"Jeanie's Story"
XX.
INTERLUDE
Okay, okay. Maybe running after the bad guys in frenzied (and obvious) pursuit was not the wisest of actions.
Especially since I don't know who the bad guys are or what they can do.
I watched the blue stone fly past and I felt it explode. It felt like getting hit by a big wave, just ten thousand times worse.
I groaned as I came back to my senses. I was lying beside a dumpster in a dark alley.
I was in pain and aching all over, but I was otherwise physically all right. I pulled myself to my feet and realized my watch and my wallet were missing. Someone must have gone through my pockets while I was out.
I staggered outside the alley and back onto the street. The sun was low in the sky. I must have been out at least three hours.
First impulse was to call the cops. But what would I tell them?
Second impulse was to call for Jeanie. I started calling out her name. Loudly. People turned to look at me as I called.
She didn't show up.
Okay. Now I was worried.
I hurried over to Emma's tattoo parlor and I barged in. Emma was tattooing a woman on the arm, but she left her customer with an assistant and asked me to come in back with her.
I detailed the events of the morning with every detail possible and she listened intently.
Emma paused for a moment and then spoke.
"Ray, you must understand something first. Ghuls don't kidnap normal people. Normal people are malleable. They could ask them to jump in the van and they willingly would. They can take anything they want from a mortal without resistance."
"What does that mean?" I asked not quite understanding.
"It means, Claudia is either a Houri or a Ghul, and since we didn't detect her first, she is probably the latter."
I was shocked.
"So now, Claudia is my enemy?"
"I'm sorry, Ray. This rarely happens. I can count them on the fingers of one hand throughout my long lifetime. They never end well. You can't get her back."
"I must," I insisted.
"That's why it always goes bad. You must understand that the next time you meet she will try to destroy you. When they realize you are the reincarnation of Hadrian Constantinius, they will come for you en masse."
"I want to talk to Jeannie. Where is she?" I asked feeling a knot in my gut.
"That's the next part of the bad news," she said frowning deeply. "Jeanie and I share a special bond. She does not serve me per se, but she and I share a link on a empathic level."
"I don't understand."
"We are linked. When she feels pain, I feel pain. When something happens to me, she knows. I've lost track of her for the last 24 hours. That has never happened. I'm a skilled seer myself, so if I can't locate her, she is either bonded in servitude or she is bound in silver and enchanted chains. Either way, it is very bad news for Jeanie."
"Crap," I whispered. "It can't get much worse, can it?"
Emma smiled sadly.
"Okay, what else?"
"You spent a lot of time in the Primal Plane. It is probable a Ghul Seer will pick up your track. That means that Ghuls will probably begin pursuing you. If Claudia adds two and two she will probably lead them to you herself. Your apartment is no longer safe. If you want to keep your family safe, it is probably better that you run leaving a trail so they follow you."
"What other options are there?"
"With Jeanie, you could hold them off. Fight them off so they see it isn't like shooting ducks in a barrel."
"And without?"
"Houri numbers are few these past few years. I can help you but I am a seer and not a warrior. You need an Immortal on your side. Someone like Jeanie to compliment your power. But there are no Djinns other than Jeanie nearby. There are other Houri strongholds all over the region and I'm sure they will find an Immortal willing to serve you."
"How long would that take?" I asked.
"Weeks? Months?" Emma said. "You need to bond with your Immortal and become an effective fighting team."
"Does Jeanie have months?"
"She's more ticklish than any Immortal I've ever known," Emma answered shaking her head sadly. "I think power is proportional to ticklishness. If she isn't broken and in servitude already, she definitely will not last the week."
I felt terrible. The two woman who have impacted my life the most the past few weeks were now gone and in grave danger and here I was preparing to run away and hide.
That was the old Raymond Butler.
What would Hadrian do? Bold, daring, courageous Hadrian.
Then I had an idea.
"There is an Immortal nearby we can employ," I said.
"I know every Djinn in the state and in the next four states. There is not one we could use for our cause at this moment," Emma said.
"I don't mean Djinn," I said.
What I planned to do dawned upon her and her face went pale.
"That is suicide. I can't charm you again. She'll see it and undo it. Next time you clash with her without a Djinn backing you up you'll be toast."
