Djinn's Passion

by Kailin Gow

  I grabbed the bars and gazed into the man’s sunken eyes. His dirty beard and disheveled and matted hair gave him an air of lunacy. It was so easy to look at him now and ignore the man he must once have been, the upstanding Arcadian citizen who did as he was supposed to do. “I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you get out of here, sir. No one deserves to be here.”

  Reluctantly, he released his hold of my hair and ran his fingers over my hand. “They come fast. The bloodthirsty Magical Ones who thrive on the shows here demand more and more. Every day a dozen prisoners are taken up… they never return.”

  He pointed to the empty cells a little further down the hall.

  “By tomorrow they should be coming for me,” he said.

  My heart went out to him. His wife must be sick with worry, and his kids… they must miss him horribly.

  I turned to Torrid, my eyes imploring.

  “It’s too risky just yet,” came his answer. “If you use your magic to release him, not only will you weaken your powers for the fight that is sure to come once we find your friends, but releasing prisoners now will definitely alert the guards. We’ll find your friends, make sure they get out okay, then come back to release them all… I promise.”

  My lip twitched with uncertainty. It felt so wrong to just leave him there. Just a little magic and they could all be free.

  Torrid tugged on my arm, urging me to follow him.

  I gazed apologetically at the gaunt man. “We’ll be back to let you out,” I called back.

  “Could we be too late?” I said as we rushed by rows and rows of empty cells.

  Up ahead I heard distinctive voices; voices I recognized.

  “That’s them. I know it. That’s Matthew and Jocelyn.”

  We heard a loud bellow and the sharp cracking of a whip followed by the shallow yelping of a female.

  “We have to hurry, Torrid. I think they’ve already begun beating them down.”

  As I prepared to run ahead, he grabbed my arm and held me back. “Hold on. Don’t get in a panic and rush. You’ll only get yourself caught.”

  Taking a slow but steady lead, he walked ahead of me.

  “Get these two ready,” a guard shouted. “I think we’ll make an exclusive show of these two. Treason has its own particularly delicious torture.”

  My heart pounded hard and fast as my fear for them skyrocketed.

  “The girl is too weak to stand, sir,” a subordinate answered.

  The comment was followed by the loud clap of a slap and the dull thud of someone falling to the ground.

  “Drag her out if you have to,” the guard ordered. A pregnant pause was followed by a sinister snicker. “Or better yet, have him drag her out. It would only be fitting, right, young man? You wanted to drag your beloved out of Arcadia and give her a good life? Well, now you can drag her to her death, watch as she’s torn apart by hungry dogs, then await your own slow torture.”

  Our approach brought us past a tall narrow window. I should have trusted my better judgment and kept my eyes straight ahead, but I shot a glance, just long enough to see the horrors that went on out on that field.

  The blood, the guts, the death…

  Torrid quickly brought his hand to my elbow and steadied me as I wavered. “You're as pale as death. Are you okay?”

  Get it together, I silently demanded of myself. I was stronger than this. I was capable of doing this. So many relied on me, and right now Matthew and Jocelyn prepared to meet their horrible deaths.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I inhaled in an attempt to get some oxygen to my brain. “I’m good now. I’m okay.”

  “They’re about to throw them into the ring any minute now. As soon as those poor souls out there succumb to the dogs, your friends will be next.”

  I nodded my understanding.

  “It sounds like they’re just two Magical Ones, but let’s assume there’s another one or two guards with them who’ve kept silent so far. With Matthew and Jocelyn so weak, I doubt they’ve bothered assigning more guards to them than that.”

  Again I nodded, agitated and eager to do something, anything that would help them before it was too late.

  “I’m going to go in first and take care of the guard who’s been barking orders. Chances are the others will cower away, but even if they don’t, they shouldn’t be a problem. All I want you to do is run in and get a hold of your friends, especially Jocelyn. Enlist Matthew to get her out of there while I keep the guards busy.”

