Chapter 10: Initiation and Conflagration

"What about the dictionary?" Cas asked impatiently as Nimrod delved into his coat pockets. Nimrod gave Cas a reproachful look and drew out what appeared (to Cas) to be packs of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards, which Nimrod gave to each of them. (Cas had once gone through a phase, long before he had met Holly, where he and his friends at the time were absolutely obsessed with the Yu-Gi-Oh! game.)

Upon closer inspection, however, the cards were not for any game at all, but each bore the name of a djinn, its tribe, its preferred animal shape, and its various strengths and weaknesses.

"Neat," said Holly, examining the top card on her deck, a card for an Ifrit named Palis the Footlicker.

"You might find a use for these, but I certainly haven't. They are quite interesting to look at, though, if not cut out for practical use. If I recall correctly, John and Philippa never used their decks. But that's not the end of what I have for you two. I'm also going to give you a copy of my departed friend's- a djinn by the name of Mr. Rakshasas- book, Rakshasas' Shorter Baghdad Rules. Here." And so saying, Nimrod muttered something and two large, white books with a strange-looking gemstone on the cover appeared on the tarp in front of Holly and Cas. "It was his life's work, poor Rakshasas. But I daresay that he'd appreciate educating the minds of two more young djinn that have chosen Good. In any case, should you have questions, you merely need to ask that stone on the cover and a hologram of Mr. Rakshasas will appear to answer you. It's a terribly useful book, is the SBR."

"I've noticed something, Nimrod." Holly said.

"Oh, have you indeed? What have you noticed?" Nimrod returned.

"Every time you're about to use your... er... what would you call it- powers?"

"Djinn power is quite an adequate term."

"Yeah, that. Every time you're about to use your djinn power, you mutter something under your breath. What is it?"

"Good job, Holly. I wondered if you had noticed. The word you heard me say every time I focused my djinn power is what is called my focus word. It is QWERTYUIOP, a word that is quite impossible to work into normal conversation, being the top ten letters on a typewriter or computer keyboard. This focus word of mine helps me to focus my power, rather like a magnifying glass focuses a ray of sunlight until it is a sharp point of burning light."

"Sort of like ABRACADABRA?" Cas asked.

"Exactly so. In fact, the way that ABRACADABRA got started was because some djinn somewhere thought it would make a good focus word."

"So the dictionary is to help us find some good words, is it?" Holly said, and Nimrod nodded. Cas picked up the dictionary and opened it to a random page.

"How about CHIFFON?" he asked. "That's a kind of nylon cloth. I don't think that I'll ever be interested in dressmaking or whatever."

"I wouldn't advise it. Too short. I've heard stories about djinn uttering their focus words in their sleep, with utterly disastrous results. No, you need something longer. But don't worry, you have all night to come up with something."

"Here, let me see the dictionary." Holly commanded her friend, and she took it, flipping pages until she stopped. "MADECASSEE. I sort of like that." Holly had never heard the word before, but when she said it aloud, she liked the feel of it in her mouth.

"Well, don't rush. I'm going to go back in my lamp. If you want anything, I've left a box of supplies just down the road. It has another lamp on top of it, so if you want to find it, simply blow out the flame of this one." Nimrod announced, and gave Cas the lit oil lamp. However, he paused before reentering his lamp, as though he had just remembered something. "Speaking of rushing into things, I must offer my sincerest apologies to you two. I know that this whole djinn thing can be hard to accept at first, and certainly John and Philippa had a bit more time to realize their powers and digest the information. They even were lucky enough to have the experience of being a camel before their Tammuz. But as for you two, Holly and Castiel, I've rather forced your hand like this, forcing the Great Choice upon you. And so I am quite sorry. But I must say that you both have handled this whole fiasco magnificently." Nimrod bowed eloquently, to the both of them, and turned back into white smoke and entered his lamp, like a smoker inhaling quickly.

"I wonder if it gets cramped in there," Holly mused. "Do you think you can use djinn power in a lamp?"

"Probably. Here, trade you." Cas gave Holly the oil lamp in exchange for the dictionary, which he allowed to fall open in his lap. "How about CONVOLUTED?" Holly shrugged.

