Jinn

by Jessica Cage

  “No, no. I didn’t mean for it to seem that way. We aren’t following you. In fact, no one knows that I am here today. My name is Alesea. I am fairy.” She held out her hand to shake his, an offered gesture he refused. With a nervous smile she dropped her hand back to her side.

  “Obviously.” It wasn’t often he was approached by fairies, but he recognized the scent. They drew their power from the sun and it left them with the smell of summer, no matter the season. That was the difference between her kind and the kind of the girl he found himself becoming attached to. The fae, though powerful, were strongest in the night—the moon the anchor to their power. “What do you want, and why are you here?”

  “I need help, the kind that I believe only you can provide.” She lowered her voice, stepping farther into the shadow of the trees. Not a soul in the park was concerned with them or their conversation, but she felt the need to shadow her words from the joggers, playing children, and old men who sat on nearby benches feeding enthusiastic birds.

  “What kind of help is that?” He leaned against the side of the tree, ready to make his bargain. If she wanted something desperately enough to come to him for aid, he would get something in return. “I’m sure there are many out there who would bend over backwards for a chance to help someone such as yourself.”

  “Many may be willing, yes, but capable no.” She lowered her voice with shifty eyes. “I need the kind of help that can bring down a queen,” she whispered as she scanned the area surrounding them.

  “You want to bring down your queen? Why? I thought you fairies were loyal.” If he admired nothing about the fairies, he appreciated their devotion. Almost to a fault, they would stick by their queen’s side, trusting in her choices, never questioning her decisions on how it best to lead their people.

  “I am loyal, to my people. Our queen, Ida, she has become a problem for us. She deals in dark magic. I’m afraid that her dealings will begin to affect our people.” She sighed. “As you know, all of our magic is linked. If she continues to corrupt herself, it will only be a matter of time until that corruption and darkness reaches the rest of our people. Some have already started to become sick, ill with something that we’ve never seen before. They don’t realize that it is her. Even if they do, as you said, that blind loyalty will stop them from doing anything about it. That kind of damage could be irreversible.” She stopped talking as another jogger passed by. When the man was out of earshot, she continued. “Once it takes hold, there is no going back.”

  “That’s a huge accusation you’re just tossing out there. Do you have proof of anything that you’re saying, or is this all just speculation?” Jinn stayed neutral, but when that chance arrived that he could make a deal in his own favor, he was always open to hearing it out. Still, his conscience had to be clear. If he was to help her, he needed to know that she had proof of her claims. He needed to know that the queen was truly corrupted. Djinn or not, the guy had morals!

  “If I can get you the proof you need, will you help me?” She looked at him with hopeful eyes.

  “In exchange,” the mischievous grin spread across his face. He had her right where he wanted her. “There has to be something in this for me, after all.”

  “Yes, of course. Anything that I can do, I’m willing. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my people.” The woman had sincerity in her voice and her eyes. She meant it, her people were important enough for her to come and make a deal with a man once described as an extension of the devil himself.

  “All I ask for is a bit of information.” He looked out at the scene in the park where life unassuming, played out in front of him. “Since my return, I have been looking for someone. Someone I have not yet found. I need to know where she is. You will find her for me.” His request seemed simple enough, but considering who he was, and that with all his power, he had been unsuccessful, it was in fact a daunting demand.

  “She? Who?”

  “My wife, Nitara.”

  “Nitara?”

  “Don’t tell me you know of me, but not her?”

  “I’m sorry, no, I do not.” She shook her head.

  “Well, do your research, little fairy. Then come see me again.” He turned, moving deeper into the line of trees, and vanished in a puff of smoke, with only the sound of his voice lingering. “That shouldn’t be too difficult for you.”

  “You seem pretty confident that she will give you what you want.” Praia stared at him from the kitchen table of his home. They’d left Vilar just as peacefully as they arrived with a hasty escort from Briar who was only too eager to get the fae out of her home. There weren’t any real problems between their kind, just a general underlying repulsion. Most thought it was because of the repelling sources of their power. The sun and the moon never possessed the sky at the same time, and when they did, they blocked one another out. It was as if the two species felt that they would cancel each other out if they mingled, and neither wanted that to happen.

  “It's easy to be confident when requesting a favor if you know the other person has no choice but to give you what you want.” He dropped the plate of food in front of her. “Eat. It’s getting late, you’ll stay here tonight.”

  “Is that an order?” The corner of her lips lifted as she pulled the plate closer to her, so she could dig in.

  “No, not an order, let’s call it a suggestion. It’s not safe, you can’t travel alone.” After the move he made with the fairies, he couldn't be sure the once timid woman hadn’t changed her ways since becoming queen. There was always a chance that she could be a vindictive bitch who would target Praia to get back at Jinn who, in many ways, had disrespected her in her own home.

  “I’m fae, I can handle myself.” She stretched her arms, flexing barely visible muscles. “Besides, the night is when I’m at my best.”

  “Though I’m sure that’s true, I would still feel better if you stayed here for the night.” Praia was strong and a worthy opponent, but if a hoard of fairies jumped her, strong or not, she would be in trouble and he couldn’t have that on his head.

