by Brown, Allen
Jinn sat up, he didn't climb to his feet though, he stayed there on the floor. Looking at the broken coffin beside him, his eyes trailed the damages throughout the lab, right from the doorway, straight to the main table at the head of the room. Parchment littered the floor more than ever, and she was gone. Sonia was nowhere to be seen.
He took her.
"What was that he said?" Jinn asked looking right at me. He definitely knew what he said, he just wanted me to repeat it.
"Who?" I said.
"Don't do that. You god damn know well what I'm talking about." Jinn said finally making it to his feet. I could see it in his eyes, the burning desire, the hate.
"Balin?" I said finally cracking, it’s no use I suppose.
"So he is your brother?" Jinn said.
"Yes, it looks like him. But I haven't seen him in over a decade. Not since..." I said trailing off into thought.
Walking up to the table, I could still feel his presence. How was he alive? What is he doing? What the fuck happened? I have so many questions. My brother is alive!
"Since what?" Jinn said coming up behind me.
"Since the war. We were fighting against a legion of crusaders, and got separated in the midst of it and we just never seen each other again." I said my hands trailing his boot mark left on the table. It was wet, and remnants of little white stones were left behind
"Why did the church declare war on the wizards really? I've read books, but they all have different things to say." Jinn asked.
"Oh, there was just one reason. But enough of that, are you forgetting your mistress? Sonia?" I said to him.
"Right." He said a bit embarrassed.
"It's ok. So think... How do we find out where they are?" I said, I know the topic haunts him. He's always strived to find information about the war, but its hardly the time. Jinn paced around the table opposite me. He simply stared at the boot print on the table, lost in it. His robes were shifted still, debris covered his clothes as he ran his hand through his messy black hair.
"What about a worm hole?" Jinn blurted.
"Are. You. Insane?" I said slowly.
"What? He apported out, you just need to rip the space here and re-create the passage to where he went. If we do it quickly, it would be enough." Jinn explained.
"I understand the concept. But, for one, the magic is unstable. Two, its extremely unpredictable, one false move and you could be in the sun, on the moon or on the other side of the universe." I said with haste.
"Oh shut up and see if you can open it first." Jinn said stepping back.
I pull my cane up to my chest, hugging it, as I thought about whether I should do this or not. The tiny sapphire crystal at the tip of the cane hidden away glistened in my eyes. Removing the top handle, I revealed the crystal that made up most of the inner handle. It was pure, the blue crystal glowed brightly and was flawless, definitely a rare gem.
Holding the cane in my right hand, I got up onto the table and stretched my hands out in front of me where my brother stood. With a deep exhale, I stretched my hands outwards as if I were trying to rip apart the space in front of me literally. Papers lying on the floor began to hover, a crack of lightning spurred in the space in front of me. It also sucked the wind out from around me, like a vacuum pulling in everything in its wake.
Yanking it free with one last push, a blue window into space hovered in front of me. It was as big as a mirror, yet when I look into it, I don’t see myself. I just see something expanding upon itself within the realm of the portal. It was too immense to recognize, too much to see. I got glimpses of people, planets, strange creatures, endless repetition.
"You did it!" Jinn said stepping closer.
I dropped down and leaned heavily on my cane, I felt light headed and drained from the act as the window continued to hover in front of me. The space around it became more unstable sucking in whatever was near and expelling it from our realm. "You do know, If we step foot into this, we could either be right where my brother is, or could be traveling for eternity." I said to him one last time.
"Yea." He said before stepping into the portal disappearing from sight.
"Alright then." I said taking a step in.
The Final Chapter
Stepping through a wormhole is a once in a lifetime thing, as in, it wouldn't be something you would ever want to do twice. While you are in the state of travel, you are blasted with so many things in such a short amount of time it feels like you are on the brink of insanity. I ran through so many different emotions; from love, to disgust, straight to the crown of rage. In my final moments, I had to simply shut my eyes and wait for it to be over, if it ever would be. Not knowing is the thing that kills the most, because being trapped in there would be worse than death.
