War of the Sultans by Fuad Baloch

Author:Fuad Baloch [Baloch, Fuad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Crescent
Published: 2019-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Shoki

Shoki exhaled. “No, Jiza, you may not just walk into the middle of these men bathing in the stream. That’s not acceptable in human societies.”

“Would that be considered an offensive act?” she asked, batting her eyelids.

“Well, not quite… offensive as such,” Shoki said, unsure whether the djinn was really oblivious to the effect she had on men or was merely acting. “But… in poor taste.”

“Your kind is most unusual,” she said, shaking her head, thrusting her chest forward. “If a djinn likes another, they merely say so, and that’s the end of it.”

Shoki licked his lips, forcing himself not to look at her. She hadn't tied her hair today, the strands flowing softly behind her in the afternoon breeze. Jiza placed a hand on her hip, the bangles making a soft clinking sound, then cocked her head to the side. Shoki’s eye traveled to the arch in her back.

No! Again, he forced himself to look ahead.

“Shoki,” she said. “Have you given—”

Bright yellow light flashed. A massive burst of energy that blinded Shoki. He stumbled back.

“What—”

More flashes of lightning assaulted his sight.

“No!” shouted Jiza.

Shielding his right eye with a hand, Shoki took a peek once the flashes seemed to have passed. The soldiers were running out of the water. They shouted at each other, their hands pointing at the clear skies. Shoki swallowed, the sense of immense wrongness settling in. “No,” he croaked.

“Did you see the flashes?” shouted someone at Shoki. Some half-naked soldier holding up his pudgy belly, his eyes wide in shock.

Pulling back his hand, Shoki took a look around. Everything seemed alright. Except for the excited chatter of the Sultana’s Hands, the surrounding forest was quiet, the leaves staying still on their branches. Swallowing, Shoki took a step forward. He was a good hundred yards from the stream, empty now that all the bathers had jumped out.

“No,” he said, turning around to the soldiers. “Get back! You have to get—”

Another burst of lightning flashed.

Larger, ever greater than before. A massive wave accompanied by a dozen more.

Shoki forced his eye open, looked around. More shouts filled the air, but the skies had returned to their normal blue once more. From the corner of his eye, he saw a fleeting figure. He squinted. A thin man. Black turban. Maharis?

“Look over to the west!” came a shout.

A hand gripped his arm. Jiza’s. “Shoki, we need to get away.”

Shaking his head, he turned west. A wall of blazing fire was rising in the air. He blinked. A wall of fire? “Jiza, what’s—”

The air filled with a whooshing sound accompanied by soft crackling. The tree closest to them creaked, a dozen or so smaller twigs snapping as if pulled by some invisible force.

“We need to get away,” said Jiza urgently. “Now!”

Dread numbing his limbs, Shoki stared dumbly at the wall of fire. He’d seen this phenomenon before, but it hadn’t been a wall before. Jadu or no, he did know what he was seeing. “Your people are here?”

“Not my people,” Jiza snapped. “Drenpa’s!”

A distinction that didn't really matter at the moment.

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