Free The Djinn by J. Kent Holloway Page A

bed,” the knight
said. “We’re off to a very important meeting with your father now. We’ll tell
him you’re fine.”
    “A meeting? At this time of night? What kind of meeting?”
    “Oh, well now,
I’m not at liberty to say,” he said, obvious pride evident in his voice over
being invited to such an event. “But it’s something big, I’d say. Probably has
to do with that nasty ol ’ hob what’s been bothering
us of late.”
    Isabella
stifled a smile at the mention of the ‘Hob.’ She had heard of the poor knight’s
recent encounter with the Djinn and felt bad that he had to go through such an
ordeal. Still, the good knight had handled himself bravely from what she
understood.
    “Well, then Sir
Knight, I bid you a good night.”
    Bowing low,
Horatio beamed back at her.
    “You too, sweet Isabella. Sleep well.”
    With that, the
knight and his squire turned and walked down the hallway toward the stone
stairs leading outside. Isabella quietly closed the door and skittered once
again onto the balcony.
    She scanned the
city below for any signs of movement. Nothing stirred. After several moments,
she saw Horatio and Samuel leaving the palace in which she lived and sauntering
down the street toward the Dome of the Rock.
    For a while,
nothing else stirred. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a strange
shadow come to life from the flat rooftop of a home across the street. The
shadow dashed away, leaping into the air and landing on another rooftop.
    Isabella’s
heart skipped a beat. He was following them. He had heard. She uttered a silent
prayer for the Djinn. God, please protect
him . Please protect them all .

6

 
    “Hurry up,
Samuel, we haven’t got all night,” Horatio said as knight and squire loped up
an uneven stretch of a stone walkway in the east end of the city. “We wasted
too much time fawning over Lady Isabella. We were supposed to be there five
minutes ago.”
    Samuel huffed
as he scampered up to his cousin. He was nearly five years Horatio’s junior and
already more unfit than the elder knight. Of course, it could have something to
do with Samuel’s massive girth around the belly, mused Horatio.
    “I’m sorry,
sir,” the squire wheezed, gripping the right side of his ribs with one hand.
“But your legs are much longer than mine and this hill is killing my shins.”
    “Much longer? You’re four inches taller than me, Samuel.”
    “Am not. Remember when Gram measured us back home? You were
a full foot taller than me.”
    Horatio shook
his head in disbelief. “I was ten years old. You were six.”
    “Oh, that’s
right,” Samuel said as he absently pulled a greasy lock of his chestnut hair
away from his eyes.
    Turning away
from the dull squire, the knight pushed on up the steep incline. The crier had
already announced the midnight hour several minutes ago—the precise time
Gregory had instructed the two of them to arrive at the Jehoshaphat Gate. He
was not going to be happy about their tardiness and Horatio was growing quite
ill of being scolded by the arrogant jackal.
    “I’d be better
off in William’s house,” the knight mumbled to himself.
    “What did you
say, cousin? I didn’t quite hear you.”
    “Nothing,
Samuel. Just move it.”
    The two picked
up their pace when the hill gave way to flattened cobblestone. No torches lit
the series of alleys and back streets Horatio and Samuel trod and the going
would have been much harder if not for the unnaturally large moon that hovered
in the sky. Its eerie glow brightened their way as easily as lanterns blazing
through the fogs of London.
    Horatio’s mood
lightened as he spied the great gates of Jehoshaphat only yards away.
    “Be stout,
Samuel. We’re almost there,” he said, a sudden rush of energy fueling his
steps.
    There was no
answer from behind. Come to think of it, Horatio couldn’t recall hearing the
constant puffing of his squire for some time now.
    “Samuel?”
    The knight
stopped in mid-stride and turned