It’d been many days since the djinn had saved Juva and her friend from the Horde, but even after spending so much time riding on its back there wasn’t much that she’d learned about their mysterious savior.

Khorasan hadn’t asked more about how she met Tarikh, or how she’d fed him glowing mushrooms from an underground lake, or even what the demon had said after opening his eyes for the first time. Neither did the djinn ask about the vial which before he seemed so interested in. In truth, they didn’t talk much about anything at all as they traveled, Tarikh still carried in its mouth and Juva straddled on its back.

When it was time to rest, the djinn would often fall asleep. Sometimes for just a few hours, but occasionally for a lot longer. Today was such a day. Last evening, the djinn had fallen asleep but now it was past noon and it still hadn’t awoken.

But Juva wasn’t worried. After all, it must have been hard work carrying the both of them over such long distances. They’d made camp by the riverside. Khorasan said it was the last river before The desert of Sozin Zamin. Luckily, they didn’t have to cross the entire desert to get to the djinn’s home which, apparently, was a castle.

With both of them asleep, Juva took it upon herself to fill her waterskin. With all that fire inside his chest, Tarikh must have been dying of thirst. The river bank sloped gently into a glistening stream. The reeds stood tall on each side, taller than she was, making it hard to tell where to step. She felt with her toes, looking for sure-footing on the bed of leaves and swampy grasses.

Juva was quickly learning about the world outside the grotto. Things she’d only heard about in stories were now real enough to see, smell, and touch. She’d never imagined the world being so full of things. Ahead, there was a little sandy mound where she hoped to fill her waterskin. Just a few more paces, and she could hop onto her own little island. But right as she was about to take her last step, Juva guessed wrong, and she tripped with a yelp. No sooner had she found her footing than someone caught her by the arm, pulling her back onto dry grass.

Juva glanced up, awed by what she saw. A being with molten eyes that burned like a furnace held her, his head crowned with antlers like a stag. “Tarikh…” she gasped.

The demon raised a hand engulfed in flames, his expression dark despite the glowing orbs in his skull.

“T-Tarikh?” Juva stuttered, unable to believe he would harm her. “Tarikh, it’s me! Juva! Remember? From the cave! We escaped! Wake up! We—”

But his arm came down despite her pleas, and Juva shrieked, cringing away as she felt the heat upon her skin and the sizzle of boiled water turning to vapor.

Something large hissed angrily, its bellow sending another wave of fright coursing through her. There was a great splash, and water fell like rain upon them. It all happened before Juva could open her eyes, and when she did, it was over. A huge scaly tail flicked above the surface and disappeared.

Juva dared to raise her gaze back at the man as he helped her up the slope. “Y-you saved me…” she said, but his attention was elsewhere, and she followed his gaze to the sky. “What is it? More danger?”

He kept staring, speaking to himself in an undertone. “There are no angels in the sky…”

Juva blinked. “There are no… what?”

Those burning eyes settled upon her again. “Where are we? What realm is this? Speak, woman.”

Juva stammered, muttering something incoherent before she found her voice again. “We’re—we’re outside. You got us out of the grotto, and then—well, then a djinn found us.”

At that, he bared his teeth. “Djinn? Which djinn?” Turning, he growled lowly. “I can’t seem to find my weapons.” He kept peering left and right, as if what he sought would suddenly appear.

Juva reached for him, and his gaze snapped to her as she touched his hand. “Tarikh, do you not remember me?”

The demon pulled his hand away, snarling. “Should I? You presume much, dirt-woman. I am Demon Lord Tarikh, commander of the armies of King Hamun, Lord of the Demons, and new King of Heaven. You will address me as such.”

Juva swallowed, feeling the swell of tears. “You don’t remember…”

“Again, should I?”

His words were like a knife to the chest, and she dabbed her tears on her sleeve. “Can-can I call you Lord Tarikh for short?”

“That, or master, is acceptable.”

Juva felt a twist in her gut.

“Rejoice, dirt-woman. You will be my first supplicant in this world.”

She looked at him strangely, not sure what that even meant. “Th-thanks?” Juva swallowed, fingering the vial that hung about her neck. “D-do you want this back, Ta—I mean—Master?”

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The demon shrugged. “Do with it as you wish. What is your trinket to me?”

Juva’s jaw fell slack. He’d really forgotten everything from the grotto. She let go of the vial, arms dangling at her side, feeling lost. “Nothing…” He might have forgotten but she would keep her vow and his vial safe for however long it took for him to come to his senses. Perhaps after some food, he’d feel better and remember her again. “It’s not important for now…”

“Then stop bothering me with your trifles and bring me to this djinn you’ve found.”

“B-but, you were with the djinn when I left you.” Juva ran past Tarikh to where they’d made camp, but the giant feline was nowhere to be seen. “He’s gone….”

Tarikh stood behind her, his arms folded across his chest. “Djinns are notoriously unreliable. That’s why you need to seal them in artifacts of power.”

“We’re not that bad…” mewled the djinn behind them.

Tarikh spun, reaching for something behind his back that wasn’t there.

The djinn chuckled. “Lost your hammer, demon?”

“Lord Khorasan!” Juva exclaimed. “I feared you’d left us.”

