Bound (Secrets of the Djinn) (29 page)

“Man, your whole family is fucked up,” Brielle mutters.  I ignore her.

“Enough of this!” my aunt barks.  “Possessions are no concern of mine.  I came her
e for you and I will not leave until I have you.  Even if that means killing your mother again.  As fierce as your little humans may seem, they are no match for my army.”  Killing my mother again?  She helped my father kill her.

“We don’t stand alone,” Roman says evenly.

All of our shocked eyes turn to him.  “What do you mean?” I ask.

Roman uses his thumb and index finger to whistle.  From the forest, more djinn approach us and take a stance against the Marid djinn.  There are not as many as Agares has, but the numbers have
definitely shifted in our favor.

“How?” I ask.

Roman’s smile is tight.  “Not all of the Saitan believe we should cross the veil, nor do they all deserve to die at the hands of the Marid.  You are prophesied to be the Protector of all djinn who serve you and they come to do so.”  Serve me?  I’m too dumbfounded to say anything.

Agares laughs.  “You brought traitors to defend you?  They aren’t even
soldiers; they deserted their posts out of cowardice.  Now they beg for mercy from the Protector?  You are a fool, Defiler.”

Roman must get really tired of hearing that name.  I know I do.  “You are confusing cowardice with rational thought
,” he says.  “There are many among the Saitan who strive for peace, both with the Marid and the humans.  We believe Skye is the one who will achieve this for us.”  My eyes widen as I stare at him.  Is he serious?  After what he’s seen over the last month, how can he think that?  The reassuring smile he gives me proves he does, though.

Sounding bored, Agares says, “Obviously, you
came to fight.  I am willing to put your cowards to the test.  Take the girl.” 

The Marid djinn swarm towards us and within seconds, steel blades are pulled and shots are being fired.  Chaos reigns
around me.  My friends join the fight.  Guns drawn, Zane, Brielle and Hank fire on the djinn ranks, bringing down some, but not enough.  Soon, their guns are forgotten as they are forced into hand to hand combat.  Brielle’s arm is bleeding from a dagger wound and Hank is stabbed in the side by a long sword.  Mrs. Gregori screams in anger and the automatic in her hand begins to fire, and she doesn’t care which djinn are hit by the spray.

Marid soldiers are coming for me.  Malik shoves me behind him and his magic pours forth, bringing ten djinn to their knees.  But they are surrounding us and Malik can’t push his power out all around us. 
They are moving closer.  A figure breaks through the djinn ranks, a very recognizable figure.  Beelzebub.  On his arm is my aunt.

“Are you really standing against us?” I
can’t help asking.  Deep down, I didn’t think he would actually do it.

“You stand with my dearest enemy.  How can I not?” he asks
, calm amidst the chaos.

His dearest enemy?  “Do you mean Malik?”

“Skye, this is not the time for words,” Malik says, his energy still pouring from his hands towards as many of the djinn closing in on us as possible.

“Your brother?”  Beelzebub says.  “What an absurd notion.”

“He means me,” Jalynx says.

“You?” Malik says in disbelief.

“I don’t think he means Jalynx,” I whisper.  “I think he means our mother.”

Face hardening, my brother says to the devil, “I will stand by our mother in any battle she faces.”

I want to contradict him, but now’s probably not the time to tell him that our mother wants to rule over the human world.  Or that she tricked him into killing our father.  Then again, maybe I should.  I certainly don’t want to die because of her.  “Our mother isn’t who you think she is,” I whisper to Malik. 

“
Do not let the devil convince you of his lies,” my brother spats back. 

I won’t convince
him, I can see it in his eyes.  Instead, I turn my attention to my aunt again.  “You walk with the devil yet you want me to believe you are the better djinn, the ones who should rule behind the veil?”

“War makes for strange bedfellows,” Beelzebub says with a wink.

Glaring at him, my aunt says, “Only in this one goal are we of the same mind.  We both believe your power should be contained, and Beelzebub offered his assistance in bringing you back home where you belong.  Once this is accomplished, we will part ways.”

