Genie Chronicles - Gemini Ch. 08

Chapter 8:

Dear readers: Thanks for sticking with me, this is another long one, it's quite big on the sex but there is a point to almost all of the sex in this chapter that makes it relevant to the future of the story. It should be noted that the chapter after this one will be the finishing of this particular storyline, BUT not the story, chapter 9 will wrap things up with the demon and officially end this first section of the Genie chronicles -- Gemini series but it will also set some things up for the future as I have several other story lines to get through and plenty of adventures for John, Rose and Hazel, a couple of them with Sara in tow.

Also I should like to make something clear after one comment that was made on a previous story, although the genies are technically slaves this is NEVER going to become a source of conflict for the group, some sort of big re-enforcing of this will not be necessary, both master and genies are aware of this but I'm always going to keep them as the tight knit, happy trio of lovers, facing whatever nasties I decide to throw at them together.

John looked at Hazel with a face of abject terror, this woman who'd just appeared in their garden had apparently had a djinn and now it was dead.

"What?"

"She... was the mistress of a djinn, we know he was in her life, we're able to sense that because of the depth of the loss, that's why she's crying, we can get that because it's related to djinn and therefore within our power to read, we can't work out any more than that right now" Hazel continued to provide information as Rose crouched on the lawn cuddling the woman and trying to comfort her, "it's why Rose could just bring the blanket out of nowhere because this woman knows about djinn and their powers so we don't need to protect ourselves from her, and whatever killed her djinn did so deliberately, Rose and I can get all this information because it's potentially vital in our job of protecting you."

He decided if this woman knew about djinn it was OK for him to be open about Rose and Hazel.

"Sara" he said softly, "this is Rose and that's Hazel, they're my djinn, do you want to come inside?"

The sobbing woman simply nodded and Rose helped her up as they walked towards the house.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Arnvir felt a terrible weight on her as the column of riding warriors thundered south, they'd just left Yorkshire and were maintaining a good speed, but something felt wrong, just sickeningly horrible, the evil that was a malevolent threat before was a much more obvious presence to beings who's job it was to fight such a terrible creature.

The growth of the darkness did little to allay her concerns about the difficulty of this mission. Had the creature been growing in small steps and slowly then they could have guaranteed victory, but with it's power building so much faster than expected, it's defeat would be that much harder.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Zarakynal flexed his muscles feeling strength return to them that he'd not known in a thousand years. He glanced about himself, the genie he'd killed had been absorbed, all of it, broken down into dust and consumed to provide strength for his wicked soul. But he was still in the baggage area of the airport and needed a way out.

He looked around and found a small office area, there was a single man, feet up on the desk with the Times crossword in front of him, he was clearly meant to be monitoring the status of the machinery that loaded the bags but apparently he was bored of that. He was of Pakistani origin similar to the man who'd unwittingly left the door open back up on the concourse, he was average build, a little more muscular due to lifting bags all day, a black goatie beard, thick black eyebrows and brown eyes.

Zarakynal looked through the window of the office at the man's back, then over his shoulder to the small TV currently displaying a news report, there was a man there, the words scrolling along the bottom of the screen said his name was Lucius Vargen and suddenly a picture of Zarakynal's current face flashed up on screen and the demon realized he was already being hunted. Time he thought to get a new look and he entered the office.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The four of them sat round the dining room table, Sara was still sobbing heavily as they tried to comfort her, but how do you comfort someone who's just lost their lover of 500 years? They'd got the name Harry, the length of time she'd been with him and that they currently lived in L.A. and had been in America for most of their lives, apparently in the name of protecting their anonymity she'd made sure they were on one of the first ships to cross the Atlantic with settlers, from there they'd been able to wander out into the wilderness and initially set up a small farm just outside Boston but as each area became more populated they moved on to more rural areas.

Now they lived in L.A. and they lived among people because the size of the houses and the population density allowed them to live private lives very easily. Every few decades they'd invent a reason to move and they'd find somewhere else to settle.