"You could write it down on the paper that the twins gave to us." she suggested, and pushed one of the pads of paper and a pen over to Cas. Picking them up, Cas shivered and clambered into his sleeping bag.

"It gets pretty cold out here, doesn't it?" He commented, just as Holly had decided to follow suit and climb into her own sleeping bag.

"Yup. But oh! Look up at that sky!" Holly was looking up to the starry Egyptian night sky in awe. Cas looked upwards, too, and his green eyes reflected the flickering stars. "It's times like this that make me not miss New York at all. It's amazing."

Cas nodded, his gaze darting from star to star. "It is." he said.

"Look, there's Orion!" Holly pointed up at three bright stars in a row.

"And isn't that Taurus?" Cas pointed to it.

"And Cassiopeia, too!" Holly traced the pattern.

Several hours passed in this way before Holly finally fell asleep, warm and comfortable inside her sleeping bag. Cas stayed awake for a few seconds longer, before he, too, gave in and his eyes shut.

"Cas, wake up!" Holly shook her best friend roughly. Cas groaned sleepily and sat up.

"Ah, you've woken him. Finally. Now I can begin your training. All right, have you decided on your focus words?" It was morning, probably just after dawn, and Cas felt exhausted. He rubbed his eyes as Holly answered Nimrod's question.

"I've chosen MADECASSEE. It means 'of or pertaining to Madagascar or its inhabitants.' I don't think that I'd ever use that word when I could just say 'from Madagascar,' not even if I visit Madagascar. And, well, it does sound kind of special. Kind of like it was meant to be a word that works wonders." Holly explained. Nimrod nodded.

"You have no idea how many adults would prefer to use a long, obscure word when a short phrase will do just fine, but you're right. It is a very good focus word, Holly. Castiel? What about you?" he said.

Cas stood up and stretched. "My word is APO-" here Cas interrupted himself with a huge yawn, and then continued. "APOGEOTROPICAL. It's not actually a word, but it's pretty close to APOGEOTROPISM, which means 'growth or orientation away from the Earth.' I figure, that if it's not actually a word, then it'll be pretty hard to say it accidentally, even if I do grow up to be one of those people who like long, obscure words."

"I see your point, Castiel. If it's not a real word, you can hardly use it by accident. I believe that Philippa made up her focus word... but it didn't really sound like an actual word. You'll have to ask her what it was- for the life of me, I can never remember anything about it, other than it was about fourteen syllables long. In any case, try to create the impression that your chosen word must be used very sparingly, as though it were the red button that launches a deadly missile. Which, in a sense, it does."

"Okay, what next?" Cas asked, feeling more alert. He was ready to start using his power!

"Oh, right. Now that you've both come up with quite excellent focus words, you can begin your training. I think we ought to start with making something disappear. How about those rocks over there? Holly, you first. Choose a rock."

Holly looked over at the cluster of largish rock formations and picked one that was about the same height as herself.

"Got it." she said.

"Good. Now, try to imagine that particular rock not being there. Try to keep in mind that its absence had to have been a possibility that was in the rock from the very beginning. This is essential for a young djinn like yourself to keep in mind. When you feel that you've got a clear idea of nothing in your head, press the red button and say your focus word."

Holly studied the rock. It was hard to imagine the landscape without it. Every time she got close, the rock itself got in the way.

Eventually, though, Holly thought that she was ready, and said her focus word.

"MADECASSEE!" she said, and looked hopefully at the immense rock. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then the entire boulder shivered, as though it had suddenly caught a chill, and a piece the size of a chicken egg fell off. Holly clapped her hands and jumped up and down in excitement. "Did you see that, Cas? I made that whole piece fall off! I did that, me!"

"You certainly did something," conceded Nimrod. "Castiel, why don't you have a try?"

Cas's first attempt at making a boulder vanish was quite similar to Holly's: the rock vibrated for a second and then a fragment, slightly larger than Holly's fragment, broke off and fell into the sand.

"What are we doing wrong, Nimrod?" Holly asked.

