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

by Hutchins, S. S.

  Henry remembered this day. Henry watched as the lightning struck outside and hit a transformer, there was a loud crack as the transformer exploded and then immediate blackout.

  “Daddy, daddy where are you?” Henry and Walter were clinging to each other.

  “You’ll be okay.” Henry and Walter’s dad and mom immediately grabbed the candles and flashlight.

  Henry’s father had them hold hands and began to pray. He prayed for protection, he prayed for safety, he prayed that all manner of evil would pass them by. Then he went through the house and locked all the doors and got the gun to make sure the family was safe.

  They turned on the little portable radio and listened for the news. There was some looting in various parts of town, but they were safe, they felt safe. They felt their father’s presence, they felt his protection, and they felt blessed.

  They made jokes and laughed. What had impressed Henry the most was the fact that his parents had not panicked and therefore he and his brother did not panic. It had grounded him, it had centered him.

  “You have passed the first marker of a king, he is centered,” the voice of Djoser’s djinn witness spoke.

  “The power of a king has always been his ability, no matter what time period, no matter what culture, to have his place at the center of the action, the center of the activity and the center of the universe. All things radiate from him. Ancient cities have always laid out their cities, with the king and leader as the center focal point of the people.

  But that has never been enough. It is key that the king is also the spiritual center. He operates and acts as a go between, between the heaven and earth. Through this divine connection, order is brought to dominate chaos. Evil, demons and negativity are controlled and eliminated with the powers of good. Your father has taught you these things and therefore you know who you are, you are centered.”

  Henry fell out of the weightlessness and saw that Djoser was only slightly ahead of him, headed toward the second marker.

  Henry could faintly hear Sarah’s voice, “Go Henry go!”

  Henry pushed and ran harder to get to the second marker.

  “I am sorry to tell you this, but your Aunt Sadie has passed away.”

  These were the words that the surgeon who was attempting to help Aunt Sadie had said to Henry. It had been like a blow to the chest. He had lost everything just eight years before and now his last lifeline in the world was also gone. His chest tightened his stomach knotted and he began to cry as the emptiness began to consume him. Then he told himself, stop. I have to take care of myself, I have to make sure I become emancipated; I have to gain control of my life.

  “Thank you, doctor. How long before I have to contact the mortuary?”

  The doctor was taken aback, “Well you don’t have to rush this; this is a lot on your shoulders.”

  “I am her only living relative. I need to make arrangements for her and for me.”

  “You have passed the second marker, a king is decisive,” Djoser’s djinn announced, loud and clear.

  “A king must be able to operate as an executive of both himself and those around him. He is constantly being charged with making the tough decisions. He must be able to move forward under any circumstance, under any adversity. This ability to be the executive decision maker is grounded in two things. The first root comes from who he is as a person and how he reconciles what he stands for against the outside world’s desires that press upon him; a King’s core values must always be centered on firm and unchanging principles. Therefore, when a crisis comes, as they always do, the king does not think to waver because he has already determined the course he will take. Secondly, a true king seasons his decisions with experience from himself and from those who are around him. His experiences need not be his own to provide him with practical wisdom. This ability gives a true king the knowledge of how to do the right thing, at the right time, for all of the right reasons.”

  You have learned this from your Aunt’s death, Henry, and you may go to the third marker.

  Henry was jarred out of the second marker and hit the ground running. He looked over and King Djoser was approximately 10 meters behind him. Henry smiled to himself. He hadn’t expected to ever be ahead of the king, but it was obvious one of King Djoser’s weaknesses was his indecisiveness. This was a bit of information that was important to know. It could actually be vital in how he succeeded against him in the future.

  Henry hit the third marker with King Djoser right behind him.

  Henry found himself once again in front of the White Haoma Tree. He slowly relived the battle, protecting the tree while waiting for Sarah. He never thought once to leave her. He waited and fought although they had just met; he waited and fought even though he did not know when or if she would leave the tree.

  Henry burst from the third marker almost stumbling. He was neck and neck with King Djoser.

  “You have passed the third marker, a king lives with integrity,” the djinn of the lamp said.

  “The word integrity is a powerful word, it shares the same root as the words “integrate” and “entire.” The best and closest interpretation is the Spanish word “integro”, which means whole.

  Having integrity shows that you are complete, undivided, intact and unbroken. Integrity is really a type of bond that has the power to hold a man’s set of values together. Like a stamp, it is the mark of a man who has learned to successfully integrate all good principles. His life is a unified whole.

  Henry now understood why it was important for King Djoser to instigate this race. It was a need for him to maintain his integrity that forced him to operate and function as a king under these circumstances. He needed to make sure he looked like he was being fair in front of his subjects.

  Henry and King Djoser hit the fourth marker.

  Henry saw his home burn down and the image of the giant demon standing in the flames, who he now knew as Wally. Then who had set his home on fire? Why had his family been targeted? Did it even have to do with his family being part Djinn?

  He saw images of Wally’s home being attacked by the Marj, they were everywhere, attacking Wally, Sarah and Henry and they had fled.

