On the Next day, in the morning time, near the village.
Taz and Daghir walked back to the village, yet there was an unsettling silence from the chatty and chirpy tiger.
Taz stared at him in the corner of her eyes, sighed and looked forward.
"I do miss your yapping, Daghir. Why won't you talk?" Taz asked.
Daghir stayed silent momentarily, then asked, "Do you think Josef's partner killed him?"
Taz looked at Daghir in confusion and said, "It's possible; killing an arrow is no easy feat." She looked at the village and asked, "What's Josef's destruction element?"
"He and his partner were lightning experts," Daghir said.
Taz smiled at him and said, "Lightning experts? That's a new term." She looked forward and asked, "What made them gain that title?"
Daghir chuckled, then said, "Because they're one of the few that took the lightning element seriously."
Taz giggled joyfully after seeing Daghir cheer up and said, "Makes me feel disappointed that no one appreciates the fine art of shocking people to death."
Daghir laughed, and Taz laughed with him.
Taz struck his shoulder playfully and said, "Cheer up, Daghir. No need to burden yourself with sadness."
Daghir pushed Taz playfully and said joyfully, "Who knew the wolf is affectionate."
Taz laughed, then said, "You have Nash to thank for that. That man makes me feel truly loved."
"Ughh, disgusting. A woman talking about her emotions," Daghir jested.
Taz giggled, then said, "Fine, you cunt. I'll go back to being rude."
Daghir giggled, then said, "Now you know how true friendships are."
They headed into the village and sought out their first target, the shapeshifters. However, hunting such prey came with a high risk.
The gang or, to be accurate, the criminally inclined sorcerers were famous in this land and beyond. Their specialty was to change the appearance of people using sorcery.
You can change into the person you want or any gender you choose. Indeed, the sky was the limit for their services.
One famous incident that sparked their notoriety was that they changed the appearance of a man into a well-known Mesopotamian prince. The man in disguise used his appearance to lure unsuspecting, poor women and use them for his carnal pleasures, promising them a life of wealth and mansions.
Sadly, for the women.
All they had in return were fatherless children and abandonment.
The families of the women searched every corner and house to find the con, but their efforts were in vain. The fake prince had changed his appearance and disappeared.
But the matter did not end there.
The families and women all thought they were deceived by the actual prince himself and plotted to end him. Those people gathered all their funds and hired the services of one uncanny order called Al Hashashin.
The order never refused a coin, even at the cost of killing a royal.
The order never fails its clients.
The order was unstoppable.
One night, when the prince was celebrating New Year's Eve with his wife and children. An assassin slit his throat publicly, then the culprit took his own life.
When the news spread, the deceived families heard of it. They were rejoiced and celebrated the prince's death.
Never knowing they killed an innocent man, a loving father and husband.
While the actual criminal was left unscathed.
Back to the journey of Taz and Daghir.
They reached a small mystic shop that sold numerous valuable items to sorcerers. Candles faintly lighted the interior, and the shelves were rough wood.
Facing the entrance was a familiar sorceress that Taz met before. She was Hamza's matchmaker.
Taz approached her, confused and asked, "How did you get here?"
The matchmaker smiled at her and said, "I wanted to settle down, so I left."
Daghir looked at Taz and asked, "You know her?"
Taz glanced at him and said, "I've chatted with her during my last travels."
"Have you come here for my services?" The matchmaker asked.
Daghir leaned on the counter.
Taz crossed her arms and said, "Not quite, but I need information."
The matchmaker leaned on the counter and asked, "What type of information?"
"We're looking for a group that changes people's appearances," Daghir said.
The matchmaker smiled at Daghir and said, "You want me to sell my kind? That would be costly, Daghir."
Daghir stood straight, looked at the matchmaker in confusion and asked, "How did you know my name?"
Taz looked at him and said, "She's a witch."
The matchmaker smiled at Daghir and said seductively, "You don't need to fear me; I'm a friendly girl."
Daghir crossed his arms and said, "I'll leave that to my judgment."
"Can you help us?" Taz asked.
