by Jessica Cage
“Maybe we should spread out, attack from all sides to weaken her defenses,” Nitara offered a strategy to the group. “Last time we just hit it all from the same point and failed.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Bruto nodded. “Everyone spread out, surround her, and when I give the go, we all hit the damn thing with everything we got. Just remember, we’re trying to save Rosie from this. We don’t want to hurt her.”
They all lifted from the ground, floating in the air around the island. They hit five points around the shielded home, and when Bruto shouted the signal, each one unleashed their magic, giving all of their strength to the assault. The shield wavered as the colors of their magic—blue, purple, green, red, and orange—charged the surface and tried to penetrate. For a moment, when the shield shrunk, pulling closer to the home, it looked like they would win. However, just as they prepared to celebrate, it snapped back into place, shooting their magic back at them, and one by one, knocked them all from the sky.
“Dammit that hurt!” Zaria yelled as she regrouped with the others. Steam lifted from her skin; her body had been lit up with the flames of her phoenix, and when she was knocked out, she landed in the ocean.
“I think we need to call him.” Nitara looked at Jinn to avoid the glaring expression she knew Bruto would be shooting in her direction. It was the thing they’d been avoiding, it was what Sybella said would need to be done. They could only wait so long before they had to face the facts.
“Hell no,” Bruto snapped. “We aren’t summoning that asshole.”
“I’m sorry, summon?” Zaria scoffed. “Who the hell are you trying to summon?”
“An old friend of Rosie’s.” Jinn shot her a warning glare; this was clearly a sensitive topic.
“An old friend that requires summoning, like some sort of demon?” Zaria missed the subtle hint and kept going with her line of questioning.
“I mean, if you think about it, we’re all some sort of demon.” Nitara shrugged trying to downplay the situation. “It’s the nature of what we are.”
“There is no way you’re bringing him into this,” Bruto yelled. “I won’t allow it!”
“Do you want to help her or not?” Jinn challenged him. “We could keep going at this and get nowhere. Hell, there are five of us here and that damn field didn’t even budge! Face it, man, this is bigger than all of us. It’s also bigger than whatever sour feelings you have about this.”
“Fuck!” Bruto shot off a stream of magic that bounced against the forcefield and nearly hit them all though he ignored their screams as they dodged the returning ball of orange magic. He turned to face the home of the woman he loved, and yelled at her knowing she could hear him, “Why the hell are you doing this Rosie?”
No response came, not that he was expecting to receive one.
“You guys mind filling us in a bit more on the details here?” Ardyn dusted the sand off his arm as he pulled himself up.
“Yeah, who is the mystery guy?” Zaria seconded the request.
“I’m not hanging around for this.” Bruto glanced up toward the mountain where he could see Rosie, standing in the window, looking down on him. His heart broke to see her. Refusing to live through the retelling of her past, he vanished from her island.
Jinn sighed heavily. “He isn’t going to forgive us for this.”
“I know, but what choice do we have?” Nitara shook her head. “He will get past it, he has to.”
“His name is Genesis,” Jinn turned to the questioning expressions that waited for explanation, “and he was Rosie’s friend, or at least I think they were friends. They had something of a heated past, it was long before she knew any of us. She hasn’t really told us much of him, except the occasional times when she got a little too loose with the liquor. Bruto knows more than either of us but of course she’s sworn him to secrecy on the topic.”
“Heated as in?” Zaria could guess what the term meant by the way Bruto responded but didn’t want to make assumptions.
“As in molten lava, as in fireworks.” Nitara raised her brow. “Rosie likes to downplay it, but I know there is so much more to the story. You can tell by the faraway look of longing she gets whenever his name is brought up. Any wonder why Bruto doesn’t want him around?”
“And now you want to bring him here? Is he still alive? Have any of you ever met this guy?” Ardyn was more concerned with Bruto and the affect this Genesis would have on him. What if it ripped them apart?
