"Why did you even allow the duel?" Jasper persisted, still annoyed with the elders about the whole affair.

The older woman grimaced. “You must understand, if it was up to me, the duel would never have happened. I know there is some perception amongst the other Djinn that our elders rule the clan with an iron fist, but that is not really how it works. Tradition rules our clan, and we are merely its enforcers. If any of us would refuse to uphold the laws of our people, we would not be elders for long.”

Jasper did his best to hide his frown, not entirely satisfied with her answer. In theory, he understood what she was saying. In practice, it was hard not to resent being forced to fight a duel with his life on the line, even if he had won it. They hadn't known that would happen, after all. But after a moment's hard thought, he decided to let the matter drop. His mission was more important. Giving her a tense nod, he turned the conversation back to the cult. “So you didn't finish explaining it - how are the portal and the cult connected?”

The Seraph hesitated. “You must understand that this is purely conjecture on my part,” she began slowly, “but there have long been rumors that the portal has been used to forcibly kidnap people from the worlds that it opens to. The mountain Djinn that control it have no qualms about such things - as long as you have the money to pay them, they’ll let you do whatever you want. And Summoned, given their usually strong magical talent, are a valuable commodity."

“Still, I never really believed the rumors until we raided the Brotherhood den to rescue our taken sister. Amongst their papers, we found a few scattered references to attempts to summon residents of those worlds and bind them to do their bidding. Nothing concrete enought to tell if it definitely happened, but the idea, at least, was being considered.” She raised an eyebrow. “You are a Summoned, aren’t you?”

A chill ran down his spine as he remembered the unusual anchor point he possessed, positioned right over his heart. He had never learned who was responsible. Was it the Brotherhood who tried to summon me? Would I have been bound to their will if Kas̆dael hadn't snagged me away? The thought of such a fate sent a ripple of unease down his spine.

The elder matched his grim expression. “I see you’ve reached the same conclusion I have. I suspect the reason that the cultists knew who you were is because they’re the ones who tried to bring you here in the first place.”

After a moment, the fear was replaced with anger. They stole my life. My friends. My family. “You think they did this to me?”

The old Djinn nodded subtly. “That would be my guess.”

His fists curled so tight his knuckles grew white. “Then help me find them,” he growled.

“That, I think, we can do.” Shifting in her seat, she leaned forward, warming her hands over the fire before she continued. “After we rescued the girl they kidnapped, we did an intensive search of their hideout, and uncovered many, many graves.” Her eyes met his. “Hundreds at a minimum.”

“How?” Jasper asked, incredulously. “How is no one noticing that many people go missing?”

Her lips twisted in a mockery of a smile. “Look how long it took us to notice. For most of the Djinn, their tribe is little more than a historical relic, a name accompanied by little cohesion or authority. Our tribe is one of the few that follows the old ways, and it still took us years to realize what was happening, because they targeted members of our tribe who had largely abandoned us."

"On the other hand, S̆addānu by its very nature is a place that breaks down those sorts of social ties, separating families from their kin. The royal guard does its best to protect the city's residents, of course, but the cult chose its targets wisely. They took the poor, the young, those on the margins of society - the sort of people who have no one that will notice or care when they go missing.”

He wrinkled his brow. “Then why take people from the cult of Nahrēmah?”

“They are not as different from those marginal groups as you might think. The cult of Nahrēmah is a haphazard group of battle junkies who routinely go off on dangerous adventures. If a few of them should happen to go missing from time to time, no one will find it suspicious. It’s to be expected from that lifestyle.” The elder frowned, tapping her fingers thoughtfully against her leg. “Plus, I still believe that brotherhood must have some sort of connection with Nahrēmah. It seems we were wrong to think Nahrēmah was behind it, but why should her cult be so thoroughly corrupted if there was not some connection?”

Jasper hesitated, unsure if Kas̆dael would want him to share the identity of Yas̆gah. After a moment's thought, he decided against it. The Seraphs hadn't earned his trust, but he threw them a bone. “Let’s just say that Yas̆gah holds a grudge against the goddess.”

The elder glanced up quickly, a keen interest sparking in her eyes. “I take it that means you know who Yas̆gah is?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He shrugged, “Kas̆dael believes she knows, but I think it's supposed to be a secret.”

Disappointment shadowed her face, but she nodded reluctantly. “Who am I to argue with a goddess? Anyways, during our investigation of the sight, we brought in a number of blood mages and diviners to sort through the remains left behind. After several days - and a positively enormous sum of gold - the mages were able to identify a few splashes of blood that didn’t belong to any of the victims buried there. And after an even larger pile of lucre, they scried the location of the blood's owners for us.”

“So you found another one of their hideouts?”

The elder grinned wolfishly. “Not just one of their hideouts - we're pretty sure we found the base of their operations. We’ve had it under surveillance for the last few days, and the number of cultists visiting the site is ten times higher than the previous location. The only difficulty is that this new place is ensconced in a small village at the foot of the mountains. Our scouts have been unable to determine if the entire village is part of the cult, or if the Brotherhood is simply using it as a cover for their activities.”

