The Battered Lamp Ch. 33

Cast of Characters

Main Characters

Kyle Unmei: Half-Japanese/Half-Kurdish college student that awoke Aaliyah and inherited her mission to free the Djinn. Wielder of Earthbones, a magical katana given to him by Aaliyah.

Aaliyah: A Djinn of the Jann Tribe sent to marry the mortal who would set the Djinn free. Kyle's first wife.

Fatima: Kyle's younger sister and second wife. Wielder of Fireheart, a magical yari (spear).

Christy: Kyle's third wife. They were dating when he released Aaliyah. Unbeknownst to Kyle, she was a member of a coven of witches that are hunting for Aaliyah. After betraying Aaliyah to her coven, Christy has found redemption from the goddess Ishtar. Wielder of Shadowedge, a magical staff capable of teleportation.

Fumi: Kyle's girlfriend who just moved to the States from Japan. She is a type of succubus who if she has vaginal intercourse with men, she kills them. She traveled to Japan to break her curse so she can be with Kyle, losing her sight as payment. Wielder of Windfeather, a magical yomi (Japanese longbow)

Britney: Kyle's best friend and a hermaphroditic Rakshasa. She has sworn to protect him. She has dominated and taken Phillipa as her mate. Wielder of Waterclaw, a magical dagger.

Concubines

Chyna: Kyle's first concubine and classmate. A spell was cast on Kyle and Chyna, forcing them into a Master/Sex Slave relationship by Ms. Franklin.

Shannon: Chyna's widowed mother. Kyle took her as a concubine.

Alexina: Another classmate of Kyle's and the first submissive woman he dominated thanks to a wish. He can recognize a submissive woman by a pale-pink aura about them.

Carla: An auburn haired coed Kyle claimed in gym.

Ann: Fatima's friend turned concubine.

Kayleah: Fatima's former bully, now her concubine.

Toni: A cheerleader concubine of Kyle's.

Ms. Capello: Kyle's young English professor and concubine.

Teleisia: Aaliyah's African-American concubine.

Lois: Kyle's Native American, lesbian concubine.

Mindy: Kyle's nurse concubine.

Phillipa (Jade): Half-Korean, former member of the coven. After being dominated, she is now Britney's mate.

Sable (Tourmaline): Member of the coven and Christy's sorority sister. Her ambush of Christy went wrong and Sable took a hit from a Love Elemental. Now she is Christy's devoted concubine.

Zaritha: Former servant of Rashid. After he ordered her death, she saved Aaliyah's life. Healed by Fatima, she is now a member of Kyle's harem.

Tarah: A daughter of Hawaa, twin sister to Naila, and a hermaphroditic Si'lat. Claimed by Fumi as a concubine.

Naila: A daughter, twins sister to Tarah, of Hawaa and a hermaphroditic Si'lat. Claimed by Fumi as a concubine.

Hawaa binti al-Si'lat: The Sheikha of the Si'lat, come to treat with Kyle to form an alliance and unite the Si'lat tribe of the Djinn with him.

Enemies

Sultan Rashid ibn al-Marid: Despotic ruler of the Unseen Realms. Has held onto the Sultanate far longer than he should have.

Faiza: Kyle and Fatima's mother. Killed by Burke, she was reborn and now acts as Hecate's vessel. She has married Rashid to use the Sultan as part of Hecate's plan.

Makerah: An Unbound Marid that serves Rashid.

Aljihm: An Unbound Ifrit that served Rashid. Slain by Kyle and Britney.

Aalizunah: An Unbound Si'lat that served Rashid. Slain by Kyle and Britney

Jowah: An Unbound Ghul that served Rashid. Slain by Zaritha.

Khiana: An Unbound Ghul that served Rashid. Revealed to be Shiekh Umar ibn al-Jann. Slain by Fatima.

Hecate: Dark goddess served by Ms. Franklin and Burke.

Other Characters

Ishtar: Goddess of Fertility and Magic. Christy serves this goddess now.

Sheikh Umar ibn al-Jann: Aaliyah's father, ruler of the Jann tribe of the Djinn.

Kalsom binti Abdullah: An old Jann woman that made the Kalsomid Prophecy, setting into motion Aaliyah's sleep in the lamp.

Sheikh Haleem al-Ifrit: The leader of the Ifrit.

Sheikha Kalila al-Ifrit: The imprisoned wife of Haleem, freed by Kyle.

Kalsomid Prophecy

Six Shall be one, the Marid defeated.

