Mine...Yours Pt. 09

It looked like he had travelled many miles in those shoes, and the rich silk of his bloused pants looked faded like they had seen too many sand storms. This was not a costume...this is what he wore. My eyes travelled back up the length of his body. He seemed to have shrunk down so he was only a head taller than me, but it in no way diminished the...I want to say power but it wasn't that. He seemed to vibrate with energy and life and...I don't know how to explain it...

I can say that I am very glad I didn't laugh at him!

I cleared my throat, "Ahem! Thanks for letting me see you. So what were you expecting from me?" I asked him.

"I had no expectations, I just came to see." He swivelled his head to look at Lucretia again. "I came to see my daughter, and I wished to converse with you without her knowing I am here."

He smiled and for a moment all of his joints and eyes seemed to sparkle with light, "It was a surprise to see her dance and sing for me again...just like when she was young!" He stared fondly at my friend and I could feel a strong sense of pride, wonder and longing.

Lucretia's DADDY?

Oh crap! What a way to introduce yourself Greg! Accuse him of breaking and entering and telling him to get his ass outside? Way to score points! Can he read minds like Mother? Is he reading my mind now? Am I making a bigger idiot out of myself now by him seeing what I am thinking and now he thinks I am crazy? Come on dummy! Say something before he...

"It is good to be silent unless you truly have something to say, and thank you for letting me think in peace while I contemplate my child." He turned back and crossed his arms over his massive chest while looking down at me. Then he gave me a small nod, which for some reason made me feel like he had saluted me somehow.

"Most in your position would be...louder." He observed, and then seemed to wait. What he was waiting for I did not know. So I just stood there staring back at him.

He obviously was scoping me out, not that I could blame him, I am a guy and I am rooming with his little girl! Any father worth their salt would be doing an interrogation followed with threats of castration if harm came to their princess! I had no idea if he liked what he saw or not, but I figured this was his show and I would let him set the pace...

Heck with that! I had questions!

"So, what do I call you, or are you like Mother and have no name or at least not one that I can say?" I asked.

He pondered this and then answered, "Mother has a name for me, but it is not one you may call me...Lucretia has a name for me, but again...it is for her use only." He scratched his arm and I saw small flashes of electricity like on a Jacob's ladder as he did this. "You may call me what I am...I am Djinn."

I sighed, this conversation would be longer than I thought! What the heck is a djinn? Sounds like a genie mixed with a sneeze!

"You hungry...uhm...Djinn?". He shook his head. "Would you like some coffee or tea?" I asked.

"Only if you are having some, coffee please."

I led him down to the kitchen, and got the coffee going. Then I got him one of my mugs, actually it was the same one that I let Mother use when she was here last. I saw him smile faintly as he looked at it.

"What's so funny?" I asked Djinn. He glanced up as his hand dwarfed the mug.

"This is the same cup that my mate used when she was here last." He replied. My eyebrows shot up in surprise! Maybe I need to wash my dishes better!

"You can smell her on it or something?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No, I recognize it from when I was here with her last."

Now I was really surprised, and confused!

"Sorry man, I think I would have remembered you if you were..." I stopped talking and started thinking. Something was tickling, at the back of my mind.

When Mother had been sitting at the table and had said out loud that she wanted cream and sugar for her coffee, it had sounded like she was making a request. Then when the Empty Throne had been discussed I had seen what looked like a heat shimmer in the air next to her. The times I had been watched with invisible eyes...when I had looked for it with my Sight. Had it always been...him?

He watched me closely, gauging my reactions.

"So...that was you...the whole time?" I asked slowly. He nodded.

I pulled out some munchies to nibble on. Right now I had some questions for the big man, I mean djinn. Actually, I grabbed a dictionary off the bookshelf that we now had in the living room. Yes, I have a bookshelf in the living room. Lucretia demanded it. I always want her to put my books back when she borrows them, but she doesn't have permission to enter my room when I am not home so she deman...I mean she requested a bookshelf in the living room.

I set down the dictionary and looked up the word "djinn" after checking to see that his coffee (No cream and three sugars) was full. I won't tell you what I found out...mainly because you can look it up yourself. I will say my eyebrows raised up and I looked a little wide eyed at my guest. He just sat there, sipping his coffee watching me without blinking.