“No, we’ve only ever heard stories, but he is definitely still around. He’s a djinn, but unlike us, he wasn’t created by Daegal,” Jinn replied. “He’s what we call a true djinn. Origins unknown, and powerful as hell.”
“What luck have I been granted to find such an intriguing woman here all alone?” The sound of the dark voice was the first Rosie had heard in a long time. Daegal had left her there, to do god knows what. Usually when he spent long times away from her, when he returned, he brought a new pet, someone he would experiment on until either he got bored or they died. Perhaps this was the voice of the new addition.
“Who’s there?” She peered out into the shadows. The candle by her side offered very little light, but she needed no more. She lifted her hand to strengthen the fire, but a gust of wind knocked it out completely, leaving her new guest hidden from sight.
“Never mind who I am. Tell me, what are you doing locked up here?” The voice sounded closer, as if he were leaning in her ear, but she saw no one, and when she tried to reignite the flame it refused her.
“I’ve been trapped by a warlock.” Rosie was transparent. She couldn’t leave the home if she wanted to. “He ordered that I stay here and wait for his return so I must.”
“A djinn, as powerful as you, trapped by a human who wields magic?” The voice laughed as though the claim was completely ridiculous.
“I wasn’t always a djinn. Before that monster walked into my life, I was a witch with a family who I loved.” Rosie felt the tears assaulting her eye ducts. “He made me this, what I am now. I belong to him.”
“Hmm, that explains the oddity I sense in you.” The hidden figure clicked his tongue, unhappy with the clarification she offered.
“Oddity?” Her soft voice broke around the question as if the word wounded her. As she considered the thought, the temperature in the room began to rise. She wondered if the sweat she wiped from her forehead was there because of her emotions or if it was a product of the masked intruder.
“Yes. Your magic, it’s strong but not whole. It seems broken.” The voice faded away then returned. “I’m sure this warlock is the reason for it. I would love to see you at your full potential. Even in this weakened state, I have been called to you like a beacon in the night.” His voice told of his arousal, his desire for the woman who sat before him unaware of who or what he was.
“Can I see you please? I don’t want to keep talking to shadows. I’ve been alone for quite some time.” Rosie’s eyes dropped to her hands. They were the only thing she could see in the darkness. “It would be nice not to think I was going crazy right now. I suppose that could be the case after being kept here alone for so long.”
The light of the candle returned, strengthened and provided more light than one small flame should be able to allow. The room filled with the soft glow from the flame, and as it did, it revealed the massive form that the voice belonged to. Rosie pulled away from him, pressing her back against the wall behind her as she took in the troubling sight of a torso with no legs beneath it. Just a cloud of dark smoke. His body, black as the night sky, was highlighted by the red scorches that danced across his flesh in a tribal like design. Above the cut torso was a strong face with hair that formed dreadlocks made of ash and fire. Embers lifted from them every time he moved. She gasped at the sight of him, because for how much he terrified her, he was still beautiful, alluring, and arousing. There was something there that she couldn’t place, something that felt familiar and soothed her into a wanting submission.
“Y
ou’ve seen me, so tell me what you think.” His wide smile stretched across his face and inspired both fear and curiosity in her mind. But no words were formed by her lips in response. “Nevertheless, I know I can be something of a shock to one’s senses. Perhaps a more familiar form would do?” He moved forward, and as he neared her, legs appeared where the cloud of smoke once was. His skin transformed as well as his hair. He looked nearly human; only the etchings of fire still existed like muted tattoos. He held his hand out to her. “Come with me.”
“What?” She stared at his offered hand.
“I like you,” he said, as if his intentions were obvious. “Tell me your name.”
“Um, Rose.”
“Rose. How sweet that I should find such a flower.” He paused. “Will you join me?”
“Honestly, as terrifying as you are, I would be glad to. Just to get out of this place. Unfortunately, I cannot, he would never allow it.” The frown that furrowed her brow elicited a deep grunt from the stranger.
