Page 86 of Hellfire

Shit was about to get real. My men and I were about to commence the most dangerous mission ever, one with little chance of success. We had to do it. Had to cross into the djinn planet to stop my grandfather from seizing control of the sixth element and enslaving this world and all the others.

“Wear this.” Talon gave Gable a Tollen’s suit to wear, and he changed into it, making it easier to sneak my dark lover in.

No one said a word to us as the three of us navigated the hall to the room to portal to the djinn realm. Several Tollens saluted Talon as we went, and eyeballed Gable, probably thinking him their new recruit. Arriving at our destination, Talon glanced left and right, then let us into the room, locking the door behind him and barring it with a chair under the door.

Stomach twisting in knots, I secured my hair in a ponytail to prevent the winds of the djinn realm from getting it in my face. My four men amassed at the glowing, golden arrangement of planets orbiting the sun of the human galaxy, ready to portal to the djinn world.

We executed this mission fast after my rescue and return to Gable’s loft. Talon had an emergency meeting with the headmaster to fill him in.

The conversation sharpened in my mind.

“Camus must be stopped at all costs.” The headmaster rubbed his thickening layer of gray-brown stubble. “But I won’t be able to get approval to send a force to thwart him for a few hours. Kymbal is a thorn in my side and drags out decisions.”

Fucking Kymbal. The slimeball Gildron whose family connections aided his evasion of discipline for using dark magick spells when staff and students were expelled and sent packing. When we dealt with my grandfather, we were turning our focus to him and avenging Astra.

“We don’t have a few hours, sir,” Talon pressed, bouncing his leg, impatient to get the go-ahead to march into the Cairn of the Elements to stop our enemy. “Camus has access to a sixth power, and we cannot let that fall into his hands.”

“I fear you’re right.” I was surprised the headmaster didn’t shave off his stubble with all the abrasive motions. “You realize the risks if I authorize you to go?”

“Absolutely.” Talon clutched his spear baton.

“Very well.” The headmaster leaned forward and grabbed a sticky note, scribbling something on it. “This is my code to access the Terra Room. Use it to travel to the djinn planet to stop him. This way, it won’t activate an alarm.”

“Are you sure, sir?” Talon stared at the numbers he accepted from the headmaster.

“Go before it’s too late.” The headmaster waved us away. “If you’re not back within twenty-four hours, I’ll send a rescue squad.”

We could be dead by then, but it was better than nothing.

“Thank you, sir.” Talon stood, lifting me from my seat, marching me out the door, and together we enacted a plan to get Gable inside these walls, into the Terra Room to cross over with us.

Talon punching in the headmaster’s code into the portal apparatus brought me back to the present, and I straightened.

We needed to utilize this method for travel between worlds because it channeled more Veil power than a human could handle. Large crystals in the machine were designed to conduct the amount of Veil energy necessary. Blue-white energy charged between the crystal prongs, illuminating the dim space and breaching a conduction window.

“Head on out.” Talon swept his arm back and forth as if ordering his soldiers into war. And what a war it would be. The war to save our lives and this world.

We crossed as one unit into the multi-colored landscape, different from the one we encountered previously. The one constant was the bite of the sun on my skin and the drying out my lips. We took a moment to orient ourselves. Colored sand ridges, valleys, mountains, and flats. Lands of fire, pools of lava, molten rivers and ash on the ground. Forests crawled with life, plants, fruits, ancient trees and everything nature had to offer. Floating cities, trees were shaking from a breeze, whirlwinds dancing across the desert. Darkness, death, and destruction. Nothing alive for miles. A palace made of shells. A sky with a gaping hole in it where the Veil had been torn.

“Which way to the Cairn of the Elements?” Talon squinted at Blaze.

At my teacher’s direction, Talon marched us to the north—at least, I think it was north by the direction of the sun, but this was a different world. Our leader scanned the scenery, on the lookout for gantii or any djinn wandering the terrain. By my estimate, we made it a mile before the water bubbles emerged from the sand, blocking our path. From them emerged the same four djinni we met previously, this time brandishing spears with tips carved from shells. They smelled like salty sea, dry sand, and sweet like tropical fruits.

“You shouldn’t have come here, Yar… brother,” the male Marid chief who went by the name Pasuntha addressed Blaze. “The serpent’s magick is forbidden. You cannot be here. Leave.”

We couldn’t afford for the Marids to prevent us from getting to the Cairn of the Element when both our worlds hung in the balance.

Blaze crossed a fist over his chest then raised it to his forehead in some sort of respectful greeting. “I request permission to travel to the Cairn of the Elements. The Snake Lord is here, and he means to access a power called the sixth element, which can grant its master control of all power.”

The Marids spat as they spoke, indicating they knew of this legend, and it made me curious why they didn’t harness the power.

“The Snake Lord must not obtain this power,” Pasuntha said. “We appreciate you warning us, brother. We will take care of it. Farewell.”

They turned to leave, but Blaze remained unmoving.

“Jinjiri owes me a life debt, and I demand it is paid,” he called out to them, and they stopped in their tracks.

I collected on the debt the djinn king owed Blaze, and that left Jinjiri’s to be fulfilled.

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