Jasmine Windows and Red Leaves

by Elendae Armson

  ***

  “Abbey!” Sagira could hear Alex calling her. “Abbey, where are you?”

  She had hidden herself in the darkest, furthest corner under the bed. She wanted to give herself time to think without distractions and this was the place she felt most secure.

  She tried to remember what her mother had told her. Why did Djinn come to this plane? She squatted low, her belly pressed against the floor, unconsciously growling. What did they want?

  “Abbey?” She heard Alex was closer.

  The memories were dim and hard to draw out from the foggy past. Sagira narrowed her eyes in concentration. Djinn can be petitioned but never controlled. Djinn are jealous of the human spirit. The memory of her mother’s voice was suddenly reassuring. Djinn have no power over the Bast.

  Suddenly light penetrated her dark cave and Alex’s face peered under the bed at her.

  “Darling, there you are!” Alex sounded relieved and a little frustrated. “What are you doing under there?”

  Not wanting to upset Alex, Sagira slowly scrambled her way from under the bed. As she stood up straight, she realised that her back was hurting terribly. She took a few stiff steps before Alex picked her up.

  “Mowp!” Sagira yelped in pain.

  Alex held her close. “What’s wrong darling?”

  Sagira wiggled with discomfort. “Yeeeow.”

  Alex frowned and gently put her pads on the ground again.

  Sagira started to walk stiffly out to the rest of the house, her hips hardly moving properly.

  “Oh, your arthritis is getting worse, you poor old puss!” Alex sympathised. “Come on let’s get you some medication.”

  Alex quickly walked into the kitchen and put a little food in a bowl. Sagira watched gratefully as she carefully measured a single drop of medication into the fish. As soon as the bowl touched the ground, Sagira gulped the nasty fish down. She normally ignored this particular food, but she knew that the medication would ease her pain.

  “You like that, huh?” Alex enthused.

  Sagira threw Alex a withering look. Still, she was grateful when Alex gently lifted her and placed her on her favourite chair.

  “You rest here, my little old lady,” Alex whispered, tickling her under the chin. “I’m going to check on my prince.”

  Sagira listened as Alex walked as quietly as she could into the baby’s room. She was always surprised how loud humans were.

  Within a second, Alex almost ran back into the room, holding the baby.

  Sagira could easily read the worry on her human’s face and smelled the sudden sweat. Fear. Unsettled, Sagira opened her green eyes wide as she watched Alex dial a number into the phone. She hated when Alex was upset.

  “Hello Mum,” Alex said, her voice strained. “It’s Bobby, something’s wrong.”

  Stiffly, Sagira stood up on her chair and tried to see the baby cradled in Alex’s arms. He was certainly quiet; his usual waking roars were absent.

  “He is … I don’t know … too quiet,” Alex said quickly. “He doesn’t seem to be responding properly. Could he be sick from the vaccinations?”

  Sagira watched as Alex seemed to listen to her mother.

  “No, he doesn’t have a fever,” she said irritated. “But I can tell there is something wrong. Ok … I think my doctor should be in this afternoon. I’ll take him then.”

  “Meerup,” Sagira chirruped, comfortingly.

  Alex distractedly ignored her, sitting down on the lounge with her baby in her arms. “Hey, little one,” she murmured, stroking his face. “It’s alright.”

  Sagira painfully leapt from her chair onto the back of the lounge and carefully padded across it until she was behind Alex’s neck. Now that she could see the baby properly, her little heart began to race. His aura was significantly diminished; the bright pink was now translucent and faded.

  Reaching a tentative paw downwards, she slid down the lounge cushion. Nearing the bottom, her back claw snagged in the upholstery material. She tugged several times, shaking her leg, until she pulled it free.

  Alex would usually admonish her for tearing up the material, but she barely seemed to notice. She continued to stoke the child’s face, staring into his unfocused eyes.

  Sagira stuck her head close to the baby and rubbed her cheek along his little face. She could feel that his energy was too low; his aura had been depleted somehow.

  Alex began to cry. “Oh Bobby, even Abbey is worried about you!”

  Suddenly, Sagira felt a strange shift in the room’s energy flow, a bending of the natural currents in this space. To her, it was as noticeable as if a cold wind had rushed through the room. Her fur immediately began to prickle, her claws extending slightly. She slowly scanned the room for the source of the disruption.

  With horror, she saw the djinn, still dressed in the guise of a huge, black cat. Invisible to human eyes, he padded out of the baby’s room. He seemed pleased with himself, licking his black lips with a pink tongue.

  Noticing Sagria’s presence, his golden, goat eyes turned to gaze at her. His expression was smug and dangerous as their eyes locked together.

  Frightened and outraged at the intrusion, she jumped to her paws. Her fur immediately stood on end, her tail becoming a thick brush. A growl began deep in her belly.

  “What is it, Abbey?” Alex squeaked, alarmed by Sagira’s reaction. “What’s wrong?”

  Sagira didn’t move a muscle as she stood staring at the djinn. Her green eyes didn’t blink once as he carefully paced the length of the room.

  In every movement, he told her that he didn’t care that this was her territory. Every slinking step spoke of his absolute confidence and infernal power.

  She suddenly felt out of her depth.

  Each second she remained on point, she could feel Alex’s anxiety increase, the smell of fear pouring off her human skin.

  “Abbey, there’s nothing there!” Alex cried. “Please stop it, stop it.” She was sounding nearly hysterical.

  As the djinn’s goat eyes slid over to the child, Sagira suddenly understood what was wrong with the baby. Protective fury swelled in her belly. The rage felt like white heat racing through her veins and muscle, filling her with power. Ignoring the pain in her back, she leapt off the lounge and raced across the room, claws out and ready to fight.

  “Hssskkk!” she screamed at the djinn. “Wrrroooowww!”

  Seeming surprised at her attack, the djinn paused for a moment, while Sagira closed the distance between them. As though realising he had no power over her, he quickly slunk forwards and vanished straight into the wall.

  With no thought for her own safety, Sagira raced to the wall and hissed at it again. Angrily, she let him know that next time she would not play nice.

  “Abbey, stop it!” Alex screamed, clutching her baby to her breast. “You’re scaring me!”

  Glaring at the place where the djinn had vanished, Sagira suddenly became aware of the pain in her back. She finally turned and limped stiffly back to Alex’s side. Dragging herself up onto the lounge, she licked her paws and began to plan for war.