stared at the old man, spellbound by his story.
‘Years passed, decades rolled on,’ the old man said, his voice growing stronger. ‘The Lashkars passed their holy duty on from father to son, but they became lazy. They thought their job easy and fell into ways of luxury and decadence. One night, an evil magician of immense power stole the bottles, hoping to open them and release chaos into the world. Only Sulayman’s personal intervention stopped him but the bottles were then scattered across the four corners of the world. Lost.’ Hafid looked forlorn. He licked his lips and leaned further forward. ‘In his fury, Sulayman charged his Lashkars and all their descendants with finding every bottle and destroying the djinns inside. This we must do – or die trying.’ Hafid stared, lost in time, at the crows that crowded the balcony.
Jabalah gave an uncomfortable cough and continued for the old man. ‘Only a silver sword carved with the djinn’s name would kill it. Knowing this, Sulayman forged one such weapon for each missing djinn. When the djinn’s blood was spilled, the blade would melt like ice in the summer sun.’
Silence fell over the room as Ness tried to take in this story.
Jabalah heaved a sigh. ‘For almost three thousand years, the Lashkars of Sulayman have wandered the world, making for wherever a rumour of a bottle or a djinn sprang up. We have sacrificed everything for our holy duty. Wherever the merchants of the world met, there we would be. London has become the centre of the world, the hub of a huge empire. All news and rumours pass through here, so this has become our most permanent home. We are the last of the Lashkars. We have one silver sword left. There is only one djinn remaining.’
‘You unleashed it, Necessity Bonehill,’ croaked the old man, returning to them. ‘And you will be our key to finding and destroying it.’
Great souls have wills feeble ones only have wishes.
T raditional proverb
Chapter Ten
H ome T ruths
Ness stared dumbfounded at Hafid. ‘This is madness,’ she said, glowering at the men around her. ‘Djinns and Sulayman? The truth is that you’ve kidnapped my parents and now you want money for it, but you had to get me out of the way first. That’s right, isn’t it?’
Hafid sighed. ‘No, my child. Your father started all this many years ago – we suspect that the bottle came into his possession before you were even born – and we’ve been watching your family ever since. But we have been powerless to influence events until now.’
‘Your father,’ Jabalah muttered, ‘unleashed the djinn some thirteen years ago, but then managed to return him to the bottle somehow. No mean feat. By the time we’d tracked him down, the bottle was gone. He denied all knowledge of it.’
‘He nearly destroyed us,’ Hafid said, shaking his head. ‘He has friends in high places – he set the police on us, and when they’d finished his personal thugs tried to frighten us off too. He is a dangerous man to cross, your father.’
Ness thought of her father. Was he capable of such cruelty? She shook her head. ‘This is too much. I won’t believe it.’
‘Azuli was trying to retrieve the bottle before you opened it,’ Jabalah said, putting a protective arm around the boy’s shoulder.
‘I saw the man with a strange package at Rookery Heights and guessed what it was. I would have got it that night but you awoke,’ Azuli muttered, giving her a dark look. ‘And I had to flee.’
‘The fact of the matter is that first your father and now you have opened the bottle, Miss Bonehill,’ Hafid said, sounding like a hanging judge. ‘The djinn is loose and it is our sworn duty to destroy him. You will assist us.’
‘This is ridiculous,’ Ness exclaimed, reddening as all eyes fell on her. ‘I can’t help you.’ Panic and anger swirled in Ness’s stomach. These men were propelling her into something she knew nothing about and wasn’t sure she even believed in. It
‘Years passed, decades rolled on,’ the old man said, his voice growing stronger. ‘The Lashkars passed their holy duty on from father to son, but they became lazy. They thought their job easy and fell into ways of luxury and decadence. One night, an evil magician of immense power stole the bottles, hoping to open them and release chaos into the world. Only Sulayman’s personal intervention stopped him but the bottles were then scattered across the four corners of the world. Lost.’ Hafid looked forlorn. He licked his lips and leaned further forward. ‘In his fury, Sulayman charged his Lashkars and all their descendants with finding every bottle and destroying the djinns inside. This we must do – or die trying.’ Hafid stared, lost in time, at the crows that crowded the balcony.
Jabalah gave an uncomfortable cough and continued for the old man. ‘Only a silver sword carved with the djinn’s name would kill it. Knowing this, Sulayman forged one such weapon for each missing djinn. When the djinn’s blood was spilled, the blade would melt like ice in the summer sun.’
Silence fell over the room as Ness tried to take in this story.
Jabalah heaved a sigh. ‘For almost three thousand years, the Lashkars of Sulayman have wandered the world, making for wherever a rumour of a bottle or a djinn sprang up. We have sacrificed everything for our holy duty. Wherever the merchants of the world met, there we would be. London has become the centre of the world, the hub of a huge empire. All news and rumours pass through here, so this has become our most permanent home. We are the last of the Lashkars. We have one silver sword left. There is only one djinn remaining.’
‘You unleashed it, Necessity Bonehill,’ croaked the old man, returning to them. ‘And you will be our key to finding and destroying it.’
Great souls have wills feeble ones only have wishes.
T raditional proverb
Chapter Ten
H ome T ruths
Ness stared dumbfounded at Hafid. ‘This is madness,’ she said, glowering at the men around her. ‘Djinns and Sulayman? The truth is that you’ve kidnapped my parents and now you want money for it, but you had to get me out of the way first. That’s right, isn’t it?’
Hafid sighed. ‘No, my child. Your father started all this many years ago – we suspect that the bottle came into his possession before you were even born – and we’ve been watching your family ever since. But we have been powerless to influence events until now.’
‘Your father,’ Jabalah muttered, ‘unleashed the djinn some thirteen years ago, but then managed to return him to the bottle somehow. No mean feat. By the time we’d tracked him down, the bottle was gone. He denied all knowledge of it.’
‘He nearly destroyed us,’ Hafid said, shaking his head. ‘He has friends in high places – he set the police on us, and when they’d finished his personal thugs tried to frighten us off too. He is a dangerous man to cross, your father.’
Ness thought of her father. Was he capable of such cruelty? She shook her head. ‘This is too much. I won’t believe it.’
‘Azuli was trying to retrieve the bottle before you opened it,’ Jabalah said, putting a protective arm around the boy’s shoulder.
‘I saw the man with a strange package at Rookery Heights and guessed what it was. I would have got it that night but you awoke,’ Azuli muttered, giving her a dark look. ‘And I had to flee.’
‘The fact of the matter is that first your father and now you have opened the bottle, Miss Bonehill,’ Hafid said, sounding like a hanging judge. ‘The djinn is loose and it is our sworn duty to destroy him. You will assist us.’
‘This is ridiculous,’ Ness exclaimed, reddening as all eyes fell on her. ‘I can’t help you.’ Panic and anger swirled in Ness’s stomach. These men were propelling her into something she knew nothing about and wasn’t sure she even believed in. It
Similar Books
