The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

The narrative returns to the present moment. On Socotra, Amina tries to stab Raksh, but his body is like a rock. He grabs Amina by the throat and demands that Amina release him. He is upset that she left him chained in a box to rot, but Amina is furious, accusing him of feeding on Asif. Raksh corrects her, saying that he and Asif had a contract and that Amina has done something to him because none of his contracts are working well since he married her. He says he has found a ship nearby, where he is able to feed off the crew using fear. Furious, she realizes that Raksh is the one who was giving Falco information about her and her crew. He admits it, saying that he wanted to find her so she can reverse the magic of their marriage agreement. She realizes Marjana must be the extra connection that is binding them together and vows to herself that he will never find out about his daughter.

To coerce him into helping her get to Falco, she bluffs and claims that there may be a spell for divorce, but it is complicated. He shares that Falco and half the crew are alive despite the shipwreck and the sea monster. He also confirms Dunya’s presence. He tells them about a nearby cave with treasure and says that Socotra is the first of many planned stops for Falco. The sorcerer has been using Dunya’s knowledge of magic, like summoning the marid that destroyed half the ship. Recently, Raksh felt that Falco was becoming suspicious about his true nature, so he escaped in order to avoid becoming the next creature that Falco and Dunya try to use for their magic. He draws Amina’s crew a map of the caves and says locals were taken for labor. Learning of a backdoor to the cave, Amina insists that Raksh guide them back in, despite his objections.

Raksh says that Amina’s desires are now stronger and sharper than they ever were. He admits that he sensed her coming and that there is a magic between them that he can’t understand. Despite Amina’s hatred of heights, the group descends a steep cliff and enters a small tunnel, crawling for some distance before it finally it opens up enough to allow them to light a lamp. They see an enormous glittering cave with markings on the wall that reflect the clues on Dunya’s scrap of paper.

A massive snakeskin blocks their way. Raksh says it wasn’t there when he left, and there are bones everywhere. Amina sees a stairway going up and curiously follows the smell of her mother’s perfume. She moves to open the door at the top but Raksh stops her, unnerved that she was moving as if in a spell. There is a slab blocking the room off, and they move it quietly to reveal a sleeping area. Raksh says Dunya was there when he left. They investigate further and find a horrible slaughterhouse where people have been butchered in various ways. A dozen people are still alive, bloody and chained up. Amina and her crew begin to cut their bonds. When the crew asks about Dunya, a man says that she has run off and that Falco, furious, has been murdering people ever since. They start back the way they came and then hear shouts behind them. Amina pushes them onward, telling them to give her two days before they leave the island. Amina tells Raksh that if he abandons them and she dies as a result, she will haunt him. She moves the slab to block them and faces Falco’s men.

Amina continues the story of waking up next to Raksh on the morning after their wedding. When she asks what he is, he says there’s no word to describe him anymore, but he used to be worshipped as a god. He compliments her sexual prowess while Amina tries to find cracks in the contract. He only wants her to take him away from the Maldives, saying that it has been a long time since he’s contracted with someone as interesting and ambitious as she is. He appeals to her ambition and calls her an explorer. He also admits that human desire is food to him, but he denies being a demon and promises not to consume her. Instead, he promises to be a lucky token. When she asks whether he will harm her crew, he says that her desires are enough to sate him. Amina finds that she can’t resist him.

Back in the present moment, Falco’s men take Amina to a person standing next to a huge bonfire. It is Falco. Amina is disappointed by her first impression of him and guesses that he is a decade older than her, although he is still healthy and strong. They sit on a rug, and he offers her wine and food. When he asks where the Marawati is, Amina is evasive. He tells her about his experience and disillusionment regarding the conquering of Jerusalem and says he has spent years searching for God. He asks Amina if she would like to end all the pointless wars and take the world back to an older version. He claims that together they can use various manuscripts, artifacts, and knowledge about the ways of the ancients gain power to rival God. However, Amina knows that Falco wants power, not a better world. Falco says his power is already working and demonstrates that both he and his men have gained some version of inhuman strength. Amina changes the subject to Dunya. He claims that Dunya came willingly and then escaped with their only transportation. Amina refuses to allow him to use the Marawati, so he forces her to drink what is cooking on the fire. It is horrible and makes her pass out.

When she opens her eyes, she can see that Falco’s men are no longer entirely human. They have scales, tentacles, or claws like a crab. Falco, however, appears normal. The men drag her toward a pit near the water. The pit is filling with sea scorpions. They are about to push her in when an arrow hits the bonfire and everything explodes. Another arrow hits, scattering the men. Amina understands that it is Dalila’s black powder at work and runs into the trees, where her friends helped her. Raksh slices into her chest, pulling out a scorpion’s stinger. Amina’s mind clears, and she sees that her chest is fine, but now they behold something enormous rising from the ocean. Raksh picks Amina up and yells for everyone to run.

The villagers lead Amina and her crew to a hidden beach. The locals say they will go to deal with the pirates, who owe them favors. They wish Amina luck. She is exhausted and horrified at how close she came to dying and leaving Marjana without a clue to her father’s identity. Without this knowledge, Marjana will be unprepared if any magic were to manifest. Raksh is surprisingly helpful and kind, but Amina knows he only wants to be taken with them. He explains that the marid needs hosts in exchange for allowing Falco to control it: people whose lives will feed it. He also says that Falco could have tracked and controlled her through the stinger. Dalila is concerned that Amina has been sexually assaulted, but Amina assures her that she is untouched. Dalila is also concerned Raksh will come with them, and Amina says they need his knowledge of magic. She thanks Dalila for saving her with the powder and they have a moment of warmth, though when Amina asks Dalila’s true name, Dalila laughs and says she isn’t dead yet.

Majed sees their signal and comes to the beach with a smaller boat, upset to see Raksh and not Dunya. Tinbu, Majed, and Dalila ask where to go next, and Raksh tells Amina to concentrate on Dunya as if Dunya was her own child. These words make Amina miss her family, but Raksh pulls her hand north and says that Dunya is that way.

The beginning of the chapter jumps to the frame story. Amina pauses in telling her tale and asks Jamal the scribe if they want to skip this part. They say no.

Amina’s story resumes. After two days, they see a boat containing a blistered and passed-out Dunya under a cloak. Dunya regains consciousness after two more days and recognizes Amina as her father’s captain. Dunya admits that Amina was her childhood hero. Dunya said that she needed to escape before her wedding to the governor of Aden, a fact which surprises Amina. Dunya claims that Falco made her feel good about herself and believed that her family members were guardians of the old world. She offered to find the Moon of Saba for Falco, and he took her along. She said she thought he was just after treasure and wouldn’t actually use the things she told him about. However, he did use them, commanding the sea beast to devour the crew members who would not pledge loyalty to him. When the villagers came to help, he used a spell that Dunya told him about. The spell needed the blood of elders, and she was horrified to realize that her research would be used in such a way. Amina asks if the Moon of Saba actually exists, and Dunya confirms that it exists in the form of a washbasin.