"I know. But it is the only way. I need you to track Claudia for me. But before that, I need you to help me find J'sella."
END OF INTERLUDE
XXI.
My name is Jeanie.
I am a Djinn. An Immortal.
I am an eternal force of nature. My kind reside on the Primal Plane but we travel to the Multiverse when we can.
I do not sleep. I do not need food for nourishment. I do not need clothes, but I've taken a liking to human garments over the last thousand years or so.
I cannot be killed. I cannot suffer bodily harm because I do not have a body like humans understand it.
I can be bound into servitude. I can be imprisoned with the right spells.
Like all Djinn however, bound or not, I live to serve.
We Djinn gladly serve the cause of the Houri. I have proudly served them in their war against the Ghuls. Ray Butler, the reincarnation of Hadrian Constantinius, is the key to tip the balance in our favor. He is still fresh and vulnerable, but when ready I will serve him and together we will purge the world of the Ghul parasites.
He is not ready though and while he matures and prepares, I am ever vigilant.
I was roaming around the city, acting as a normal mortal human. I enjoy being in touch with the mortals we are sworn to protect.
Sometimes I'll stop a criminal or help someone in trouble but that is usually discouraged. Houri feel that exposes us too much to our enemies. Real, true and enduring service to society is done when we foil the plots of Ghuls.
I track down Ghuls when I can. It is usually not difficult. The sign are clear. They tend to not be as subtle as they ought to be. The clever ones leech off of the rich without driving them to ruin, but most simply take from those who don't have enough to give.
It is our presence that keeps them in check because if they are too blatant in their greed, we will know and we will hunt them down.
I was roaming by the train station. It is a popular place where a Ghul may abuse humanity with impunity. People come and go and many times the people they leech off are long gone and far away by the time they realize it.
It was there in the station where I finally tracked down a Ghul.
She was Asian. She was short, slim and pretty with long black hair and black eyes. She wore a black dress and wore black pumps. She wore dark sunglasses and most of the time spent her time in a quarter turn into the Primal Plane. People avoided her, but most important, they kept out of her way.
She was a petty Ghul. She was stealing and taking from people as she went. She'd talk with her victims. Ask them for money if she was in the mood of charming them, sending them off to sleep if she just wanted to steal. She'd rob young and old, rich and poor. Nothing was sacred to this Ghul.
My task was to intercept the Ghul, interrogate her and then sent off to the Vault.
In the good old days, we'd slaughter Ghuls outright. Now, times have changed and the Houri order prefers to send them to a prison of sorts: "The Vault". It is a place hidden in the Primal Plane where Ghuls are taken and cast into to live the rest of their lives alone and in penitence for their crimes.
I miss the good old days.
This time, I used deception to catch this one. She was so keen on taking from the poorest of humanity, it seemed only fitting that I should bait her with poverty and need.
I disguised myself as panhandler and I placed a few bills and coins in my basket. The disguise was real so she would not suspect any chicanery. I waited patiently for her to make her move.
Sure enough, she stopped by, looked at the contents of my basket and smiled.
She did a quarter phase into the Primal Plane so no one could see her and reached out for the bills in the basket.
I slapped a silver shackle fastened to a chain on her and her eyes went wide.
"Gotcha!" I said smiling.
She could not phase back into the Multiverse.
I yanked her closer by the chain on her wrist. She tried to fight me, but she was so small, so weak and so unprepared. I felt actually bad capturing her and sending her to the Vault.
But it is not personal, it is business.
She pounded be with her small fists and struggled as I took her firmly in my grasp. She knew she could not stop me. She was facing a force of nature. Alone, unprepared and trapped in a rune covered silver shackle, there could be only one result to this battle.
I wrap my arm around her neck and I slowly begin to strangle her. Ghuls still need to breathe. We Djinns can do without air. I pulled tightly on my hold until she fell unconscious in my arms. I traced several symbols on her forehead and cast a powerful spell to keep her senseless.
I shackled her wrists and ankles together and then I lifted her off the ground throwing her gently over my shoulder. We then descended fully into the Primal Plane. The train station disappeared. In the Primal Plane distances do not mean what they mean in the Multiverse. From there I moved quickly and I headed to a small hidden cottage where I knew I could interrogate her.