John and the genies listened intently to everything that Sara was saying, she hadn't yet mentioned how her genie had died but John quickly worked out that if his genies were within their bounds to read her mind and work out that she had a djinn, then whatever killed it was enough to be a threat to him and to them.

"I just remember watching...." Sara trailed off as she sobbed between words, she was finding it difficult to recount anything, the whole event just replayed in her head time and time again and she cried anew as that vivid image, not just her djinn but the man of her heart had been taken apart so brutally, his form all but broken he'd given her one last gift and sent her away from him.

She remembered the almost instant transfer from the airport to the back garden of these strangers, but briefly she'd felt the presence of creatures older than she could comprehend, she'd felt their touch and they smiled at her warmly, a smile of understanding that relayed their great sadness at what had befallen her.

"I didn't know djinn could teleport people" John commented, trying to be sympathetic while also having some concerns about the events surrounding Sara's appearance here.

"We can't," Rose offered "we can only move about like humans but if a djinn is dying we have the power to teleport our master away from the danger, it throws the master anywhere within 100 miles of the events that are killing the djinn."

"Wait," John thought, this was far too weird, "how did she 'just happen'" he raised his fingers to do the air quotes, "to be transported to our garden, if it's somewhere within 100 miles how did she end up with someone who's got djinn?"

"That we can't say," Hazel responded, "we're unable to know the actions of other djinn, we certainly couldn't have influenced it."

"It seems a little coincidental for my liking," John answered, "it's just a bit too perfect."

"What was it that killed Harry?" He pressed.

She sniffled and shook her head crying, "I don't know, it was just... something, it was human one minute and then something else the next."

Rose and Hazel's eyes went a little wider and John quickly picked up that something had just clicked in their heads.

"What do you know?" He asked his genies.

"It's a shape-shifter that kills djinn" Rose explained.

Hazel clarified further, "It's most likely a demon of some sort, they're impossible to evade if you don't know they're there and we can't sense them."

"Why was it chasing you?"

Again she simply shook her head and John realized he was possibly pushing too hard with the questions, he didn't know what else to do though.

Hazel stepped in to add a little information, "If it was a demon then in all likelihood it was hunting them, they feed by sucking the life essence out of other creatures, it probably picked up their scent somehow and chased them for prey."

"Why would it chase them specifically? Why would it not just kill humans?"

Sara piped up through the streams of tears, she had on a deep blue t-shirt but it was swiftly getting soaked, John never knew a person could cry that much.

"Harry said it doesn't just kill people, it hunts love and joy, he saw it on the news when we were in Paris and that's when he said we should leave."

"This thing's been on the news?" John exclaimed, he got up and strode straight into the living room, switching on BBC News 24, "there's been a string of horrific murders at Heathrow, if that's any help?"

As the rest of them followed him through to the living room Hazel and Rose both looked at the report in horror and Sara's tears were interrupted as her face took on a look of utter fear.

The report detailed the macabre nature of the killings and John was already horrified by that, but with the extra detail provided by the genies and the strange sobbing blonde, he felt utterly fearful for the safety of everyone in this house.

"If he killed your genie he may well be after you as well" John told Sara.

"I'm almost certain of that, Harry pulled me out of the way at the last moment, that thing was coming for both of us, the way it was attacking said that it didn't care which of us it killed."

"OK then I have a wish for my genies," they looked at him almost feeling what he was thinking, "your powers of protection, your ability to help a master in any way, must be extended to include Sara."

Sara blinked, a little overcome by that request, "you can't do that, you don't even know me and my being here puts you at risk, you don't have to protect me."

Before the genies could say whether or not they could protect Sara John responded to her comment.

"I think.... actually I do, like I said it seems a little coincidental that you turned up here, out of everywhere within a hundred miles of Heathrow you turned up here, you turned up somewhere that genies live, I think you were sent here because in actual fact I can do something..." he trailed off and turned to face his genies, "...can't I?"

