G.I. Genie Ch. 15

They say when they found me that I was staring into nothing, repeating, "Let me die. I failed her. Please let me die. I can not go on without her, she's gone."

My first real memories I had after that were a few years gone along without my sister. I cut ties with Aunt Victoria. I had felt that she'd been there and had done nothing.

I suddenly turned toward Victoria, a look of hatred and indignation. "You were fucking there! The whole time you were there you saw everything that happened. You could have stopped it."

Tawney threw herself in front of me. "I was there also, she almost died that day trying to save the both of you. She found you before the humans, she dragged you to safety. It was your other Aunt!"

I stopped as Victoria had descended into a weeping pile. AUDGRA!

I grabbed my head as it felt as if a knife had split my brain. Oh shit! I crumpled as if I no longer had bones in my body.

I was wide-eyed as the memories flooded my brain. I saw a tall female that looked like a female version of my father. Her evil glowing eyes, that twisted smile on her face as she came for me and Catherine.

That's when I saw Victoria as she fell from Audra's assault. Somehow Catherine and I had hurt her more than anyone ever had.

I fought the convulsions as they racked my body. I was barely able to keep my eyes open as my arms and hands started to glow.

It was a moment that I noticed that I was floating two feet off the floor. I was trying to clear my mind as something one of the older Jinns had said.

("In your family tree there are Jinn ancestors, far enough, back that there was no fear of you having power. That is what was thought, 'til your sister. She was untrained and didn't have the mind for it,") the council leader had said.

I thought about it, was Catherine and I developing Jinn power after all this time? God, I wished that I could remember. As I looked at Catherine, she had a worried look on her face.

That's when she blinked at me and my head felt ten times as worse, my mind flooded with memories. "Oh shit!" I yelled as I folded onto the ground, convulsing once again.

As I passed out, I saw Catherine lay a soft hand on the side of my face. The pain didn't fade but it became tolerable.

In the dream, I saw both my Aunts and Tawney in a field. I was damn near carrying Catherine as I headed for a storm shelter. For some reason, I knew that if we made it we'd be safe.

"We're going to make it Cath; I'll make sure of it. I'll protect I promise," I said as I was hauling ass as hard as I could.

I saw that Catherine's hands were glowing as she smiled at me. "I trust you, John. Why is Aunt Audgra doing this? I thought she was trying to help us?"

"I don't know Cath just a little bit further," I said as I was moving far faster than I should.

We had just made the doors to the storm shelter when a blast tossed the both of us into them.

"Where the hell do you think that you are going, boy!" came Audgra's nasty deep voice. "The both of you and your power will feed me to make me more immortal." She started to laugh as I managed to grab Catherine.

I stared daggers at our Aunt as Catherine's hands started to glow along with mine. Her smile faded as she started to chant. Too late she realized that she wasn't going to make it as a huge bolt flew from us.

Though it wasn't that powerful, it blew her quite a distance away. I managed to get ahold of Catherine as we descended into the shelter.

Catherine was worn out as she passed out in my arms. I stumbled deeper into the shelter as I heard Audra start to scream.

I then heard the impact as Audgra slammed into the opening. I could see that she was burned almost beyond recognition.

I could also see that she was angrier than I thought was possible. What the hell was going on? Why was the one protecting us after us?

Aunt Audgra tried again, then was almost smacked back even harder. I just held Catherine as she clung to me, as if her life depended on it.

I shook my head as I tried to clear my thoughts. What I had felt that day, she was as, if not stronger, than Elvantor Hajib. Were they connected? I wasn't sure, though at least I knew who I was up against.

My head was still throbbing as I thought about my sister. Why, I thought had the both of us been able to fight off Aunt Audgra?

I remember that I had been holding Catherine when Audgra had been hit. I was still wondering how we had escaped when we were trapped.

As hard as I tried to recall, the more fleeting the memories became. I sighed. I had to do more to find her.

A hundred and twenty-five years into the past, Catherine awoke with a huge headache. A look around told her that she was in a simple room. A bed, a dresser with a mirror and a simple wash basin.