A scene flashes in my mind.  Zane is helping Hank to the ground, not paying attention to the melee around him in his concern for his grandfather.  This doesn’t go unnoticed by the djinn closest to him.  Brielle has his back, though.  She stands at his side, facing the djinn, ready to battle.
  This is insane.  I can’t let these people die.  Any of them, djinn or human. 

Shaking my head, I ask my aunt, “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to make deals with the devil?  He lies.”
  To Beelzebub, I say, “You will not take me without a fight.  I will never serve you, no matter the size of your army or the strength of your power.”

With a lazy smile, Beelzebub says to Agares, “We may want to step back.  I believe your niece is about to end th
is scuffle.” 

This is more than a scuffle
I want to shout at him.  People are dying.  Not that the devil would care.  I’m sure he’s enjoying the sight of humans and djinn trying to kill each other. 

A
s my anger should be growing, a tranquility washes over me instead.  The scene before me begins to move in slow motion.  Words rise in my throat with such force, I have no choice but to speak them.  “Roman of the Saitan, bearer of my mark, come to me.  Malik of the Marid, my brother bound, come to me.”  My voice rings out over the battle and I feel the pull of my words, the compulsion behind them.  I don’t know where he came from, but Roman is suddenly by my side.  I hold my hand out to him and he takes it.  Malik takes the other.  Both are moving as if in a trance, no resistance or questions from either of them.  To Roman, I say, “The marks we share give us the ability to control and direct the power Malik will bring to us.  It is your will that can guide me in determining who among the Saitan deserve my protection.”  The words feel right on my tongue, as if I was always meant to say them.  To Malik, I say, “My dear brother, share with me the power you hold.  Let me take it and make it new, make it stronger, so we may end this battle.”

Both men focus on me, giving me their strength, their power, and their knowledge
through our clenched hands and like minds.  I take these things from them and churn them within me, combining them, until I can hold them no longer.  Power emanates from me with a light that’s blinding.  It feels as if my soul is being ripped from my body as every ounce of power streams from me.  I scream as it keeps going, washing over the djinn armies, over the people I love, and bringing the fighting to an end as they all stare in wonder. 

As it flows,
the light and power show me things.  They show me the darkest parts of the souls before me and I scream again and again as gruesome images bombard my brain.  Death after death is cataloged in my mind, so many here have killed.  I clench Roman and Malik’s hands harder, relying on their strength to help me through this.

I
n the dark sea, I soon begin to see light.  I see souls who, far from pure, are inherently good.  I see love in many of the hearts, and I sense the desire for peace.  These souls I can help, I can cleanse them of the tarnish of the past. 

I search through the djinn and one by one, I isolate the souls worth saving.  I bring my light to them, touching their souls
.  In the distance, I hear screaming from mouths other than mine.  I hear groans of agony and cries for it to stop.  But I persist.  I search every single soul until I am certain I reached them all. 

In a voice that only vaguely sounds like mine, I say, “Today, you will face the flames of judgment I wield and you will taste your most wicked deeds.  Once you
’ve felt them all, your souls will be cleansed and you may yet find peace in this life.”

Both Roman and Malik try to tug their hands away when my entire body bursts into flame
s, but I hold fast.  They cannot be harmed by this fire.  They are integral to my magic.  They sacrifice their power and control to me so I can make it mine and be the Protector I am meant to be.  Directing the flames outward, I barely hear the groans and shrieks of those being judged, but I see their sins.  Every last one of them and my flames devour them, leaving nothing but light in their place.  I burn away the tarnish of their deeds, both in mind and body.  Soon, the yard contains almost as many light souls as it does dark. 

When I am done, I consider the dark souls again.  Some are so black, even the devil would bow down before their
wickedness.  There is no place for souls like this among the living.  Pulling once again on Malik’s power, I take it inside of me and make it grow.  The light that emanates from me this time is dimmer, more of a flicker of candlelight.  I don’t need the brighter light for what I am about to do. 