“Are you going to take it out soon?”

The elder shook her head. “Yes and no. Unless something happens to force our hand - like another one of our own being kidnapped - we won’t attack the site until we can determine the status of the villagers. I do not wish to have the blood of innocent villagers on my hands. But as soon as we have a clearer idea of the situation, we will strike.” She hesitated a moment. "I'm guessing you wish to join the attack?"

Jasper nodded, feeling the tight knot of anger still churning in his chest. "Yes. Kas̆dael will expect it of me." And frankly, even if she didn't, if they're really responsible for dragging me here...I want them to pay.

“That's fine - the Namurru clan is rather lacking in mages, so we're more than happy to have you come along. We'll send you word when we're prepared to attack - although we will not tarry long for you. You can bring your friends too, but don’t bring the royal guard," she added. "This is Seraph business.”

The night was well advanced by the time the deal was finally agreed upon. The Seraphs offered Jasper and Ihra a place to stay for the night, but he refused. A tent, however cozy, was no match for the plush, down cushions of his bed and even if it were, he didn’t quite trust them. He was convinced that the elders - or at least the head elder - were genuinely interested in hunting down the cult, but there was something that kept bothering him, some little detail that he couldn’t quite put his finger on that made him believe that the Seraphs were still keeping secrets from him.

It wasn’t until they began the ride back to the palace, that he finally figured out what it was.

“Lord Ishka’s cult,” he suddenly blurted out.

Surprised, Ihra turned to look at him. “What?”

“I kept getting the sense that the Seraphs were hiding something from me, but I couldn’t put together it till now - but it’s Lord Ishka’s cult. That's what was bothering me.”

Ihra laughed. “I think you’ve skipped a few steps in your explanation there.”

“S̆arrābī told me that Lord Ishka’s group, which was composed of Seraphs that split off from the Namurru clan, was obsessed with the idea of returning to the Djinn's original homeworld, Zaginnu. And because I arrived in this world at their enclave, S̆arrābī felt certain that there must have been a link between their research and my abduction. At the very least, it makes sense,” Jasper explained.

“But the Seraphs just claimed the cult was responsible,” Ihra filled in, catching on quick.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Now maybe my uncle's guess is wrong, but as far as I can tell, he has no motive to lie to me about this. He was generally heartbroken about my mother's 'death' and had no idea about the portal. These Seraphs, on the other hand, have a definite connection to a group that may be responsible.”

“But didn’t the elders exile Ishka’s followers from the tribe,” Ihra objected.

“They did, but after the majority of the group vanished - god only knows where - a few of them came back and rejoined the clan. What if the remnants of Ishka's group continued their research in private? What if they joined the cult or maybe even founded it?”

She frowned. “It's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? Although…it would explain why they don’t want you to bring the guard. They don't anyone to know that a group of Seraphs is responsible."

“Bingo,” Jasper agreed. “I could be wrong, but it makes sense." He groaned in frustration. "Damn it. Why is no one on this bloody planet capable of just telling the truth? All these lies and secrets - it’s bloody exhausting.”

“Now I have to guess if they actually intend to let me go, or if they’ll try to dispose of me to protect their reputation with the other tribes.”

“Maybe if you were unimportant, but as Lord S̆arrābī’s nephew?” Ihra shook her head, “I don’t think they'd be stupid enough to try to kill you.”

“I hope you’re right,” he replied darkly. “And more importantly, I hope they don’t launch the attack until after the Hand of Judgment has reset. I’ll feel a lot better knowing I have an ace up my sleeve, just in case they get any funny ideas.”

"You'll have me there, too," Ihra reminded him.

He flashed her a grin. "I was counting on it."

The two subsided into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Ihra piped up again. "Is that how you really feel?"

"Huh?" Jasper turned in his saddle to face her. "About what?"

"Back with the elders. I saw how angry you were when the Seraphs said the cult were the ones who took you. You said were you 'abducted.' Do you really hate it here? Are you going to try to take the portal back to your world?"

He didn't answer immediately. The truth was, he didn't know. Do I want to go back? On the one hand, he had lost everything. Friends, family, and all the many conveniences of a modern world that one just took for granted. Of course, in reality, his relationships there hadn't been the best. His relationship with his girlfriend had been in cruise control, continued more out of habit than anything else. He'd never been close to his older brother, his sister had died, and while his relationship with his mother had been okay, he was starting to wonder how much of his past was a lie - had he ever really known her?

And then, there was this world. Sure, danger had become a constant companion, and there was a severe lack of internet, tv, and video games, but there was also magic. There were gods who actually answered when you prayed, money and power that he had never come close to possessing on earth, and adventures straight out of the pages of a book. Did he really want to give it all up?

"Jasper?"

"I don't know. Maybe someday? It's nice to know I have the option to go back if I really wanted to," he admitted, "but honestly, for now, I think I'm happy where I am."