As the colossal eye reached the portal opening, a psychic pressure filled the room. Felix felt it press down on him even as the wind died down and the sounds of the hyenas faded.

It was strange. The air thickened and the sand that had been blowing about in the wind was suspended unnaturally in the air. Even Father Sandra stood frozen in place, unmoving, his eyes staring off in the direction of the portal. His wand half drawn, his mouth ajar.

Time seemed to be standing still.

And there was something else. A woman dressed like a desert nomad.

One moment there was no one, and the next she was there, a grey-skinned bedouin covered from head to toe in loose blue-and-red garments, with gold and silver coins sewn into the fabric. She sashayed across the cavern floor, the coins clinking as she moved. She tapped her bejeweled fingers on the heads of Father Sandra’s undead minions casually as she made her way to stand next to the frozen priest. Though most of her face was covered, her ice blue eyes seemed to be assessing everything in a haughty and disapproving manner, a sentiment that was confirmed by her acid tone as she asked a question seemingly to no one.

“So this is the creature that wishes to bind me? Pathetic.”

Felix pushed himself up off the side of the altar and stared apprehensively upward to the colossal eye that still covered the portal, and then at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere.

When he moved, his chains rattled loudly, echoing weirdly in the strange silence of the time distortion. The woman turned her icy stare toward Felix. He suddenly wished he hadn’t drawn her attention. No sooner had her eyes touched him than he felt a cold eyes of a predator upon him.

“Ah, I see,” said the woman in her husky lilt. “You are meant to be the offering are you?"

The woman's head tilted slightly. He felt himself being assessed inside and out. A predator measuring the cuts of his flesh hungrily.

“The way you’re looking at me right now? I assume that means I’m supposed to be your dinner,” said Felix, trying to shake off the feeling of impending doom. He wanted to look away from the woman as she approached him but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Yes, I can see now that consuming your flesh would grant me enough magic that I could create a vessel and return to this world. Your body is densely magical. What are you? You are not what you appear.”

"What am I? Why, I'm Felix. And I'm not tasty. Probably. What's your name? I heard Sandy call you Umma Ghula. Is that your name?"

She lifted her hand to her mouth, still hidden under the fabric covering her face, and laughed. It was an unnatural sound, quite similar to the echoing hyenas that had been cackling in the wind earlier.

"How amusing!" she said. "Yes, you may call me Umma. It's not often I get to converse with my food. What an unusual manner of speech you have… Your arabic is archaic and disorganized… Are you an outworlder per chance?"

It was the first time that Felix had really considered what language he was speaking. All this time, since arriving in this world, he had no trouble communicating with or understanding anyone. And yet, now he realized that he must have been speaking different languages and hearing them too. It must be something to do with his Outworlder nature. It wasn’t the time to really think about these things, though.

“Yeah, I'm an outworlder. That's probably why I won't taste nice. I bet I've got a gross interdimensional gooey flavor. Not good for the digestive tract. I'm sure it'll give you food poisoning or something worse. That priest over there, on the other hand, now he's tasty. Well, if you don't mind the corrupted magic taste. It's got some pasty necromantic undertones. Tastes like dead people. I'm probably not selling it all that much, am I? Though, who knows? Maybe that's your thing. Me on the other hand, whatever your tastes are, I'm disgusting."

"I find it amusing that you speak as though you have tasted him yourself. I'm sorry to say, however, that it is forbidden for the summoned to directly kill the summoner, unless his foolish commands are so sloppy as to be interpreted... just right."

She inched closer to him, exuding a menacing aura. She raised a hand and a presence entered Felix’s body. It felt as if ice was coursing through his veins.

Felix rambled, talking quickly even as his mind worked for an answer.

"What commands has he given you so far? Maybe I could help you reinterpret them?

"No use delaying the inevitable, boy,” she said, her hands inching toward him. “Now let's take a better look at you and see what it is that makes you so special."

“And how about you, you’re not from this world are you?” Felix asked, still trying to talk his way out as he pulled back on his chains. If only he could find a way out of this. Could he convince this creature to spare him? Was there a weapon nearby? Should he gnaw his arms off to escape? “You’re from wherever that creepy eye up there is from, right? Some kind of desert world?”

She hissed, and Felix felt a wave of animosity wash over him. Or, rather, he felt the animosity rise up from inside himself, radiating from the psychic part of the woman that was inside him. It was a truly unsettling experience.

“The eye and I are one and the same, child. It is a shame that one such as you is so ignorant. But at least the other one inside you is not so. It appears it has to have woken during the ceremony.”