Alas, as I stepped through the fray into a blinding sun shining down on me with all its glory. The vast white star stood immaculate at the midst of the clean blue sky. The weather was hot, humid almost, my robes felt heavy as sweat bore from my skin. The first thing I noticed was the rocks beneath my feet, the ground was uneven and full of ruin. Broken pieces of white marble littered across the ground, mostly covering the dirt beneath it. Where I stood, I was surrounded by broken pillars, the roof and walls of this particular building was completely gone. Nature had retaken this land, from over grown weed, to vines climbing nearby structures.
The architecture looked familiar; it reminded me of ancient Rome, the focus on pillars and arches. This place may be abandoned, but I could feel the despair. It swept the atmosphere like fog hugging the ground in a rainstorm. Beyond any doubt, I was sure, this was the locale of a great war.
Wait... It cant be...
I'm in Budapest!
Like a train falling through its tracks plowing into dark cave below, it hit me hard, visions from the past war returned to me. Elder staffs clashing against metal swords, magic wielded against siege weapons, a time of political carnage. The only thing that shared unity on the field was the colour of the blood being spilled. All around me, the screams of those lost echoed in my ears.
"Balan!" Jinn said, his voice was muffled to my ears. Grabbing me by the shoulders as he spoke, I couldn't hear a thing, his voice was mute. A deep ringing that spewed from all corners around me trounced his voice.
I want it to end, why won't it end.
"Snap out of it man. What’s wrong with you?" Jinn said, his voice clearer. I opened my eyes, clutching my cane for dear life. A small green dust cloud hovered over my face, spewing from a small bottle from Jinn's hands.
"What is that?" I asked, confused and disoriented.
"A relaxant. I use it to sleep usually." Jinn said putting it back into his robes. Helping me to my feet, he held me upright and said: "What was that?"
"An influx of memories," I started to explain. "This is Budapest. Where we fought the last major battle from The Great War, this is where we lost." I leaned onto my cane heavily to keep myself balanced.
Jinn said nothing. He simply took in the area, every bit of it. I could tell he wanted this for a long time, to learn and see what happened. I don't particularly know why he is so interested in it, it is a curious thing I've always wanted to ask. But, now is not the time, we need to find my fucking brother and figure out what's going on.
"We should go." Jinn said to my surprise, "Sonia is out here, somewhere." Climbing over a broken wall, he led the search for his beloved.
I followed right behind him, staying mostly quiet, I was still in a daze, I could barely keep my steps in rhythm. For the first time I walked behind Jinn, I've never really realized how strong of a kid he was, he could've been a very capable wizard in the right time. Looking off at the sunset, a storm sat on the horizon, heading right for us.
Fucking A.
The sky began to darken as the sound of thunder rumbled off in the distance. A surge of lightning erupted nearby, clasping into the sky. It startled both of us enough to make us step away from it, it was weird, something was off about it. This lightning didn
't shoot down from the sky, it shot up. Jinn didn't seem to have noticed, he just turned and hiked towards it. Keeping silent, I simply followed him, I don't know why but I felt nervous. I didn't like the whole situation, something bad is about to happen, I can feel it in my bones.
Another streak of lightning snapped upwards, it jolted my heart into an irregular rhythm. My breathing quickened, Jinn and I walked slowly towards it, trying our best to stay hidden in the shadows. Remnants of an old stadium lingered behind in the surrounding area. Coming up behind a fairly large column, there was a large field ahead, something was happening. Balin stood in the center of it, and the other wizard, the one from the barracks, was standing just outside the ring.
Then we saw it. How could we not notice?
The bodies of the children lay motionless in a circle surrounding Balin. One of the children began to cry, a young babe, she sat at the head of circle. In her small white dress, her lonesome cries began to echo in the stadium. Balin stood without care, his head hung as he leaned on his staff in front of him.
