Claimed by the Desert

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Vera's eyes snapped open in fear. It took several moments before she was able to orient herself with her surroundings and realize she was still in bed and had only been dreaming. Sweat gathered around her neck and her bed sheets were tangled around her ankles. She was unsure why the dream had startled her so much. It hadn't been about anything scary.

In the dream she had visited the cave again, only this time the snake had been there - or a snake at least. She doubted very much that she had dreamed about the same snake her father and the others had seen. That would be preposterous – not to mention impossible since she hadn't been there to see it.

Vera didn't think it would be wise to dwell on a useless dream, so she put it from her mind and got ready for another day at the excavation site. Perhaps if she could spare time from her own work she might stop by the cave again. But only to see if any progress had been made to discover the markings.

She was in the middle of breakfast when her father wandered in carrying an armload of books.

"What on earth are all of those for?" she asked.

He frowned as he pulled himself away from the page he was reading. "These are books on what Kareem referred to as the 'hidden ones.' Apparently the 'hidden ones' are what we refer to as genies, but they are quite a bit darker than our stories portray them."

She puzzled over the last remark. "What do you mean darker?"

He sighed and put down the book. "Well, I don't want to give you nightmares, but according to these tales they can be quite evil."

"Can be? Does that mean they aren't always?"

"These tales make them out to be a bit mad – having been forced to roam the earth for sometimes thousands of years. They can take on many forms and are said to have supernatural powers, which they often use against humans such as us for their own amusement. As I said, it's all rather dark."

Vera hummed thoughtfully. "Can I read those, Papa?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before teasing, "I don't see why not. But if they give you nightmares don't come crying to me."

She grinned and rolled her eyes. "I'm nineteen, Papa. I doubt reading a book is going to scare me."

"I'm heading out," he informed her. "When you get finished here just ask Halsten to escort you to the dig site."

Vera waved him off; immersed in the book he had given her and only halfway listening to what he was saying. Reading had always been her second favorite hobby, another reason her friends and family found her boring. She would much rather stay inside reading the classics than go shopping for the newest fashions or gossip about her peers.

Three paragraphs into the book Vera knew it was exactly the thing Kareem had been talking about. The passage she had just read described what he had been trying to explain to her.

"The word jinn is Arabic and means 'unseen or hidden.' Many who practice the Islamic religion consider the jinn to be a threat. Many also believe jinn to be the cause of many misfortunes, illnesses, possessions, and occasionally even deaths. They are shapeshifters and can live for thousands of years."*

"According to some religious scholars, jinn are claimed to have the ability to shift into the form of humans or animals. However, when a jinni takes on a physical form it is said to be more vulnerable. For this reason, they do not keep these forms for very long, but will instead shapeshift into hideous monster-like creatures to frighten people or keep them away from what they consider their own property," it read.*