by Ayse Hafiza
"How so?” I asked.
I had observed humans many times, and they had never been dangerous in my experience. They were dumber than us, in my opinion, and a lot slower. I had never felt in danger once.
"Don't you know what he is planning?" he asked me.
"No, I don't, which is why I have his book," I said, annoyed with the interruption while waving the notebook in the Qarin's face. "You haven't explained what you meant by dangerous.”
"If you don't know, you'll soon find out," he said. "I'm just glad it's you and not me." He vanished, finally leaving me alone with the book.
It was such a pointless conversation. The Qarin had purposefully not shared information and spoke in riddles. He was annoying, just wasting my time.
I looked at the Egyptologist, who was soundly asleep, and I wondered what the Qarin had meant. His words made no sense at all. I was naturally distrustful of other Jinn communities as we did not encounter many in the valley, and they often were not like us.
I opened the notebook and scanned the first page. As I speed-read the contents, the meaning of the Qarin's words started to form in my mind. They made perfect sense, an image of what this Egyptologist might be up to.
I needed to get out of here and fast. I needed to warn the community. I put the book down in the same position as I had picked it up and backed out of the bedroom into the womb-like red lounge, in my haste to exit his apartment in the darkness of the night I wasn't interested in sticking to the sides of the room in the shadows where I would normally be. I crossed over the heavy carpet, placed as it was in the middle of the room, and in doing so I crashed into an invisible barrier put in front of me—a barrier which when I touched it activated more walls. As soon as I touched it the other walls raised and trapped me in a square glass cage. I was caught suspended in the air, unable to move, like a hunted animal.
I had been trapped by this human, who knew one of us would visit him and had devised a plan. The last words of the Qarin played in my mind as panic registered: “I'm just glad it's you and not me.”
What had been the contents of the notebook, you’re wondering?
The Egyptologist had been deciphering ancient hieroglyphics which held a code that told him how to possess a power he should never have, a power dangerous in human hands. They taught him the secrets of the ancients, the secrets which showed him how he could obtain control of a Jinni. His interest wasn't in the ancient ruins surrounding us but in the Jinn itself, our community.
I couldn't escape, his trap was impenetrable. I couldn't hide. His trap had been laid with a magical invocation which kept me visible to the human eye, from this point onwards my destiny was to be his slave. Trapped in his lounge, I felt fear for the first time in my life. I knew he would control me, command me; after all, that was the only thing a human ever wanted from a Jinni.
Trapped in my prison, frozen in time, suspended over his rug, I waited until he woke up. His carpet emitted a burning smell. A magic emblem had been etched in chalk underneath it. It was a symbol, much like the type I had heard the malevolent of our kind describe, a magical symbol which utilized the core power of ancient geometry. I was waiting to be commanded by this unknown man. I was now scared for my very existence.
I wasn't a bad Jinni. I was just like you, a law-abiding citizen who kept to himself. I didn't want to get mixed up with a dangerous man. I didn't mean to get mixed up with anyone from the human race. The commandments to me were clear: there should be no interacting with humankind. A veil existed between our dimensions for good reason, and I always respected this rule. Now I had been compromised. Now I was trapped. Interacting was my only future.
Someone with a good intention or a kind heart would not be engrossed in the act of catching a Jinni. There was only one sort of person who would be curious about this. One who wanted me to fulfil his wishes.
Here I was, a caged lion, unable to move, stuck and panicking. I didn't know if my community would send someone to look for me. I doubted they would. I was on a reconnaissance mission to find out what the Egyptologist was doing. They would think they were disturbing me. I doubted the Qarin would come back either.
Stuck in my prison, I studied the photos hanging above the desk. I could see the hieroglyphs, all related to us and our community. Specifically, how to communicate, command, and control us. They gave me a glimpse of my future. It was a future I did not want, a dark future filled with servitude for this probably egomaniacal man. I awaited my fate with fear and trepidation.
He woke at six AM. I heard him potter around his bedroom, and use the en suite bathroom before he came out of his bedroom. He was startled to see me in his lounge. A huge smile cracked across his face as he knew his plan had been successful. He looked more evil than normal in the morning light. His devilish dark eyes matched his mischievous smirk. He could see me, his trap had worked, he was victorious, there was no doubt.
His housekeeper knocked on the door with his breakfast. He was excited and replied to her to leave the tray outside. He was like a schoolchild who had discovered a new pet. His excitement made me even more fearful of my fate. What would he do with me? I had no idea. I hated not being in control, how he had me outsmarted.
"Welcome," he said, finally acknowledging me.
I didn't want to communicate with him.
"Were you spying on me last night?" he asked. "I thought I was not alone."
Being so close to him, I could read all of his emotion and could tell how smug he felt with himself as he sat down on the sofa, which was placed at the edge of the rug. He did this to show me that he was relaxed in my company and not scared of me. My distance from him was too close for my liking. I preferred to be in the shadows miles away from humans.
"I sensed you," he said triumphantly. "What's your name?"
I didn't respond and he knew I wouldn't easily.