  “Okay, I got it. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Chapter 18

  I knew the sounds that echoed around me would stay with me for a lifetime. How would I ever be able to forget such a culmination of fear and terror? As we neared the preparation den, I heard the muted sounds of Matthew’s pleas for mercy. The response was swift and brutal as we rounded the corner and saw a huge Magical One kick Matthew in the belly.

  Lying on the stone floor, naked save for a flimsy stretch of cloth across his hips, he curled up, moaning from the pain and trying to protect himself from another blow.

  “You lousy traitors aren’t even worth my energy,” the Magical One said. “I’ll let the dogs take care of you.”

  He spat on Matthew’s face and turned to leer at Jocelyn. Shreds of her dress hung loosely on her thin frame, barely covering her up.

  “How much more time do we have before they go in?” He approached Jocelyn, his gaze shifting from anger to hunger. Grabbing a fistful of her hair he raised her head off the ground and looked into her shuttered eyes. “Seems like such a waste to throw a pretty girl to the dogs without at least…”

  “Brent, you know the rules,” a smaller Magical One said. “No fooling around with the inmates.”

  Brent raised a murderous gaze at this subordinate. “Are you going to tell Dr. Sanz?”

  The subordinate swallowed with difficulty and turned away, leaving Brent to snicker in victory. With a harsh hand, he turned Jocelyn onto her back and let his gaze roam over the length of her body, but before his hand could follow the path his eyes had taken, Torrid charged in.

  Within seconds, he’d grabbed Brent by the scruff of his neck and tossed him effortlessly to the wall.

  “Get him!” Brent ordered. Pointing to Torrid, he scanned the room, assessing his next move. When his gaze remained on me, I knew I had to move fast.

  He lunged at me, his arms extended as he reached for my throat. Caught off guard, I sidestepped him instead of erecting my protective shield. When he lunged again, I concentrated and was able to slow his progress with a shield that wasn’t quite as strong as it needed to be in order to stop him completely.

  “Think you’re so smart,” Brent shouted. His arms pierced through my shield and his fingers wiggled their desire to choke me, while his body remained blocked. “How long do you really think you can keep this up, cutie? In seconds flat you’ll be whining of a headache and I’ll be all over you.”

  I ignored him and concentrated on maintaining the protective shield. Torrid was already busy with a half dozen guards who’d quickly run in. One by one they jumped him, enjoying the thrill of the fight. Every time I thought it would end, another guard arrived and the fighting renewed.

  Backing to a corner to protect my back, my concentration on Brent and the protective shield that held him at arm’s length buckled and he inched closer. His fingers caressed my cheek and his ominous snicker filled my protective bubble.

  I could taste the panic in the back of my throat. If I didn’t succeed in concentrating harder, he’d be all over me in a matter of seconds. My fear for Torrid’s safety took up too many of my thoughts and, in my periphery; I could see Matthew struggling to get to Jocelyn’s side. On all fours, he crawled toward her, but his progress was slow and painful. I knew all this took away from my ability to concentrate on my own safety.

  Closing my eyes, I shut out all that was going on around me. If we were to get out of here alive, I had to deal with Brent more efficiently. I intensified the strength of
the wall around me and was rewarded by Brent’s cry of pain as his arms remained winched within my protective wall.

  It was a sound that brought a small grin of satisfaction to my lips and when I opened my eyes and saw his grimace, I gave myself a mental pat on the back for a job well done. Not only had I managed to keep him away from me, but he was temporarily locked within the confines of my barrier.

  I slipped out the side of my force field, leaving him facing an empty wall. He turned to spit at me, but a quick and easily erected little barrier had his spit splattering back in his own face.

  “You dirty little piece of worthless trash,” he growled as he continued to struggle against the hold of my barrier. “We’ll see who’s feeling victorious when I get my hands on you and have you thrown to the dogs… piece by piece.”

  The vivid image shocked me, but I quickly regained my composure and did what I had to do.

  Torrid kept up with the endless flow of guards, though I could see fatigue settling in. The guards that he’d tossed about so easily moments earlier were now being tossed aside with greater effort.

