Truth often hides behind rumors and whispered secrets. Evil doesn’t make noise when it comes. It stays hidden, growing in silence, blending into the background until it’s ready to strike.
It moves soft and low, never loud.
Like a snake watching its chance, it waits in the dark. It watches. Waits. Its eyes fixed on the void with quiet, dangerous patience. It knows that eventually, some careless, unsuspecting creature will wander too close. A fat rat, naive and unguarded.
The serpent moves with care at first, barely making a sound as it searches for a sign of weakness. When fresh blood touches its tongue, hunger pushes caution aside. Instinct takes over. And that’s when it slips up. That’s when it reveals itself.
A snake never considers the possibility that something else is watching it. That it, too, could be prey.
But I do.
Always.
My name is Arin.
I am a jinn hunter.

***

I move fast through the dark backstreets at night. My only concern is to arrive on time, not for some appointment but to save a life. The cold wind stings my eyes as I move through the empty streets. Fear fills the air but it is not mine. I do not get scared. I do my job.
At the end of the street, I spot a woman.
A man covers her mouth with one hand and drags her into the shadow of an old building with the other. She can’t scream. Her arms and legs flail, her hair whipping across her face.
I start running, my knees pumping hard. I’m grateful for whoever made running shoes.
By the time I reach the building, they’re gone inside. But I know she’s still there. Without thinking, I follow. It’s not from the jinn I’m tracking.
I ignore it. This always happens.
I sprint up the dusty stairs, my coat trailing behind me.
The building is empty, stripped down. The doors ripped off their hinges.
After three flights, I reach the roof. It’s partly collapsed, but still brighter than the rest of the place.
I stop to catch my breath and focus. The woman and the man possessed by a jinn are close.
I move slowly across the splintered floorboards and find them.
The woman is in a corner, sitting on the ground, covering her face with her hands, begging without pause.
The large man in front of her paces like a wild beast.
He’s drenched in sweat. I can smell his stench from where I stand.
I can see why the jinn chose him. He’s strong and probably a full foot taller than me.
I don’t have much time. He’s about to kill her.
I need to lure him away, or she may suffer a fate worse than death.
I straighten up, ignoring the voice in my head that hungers for what’s to come. I feel its excitement in my bones.
“Hey! Big guy, how about picking on someone your own size?” I shout.
He stops pacing and turns to me.
His eyes are unfocused.
I know this look.
He’s no longer human. Just a cursed husk, driven mad by the jinn’s touch.
With a guttural growl, he charges at me, leaving the woman behind.
He may be massive, mad, and empowered by a jinn, but I’ve got a few tricks of my own.
I need to fight him on my terms.
I dart down the stairs I came up earlier.
He’s right behind me, panting but fast.
On the second floor, I duck into one of the apartments.
I know he’ll follow.
I dive into a random, dark room. His huge hand nearly catches my hair, but I twist quickly. He loses balance and falls to one knee, roaring.
Then the voice in my head speaks at last:
"Release me, master."
It’s my move now.
I lift my right hand and flick my middle finger, the one with the ring etched with a stitched eye: the Sealed Eye.
The brute starts to get up, unaware of what’s coming.
Like a truck, he charges again, grabbing my throat and slamming me against the wall.
No pain. No fear. Nothing.
At last, I summon my jinn, Azimushan. "It’s time."
A heavy sound hits the room, like something massive dropping.
Shadows in the room begin to ripple.
I know this isn’t a hallucination from lack of oxygen.
He’s here.
Azimushan has entered our world.
The man, still gripping my neck, suddenly freezes, sensing it too.
He’s no longer growling. Now it’s his turn to fear.
The shadows stretch and merge.
From them emerge two solid black eyes like glass, followed by claw-tipped hands and long legs.
A torso smooth as obsidian takes shape. Then a slender neck and a familiar face.
Flawless lips, a perfect nose, high cheekbones…
And those empty black eyes with no focus.
I’ve seen this sight many times.
I know what comes next.
Azimushan narrows his eyes and moves like a silent blade.
With one swing, he severs the arm choking me.
The wounded man screams horribly and lunges with his remaining arm.
But I’m no longer the frail little boy I was just moments ago.
My skin is iron.
The hand that strikes me shatters with a crunch.
My job was to draw the prey in. Now, it’s time to feast.
Azimushan steps forward, plunges his long fingers into both sides of the man’s body, and lifts him into the air.
The man’s corrupted, cursed soul rises from his body like a mist.
Azimushan tilts his head back and opens his mouth, an endless abyss.
The mist floats into that void.
When the lifeless body hits the ground, I know my jinn has claimed his due.
Soon, I will find the jinn that cursed this man.
Because I know as clearly as I know my own name:
To hunt a jinn, I must use another jinn.
And just like everything else in this world, this too comes with a price.