I thought briefly of calling in Ray on another one of his tickles but I decided against it. Best to interrogate, learn of more Ghuls in the city and then perhaps it would make sense to bring Ray with me to hunt down Ghuls.
The cottage was small. Two doors, four windows and a chimney. A bed, a table and a couple mismatched chairs. A very simple place where I could interrogate my captive in peace.
I placed her on the bed and released her briefly while I restrained her once more in a more convenient hogtie.
I waited patiently for her to come to.
She slowly stirred as she awoke. She was groggy and surprised at the shackles which bound her to the plane and prevented her from doing magic, calling for help or escaping.
"You didn't take me to the Vault," she said.
"I will," I said. "But first I want to have a little talk."
She scoffed. "You want me to rat on my friends. I won't do that."
I smiled. They all say that. Most squeal after the first hour and beg to be sent to the Vault.
"We can start with your name," I said.
She remained silent.
Very well.
I removed her shoes revealing small petite feet with small round toes.
"Last chance," I offered.
She did not respond.
I took both of her big toes between my fingers and pulled them back stretching and revealing the soles. I got close to them and drew a deep breath. They smelled clean and lightly perfumed.
I drew a finger on the sole ever so lightly. I watched her tense and I smiled as she grit her teeth. I spent a few minutes teasing her and watching the tension grow in her. It was a better technique than just jumping in.
I then started really tickling her feet.
She screamed as if I had pieced her heart with a dagger. She struggled but I held those toes firmly and motionless as I gave her pretty soles my attentions.
She wiggled and shouted and cursed. I kept the pace tickling between the toes.
He screams became shouts and she became desperate. This was when they usually give me something just to have a brief respite.
"Sophia! Sophia!" she shouted rocking violently from side to side. "My name is Sophia!"
"Now we are getting somewhere," I said releasing the big toes.
I reached down to her sides.
"Now you can tell me where are your Ghul friends," I prompted.
She did not answer so I started on her ribs. Small and slender I could feel her ribs though the soft fabric of her dress. I pressed my fingers deep in between and I unleashed a furious tickling.
She screamed and shouted and started to say something but I did not allow her to speak. I kept tickling her ribs and belly and I poked my fingers into her underarms. All this brought more desperate screams as she struggled in my grasp. I kept this going from the better part of an hour. She was soaked in sweat she seemed delirious muttering incoherent words.
"Shhh," I said soothingly smoothing her damp hair. "It's okay. You can tell me."
"Charlotte, Dana and Melissa," she said. "Three Ghuls. They are here to get you, you bitch! I'm the bait."
The words chilled me. She was not lying. Was it I who was trapped?
A bottle broke through one of the windows and a thick viscous gas entered the cottage. It might have been a sleeping gas or a poison gas, but neither could affect me. It did blind me however and that seems to have been the intention.
The back door and the front door were kicked in simultaneously.
I reached for my prisoner and she was gone.
"Clear!" a woman's voice shouted from inside the room.
"Kill her!" Sophia shouted hoarsely from a corner.
Bullets erupted into the cottage cutting into my immortal being. Normal bullets would do me no damage but these bullets were silver and painstakingly etched with powerful runes. They could not kill me. The could not even make me bleed, but they can slow me down and they limit my magic ability.
My body extracted the bullets with some difficulty while the smoke slowly started clearing. I was preparing to face my enemies.
As soon as I could see clearly a heavy hammer struck my forehead with a blow that would annihilate most beings.
The blow pounded me flat on the forehead and I staggered as my head swam. A normal hammer would bounce harmlessly off my head even in the Primal Plane. But this hammer is special. I see the special ashwood handle with runes burned in over every inch. The head itself is silver and runes are engraved over it as well.
"Hit her again, Charlotte," another woman's voice commands.
Immune to poisons and sleeping gas, the only way to render a Djinn or an Ifreet unconscious is brute force backed with magic.
They had my number. They knew my weaknesses.
"Night-night!" the one named Charlotte said as she hefted the hammer and swung it once again. It struck my forehead once more square in the center.
