Jinn

by Jessica Cage

  “Hell, tastes good, and fills my belly. What’s fake about that?” He grinned around the mouthful.

  “Huh, so this bread, not real?” She lifted the bread from the platter.

  “The bread is real. It’s a time isolation spell.” Jinn picked up a piece for himself. “I reversed time, for just the target intended, in this case, a loaf of rye.”

  “After eating rotted fruit for years, picking around the parts the flies beat you to, a piece of fake steak, and bread reversed in time, is the best a man can get!” The slither sat down on his cot and finished off his meal. He offered Briar a piece of the meat, but she declined.

  Jinn took this as his time to exit. He left the two to have what would be the most normal conversation he’d heard the two of them have since meeting. His designated nook waited for him, the cot sitting in the far corner. Walls of compacted dirt muffled most of their conversation and gave him enough quiet so that he could meditate. Providing a night of happiness, of good food and peace of mind for others was great, but he had so much more to worry about. In less than a day he would be face-to-face with her, and with his fear that she no longer loved him. As much as Mike’s bickering with Briar, the temporary underground lifestyle, and the shit he would most likely be stirring up with the fairies by helping the slithers all weighed on his mind, nothing was heavier than that of his concern for Nitara. He cleared his head, centered himself in his magic, and escaped the world, back to her, when she loved him without condition, without fault. Her smile was his breath, her eyes his heartbeat. Her every imperfection, his reason for living. He loved her without regard for himself. It was those moments he needed to hold on to, those moments would be the ones to push him forward when shit got real, to save her life even if she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.

  “I hope you all are rested up and ready to go! We have a lot of ground to cover,” Cole announced as he approached the three of them. They were up and ready to start the next leg of their journey.

  “What happened to you last night, I thought you were coming back?” Mike stood, worried about his friend. Cole always kept his word; his absence had thrown the man off.

  “I intended to, but it seems one of the checkpoints was overtaken, which means we have been rerouted.” Cole omitted how it was overtaken and no one asked. They assumed he meant the witches.

  “Rerouted?” the fairy asked, confirming what she overheard.

  “Yes, unfortunately.” Briar rolled her eyes and Mike huffed. “Rest assured, we still have safe passage. This is just a minor setback.”

  Jinn exited his makeshift room. “How minor?”

  “A few hours, tops,” Cole quickly responded.

  “Great, then I suggest we get going.” Jinn picked up the bag that held the few possessions he brought.

  “Yes, but first we need to go over a few things.” Cole sat down on the ground, inviting the others to join him. “I thought this might be helpful for all of you. This is the place we’re headed.” Cole rolled out the large blueprint.

  “How did you get this?” Mike peered over the plans of a massive home.

  “Witches didn’t seem too concerned with public records when they took over. There is a building that houses blueprints for every structure within a hundred-mile radius.”

  “So what are we looking at?” Jinn swept his eyes over the blueprint laid out on the ground.

  “The home is large, but lucky for us, access to the basement is pretty easy. Head through the front door, and make it down the hall straight ahead. Access to the basement is the second door on your left.”

  “Have you been inside before?” Mike doubted his friend was that brave or that foolish.

  “Me, no, but some of the humans up there, the ones they haven’t chopped up, they help us. That is how I got the picture.”

  “Thank you for this.” Jinn stood. “It will make this easier knowing exactly how to get to her.”

  Mike and Briar gathered their things, they made sure that nothing was left behind and strapped their packs on tight. As the group headed off with Cole at the lead, they passed a family who smiled at Jinn, thanking him for his gifts of the previous night. Briar smiled at them as she passed, but all but the children shied away. The little girl, who looked wide eyed and happy with her belly full for the first time since she was born, smiled at Briar and eyed the bottle of water she held in her hand. Briar handed the water to the girl who happily accepted it. Though her mother relaxed, happy that her daughter would have proper hydration, her father still bristled. Well, it was a start.