"Ahem..." I coughed into my hand. "Would it be out of place to call you something else than Djinn?"

He thought this over and said, "If the name fits."

"Would it be all right if I called you...Marid?" I asked carefully. The warm smile and the way he sat up straight in his chair told me I had guessed right.

"That would be acceptable." Was his rumbling reply.

Okay, dodged a bullet on that one! Now I had a name. Now, I just needed to see what he wanted and get some conversation going.

"So, you came to see Lucretia and speak to me?" I asked while getting a plate of dates, goat cheeses and some of my cookies for us to munch on. I set it on the table and plucked a date to pop in my mouth and chew as I waited for his answer.

"I saw her several times, I only thought to make my presence known as I have seen her change over the past month or so." Marid replied. He took a cookie and picked it up. He smelled it a couple times and then tried a bite. He gave a pleased rumble and then quickly munched the whole thing, then picked up a piece of goat cheese to eat as well.

"Lucretia really likes that cheese." I told him as he ate another piece. "She said it reminds her of home. The same thing with the dates."

Marid smiled and picked up a date, considering it. "When she was a child and I would bounce her on my knee, I would bring food and toys from this world to her..."

He paused as he ate the date, then continued. "Mother did not approve. Since she had been born in that realm, Mother wanted her to BE of that realm." He smiled and his eyes went to the ceiling. I assumed he was looking at where Lucretia lay sleeping.

"I would return often to be with my mate, but soon after Lucretia reached her mature age I was not allowed to have much interaction with her unless she sought me out. Though..." He smiled again as he ate a cookie and then drank a little more coffee.

"I was able to see that the influence of what I am held fast despite her Mother's race." He chuckled. The tremble of it, made the dishes rattle a little on the table. I gave a questioning look at the ceiling and he gave a nod.

"She is fine and will not wake from the spell of slumber I cast. We may talk as we wish." He replied. Made sense. I had felt as if I had drunk a whole bottle of Nyquil after a complete turkey dinner with a full days labor under my belt! No way would Lucretia wake up, even if a train whistle had gone off by her ear.

"So Lucretia is half succubus and half...djinn." I asked, a little confused. Gwen had told me that Succubae only gave birth to Succubae. He shook his head and polished off the remainder of his coffee. I filled it up for him and he gave me a nod of thanks. You can always tell different nods apart. A slow nod means someone understands what you say, a quick nod after doing something for someone is a nod of thanks, or the head cocked to the side and wide eyes means surprise. Standard stuff.

"No, I merely meant that her interactions with me changed her perspectives, much to Mother's anger!" He smiled again, "She was VERY angry with me! The fights we had were made into human legend, and making up..." He gave me a grin that was rather unsettling.

"I first saw she was different from her sisters when she wanted to spend time out in the wastes. I would watch as she would fly over the long desert sands that are so similar to the..." I held up a hand to stop him. He said a word I couldn't hear right and I had to ask him about it.

"The Rope Kaleebaah? What is that?" I asked.

"You mispronounced it, but it doesn't matter. It is where I was made and where I was given my role on this plane." Marid explained.

"I move the storms and the rain to where it needs to be. A delicate balance is held in place by the will of the Lord of this Plane. I was given my task, and I cannot leave it for long." He finished his second cup and took another cookie.

That felt like he was getting ready to leave soon. I quickly stood up and grabbed a zip lock bag. I snagged over a dozen cookies from the freezer and swept them inside of it and then emptied the plate into another. I handed him the bags and he looked at them for a moment before putting them inside his vest where they disappeared. I checked out that thin vest and mentally compared the thin silk to what in my mind should be fat with a bag of cookies. He must have some kind of magic that allows, uh, I don't know! If he does have a magical holding thing I wonder how much he could carry?

"Quick question before you go..." I said while thinking back to all that Gwen had told me. "I don't know if it is wrong of me to ask this, but I think it's important. Are you and Mother in love?"

His eyes stared into mine for several moments as he appeared to think. "I will tell you a tale and then I must leave." He said quietly.