The lights went out.
XXII.
I awoke in a wooden box gagged and restrained. The box was not unlike a coffin of sorts, the gag was a ball gag with a silver chain fastened tightly.
My wrists and ankles are bound in silver shackles. They are perhaps my own, but seeing how these Ghuls have operated so far, they are probably specifically prepared to bind a Djinn.
Extra precautions were taken. Bands of silver retrained my head, my shoulders, my torso, my knees and feet.
My clothes were gone. My breasts were nude and my sex was covered with a skimpy translucent loincloth.
Djinns are sexed but not for procreation. It is the consequence of us Immortals serving our Houri masters for the ages. We've assumed their image and we've learned emotion and passion from them. I've take hundreds of lovers over the years. All Houri, never a Djinn. Never a Ghul.
Now I was in Ghul clutches.
I'd never served a Ghul in all my existence.
I'd somehow let my guard down his time. Now when it mattered most, I thought bitterly.
My captors examined me.
The tall one was Charlotte. She had Nordic features. A mane of blond hair, icy blue eyes and a strong body capable of swinging her hammer with relative ease. She checked my restraints and seemed satisfied. I'd compliment her if I could. Daring and aggressive, she'd beat me at my own game.
There was a young woman named Dana. She carried a 9mm side arm and a submachine gun. She also carried a long knife strapped to her leg. I could see runes on the hilt and I did not doubt the blade was silver and engraved with powerful runes as well. She no doubt was who shot me. She eyed me suspiciously. She was tall as well, but not as tall as Charlotte. She wore big hiker boots, khaki shorts and a black tank top with a black baseball cap. Her long auburn hair was tied in a pony tail. She probably made her own weapons and etched the bullets herself. I knew the type well. Tough cookies.
The last one was the leader. Her name was Melissa. She wore a red dress and looked made up to assist some elegant event. She had a killer charismatic smile and she seemed entertained to have me there. She was athletic of body and aggressive of demeanor. She was the most dangerous of the assembled Ghuls. She wass manipulative and calculating. She probably planned the action against me. She was the first one I would need to eliminate.
Sophia was there as well. She pouted and was fuming.
"Let me tickle her," she pleaded angrily. "Just a while!"
Melissa smiled. "Vanessa will do that herself. What if you somehow broke her will? What do you think Vanessa would do to you when you returned with a Djinn more powerful than any of her own bound to you body and soul?"
Sophia gulped.
"Exactly," Melissa said. "And do not think I've forgotten how you betrayed us. You could have jeopardized our mission."
Sophia burned red in embarrassment.
"We'll punish you accordingly," Melissa said. "But not now. I've informed Vanessa of our capture. We will meet at the rendezvous and make our delivery as planned. After that you and I will spend some quality time together and we'll have a few laughs."
Sophia now became pale as Melissa smiled at her and stroked her hair tenderly. There was no warmth in that cruel smile.
"And you..." she said directly to me. "You've been studying us. Checking our weaknesses. You are better than most of your kind. A worthy opponent. A beautiful opponent."
She traced her fingers over my body. She teased as she stroked my legs and lingered over my firm belly. The sensations bordered on ticklish and I squirmed and muffled laughter into my gag despite my efforts to control the sensations.
"I could take you for my own," she said tugging and pulling on my right nipple before tickling my breast briefly but tortuously. I huffed and puffed at the tickling behind my gag. "It would not take long. And then maybe with your aid I could shake Vanessa's heavy yoke from my shoulders."
She tickled my neck earnestly as if to shake off the thought and I twisted anxiously and desperately the band cutting into the skin of my forehead. I've not been tickled like this in decades, but it is not something you forget.
"Or not," she said smiling and deciding against her treason. "Let's not take any chances. Charlotte, if you would?"
Charlotte approached with her hammer and made a mark on my forehead where the band crossed my forehead. She probably increased the force of the enchantment. I know I would. She'd only need one stroke this time for certain.
"No offense," she said lifting her hammer. "Just doing my job."
"None taken," I mumbled politely though the gag as the head of the hammer approached.
Bam!
Stars exploded in my head and then blackness settled in.
To be continued...