In the lands of the West shall be born our salvation,

The Blood of Sultans and Warriors flows through his veins,

Four wives and countless lovers shall he possess; the appetite of sultans.

If you wish freedom for the Djinn, send a daughter of Jann, slumbering in a brass lamp, to wife,

She shall guide him to his champions and gird them for battle.

Six shall be one, the Marid defeated.

The Warrior of the Earthen Sword, whose youthful inexperience conceals the strength of a Sultan;

The Consort of the Brass Lamp, whose meek obedience obfuscates the will of a Sultana;

The Consort of the Fiery Spear, whose playful petulance hides the desires of depravity;

The Consort of the Arcane Grimoire, whose innocent beauty obscures the powers of darkness;

The Consort of the Airy Bow, whose calm demeanor cloaks the fury of storms;

The Companion of the Watery Dagger, whose deep intellect masks the hunger of predators.

Six shall be one, the Marid defeated

In the Lands of the West shall our salvation arise,

Their trials will be many, their conflicts fierce,

Their enemies will beset them on all sides, hidden behind masks of authority,

The darkness grows, hungering for power; guard well the daughter of Jann, freed from a brass lamp,

Through blood and tears shall they be forged.

Six shall be one, the Marid defeated.

In the lands of the West shall be born our salvation.

Claiming the Harem

Saturday, January 29th -- Khoshilat Maqandeli, The Hidden Realm

Britney followed Kyle into the War Room. The room was constructed entirely out of Sapphire, blocking any form of Djinn telepathy or scrying. She and Kyle were completely cut off, and if the Marid emissary turned out to be an assassin and attacked them, they would be unable to call for aid.

Her hand drifted down to stroke Waterclaw's hilt. She kept the katar tucked into the blue sash wrapped around her waist. She eyed the Marid emissary. He was a thin, young man with swarthy skin, and had an oily beard waxed into a point beneath his chin. His smile set Britney's teeth on edge.

"Great Kyle," he bowed, washing his hands together. "I am honored that you agreed to speak with me alone. I am Uthman, the humble servant of Sultan Rashid ibn al-Marid. Salutations to you and your illustrious house."

Kyle grew stiff, his arms folding beneath his muscular chest. "What is Rashid's message?" Kyle growled, not bothering to hide his irritation. If Kyle wanted to rule the Hidden People, he would have to learn subtly. He couldn't crash into every problem like an avalanche down a stony mountain face.

"I shall conjure it," the Emissary answered. "Have no fear that I will attack you."

Kyle grinned, his hand drifting down to Earthbones hanging from his golden sash. "You would not survive if you tried."

The emissary's smile slipped an inch. "Of course, of course. Your feats of strength have been heard all the way in Sahabah."

Rashid must be growing desperate, Britney surmised. The Sultan cornered, his allies falling to Kyle's cause. Nothing is more dangerous than a cornered prey.

"Conjure your message," Kyle commanded.

Mist sprayed from the messenger's open hand, swirling in the air, forming into the image of a blue room. No. A sapphire room.

Figures resolved. An old man, his beard white, sat in rich, blue silks upon a throne of sapphire. A woman squirmed at his feet, chained and bound. A young Marid, a mad look in his eyes, held a knife to the throat of the woman.

"Mom?" Kyle gasped, his hand squeezing down on the hilt of the sword, his eyes towards the emissary.

Britney cocked her head. Faiza was dead. What did the Marid wish to accomplish by showing such a blatant falsehood?

"How dare you!" Kyle bellowed, his sword flashing out into his hand. "Do you think to weaken me by showing me an image of my dead mother?"

The grin vanished from the emissary's face and he stepped back, swallowing. "Your mother is quite alive. She is a prisoner of the Sultan."

"Say it!" growled the Marid holding a knife to Faiza's throat.

"You better cooperate or Makerah will slit your throat," Rashid declared, stroking his white beard.

Britney studied the young Marid holding the knife to Faiza's throat. Makerah was the last Unbound that still lived to serve Rashid. Zaritha had said he was Rashid's own son who had been tricked into becoming Unbound by the Sultan so Rashid could preserve his own power.

"Kyle!" the image of Faiza shouted. "Don't listen to what they say. Let them kill me again! I don't want you to get hurt."

"Mom?" Kyle asked, his voice warbling.

"Be strong, Kyle," Britney said. "Your mother is dead. You witnessed her death, remember."

"That is your mother," the emissary assured.

"Keep speaking, whore!" hissed Makerah, his blade pressing into her neck. "Say something so that Kyle knows it's truly you."