"Over two centuries ago I met a woman of white who challenged me to combat. We raged back and forth for over 7 days and nights. On the morning of the eighth day we were both exhausted having hardly any strength left to even move. I asked her why she had wanted to challenge me, she said, "I am Queen and have power beyond measure, all I have now is curiosity. I wish to know of this power mortals call Love. So submit and give me my wishes!"

I was now amused and granted her my boon and three wishes I granted her. She used her first wish and for the next 7 days she would be in Love. The first thing her eyes saw she would Love.

She decided to look upon me!

For the next while we enjoyed each other's passions and spoke under the stars and high in the clouds; which are my home. We shared secrets and hopes and our future wants. When the wish ran its course and the desire for Love would leave, to our surprise it stayed! For I had fallen in Love with her as well! From our union a child was made, born on another Plane, but with ties that I know are buried deep in her heart."

He stood straight and tall now and bright sparks appeared on his skin.

"For I am MARID, and though none may see it in her, I am her PAPA! None can deny this, and no one can take that away from her! Succubae though she may be, my daughter was born of love and that places her high amongst many!"

His voice lowered and the intensity passed. I wasn't sure what to say, so I pointed at his vest. "Those cookies, she made those. I hope you enjoy them."

He smiled and stroked his vest where the two bags had disappeared.

"Out of curiosity, do you have any questions for me at all?" I asked. I couldn't believe this visit was going to be over so soon!

"I have learned what I have needed to learn Gregory Bastion Brooks." Marid replied. "I ask only that you do not use your Sight to try and find me. I can be, painful...to look upon. Mother made me aware of this so I chose to shield you from discomfort."

I followed him up the stairs, and he stood at the edge of the bed looking down on Lucretia who lay in slumber, her arm tossed over where I would normally be sleeping. She was used to sleeping in a pile with Mother and her sisters so she was always touching or holding me in some form as she slept. I kept telling her not to hold on to me since I was used to sleeping alone. She just had given me the "Look" and said that I had better get used to it!

I did.

"You can talk to her if you would like...I am sure she would like it." I told him. He shook his head.

"No, I must bow to the requests of her Queen. Even if I am her sire, I have no authority over her." Then he smiled at me.

"Though...could you give her this for me?" he asked. He held out his hand and dropped a piece of what felt like metal in it. It was about the size of a golf ball and was angled and grooved yet each side was smooth as glass.

"Is this obsidian?" I asked. He nodded.

"She always liked it when I brought her baubles when she was younger." Then Marid laid his hand on my head and muttered softly under his breath.

I almost thought I should push his hand off, been having enough trouble in my mind as it was, didn't need a djinn to add to the mix. Instead I just felt...the same.

He bowed slightly to me and seemed to hold that pose and wait. I figured, when in Rome...do as the Roman's do! I placed my hand on his head and I spoke quietly under my breath. I thought of what to say, since this seemed to be a blessing of some sort or other.

"Wherever you travel, wherever you fly,

I will keep Lucretia safe and close by.

You have my permission, freely given and offered,

To return anytime to visit your daughter."

I know, can't rhyme to save my life...felt right though. It seemed to be since Marid grinned widely at me. Then he appeared to flow into nothing but darkness and sparkling light and slipped out of my window and into the cloudless sky.

Chapter 26: Hilda

No...Lucretia was not happy that I did not let her wake up to see her Papa!

"GREG!" she yelled as she hurtled across the backyard at me! I spun at the last second using my power to turn with her. I grabbed her wrist twisted, angling my hips, slamming her hard to the dirt! I rolled away with my hands up, palm out in an attempt at making a pacifying gesture!

"Wait! Come on Lucretia! Didn't we have a nice time last night? Good heart to heart, forgiveness and couple of laughs right? Oh shit!" I yelled and dove to the side as those stupid wing spears EXTENDED right at me!

"I haven't seen Papa in generations! He was here...close enough to touch!" She kept yelling and swinging her weapons at me. She stood in one place and kept cracking them like whips making the ends snake out to try to either grab me or strike me. I didn't know which honestly, but either a grab or a strike seemed like a bad idea!