  He saw images of him and Sarah being attacked by Amirah and fleeing.

  He saw himself and his group fleeing the Mount Qaf and the Marid compound.

  Always fleeing, he thought to himself. He saw himself fleeing from New York, the death of his Aunt Sadie, and getting on the bus to California.

  He then began to question himself. How was he supposed to protect the humans from Armageddon and how could he help the djinn? What did it even mean to be a djann and why was he even in this position? Henry was stuck. Everything went black and he found himself floating, weightless, tumbling and lost.

  King Djoser emerged from the fourth marker triumphant; he looked to his left and didn’t see Henry and yelped wildly, for his success. He was beating the young interloper.

  “You have passed the fourth marker, a king protects his realm,” the floating djinn said, expressionless.

  “You have succeeded in bringing upper Egypt to lower Egypt and you are half way to uniting the realms.”

  Sarah and Wally ran up to the Djinn, shocked that Henry had not emerged yet.

  “What have you done with Henry?” Sarah yelled at the floating Djinn.

  “I have done nothing to Henry. He has done this to himself. A king knows that he must protect his realm.”

  Sarah and Wally looked over their shoulder and saw King Djoser quickly gaining on the fifth marker. If Henry lost this, no book, no point to go to any further. Wally pounded his hand into his fist. Sarah didn’t know what to do; she just called out to Henry.

  “Henry, you can do this.”

  Henry faintly heard Sarah’s voice. He knew he had to pull it together. Then he heard a screech. It was faint at first but then it happened again, louder this time. Then he heard it a third time. Then a familiar voice, a voice he thought he would never hear again said, “Sule
yman, it’s time to go.”

  Henry remembered he was a descendant of one of the greatest men who walked the earth. He had djinn blood running through his veins, he was here to help the humans and the djinn, it was his birthright, fail or succeed, and he would do his best, with all of his friends, to protect everyone.

  The faces of his parents and his brother crossed him—his uncle Silas, his new friend Yoshi, Wally, Sarah, Anka. They were all risking everything, even giving up their lives because they believed in him.

  Henry fell out of the fourth marker just as King Djoser entered the fifth. He looked over and saw Anka, beautiful, uninjured, nesting next to Sarah and Wally. He smiled, he hadn’t thought that he would see that old bird once again. Yet here he was.

  “You have passed the fourth marker, a king protects his realm,” the floating djinn said with a hint of a smile in his voice.

  “You have succeeded in bringing djinn half of yourself, upper Egypt, to your human half, lower Egypt and you are half way to uniting the realms.”

  Henry thought to himself, so the djinn was on his side. That helped.

  “A king’s primary role has always been to protect his dominion. Whenever enemies, no matter how small or large the force, invade or simply encroach on his territory, a king’s duty is to act swiftly with wrathful aggressiveness. All of us,” it seemed as if the Djinn was looking right at Henry, “we look to our leaders as our most erstwhile protectors, whether they are princes of the desert, presidents of countries, or captains of a team. We look to you for protection.”

  Henry got the message, it was clear exactly what the djinn was asking of him, and he understood that it was his responsibility. He was meant to be the King of all Djinn. Not just the good djinn, but the ones who were enslaved, the ones who had done despicable deeds, the ones who wanted help and the ones who didn’t. The Suleyman protected and defended them all. This was real lives and real situations. This was not a game. For the first time it really sunk into Henry’s psyche as he hit the fifth marker.

  “Things are done in a certain way, Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 and Step 4; if anything is done out of order you will miss something. If you miss something and end up starting all over you will only be starting all over again with frustration. It is better to measure three times and cut once, than to make the mistake to measure once and repeatedly cut to fix it.”

  Henry had heard his mother tell him this repeatedly, he hadn’t really understood what she meant. But now he was seeing it. He saw it in the mandalas and the tapestries, the order made from the chaos of the images. He saw it in the organization of the team, half going to get the ring, the other half going to get the book. He saw it in Qaf, how the Marid organized their society and worked together to keep themselves neutral. He saw the order in how he could intuit a djinn’s true name.

  Henry emerged from the fifth marker, refreshed and energized, he knew he had only three more markers to go. He looked to the right, there was no Djoser.

  “You have passed the fifth marker, a king provides order,” the Djinn said, very distressed.

  “All kings follow in the footsteps of the ancient Babylonian king, Hammurabi. He brought order from the chaos. His ability to shape men’s lives came from the most complex, yet simplest of tasks, something so obvious now, as to be considered commonplace, but for his time it was as revolutionary as the iphone. He took it upon himself to create one of the first written sets of laws. These laws were inscribed on stone tablets standing over eight feet tall. The code of Hammurabi contained 282 laws, written on 12 tablets and Akkadian the daily language of Babylon.

  The laws touched upon all aspects of Mesopotamian life including religion, trade and military service. Many have come after Hammurabi, Solon of ancient Athens, Lycurgus of ancient Sparta and Suleyman the law-giver/king.”

  Henry understood the message. The Djinn had not had a king for so long that law had been replaced by chaos; chaos had set the tone of self-destruction. There was a need for another Suleyman. Henry felt the weight and power of his responsibility.