  Before he was no longer able to keep up the fight, I headed to Matthew and Jocelyn.

  “We have to get you guys out of here fast,” I told Matthew.

  He knelt beside Jocelyn and silently wept.

  “Don’t lose hope, Matthew. We’ll get you out. Come on.” I stooped beside him and took a hold of Jocelyn’s arm. “Help me get her up. Torrid will keep the guards occupied while we bring her to a safer place.”

  Turning his vacant eyes to me, he muttered, “What safe place? Where is it safe, Kama? There’s no such thing. They’re everywhere, these Magical Ones. Everywhere.”

  “No,” I said with a sense of urgency. “We’ll find a place. Don’t give up, Matthew. Please, just don’t give up. Come on. Help me.”

  Taking a feeble hold of Jocelyn’s other arm, he shook his head. “I’m just barely stronger than she is. I can barely hold myself up.”

  “You’re bailing out on me, Matthew. I came here to save you, to get the two of you out of here. Are you trying to tell me that I came out here for nothing; that I risked my life for nothing?” I wanted to whip some sense into him.

  Not a ray of hope glimmered in his eyes as he turned to me, but he took a deep breath and took a firmer hold of Jocelyn.

  “On three,” I said. “One, two, three.”

  We hoisted her up and shoved our arms under hers to hold her steady.

  Now what? I thought.

  I scanned the preparation den. Three corridors opened into the den; from the left, the right and straight ahead of me. Behind me was a set of double doors that led to the death field.

  “Where do we go?” Matthew said.

  His struggle to remain upright was admirable, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. The right corridor spewed a high number of incoming guards while the corridor straight ahead of me seemed wide open and empty, but I had no idea where it led.

  The corridor on the left was the one that had brought us here.

  “Okay,” I said. “We’ll head this way.”

  My mind raced as I stepped to the corridor on our left. All the inmates, I thought. If I could release them, they would cause enough of a commotion to distract the guards. I concentrated on the cells far ahead of us, hoping to unlock them all before we even entered the corridor, a rookie mistake I was about to regret.

  With a painful yank back on my hair, I lost my hold of Jocelyn and found myself in the arms of Brent, his powerful arm around my waist while he gripped my hair with fury.

  “Run, Matthew,” I shouted. “Get her out of here.”

  Though I knew I had a fierce fight ahead of me with Brent, I concentrated on the cells, hoping they would all unlock as Matthew and Jocelyn made their way through the corridor.

  If nothing else, I wanted to at least know I’d managed to save them, and perhaps countless others.

  “Let’s see you work your magic out of this one,” Brent growled into my ear. His hot and stinky breath brushed over my cheek and up to my nostrils. To add to my nausea, he stuck out his tongue and licked the length of my cheek. “You don’t have a magic potion to push me away now, do you?”

  “You're a vile and ugly creature,” I said with disgust.

  He laughed, loud and gregarious, his hold of me never wavering. When the laughter ceased, he pressed his lips back to my ear. “You have no idea how vile and ugly a creature I can be, but you're about to find out.”

  I scrambled to find what to do. In all of Torrid’s training… there had to be something that would get me out of this. It was too late for a force field. I had to conjure something up… a weapon.

  Concentrating, I envision a knife; a good sturdy knife that I could slit his wrist with.

  Hearing Brent’s amused chuckle, I knew I’d missed my mark.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  I opened my eyes to find the knife I’d envisioned in his fist.

  My mind went blank and my body went numb. With minimal effort, Brent yanked me off my feet, twirled around to where Torrid was engaged in yet another fight and called out to his guards, “Keep him busy. I have something to take care of.”

  Torrid raised his eyes to me and I instantly saw the horror in them.

  Don’t let this distract you, I silently begged him. Don’t stop fighting. I’ll be okay.

  But the moment’s distraction was all the guards needed in order to finally beat Torrid down. Jumping on him, their glee evident, their victory cemented, they took full advantage of his weakened position and pinned him to the ground.