Next: Claudia's Story
XX.
INTERLUDE
Okay, okay. Maybe running after the bad guys in frenzied (and obvious) pursuit was not the wisest of actions.
Especially since I don't know who the bad guys are or what they can do.
I watched the blue stone fly past and I felt it explode. It felt like getting hit by a big wave, just ten thousand times worse.
I groaned as I came back to my senses. I was lying beside a dumpster in a dark alley.
I was in pain and aching all over, but I was otherwise physically all right. I pulled myself to my feet and realized my watch and my wallet were missing. Someone must have gone through my pockets while I was out.
I staggered outside the alley and back onto the street. The sun was low in the sky. I must have been out at least three hours.
First impulse was to call the cops. But what would I tell them?
Second impulse was to call for Jeanie. I started calling out her name. Loudly. People turned to look at me as I called.
She didn't show up.
Okay. Now I was worried.
I hurried over to Emma's tattoo parlor and I barged in. Emma was tattooing a woman on the arm, but she left her customer with an assistant and asked me to come in back with her.
I detailed the events of the morning with every detail possible and she listened intently.
Emma paused for a moment and then spoke.
"Ray, you must understand something first. Ghuls don't kidnap normal people. Normal people are malleable. They could ask them to jump in the van and they willingly would. They can take anything they want from a mortal without resistance."
"What does that mean?" I asked not quite understanding.
"It means, Claudia is either a Houri or a Ghul, and since we didn't detect her first, she is probably the latter."
I was shocked.
"So now, Claudia is my enemy?"
"I'm sorry, Ray. This rarely happens. I can count them on the fingers of one hand throughout my long lifetime. They never end well. You can't get her back."
"I must," I insisted.
"That's why it always goes bad. You must understand that the next time you meet she will try to destroy you. When they realize you are the reincarnation of Hadrian Constantinius, they will come for you en masse."
"I want to talk to Jeannie. Where is she?" I asked feeling a knot in my gut.
"That's the next part of the bad news," she said frowning deeply. "Jeanie and I share a special bond. She does not serve me per se, but she and I share a link on a empathic level."
"I don't understand."
"We are linked. When she feels pain, I feel pain. When something happens to me, she knows. I've lost track of her for the last 24 hours. That has never happened. I'm a skilled seer myself, so if I can't locate her, she is either bonded in servitude or she is bound in silver and enchanted chains. Either way, it is very bad news for Jeanie."
"Crap," I whispered. "It can't get much worse, can it?"
Emma smiled sadly.
"Okay, what else?"
"You spent a lot of time in the Primal Plane. It is probable a Ghul Seer will pick up your track. That means that Ghuls will probably begin pursuing you. If Claudia adds two and two she will probably lead them to you herself. Your apartment is no longer safe. If you want to keep your family safe, it is probably better that you run leaving a trail so they follow you."
"What other options are there?"
"With Jeanie, you could hold them off. Fight them off so they see it isn't like shooting ducks in a barrel."
"And without?"
"Houri numbers are few these past few years. I can help you but I am a seer and not a warrior. You need an Immortal on your side. Someone like Jeanie to compliment your power. But there are no Djinns other than Jeanie nearby. There are other Houri strongholds all over the region and I'm sure they will find an Immortal willing to serve you."
"How long would that take?" I asked.
"Weeks? Months?" Emma said. "You need to bond with your Immortal and become an effective fighting team."
"Does Jeanie have months?"
"She's more ticklish than any Immortal I've ever known," Emma answered shaking her head sadly. "I think power is proportional to ticklishness. If she isn't broken and in servitude already, she definitely will not last the week."
I felt terrible. The two woman who have impacted my life the most the past few weeks were now gone and in grave danger and here I was preparing to run away and hide.
That was the old Raymond Butler.
What would Hadrian do? Bold, daring, courageous Hadrian.
Then I had an idea.
"There is an Immortal nearby we can employ," I said.
"I know every Djinn in the state and in the next four states. There is not one we could use for our cause at this moment," Emma said.
"I don't mean Djinn," I said.
What I planned to do dawned upon her and her face went pale.
"That is suicide. I can't charm you again. She'll see it and undo it. Next time you clash with her without a Djinn backing you up you'll be toast."