So I made a little mistake this morning. We woke up and went downstairs, had a nice breakfast and so forth, got outside to do a little training when I brought up that I had seen her Father and talked to him. She had stood there with her mouth open in surprise and then she gritted her teeth and then...

Well, I am sure you can guess what happened.

One of the whip strikes hit the ground close to me and I stomped on the end of it and planted my weight on it. Now here's a thing about having massive strength. Sure, you may be strong enough to punch a huge section out of a tree, but what about mass? Strength and mass are intertwined. You may be able to push something that weighs half of a ton, but unless you have enough mass or traction to keep your feet on the floor, you're just not going to be able to do anything.

Being a telekinetic with a range of only two inches, it was more than enough to do what I wanted here. I used my power to grip the earth under my foot and cinched down on the end of her wing spear. I quickly reached down and gripped her extended wing and yanked, hard! Her claws had been digging into the dirt to supply a steady platform to strike from, but I had a better grip with my power, and assisting my arm strength was child's play! I yanked her so she was sailing through the air right at me. With one wing trapped even if she got the other unfurled she...

She unfurled her one remaining wing and used it to angle her feet, spurs first right at me!

Should have seen that coming...crap.

I struck fast, my fist slamming hard into her feet making her cry out and sending her tumbling hard to the ground beside me.

Now it was my turn!

She stood up, limping and growling as she shook off my attack. I had been experimenting on my own with something. Using my power I could basically hover between half an inch and two inches off the ground. Of course hovering in air made it hard to hold my feet under me. There had been some truly embarrassing falls I had taken because of it! But, I could move a lot faster, almost like ice skating, but with my mind rather than using my legs.

I raised up on a small cushion of air and shot across the lawn much faster than I could run! I zipped up behind Lucretia just as she was turning and kicked her across the face before zipping past her and colliding with the fence!

Still wasn't very good at stopping!

I heard a groan as Lucretia picked herself back up off the ground and woozily stared at me. Then she grinned and gave a coughing hack before spitting black blood on the ground. She grinned at me, and I could see she had a tooth missing!

"That...Gregory...was GOOD!" She chuckled throatily. Rolling her head to stretch it I heard it pop a couple of times. When she smiled again I saw her tooth had almost grown back fully!

"Round 2?" she asked with sweetly insincere innocence.

Round 2? ROUND 2!? I didn't even understand why we were having a Round 1! Sure I could guess she was pissed about not seeing her dad but did it really call for...Oh Big Shit Biscuits And Mustard Gravy!

I was right, Lucretia was holding back on me. She really could use magic!

A streak of lightning arched out at me like a scythe cutting wheat and I rolled under it and got to my feet. I zipped to the side on a cushion of power and barely dodged a series of thick barbed chains that shot out of the soil to ensnare me! I saw her smiling and laughing as little pin pricks shot from her hands that burned with silver fire across my vision. They hit my shield hard and I felt it drain a little.

I saw those back sparkles in her skin widen and then cover her so she appeared to be made of black glass, it appeared to be an armor of some sort with sharp edges instead of rounded corners. Didn't seem to slow her down though as she took off to chase me down. I zipped towards the house and up the wall allowing my power to grab hard to the wood and brick pulling myself upwards to dodge the bolts of silver. I kicked off of it, turned once in the air and came down hard stomping both feet into Lucretia's head with all the force and power I could call to bear.

She sank to her knees in the backyard dirt and looked miffed but that was about it. That armor must really be something else!

Her wings no longer had that spear look to them as she swept them at me again and suddenly I noticed that the edges looked sharp!

That was going to hurt...

I hardened the shield tight around my arm in desperation and the blue field of energy turned opaque as the blades hit...and stopped!

I let out a sigh of relief before a clawed foot kicked me hard in the weaker shield now on my stomach and knocked me back against the fence again!

I was getting tired, and desperate! I figured I would do this next move and if it worked...cool...if not...well I was in for a whole galaxy of pain!

She rushed in, black claws matching the shiny armor that now covered her and I moved to the side just a little allowing the sharp edges to miss me. Then I focused on my shield as hard as I could and the whole damn thing turned opaque! I wrapped my arms around Lucretia trapping her arms to her sides and began to squeeze. I couldn't see her when my power was solid like this. I didn't need to this close.