Djinn Rebellion Boxset (Books 1 -30: A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy

by Cage, Jessica

  “We will. Like I said, this isn’t what we signed up for.” Lorraine pulled a larger roll of papers from under the cloak that was wrapped around her neck. “According to her notes, this is all going to take place at the Peaks. It’s where the four major territories meet … the felines, wolf, bear, and bird. It’s a place of neutrality. Technically, whatever she does there won’t break any of the treaty laws. It’s supposed to be a haven for those who don’t want to be a part of this new world order. There are communities that live there, and according to her notes, she plans to wipe them out. She wants no witnesses, no one to testify against her.”

  “That is why we want to stop her. Those are our people, regardless of their political views and yet Akasha thinks she can just stomp all over them. This is not what we want in the one who leads us.” Lorraine handed over the rest of the notes they snagged. “I’ve already sent word for the area to be evacuated. I just hope it made it there in time.”

  “You plan to overthrow her?” Boxi asked as she read over the notes. It was not something she would have expected from her people, she wondered if she would be brave enough to do the same. “That is the only way to be sure your people are safe.”

  “It is not as it is with the fairy. If we see a ruler unfit, we do not blindly follow with faith. We do what needs to be done. This needs to be done.”

  “Great, so we’re all on the same page.” Jax secured the papers in a tube he strapped around his chest.

  “Bruto, get to Jinn and the others, tell them what we know. Decide on a rendezvous point and return to us. We need to salvage what we can of this team. Looks like the guys on the sidelines are really going to have to step up to bat now.” Jax glanced around at the broken masses. “You gotta admit, the bitch is a smart one. She took our people out before we even knew that she was a threat.”

  “We can admire her for it later,” Rosie snipped.

  “It’s okay, I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her forehead. “Stay safe.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and melted into the massiveness of him. “You stay safe.” His lips warmed the flesh around her new scar before he disappeared from her side.

  “All right, we have a lot to do here and not a lot of time. I will work with the fairies to get these people as comfortable as we can. We will need healthy fighters to stay behind and protect them just in case our feline friend decides to attack here. Everyone else needs to get ready to head to the Peak.”

  “We know where they’re headed.” Bruto popped into the council chambers at Bukai’s castle. Magua and the others had convened there after they dismembered the rest of Clay’s monsters.

  “Where?” Jinn stood from his seat at the table. “How? Did you get the others out?”

  “Akasha had already attacked, a lot of people are hurt.” He found Ardyn sitting next to Magua. “Ryesen was captured.”

  “What?” Ardyn held his wolf back. Ryesen was no longer his mate but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about her safety. He vowed to protect that woman and even though she hated him, he didn’t intend on breaking that promise. “What happened?”

  “They were trying to get out, once Akasha’s cats started to attack. She went back to help the others escape but she didn’t make it out.”

  “Where is she?” Bukai growled.

  “The Peak? Lorraine, one of Akasha’s guards, said she chose the spot because it’s neutral territory but she intended to kill anyone who was there to witness what she wants to do.”

  “This, Lorraine, is she trustworthy?” Bukai asked.

  “She and three others, they turned their backs on Akasha when they found out what she was planning to do. They don’t share her values.” Bruto looked around the room at the skeptical faces. “They have agreed to stand and fight by our sides against Akasha.”

  “Good. It’s good to know that not all of her people are corrupt.” Magua stood. “It saddens me to see that someone I was once so close to could turn into this.” He laid his hand on Ardyn’s shoulder.

  “It is disappointing, but if this is the path she’s chosen, she isn’t the same woman we once knew. I won’t let her hurt anyone else, and I will get Zaria and Ryesen back from her!” Rising, Ardyn looked Magua in the eye. “Whatever happens here, she cannot bring Daegal back. That is not an option.”

  “We all agree on that.” Bruto pounded his chest. “Jax is waiting for a rendezvous point. What should I tell them?”

  “Tell them we’re taking this fight right to her, we’re going to the Peak.”