"I know. But it is the only way. I need you to track Claudia for me. But before that, I need you to help me find J'sella."
END OF INTERLUDE
XXI.
My name is Jeanie.
I am a Djinn. An Immortal.
I am an eternal force of nature. My kind reside on the Primal Plane but we travel to the Multiverse when we can.
I do not sleep. I do not need food for nourishment. I do not need clothes, but I've taken a liking to human garments over the last thousand years or so.
I cannot be killed. I cannot suffer bodily harm because I do not have a body like humans understand it.
I can be bound into servitude. I can be imprisoned with the right spells.
Like all Djinn however, bound or not, I live to serve.
We Djinn gladly serve the cause of the Houri. I have proudly served them in their war against the Ghuls. Ray Butler, the reincarnation of Hadrian Constantinius, is the key to tip the balance in our favor. He is still fresh and vulnerable, but when ready I will serve him and together we will purge the world of the Ghul parasites.
He is not ready though and while he matures and prepares, I am ever vigilant.
I was roaming around the city, acting as a normal mortal human. I enjoy being in touch with the mortals we are sworn to protect.
Sometimes I'll stop a criminal or help someone in trouble but that is usually discouraged. Houri feel that exposes us too much to our enemies. Real, true and enduring service to society is done when we foil the plots of Ghuls.
I track down Ghuls when I can. It is usually not difficult. The sign are clear. They tend to not be as subtle as they ought to be. The clever ones leech off of the rich without driving them to ruin, but most simply take from those who don't have enough to give.
It is our presence that keeps them in check because if they are too blatant in their greed, we will know and we will hunt them down.
I was roaming by the train station. It is a popular place where a Ghul may abuse humanity with impunity. People come and go and many times the people they leech off are long gone and far away by the time they realize it.
It was there in the station where I finally tracked down a Ghul.
She was Asian. She was short, slim and pretty with long black hair and black eyes. She wore a black dress and wore black pumps. She wore dark sunglasses and most of the time spent her time in a quarter turn into the Primal Plane. People avoided her, but most important, they kept out of her way.
She was a petty Ghul. She was stealing and taking from people as she went. She'd talk with her victims. Ask them for money if she was in the mood of charming them, sending them off to sleep if she just wanted to steal. She'd rob young and old, rich and poor. Nothing was sacred to this Ghul.
My task was to intercept the Ghul, interrogate her and then sent off to the Vault.
In the good old days, we'd slaughter Ghuls outright. Now, times have changed and the Houri order prefers to send them to a prison of sorts: "The Vault". It is a place hidden in the Primal Plane where Ghuls are taken and cast into to live the rest of their lives alone and in penitence for their crimes.
I miss the good old days.
This time, I used deception to catch this one. She was so keen on taking from the poorest of humanity, it seemed only fitting that I should bait her with poverty and need.
I disguised myself as panhandler and I placed a few bills and coins in my basket. The disguise was real so she would not suspect any chicanery. I waited patiently for her to make her move.
Sure enough, she stopped by, looked at the contents of my basket and smiled.
She did a quarter phase into the Primal Plane so no one could see her and reached out for the bills in the basket.
I slapped a silver shackle fastened to a chain on her and her eyes went wide.
"Gotcha!" I said smiling.
She could not phase back into the Multiverse.
I yanked her closer by the chain on her wrist. She tried to fight me, but she was so small, so weak and so unprepared. I felt actually bad capturing her and sending her to the Vault.
But it is not personal, it is business.
She pounded be with her small fists and struggled as I took her firmly in my grasp. She knew she could not stop me. She was facing a force of nature. Alone, unprepared and trapped in a rune covered silver shackle, there could be only one result to this battle.
I wrap my arm around her neck and I slowly begin to strangle her. Ghuls still need to breathe. We Djinns can do without air. I pulled tightly on my hold until she fell unconscious in my arms. I traced several symbols on her forehead and cast a powerful spell to keep her senseless.
I shackled her wrists and ankles together and then I lifted her off the ground throwing her gently over my shoulder. We then descended fully into the Primal Plane. The train station disappeared. In the Primal Plane distances do not mean what they mean in the Multiverse. From there I moved quickly and I headed to a small hidden cottage where I knew I could interrogate her.
