Page 17 of Releasing the Djinn
Chapter 6
Letting out a small groan, Nadira turned deeper into the soft bedding. She was so comfortable, it felt like the bed was draining her of all her energy like a big comfy magnet. Though despite its comfort, she knew deep in the back of her mind that she needed to open her eyes. Something instinctual told her to fight off the lethargic pull beckoning her to fall back asleep and to wake up. With great effort, she cracked her eyes open. Laying on her side, she could see the window across the room; it was dark out. But that shouldn't be, she thought groggily pushing herself upright, it was still light out only a few minutes ago. Sitting up straight now, Nadira ran a hand through her long, messy black hair as her memories began to untangle and straighten in her head.
Idrak, she thought with a start.
The last thing she could remember was sitting against her door and wishing him free before the stone cracked. Looking down at her hands, she recalled the stone warming in her palm and a blinding light leaking from the jagged crack. A light so bright she had been forced to close her eyes, but then that was it, that was all she could remember. Looking around the dark room, she noticed the purple haze the room had. Focusing, she shifted towards the edge of her bed and realized it wasn't just a haze, it was mist. A mist she had seen before in her dreams.
Her pulse began to pick up as she scanned the growing mist around her bed. With each second, it grew denser until she could hardly see the furniture beyond it leaving her bed as an untouched island at its center.
Fearfully she called out. "Idrak?"
A blast of warmth behind her made her heart stop and her blood pause in her veins. It felt as if there was a raging furnace behind her all of a sudden, but she knew who it was. Sitting on one side of her bed, she could feel his hot presence standing in the open space on the other side of the bed.
"Will you not turn and face me, my darling Nadira?" the familiar voice was much deeper now as if there was an underlying growl accentuating every word.
All the muscles in her body tightened and locked into place by her sudden fear, preventing her from moving an inch.
From behind her, the djinn laughed cruelly. "Then allow me to come around to you."
Nadira's chest clenched tighter and tighter with each thudding step the djinn took as he walked around the bed to where she still knelt. Something drug and scraped along the ceiling that made her want to shrink into herself instead of turning and finding out what ghastly terror it could be. Slowly, the tall black shape entered her peripheral vision, and her eyes went wide.
Nadira couldn’t be sure if the scream she felt in her throat was released or was it just trapped in her mind. Two rows of sharp white teeth grinned back at her against the creature's coal-black skin, nearly gleaming in the semi-darkness of the room. As if covered in ash, the creature's midnight skin held a slightly argenteous undertone that seemed to reflect in the little bit of light pouring through her window. Stopping in front of her, the creature stood tall and proud as he stared down at her with that carnal, gleaming white smile. Dressed only in a blue and brown wraparound dhoti that stopped at his knees, Nadira held her breath as her eyes took in his inhuman features from his clawed feet all the way to the two black antelope horns atop his head, dragging twin lines into her ceiling. Bands of gold encircled his bulging dark biceps while a necklace of thick beaded gold and ivory hung around his neck.
Lifting one black clawed hand, the creature placed it on his exposed abs and bent slightly at the waist, bowing his horned head towards her. "I cannot thank you enough, my sweet Nadira," he said before standing back straight.
His eyes! His eyes were not there, she thought with a breathless gasp. No, that wasn't right, they were most certainly there, she could feel his sharp gaze locked onto her. Glowing bright white, his eyes held no pupils nor irises, nothing she could lock onto to know he was looking directly at her just two pools of glowing bright white.
It was as if she had released some ancient demonic god.
"Wha…" she had been holding her breath for so long it hurt to attempt to speak. "What are…"
Even somehow with no hair anywhere on his body that she could see, the prominent shape of his brow bone lowering over his stark white eyes perfectly conveyed his immediate agitation at her attempted question.
"Don’t ask questions you already know the answers to, besides this should be a time of rejoicing," he said, outstretching his arms, causing the muscles beneath his dark skin to ripple. "I am no longer your slave, and you are no longer my master and today, I am free once again."
Leaning back from her seat in the bed, she shook her head in confusion. "B-but I never considered myself your master," she stammered out.
Lowering his arms back to his sides slowly, the massive demon cocked his head to the side in thought, either oblivious to the way his long curving antelope-like horns scraped at the ceiling or he just didn't care. Looking back down at her, his glowing white eyes narrowed while a smile played on his dark lips. "No, you didn’t, did you? Not once did you demand anything from me and I believe that my darling…" he said, his tone rumbling lower as he stepped forward, "deserves my many many thanks."
Instinctually, she jerked back as he stepped closer, extending one clawed hand towards her, not liking the darkening expression on his face at all. "No," she cried out in panic. Seeing him pause, she breathed deeply this time speaking in a softer, more controlled tone. "Please. I…I don't need to be thanked, I just wanted to help you."
"Help me?" he repeated a mixture of incredulity and puzzlement in his voice. "Help me because you pitied me?"
Dread bloomed in her heart as she watched his eyes narrow angrily. "No, of course not Idrak," she held both of her hands up placatingly. "I just meant…"
"Because. You," he growled each word evenly as his glowing white eyes became angry slits. "Pity. Me?!"
Reaching out and grabbing a handful of her shirt's fabric, he snatched it viciously, tearing it, leaving part of her shoulder and arm exposed.
Panicked, Nadira tried to crawl across her bed and away from the demon, but she could feel his grip find her again this time using the remnants of her tattered shirt to haul her roughly back in place before tearing even more of her shirt.
"STOP!" she screamed, fighting his arms away from her as he knelt one knee onto her bed. "I will scream. I will!" she threatened, hoping against hope that the creature would fear being caught by others.
Leaning back, Idrak let out a deep laugh, baring both rows of his sharp white teeth, killing her hope immediately as he let his amusement roll through him.
Looking back at her, he grinned evilly. "Go on then, scream. Scream at the top of your lungs. Do it!" he bellowed, with chaotic glee. "No?" he questioned before she could speak. "Here, let me," he offered before throwing back his head, exposing the strong muscular lines of his neck and letting out a massive ground-shaking roar.
The piercing animalistic roar should have woken the whole neighborhood, least of all her light sleeping parents just below the thin floor that separated her room from theirs, but there was nothing. Silence was the only thing left in its wake.