  “You think they will ever trust us?” Briar whispered to Jinn as they walked past more slithers, all of whom shied away from the fairy. “I mean, these people, there isn’t much I can do, but I hope that one day, they have a better way of living.”

  “You hoping for change is a start. Maybe that hope can spread from you to the others in Vilar. Perhaps Mike’s dream of a better way for his people doesn’t have to be that farfetched at all.”

  “I wish there was more that I could do.” Though she was high in command of the guard, she made no real impact on the queen’s choices. At the end of the day, Briar was just another person in line to protect Alesea.

  “There is, you can start the conversation, or least help it start.”

  “So, he was telling the truth last night. He said all he wanted was a way to make a change for his people. He wants to start a conversation, a bargain.” She kept her eyes trained on Mike’s back, but Jinn knew that it was because it was easier than watching person after person pull away from her like she was coming to steal their young. Bringing her to the tunnels had been a good idea, not just to help save Nitara, but it was opening her mind. “I’m not sure that I can help much with that.”

  “That is what he told me.” Jinn nodded. “My role in all of this is to get him in front of Alesea.”

  “If anyone can do that, it’s you.” She adjusted the pack on her back. “Hell, I’ve never seen anyone waltz into Vilar, head straight for the crown, demand time with the queen, and walk out as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Not only that, but she granted you remote access to the Seer and the dedicated assistance of her second in command.” She paused and looked up at him. “Now, tell me, how exactly did you manage to pull that off?”

  “Um, guys, we may have a bit of a problem here!” Mike called out, eliminating any response Jinn might have given the fairy—not that it would have been all that revealing.

  “What is it, Mike?” Jinn shrugged and left Briar for the welcomed rescue from their conversation.

  “It seems our easy pathway no longer exists.” He nodded to the wall of dirt blocking their way, the tunnel having freshly collapsed.

  “I thought you said this way was good?” Jinn turned on Cole, holding his temper back, but his aggravation was clear as the clear blue sky they couldn’t see above them.

  “Th-this wasn’t h-here y-yesterday,” Cole stammered. “I s-swear! That is why it took me so long to get back, I spent the entire night mapping out a new route!”

  “So what do you suggest we do about this?” Mike walked up, laying his hand on the fresh wall. Before Cole could warn him about his actions, a spark of power blasted Mike and sent him flying five feet back across the space where he landed in the sure arms of Briar. The woman made a solid catch without so much as a back step.

  “Well, aren’t you the mighty one.” He gazed up at her with a dazzling smile.

  “Sun’s up, so is my strength.” Bria shrugged as Mike regained proper footing.

  “What the hell was that?” He looked to Cole who wore a grimace.

  “It's magic, a protection spell. Cross it and we’re fried.”

  “Yeah, see, that is what we call pertinent information.” Mike scoured at his friend. “It would have been useful about thirty seconds ago, buddy.”

  “Sorry.” Cole cut his eyes to the ground and held back his laughter. Mike’s hair was standing from his head as residual static from the
shock ran through him.

  “Shit, what are we going to do?” Briar kept an eye on Jinn, whose jaw had become so rigid they might have been able to use it to cut through the barrier.

  “We’re going to go around it and hope like hell the secondary pass isn't blocked as well. If it is … well, to put it simply, we’re screwed. This is going to cost us some more time though.” It was obvious by his expression that Cole was afraid to say the words knowing the message would not be well received.

  “How much more time?” Jinn growled through his tightened jaw.

  Cole hesitate to answer him but when Jinn’s angered eyes reached him, he coughed up the information. “At least a few hours.”

  “We need to move faster than that, we don't have any more time to waste playing maze runner down here. We need Briar at her best when this happens,” Jinn stated. The longer it took to get to Nitara, the worse off they were. Though Briar would still be useful after sunset, her strength would diminish greatly.