  He looked to his left, expecting to see Sarah, Wally, Anka, the waiting crowd of monstrosities. Instead, all he could see was screaming, fire and destruction and a 50ft tall, five faced creature with tentacles attacking the pyramid.

  Henry wanted to help, but he couldn’t break free and plunged head first into the sixth marker as he heard King Djoser’s howl.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight: Fifth wheel

  “What the hell is that!” Wally saw a 50ft, five faced creature wearing an ancient tattered and torn cloak staring down at the Heb-sed ceremony.

  The creature saw the Djinn floating in the air between two thrones, then he saw a flash and Jackal headed bull disappeared. Then a boy disappeared at the same place. But none of that concerned him. He saw the book. The book of Asmodeus, the book he had come to retrieve—the book that would save the Nephilim from the wrath and end the disobedient.

  In the open air pavilion he lashed out with a giant tentacle to pluck the book from its position, floating in the air in front of the Djinn. As his tentacle was about to hit the crowd, it hit an invisible barrier and bounced back. It began to rain down whip after whip, using multiple tentacles, then it began to spit acid. But what came next was unexpected.

  “I am Legion, the five that have become one. The one that will save the 200. Sarah help me! Samyaza requires it, your father requires it.”

  The crowd was screaming and yelling, but Wally could hear it distinctly. He looked at Sarah with a raised eyebrow.

  The Legion creature screamed her name again, “Sarah! Sarah!”

  “Does that thing belong to you?” Anka tilted his head at Sarah, more curious than angry.

  Sarah looked up and was completely mortified. She had wanted to tell them all of it, everything, but now it was too late. She had been exposed. She called her sword and her wings fanned out and she slashed at Wally, knocking him back off of his feet.

  She felt sorry, but she did not understand what to do. She knew who her father might be, but she also knew that they couldn’t forgive her for being a spy, for working for their enemy this whole time. She saw Henry burst from the fifth marker stunned and be dragged into the sixth marker. He was almost done. He would be okay she told herself.

  Legion swung and knocked over the top of the pyramid, breaking the lime façade.

  Anka was stunned by her actions and watched in horror as Sarah stabbed the floating djinn in the heart and snatched up the book of Asmodeus.

  She flew straight through the top of the pavilion and seemed to touch the sword to the head of Legion. The Legion disappeared and so did Sarah.

  Anka looked at Wally; Wally looked back, “Hey, don’t look at me, that was Henry’s friend.”

  They both looked at the djinn and, while he didn’t look good, he was holding his sand. Neither of them knew what would happen if he died while Henry was trapped in one of those markers and neither really wanted to know.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine: Failure is not an option

  “Now you have to trust me, boy, I am showing you these mandalas for a reason. You have to learn how to make them; you have to learn how to understand them. Be able to center yourself through your mind.” Aunt Sadie told him this for the fiftieth time.

  She had him look at the image, then she had him make his own designs, she was constantly drilling into him the importance of his ability to be creative. He remembered how she would give him books to read, telling him that the greatest TV was his mind. He didn’t comprehend at the time. She would take him to museums and have him read books and learn about the ancient Egyptians.

  Then he heard hooves in the distance and a howl and he saw King Djoser charging at him full speed. Henry leapt aside at the last minute. King Djoser skidded and turned facing him, then he pawed the ground like a bull.

  “You know nothing of this marker, boy. It is the marker of creation and fertility. If the king was virile and had many children, the people believed the harvest would be bountiful.�
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  King Djoser charged him again, this time Henry felt the familiar warmth in his stomach, his djinn nature fueling him. At the last moment, he faded out. King Djoser rushed through him. He stumbled and fell, then picked himself up and turned, pawing the ground again.

  Something or someone told him, “King Djoser never had children”.

  Where that came from he did not know.

  “You never had children, pharaoh Djoser. You died without an heir.”

  Enraged, King Djoser charged again and Henry disappeared.

  “You have passed the sixth marker, a king creates and inspires creativity. “

  Henry looked up and it was obvious that the Djinn was in pain. The book had gone and while the commotion had stopped, Sarah was nowhere to be found.

  Henry hit the seventh marker and disappeared.

  “Henry, you just don’t realize how happy I am to see you alive and well.” Wally hugged Henry as hard as he could. “You have no idea, how difficult it was believing you all had died in the fire.”

  Henry remembered this, this was just after him and Wally had met. It was, oddly, one of his favorite moments because he felt like he had a connection to his past.

  But what he didn’t realize was that Henry had also given up on anything good.

  Wally turned around and saw a blur, then he looked closely, he was seeing pharaoh Djoser befriending Imhotep, he then saw them building the step pyramid together and enjoying exotic foods together and having great conversation.

  Henry then saw Pharaoh Djoser do something unexpected. He lifted his head and looked right at Henry. He appeared as if was looking over something and he then squinted and looked Henry dead in the eyes. Henry stared back as well. Then the image changed and their eyes unlocked and they both watched the ceremony as Imhotep became deified by the people of Egypt. Just from that chance encounter the world was changed forever.