She got up and splashed water on her face, hoping it would clear her head. Unfortunately, it didn't, leaving her a bit confused.

Then she remembered right before that horrid male that had grabbed her. Just after, she had found her brother. That, above everything else, had lightened her soul.

The more she thought of it, the better she started to feel. Then she remembered that they had touched, looking at her hand, it glowed a bit.

A multitude of memories started to flood her head as she held up a hand, slowing them. A great many things returned to her along with the dangers.

First she was further back than her power could bring her forward. She knew she could make sixty, maybe seventy years, though that was it.

After that, she'd still be too far back for John to get to her. He had to have a Jinn, or their aunt could help. She hoped that Victoria could, as she had been cursed. Though from the brief encounter with her, she was hardly cursed now.

Had it been John that had broken it? She remembered that he had been far better at puzzles and mysteries than she had. Then again, he had her by a few years.

Catherine sighed as she had to decide what to do. Was she in the man that had stopped to help her house? She wasn't sure, but she had to thank him and his wife.

She walked out into the large room, stopping suddenly staring at the woman that was at a stove. Tongue-tied, Catherine could only continue to stare.

She shook her head, swearing that the woman before her was her Great-Grandmother. The woman whirled around at the sound of footfalls that had stopped.

"Ah! 'Tis da young woman me Charles found," the slightly older woman said. Catherine was still staring as she looked like the one picture she'd seen.

Wait! The woman had said Charles? That was her Great-Grandfather's name! She shook her head as she felt light-headed again.

She felt a pair of strong arms ease her into a chair. "Ya need ta be careful girl. Da heat can kill ya ifn ya ain't careful. What be ya name?" the woman asked.

"Catherine," Catherine said. "What's yours as I wish to thank the both of you."

"Oho a proper one are ya? Name's Molly, Molly Richards," the woman said as Catherine gasped, then passed out again.

Molly tsked as she grabbed the woman under her arms and dragged her back into the room. She got a damp cloth and a small pan of water sitting on the bed wiping the woman down.

She then started to undress, the younger woman looking at her strange, the plain white underwear. Though the strangest thing was the wrap the woman had over her breasts. It had small metal hooks on it.

Must be from Europe, Molly thought, though the woman had no accent. Then as she got to the underpants, removing them was another shock. The woman had no hair around her vagina! It was as smooth as her husband's face when he shaved.

There were too many things about this stranger for Molly to discount. She had to talk to Charles when he came in.

Molly started to shake, they hadn't found them, had they? She thought that they were well hidden for them to find them.

For a few moments, Molly thought that they might have to kill the young woman if they had been compromised. She sighed, she'd have to ask Charles as soon as he returned from the fields.

Further back in time, Hajib was still pacing, trying to get his left arm to heal. So far, he could barely move it, though it was still crispy.

The worst thing was that the feeling was still there. It was more than distracting, as spells and magic were nearly impossible. It was only after he'd gotten the sword that any healing happened.

Hell, what little he'd gotten was nearly nothing, though the pain was the worst. Plus there was the fact that they had no leads on the female he'd held for a moment.

He was certain that she was somehow tied to that bitch, Jinn's master. Hajib was certain that if he had control of this female, he could just take his property.

Yes, Hajib thought, she was his property to use, abuse and discard as he saw fit. He cursed inside as he thought that he needed more dark power to break the council's hold.

Hajib started to scream as the bones in his broken arm finally melded together. Hajib cursed as they melded very, very slowly.

He'd used part of the energy of the Devil's point, luckily it had been at full power.

Hajib looked at his ally thinking. There had to be other things out there that could aid him. "There have to be more artifacts out there that can help me triumph," Hajib said.

The undead leader was deep in thought for a few moments, then nodded. There are, though, you need to be far more healed than you are. Plus, your heart needs to be blacker than the pits of Hades. I'm sure that yours is indeed as black as Hades. I think that you need to heal far more to do this."