"What should we do?" Jinn whispered nervously. He gripped the wall we hid behind, he was eager, raising his head slightly as if he was looking among the bodies.
"Wait." I say, hesitating. Why? I shouldn’t, but this is dangerous, far more dangerous than he thinks. Balin, my brother, is one of the greatest wizards on the high council.
He moved.
Balin raised his head, his face hidden behind his cloak. Jinn stood up, but couldn't move forward because I grabbed onto him and pulled him back down. No one noticed the shuffle. It was dead silent, only the screams of the baby reached our ears.
Balin raised his staff into the air as he yelled something I couldn't make out. The atmosphere grew heavier around us, above him, a dark cloud formed from nothing above him. Slamming his staff into the ground, it exploded. A shock wave threw outward, pushing us back. The green crystal from his staff had shattered into pieces and floated above him in a circle. Before I could even flinch, the pieces shot outward hitting all the bodies that lay in a circle. The yelping baby fell backwards and lay silent on the cold ground.
The bodies of the lifeless children rose into the air slowly, hovering for a moment before they started to spin in a circle around Balin. Above Balin, a black and red cloud portal began to form, strengthening. Lightning sparked among the dark clouds as they took shape.
"Sonia!" Jinn yelled standing up and jumping over the wall.
I immediately saw her too. Her limp body was hovering in the air, on her way around the circle right in front of us. I could feel Jinn turn, I expected no less. The black viens and eyes transformed almost instantly, he started in a sprint along the field. As he ran, his body turned into a shade, moving at an incredible speed he shot up into the air. Dodging through the air, he darted into Sonia's body snatching her, and back towards me. Landing in front of me with her body in less than a minute, he laid her gently on the ground.
The wizard spotted us.
Fuck...
He hurled a ball of fire towards Jinn, who had his back turned. Apporting in front of Jinn, I stabbed my cane into the ground. It shook violently; erupting just a few feet in front of me was a water geyser. It shot towards the fireball, stopping it in its tracks. Balin took notice, he looked straight at me. Jinn turned around and saw the wizard standing ahead of us, his legs was merely smoke as he hovered over the ground quickly.
Jinn stepped out in front of me, his body was fully transformed. He has taken over, he can only be this way if Jinn let him. He stood there, looking at the wizard, his movements were trailed by a black mist. In the most luminous, yet deep voice I could ever imagine, he spoke: "I am shade. I am Al Shayir. And I will be your end." I could hear some of Jinn in him as well. Jinn began to run towards the wizard, but the other wizard didn't budge.
What happened next I couldn't even believe.
Jinn shot straight up into the sky with a speed that I could barely keep track of. Darting down behind the wizard, who know disappeared into a black smoke, but he was too slow. Jinn's shade merged within his, I couldn't see past the smoke. Jinn's body slowly faded back into form, trailed by the black mist, he landed in the middle of the field. In his hand, he held the wizard in his grasp by the throat. squirming under his weight, Balin and I couldn't move before what happened next.
He did it. Holy jesus, I haven't seen power like this in ages. The power of a djinni.
A black pulse traveled through his arm, into the wizard's body and shot out a thinly veiled black force pushing me back slightly. Jinn got up leaving the wizard on the floor, he laid there motionless, Jinn yelled out in a frightening voice. Coming back towards me, he walked by without looking at me and headed straight to Sonia's body. I turned to look, as he knelt down to her.
"Sonia." He said softly, changing back to normal. Picking up her head, he placed it on his lap carefully. I stood near and watched, keeping an eye on Balin as well, who stood still as the ritual continued. Sonia murmured off a word, I couldn't hear. Jinn jolted upward at the sound.
"Sonia! Hey, stay with me." Jinn said holding her, "Balan! Help!"
I could see her arm reaching up, grabbing ahold of Jinn's gripping him weakly. Her body didn't move, her legs twisted on the floor.
