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

his own hands, choosing freedom despite the high price. If Raffe came back with good news, I hoped I’d have the strength to do the same.

Twenty-Eight

Raffe

The desert turned to fire and shadow. Djinn as far as the eye could see. Ruby eyes glinted toward Safiya and the central flames she had raised to keep us mortals warm. No doubt they wondered why they’d been summoned with such urgency. Nerves shivered through the collective.

“Raffe, Kadar, Santana.” Zalaam broke ranks to greet us, wearing his warped version of my father’s face.

“Glad to see you out of the infirmary,” Santana replied.

He smiled. “As am I.”

“Zalaam.” I bowed politely. “I didn’t expect you to come.”

Zalaam put his hands together, as if praying. “The Storyteller called. That cannot be ignored.”

“But you were down for the count,” I said, trying to figure out how deep my father was buried.

“Weakness is no excuse for refusing to heed Safiya’s call. When the oldest djinn requires our presence, we attend,” Zalaam explained.

Santana stared at him in curiosity. “How did you get here so quickly?”

“Raffe’s father had an emerald in his possession. I used it to bring us here, following the signature Safiya released into the remains of our network.” Zalaam pressed a palm to his glowing heart. “Do not worry for him—your father is resting as we speak, letting me endure the sickness for us both. I have more strength than he does, even in our current predicament.”

Safiya raised her hands to silence the rowdy djinn. They dipped their heads reverently, as if the principal had just entered the assembly hall. Still, a few concerned whispers hissed around the vast army of djinn. The voices susurrated, until I couldn’t distinguish between the desert winds and their hushed tones.

“Gratitude for your swift arrival!” she bellowed, her voice carrying far and wide. Evidently, age hadn’t affected her vocal capacity. “I know you are anxious to understand why I have called you. Ordinarily, I would have delivered the message via our hivemind, but, as I am sure you are aware, that has become somewhat limited this past week or so.”

The gathering thrummed with concern. Most of the djinn stood on their own two feet, bearing only hints of the illness—dwindling flames in their eyes, their red flesh rolling and phasing between scarlet, black, and veins of white. Some, however, had to be held by their closest neighbors. Older djinn, I suspected, as their faces were creased with wrinkles.

“I have summoned you to implement a parliament—the likes of which has not been seen since the dawn of the djinn and the rush of that First Wave,” Safiya continued, her voice strong. “You will appoint three spokespeople from each of your kind and discuss a very serious matter amongst yourselves before delivering an answer to me.”

“What matter?” a voice called. The atmosphere stilled until you could’ve heard a pin drop.

“Erebus has severed his ties with us by restricting himself to human form.” Safiya’s white-flamed eyes burned brighter in anger. “He has forsaken us, not caring about the toll his action will take upon us all. Already, some of us suffer more than others, and it will not be long before we begin to fade irrevocably. As such, we must take an unprecedented step to free ourselves from this sickness that has been inflicted upon us by our creator. We must rally, as one power, and go to Tartarus to demand that Erebus dissolve his relationship with us entirely. We have the numbers to make him listen. We must go there to sever our ties with him, as it is the place where he conjured us into existence before sending us out into the world.”

“We’ll die!” a shrill, terrified djinn shouted.

Safiya shook her head. “No, we will not die by being separated from Erebus’s source. If he agrees, in the face of our combined ire, the ultimate dissolution of our ties will result in an expulsion of Chaos. In this case, coming from Erebus’s Darkness. We will each own our own piece of that Darkness to fuel our bodies and abilities—a separate fragment for each of us.”

“How can you know that?” a Ghul rasped.

“Because it has been done before, with the creations of other Children. Namely, Eros and his Fée. They retained a fragment of their creator’s power, the same piece that was given when they were brought into being. It will be the same for us,” Safiya replied. “I will not lie to you: we will be weaker beings, but we will be independent of Erebus, ensuring this illness that affects us all will never come over us again. It also means we will no longer be dutybound to answer when he calls. That will be a matter of personal choice should he request your aid, from the moment of our separation onward.”

“We would be truly free?” A female djinn stepped forward, folding her black wings behind her like a dark angel. An Ifrit, from what Abdhi had told us.

“We would,” Safiya confirmed.

Another djinn, hunched and twisted, scuttled forth from the gathering. A Ghul, I guessed. “You lie. We will die. Erebus will never allow a rebellion. Even if he doesn’t kill us all, he will kill some of us to send a message. To go to Tartarus would be suicide.”

Safiya’s robes billowed backward as a rush of wind spiraled around her. “I have it on good authority that he is presently distracted with personal complications, which means now is our best moment to strike. He will not want any delay of his private project’s timeline and is more likely to agree now to save himself the bother.”

“Or kill us for the same reason!” Another Ghul hobbled out on all fours.

“I understand your qualms, as I share them. However, if we do not act, we will all die anyway,” Safiya urged. “This personal project, to my knowledge, will keep Erebus trapped in human form for longer than we have. By the time he is done, we will all