He made a gesture and suddenly the ground came alive. Fingers of earth shot upwards, snaking through the air like cobras, reaching for Dhav. He ducked and weaved as they coiled around him. Al Uddin laughed.
He made another gesture and rocks cannoned into the air, propelled by some force from below. One glanced off Dhav’s head, breaking skin, and then he was hurled sideways as the ground bucked violently beneath his feet.
I threw a buffer of air under him, catching him before he fell into the seething cauldron of earth. I managed to drop him onto an empty plinth whose statue had long since crumbled. Another barrage of rocks pelted towards him and I pushed him clear with a gust, trying to be gentle. He landed nimbly. I caught the rocks in a whirlwind and held them, spiralling in mid-air.
Al Uddin clapped his hands in delight.
“Well done, air mage. I am impressed. But I have had decades to hone my power. Yours look a little rusty, hm?”
“Fuck you.”
I allowed the rocks to spin faster and suddenly released them in his direction like a sling-shot. He flicked a finger and a wall of earth sprang up in front of him. The rocks bounced off harmlessly.
“You’re slow, djinn,” he smirked.
“Samira, don’t worry about me. You can’t fight if you’re protecting me.” A trickle of blood was running down Dhav’s face.
“Fight? This isn’t a fight.” Al Uddin chuckled manically. “This is the most fun I’ve had in, oh, decades. Is it alright if I invite some friends?”
He made a gesture, and suddenly the place was crawling with ghuls. They climbed out through holes in the earth like a plague of rats streaming from the sewers.
Dhav was right. I couldn’t fight and protect him at the same time. I looked round wildly and saw what I needed. The throwing knives, lying discarded on the floor. I swept them up and pushed them hilt first towards Dhav.
He slashed at the first wave of ghuls that reached him, stabbing first one then another with impressive speed.
I targeted half a dozen more, shoving them high into the air with a gale before letting them smash down onto the stone floor.
But they were all around me, and behind me. I looked up, and they were crawling on the walls above me too. I hit them again and again, but there were too many.
Dhav disappeared in a sea of decaying bodies.
“Dhav!”
Desperately, I drove a battering ram of compressed air at them, trying to force them apart. Then I was thrown backwards, a horde of ghuls climbing over me. The stench of withered flesh made me gag.
I got my hands up to blast them, knowing my power reserves were running low. Al Uddin’s voice rang out.
“Stop now, or my ghuls will leave your friend in limbo, as they did to his brother.”
I turned my head to see Dhav on his knees, his arms pinned behind him by the grotesque creatures. One of them opened its jaws wide, revealing its venomous teeth.
Defeated, I dropped my hands. Immediately, several ghuls dragged me to my feet, gripping my arms and pulling them painfully behind my back.
“That’s better. Well, well. That’s quite an ability you have there.” Al Uddin walked round me, examining me as if I were a prize cow. “Of course, once you are a genie, you will be much more powerful. Able to shape all elements, control all matter, give form to all thoughts and desires.”
“Forget it,” I said. “I’d rather die than be your genie.”
“Yes, don’t think I haven’t noticed the failsafe.” Al Uddin grabbed my wrist, twisting it painfully to examine the amulet. “Interesting. Set to activate as soon as the ritual is completed. Did your prince put this on you? Not very gentlemanly, hm?”
“He knows I’d prefer to be dead than serve you,” I spat.
“But I wonder, does he feel the same?” His cold eyes flicked to Dhav. “He could have just taken the antidote and left. And yet he tried to save you.”
“I’m only trying to save my people,” said Dhav. “I know if you create a genie, you will use the power to destroy Ashfahaan.”
“Perhaps. But let’s test the theory. Remove the amulet, or I will hurt her.”
“You won’t kill her. You need her.”
“I didn’t say I’d kill her, did I? I said I’d hurt her.”
He curled his fingers and a rill of earth travelled like a wave towards him. One of Dhav’s blades was balanced on top. The wave reached Al Uddin and grew into a pinnacle, delivering the blade to his waiting hand.
“He won’t remove the amulet,” I snarled. “He promised me. You’re wasting your time.”
Al Uddin leaned forward, the point of the blade lightly pricking the skin above my cheekbone.
“We will see, djinn. Because I am betting he will break that promise the moment you scream.”
“Then I won’t scream, fuckwit.”
He grinned.
“I like you. I really do. But I promise you, you will scream.” He looked at Dhav. “Remove the bracelet.”
“Don’t, Dhav. He’s bluffing. He…” Al Uddin pushed the blade into my shoulder.
The pain was excruciating and it took every ounce of strength I had not to cry out. He twisted the blade, and I felt it scrape bone. I began to sob.
“Samira!”
Dhav’s voice cut through the agony and I pressed my lips together, vowing not to let another sound through them.
Al Uddin pulled out the blade and drew it across my sternum. A wicked gash opened up and blood welled darkly against my skin. Tears squeezed from my eyes and my knees buckled. Al Uddin bent to whisper in my ear.
“Just one scream, djinn. That’s all I want.”
His fingers closed on my ruined shoulder and squeezed.
I couldn’t help myself. I opened my mouth and screamed.