The matchmaker looked at Taz and said, "I can if you're willing to pay one thousand Dinars."
Taz frowned, then said, "I thought I was worthy of a discount given my relationship with Nasya."
The matchmaker stood straight and said, "I'm a business owner now. I can't do free services like before."
"Can we pay you in other methods?" Daghir asked.
The matchmaker rubbed her chin with a wicked smile and said, "There are other methods, of course."
Daghir looked at her in anticipation.
"How about you become my intimate partner for the next three days?" The matchmaker asked.
Daghir stepped back, raised his eyebrows, giggled in confusion and said, "No."
The matchmaker pouted, sighed in disappointment, then said, "You broke a girl's heart, but fine. There's one thing I must do, but I lack the means to do it."
"What would that be?" Taz asked.
"I need to gain the favor of a powerful Jinn. I've done all the tasks it had given me, but there's one left. I need to offer a human sacrifice," The matchmaker said.
"Doesn't seem like an impossible task for a witch," Daghir said.
"That's what I thought at first, then I was told about the specifics of this sacrifice. The Jinn wants a Hebrew infant who's the child of a Rabbi," The matchmaker said.
Taz furrowed her eyebrows and said, "There's barely any Rabbis left. Even if there were, they'd be hidden."
"There's one who frequents this village; he'll arrive tomorrow at noon," The matchmaker said.
Taz looked at Daghir and asked, "What do you think?"
Daghir rubbed his chin, glanced at Taz and the witch and said, "We'll think about it. Give us time to come to a decision."
The matchmaker smiled at Daghir and said, "Of course, but remember, you have till the end of this day to decide."
They left and headed to a nearby tavern for a late breakfast.
The tavern was decent if one had low standards, but for their current situation, any place that served edible food was good enough.
The tavern had a bleak exterior, yet its walls were smooth. The interior had smooth beige walls and a stone floor. The seats were rough wood, and the place's windows were large and tinted.
Taz and Daghir took a seat by the window and ordered their food.
Taz leaned back, crossed her arms and said, "You have difficult choices to make, tiger."
Daghir smirked at her.
"Either you whore yourself for a witch or sacrifice a babe," Taz said sarcastically.
Daghir giggled, then said, "Whoring myself doesn't seem like a bad option."
Taz giggled, then said, "Then you don't know what that witch meant."
Daghir leaned back, crossed his legs and said, "Enlighten me."
Taz leaned closer and said, "When witches indulge in sexual activities, they don't do it for pleasure; that's for newbie witches, but the experienced ones do it for the sake of degeneracy."
Daghir smiled and asked, "That would be?"
"Orgies and not the normal types," Taz replied.
"I've been to orgies myself, it doesn't sound bad," Daghir said.
"Did the orgies you attend include sodomy and bestiality?" Taz asked.
Daghir frowned.
Taz leaned back and said, "I thought so."
Daghir furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Why would they stoop so low?"
"To achieve a state of impurity, without it, no Jinn would obey them," Taz replied.
Daghir scratched his chin, hummed and said, "I remember Ariel telling me about that."
"Ariel? That Hebrew who worked for Sakina?" Taz wondered.
"Yes, he's still in our custody. Caleb and I visit him occasionally to gain information and reward him," Daghir replied.
They casually chatted over breakfast, reminiscing on past events and asking about shared contacts. After they finished breakfast, Taz kept staring at Daghir in anticipation of his grand answer.
Will he whore himself? Or will he sacrifice an infant?
Daghir wiped his mouth with a small cloth, looked at Taz and said, "You sure find excitement to watch me make difficult choices."
Taz smiled at him and said, "It's not often a man has to decide between selling his body or killing a baby."
"You're an asshole," He said with laughter.
Taz giggled, then said, "Come one! Make a choice!!"
Daghir crossed his arms and said, "Fine! Let's sacrifice the baby."
Taz leaned back, smirked and said sarcastically, "I'm quite disappointed in you, Daghir. As a father, you should've taken it upon yourself to sacrifice for the next generation."