"Yes..." Rose responded,, "...is the short answer."

"What's the long answer?"

Hazel started to explain, "You can wish for our protective capacities to cover another human being mostly though we recommend you use it for people to whom you're very close, in this case an exception to that is acceptable because Sara knows about djinn, also it would be somewhat more limited than our ability to protect or provide for you, with her we can only provide protection from dangers once perceived, with you we can predict them, she has the same kind of cover as you had between releasing us and claiming us."

"OK" John understood this.

Rose added a bit more information "But she is not our master and she never can be as you opened our vessel, you can ask us to grant her wishes too but you have ultimate control, if you wish us to do something we must obey your wish first, djinn cannot have two masters, even if two people work on the opening of the vessel one person would come first, even if only minutely, you can countermand her wishes but she cannot do the same to you."

John thought for a minute, absorbing the information, "OK, but for now please extend to Sara the same protective powers you use to protect me."

"It's done," Hazel responded "but ultimately you come first, so our protective powers become hierarchical, you first, Sara second" she smiled at Sara, "sorry, but that's the nature of our bond to our master."

"No, no," Sara said her tears stopping for the moment, she had a little glimmer of joy in her eyes that she'd been sent, for whatever reason, to people who were so kind and understanding, and who were willing to put themselves at risk for her.

"I understand completely" Sara smiled, not much, but a slight curling of the lips, she knew she would cry a lot in the next few days and weeks and possibly months but for now she was cried out, she had found a little hope in a world that had just been whitewashed and completely bleakened in that single moment of inhuman murder.

Sara moved over to John and threw her arms around his large frame, "thank you, thank you, whatever sent me to you, I'm grateful that they sent me to someone who cares so much."

"And I think it would be prudent if you stayed here, at least for tonight."

Sara looked up at the man who she'd only just met and who was now offering his genies and his home to her, she smiled in speechless gratitude and hugged him tight again, he put his arms around her and cuddled her tightly in return.

Hazel also piped up, "that would make sense for protective purposes too, if we stick together then any further information Sara has can be communicated instantly."

As she slowly broke the embrace she looked up at him, "do you mind if I use your bathroom?"

"Of course not," John exclaimed, aghast that she could even feel the need to ask such a stupid question, "it's up the stairs, if you turn right and then take the first door on your left."

"Thank you," she sniffled, "all of you."

She hugged each of the genies and headed for the stairs.

They waited until they heard the bathroom door shut and then John started with the questions again.

"So what else can you tell me about this situation? Whatever's happening I think it's best if I know what's going on."

"We know virtually nothing other than what Sara's explained and the small amount we can extrapolate from that, djinn at our level aren't meant to know these things," Hazel explained.

"Aren't you able to see the demon coming?"

Rose picked this up, "Sara's djinn should have been able to do that, he should have felt something, clearly he didn't, the best explanation would be that the demon is employing some form of magic to prevent djinn from feeling it's presence."

"So what can we do?"

"Until we know more there's not really much we can do," Rose offered, "the demon can't track Sara because she's been teleported, demons like that tend to hunt like dogs, they go on scent but they can pick up the scent of djinn a lot more easily."

"Hold on, if Sara was at Heathrow when the demon attacked, that means the demon's in London now," John's concern was obvious, "all it has to is happen across somewhere that we visited and we become the next target."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They had always been the main target, Zarakynal just didn't know exactly where to look, he knew they were somewhere in Southern England, beyond that he could not narrow the field any further.

He'd left a mess in his wake, the man who's face he now wore was a bled-dry husk slumped over his desk.

He made his way out to the car his latest victim had in the car park, as his victim had been a lowly paid baggage handler he only had a gutless diesel Volvo estate car, ancient and battered, it's faded red colour and the dents and scratches gave away it's age.