Faiza bit her lip, her face pale with fear. "Kyle. I am alive. Burke cast some spell. You only thought I was dead. The Marid found me and revived me."

"Give him proof that he cannot ignore," Rashid commanded.

Faiza trembled. Kyle's eyes were locked on the pre-recorded image.

"When you were six, you jumped off the roof of my house and broke your leg. When I asked you why, you said, 'I was showing Fatima that I was paratrooper like my dad.' You thought the blue tarp would work."

"It can't be," Kyle whispered, a tear trickling down his cheek. "How is this possible?"

"When there was a lightning, you always went to Fatima's room to protect your sister." A smile crossed Faiza's lips for a moment. "But you really were just scared. I never said anything. We didn't want to embarrass you. Besides, Fatima loved that her big brother was protecting her."

Kyle's sword lowered.

"I remember when you were nine and the tooth fairy left you a twenty, you were so excited. I was over for tea with your mother. We both laughed at your enthusiasm, but the truth is, your dad messed up. He was supposed to leave a dollar but mixed then up in the dark. And I can vividly remember the day you met Britney, you marched up to your mother and me after school and declared that your best friend was a girl but she wasn't your girlfriend."

"You said that?" Britney whispered.

"Yeah." His voice was a strangled whisper. "That's really her, Britney. How could they know all those details?"

"Kyle Unmei," Rashid declared. "I have your mother. I will free her in exchange for you. In one hour, if you have not presented yourself in my court, your mother dies. If you do surrender, you will be imprisoned with all the comfort and hospitality I can provide. I shall not harm your wives and concubines so long as they swear fealty to me as Sultan. I shall keep you as hostage to ensure their good behavior. I know your wife, Christy, possesses Shadowedge. She will bring you to this room and then return your mother back to Khoshilat Maqandeli."

Kyle's fist clenched.

"You have one hour from this moment, Kyle. I do hope you spoke with my emissary without delay." The image froze, his mother's face full of desperate terror, the knife still pressed to her throat.

"How long did we keep him waiting?" Kyle growled.

"A half hour," Britney answered. "You have, perhaps, twenty minutes. But you would be a fool to go and surrender."

Kyle fixed his eyes on her. They were hard. "Go and get Christy. No one else is to enter, and you are not to speak a word of this, Britney."

"This is the wrong decision. They will not kill her. Then they would have no leverage over you."

"A threat is only as strong as the will to go through with it," Kyle muttered. "Rashid has no choice but to kill her if I refuse. He would look weak."

"And if you go, it will undo--"

"I gave you an order!" Kyle growled, spittle flying from his lips. "Send Christy in!"

"Yes, Sultan," Britney hissed, her bushy, brown hair standing on ends. "If that is what your foolishness commands."

"It is!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Christy trembled as she stepped into the sapphire room, her black staff gripped in sweaty hands, the door thudding behind her. Britney had almost been spitting with rage when she had stormed out. Kyle stood in the center of the room, staring at an image conjured out of mist while the emissary stood pale-faced and quaking.

"What is going on?" Christy asked, forcing the words out of her mouth as she dragged her feet across the room. She looked at the image, her eyes widening. "Is that...?"

"My mother lives," Kyle told her and pointed at the froze image. "Can you teleport us into this room?"

"I can?" she frowned, looking at him. "What is going on, Kyle?"

"Rashid is going to kill my mother unless I surrender," Kyle said, staring into her eyes, unyielding as the mountains. "In exchange, you and the rest of the harem will be unmolested."

"You can't surrender," Christy declared. "It has to be trick. Your mother is dead."

"They gave proof. I'm going to do it. You are going to take me and bring my mother back."

"I will not." Christy glared at him. "You would have to be a complete fool to do this. There is no way I'm going to help you throw your life away."

Kyle walked to her and swept her up in his arm. "I love you, Christy."

"Sweet talking me is not going to convince me to help you with this stupid plan!" She squirmed, trying to break free of his grasp. "Let's talk with everyone. You can't make this decision without consulting all your wives!"

His lips brushed her ear. "Trust me," he whispered.

She stiffened.

"I'm going to surrender to Rashid!" Kyle shouted. "You can tell my wives the rest of the conditions Uthman."

"Of course," the emissary said.

"I won't," Christy whispered. "It's stupid."

"Take me to the oasis," Kyle whispered.

Oasis? Christy frowned, then remembered where they had entered the Hidden Realm at. "Fine!" she said loudly. "I will submit to your will, husband. Even if I think you are being a moron."

