Here we are, this story's almost a quarter of a century old (so to speak) and at long last we find out just what the hell an Ifrit actually is...
Thanks to: Meg (giggling in a library eh? Tut tut tut... by the way, a snake and a brain walk into a bar. The barman takes one look at them and says to the brain "I'm not serving you... you're out of your head and he's legless... bdum tschh...), Spongey (don't worry dear, we all know you're sane... no, really), Kira (the comics I've read spell it Kandakar, but who cares?) and Lily Bloom (mi amigo español who reviewed a chapter in 'Lost in Love').
Random Quote: Touch my chocloate croissant and enter a world of pain! (Cornelia, W.I.T.C.H.)
Tegryn gulped as he watched the immense wall of flame slowly approaching to engulf them. They were at least a hundred metres away, but they may as well be right on top of him. It seemed as though his worst fear, his fear of being burnt alive, was about to come true. Trembling, he crouched and backed up against the rocky cliff as tightly as he could as his phobia threatened to overwhelm him.
Meanwhile, the Ifrit gloated as he looked at the fairies assembled in a group in front of him, cornered like rats in a trap.
"Now I have you right where I want you. You were brave to think you could stand up to me, but you've been beaten. Your mission has failed before it's even begun. My master will be pleased!"
Everyone shuddered as flames suddenly surrounded the Ifrit's hands as it held them above his head. The ball of flame effortlessly grew larger and larger. It was clear what the Ifrit had planned - it was going to finish them off in one swoop. But just the Ifrit prepared to unleash his monstrous attack, he was suddenly struck by a small fireball that seemed to come out of the flaming dome. Whatever it was, it made him yell out in pain, making him release his attack way above the group's head.
The fireball crashed into the cliff face, sending a torrent of rocks plunging onto the people below.
"Don't worry, we've got it!" Mimi said as she once agin grabbed her sister's hand. "Harmonic Shield!"
With their combined powers, the twins' shield easily withstood the bombardment, and they looked up in relief as the last of the stones bounced harmlessly off their bubble.
"What's happening to that thing?" Bloom said, watching on as the Ifrit was attacked by more and more fireballs, each one hitting him full on and sending him staggering backwards.
Tegryn stood up - now that the Ifrit was distracted, this was the chance he was waiting for.
"Optical Darkness!" he shouted, raising one hand and firing a thin beam of black energy straight at the Ifrit's face. The instant it hit, the Ifrit's eyes changed from their usual deep glowing orange to a dull black. The Ifrit yelled as he clutched his eyes, trying to somehow free himself from the magic that blinded it.
The bombardment that had sent the Ifrit reeling suddenyl stopped and a shape emerged from the dome of fire - and a most welcome shape it was too.
"Charlotte! You're back!" Anyuna yelled joyfully.
"Took your time didn't ya Charlie"
"Yeah, you've missed all the fun!" the twins joked.
Charlotte landed in front of her friends and glared angrily over her shoulder at their enemy.
"Just as I thought - it's the Ifrit."
"Ifrit?" Tegryn asked.
"Yeah. That creep's the one that was causing all the trouble on my homeworld."
"Ifrit... Ifrit. I've heard that somewhere before..." Tegryn murmured, holding his head as he racked his memory.
"I've never heard of it." said Tecna. "And I've read up on every creature in Majix."
"It's not from Majix. I've heard it on Earth, but where? It's not an English word..."
"Well what language is it?" Taranee asked. "Is it... Chinese?"
"No." he replied, shaking his head.
"Japanese?"
"No."
"Erm... Hindu? Russian? Turkish?"
"No."
"Swahili? Hebrew? Arabic? Greek? Italian?"
"No... no, wait! Arabic! Yes, that's it!" he said with a truimphant click of his fingers. "Yes, I remember now! It was a few years ago when I was trekking through the Arabian Desert. I met up with a tribe of wandering bedouins and..."
Irma interrupted him. "You were trekking through the Arabian Desert?"
"Yes, that's right."
"And you met up with a tribe of bedouins?"
"Uh-huh."