  “So, this is the Peak? I gotta say, I was expecting something more impressive,” Bruto remarked as they hovered above the deserted area. All of the people who claimed the neutral grounds as their home had fled, leaving the massive land guarded at its perimeter by Akasha’s men. “At least, Lorraine’s message seems to have gotten here in time. I don’t see any activity down there outside of those who appear to be securing the perimeter.”

  “What did you expect this place to look like?” Jinn joined him and the other djinn on the cloud above the land. They used the natural formation of clouds that covered the area to hide their presence.

  “I don’t know, something … grand. More than what looks like a regular overcrowded campsite.”

  “Anyway,” Nitara rolled her eyes, “the others should be here soon. Ardyn’s bugs are recording everything here and sending back live feed. Soon we will know where the weak points are in their perimeter.”

  “Same method as before, attack from within while they hit the outskirts?” Bruto asked

  “Are we sure that will work out? Won’t she be expecting that?” Rosie continued to scout with the others, noting the cats that were on all fours.

  “Hell, she knows we’re coming regardless of how we try to go about this.” Jinn shrugged.

  Ardyn appeared next to Jinn on the cloud. “Everything is good to go. We got everyone in position. Magua and Bukai have joined us, along with a good number of others. Neutral or not, she hurt their people when she came here, and they won’t allow that to stand unchecked.” He waved his hand, bringing up a topographical map similar to the one in Bukai’s chambers. “This is the data my bugs have collected. It looks like the southeast corner is the easiest point.”

  “Good, so when do we move?” Bruto asked with eager eyes.

  “Not yet. Akasha is expecting us to take the easiest point of access, to save time, but we can’t do that. It will weaken our defenses and leave us far away from where she is. It’s the farthest point from the center.”

  “Do we drop down on top of her?” Jinn asked as he looked at the map. Akasha had a solid defense set up around the barrier. The woman wasn’t new to this.

  “She has a barrier set above, a trigger of some sort. I’m not sure what it does outside of frying the bugs that came in contact with it.”

  “What’s our entrance point?” Nitara asked.

  “We’re going underground.” Ardyn pointed to the ground about five miles outside of the Peak’s perimeter where Cole stood waving. “Those guys work insanely fast, you know that?”

  “Good. So when do we move?” Bruto asked again, and this time his question was answered by the echoes of a woman screaming in pain that came from the ground below. They all tensed with the fear that they were too late.

  “I say that’s our cue!” Nitara stated, and then jumped from the cloud to join Cole on the ground. Rosie, Jinn, Bruto, and Praia followed her.

  Ardyn set off the flares of green that painted the sky, and on cue Jax, Inda, and the dragons begin to pummel the barrier above the Peak as a distraction while the others took the underground route. None of the flames touched the ground, but they attracted the attention of Akasha’s men, which gave the bears, lions, and jaguars the perfect opportunity to strike. The perimeter quickly became a battlefield, which is exactly what Akasha wanted. She needed to be surrounded by chaos. It was the perfect setting for raising such a horrible being from the dead.

  Beneath the ground, the magic of th
e djinn was used to speed up the process of digging out the tunnel that would lead them to the center stage.

  “All right, we’re right under her,” Ardyn announced. “Whatever happens up there, she cannot bring that bastard back.”

  “Hey, we took that asshole out before, stopping her will be a piece of cake.” Bruto’s fist lit up with orange magic and he nodded to the others before punching a hole into the ground, opening it from within. The six djinn jumped through the opening, landing just outside of Akasha's ritual circle

  “Oh, you’re just in time!” The panther queen called out from the center of the space where she had both Ryesen and Zaria strung up. Ardyn growled and fought against his wolf; now was not the time to turn. “And you brought the little fae one as well. Perfect, I’ll need her.” With her words, a net fell around Praia, tossed by two men who quickly dragged the trapped girl into the circle. Praia struggled against the net, but no matter what she did she couldn’t break free.

  “Let her go!” Nitara yelled and ran toward the circle but hit a force field that sent her flying backwards. Jinn appeared behind her in time to catch her before she hit the ground.