Chapter Twenty Eight
White hot agony seared through my arm and I fought not to pass out. Al Uddin chuckled as blood poured from the wound, drenching my T-shirt and the sleeve of his robe. The gore didn’t bother him.
He tightened his grip, digging his fingers in deeper. I shrieked again.
“Stop it! Stop!” Dhav’s voice was horror-struck.
A ghul grabbed my hair, its fingers slimy against my scalp. It dragged my head back.
Al Uddin poised the knife blade over my left eyeball.
“She has beautiful eyes. You know, they used to be common among the desert fae of old but of course, there aren’t many of us left. It would be a shame to destroy such rarity. Would you see her maimed, Prince Dhavani? Blinded? This is your last chance. Release the enchantment.”
I cried out, shaking in pain.
“Dhav, don’t do it. I won’t be a slave. I won’t.”
“Ah, but look at his face, child. He would rather see you live as a slave, than lose you forever.”
Dhav struggled against his captors but he couldn’t break their grip. He looked at me in anguish.
“I can’t let him hurt you anymore, Samira,” he said.
“Don’t you dare,” I sobbed. “Don’t do it. Don’t…”
He muttered a word under his breath, and the amulet fell open. It slipped off my wrist and lay uselessly on the floor.
Al Uddin looked at it in satisfaction.
“And now the path is cleared for my resurrection. The binding ritual must be performed at first light, so you will be my guests tonight.”
“Let Dhav go, he’s done what you asked,” I croaked. “It’s me you wanted.”
“That was before he tried to kill me.”
“But you promised him the antidote for his brother.”
“I promised to give him the antidote. I did not promise his brother would be able to take it.” Al Uddin grinned suddenly, a grotesque baring of his teeth. “Words are important, child.”
He stalked over to Dhav and jerked the glass vial from around his neck, letting it smash onto the floor.
“No!”
In despair, Dhav watched the precious liquid spill across the stone.
Al
Uddin waved his hand at the ghuls, and Dhav and I were half-pushed, half-dragged to a staircase. They descended into a yawning darkness, and I realised we were being taken underground.
They hauled us along a corridor, shadows flickering from the light of flaming torches spaced along the stone walls. I kept stumbling over my own feet. My shoulder was a throbbing mess, and the damp air stung the cut across my breastbone.
I kept trying to make eye contact with Dhav, but he refused to look at me. He kept his head down the whole way.
Al Uddin stopped outside a door. He turned to me, his tone silky.
“Tomorrow at first light, I will bind you to the ring. I want you to know the first wish I make will be to kill your beloved prince. I want to see him die in agony.”
“Go to hell.”
“Oh, I’ve been in hell for the past hundred years. I am very much looking forward to my freedom.” He cocked his head. “But I am not a monster. I remember love. I will give you what I never had. A chance to say goodbye.”
“What?”
“Do you wish to be with your prince tonight? Or shall I put you into separate cells? It is a simple question, hm?”
I licked my dry lips.
“I want to be with him.”
“Then he must beg for my forgiveness.”
“Dhav doesn’t beg, you prick.”
“I think he might. I think he knows this is his last night on earth, and he very much wants to spend it with you.” He grasped Dhav’s hair and yanked his head up. “What do you say, prince?”
I saw Dhav’s lips move. Al Uddin cocked his ear.
“What’s that? I don’t think the djinn caught it.”
“I beg you, forgive me. Please, let me stay with her.”
Dhav’s voice was toneless, but Al Uddin giggled in delight.
“Your wish is my command.” He glanced at me. “Words you shall soon live by.” He opened the door and the ghuls thrust us inside. “Till tomorrow, then.”
The door slammed shut.
Chapter Twenty Nine
The room was dank, the walls stained and moist from years of being submerged. There was a small barred window high up, and thankfully the top of it still protruded above ground. Moonlight streamed in through the tiny gap, illuminating a torn mattress on the floor with a jug of water and a bowl next to it.
“Not exactly the Ritz.” My grim attempt at humour.
I held up my good arm and tried to call up some wind, even a faint breeze. Nothing. The earlier exertion and the pain Al Uddin had inflicted on me had drained my power. I was tapped out.
Dhav slumped to the floor, his back against the wall. He still wouldn’t look at me.
“I failed you,” he said dully. “I made you a promise and I couldn’t keep it. I’ve failed Raj too.”
I sank to my knees next to him, wincing at the pain in my shoulder.
“You didn’t fail me, Dhav. You saved me.”
“For what? So you can become a prisoner of the ring? That was the one thing I swore would never happen.”
“It wasn’t your fault. We didn’t know he couldn’t die.”
“You don’t understand. He knew exactly what to do to make me comply. He took one look at me and he knew my pressure point. He knew me better than I know myself.”
“You would have done the same for anyone being tortured like that.”
“No. To save my people and brother, I would have gladly sacrificed anyone else.” He finally raised his gaze to mine, and his face was tormented. “But not you.”
For a long moment I stared at my prince, his eyes clouded with despair. And then I slid into his arms and kissed him.
It started as an act of tenderness, of forgiveness, and grew into something more. A ferocious hunger, a yearning. He dragged me into his lap, murmuring my name as his mouth moved on mine.
