Jinn.

I had never had direct experience with their kind, but I had read about them in the texts of my ancestors. And what I had read about them was enough to leave me terrified.

Even among supernaturals, they were creatures of legend. Many believed them to be fairy tales made up by humans, since they were so rarely spotted. I wasn’t aware of anyone who knew where they resided back in the supernatural realm.

My mind was pulled back to the present moment as a sudden movement on the sand about ten feet away from me caught my attention. Something round was moving directly toward me, so fast that I had to strain my eyes to see what it was.

A huge beetle. Its sturdy body was covered in a dark-green shell that glinted eerily beneath the moonlight. I wasn’t sure why it was scuttling toward me. Perhaps it fancied me as food—it certainly looked big and sturdy enough to take a bite out of me.

I wasn’t fond of beetles. Nor any insect for that matter. Not willing to wait around to see what this beetle’s agenda was, I zapped it with a spell that sent it hurtling through the air and landing somewhere far in the distance.

Shuddering, I focused my attention back on the potion. It was still the same dark blue color, but it had become completely solid. Now I just had to wait for it to change color. I looked down at my watch. I should have my answer in five minutes, and then I could leave this place and return to the safety of The Shade… I prayed I’d return with better news than I’d come here expecting.

Only two minutes had passed when my attention was again drawn in the same direction the beetle had approached me from. This time, I laid eyes on not an insect, but a long, beige-colored snake. A horned rattlesnake, by the looks of it. As it approached me in exactly the same manner as the beetle had, a chilling suspicion dawned on me.

I need to get out of here. Now.

As much as it pained me to abandon my experiment that I’d gone to such effort to prepare, this coincidence of the snake and the beetle had spooked me too much to remain. I yanked the staff from the ground and, discarding the glass of stiff potion, I vanished from the spot… At least, I tried to vanish. Summoning my powers, I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the wind whipping past me as I began hurtling back toward the island. But the sand remained beneath my feet. No matter how hard I tried to vanish, I didn’t budge.

I opened my eyes to see the snake now only six feet away from me. It had stopped, and I could have sworn that its small, narrow eyes were fixed directly on me. Then its body began to contract. Its beige scales darkened until they’d turned an almost pitch black. Its head and tail shrank in toward the middle of its body until it had formed a fleshy ball. The ball began to spin in its place until four feet shot out from it. Then a head. A long tail. A few seconds later, I was staring down at an oversized black rat.

But the vision remained before me for barely ten seconds before again, the creature’s limbs withdrew into itself, forming another ball and this time re-manifesting as a red scorpion. Then a jackal. Then a vulture… until finally, all the terror I’d felt on first seeing those tattoos cemented itself in my mind as I stood staring into the piercing golden eyes of a creature rarely spoken of, much less seen.

Then a silvery voice spoke in my head:

“Is your curiosity now satisfied, witch of The Shade?”

Horror welled in the pit of my stomach.

I’d just been granted a wish by a jinni.

Chapter 5: Ben

Imagining River reuniting with her family warmed me. I’d seen how much family meant to her, how close she was to her mother and siblings. I’d seen the pain in her eyes every time she had spoken of them. Now she would finally see them again, and if all went to plan, Shayla would return with them to The Shade within about an hour.

After River left, I kept the cup of her blood close to me as my mother sat by my side in the submarine. I still hadn’t expressed what I felt about River to my parents, or even Rose, but I hadn’t exactly kept my affection for her secret.

My mother tried to make some small talk as we sat together, but her mind was clearly weighed down by the worry of my failed turning. Though she didn’t speak of it, I could see it behind her eyes.

Caleb, Rose, my grandfather and Griffin arrived through the hatch soon after River had left. This was the first time that I had seen my grandfather since arriving back. He moved toward me and gripped me in a tight hug.

“You don’t know how relieved I am to see you again, Ben,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

“I’m glad to be back,” I said. I just wish I could stay.

I was surprised to see that Griffin was a vampire. Grinning, he held up his hands in mock reproach. “Come on. What chance did a human ginger boy stand on an island of vampires and dragon shifters?”

I smirked, then drew him in for a hug and slapped him on the back.

“You look great,” I said, giving him a wink which made my sister giggle.

My sister turned to me. It was still bizarre to see my twin as a vampire. I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get used to it, if I ever would. I guessed that she’d be feeling the same about me.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

She grimaced. “Hungry. Thirsty. Can’t really decide which it is. I just want to raid a blood bank.”

I know the feeling.

I was glad that she was sensitive enough to not ask how I was feeling. It was obvious how I was feeling after what had just happened.

“Dad sent us,” she said, changing the subject. “He told us to wait with you for the next hour or so, until he’s finished organizing the army and planning the trip. Obviously, I’ll be coming, and Caleb will too.”