The djinn shook his head. “Not at all, young Juvayni. I woke, and you were gone. Fearing a predator might have snatched you in your sleep, I went looking. I apologize if you were in any danger. It was my fault for not warning you. You should be careful in these parts. There are many wicked beasts in Rewer Zamin. The Riverlands are the lifeblood of this kingdom and many creatures come here to spawn.”

The demon snorted. “And which kingdom is that, djinn?”

“The kobolds rule these lands, my lord. They call it Shahreza.”

“Ha. A dirt kingdom. The nerve of these mortals….”

Khorasan chuckled mirthlessly. “Their people are miners who use their earthly wealth to buy armies and allegiances.”

“Not warriors?” Tarikh scoffed. “Then whoever they rule got what they deserved.”

The djinn almost appeared to shrug. “As you say.”

“Well,” Tarikh said, “it makes little difference to me. I have my own designs.”

“I’m sure they are worthwhile, but—you are still severely injured.”

Tarikh touched the barely healed wound in his chest. It had started bleeding again, drops of molten rock dribbled down his crimson skin, falling and incinerating the weeds beneath him.

“You might start a fire…” Khorasan said.

“This is nothing that the Elixir of Wonder can’t mend. I just need to find my flask.”

Khorasan’s lips rose to an eerie smile. “You mean the flask containing the Djinn of Wonder?”

“That’s the one. Do you know what retch has stolen it from me?”

“I do, but that wouldn’t do you any good.”

Tarikh frowned, taking an impatient step toward the djinn. “How so?”

“It is best I show you, my lord.” Khorasan flourished its giant paw as if to make a bow. “If it pleases you.”

Tarikh narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play tricks with me, djinn. Now, show me and be quick about it.”

Khorasan withdrew his paw, but before he’d put it down, Juva could have sworn she glimpsed sharp claws retracting. “As you wish, my lord.”

Juva looked between them, brow furrowed. She thought Khorasan was the Djinn of Wonder. Was the djinn Tarikh sought a different one? Were there many wonderous djinn? She parted her lips to ask, but, then thought better of it and decided to hold her tongue and trust that Khorasan would reveal all as he’d promised. After all, he’d helped them this far.

“Would you care to ride on my back like miss Juvayni?”

Tarikh made a face as if the djinn had insulted his entire ancestry. “I walk on my own two feet, djinn. And when I grow tired of my feet touching unworthy soil, I have my own means of travel.”

“Really? Ah, yes. I remember. Fikar and Khatereh, your noble mounts. I assume summoning them would take too much energy in your current state.”

Tarikh was visibly taken aback, and even Juva’s eyes flashed wide. “You know much about me, djinn.”

“And with good reason, I assure you. But follow, and all will soon become clear.”

Tarikh gritted his teeth but agreed. “Then let us stop playing games and show me your meaning.”

Juva and Khorasan watched as the demon took a single step and subsequently toppled forward, striking the ground face first. “Tarikh!” Juva cried, rushing to the fallen demon.

Khorasan sniffed, and with an amused pitch to his tone mewled. “I guess the young lord changed his mind.”

Juva rocked his torso, but the demon was out cold, only uttering a bemoaned grunt as Khorasan once again scooped him into his mouth with a sigh. The djinn didn’t need to ask Juva to climb onto him as she knew the drill and quickly straddled herself behind his shoulders. From her vantage, Juva scanned the horizon hoping to catch that first glimpse of the wonderous castle the djinn had alluded to.

“Is it far still—wait, careful!” Juva called out as the djinn stepped into the river. “There are monsters in there!”

Khorasan let out a muffled chuckle, but didn’t stop and continued to wade to the other side.

Juva watched with astonishment as the log-shaped creatures darted out of the djinn’s path. They didn’t look so tough from up there. “Yeah, you better run! Or… swim? Git, git!” And before she knew it, they were safely on the other side.

The foliage grew sparser the further they got from the river, and the distant hills that seemed so daunting from afar were not so hard to scale after all. Finally, they reached the top, and Juva gasped. A wall of hot air whipped the tresses of her black hair, and before them stretched a desert of golden dunes and beyond those rose stark mountains that seemed to touch the sky.

Juva shaded her eyes from the harsh sun, but try as she might, she could not distinguish even the faintest glimmer of a castle. She slumped, fearing another tireless trek that would add only more blisters to her backside.

“I thought we were almost there…” she pouted, but Khorasan grumbled with a forward cock of the head. “What?” And then she saw it. The air seemed to dance, blurring the land, but not too far off was a sprawl of odd square shapes and flecks of green. “A settlement!” She’d never seen how other races lived. She heard that the surface dwellers built their own caves from mud, stone, and thatch. Seemed like an awful lot of work for a few tiny caves, but to each their own, she guessed. “Lord Khorasan, sir. Is your castle one of those dwellings?” She could tell the answer was no. Juva had started to interpret the djinn’s mannerisms and had become quite adept at deciphering his meaning.

Though it was a shame the djinn kept telling her to be patient. But how could she be? She was far too excited to see a castle. She wondered which of the shapes it was. Was it the long flat shape at the outer edge? Was it one of the smaller caves clumped together on the elevated plateau? Or whatever glittered through the fluttering air, warping everything into a hazy band.

Juva sat up some, craning to see but Khorasan didn’t need to grunt for her to understand his meaning. He was telling her to be patient. Juva sighed. Always, patience.