Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ideas I got from Aladdin or the Rose of the Prophet series. The story, however, is my own. (hugs)
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Every djinn that decides to cross over to the mortal realms is bound by the Eight. Djinn
-Are forbidden to kill humans.
-Are unable to touch anyone other than their masters.
-Must remain in the mortal realms for at least one hundred years and, if they decide to cross back over to the immortal realms, must remain there for one hundred years. Djinn may not shuttle back and forth in between the two at will.
-May not enter another djinn's dwelling without permission.
-Are unable to touch cold iron.
-Must be bound to an object of the mortal realms in order to remain in the mortal realms.
-Must obey the holder of the objects they are bound to, no matter who—or what—the holder is.
-Must follow the Law of Equal Exchange: Nothing may be created out of thin air. It must be taken from elsewhere.
-From the notebook of an apprentice magus.
There is, however, a twelve-hour leeway for any djinn whose objects are destroyed.
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It is said that the flapping of a butterfly's wings may cause a hurricane at the other end of the world... see how one man's impulsive decision ignited a chain of events that spanned generations...
The Bagrah Majestic hotel, year 1900, Amir Province
Sadi cautiously stuck his head out of the doorway of the hotel room and instantly whipped it back in when a stray bullet whistled past, shattering part of the door frame in an explosion of chips of wood that pelted his face. He winced, wiping away a thin trail of blood from his cheek. Djinn do not have corporeal bodies, feel nothing, don't even bleed, but Sadi had lived for so long among humans that he had begun sharing some of their qualities, both physical and otherwise.
"What's the situation out there, Sadi?" his master Khajal asked calmly, twisting a gold-and-jade pendant on a chain in his hands. "How long will you be able to keep them out of here?"
"Not long, ziri," Sadi confessed, wiping sweat from his brow. "Their djinn is much older and more experienced than I, and has the aid of twenty men as well, all spellcasters." He hesitated, and then began, "Ziri, I don't want to go back. You are a much kinder master, and if... something happens to you, I will be in his hands once more. I spoke to you about breaking the pendant..."
"I won't do it!" Khajal slammed his fist down upon the desk. "It took me too much trouble and careful planning to give it all up now. Besides, if I send you back to the immortal realms, you won't be able to come back for one hundred years, and you'll have to find another object to be bound to. Do you really want to be the way you were before in the Immortal Realms? Joyless? Formless? A mere shade flickering through the mists?" When Sadi flushed, Khajal smiled. "I didn't think so. It wouldn't be fair to you, Sadi. You've spent too much time among us mortals to go back to that kind of life."
Sadi shook his head at his master's stubbornness. "Your daughter's birthday is in two days. If you do not send me away, they will kill you."
"If I do send you away, they'll still kill me, and then summon you again. They have twelve hours before the one-hundred-year rule goes into effect, plenty of time to bind you to something else." He sighed. "No, I've made my decision." He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin, dotted with stubble, his dark brow furrowed as he absentmindedly rubbed the pendant between his fingers, staring sightlessly at the portrait of his wife and child propped up on the hotel desk. "I'm going to seal you away inside the necklace, Sadi. No, don't thank me yet. That's not the difficult part. I need to figure out a key that only Aleesha would know, just in case your necklace gets diverted when I send it by the Channels. After all, it's hard to get things to the exact right place; that's why most people prefer to have professionals do it." A boom sounded outside the halls, much closer this time, and someone two doors down screamed. His shield had obviously been worn down by the superior numbers, because now the man and the djinn could hear clearly what went on inside his room, and both winced. Khajal's bit his lip as his face whitened and he cursed silently. "I don't have enough time. I'll have to wing it. Sadi, get in the pendant. Now."
The djinn anchored the shield he'd been maintaining in place, then bowed to Khajal respectfully. "You have not been my master long, ziri, but out of all the masters I've ever had..." he smiled. "You've been the most interesting. I—I will give your love to Aleesha and Shari. Good luck." He suddenly flung his arms around Khajal's neck for a moment, then backed away and vanished into the pendant abruptly, but not before Khajal noticed the djinn's furious blush at his momentary weakness. Chuckling quietly, he fished around in his desk and finally found a safety pin, which he sharpened magically and used to scratch a sigil into the pendant so that it wouldn't get twisted and warped by its journey through the Channels.
The defensive shield gave a loud Dong! as various spells began bouncing off of it. Sadi's shield absorbed most of them, but its power flickered like a guttering candle flame, and its opaqueness fluttered and Khajal caught an swift glance of the men outside. They were dressed as followers of the heathen god Kraal, but on some, their garments had ripped and beneath it were badges with a crest that he knew only all too well. Frantically he tore a strip of paper from one of his wife's letters, dashed something down, and wrapped it around the pendant. He sighed fatalistically, closed his eyes, and grasped the fragile thread that he'd established in his hotel room two days ago. Re karah an shibe...
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Outside, the men stopped their hammering at the shield as they felt the whispers of a hot wind building along the corridors, and they hastily cleared the hallway, taking refuge in other hotel rooms. The wind wound in and out of all the hotel rooms it passed, but none of them contained what it sought, and it swept onward, building up momentum until it finally reached the last room with a shield still standing. It slammed full-blast into the shield, which splintered as if it had been made out of spun sugar instead of a djinn's magic, and instantly picked up anything, everything it could and hurled it at the glowing man, bed sheets, pottery, soaps, anything it could lift, trying to distract him and prevent him from completing the spell. Khajal almost faltered when he heard the thump of heavy-shod boots on the floor, but finally he smiled and opened his eyes.
The men found Khajal as easy an opponent as the other hotel guests had been. Weakened by the sealing and transportation spells, he fell without a fight, clutching a photograph to his chest but smiling all the same. And the angry shrieking of the wind informed the men that the djinn's master would be displeased; they had still failed.
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The city of Memar, Hassan Province
Aleesha Darmani bolted upright in bed, clutching at her chest and sobbing softly. She still heard the echoes of her husband's final words reverberating in her mind... "I'm sorry... "
Glancing instinctively at the empty place beside her, Aleesha gave a start.
On the pillow lay a jade-and-gold necklace, resting on top of a scrap of paper.
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I promise to get the next chapter up soon... I am writing it as you read this, I assure you. No, I won't abandon it like I did my other two stories... nope... (sweat)
But seriously. I am sooo totally psyched about this story. Totally!
It might contain some yaoi... possibly... not quite sure yet. If you think it should let me know... in a review (hint hint). If you just want to review for the sake of reviewing, that's okay too
Err... I think that's it for now. So, ciao!