rapidly, getting larger and larger until it completely engulfed him and he found himself sitting at the dining table with his family. His mother was cooking an Indian curry dish, his father was joking and laughing and he and Walter were making jokes.