Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

speak in your tongue, for simplicity’s sake, though I commend you for greeting me in kind,” she said, smiling. Her voice had a faraway, musical timbre that surrounded me. “My name is Safiya, though many know me as the Storyteller.”

“There’s no way you’re ten thousand years old!” Santana blurted out. “You look younger than my mom.”

Safiya laughed softly. “I am far shy of ten thousand years—that is hearsay and hyperbole, to heighten my mystique, no doubt. I would reveal my true age, but a woman of my maturity must retain some secrecy. Regardless, we djinn do not age in the same manner as mortals, and I do not age in the same manner as other djinn.”

“Why not?” I prompted, eager to learn more of this mysterious being.

“I was created in Erebus’s primary Purge Plague and am thus imbued with certain qualities that later iterations lack. It is the same with you magicals and your predecessors. I suppose, in that analogy, I would be a Primus Anglicus, while you are diluted descendants.” She gave a small, graceful nod. “I mean no offense; I am merely attempting to explain my existence in a way you may better comprehend.”

Santana stared at Safiya. “A Purge Plague?”

“Akin to the Purging of a beast, but en masse. Erebus made it so,” Safiya replied. “And we are not so simple-minded as most Purge beasts.”

“Safiya, Safiya!” one of the furtive shadows hissed.

Safiya glanced at him. “Yes, Rasul?”

“He is Raffe Levi, the son of Leonidas Levi. He holds Kadar within himself, the son of Zalaam.” The one who’d spoken came to stand beside Safiya, his form solidifying into a familiar red body and black smoke.

“Ah, I see.” Safiya looked back at me. “This is Rasul. He belongs to the same djinn lineage as Kadar and was formerly entwined with his own Levi. I suppose he is family to you.”

That was a lot to process. “Rasul, is it?”

The djinn shuffled forward. “Yes, I am he. I resided inside your great-great-grandfather, Javad Levi.”

“Is that why you’re here, enjoying your… uh… retirement?” I fumbled the word. I didn’t want to insult one of Kadar’s ancestors.

“Yes. When Javad died, I was freed. I had no desire to return to Persia, in case I became entrapped again. Instead I came here, where all the freed djinn come, no matter where they originated.” Rasul dipped his head, and I did the same.

I put out my hand. “It’s good to meet you, Rasul.”

He shook it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, too. I shared a remarkable bond with Javad. Even now, I miss him. When one has been bound to another so closely, there will always be an emptiness after they pass.”

“It’s nice to hear about a Levi and their djinn getting along.” I thought of Kadar and wondered how he’d feel when I wasn’t around anymore. If he’d thrown himself from that building, as he’d planned, would he have ended up here? Or would it have killed him as well as me? I didn’t know the rules of suicide in the djinn world. Perhaps it spelled their death, too. Otherwise, why would Kadar have done that? It’d certainly felt like he hadn’t intended to survive, though I was buried deep at the time.

“Javad and I were close from the moment he was born, and I was tied to his being.” Rasul gazed at me wistfully, as though seeing his host’s face in mine. “I even contemplated following him to the hereafter, but, after I found my way here, Safiya urged me to remain.”

That answers your suicide question, Kadar hissed inside my skull. I was planning to go with you, just so you know. I wouldn’t splatter you and make a run for it. If I’d wanted that, I’d have done it years ago.

“Now that you have had something of a family reunion, perhaps we ought to return to the matter at hand. Namely, why are you here?” Safiya ushered Rasul backward and once again took center stage. “This is a sanctuary for free djinn. You do not have a free djinn. Unless you are here to sacrifice yourself for his freedom?”

That took me aback. “No, that’s not why I’m here.”

“It happens from time to time, revealing the occasional selfless mortal.” Safiya’s white-flamed eyes flashed.

“I’m not here to sacrifice myself, but I am here to help Kadar. I do want to help the rest of the djinn, too—not just the one I exist with,” I explained. “You’re all suffering because Erebus cut you off, and we need to find a way to fix it. That’s why I’m here, to see if we can put our heads together and figure out a solution.”

She sighed. “I feared that may be the case.”

“Feared? Why?” Santana cut in. “Surely it’s good that someone is coming to ask for your help to fix a problem that’s plaguing you all? I’ve stayed up night after night with Kadar, and it’s not getting any better for him. He’s small fry compared to some of you, so it must be kicking your backsides.”

Safiya raised her eyebrows. “You stayed up with Kadar?”

“It’s not like Raffe could. Every time Kadar comes to the surface, Raffe conks out, and I won’t leave either of them hanging. I love them, and I’ll stay up every night I have to until they’re better,” she replied.

My heart swelled. I felt Kadar bristle inside me, too, evidently pleased that she’d bundled us together.

“You love them?” Safiya sounded dumbfounded.

Santana lifted her chin. “They’re stuck together. If I love one, I have to love the other.”

“Then you are, perhaps, as much of a rarity in this world as I.” Safiya smiled curiously. “Nevertheless, that does not mean I am any more willing to help you. I have been asked for help since this affliction began, but I worry for my kind, specifically those with magical hosts they are bound to.”

“Why them, specifically?” I urged.

“Because they do not understand what it will take to rid themselves of this dire ache.” Safiya’s shoulders sagged,