"Says who? My task is to ensure my bloodline lives on. The bloodlines of others are simply competition," Daghir said.
"Didn't take you for a nepotistic man," Taz said.
Daghir crossed his arms and said, "It is because of that I provided you with my full support after you married Nash."
Taz smirked at him and said, "That's kind of you to consider me part of your family."
Daghir stood, giggled and said, "You're one of us now, little sister." He nodded at her and said, "Now, let's go kill a baby."
The pair went to the matchmaker after their meal. They Informed her of Daghir's decision and planned to ambush the Rabbi's carriage.
Tomorrow before noon time.
In broad daylight, one has few options for ambushing, especially if the area is flat. Taz conjured a plan that needed precise timing but didn't require stealth.
She used Qareen's swift nature to scout the road ahead and told it to notify her when the Rabbi drew near. They waited shortly, and Qareen returned to them with news of the Rabbi. It told them the Rabbi was minutes away and should appear soon.
Taz moved to the second phase of her plan, which needed Daghir's elemental magic. They walked on the road as if they were intercepting the carriage, and Taz told Daghir to use his magic to make the horses fall ill.
The more they approached, Daghir kept using precise sound in the carriage's direction.
When they found the carriage, Taz's planning proved to be successful. The horses fainted, and the Rabbi and his wife were already outside trying to cure the horses.
Daghir approached the Rabbi and his wife and asked worriedly, "What happened to your horses?"
The Rabbi stood, looked at Daghir, approached and said, "I don't know, one minute they were spooked, then they fainted."
Daghir pulled out his dagger and said, "That's a shame." Then slit the Rabbi's throat. The poor Rabbi fell on his knees, gasped dryly, and his neck sprinkled with blood.
His wife screamed and cried. Her shock made her freeze.
Daghir approached the woman, sheathed his dagger, smiled, and said, "You're not bad looking for a Hebrew."
The woman stood and tried to run to her child, only to be shot by Taz.
Taz approached and said, "Check the bed; see if the baby is there."
Daghir approached the carriage, peeked into the bed and found his target. He looked at Taz and said, "The child is there." He carried the child and gave it to Taz.
Taz looked at him in confusion and asked, "Why did you give it to me? You should take it to the witch."
Daghir smiled at her and said, "I wanted you to practice breastfeeding, of course!"
Taz gave Daghir a mean stare.
Daghir groaned, then said, "Obviously, I'm going to rape the mother! Now, shoo and give me some privacy."
Taz frowned and said, "You make me sick."
Daghir laughed, then said, "You're giving ethical lessons now!? Are you so quick to forget that you did the same with Batil and worse!"
"I was lonely!" Taz snarled.
"And so am I. Now give the witch what she wants and stop acting like a bitch," Daghir retorted.
Taz walked away and muttered, "Cunt!"
She left the area as she held the child close to her breast. She glanced at it whenever she could.
On her way, her nose caught the baby's aroma. She stood in her place and stared at the baby in silence. She admired the infant's peaceful state, brought it closer to her face and began to sniff it.
She kept sniffing the baby's pleasant scent for minutes without stopping. She'd close her eyes and sniff harder as if she was getting high from the smell.
The baby's scent was addictive; the more she smelt it, the more she wanted to clutch it harder and keep it close to her breasts, never letting go of it.
The scent clouded her brain. She licked the baby's forehead more than once, and with each lick, her hunger grew. She opened her mouth and tried to plant her teeth into the baby's forehead, but she was mere millimeters away from biting off its forehead.
The baby made a faint hum as it kept sleeping peacefully.
That sound broke Taz out of the primal instinct that hypnotized her, and she looked at the baby with awe.
She stroked the baby's head and said softly, "I want you to become my child."
The baby hummed in his sleep.
Taz smiled lovingly at it, held it tighter and went on her way.
She decided to visit Haider for guidance as her heart wouldn't allow her to take the infant to be sacrificed.
She arrived at the camp, stood outside Haider's tent and called for him to allow her inside.
To which he invited her in.