  “Get us close enough,” Briar spoke to Cole before directing his gaze at the djinn who was turning an unsettling shade of red. “After we are close enough, then, Jinn, you can work some magic and make up the difference.”

  “Isn’t that going to trigger some magical alarm?” Mike offered.

  “Frankly, I don’t give a damn,” Jinn barked as Cole headed down another passage. “Let’s move!” he called out as he forged ahead, Mike and Briar following him.

  “You think we should be worried about him?” Briar whispered, having kept a good distance between herself and the cherry-colored djinn.

  “Jinn? No, I’m sure he is all right.” Mike shrugged, but just two days prior his back had been slammed against a workbench in Jinn’s garage with the angry man ahead of them holding him in place. “The man’s just a bit on edge. This is his wife, after all, love of his life. It’s bound to get under his skin, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, sure, I suppose. Still, I think we need to be careful, make sure he doesn’t go falling off that edge he seems to be balancing on.”

  “Okay, so it’s been about three minutes since Jinn jumped us here, and no reign of terror yet. Good news, right?” It was obvious Mike was still trying to catch his breath from the surge of power that shot them through the maze of underground tunnels. He only puked once, so he wouldn’t have to turn in his man card just yet.

  “I can’t say.” Cole hadn’t handled the ride with as much grace as Mike. He left every bit of food he’d eaten under a neat pile of dirt and was still green in the face … more so than usual. “We need to stay on our toes, just in case. Just because nothing blew up, doesn’t mean they aren’t setting traps.”

  “Good way of looking at this. Stay alert,” Briar announced, and frowned at Mike. “Um, you have a little something on your chin.” She pointed at the remnants of puke he’d missed when cleaning his face.

  “Oh, thanks.” He wiped his face. “Jinn, you okay? You’ve been quiet.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just trying to stay focused here.” He pulled his hair back, replacing the few strands which had come free during transport. “Cole, how much farther do we have to go now?”

  “We’re actually pretty close, maybe fifteen minutes walking.”

  “Good, lead the way.”

  “Shit!” Cole grumbled as he felt the familiar vibrations beneath his feet.

  “Cole, what’s the problem?” Briar ran to his side, if he was still sick from Jinn’s magic she could use some of her own to counteract the effect.

  “We gotta get out of here,” he whispered.

  “What?” Mike called over.

  “They’re coming!” Cole panicked, looking for an exit strategy. “We need to get away from here, and quickly.”

  “Who?” Mike grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to look him in the eye. “What the hell is going on, Cole? Who is coming?”

  “The fucking gloamers! They’re the result of some fucked up experiments that happened in the Ashen. Those things were unleashed down here about two months ago. It wasn't bad before … just a few of them. We learned to keep our distance, avoid them at all cost, but the damn things multiply like fucking rats. Every time we look up, there are more of them.”

  “What are they?” Mike questioned further. “Are they like us? What do they want?”

  “Mike, I have no idea. It’s like someone was up there playing mad scientist, crossing different animals, different species, both supernatural and not. They aren’t anything like us, but there is something else.”

  “What?” Mike’s voice carried the worry that they all felt. If Cole was calling him anything but Boonie, it meant they were really in for some shit.

  “Pretty sure they used some bits of human.” He swallowed. “Like some crazy ass chop shop.”

  “What?” Jinn pushed between them. “What do you mean bits of human?”

  “Their faces, man. They are all mutilated, but clearly they are human in some parts, like masks stretched over the faces of monster. Some of them have the hands and feet of humans, others have paws or hooves. The shit is sick. They’re out to kill, man, they’re out for blood. They rip through anyone they come in contact with.”

  “Fuck.” Mike turned to Jinn. “You think they would have learned the lesson after what happened to all of us.” He punched the wall.

  “Yeah, we need to move,” Cole repeated.

  “How do you know those things are coming? How can you tell?” Briar asked Cole, trying to bring him back to focus. The man looked like he would pass out, and that was the last thing they needed.