  “Did you think I would be here without protection?” She laughed as she walked a circle around the unconscious girls. “Clay told me exactly what to do when you all returned. He knew that he wouldn’t make it. Such a shame he had to sacrifice himself, but Daegal must return!”

  “How could you do this?” Ardyn growled. “You betrayed your own people!”

  “Oh, you’re one to talk. I didn’t see you running back here to care for those who you left behind when Daegal gave you those powers. Look at you, pathetic and weak, torturing yourself for decades instead of embracing the gift that was given to you!” She spit at the ground. “You’re a fool!”

  “Let me guess,” Rosie spoke, “Daegal offered you power in exchange for your help? He offered to make you like us?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, he did.” Akasha smiled proudly. “He visited me shortly before your encounter in the Cascades. He told me what would need to be done should he fail, and he promised to bestow upon me the power that I desired. When I am made djinn, nothing will be able to stop me!”

  “You’re a fool if you think that he is going to do what you ask!” Bruto yelled.

  “Do you know how many promises he’s made just like that one? I’ll give you one guess on how many he’s actually delivered on,” Jinn chimed in.

  “He made you!” Akasha yelled. “He will do the same for me.”

  “None of us asked for this!” Ardyn growled. “He stole our lives from us so that we could do his bidding! Is that what you want?”

  “Enough!” Akasha stomped her foot and looked to the sky. Above them the moon began to take hold as night settled in. “It is time!”

  The two men dragged Praia to the platform where Ryesen and Zaria were strung up. Without releasing her from the net, they hung her next to the girls. She kicked and screamed but nothing worked.

  “We have to get her out of there.” Jinn shot his magic against the barrier, but it didn’t penetrate. “Help me!”

  The others joined in—Bruto, Rosie, and Nitara. Still, nothing broke through. Ardyn continued to struggle with the monster inside of him. Watching Zaria’s unconscious form drove him mad. He started calling out her name and pounding the ground with his fist as his wolf tried over and over to break free. His form shifted and vibrated as his body bounced back and forth between human features and wolf.

  “Ardyn, get your shit together!” Bruto yelled. “We need you!”

  On the inside of the circle, Akasha began chanting the spell that would raise Daegal from the dead. She focused in on Praia and walked over to her struggling form. One of her men handed her a silver goblet filled with shimmering liquid. As she spoke the spell, she poured the liquid onto Praia, and the fae girl began to glow.

  Praia's body convulsed as her skin glowed in a rainbow of colors before settling on a pale blue. A beam of light shot from her open mouth and eyes, up into the sky, to the moon that had just taken its hold.

  Akasha began to chant as she moved to Ryesen and lifted a knife from the small, open pouch at her waist. She dragged the tip of the blade against Ryesen’s wrists, which were bound over her head. The wolf woke up, screaming from the pain, as her own blood dripped over her face.

  Akasha moved to the middle of the three women and spoke her chant to Zaria. Lifting a lit candle that sat at her feet, she held it in front of her face.

  “No!” Ardyn screamed and his wolf took claim of him. Mid shift, he bound forward, breaking through the barrier that surrounded Akasha and knocking the woman down. The candle hit the fabric at Zaria’s feet and quickly began to burn. Because of his interference, the barrier dropped, and the others ran forward. Rosie wrapped her arms around Ryesen and vanished, only to reappear moments later when the wolf was in a safe place. Jinn cut Praia down but she continued to glow, the light still connecting to the moon.

  “Fuck, guys,” Bruto called out as Nitara was attempting to extinguish the flame that climbed up the body of a still unconscious Zaria. The surface beneath their feet trembled, and just outside of the barrier that had broken, a crack appeared in the earth. “The ground is opening up! Something tells me that isn’t a good thing.”

  “Get her out of here!” Nitara yelled at Jinn who followed her instruction, or at least tried to. He wrapped his arms around Praia, but when he vanished she remained. He returned seconds later.

  “What the hell?” He tried once more, but again Praia remained hanging beneath the moon.