Taz entered the tent while holding the baby and stood before Haider.
Haider's tent was unnaturally clean, furnished and organized. It seemed like a general's war tent from the number of decorations and papers. Sitting at his desk, Haider looked at Taz in confusion and asked, "Who's baby is that?"
Taz approached him and said, "A child of a Rabbi we've just killed."
Haider let down his pen and asked, "For what purpose?"
"We've made a deal with a witch in exchange for information; the baby I hold is to be sacrificed to gain a Jinn's favor," Taz replied.
Haider stared at her blankly, then said, "And now I assume you don't want to sacrifice the child? Surely not out of the goodness of your heart but for something else."
Taz looked at the baby, then at Haider and said, "Yes."
Haider pointed at her and said, "Mother told me stories about women like you who steal children." He rested his hand and said, "I never thought I would see the tale come true in my life."
"I didn't kidnap the baby," Taz said.
Haider leaned forward and said sarcastically, "Sure, you simply killed the parents and left the child as an orphan."
Taz sighed, then said, "I will take it as its mother."
"You're infertile. How would you even feed it?" Haider asked.
Taz looked at Haider seriously, saying, "That's why I came to you. I want your help."
Haider leaned back, sighed, rubbed his forehead, and said, "Only because I took an oath, I will help you. If there were no oath, I would've executed you."
"What will you do?" Taz asked.
"The child will be sent to my palace; I have a maid who's also a wet nurse. As for the Jinn that witch wants to gain, I can handle it," Haider said.
A blue Jinn manifested beside Taz.
Haider pointed at the child and said, "Take this baby to my home and give it to the wet nurse."
The blue Jinn extended both of his hands to Taz.
Taz slowly handed him the child and said, "If this baby gets harmed, you'll die painfully."
The Jinn took the baby, left the tent and flew away.
Taz sighed in worry.
Haider crossed his arms and said, "The Jinn your witch seeks is easy to find. I can summon her if you want to."
"Her?" Taz wondered.
"It's a female, low-ranked as well," Haider said.
"How do you know?" Taz asked.
"Not only you and Daghir did investigations, I did some of my own as well," Haider said.
He leaned on the desk and said, "That female Jinn is a con. She deceived the local witches by acting like a high rank while she's only a medium to a more powerful one."
"Will forcing her to our bidding cause problems?" Taz asked.
"You're an arrow, for fuck's sake. Why are you worried about Jinns?" Haider said.
"Not sure if you heard about my battles, but their numbers tend to be near infinite," Taz sarcastically said.
"Yet you're alive. I take that as a sign of their weakness," Haider said.
Taz groaned, then said, "Fine, summon her."
Taz and Haider walked out and stood in an empty land. Moments later, Daghir came running to them, accompanied by a blue Jinn.
Daghir approached Taz and asked, "Did I miss anything?"
"No," Taz said.
Daghir stood beside her.
Haider looked at the blue Jinn and said, "Summon her."
The blue Jinn nodded and vanished.
Daghir looked at Taz and asked, "What happened to the baby?"
"I adopted it," Taz said.
Daghir looked at her in confusion and said, "What!? We had a deal with that witch?"
"Your deal still stands if that female Jinn obeys us," Haider said.
"Who's the female Jinn you're talking about?" Daghir asked.
"It's the same one your witch wants to strike a deal with," Haider replied.
Suddenly, the blue Jinn appeared along with the terrified female Jinn. The female Jinn looked much like a human with noticeable differences.
Her black hair was thick, long and silky. Her ears were that of a horse. Her eyes were big and round like a gazelle; they were black with a red hue, and unlike the horizontal eyes of humans, hers were vertical. Her skin was grey, and its condition was healthier than any human woman, smooth and spotless.
Taz looked at her in confusion and checked her up and down as this form was new. She approached and walked around her. She stood behind her, leaned closer to her ears and asked, "What's your name?"
The female Jinn looked down and spoke dryly, "I have no name."
Taz barely had any tolerance for Jinn and less for those who were liars. She gripped her nape roughly and said threateningly, "I'm not here to play games."