  “Whatever you say!” She bit down into the meat and moaned. “God, I love steak!”

  “Something is really wrong with you.” He laughed as he sat down to his plate of grilled chicken. He was a fan of a good T-bone as well, but a guy could only have red meat so many nights in a row before it made him sick to his stomach. Praia reminded him so much of his Nitara, perhaps that is why he allowed her to remain at his side. She was inquisitive, hardheaded, and could eat enough for four grown men and still look for more.

  The knock at the door stopped Jinn from enjoying his own plate. The sound was foreign to his home because no one in their right mind dared to come there. His location wasn’t hidden, so anyone could potentially pop up, but no one was that foolish … at least no one had been so far. He groaned, as he abandoned his plate and left the girl who was so involved in tearing into her food that she hadn’t heard the interruption. Reaching the front door, he peered through the glass pane that allowed for a limited view of the outside world. When met with the irritated look of the fairy guard, he sighed and opened the door. “I told Alesea I wanted her to be the one to come.”

  “Yeah, well there has been some … complications back in Vilar which require the queen’s attention, so you got me. Don’t get too down about it though. I am here with a gift.” Briar stepped aside to reveal the small woman. She had skin the color of camel’s hair, which she had draped in bright green fabrics that fell to the floor around her. In contrast to her soft skin and chosen fabric, her bright pink hair was pulled in a tight bun at the top of her head. Behind long lashes coated in pink mascara were orbs, deep, dark, and clouded by her gift.

  “The seer?” Everyone knew the fairies had a seer, it was the secret to their success, how they managed to stake claim to power long before the war ever began. Seers were a rare thing; for this reason, she was never allowed to leave Vilar. Alesea must have really been in a desperate place to send her there freely an
d with what appeared to be only one guard. “Is there no one else here with you?” he asked as he peered around the pair, expecting to find more guards.

  “Yes, apparently you want answers. Who better to provide them? To answer your other question, no. Alesea didn’t want to risk you taking the arrival of a dozen fairies at your door as a threat.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you not going to let us in? The air out here is horrible. I assume you have a purifier.”

  “Jinn!” The pep of her voice never ceased to amaze him. He’d met many seers in his time and they were all the same—sad, brooding, pained by the things they’d seen as a result of their gift. She was different. He wondered how she managed to cope with her visions.

  “Sybella.” As a result of saying her name, his voice adopted a cheery quality that was unlike him. It always happened when he was around the seer, her energy was contagious. He’d known her before she worked with the fairies, before the war. She was an artist, her paintings were the stuff dreams were crafted from, and they hung in galleries around the world.

  “It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time.” The shorter woman, who had been kept beautifully preserved by magic, reached up to hug him. He remembered when they first met, and she came straight out and told him what she could do, her gift. She didn’t think that he would believe her. Most people wrote it off as the crazy musings of an artist, but he knew better. When he told her he believed her, she smiled the brightest he would ever see from her. Sybella even offered to foresee his future, but he opted out of that. Mystery was what made living worth it. Besides, he didn’t want to use her as so many had done to him. “Still you haven’t aged a day.”

  “A curse as much as it is a blessing. I still get carded when I order a drink.” He laughed as he returned her hug. Sybella wasn’t allowed to leave her quarters, lavish as they may be, garden and pool included, there was no way she was waltzing into any bar and ordering a beer. “We will need some privacy, you and I,” Sybella announced, and looked to Briar who huffed as she pulled the door shut behind her. They moved through the hall and headed for the living room, but Jinn nodded toward the exit, giving the fairy direction.

  “Praia is in the kitchen eating now.”

  “Yes, of course.” She muttered something else that he didn’t catch as she left the room to join Praia in the kitchen. Once there, she made sure to call out her happiness over having lucked out on a free meal. Jinn frowned; he would be going without dinner for the night.

  “I was told what it is you wish to see.” Sybella sat on the chair positioned in the corner, a matching chair sat across from it, a small pedestal table just between the two. She looked at the empty seat and waited for him to join her. “Here I thought you would never let me peer into your future.”

  “It’s not the future I want to see, at least not that far into it. Looking for something closer to the present. I need to find Nitara.” He sat in the mirroring chair, the cushion stiff and uncomfortable; he got them as a visual piece, not to ever provide comfort.

  “I offered this to you once before, and yet you denied me. What has changed now?” Sybella had offered to help Jinn many times because she could feel his pain. Being an empath as well as a seer, any time the two of them came into contact, she was rushed with a wave of emotions that broke her heart a thousand times over. She wanted to help her friend, but he always refused her.

  “I thought, for so long, that she had perished. I couldn’t imagine a life without her, a world where she didn’t exist. I didn't want to see that. It meant accepting that she was gone. Knowing with definitive conclusion that I would never be able to see her, to touch her, or hold her in my arms. I had to hold on to something, some hope that it was all wrong. Somewhere along the way I lost that hope, but I have it again now. This time, I will do whatever it takes. If there is a chance that she is still out there, alive, I must know. If it turns out that all of this has been some elaborate and shitty joke, well, I am ready to know that as well.”