  “Shit, we have to stop this!” Rosie yelled and conjured a wave of water that pummeled Zaria in an attempt to put out her flame. All it did was wake her up, but the fire continued to burn.

  “You cannot stop this! It has begun!” Akasha yelled as she dodged another blow from Ardyn and shifted into her feline form. The dark cat ran circles around the wolf who was distracted by emotion and pain. She got behind him and pounced, landing on his back and digging her claws into his flesh. Ardyn howled in pain as he tried to remove the cat from his back.

  “Nitara, untie me!” Zaria yelled. “Now!”

  “We have to figure out how to stop this! Untying you may only make it worse.”

  Ardyn cried out again as Akasha ripped into his back over and over alternating between claws and teeth. Bruto and Rosie took to fighting off incoming cats who came to their queen’s cries. Inside the circle, Jinn tried relentlessly to free Praia. Devastation acted out in every corner of the space and the earth quaked as the opening widened.

  Zaria took it all in, every horrifying detail that was only illuminated more by the fire that burned, climbing up her body. This was unlike her own, it scorched her limbs and where her flames felt like a warm embrace, this magic was pain, reaching across her body and into her mind. If not for the desire to save her new love, it would have driven her mad. Her eyes found the struggling wolf—there was no one to help him, and Akasha was making quick work of tearing through his back. “Now!” she yelled. “Nitara, untie me!”

  Nitara did as she was told, and the moment Zaria was free she flew to Ardyn. Despite the pain that ripped through her when the binding was broken, she narrowed her gaze on the panther who’d betrayed them all. She wrapped her burning arms around the black torso and ripped the power-hungry feline from his back. As Akasha cried out, returning to her human form, she was carried up into the nights sky. The barrier above them burst as the phoenix burned and took the queen with her in a fiery end to her life. The moment their forms vanished in a show of vibrant flames, Praia was released from her hold. She fell into Jinn’s arms and passed out.

  After witnessing the demise of their queen and recognizing that they would lose if they continued the fight, the cats all retreated, but were surrounded by the opposing forces. Though their queen was no more, they would live to pay for their treason.

  Ardyn shifted back to his human form and for a moment he searched for her. He wa
nted to make sure she was okay but each face that met him told a story he didn’t want to be true. He fell to his knees at the opening in the ground which had stopped growing and cried out for her. Long after the others had left the Peak, and after the sun had taken its place above the devastated land, he waited for Zaria to reappear, but she never did.

  “How’s he holding up?” Jinn joined Nitara in the hall outside of Ardyn’s room. They had returned to Reverie after settling things with Bukai and Magua. There was a lot that had to be figured out in the shifter territory, but there wasn’t much that their group could help with.

  “As good as anyone is to be expected.” Turning to him, she wrapped her arms around her husband. Being in Reverie was not ideal, she wanted more than anything to go back to their little home, but she needed to be there for her friend. “He is devastated.”

  “I know the feeling. I wish there was something that we could do.” As much as Jinn wanted to continue holding the unwarranted grudge against Ardyn, he had to admit that what the man was going through was nothing easy. He thought back on the time when he thought Nitara had died, he’d been so destroyed by the news that he isolated himself the same as Ardyn was doing. If he hadn’t he probably would have burned the world around him to ashes.

  “All we can do is hope that time will heal him. No one has seen or heard from Zaria and it’s been weeks.” She looked at the door that remained closed, locking the wolf inside. From time to time she could hear him moving within, but he never let her in and she didn’t force it. She only wanted him to know that she was there for him if and when he needed the support.

  Ardyn stood on the balcony outside of his room, staring at the sky. Even though they were nowhere near the Peaks where he last saw her, he wished that she would return to the sky, a blazing glory. He wanted to see her face again, to feel the warmth of her smile and wrap himself in the aura that was her uplifting energy. He thanked her—for pushing him to face his demons, for helping him to reconnect with his wolf, and for inspiring him to move forward with his life. Yet, it all seemed so unimportant now that he couldn’t share it with her.