"I think that you have to get a clearer idea of nothing in your heads. You're both confusing the idea of alteration with disappearing. Try again, but this time bear in mind that whatever is permitted in logic is permitted in the real world. Your thoughts contain the possibility of the rock vanishing, therefore it is quite possible. So whatever is thinkable, is quite possible, too."

"Makes sense," Cas Nodded, while Holly just felt confused. Being naturally smart thanks to her own djinn power didn't always help her comprehend everything that Nimrod said. He liked to speak in long and confusing sentences.

It was midmorning by the time both Cas and Holly managed to concentrate enough to make either of their rocks vanish. Holly and Cas were rather surprised by the amount of concentration that was necessary to make this happen, but both of them were quite willing students and kept on trying until they succeeded, becoming exhausted as they did so. Holly's stomach rumbled, indicating that she had better eat breakfast soon, or else.

"Now that you've mastered that, I think that you ought to try and create something. No doubt you're rather hungry. Try to make a picnic. Like this one, for example. QWERTYUIOP!" A picnic, complete with tartan picnic blanket, appeared spread out on the sand. "Now you try. Visualize the picnic, but very importantly, make sure you also visualize the taste of the food itself. Holly, ladies first."

Nimrod's djinn lessons progressed like this, until two more very delicious picnics were created and then consumed. This took awhile, but Holly and Cas were fast learners.

"Well, now that we have partaken of your two delicious picnics," Nimrod said, eyeing one of the leftover paper-thin cucumber sandwiches from Holly's picnic, as though contemplating eating yet another of its kind, "We ought to head back. I have no idea what's been keeping John, Philippa, and Mark, so we ought to find out, shouldn't we?" He stood up slowly. "Ah, here they are now! Just in the nick of time, too." Nimrod's white Cadillac Eldorado pulled up, and Mark jumped out of the front seat, looking agitated.

"Nimrod!" Mark shouted. "We have to go back to the States, now!"

"Whatever for?" Nimrod asked, very confused. Mark held up a sheet of paper that he had printed off of a computer, from the online New York Times. The headline, written in bold, black lettering, read: String of Arsons in New York: Five Found Dead, Police and Fire Department Baffled. Holly stood up, too and looked closely at the five photographs of the victims of the fire, and gasped when she recognized them.

"No!" she said, "those are dad and stepmom! And- and Uncle Bob, surely?"

"And my parents, too." Cas said quietly.

"Yep." Mark continued grimly. "Last night, there were three enormous fires that burned very quickly, all at around the same time of night. Our house has been burned to the ground, same as Cas's house. Burned to cinders." Holly felt her eyes fill with tears. All of the satisfaction she had felt at creating a picnic out of nothing but air and her willpower was now gone. She ran over to her brother and flung her arms around his middle, burying her face in his shoulder to hide her tears. Mark hugged her back, but looked squarely at Nimrod. "My point is," he said, "that we have to go back and talk to the police about this. They were our parents!"

"Mark, much as I'd like to oblige your request, I simply have to refuse." Nimrod told him. Mark started to say something angrily, but Nimrod deflected this with the palm of one hand. "I have no doubt that there's one of Azazel's Ifrits in every American airport terminal, just waiting for you to come running home, for I am quite certain that this atrocity is their doing. Nasty pieces of work, they are. When I think about it, this was probably the doing of Dimme Teer herself. If I recall, she used to be quite adept at handling and controlling fire."

"They obviously know that Holly and Cas are djinn," put in Philippa, "So we're not going to have the element of surprise. And John and I are quite useless, as you well know, Uncle."

"Yes, I do know. But they're probably underestimating the power of Holly and Castiel. However, I agree that we should find out more about what's going on in New York, so why don't we call Layla, or my friend Frank Vodyannoy, and have them investigate a little bit?"

As Nimrod spoke, Holly continued crying onto her brother's shoulder. And why not? Holly loved her father and stepmother. And this was not to mention her stepmother's brother, Uncle Bob, who had lived in London, just like Nimrod. It just wasn't fair, how horrible and manipulative these Ifrit were. Holly wanted to give this Azazel jerk a piece of her mind.