62. The Escape

{Naya}

Hold on, I said. All this time I've had a marid living inside of me? Why the hell did we waste our time coming all the way out here in the desert? You're the answer to all of our problems.

Aqua flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat down on an invisible counter. She floated before me cross-legged, still smirking.

{What I know about being a djinni amounts to about as much as you do. I'm useless to you. If you want answers, you have to seek an established marid here in the desert.}

I felt my shoulders slump. Then I wondered, had Uri known what kind of fire I had this whole time?

{The ifrit had suspicions, but until now he could not confirm what kind of djinni you were to become.}

I thought back to what Uri had told me about the marida and how other djinn were attracted to them.

No wonder so many of them were staring at us when we showed up. I'm like freaking catnip to these wild djinn.

Aqua tilted her head to the side and looked off in another direction.

{Speaking of the horny devils, I think I hear them outside right now quarreling with Uriel.}

Her words made me take a deep breath.

"Mistress," Ritsu whined from the bed, "I don't think this is a good idea."

I exhaled the breath I was holding. "You're probably right, Ritsu. That's why I'm trying to take my time and think this through before going out there. The plan is to help Uri, not mess things up even more."

I focused again on the door. I still had no clue what I was going to do to get Uri out of this predicament, but I had to try.

As I reached for the door, I could feel Aqua using what energy she had left to give me strength.

Wow. This fire of mine really can't hold back when someone's in need of her help, even if it drains her. We're going to need to work on that.

The door burst open.

A creature that I've never seen before leaped over my head. At the same time, a phantom wind came from nowhere and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked on its own.

I heard Ritsu roar from the bed, "Djinni! Have you lost your mind!"

Though I had no energy to fight this intruder, I spun around and called fire to my fingertips. The djinni across from me was about a foot taller with well defined muscles underneath his cotton tunic. I gasped when I saw two more pairs of muscular arms – both sets sprouting from the spot behind the tops of his shoulders. Solid and thick ribbed horns like that of a ram curled into crescents around the ears.

"Naya," the creature said to me, "pack everything up. We have to leave now."

I blinked. This overgrown ifrit couldn't be Uri. But one look into his grenadine eyes and I knew that even though so much had changed, this was definitely my djinni.

Uri didn't wait for my answer. He jogged over to one of the glassless windows and peered out, as if assessing the height of our room from the ground.

I crossed over to where Ritsu was, using magic to change into my traveling clothes as I walked. While this horned, six-armed version Uri was still looking out the window, I gathered Ritsu into my arms and whispered, "Is this some random djinni messing with my head or is that really Uri?"

Ritsu sighed. "No, that's definitely your djinni. He's currently engorged on your fire's magic."

"Naya!"

I jumped at the sound of Uri's voice. He had a leg hanging outside of the window and one of his extra arms reaching towards me.

"I know that it's weird seeing me like this, but it will wear off soon. Right now you must take my hand. We have to get out of here before they find you."

I snatched our bag with the hookah pipe off the floor and shrugged it onto my shoulder. Ritsu burrowed inside it.

"Who are they?" I asked as I approached the window and took Uri's hand. He gave a soft grunt as he hoisted me onto his back and anchored me there with his lowest set of arms. He used the other four to swing us out of the room and up onto the rafters.

"The ifrits that want to take you back to their kingdom."

We were high. Very, very high.

I swallowed. "Oh, boy."

"Hold on," Uri breathed.

I wish I could say that I kept my eyes open and took in the splendor of the city, but to be honest, I didn't. I held onto Uri and that bag like my life depended on it. Meanwhile, Uri used the strength and dexterity of his auxiliary arms to coordinate our path between the rooftops.

As I clung to him and tried not to scream every time we went into a freefall, I noticed that his usual smoky scent ran deeper. In fact, it almost smelled older – if it was even possible to classify age as a scent.