I threaded my fingers into his hair, closing my eyes as heat pooled in my stomach. Maybe it was the threat of what was to come, but all my senses were heightened. I tilted my head back as he kissed my throat, his lips trailing fire across my skin. If this was going to be my last night of freedom, I wanted to spend it with him.
He stopped suddenly, pulling back
“Samira…”
The consternation in his voice made me open my eyes.
“What?”
“You’re bleeding. Your shoulder… damn it. I’m sorry, you must be in pain.”
“I don’t care.” I kissed the corner of his mouth. “Lust is a great anaesthetic.”
“But I care.”
He stood, lifting me gently in his arms, and placed me on the mattress.
Sitting beside me, he poured water into the bowl and used the edge of his shirt to dab at the blood on my chest and shoulder. I hissed as he touched the wounds.
“Ow. I swear if I ever get my hands on that bastard…”
“You forget, he can’t be killed.” He paused, his eyes darkening. “I wish there was some way of warning my people of what’s to come.”
“He’s going to use me to destroy them, isn’t he?”
“They will be no match for your power as a genie. My only consolation is that I will not be there to witness the destruction. I will already be dead by your hand.”
I remembered what Al Uddin had said. The first wish I make will be to kill your beloved prince. I want to see him die in agony.
“But he can’t wish that, can he?”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember what Kiran said? At the cairn-witch’s house? You can’t use a wish to kill someone. It doesn’t work.”
“Perhaps he doesn’t know that.”
“Or he wants to see you die so badly, he’s forgotten the rules.” A germ of an idea started to grow. I frowned in thought. “What did you say before?”
“About your power as a genie?”
“No, before that. About warning people. You said you wished there was some way of letting people know what was happening. I wonder…” The idea blossomed in my mind, and I gave him a smile. “Maybe that’s one wish I can make come true.”
He cocked his head to one side.
“I do not understand, little thief. I…”
I cut him off with a kiss, and for a moment there was no more talking. Then I pulled back breathlessly.
“That was for luck. Now lie down.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“You need to get some rest. I have work to do.”
“Work...?”
“Djinn stuff. I’ll explain later. But I have to concentrate, okay?”
He clearly wanted to ask me more questions, but he simply nodded. He slid onto the mattress, watching me silently as I went to the window.
I could barely reach it and only a sliver of light was able to get in. I hoped it was enough. I stood in the moonlight and closed my eyes.
I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, or how to find it. I was hoping I’d feel a presence, the same kind of connection I’d had in the desert when I’d heard the whispers and murmurs on the wind.
Then, I’d deliberately shut them out. Now I was actively trying to find them. Kiran had called them ‘my people’. What was it she had said?
Djinn can communicate with their ancestors.
Trouble is, I didn’t know how. But in the desert, they’d found me. Maybe if I let them, they would find me again.
I took a breath and opened my mind.
I need you, I thought tentatively. Then louder. I need you, sisters.
I fixed the image of gran in my thoughts. The original genie, Amal, the one who had escaped.
This is my grandmother. Her spirit is in another land now, but she was one of you. One of us.
My birthmark started to throb.
On the edge of my consciousness, I heard a whisper. A faint rustle, a tiny stirring. It was barely there. In the blind darkness of my mind, I groped my way towards it.
Hear me. Hear me, sisters.
The susurration grew. And now I
could discern independent sounds. Voices. I strained towards them.
I need your help.
I imagined I was flinging open doors, calling out to them. One room after another, I ran through them in my mind, getting closer to the elusive rustling.
And suddenly they were all around me, as bright and beautiful as birdsong, as joyous and sparkling as a scattering of confetti.
And the feeling they brought was one I hadn’t had since gran had died.
A sense of belonging. A sense of family.
Hello, sister.
I embraced them. They were part of me, part of my being. They swirled in and around me, learning about my life, discovering all that had happened. There was no judgement or recrimination. There was only glorious acceptance.
I let my thoughts mingle with theirs, and we weaved together as easily as air mixes with fire, as earth embraces water. They were old and wise and had lived many lifetimes. And they were willing to help.
There is one you must find, I told them. Without her, all will fail.
But the cost to you, sister. It will be high.
There is no other way.
“Samira?” Dhav’s voice cut through the clamour. “You’ve been standing there for hours. Are you okay?”
His words broke the spell. I sagged, suddenly exhausted to the bone.
I made my way to the bed and lay down next to him. He folded me into his arms and I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“Do you trust me, Dhav?”
“With my life.”
“That’s what it will take,” I said softly.
“Then my life is what you shall have.” He kissed my forehead. “It is yours.”
The whispers in my mind retreated as the spirits left me. I turned my face into Dhav’s shoulder, inhaling his scent, hoping desperately I was doing the right thing.
Tomorrow, Al Uddin would make me into a genie and wish for Dhav’s death.
No matter what happened, that wish had to be granted.
I had to make Dhav die.
Chapter Thirty
The ghuls dragged us from our prison before first light and hurled us to the floor at Al Uddin’s feet. He stared down at us coldly.
Mark of the Djinn: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Romance Page 18