“Oh well, this will not be any fun if you don't cooperate, Jinni," he said.
There, it was said in the open. He knew what I was, he knew his trap had worked. There was no point anymore pretending that I wasn't in a hopeless situation.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, breaking my silence.
He laughed. He had what he wanted, like a man who has everything in life. He now had his personal mystical being. It was a dangerous situation for me.
"Your service, I suppose," said the man. "My name is Bradford, and I am now your Master."
My ears were repulsed by the sound of that word. Master? In this age, who had a Master? Bradford was living in the wrong century.
"My father told me of your kind since I was a child, and I’ve seen the power of your people through my mother who practiced dark arts, but you should be proud, you're the first one I have caught. What is your name?" he asked again.
I didn't want to tell him my name. I wanted to live in denial and not acknowledge that this situation was occurring.
"What is your name?" he asked again.
When he saw no response from me, he uttered words, words which were magical and they made my ears burn as if acid had been poured into them. This was his display of power over me, and I could do nothing but concede.
Bradford was dangerous.
"Ah!!" I screamed. "Ornias, Ornias. Mercy, mercy please,” I begged for relief.
"Good now, Ornias, we have an understanding," Bradford said, ensuring it was clear that he was the master and me his slave.
Why did Bradford want my name? It is a logical question to ask, he needed it to call me, but it also meant that as long as I was in his service, he could call me, and I would be subject to whatever he willed.
Like the story of the Jinni in the lamp who grants you three wishes, that was now my role. In that story, the Jinni is set free by the human, whereas in reality, to get the wishes you have to catch the Jinni first.
Chapter Three The Prostitute
He was interested in us and had studied us for a large part of his life, and it was easier for him now that he had me. I was his personal
lab rat, to experiment on, question, poke, and prod.
Until he released me from his service, I would not be free. This had never happened to me before. Although I had lived for over three hundred years, I was not alive at the time of the ancients, so I had no direct experience of being connected with a human being. I did not know what sway, if any we had over humans, and I was ignorant of any ability to bargain with them.
He left me in his apartment with the door locked and went back to the site every day, maintaining the pretence that he was studying Ancient Egyptian culture. While he was away, I anticipated what he would devise for me, anxious to discover my ill fate.
He kept me trapped by his magic chalk circles drawn under his rug. My community no doubt assumed I was still conducting my mission, not knowing that I was in trouble.
It was only Amy, my little sister, who missed me enough to follow my trail while the Egyptologist was on site. She brought the smallest ray of hope for me. She was curious as to why I had not come home yet, and she wanted to know if she could help me with my task. She stood in the trees miles away and through the slight opening in his curtains, she discovered me trapped in his lounge suspended in the air. I was hoping she could see that I was in fear, starving, my spirit broken by Bradford. She could not come too close to his apartment, since he had placed an incantation around it to keep other Jinn away—he probably guessed that my community would try to rescue me. She did all that I’d hoped she could, by informing the council without putting herself in danger.
The council would not harm him. They knew that he could turn me against them, and this would not be a wise move. The council knew he had me trapped, which in itself signed Bradford's death warrant, but in the short term, there was nothing they could do without harming me, so our fates were inextricably linked.
They waited. I waited, and Bradford waited.
Bradford would come home and speak to me. He talked about his most intimate desires. He shared so much that I was convinced that I would never have a life outside of being his personal slave. I knew he had me trapped as he was learning the incantations which would control me once he wiped the chalk emblem away from under his carpet. Once the emblems were dust the physical cage would cease to exist. Bradford knew I would still be his slave if he could control me mentally.
I was weak, exhausted, fearful.
It was four days later when Bradford came home. He had with him a plate full of bones. I could smell them—they were amazing to me. Jinn would often eat bones, so I knew they were for me. I was hungry to the point of starvation, and I knew I would do whatever he asked of me just to be able to eat. I did wonder what he would command from me, and this was my first indication that things were about to change.
He cautiously released me from my invisible cage and gave me the bones in exchange for strands of my hair. The hair would keep me in his possession to call on when he needed. He would be able to light my hair with a match and summon me immediately to him.
So far it had been an easy trade. The bones would keep me full for over a week. I was grateful for them, but I was also suspicious as to why he was building up my strength. I knew the truth would soon unfold.
Bradford was speaking about the town, how it was like a gold rush town due to the number of visitors. He mentioned that the visitors always created other trades in the area. Service trades was the example he used. That's when he got to the point.
"Ornias, did you know that a man needs to be distracted at times? Life cannot always be about study and work," Bradford stated.
"No," I answered honestly. I knew little of man and his habits, although I could see that Bradford's life was just about his work.
“Well, I need a distraction—entertainment, if you will, and I need to test you," Bradford said.
I knew he was building up to testing me, testing my loyalties and his hold on me.
"There's a pretty little twenty-three year old prostitute in the area, her name is Hadiji. I heard the workers talking about her. They said out of all the working girls she has the tightest quim in the area," Bradford said, unashamed in his language.
As he said this, he looked at me to see if his description of her bodily parts evoked a reaction. It did, but I wouldn't let him see it.