"I am not afraid, chaos needs to be released to let things be as they should. With me as supreme leader, nothing will go well anymore. For now, I will allow the Devil's point and gift to heal me," Hajib said.

The undead leader nodded though he knew that it would take more time than Hajib wanted to wait.

Hajib nodded to the undead leader as he went to lie in a slimy dark pit. He relaxed as soon as he felt the evil ooze start to encase him.

The leader looked at Hajib as he went silent. He also went through all the dark and evil elements that he knew of.

He had to make sure that he had a few ideas when Hajib awoke. For now, though, he tried to raise more undead. After a couple of hours, he'd only managed to gather another three.

It helped slightly as it put more between death and himself. Though he needed more if he was going to survive long.

Yeah, he thought, with those that they had lost, he was more in peril than in a long time. He needed to go back or forward more if they were to succeed. He just hoped that he could find many more.

I was watching Victoria and Tawney waiting for answers from them. I needed to know if my other aunt was going to be a problem.

"I've gotten part of my memory back from the first battle. I guess you could call it. What I can't remember is what happened to Aunt Audgra afterwards," I said.

I had been trying to get to you and Catherine when she caught and cursed the both of us. She also injured me, saying she would finish me off when she drained the both of you. We were shocked when she was blasted out of the doorway. The thing was she was almost incapacitated when she hit the doorway again, knocking her out," Victoria said.

"How in the hell did we get out of there? We had no power, neither did you," I said.

"Back then, I did have a marginal amount. I managed to get the both of you out to a safe haven. The problem was, I and Tawney had been cursed, so our power was more than quartered. She found us a few months later. I can't say more 'til you remember, it's too dangerous," Victoria said with a sad look.

I nodded, I wasn't happy, but at least I had an idea of some of it. "So, neither of you have seen her since then?" I asked.

"No," Victoria answered curtly. This let me know that there was more to this than she was letting on. I guess I'd have to wait as the last memory opening I had received had nearly split my head.

I sighed as I knew that she was trying to protect me. I still found it to be irritating as hell though.

I turned toward Catherine as she put her head on my shoulder. "I'm not sure when we will have time alone again. I'm sorry Catherine."

Catherine smiled as she nodded her head. "Master, as long as I waited, then to experience what we did that one time, it is worth the wait."

I could only stare at her, hardly able to believe her. "I do not want you to have to wait Catherine, especially as long as you went."

"As I said, Master, you were more than worth the wait. I will wait for you as long as it takes," she said.

I sighed as I shook my head. I was still having a hard time believing it.

"I think that while we have a chance, we need to go after the artifacts that the council mentioned," I told them.

Victoria looked at Tawney as she just stared at me. "What they were talking about will test the both of you beyond anything that you have ever faced yet."

"They said that they would help us far more than what we have already. I think that we should go now while he is as damaged as he is," I said.

Both Victoria and Tawney nodded at us then shook our hands. "Please be careful, remember that you love each other," Victoria said.

I stared at the both of them as Catherine and I vanished without her moving.

I didn't know where I was as I appeared in a darkened area.

"Welcome young master, you are in the arena of luck. Should you prevail here today, then you shall receive the blessing of the great Jinn," a male voice said.

"What the hell, I have already received the blessing of the Great Jinn!" I shouted as several smiles appeared.

"Oh, that wasn't really a blessing, had it been then you wouldn't be here," a different voice said.

"Yes, we need to see if you are truly in love with your Jinn," a female voice said.

"What kind of bullshit is this? I know that I love why in the hell does this need to be tested," I shouted back.

"No young master, this is not bullshit as you say. A blessing can not be bestowed on you 'til it is truly known," another female voice said.

"If that is true, then why isn't she here with me?" I shouted again.

"This is your test therefore," a fifth voice said.

"NO! You let me see her; I will not be separated from her!" I shouted again as a section of the area before me was blown away, then quickly reformed.

"Let me go! I will not be taken from her!" I shouted again as I started to pull on whatever was holding me back. I felt a scream from somewhere before me. I shook my head as I started to put everything into pulling.

