From the Core

Chapter 3 - Djinn

Disclaimer: None of my characters and the scenes all take place in Osenia! Yep! The characters are taking a little break before actually lighting the
lighthouse...

When Djinn goes... the earth should crumble...

Catastrophe sneezed noisily; she covered her nose daintily and accepted a handkerchief from Azul who didn't look very well himself. This was due to Flora sitting in front of him, her hands and hair stuffed with pollen- filled flowers, oblivious to the poor Cat, Azul and Charon who all had bad cases of hay fever. Sometimes, Azul thought, I just want to smack her down and burn to a crisp, be no, if I burn her to a crisp no one could summon her... peh. Char seemed to have the worst case. Every time he insisted that he was fine, a loud sneeze would erupt from him, and his hood would fall backwards, which he hastily put on again.

Good Lord... Cat sniffed to herself, I've always wondered why Char has a hood... he does have a handsome face... Venus stepped up onto the stage and cleared her throat, and the gods and 72 Djinn faced her. Venus felt very disturbed; she smoothed her golden dress, and then smoothed it again. "Well, hello, fellow Gods (and mother)! Oh, yes and we welcome you Djinn! You all may be wondering why we invited you here tonight!"

Obviously stinks at speeches... thought Flora, frowning, Good lord, stop stuttering girl! "Ah, yes, let's get to the point... we all know..."

Blood spilled everywhere, seeking into the carpet, staining the tables and couches and the wind blew fiercely, as if to add to the affect. The tables had been broken, wood chips splintered the ground and a black gooey substance lay everywhere—the walls, the floor, the chairs, and even on the ground that Garet was stepping on. The only thing missing were the bodies.

Jenna lightly fanned Ivan, whose eyes had rolled back in their sockets, his purple cloak tattered and torn. Garet felt bile rise in his throat as he carefully picked through the mess, the black gooey stuff he didn't touch. Ivan suddenly griped the air and Jenna jumped back, as a streak of lightening, menacing and shocking, struck outside, scaring Garet out of his wits. "Ahh...ah..." Ivan struggled a bit, his limbs flailing and he himself looked a bit twisted, like his cloak, "Ahh..."

Jenna hastily picked up her bag and threw it at Ivan, which hit him in the forehead, a thud echoing and all stopped. Ivan trembled, and then fell to the ground, where the blood eagerly suck in the cloth of his clothes. Garet widened as he realized something... "JENNA! Get OUT! I-it's the BLOOD!" Jenna did not understand at first, her face masked with confusion and worry, until she shrieked, letting go of Ivan, stumbling out. Garet, panicking, took Ivan by the sleeve and dragged him along, undressing the cloak and shirt that had been stained with the blood, and threw it at the black substance, quickly running outside, and Ivan along with him.

Where the blood had touched him, Ivan's skin was blistered and burned and Jenna hastily used healing aura on the other two and herself. A light suddenly burst out, into the darkness and they could hear a villager's voice—"Hello? Hello? I heard screaming..."

"We're here!" Jenna yelled, focusing, and a blaze struck out in the grass, "We're here!"

Piers sighed worriedly, gazing out at the setting sun, where hot fiery golden colors were fiercely glowering, and looked back to the dark brunette who groaned as he toppled over. Felix had a bad case of seasickness and was crudely attempting to disguise it, but it seemed the Mercury Adept could see right through his mask, and he helped him up and onto the chair.

"You should really get pills, you know." Piers chided him gently, and Felix just growled. Setting the younger man down, Piers cast a quick ply on him, and then mixed a remedy for seasickness. "You really should be a doctor." Felix said between gritted teeth. Piers ignored him and made him take the remedy.

Felix bit him.

"OW!" Piers pulled back, instinctively putting his bitten fingers into water, then to him mouth, and glared at Felix—"You better not have rabies or anything." Felix cackled and got up, then groaned and pulled the rough blanket over his head again. "Ha, you deserve it." Piers muttered. Felix just cursed.

Isaac sat outside, his legs crossed, his golden hair blowing playfully as he hummed a tune he had been taught when he was little. A sad smile played upon his lips, and he tried to brush it away. "Sometimes..." He sighed, "Sometimes... I wish..."

Iris felt as if she would scream bloody murder in minutes. Or maybe tearing her hair out would be better. Djinn were frisking around the room, blowing things to pieces, some cackling insanely and some, sane ones, mind you, sitting down playing chess. Charon looked harassed, with the two Mars twins, Char and Coal, hanging onto his cloak, pleading to see his face. Flora was cooing at the 'cute little Djinn', who were, mainly, Gust, Whorl, and Blitz, which were probably the most hyper. Venus was trying to calm everyone down, but Mercury and Jupiter, both drunk, had gone into the frenzy, too, flirting with Anzul and Haurus, then making sure to show... inappropriate parts to the others, embarrassing the other two sisters, who gritted their teeth.