  “I can feel them in the ground.”

  “He’s right, they aren’t too far from us now,” Mike co-signed. “Looks like we did set off some magical alarms after all.”

  “Well, since we’ve been found out, I guess it doesn't matter what we do next.” Jinn smiled, grabbing Mike’s shoulder and Briar’s hand. “Make sure you hold on to him,” he instructed her, nodding at Cole. “And watch out for the upchuck.”

  “You think they would learn about trying to play god,” Briar mumbled as she did her best to clean the green slime from her shoe. Cole really had an issue keeping his lunch down. She didn’t understand how the man had anything left to throw up.

  “We’re in the dark zone, sweetheart. They don’t think they’re playing god … here they think they are god.” Mike offered her a dingy rag to help with the clean up.

  “What they are doing here is sick! How can the others just stand by and let it happen? Why has no one intervened?” More of the horrors of the world were being revealed to her than she thought she could handle. Even as the head of the queen’s guard, she was still sheltered from what existed outside of the limits of Vilar.

  “Yeah, don’t I know it.” Mike waved his hands around at their current location. They were literally crawling through tunnels where people lived. Talk about an injustice! “You gotta realize, they have peace here. If that means a few humans get sliced up for weird experiments, that is just a part of the bargain. It keeps that treaty intact. If someone was to try to go against that, it means another war. I don’t know about you, but I damn sure don’t want to go through another one of those.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” No one wanted war again. “Something needs to be done, though. This can’t be allowed.”

  “Well, if we make it out of here alive, maybe you can petition the queen to step in,” Mike suggested, reinforcing his agenda.

  “We’re here,” a pale, sweaty faced Cole announced, pointing above him. “This hatch here, you will come up just a few yards away from the home. It’s hard to miss, large and gothic. I will wait for you here.”

  “Thank you, Cole.” Jinn shook his hand.

  “No problem.” Cole nervously wiped the sweat from his brow. “No problem at all. I’ll wait here for you to return.” As much as he wanted to help, he couldn’t take the chance of being seen with them. After they were done, they would pop back to safety and he would have to live with the conseque
nces.

  Above ground now, they kept low to the ground as they moved between trees, making sure no one saw them approaching.

  “Something isn’t right here,” Briar said as they moved closer to the home.

  “What do you mean?” Mike stopped, wide eyes found her face. “You think they have landmines or some shit out here?”

  “There is no one here. No guards, henchmen, nothing. I can’t sense one person within close proximity of this location.” She inhaled the air, allowing her smell and ears to take over for sight. There was nothing, as if the area had been abandoned.

  “You think we’re in the wrong place?” Jinn looked around, noting the inconsistencies. Briar was right—not one person was on duty, giving them a clear path to just walk up to the door. It could have been a setup.

  “No, Cole knows this place. If he says this is where we need to be, then it's where we need to be.” Mike looked around, noting the lack of activity even in the neighboring buildings. “She’s right, something is definitely not right here.”

  Jinn left the cover of the shadows and ran for the building that was known to house his love. The earth around the house was dead. Relics of grass and weeds crushed beneath his feet as he ran.

  “Jinn, what the hell?” Mike called out in a frantic whisper before both he and Briar followed suit. If it were a setup, they were already compromised, and if not, Jinn’s mad dash for the door did that for them.

  They ran, scanning the area, expecting to be ambushed, but nothing happened. No one jumped out of the corner with bullets, arrows, or any other form of assault. Without incident, they made it to the oversized door of the building built from distressed brick and pillars that held high arches along the extended porch. Jinn opted out of politely knocking, and kicked in the door. He dove through the opening, ready for a fight, but inside, there was nothing. Met with the eerie absence of sound, he followed the directions given to him and headed straight for the basement where Nitara was being held. His gut told him he was too late, that there was no point in going down the stairs. If the place was empty, she wouldn’t be there, or worse, he would find her, lifeless.