The female Jinn shivered, whimpered and said, "I have no name, I swear!"
Taz looked at Haider, and he gestured to be rough with the female Jinn. She electrocuted the female Jinn, making her scream in agony.
The female Jinn glanced at them and shouted, "You're arrows!?"
Taz slammed the female Jinn on the floor, pushed her face against the hot sand and asked, "What's your name!?"
"I have no name!" The female Jinn snarled.
Taz pulled out her dagger and stabbed the female Jinn's hand. She leaned closer and threatened, "You better tell the truth, you grey-skinned bitch!"
"I was never given a name! My master wouldn't give me one!" The female Jinn shouted.
Taz sat on the Jinn's back, sighed, looked at Haider and asked, "Is she telling the truth?"
Haider crossed his hands and said, "It's possible, but we'll never know."
The female Jinn looked up and said, "Please remove the silver; it's burning me!"
Taz smacked her head and said, "No."
Daghir approached, kneeled before the female Jinn and said, "How about we name you?"
The female Jinn looked at Daghir and said, "Only my master can give me a proper name."
"Your master lied; Jinns can be named the same as humans," Haider said.
Daghir looked at her and said, "What do you say, grey girl?"
"I can't. If my master knows, he'll kill us all," The female Jinn said.
"Your master's wishes are of no concern to us. If he's stupid enough to attack us, let him come," Haider said.
"No, you don't understand! He's powerful! He has royal blood in his veins," The female Jinn said.
Haider approached, glared at her and said, "My ancestors killed all the royals. If what your master claims is true, I will ensure he dies."
Daghir smiled at Haider and said, "Let's provoke her master to appear. Surely you'd like to see him for yourself."
"No, No. Please don't make him angry!" The female Jinn said.
Daghir looked at her and said, "Grey girl! I bestow upon you the name―Ash!!"
Suddenly, the sky darkened. Clouds emerged, and the sunlight dimmed. And from the distance, a beastly roar was heard.
The female Jinn, now known as Ash, cried and said fearfully, "What have you done!?"
Haider looked around, yet he was composed.
"I don't remember Jinns being able to manipulate clouds," Daghir wondered.
"They can't, this is an illusion," Haider replied.
Taz quickly wore her mask, as it had protective charms and materials.
From a distance, a huge, fiery horned figure appeared; as it drew closer, the ground shook.
They all looked at it in awe while Ash sobbed in fear.
"Certainly, this is a royal, but you forgot to notice he's not pureblooded," Haider said.
Taz stood and drew her sword, but Haider quickly blocked her. He looked at her and said, "I can handle him."
He approached the giant menace, drew his sword and said, "Even though I carry hatred against the royal Jinns. I can't help but be offended on their behalf after seeing a wannabe royal bastard."
The giant menace became clear as Haider approached him.
His body looked like an erupted volcano, with intense flames leaking over its body. His horns were like molten rods that glowed brightly, and his eyes were bright, blood-red.
The giant menace looked at Haider and growled in a deep voice, "Who dares to take away my slaves!?"
Haider walked toward him and said, "The descendant of those who killed your kings!"
The giant menace roared and shouted, "A Tyrant!!"
Haider coated himself in pale-yellow flames, then stomped the floor.
A pillar of flames arose under the giant menace and knocked him down. Haider quickly activated his reinforcement magic and rushed to the downed giant.
He jumped on his torso, hurried to his heart and shoved his sword to finish him off. The giant punched him, and Haider was thrown off to the side.
Haider stood. His right shoulder and arm were broken. He held his left hand to the sky, conjured a great spear of flame and struck it down on the giant's heart.
The giant screamed in agony and shouted, "Tyrant!!"
Slowly, the giant died and turned into ash.
Haider groaned, held his right arm and wobbled to his sword while healing himself.
Meanwhile, on Daghir and Taz's side.
Daghir hummed, then said, "Impressive."
Taz looked at him and said, "You provoked that giant on purpose, you sly cat."