“How long have you been this way?” he asked her, his mind curious of her situation.
“A long time.” She hoped like hell that he didn’t ask her to go into specifics because it wasn’t something she wanted to share.
“I say it’s time to change that.”
“How? He has the vessel that binds me. With it, he controls me. I am his.” She looked around the small room that she couldn’t leave because of Daegal’s orders. “He keeps it with him at all times.”
“What does it look like?”
“It’s a small teapot, decorated in penguins.” She smiled to herself as she thought of the pot that was used to trap her. Though he had turned it into something horrible, it meant everything to her. She dropped her eyes to the ground and when she looked back up, she found and empty room. “Hello? Dammit, come back!”
The stranger was gone and she was alone again. She stared at the flame, of course he would leave her. She was a pet, a puppet and he was clearly free to do as he pleased. Her thoughts became darker as she considered the man who held her hostage, who forced her to grant the darkest of wishes, not all of them belonging to him. She wanted her freedom. She wanted her life back. Perhaps she had been foolish to hope that even for a moment, the stranger could provide it for her. As the tears began to fall, her thoughts were interrupted by the return of the dark voice.
“This vessel?” He reappeared in the room holding out his hand, and the small teapot, the one from her thoughts, sat in his dark palm. She stared at it, feeling the control it held over it. It was only a moment later that she felt it. The change in her ownership. Daegal no longer controlled her, this new man did. What would this new figure do to her, what would he make her do?
“This, this is what binds you. It’s what dulls your magic, isn’t it?” He examined the teapot with a frown.
“Yes, it connects me to him.” She bit her lip, hoping he was unaware that the power had transferred to him upon his possession.
“Interesting, such a pathetic little thing. I say it’s time to end that connection, what do you think?” The smile that confused her appeared again. “I want to see what you can do without such limitations!”
“What are you going to do?” She kept the hope from her voice and watched him closely as he continued to meticulously examine the pot.
“Seems a simple enough task.” He wrapped his hand around the delicate piece of ceramic and crushed it in his palm. When the pot turned to dust beneath the pressure that he put it under, she felt the tether snap. The dust slipped through his fingers and fell to the floor. Each speck was a testament to her newfound freedom. When all of it had fallen to the floor he held his hand out to her. She slid her hand into his, and he smiled wildly, his sinister laugh echoing in the room long after they vanished.
“He freed her, just like that? No wish required.” Ardyn’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“None of us did, until we met Rosie.” Jinn laughed. “That woman came into my life like a bat out of hell. Come to find out that’s exactly where she was running from. She would never tell me more than that. Genesis was the one who freed her from Daegal, and after that, the stories are just bits and pieces I’ve tried to put together. I’m sure I’m mostly wrong.”
“How did he do that?” Zaria wanted more clarity. “How was his power strong enough to break that bond? I’ve never heard of a djinn being able to free another djinn.”
“Like we said, Genesis is a true djinn.” Nitara admitted. “His power is unknown to us, unfathomable. Most of the djinn you’ve likely encountered were made by Daegal or someone like him. I haven’t heard of anyone else like Genesis. For all we know, he’s exactly the stuff of legends, something straight out of hell. We really aren’t sure what he is, we don’t have any idea who he is outside of a name and a story we’ve tried to fabricate. All we have to go off is that he’s connected to Rosie, and Sybella thinks that whatever connection exists between them is strong enough to break through that barrier.”
“A true djinn? You keep saying that, but what does it mean?” Ardyn and Zaria were now tag teaming with their question.
“He wasn’t made like us,” Jinn fielded the question from Ardyn. “He just exists, no origin story to tell. At least none that has been shared with us. He has never been tied to a vessel, never had an asshole to report to or to fear trying to return and ruin his life. He’s never been human, never had a life that was ripped away from him just so he could fulfill the silly and useless wishes of humans. He just is what he is.”