  “No!” I shouted helplessly. “Torrid!”

  Chapter 19

  As I sat in a darkened cell, no larger than a closet, I saw Torrid’s face again and again. Anguish had filled his eyes and while I knew he was in physical pain from the beatings he received from the angered Magical Ones, I knew in my heart that it was the emotional pain of my capture that so tormented him.

  Berating myself for the hundredth time, I smashed my palm into the clammy stone wall that imprisoned me.

  “Use your magic,” he’d called out, though in the confusion of the moment it’d been hard to discern whether he’d called it aloud or had telepathically sent me his message. “Use the bloodline of your ancestors. You are the daughter of General Adon. Don’t underestimate all that you can do, Kama.”

  His message stayed with me, giving me hope, even when my powers seemed useless. I had no idea how long I’d been in the cell. The perpetual darkness gave no indication to the days and nights that passed and my troubled sleep only added to the confusion, bringing me to dream-filled worlds that left reality almost too nightmarish to stand.

  The metal grate at the side of my cell opened, a sign that food, if one could call it that, was arriving. Like before, chunks of stale bread, remnants of various vegetables and a strip of foul meat was thrown in, no plate, no bowl, no utensils.

  The first days I had resisted, refusing to eat what was no doubt the guards’ leftovers, refusing to behave like an animal, until raging hunger took over. The slightest morsel of food, the tiniest crumb was licked up. Water was hosed in and it pooled in a narrow cavity to the left of the grated opening. Like a dog, I had to lap it up, or scoop what I could with my cupped hands. I knew I had to eat, to get as much strength as possible.

  Humility deserted me and all that remained was the desire to survive.

  Once again, Torrid’s face came to me, as did his words of encouragement. I wondered how long these hallucinations would go on, for sometimes it almost felt as though he were right there in front of me. At certain moments I could feel the warmth of his hand over mine, the caress of his breath on my cheek, and the sound of his voice so clear in my ears.

  At other times it was simply that last haunting glimpse I had of him that filled my mind’s eye. With no concrete news from him, I didn’t even know if he was still alive. Had he already been thrown to the dogs? And Matthew and Jocelyn. Had all this been for nothi
ng or had they managed to escape?

  The guards refused to give me even the slightest information.

  In every sense of the word, I was left in the dark.

  “Hey, pretty face,” a voice called through the grated opening.

  I wanted to believe it was someone I wanted to see, someone who’d come to save me, but a vague memory told me this wasn’t good news. While I could not pinpoint where I’d heard the voice before, deep inside, I knew it belonged to someone I wanted nothing to do with.

  “Your day has finally come, lovely.” Brent, the Magical One who captured me, rattled keys against the bars. “You're to take the big stage.”

  Through the dark, his voice sounded soft and welcoming, anything that would get me out; anything that would allow me a moment in sunlight, in fresh air. As the key was pushed into the keyhole, however, I knew I would not be led to sun and air, but to my death.

  The key turned and a new lump of fear came to my throat. After all I’d been through, after all that had happened, with Liam, with Torrid, with Matthew and Jocelyn, was this how it was to all end?

  The door pulled back and a dull ray of light gave me a dismal view of the tiny cell I’d occupied. A piece of meat that had gone undetected by my searching hands lay in the corner covered with insects that relished the rotting flesh.

  “Come.” A large and bulky hand reached into my hovel, the thick, stubby fingers poised to grasp my hand.

  “I don’t want to go,” I mumbled, the sound of my voice like that of a child.

  “This isn’t really a matter of what you want to do.” The hand reached in a little deeper. “Don’t make me have to go in there and drag you out.”

  I cringed and cowered into the furthest corner of my cell. “Please, I just want to go home. I just want all this to be over. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  “Oh, it’ll all be over all right. And home… well, I guess in a way you could call where you're going home.”

  The large arm and searching hand reached into the corner I clung to and took a vicious hold of my arm. “Now, get out here so we can take a good look at you and get you ready for your big moment.”