"So where did you think you REALLY were?"
A short silence fell as Tegryn blushed slightly. "Paris." he mumbled.
"Paris?!" Cornelia blurted out. "Oh, but of course. Paris... the Arabian Desert - they're so easily confused, aren't they?"
"Well, I heard they built a little beach on the Seine." (1)
"Right... and I suppose the lack of Eiffel Tower didn't give it away at all?"
"Well, it did raise a few suspicions... anyway, I was sitting around the campfire with these guys, and they were telling me about all sorts of wierd things, like our friend over there." he said, pointing at the Ifrit, who was still staggering about, blinded. "I thought they were just fairytales, but I guess they weren't."
"So what is that thing?" Taranee asked. "I mean, he's obviously a master of fire magic."
"More than that Taranee - he IS fire. The arabs told me that the Ifrit are part of a race known as the Jinn, who were originally created from fire. Ghosts, spirits, genies, demons - they'll all Jinn, and the Ifrit are the most powerful of the lot. They're nearly always evil... and they can't be destroyed."
"What?! If we can't destroy it, what are we gonna do? How do we stop it?" Charlotte asked a little too loudly. The Ifrit laughed as he heard the voice of his young adversary.
"Well well well, if it isn't the little Nahriina. Now I'll get the chance to finish what I started... beginning with your other eye!"
Tegryn looked at his friend with a look of pure anger on his face. "Charlotte... your eye. Did... THAT thing do it to you?"
"Yeah." she replied, gingerly touching her swollen cheek.
"Oh, that does it!" he said as he strode forward, his anger making him oblivious to the flams that surrounded them "No-one beats up on my friends and gets away with it! It's time to put this creep away!"
"But.. you said we can't destroy it."
"Maybe not, but we can do the next best thing - pin it down so we can get out of here and find Will. Cornelia - can you give us two columns on either side of that thing?"
"Easy!" she said, smiling. With minimal effort, two thick pillars of rock rose up out of the ground, one of the left side of the Ifrit, one on the right.
"Nice one. Charlotte - it looks like your magic has some effect on it."
"Sure does. Don't quite know how though, but..."
"It doesn't matter. We need a wall of fire directly behind him."
"With pleasure!" she said, cracking her petite knuckles. Quicker than you could say 'barbequed bad guy', a roaring wall of fire duly rose up out of the ground. The Ifrit, sensing the heat from her unique magic, started to recoil away from it.
"Right. Now Taranee - you're a bit of a dab hand when it come to manipulating fire, aren't you? We need chains, lots of 'em, and then..."
"Don't worry Teggy, I'm way ahead of you!" At Taranee's will, linked chains burst out of the fire. The Ifrit yelled loudly as they coiled tightly around him, smoke rising into the air as they seared into his flesh. As the creature finally lost his focus, the fire dome slowly began to vanish, revealing the Red Fountain ship hovering above them. Soon, the wicked beast was completely enveloped in a mass of burning chains that bound him fast to Cornelia's columns.
"You won't get away! You can't hold me forever!" he yelled in pain and fury as the others hastily made their way onto the waiting ship.
"Toodles, ugly!" Hay Lin grinned, waving cheekily out of the window as they sped away. As they finally made their way to their destination, everyone's mood was bouyant after their little victory - all except Tegryn. Musa, being the caring soul that she is, could sense his unease.
"Teggy? What's up?" she said, placing a hand on his leg.
"I've just remembered something else." he replied glumly.
"Like what?"
"The Ifrit - they can't be controlled. The old sheikh told me that only one man in history had the power to control the Jinn and the Ifrit... and that's only because of some sort of divine miracle." (2)
"So?"
"So, if Darkar now has enough power to enslave an Ifrit... saving Will is gonna be even tougher than we thought."
1. It's true, they did. If you want to know just what on Earth I'm referring to, go to Google and search for 'paris beach seine' (without the quotes).
2. It's written in the Qur'an that King Solomon (peace be upon him) was granted this ability by Allah, along with power over the wind and an understanding of the speech of animals.