"Jinn. I--" She said in a hoarse voice, "help them." She raised her arm pointing towards the children as if it looked like she had spent her remaining energy to do so.
Afterwards, she drifted asleep as her small heart fought tirelessly within her chest. Jinn huddled over her, gripping her tightly, he brushed her hair as tears leaked from him onto her face. Jinn didn't say anything, he merely sat there as his strong hands gently cradled her in his arms. His cry was now the sole thing that echoed the old stadium. For the first time in my life, I could feel the pain Jinn exper-ienced.
And it fucking pissed me off.
Brother or not, there is no excuse.
You are fucking dead.
"Brother!" I yell to him walking into the storm, "How could you do this?" Standing face to face with him. He held his stance, and kept the ritual going no matter what.
"Balan, my dear brother, for decades you sat by idle as our brothers and sisters were hunted. For years you sat by and lived in their world as they destroyed ours. How could you call yourself a wizard?" Balin said to me.
"And this? This is right?" I said to him, removing the sheath from my cane revealing the obsidian blade.
"The sacrifice of the few will help the many. This will bring an end to this fruitless war and once again bring mages back into the light!" Balin said, his eyes glared at me unnervingly.
"What are you doing?" I ask, looking into the sky. I raised my cane and point it right to his heart, "don't make me do this, you need to stop this now."
"You cannot stop this anymore brother. Once it has started, it cannot end until it's over." Balin said.
"You already lost one vessel. Stop brother." I pleaded, I must end this now. The lives of the children are waning every moment I hesitate. But it’s so fucking hard! Don’t judge me, he is my brother!
"One loss will not stop the ritual; Ladon's body will receive its force to awaken." He explained.
"Ladon? Wait..." I said.
"Yes, Ladon, the guardian. This portal will summon him back into our realm where he belongs." Balin said laughing excitedly, "he will finally bring peace for us! By destroying our enemies."
I pushed my blade forward with all my might but it sparked against an invisible shield around Balin. My blade couldn't pierce it, I slashed away but nothing happened. Before I could try for a third time, a loud roar broke out above us.
I looked up to see the head of a giant dragon making its way through the portal. It was large enough to block out the sun above us. Its dark obsidian scales moved as one as it slithered its way through the portal. Its eyes were a bright yellow like an old lamp that was about to die, but in this case it was a force to be reckoned with. It shifted constantly as it climbed out one hand at a time.
The stone on his skin exploded sending me flying across the field. I couldn't see anything but the disappearing blue sky. As I lay on the field, clouds loomed above as rain began to fall and thunder snapped with the absence of lightning. My robes were wet and heavy, it took me a few minutes to get to my feet. By the time that happened, the portal was gone and the dragon sat on the field by Balin. The tail curled around the stadium, it was enormous. With one clap of its wing, it climbed into the air creating a gust of wind, I had to shield my eyes from the dirt. Climbing higher and higher, it disappeared among the clouds. Its roar rumbled among the thunder.
The kids that were once hovering in the air, laid on the floor around the field. Balin, standing over me, offered a hand to get me to my feet.
"What the hell did you do?" I said to him, refusing his hand.
"Brought on the apocalypse, brother." Balin said, drop-ping his hand to his side, "after the dust settles, we will finally be able to rebuild our world."
"The fuck you will. I will hunt down and kill that dragon, with or without you." I said to him looking around for my cane.
"I can't let you do that." Balin said pulling his hands out from behind him.
"What are you going to do?" I said walking up to him, I turned to look for Jinn.
He was wandering among the children on the field. He didn't even stop to help, he simply walked up to the baby, looked down and continued. Turning to me he shook his head.
"You killed them all?" I said to my brother, I could feel the rage within me building.
"You did, by taking one out, Ladon drew more power from the others. There is a reason I picked twelve." Balin said pointing his finger onto my chest. Balin then looked back at the bodies, no remorse on his face.