Daghir giggled, looked at Taz and said, "True, but Haider was more than accepting of that. He could've sent you or me, but he chose to deal with the giant himself."
"Can you kill it with sound?" Taz asked.
"Maybe it's either that or I'd rely on brute strength," Daghir said.
Taz pulled Ash's hair and said, "Now, girl. You have no master."
Ash winced and said, "Stop pulling my hair!"
Taz pulled her hair harder and said, "If you had no use, I would kill you, but sadly we need your assistance."
"No need, wolf. We already know her true name," Daghir said, then kneeled. He looked at Ash with a wicked smile and said, "That means we have control over her."
Taz pulled her dagger out of Ash, stood away and said, "Ash, stand up."
Ash stood against her will.
"Ash, Bark," Taz ordered.
Ash barked against her will.
Taz laughed, then said, "Ash, gouge out your right eye."
Ash's hand went closer to her eye. She whimpered and said, "Please leave me be!"
"I said, gouge out your right eye, you grey-skinned bitch!" Taz snarled.
Ash took out her eye in a bloody mess, screamed in agony and cried.
Taz looked at Daghir and said, "I think I found a new hobby."
Outside the village, at the coast at midnight.
The pair went together to the meeting spot.
It was a bit far from the village for the sole reason of seclusion. When they arrived, they saw the witch waiting near a campfire. She brought her mysterious powders, bowls, books and a leather bag smeared in flower essence.
The matchmaker saw the pair, stood up and said, "You two are a bit late. I hope you weren't fooling around without inviting me."
Taz groaned, then said, "No, but we did find a better solution for our deal."
The matchmaker smiled, clasped her hands and asked, "Ohh? What would that solution be?"
Daghir approached and said, "You said you needed a sacrifice to gain the favor. So, we enslaved the Jinn instead."
The matchmaker laughed, then looked at them and said, "You're serious!?"
They looked at her in silence.
"That's fucking impossible! You'll need to know its true name," The matchmaker snarled.
Daghir whistled, and Ash appeared beside him.
The matchmaker jumped back, then said, "You did it!? You enslaved it!"
"This one-eyed Jinn is yours if you'll give us the information we need," Taz said.
The matchmaker approached and said, "My dear, you'll not only gain the information, but I'll generously reward you as well."
Taz and Daghir looked at each other, and then Taz asked, "What can you give us besides the information?"
"You're investigating that arrow's death, correct? I can help you greatly," The matchmaker said.
Daghir looked at Taz and said, "It would save us a lot of time and effort."
Taz crossed her arms and said, "Let's make a new deal then. An arrow died here, and we're looking for his partner. Help us find him, and we'll give you this Jinn slave."
The matchmaker quickly ran to the fire and started preparing a spell. The pair looked at each other in confusion as they didn't know why the witch was suddenly energetic.
After a few minutes, the witch boiled a thick substance in a cauldron. She looked at them and asked, "Do you know the arrow's name?"
Daghir approached and said, "His name is Rizza, a low-born man."
The witch sprinkled powder into the cauldron and then grabbed a water-filled bowl. She whispered on it the name of the arrow and other chants, then spilled the water into the pot.
The matchmaker sat back and then stared at the boiling liquid.
Minutes later.
She looked at Daghir and said, "The man you seek cannot be found."
Daghir furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What? Is he dead?"
The witch stood, approached Daghir and said, "No, he simply vanished."
Taz looked at Daghir and said, "It's possible that he shielded himself or placed wards in his hideout."
The witch hummed, then looked at the village and said, "Speaking of wards, while searching, there's a house I couldn't look into. It's on the coast of the fishermen."
"Were your attempts repelled by it?" Taz asked.
The witch looked at Taz, nodded and said, "Yes, each time I slip into the walls, I get kicked out."
"Sounds like it's a Mesopotamian ward, usually placed on royal houses and public buildings," Taz said.
"To add on that, royal forces are taught how to place those wards, and Rizza used to serve in the royal army before joining the arrows," Daghir said.
"There's too many links to call it a coincidence," Taz commented.
The End