But he would have to make do, Zarakynal decided it was time to go hunting for some more humans, he would track the djinn whenever he picked up their trail but for now he had nothing to go on, time to get a new look, the 50 year old Pakistani baggage handler look was handy for getting out the airport but was realistically beneath him, he was above humans in general but if he had to blend in with them he would blend in with those who mattered.

As he rolled out of the airport he decided it was time to visit somewhere several of his victims knew about, supposedly a hive for the rich and the greedy, the City.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"That is one of our concerns," Hazel responded to John's query, "it might be prudent to consider leaving here soon, that way we'll at least have a head start."

"And where are we going to go? If this thing hunts as well as you say it does then exactly where can we go that's going to be safe?"

"For the moment we should just consider all the options, until we have some idea of how this demon works we can't really know what to do, if we start moving our scent becomes easier to track, it's the fear given off by something that's running that really attracts these demons, if we're moving we leave a more obvious trail" Hazel explained further.

"So it can't track us if we stay still?"

"We can't be sure, different demons work in different ways and we don't know exactly what kind this is," Rose clarified, "but it tends to be the case that a more obvious trail is left by those running in fear."

"OK," John breathed out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding onto.

"OK I know this will seem a little cavalier but unless there's something we can actually do about it tonight is there any purpose in discussing the demon further?"

"Well we have all the information we can gather right now," Rose admitted, "although it would be prudent to keep an eye on the news, in case anything else shows up."

"Also if Sara seems like she has something else to tell us we would do well to listen," Hazel added, "the more information we can obtain the better our chances of avoiding this thing."

"OK" John sighed, he'd had these genies a little over 24 hours now and already his life looked like it was going to be turned upside down, but looking at his two djinn he thought about how perfect they were for him, how much he loved them and he realized he wouldn't have it any other way.

Sara re-entered the room, clearly having just washed her face and generally straightened herself up.

"So what's the plan?" She inquired.

"Right now we're just going to keep things under consideration, but for the moment my plan is to eat something, because I'm bloody starving and it was about an hour ago that we got back," John explained.

"Sounds good," Sara responded.

John wasn't a brilliant cook so he took the easy option of calling out for a Chinese, he got a set meal for 4, that way he wouldn't have to work out what to get the genies and there'd be plenty to go around.

They sat around the table with a couple of bottles of wine and chatted, they got to know Sara and let her get to know them.

From what they gathered she was capable of being feisty and fiery and John and his genies were all appreciating her beauty, John wasn't going to push her into anything, she'd just lost someone she'd been with for 500 years, he couldn't imagine being more inappropriate.

She was a bit of a rock-chick herself but liked her luxury and living a life of both privacy and riches, she'd used her genie's powers to start several businesses over the past 500 years and had managed to make money centuries ago and then put it into savings, it was handy that a few hundred pounds in 1700 was worth a couple of million today.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The column had slowed, it was frustrating, they needed too avoid human contact as much as possible but the further south they rode the more densely packed the small villages and towns, Arnvir wasn't happy about this.

They were currently a short distance north of Northampton, Heela and Frieda had been dispatched to find a rural route around, the rest of them were waiting patiently for the scouts to return, Gabrielle knew that Arnvir was considering a simple charge through Northampton but while that would be quicker in the short term it would likely result in bigger delays further along the way.

The elder sat in her saddle, her helmet was off and resting on the horn of the saddle, her long blonde hair was flowing down her back, a huge pony tail held it up in a thick pony tail that came up from her scalp and cascaded down the polished, gun-metal grey, steel-silver alloy backplate, her deep blue eyes scanned the horizon, without her head even moving she scanned the entire horizon left to right and back every minute.

The vision bestowed upon the Valkyrie was vastly superior to that of a human and she took in everything within her field of vision. The light was slipping, it was late in the day but they could keep going provided they knew where they were, a clear night and a feeling for where the evil was would be their navigational tools and they could be in Windsor before the sun set completely if the scouts returned with a clear route in the next few minutes.