He smiled.
I watched his mouth open.
We were in the alley alone, the monster and I. I had never been to this place before, but I could guess from the city that rose in tiers behind the monster that I was in Misbah, just as Akil had described it to me.
It was evening, the burnished bronze evening of the world when the lamp had just blown out its golden daylight. From the roof of the sky a mountain of smoke billowed and twisted, not quite solid, yet not entirely ephemeral either.
Out of its base in the sky, the mountain tapered to a peak which reached down like the hand of God on the roof of the Sistine Chapel to touch the highest point of Misbah, the mount of sacrifice.
It was a terrifying phenomenon to see, but that was not what terrified me at this moment.
It was his smile, and the way his mouth melted away into rotting flesh the wider his smile grew.
And he looked straight at me.
The Jin stood in the path between me and the children who were dancing their way up the cobbled streets of Misbah in the dusk.
I didn't know what to do about him. His smile became so wide that his jaw unhinged completely from one side and swung loose. Worms began to ooze out of the breaks in his flesh. He crouched low like he was ready to strike, but he didn't move. Like a dead statue, frozen except for the constant state of decomposition.
I knew I should be afraid of him, but I wasn't. From the moment I had glimpsed the head of tawny golden curls dancing in the line of children up the mountain, I knew there was nothing left to fear for myself.
Claudia.
My little sister.
Claudia who was never involved and always protected from the horrors of life that I had been subject to when my father died. Perhaps if I had given proper thought beyond my current predicament, Claudia was one of the only reasons I wanted to return to my world. Now she was trapped in this nightmare too, because of me. Before this I had known that even if I could never return, Claudia would always be safe. In fact I had never even given thought to it, but now my mind was reeling in her presence.
The Jin lunged for me finally, the stalemate broken. I had nothing for my defence, no weapon of my own, no object in the alley that I could use. I pushed my arms out toward the monster, ready to duck and try to shove him out of my way so I could get to my sister.
My movement was fluid and purposeful. I have never been so confident in a fight before, but as the monster's arms reach for me I saw the world in slow motion. I dropped, ducked my head to the side, and brought my palms up to push hard at its chest and throw it to the side, out of my way.
Only, it didn't happen as I intended. I ducked, I leaned and I thrust, ready to spring off my back foot and sprint toward the mountain where my sister was dancing ever closer to the smoke.
My palms connected with the defiled flesh, and found no purchase. The chest spilt open around my hands and melted away. The stench of decomposition flooded my mouth and nose, even my eyes stung.
When my hands finally did find something solid, it was against the creature's now exposed rib cage. My fingers sunk in between the bones, and I slipped as the fluid which oozed out caused me to lose what little grip I had for balance.
I fell to my knees and the writhing monster came down with me, wrapping its flailing fingers around my hair and pulling with a feeble grip.
As soon as my knees hit the ground I was able to pull my fingers free of the putrefaction and wrestle the monster off me. I was no longer afraid that it would kiss me either, because there was no mouth left. I knew I was screaming. I scrambled away and got back onto my feet, trying desperately to wipe the reeking body fluids off my face.
The Jin wrapped his bony fingers around my ankle as I pushed away, but I didn't care, I wasn't going to let it stop me from getting to Claudia, I would drag it with me, rotting flesh, bones and all if I had to.
She was still dancing, so far in the distance now, but I could see her hands in the air as she spun, and feel her joy as she linked arms with the other little girls. Her golden curls stood out clearly in the line of brown hair and olive skin. Claudia had always taken strongly after my mother, with her blonde hair and pale skin. In contrast I was definitely my father's daughter, with my unruly bush of dark hair and olive skin. It should have been me dancing in the line of children.
I would have been better suited to die.
But the Jin's grip was as tight as a vice, and when I turned back to it, the shadows in the alley had begun to swarm with the monsters.
They moved with sudden and terrifying grace as they came for me.
"Akil!" I screamed. He should be here. Where was he? Had we come all this way to the city to plead for the life of my little sister, only for him to abandon me? Was he not bound to me? Had he not promised me?
I screamed his name again as the monsters came down on me.