Her bejeweled fingers brushed against his arm and his body went rigid. She picked him up easily and laid him down gently on the cold altar.

This is it. Why didn’t I die fighting? I could have bit her. I should have fought her. Why am I going out like a coward? Is this some kind of magic? Damn it! This isn’t how I want to go!

Fear creeped up inside him. His heart beat so quickly inside him he thought it would burst.

Umma Ghula undid the wrap over her face, revealing smooth grey skin covered in dark red tribal tattoos. Between her eyebrows, a diamond with a cross. Under her eyes and along her cheeks, two long red lines like bloody teardrop stains. Her lips were painted blood red, bisected by a black line that blended into the tattoo of a downward arrow that covered her chin. She was beautiful and exotic, but when she smiled, she revealed a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

She smiled as she continued to peruse his insides with that cold presence.

"Hmmm... Interesting. You are outworlder and half-jinn."

Felix couldn't speak. He wanted to scream. To bite. To thrash. Anything but lay still.

"Who is your progenitor, little one?" she asked, her voice sounding excited and apprehensive at the same time. Then she bent over and sniffed him. "I sense it must be someone powerful. But how can you not know? Why don't we draw the other soul within you and see what we can learn."

Umma Ghula made a shallow slit upon his wrist with a thumbnail that had been sharpened to a point. She smeared some of the blood on Felix's forehead, then sucked on her thumb with a look of tasting something truly delicious. So much for his interdimensional flavor being disgusting. She looked too pleased for that.

I must taste like candy.

"Now come forth."

Felix felt the place where his Status dwelled, the part of him that was hidden from him by the suppression collar. Even through the magic suppressing barrier of the collar, he felt the change. Pain flashed through his mind and his vision blurred as something tore away from him.

Despite being paralyzed, his body convulsed violently. He nearly lost consciousness.

He focused on all the movement that seemed to be happening just beside his altar until his vision cleared. Someone new was standing there with them. No, not standing... flailing? Felix was confused. He had the sensation of being in two places at once, but then it was gone. He blinked again and focused.

A humanoid creature with blue-grey hair down to its shoulders, cat ears, and long bushy tail, was clawing at Umma Ghula. It took a moment for Felix to register that it was a girl. She was lean and relatively flat chested, but that was definitely a pair of breasts. She was naked except for a slight layer of tabby fur. Felix thought she looked familiar. At least, her pattern did. It was exactly like his own. She even seemed to be fighting with abilities that belonged to him.

After swinging wildly a few times with her claws, the cat girl blink teleported behind Umma Ghula and tried for his favorite jugular attack. Umma Ghula did not seem fazed in the least. She nimbly dodged every attack, and had no trouble keeping up with this new beastkin attacker. After a few more moments of their deadly dance, Umma Ghula lazily backhanded the beastkin girl and she was knocked back to the ground at the base of the altar.

The short battle had not distracted Umma Ghula enough to let go of whatever hold she had on Felix. He was forced to watch without having the capacity to move nor speak, nor help.

Someone’s fighting. I want to fight too. Not lay here and wait to die...

"An admirable effort, but stupid," said Umma Ghula. "You do not have the strength even to scratch me. Not while the portal above is open. So long as my true eye is upon this place, this is my domain. Be still and answer my questions. Then perhaps I will eat your master but allow you to live."

"Fat chance, bitch," said the girl. "I won't let you eat him!"

Umma Ghula put her hand to her mouth and giggled her uncanny hyena laugh.

"Such fire in your veins!" she said, looking giddy and amused. Not intimidated by the claw-wielding creature. "Oh to be young again! You are a freshly forged soul, are you not? It has been so long for me, I have forgotten what that was like. What name are you called, little one?"

"None was given to me," said the cat girl as she struggled to her feet. "So far, he keeps calling me Status, but that's not going to suit me anymore."

The cat girl turned to look at Felix, smiled apologetically, then stared daggers at Umma Ghula.

"Do you wish to be given a name?" asked the grey skinned jinn. "You do not need to be a nameless jinn any longer. You could become my disciple. There is much I could teach you. There is no need to throw away your life here in this place."

"I'll pick my own, thanks," she said, pausing briefly before saying, "You can call me Eva Fortuna."

"How long have you been sentient?" asked Umma Ghula, thoughtfully. "And how is it that you have come to be twinned with this outworlder? Everything about the two of you is highly unusual."

"I've been struggling to find my way for a while, I'm not gonna lie," said the cat girl. "It wasn't until that portal to the aether got opened. I suddenly understand so much more about who I am. It's invigorating. I appreciate the discipling offer but, uh, not unless you help us both get out of here first. There's no way I'm letting you eat either of us now."