  “Your hands please, Jinn.” One deep breath, and he reached out to her. When she touched him, he could feel everything he’d been holding onto as it passed through the physical connection. Yes, there was hurt and anger, but there was something more, something he’d never allowed her to feel before—love. It was small, buried beneath years of self-torture, but it was there burning just as brightly as when he had no baggage to snuff it out. “Meld your mind with mine, let your eyes see what my eyes see. Think of who it is you wish to find. Imagine her face, her smile, the sound of her laugh, the smell of her flesh, the texture of her hair. Think of every part of her and let that bring you to her.”

  It wasn’t hard to bring her to his mind; as soon as he thought her name, her face was there as it was every day of his life. The image of her was burned into his mind, seared into his memory and would never fade no matter how many years passed. Her smile was as bright as the sun she loved to watch as it kissed the sky. Her eyes were deep brown, pools of chocolate he loved to swim in. Her skin was honey, a perfect complement to the dark cocoa that coated his own body. She had the laugh of a nerdy teenager, snort and all, and he loved it. That snort was his championship, it was how he knew he’d made her truly happy. He thought of every facet of her, the curve of her hip, the fullness of her ass, the small pooch that hung in front of her, proof of her healthy appetite. He would cover it in kisses each night imagining the day when that pooch would hold his child. He thought of her and with each detail, his heart warmed more with the heat of their love.

  Jinn inhaled sharply as his mind was taken hostage by hers. The air of the room was vacuumed away, and he was mentally transported to another place. The appearance of a room, first indistinct and far off, settled into view as the fog lifted from the transfer. Eight cages lined a brick layered wall. The only light available came from candles placed in the far right, and a small barred window at the left. Each cage held someone, hunched over in various positions on the floor of their cell. There were three witches sitting in the center of the room, their eyes shut and their voices chanting a spell he recognized. It was one of entrapment. Jinn returned his attention to the cages. They were full, each one held a hostage, a djinn, a couple of whom he recognized. The first was Mavor, a djinn who had an issue with flames; piss him off and things went up in smoke. There was Kai, a small but powerful djinn he’d run into in his days when he was still tied to his vessel. They were both protecting their masters from a threat, and without the wishes of their masters to unlock their magic, they were forced to work together to take down an extremely pissed off dragon. He would see her a few more times before he was wished free. The others, he didn’t know, or couldn't tell if he did because their faces were hidden. Inside the last cage, closest to the window, the only one illuminated by another source, her skin touched by the light of the crescent moon, was Nitara. She lifted the charm that hung around her neck to her lips. As her lips pressed against the smooth stone, a single tear fell from her eye.

  “She’s alive. I can feel it,” Jinn spoke as he watched the woman in the cage. She stared out the window as the moonlight caressed her dark flesh. She hummed a song he’d heard her sing many times before. It was one from their childhood, a story of lovers, lost to each other. The fable said they would find each other as long as they believed. It was Nitara’s favorite and she would sing the song to him often, telling him that if they were to ever find themselves separated, as long as they continued to believe in one another, the universe would bring them back together.

  “Yes, she is,” Sybella’s voice whispered. “This is as close to the present as I can get, just a few hours from now.”

  “Why? Why was it told before that she was dead?” Jinn slammed his fists on the table between them as he was brought back to his home, away from the woman he loved. Even with tears in her eyes, she was the most beautiful sight he’d seen.

  “The last seer was corrupted. The one Alesea went to after she met with you. He gave her false information. He was with the
last queen; he swore his service until death, and he meant that. He knew what you were planning and hoped to change the future by providing you with information he thought would cause you to betray Alesea. Foolish of him as no seer has ever been able to alter the course of events. We witness, report, that is all, but Ida’s corruption had gotten to him and he thought he could work around the limits of his gift.”

  “So?” Praia’s head appeared around the corner from the hall. The sound of Jinn’s anger brought her to check in on them as it always did. She was his keeper, whether he liked it or not.

  “It’s true. She is alive.” Jinn stood from his seat and wiped his face. There were no tears, just fatigue. Having a seer in your head was a draining experience. The act of standing gave him a sense of vertigo that he had to wait out.

  “Who is alive?” Briar asked, mouth full of the stolen chicken, having never been informed of what was going on. Alesea kept his request a secret, only telling Sybella what he wanted of her.

  “Nitara.” Jinn took a step forward but paused as the dizzying effect had not worn off. “She is my wife.”

  “Seriously? Where?” He should have been thrilled to know that his wife was still alive, yet he looked angry and sick. Praia halted her happy bounce. “Why are you so upset? What’s wrong?”

  “She is being held, somewhere in a cage, a prisoner.” It hurt to speak the words and bring them into reality. His love was trapped, and though she appeared physically unharmed, she was likely being tortured while he sat night after night conjuring steaks and beers.

  “We have to find her,” Praia said. “We can save her, from wherever she is!”