I had tears falling from my eyes as I thought I'd die before I let them take her from me.

I was suddenly falling free as whatever had held me was gone. For a few moments it was dark, then I was suddenly in a blinding light, then I was before the same huge Jinn.

"Oh great," I said. "Going to have to actually be unconscious again for a day or so."

"Oh," said the huge Jinn. "So, you forgot that this is in your mind and not physical, huh?"

I blinked as I thought about that. I bowed my head. "I am afraid that was explained rather quickly before this was started. "

"Well," the huge Jinn said, "you have more than proved that you are in love with her. So, the blessing of love is bestowed upon you. I think that you should rest before you try for the others."

"Why," I asked.

"Well, you have been here for a few hours awake, you need rest," the great Jinn said.

I blinked my eyes dam; it had felt like only an hour. "Ok I guess," I said.

The great Jinn smiled as the gift he'd given started to engrain within me. Little did I know that this one blessing would help me more than anything.

I awoke lying on a soft something as I tried to open my eyes. "I am so proud of you master, and I love you very much also. I know that you will pass the many tests that are to come," Catherine said.

"To come," I barely said as I felt sleep trying to overtake me. "I thought I had one or two, not a lot of them," as I drifted off.

"Poor master," she said as she stroked my forehead. "Your mind has already grown so strong from this, rest."

Far in the past, Hajib awoke feeling somewhat more complete, though not whole. He tried to flex his still almost dead arm, barely able to move it. The pain was still there, though not as bad.

"Do we have artifacts to go after?" he asked when his ally appeared.

"I do have a few, though they are of the darkest spirit and light. They are the most evil that I could locate," his ally said. "You have to be completely evil, or they will destroy you."

Hajib smiled a truly evil smile, "that won't be a problem. I am more than prepared to bring chaos to this world. I am sure that all of you will enjoy all the souls that will be laid bare."

His ally smiled as his undead troops took heed of this.

"This is a good thing for them; new souls will keep them going for a long time. This world will be ours soon," the undead leader said.

"Let's get started, the sooner we have them, the sooner I can take both the females. If I am feeling generous, I might allow you a turn with them. Their exquisite screams as you take parts of their soul will greatly, please me," Hajib said.

The undead ally smiled as he thought of the sheer pain that taking chunks of a soul produced.

"I see that you are as anxious as I am. Let's go to the first," Hajib said as they vanished.

At the mouth of an extremely dark cave is where they arrived. "This is as far as I can go, the rest is up to you," the undead leader said.

Hajib nodded as he smirked, then walked into the cave. The oppressive feeling that he felt was a welcome thing.

"Hey asshole you ready to be used? That's what's about to happen, if we like it, we might keep you for several years of using you," a low malevolent said with a high-pitched laugh.

"Ha! I am Elvantor Hajib, it will be all of you that will submit to me! Hajib spit out.

An evil-sounding laugh echoed throughout the cave. "Such bravado, you will learn soon what true evil is!"

"I am more than ready to take on all of you so that I can rule the world taking whatever I want! After I have all of you within my sword, we will take the master that has denied me what is mine! Hajib said as he started to slice more than a few of the spirits in two. Within minutes, half those there were absorbed by the sword.

Several got past the sword, entering the dark Jinn. Hajib smiled as he felt his body start to also absorb the spirits.

Ah, Hajib thought as he got a few more, this feels far better than before. Finished with those there with him, Hajib was actually disappointed when no more attacked.

Walking out of the cave, Hajib's skin glowed with a black aura. His ally also noted that Hajib's eyes had gone almost completely black.

"Ah! That feels so much better though, the spirits were far too easy here. On to the next, the more, the better. Then when I meet her master, I will crush him like the insect that he is," Hajib said as he laughed a truly evil laugh.

All that were there flashed out with a strike of black lighting. The laugh of Elvantor Hajib laughed as he thought of how easy the human would be to defeat.

The great Jinn felt this across space and time. He would have to move up a few of the tests. The dark Jinn was gaining power too quickly.