Snaking
a path through the frightened djinn, my muted flames isolate the souls that reek of darkness.  I wrap them around these souls and hold them until I have find every last one.  Now I feed my flames with not only their sins, but their life force as well, absorbing their power as their bodies fall to the ground.  Dead. 

When the
spark of life leaves the very last djinni, I release the souls.  Every single one of them is pulled downward, like black oil seeping back into the earth.  Their journey will not end there.  They will soon face Beelzebub and his wrath.

The thought of the devil brings my attention to him
again.  No trace exists of the smile he wore earlier.  “Kill him,” my mother whispers into my ear.  “I will help you.”

Beelzebub is no longer holding my aunt’s arm.  She is on the ground
having lost consciousness because of the pain of the soul cleansing.  The devil was unharmed by my power, though.  Is he exempt from judgment?

“Kill him,” my mother’s voice says again.  “I will bring him to his knees for you.”

Before I can ask her what she means, Jalynx’s hands begin to remove a ring from her finger.  My eyes flick between Beelzebub and her.  His face is grim, hers a picture of satisfaction.  Throwing the ring to the ground at his feet, my mother says, “Kneel before the Protector.”

I can almost feel the cells of his body protesting, trying to resist, but his knees bend.  The devil cannot fight the power of Solomon’s ring. 
Letting my flames go and releasing Roman and Malik, I turn to my mother. “How did you get that?”  My mind is like mush after everything I’ve just seen and done, but something lurks in Jalynx’s eye that tells me I’m not finished yet.

A gratified smile turns her lips up.  “When you lay with the devil, you find that even he must sleep.”

Bile tries to rise in my throat but I force it back down.  “You were his lover?”

“You are not truly our mother. 
She would never do such things.  Who are you?” Malik demands.

“Oh, dear boy, I guarantee this is your mother,” Beelzebub says dryly.  “Lured by her beauty, it did not take me long to discover that her soul is darker than mine.”

When I sent forth my power, I protected those I care for.  Jalynx and my mother were among those, so I never saw my mother’s soul.  What a foolish thing after what she said to me in the cellar.  I must convince my brother that hers is not the side to take.  “Malik, she lied to you, made you think she’s someone she’s not,” I tell him.

For the first time ever, I fear my brother is going to strike me.  Whether with his hand or his power, I’m not sure.  I take a step back and I f
eel a familiar body behind me.  Zane.  He places his hands on my hips and I relax against him.

“Our mother was kind and generous.  She lived with a tyrant and still showed her children love.  She suffered years of abuse at our father’s hand and now you want me to believe she’s the one who was evil?” Malik asks
, his voice rising.

Well, yes.  Only, how do I make him see it?  An idea pops into my head.  Beelzebub’s eyes
are on me and I know now it was him who changed the words in the book.  He gave me a way to fight against my mother and her influence over my brother.  All I need is a tether.

Turning so I’m facing Zane, I place my hands on his cheek
s.  “Remember your promise,” I say, leaning forward and kissing him.  I take a step back.  “I’m so sorry, baby.  This is going to hurt.”

Reaching deep inside me, down to the smallest recesses, I pull on the power
residing within me.  It’s mine, Malik’s and Roman’s.  It’s what I took from the djinn sent to their death moments ago.  With it, I feel the tether that stretches between Zane and me, the one that allows him to feel me no matter where I am.  He has this ability because he must safeguard my soul, he must keep it grounded in the real world.  He truly is my tether.

Reaching out, I grasp Beelzebub’s shoulder and Jalynx’s wrist.  With a
burst of energy, I wrench all three of our souls from our bodies.  The pain is beyond imagination.  Our cries are deafening.  Mingled with our voices is Zane’s.  His soul is tethered to mine, and even though his remains in is body, he still feels the pain of separation I experience.  It’s this tether, this bond between us, that’s going to bring me home.  Beelzebub will need to find his own way back.