“He must be powerful, to break that bond with such ease.” Zaria was still trying to figure out how his magic worked and if it were possible that they could use it to their advantage. There was so much going on. If they were going to be bringing this guy from wherever the hell he was, they might as well get some real use out of him.
“Yeah, and here we all were just hoping to land in the hands of someone who would wish us free.” Jinn sounded bitter.
“He is very powerful, and most of the time he isn’t even in this realm. Which is why we would have to summon him,” Nitara continued, ignoring her husband.
“Summon, I really hate the sound of that word.” Zaria’s face twisted as she chewed her lip. “You summon bad things, negative energies.”
“Well, technically, that’s what he is,” Bruto returned through a show of smoke. He flashed another look up to Rosie but she wasn’t there. “I wish I could tell you something else but that would be a lie. He’s a demon, a true blue, out-of-the-gates-of-hell demon, and he’s only going to make things worse by coming here.” He pointed to Jinn. “You know that.”
“Bruto—” Jinn started, but stopped when Bruto lifted his hand.
“Jinn, I want her out of there, but this, bringing him here, it’s dangerous. There has to be another way.”
“I—” Jinn was interrupted yet again, but this time by the soft glow of the charm around his neck. “It’s Praia, we need to go.”
“What about Rosie?” Zaria asked.
“Maybe Praia can help us figure something else out.” Jinn glanced up at the window where Rosie once was. She was out of view, but he knew it was still possible that she could be listening in on them. “Either way, I don’t think we want to be here when we find out what she has to say.”
Once back inside of the privacy provided by Jinn’s living room, he opened a portal to Praia. In the middle of the space, a large mirror wrapped in blue fire appeared before them, swirling with magic and twisting their images until it no longer reflected the setting in the room. Instead, they were given the view of a small bedroom that looked more like a disheveled library by the mountain of books stacked everywhere. If not for the bed, partially covered by books and papers, there would be no evidence that anyone slept there.
“Wow, the gang’s all here.” Praia smiled, but only to attempt to cover up the changes they could all see in her. Her skin was paler and had taken on an odd translucence. Her hair was weighed down with s
weat, and she’d visibly lost a lot of weight, so much that Jinn wanted to send her a platter of her favorite fatty red meat—steak.
“Praia, how’s it going?” Nitara smiled softly, but they could already tell she was not all right. They would address it later, but needed to hear what she had to say first.
“Not great.” Sighing heavily, Praia leaned back into the large chair that cradled her frame. “I don’t know what’s happening. I’ve been doing some research to figure it out, but these old books haven’t offered me much.”
“Are you okay?” Zaria asked the question that no one wanted to.
“I was, but these past few days I’ve gotten really ill. I’m trying to fight it.” She paused to catch her breath. “Our healers are working on me, but there isn’t much I can do to help them. There’s something at work inside of me, something I’ve never felt before and I’m just trying my best to fight against it. I would have reached out to you sooner, but I lost track of time.”
“How’s your magic?” Jinn held back from jumping through the connection to her; he could do it if he wanted to. However, he knew that it would cause him a lot of shit if he hopped into fae land without a formal invitation. “Has it returned to normal yet?”
“Actually, no. For a moment there I thought it might but now it’s just gone.” She looked defeated. “I’m not a djinn like you, and yet my fae magic hasn’t returned either. If it weren’t for my books, I don’t think I would know who I am anymore.”
“What does that mean?” Zaria again launched her question. “Is something blocking your magic, has it been taken away?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out.” Praia pulled out a packet and held it up, shaking it at the djinn who used his magic to pull it through the portal.
“What is this?” Jinn fingered through the papers covered with scribbled notes and drawings.
“My research. I have a theory.” Praia leaned forward and lowered her voice so that she was not overheard. Clearly, she wasn’t alone in the room; in the background they could hear someone else shuffling through papers. “The spell that Akasha was working. It’s still in play.”