"What makes you think you're going to stop me?" said Umma Ghula. "You're a babe with no power. Ugh, it has been amusing to play with my food, but I suppose it's about time for me to fulfill my purpose for having been summoned. Give me one reason why I shouldn't just consume the both of you."

"If you let us go, we’ll owe you a favor, Umma."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Umma Ghula bent over laughing. She looked like a vicious animal with her razor sharp teeth. "A favor from nobody means nothing to me. Nothing at all."

Eva Fortuna didn't seem surprised by the answer. She crouched, and looked ready to pounce, as if fighting to the death was the only real option that made sense.

Then a new voice joined them along with an oppressive force that dwarfed the presence that had come with Umma Ghula. A gravelly whisper echoed through the cavern, quiet, yet thunderous.

"A favor from me, then..."

The earth shook. Rock and crystal fell from the ceiling. A crack appeared on the cavern floor, running through the altar on which Felix lay. It split in half, sundering the loop on which the chains were fastened. Then the rumbling ceased and the oppressive presence was gone.

"That was..." Umma Ghula looked startled as she stepped backwards and looked around the cavern for the source of the voice, even though it was clearly gone. She finished her question in a hushed whisper. "Lugalbanda?"

The portal near the ceiling of the cavern began to waver. The sound of gears clunking echoed once more. Umma Ghula looked upward, then gritted her teeth as she considered the cat girl, who was now leaning protectively over Felix's prone body.

"So your progenitor truly is a powerful jinn, then..." Umma Ghula narrowed her eyes consideringly. She reluctantly nodded to herself. "I will not harm you today. But, neither will I help you. I am bound by my summoning."

Umma Ghula's smile was a wolf's smile. "A favor from Lugal... Yes, that might prove useful. But I'll be honest with you, little one, I do not wish to wait another three hundred years for the opportunity to cross over into this world. And to do that, I really must eat someone."

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

***

Father Sandra stumbled to the ground, dazed.

The ritual was over. The buffeting wind and the sounds of the monsoon were done, the portal near the ceiling was gone, and a brand new fissure tore through the floor of the cavern all the way to the center where it split the altar on which the offering lay.

This was the first time he had performed this particular ritual to bind a powerful jinn. It was much simpler to animate the dead, or create his flesh puppets; and though that was a process he still barely understood beyond performing the necessary incantations and directing the flow of magic, he was much more familiar with it than this.

He seemed to have lost some time when the portal opened. Had the jinn eaten the beast kin youth? No, perhaps it was a matter of consuming the soul. A possession perhaps? The boy still looked whole. Though somewhat worse for wear.

A steamy mist of body heat was rising from the boy on the broken altar.

Yes, it was cold in here. The temperature had dropped dramatically when that eye had shown up in the sky. It had been terrifying.

But it was over.

He had succeeded, hadn't he? Finally he had possession of a powerful spiritual being to aid him in the service of his country and God!

Father Sandra picked his way across the piles of fallen rock and broken stone floor.

As he approached the altar, the beast kin boy... no, the jinn creature, it began to sit up. It had to be the jinn inside the beast kin boy, right? Umma Ghula was reputed to be a shapeshifter. Perhaps it was because she possessed the host of his offering?

The body of the beast kin sat up, and the broken suppression collar slipped from his neck. He sat still for a long time, staring off into space.

Yes, of course. That was a good sign, wasn't it? The jinn was waiting for his commands.

Father Sandra took a few steps closer.

"Umma Ghula, you serve me now," Father Felix whispered. "Look upon me, your master."

The beast kin's cobalt eyes lifted and their eyes met.

Yes, this was it.

The revelation he had been given. The means to bind a powerful jinn.

Umma Ghula was his to command!

Father Sandra stepped even closer. He put his hand on the creature's shoulder.

"Rise now, and let us link arms as we strive to do God's work, as we perform wonders in the Lord's name!"

Those cobalt eyes stared at him as the creature inclined his head slightly. Then muttered something inaudible.

It speaks! What was that it said? Were those the words, 'yes, master?' Was the jinn acknowledging him? Was it imparting great wisdom upon him regarding their great work to come? The creature muttered something again.

Father Sandra leaned in to hear.

Faster than a viper, the creature's mouth stretched open unnaturally. A devouring ball of teeth ejected itself from inside his gullet, and two sets of teeth clamped down around the top half of Father Sandra's head, enveloping him in darkness. His last thoughts failed to form coherent, as he heard the crunching sounds that ended his life.