"I want to meet her, and I want you to bring her here," he said.
I knew this was his first command of me. I didn't want to bring Bradford anyone. He was a man suited to being on his own, not one who should be around young women or anyone. He would destroy her, I was certain of it, and I would be the vehicle of her demise.
It was his command, so I knew I must carry it out, otherwise I would risk losing my life. It was my life or hers.
From his description of her, I tracked her down easily and knew where to find her. I left his apartment for the first time and skulked through the shadowy streets. I couldn't run away, since he had my hair.
When I found her she was asleep in her bed with her young daughter cuddled up next to her, and a baby sleeping in a cardboard cot. A photo of a man standing next to her smiling was pinned on the wall. I guessed he was her husband, a military man. Did Bradford know she had a family? I doubted it, and even if he knew, would it be of any consequence to him? I picked her up stealthily into my arms, holding her close. I could smell the sweet scent of her skin. She was a fragile woman, and I was conflicted about taking her away. I reminded myself that I didn't have a choice and I carried her swiftly through the streets back to Bradford.
If Bradford killed her, her children would also die too. Did I question whether my life was worth all three of theirs? I had to do what I had been commanded. It was pointless questioning him. He could compel me. The feeling of acid in my ears was still with me when I hadn't replied to his request to know my name.
I laid her on his bed in his bedroom. He asked me to tie her arms and legs to the wooden bedposts, which was a clue to the violence he would subject her to. When I was covering her mouth with tape, she woke from a deep slumber. She could see me, and I gave her a look to convey that I was sorry for what she was about to go through. Terrified at the sight of me, a Jinni, and being captured in the bedroom of a strange man. She pleaded with me with her eyes as she struggled against the strong knots I had tied, her body convulsing as she fought in fear. Momentarily, she became calmer as I took a step away, though it was clear she wanted to scream from the depths of her soul.
Seeing my job completed, Bradford drank another glass of whiskey and retired to his bedroom to be with her. As I had complied with his wishes, my cage grew as a reward to the size of his womb-like red-walled lounge. I sat in the room far away from the cries and whimpers coming from the bedroom, covering my ears as I heard him repeatedly rape and beat this wife and mother of two who he claimed was just a prostitute. I thought about raising my hand to him and saving her, but I knew that he could kill me instantly. I was his victim as much as Hadiji.
The sounds coming from the bedroom were chilling. Halfway through the night. the only sounds came from Bradford as her muffled cries dissipated. I knew her soul had escaped her body. At this point, I knew that, since she was dead, her children would also likely die, but in less grisly circumstances.
I hated that I had any part to play in Bradford's world. He cared nothing for human life. He was a monster. To him, this was entertainment; a distraction from work is what he called it. Raping and killing another human being for “distraction—entertainment” told me how sick and twisted his mind was. I was scared for the human race and myself. I knew Bradford would push me to dark places in my mind.
While I waited for him to show himself in the morning, and see the mess that he would want me to clean up, I took the time to study his photos. The photos he had taken named the malevolent Jinn. They seemed to be his key area of interest. I wasn't like them—I was an ordinary Jinni, who did regular things. He was interested in the world of the violent, and strongest of our kind. This revelation gave me no ease. It explained why his test for me was so particularly gr
uesome. I knew any further tests that he concocted would also be violent or depraved. I was scared from my sanity and soul. I needed a way out, and I prayed for the council to hurry up and intervene in my captivity, my innocence lost.
I couldn't let him win. My mind was whirring. I needed to protect myself and humankind from him.
When he came out of the room in the morning, he had a smile on his face. “Well! She kept me busy,” he said out loud. Bradford sounded proud of himself.
Beyond him I could see her crushed and crumpled body, unmoving, on the bed. I guessed she had been deceased for roughly four hours.
"You can have her after me.” Bradford offered me her lifeless body for my amusement, as a master offers his slave his scraps.
Mentally, I declined, shocked that he could behave like this, and think me so inclined towards his level of depravity.
"You'll have to clear this up," he said to me, as he registered my shock and judgement of him.
Realizing that I was not as depraved as him, his face showed disappointment and he seemed indifferent to me, as if somehow I had fallen in his estimation.
He left to go to the Valley, and I walked into his bedroom. He had suffocated her. Her wrists and ankles had bled as she had struggled with the rope around them. She was a warrior, and she put up a brave fight. I am sure she wanted to live for her children. She was a fighter and I respected her will to survive. As I untied her damaged body, I thought about whether I could have intervened. It would have been better to never have brought her to him. I knew this, but he was my master, and I had to comply with his wishes. I had held onto the merest hoped he would have let her go—I could not have known that he had no intention of it.
Part of me was sickened by the offer he had made me. Her dead face revealed a horror no one should ever see, bulging eyes, her face of ashen skin and dried blood, would be an image I would never remove from my mind. Her lifeless body wore rags where her clothes had been. The area around the tops of her legs were wet with his sperm. He had obviously punched her in the face a few times. She had massive bruises on her face and at the base of her neck where he had strangled her for his entertainment.