His arms tightened around her. "Thank you."

She transported them, folding space about their bodies. Everything compressed, consumed by the darkness that was all around them. Then they sprang into being in the oasis where they had entered the Unseen Realm. It had been scarred by their battle with the Si'lat Unbound, swaths of palms and brush burned down by Fatima's fires and great rents marred the earth from Kyle's sword.

"What is going on?" she demanded, pushing away from Kyle.

"We're going to rescue my mom," he grinned. "You can drop us right next to her. I'll deal with Makerah while you grab my mom, then we'll teleport back home. A quick, surgical strike."

"This is crazy," she gasped. "They could have her wrapped in diamonds, or it could be a trap and they're just waiting for us to appear."

"It'll work, Christy. I know it. We'll catch them by surprise and prove that nowhere is safe for Rashid."

"Then why don't we take the concubines and the rest?"

"We can't tip them off. We need to go now before the emissary alerts Rashid. He can't suspect anything. They'll kill her, Christy." His eyes weakened, tears forming.

"I don't know. It's so dangerous."

"She's my mom, Christy. I have to do this! I already failed to save her once! I won't let her die again!"

Christy's heart ached. Kyle's face twisted with self-loathing. "Okay," she whispered. "Let's go save your mom."

Kyle seized her, she took a deep breath, and folded space.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sahabah, The Hidden Realm

The magic folded, compressed, squeezed Kyle's body into his wife's form. For a brief moment, they were one, their flesh united as they hurtled through the space between realities. He couldn't breathe, move, shout, scream, cry, or release his wife.

And then it was over.

Blue leaped around them.

They appeared in a sapphire room before his mother. Makerah's dagger, curved like a serpent, had drifted away from his mother's neck as the Unbound's head was turned to say something to Rashid. Kyle appeared just a foot away, pushing Christy away from him as he swung his katana one handed at the Unbound Marid.

"What!" gasped Makerah, shoving Kyle's mother away so he could bring his dagger around and block Kyle's swipe.

It wasn't a great swing. Kyle had been hampered by Christy's presence. Earthbones met the dagger, sparks flying and metal grating. Makerah grunted in pain, the dagger slapped out of his hand. Kyle grabbed his blade with both hands, sending a brutal swing at Makerah's gut as he bellowed a loud war cry.

Makerah became mist, flowing up into the air, soaring over Kyle's head. Kyle pivoted, following Makerah down. The mist became flesh, a lanky man appeared dressed in blue. Kyle made a diagonal slash.

"That was my mother you touched!" Kyle bellowed as his blade curved down.

Makerah's hands thrust forward. A column of water fountained out at Kyle.

Kyle rolled left, abandoning his strike. The water clipped his shoulder, spinning him in the air. He landed badly, the wind exploding from his lungs as his upper back smacked the hard, sapphire floor of the throne room.

He drew strength from his sword, rising up, coughing for breath. He held his sword out before him. Golden light flared from the blade. Through it, Kyle reached out, searching for any stone in the room that he could use to defend himself.

Everything was sapphire. The same property that prevented Djinn telepathy and scrying, kept his commands from reaching into the gemstone.

Another gout of water shot out from Makerah's hands. Kyle held his blade in front of him, one hand on the hilt, the other pressed against the flat of the blade, bracing it in front of him. The water hit the blade, spraying up and dissipating its force. Kyle closed his eyes as water splashed into his face, dripping down his body.

What is taking Christy so long?

He opened his eyes, glancing towards his mother. Christy was on the ground, trembling in pain. Faiza was over her, clutching the serpentine dagger that Makerah had dropped. Kyle's mind whirled. What happened to Christy? Something glinted silver about his wife's neck. She hadn't been wearing any jewelry when they had arrived.

Before Kyle could understand, Makerah lunged forward, propelled by water. Kyle raised his blade, then slashed at the hurtling Djinn. Makerah became water. A sword couldn't cut water. Not normally. But Kyle put all the strength of his conviction into the belief his magical sword could hurt this Djinn, imbuing his blade with the truth of stone.

Kyle's blade slammed into the column of water, cutting it.

Pain howled through the water. Kyle's blade burned gold.

The water flowed around Kyle, coalescing back into Makerah. The Unbound struggled to stand, his chest gashed open, blood welling from the wound. The Marid's face was twisted in surprise, his eyes fixed in disbelief at the sword.

"Surrender, Kyle," his mother- called out, her voice beautiful and harsh. "Or I will slit your pretty, little wife's throat."