I thought briefly of calling in Ray on another one of his tickles but I decided against it. Best to interrogate, learn of more Ghuls in the city and then perhaps it would make sense to bring Ray with me to hunt down Ghuls.
The cottage was small. Two doors, four windows and a chimney. A bed, a table and a couple mismatched chairs. A very simple place where I could interrogate my captive in peace.
I placed her on the bed and released her briefly while I restrained her once more in a more convenient hogtie.
I waited patiently for her to come to.
She slowly stirred as she awoke. She was groggy and surprised at the shackles which bound her to the plane and prevented her from doing magic, calling for help or escaping.
"You didn't take me to the Vault," she said.
"I will," I said. "But first I want to have a little talk."
She scoffed. "You want me to rat on my friends. I won't do that."
I smiled. They all say that. Most squeal after the first hour and beg to be sent to the Vault.
"We can start with your name," I said.
She remained silent.
Very well.
I removed her shoes revealing small petite feet with small round toes.
"Last chance," I offered.
She did not respond.
I took both of her big toes between my fingers and pulled them back stretching and revealing the soles. I got close to them and drew a deep breath. They smelled clean and lightly perfumed.
I drew a finger on the sole ever so lightly. I watched her tense and I smiled as she grit her teeth. I spent a few minutes teasing her and watching the tension grow in her. It was a better technique than just jumping in.
I then started really tickling her feet.
She screamed as if I had pieced her heart with a dagger. She struggled but I held those toes firmly and motionless as I gave her pretty soles my attentions.
She wiggled and shouted and cursed. I kept the pace tickling between the toes.
He screams became shouts and she became desperate. This was when they usually give me something just to have a brief respite.
"Sophia! Sophia!" she shouted rocking violently from side to side. "My name is Sophia!"
"Now we are getting somewhere," I said releasing the big toes.
I reached down to her sides.
"Now you can tell me where are your Ghul friends," I prompted.
She did not answer so I started on her ribs. Small and slender I could feel her ribs though the soft fabric of her dress. I pressed my fingers deep in between and I unleashed a furious tickling.
She screamed and shouted and started to say something but I did not allow her to speak. I kept tickling her ribs and belly and I poked my fingers into her underarms. All this brought more desperate screams as she struggled in my grasp. I kept this going from the better part of an hour. She was soaked in sweat she seemed delirious muttering incoherent words.
"Shhh," I said soothingly smoothing her damp hair. "It's okay. You can tell me."
"Charlotte, Dana and Melissa," she said. "Three Ghuls. They are here to get you, you bitch! I'm the bait."
The words chilled me. She was not lying. Was it I who was trapped?
A bottle broke through one of the windows and a thick viscous gas entered the cottage. It might have been a sleeping gas or a poison gas, but neither could affect me. It did blind me however and that seems to have been the intention.
The back door and the front door were kicked in simultaneously.
I reached for my prisoner and she was gone.
"Clear!" a woman's voice shouted from inside the room.
"Kill her!" Sophia shouted hoarsely from a corner.
Bullets erupted into the cottage cutting into my immortal being. Normal bullets would do me no damage but these bullets were silver and painstakingly etched with powerful runes. They could not kill me. The could not even make me bleed, but they can slow me down and they limit my magic ability.
My body extracted the bullets with some difficulty while the smoke slowly started clearing. I was preparing to face my enemies.
As soon as I could see clearly a heavy hammer struck my forehead with a blow that would annihilate most beings.
The blow pounded me flat on the forehead and I staggered as my head swam. A normal hammer would bounce harmlessly off my head even in the Primal Plane. But this hammer is special. I see the special ashwood handle with runes burned in over every inch. The head itself is silver and runes are engraved over it as well.
"Hit her again, Charlotte," another woman's voice commands.
Immune to poisons and sleeping gas, the only way to render a Djinn or an Ifreet unconscious is brute force backed with magic.
They had my number. They knew my weaknesses.
"Night-night!" the one named Charlotte said as she hefted the hammer and swung it once again. It struck my forehead once more square in the center.
