Xámza

The Jackal

High in the mountains of Ahaggar, in the bowels of an ancient castle, the Jackal slumped in a high-backed chair, muttering unintelligibly to himself. The djinn suddenly pricked up his ears, as the great wooden door to his chamber opened.

Several figures entered. One by one they removed the hoods of their robes, revealing creatures equally foreign, with barely any link to the natural world. These were the demons that had appeared to the Jackal in the cauldron, making their way from the four corners of the Shadow World. With a great flourish, a djinn with red eyes and cloven hooves presented the Jackal with a small vial filled with yellow liquid. Delirious with delight, he greedily swooped the vessel into his hairy hands and, holding it up to the flickering torchlight, cackled like a maniacal magpie. .

The sounds of someone moaning somewhere in the darkness, caused the Jackal to become distracted for a moment. A smile flickered across his sallow face. The scar tissue, where his left eye should have been, twitched frenetically at the groans of pain echoing through the tomb-like chamber.