Iris couldn't stand it anymore.

"EVERYBODY SHUDDAP!!!!!" She shrieked at the frizzy-faced crowd and everyone silenced as the Mistress of the Gods stood up and snarled at them... "This is a MEETING! NOT A SOCIAL CALL!!!! EVERYONE SIT DOWN!!!" Everyone was assembled back into his or her places, most Djinn had their heads hung down guiltily, and the boatman Charon was eternally grateful of her intrusion.

Iris snapped back into focus and glared at all 72 Djinn and snarled, "The book Coal." Obviously, it seemed that Djinn could talk more freely in this world then Weyward. Coal seemed to bow his head, shifting his feet nervously and Iris again, "The BOOK Coal." Coal looked up, his blue eyes clouded.

"Err... there was a...um...small... problem and we- heh, heh- we...." Coal choked nervously, praying that Iris wouldn't detect what he was trying to say. Note to Coal—not even one who was as daft as cardboard would've missed it.

"YOU LOST THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!" Iris bellowed, and the gods all winced...

"Well it wasn't our fault!" Coal argued back, "We dozed off a bit until we heard squeaking and then Echo..." A shriek let out from the other side of the room as the addressed Djinn haughtily stuck her face out, "LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS COAL!!!"

Iris was very annoyed at the Djinn now... she was itching to kill someone...

Sighing, Jenna groped blindly for the slick turner on the oil lamp; the darkness had settled over the group and she stumbled and tripped clumsily over small, slippery rocks and stones that seemed to be increasing every step she took. Ivan's back was scarred and red, he groaned painfully as Garet helped him to the kind farmer's home—the rain had subsided by they weren't sure when it'll start up again. Killing Blood that was—a monster that could take on three forms, liquid, gas, or solid. For once, that dumb- head Garet had actually remembered something.

The light was comforting- it bathed them in its shallow warmth and soothing voices came from the two woman that helped them down, one dressed in a soft fleece and another in a thick cloth. They hushed the group and made them sit down- Jenna was eternally grateful for the help they were receiving, and she wondered, for once in this day, HOW Felix and them left without them.

(Maybe they thought we were onboard and didn't notice until they were far, far, away...) She thought gloomily, (And I wonder if... no, Mia would've fought off the Killing Blood enough for them to go... I wonder where they are...) She shivered, feeling slight goosebumps running up her muddy arm, and she realized that she needed to bathe and quick.

She signaled for one of the women, and asked her lowly if she could use the bathing room, and she must've looked quite pitiful, with her slick auburn hair stuck to her scalp and her shallow eyes which looked as dark as [censor]'s darkest pit. The woman giggled and led Jenna to the bathroom, where she could think. The walls were smooth as marble and as gray as her brother's eyes. The pool was steaming slightly, making her feel hot and fidgety. She wondered if Ivan was feeling any better, and she let herself drift into a soft nap in the pool...

She ran her hands around the wall, feeling deep cracks, scorch marks, and loose rocks that came out by her hand. Silently, she offered a blistered hand to the old man, whose face was smudged with dirt and grime and they climbed up the rocky wall together, griping for ledges and cracks to set their feet into.

She had been able to hold it off for a while. It had oozed onto her skin, and every limb in her body had screamed 'PAIN'. "Kraden?" She choked out hoarsely, "Are you alright." There was a brief cough and several nods and they set off again- there were less cracks now and the wall was smoother. Mia found the top of the wall and winced as she climbed onto her burnt legs and got up. She had had no time to cast a quick wish on her injuries, but she readily pulled Kraden up and cast it.

Kraden fell asleep right away; he lay down in his blood-soaked coat and started to snore. Mia frowned sadly. The day had begun so perfectly... and she knew that Killing Blood wasn't around here. It was somewhere else...

(I guess this was what Isaac meant when he said we were going to train before lighting the Mars lighthouse...) she grumbled to herself, (Yeesh, some training...)

TBC...

Authors Notes: Not very funny... it explains some things though... I SWEAR THE NEXT CHAPTER WOULD BE BETTER!!!!!!!!!

Iris: YOU LOST IT!

Coal: IT WAS ECHO'S FAULT!

Echo: WHAT?! DON'T BLAME IT ON ME!!!!

Char: WILL YOU ALL SHADDUP!!!!!!???????