As if reading my mind, Aqua said to me, {You are seeing more of his true self. All that you have been exposed to in the past is merely a mask to keep his inner ifrit hidden.}

I peeked open an eye. Instead of looking out at the minarets and dome rooftops rushing by, I focused on Uri's exposed skin. The faint tattoo-like veins that covered his chest had spread to his upper arms and faded towards his elbows. They were darker now and scorched every now and then from his effort.

This version of Uri may have been different, but he was still beautiful. Horns and all.

+++

{Uriel}

Uriel found it difficult to accept that the three of them had actually made it out of the oasis alive. They had managed to get their camels and put some distance between them and the resort.

<You really have forgotten all the things that are possible with this form.>

Uriel barely felt his inner fire's jab; he was too preoccupied with obsessing over what Naya could be thinking right now. She was no longer clinging to his back, but silently riding her camel, seemingly focused on putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the oasis.

Uriel couldn't help but wonder if she was avoiding a conversation with him.

Though it was pointless, he crossed his extra arms in an attempt to make them appear less noticeable. Though his hair was long, there was nothing he could do to hide his horns.

This is it, he told himself, it's over now that she has seen you as you really are.

"Naya, listen –"

"Thank you."

Uriel turned his head in Naya's direction and quirked an eyebrow. She made eye contact with him now.

"I know it was a risk going to that oasis, but I'm thankful that you brought me there. I had a great time. Even if we were chased out by a band of horny ifrits."

Uriel could barely manage a "you're welcome."

She's looking at me as if I don't have six arms and horns coming out of the side of my head.

With good humor, his inner fire grunted, <You're both djinn. What reason is there to be fearful or surprised?>

Uriel did not answer his fire, but he did return Naya's smile. Her eyes glinted as they passed over his arms again. "It's a shame those are going to go away. Now I'm wondering what two extra set of hands could do in –"

Ritsu growled, making Naya jump. There was a brief pause right before both she and Uriel burst into laughter. Ritsu went on cursing and snapping at them from inside the satchel.

Ritsu poked his head out to bare his teeth at the both of them. Moments later, his growls turned into shrieks as he pointed in panic at something in their path. Even the camels slowed down and spat uncomfortably at the sight of the new stranger.

Uriel and Naya turned their heads. Their laughter died, as did the smiles from their faces.

It was Daj – the heavyweight brother of the ifrit prince.

"Djinniyah." The overgrown ifrit flashed an ugly grin. "My brother will be overjoyed when he learns that I beheaded this waste-djinni and returned with you."

+++

{Naya}

Great, I thought, another macho djinni who thinks he can just take off with me without my say. I know just what to do with creeps like him.

I willed fire through the pores underneath my fingernails, but before I could get enough juice to call up the flame, Uri was already off of his camel and blocking me from the other ifrit.

Ritsu hummed a low warning growl. All I could manage was a bemused "whoa."

I had never seen Uri wield fire like this.

Quick and deft, he licked the pads of his fingers on two of his hands and held them overhead, rubbing each finger against his thumbs. This motion formed little red wads of some kind of detonating clay that he then flung at the ifrit with the yellow markings.

It was clear that our enemy was not expecting the missiles to be detonating clay. He roared in protest as the first missile exploded near his left horn. Before the next ones hit, the ifrit rolled to ground and brandished a hammer and a mace.

"Uri, who the hell is this guy?"

And where in God's name was he hiding those weapons?

Keeping his eyes locked on the yellow ifrit, Uri said, "He is Daj. Brother to the ifrit who wants to claim you."

Then Uri told me to take the reins of his camel and get back as far as possible. He took the remaining wads of detonating clay and rolled them into one right before slipping the new wad into his mouth.

Ritsu shrieked in protest.

I turned to the monkey. "What is he trying to do?"

"Something really, really foolish. We have to go, Mistress."

I should have listened to Ritsu, but my eyes were glued to Uri facing off against Daj. An ever-expanding bubble grew before Uri's face. It was the same clay-red color as the missiles he made earlier. Anyone with half a grain of sand's worth of sense knew what was coming next.

Still, that blockhead Daj ran straight towards Uri with his mace and hammer. As if that would do any good.

Uri's bubble popped. The desert around us ruptured.

And I went flying.