The lights went out.
XXII.
I awoke in a wooden box gagged and restrained. The box was not unlike a coffin of sorts, the gag was a ball gag with a silver chain fastened tightly.
My wrists and ankles are bound in silver shackles. They are perhaps my own, but seeing how these Ghuls have operated so far, they are probably specifically prepared to bind a Djinn.
Extra precautions were taken. Bands of silver retrained my head, my shoulders, my torso, my knees and feet.
My clothes were gone. My breasts were nude and my sex was covered with a skimpy translucent loincloth.
Djinns are sexed but not for procreation. It is the consequence of us Immortals serving our Houri masters for the ages. We've assumed their image and we've learned emotion and passion from them. I've take hundreds of lovers over the years. All Houri, never a Djinn. Never a Ghul.
Now I was in Ghul clutches.
I'd never served a Ghul in all my existence.
I'd somehow let my guard down his time. Now when it mattered most, I thought bitterly.
My captors examined me.
The tall one was Charlotte. She had Nordic features. A mane of blond hair, icy blue eyes and a strong body capable of swinging her hammer with relative ease. She checked my restraints and seemed satisfied. I'd compliment her if I could. Daring and aggressive, she'd beat me at my own game.
There was a young woman named Dana. She carried a 9mm side arm and a submachine gun. She also carried a long knife strapped to her leg. I could see runes on the hilt and I did not doubt the blade was silver and engraved with powerful runes as well. She no doubt was who shot me. She eyed me suspiciously. She was tall as well, but not as tall as Charlotte. She wore big hiker boots, khaki shorts and a black tank top with a black baseball cap. Her long auburn hair was tied in a pony tail. She probably made her own weapons and etched the bullets herself. I knew the type well. Tough cookies.
The last one was the leader. Her name was Melissa. She wore a red dress and looked made up to assist some elegant event. She had a killer charismatic smile and she seemed entertained to have me there. She was athletic of body and aggressive of demeanor. She was the most dangerous of the assembled Ghuls. She wass manipulative and calculating. She probably planned the action against me. She was the first one I would need to eliminate.
Sophia was there as well. She pouted and was fuming.
"Let me tickle her," she pleaded angrily. "Just a while!"
Melissa smiled. "Vanessa will do that herself. What if you somehow broke her will? What do you think Vanessa would do to you when you returned with a Djinn more powerful than any of her own bound to you body and soul?"
Sophia gulped.
"Exactly," Melissa said. "And do not think I've forgotten how you betrayed us. You could have jeopardized our mission."
Sophia burned red in embarrassment.
"We'll punish you accordingly," Melissa said. "But not now. I've informed Vanessa of our capture. We will meet at the rendezvous and make our delivery as planned. After that you and I will spend some quality time together and we'll have a few laughs."
Sophia now became pale as Melissa smiled at her and stroked her hair tenderly. There was no warmth in that cruel smile.
"And you..." she said directly to me. "You've been studying us. Checking our weaknesses. You are better than most of your kind. A worthy opponent. A beautiful opponent."
She traced her fingers over my body. She teased as she stroked my legs and lingered over my firm belly. The sensations bordered on ticklish and I squirmed and muffled laughter into my gag despite my efforts to control the sensations.
"I could take you for my own," she said tugging and pulling on my right nipple before tickling my breast briefly but tortuously. I huffed and puffed at the tickling behind my gag. "It would not take long. And then maybe with your aid I could shake Vanessa's heavy yoke from my shoulders."
She tickled my neck earnestly as if to shake off the thought and I twisted anxiously and desperately the band cutting into the skin of my forehead. I've not been tickled like this in decades, but it is not something you forget.
"Or not," she said smiling and deciding against her treason. "Let's not take any chances. Charlotte, if you would?"
Charlotte approached with her hammer and made a mark on my forehead where the band crossed my forehead. She probably increased the force of the enchantment. I know I would. She'd only need one stroke this time for certain.
"No offense," she said lifting her hammer. "Just doing my job."
"None taken," I mumbled politely though the gag as the head of the hammer approached.
Bam!
Stars exploded in my head and then blackness settled in.
To be continued...
Next: Claudia's Story
