But the dhow was not small, and it was not humble. When Loulie al-Nazari was told by the One-Eyed Merchant to meet on a small and humble dhow, she expected, quite reasonably, a small and humble dhow. They claim that a jinn’s silver blood is filled with life-that it can turn sand to water and make trees and flowers bloom. They say the only reason we have any nature left is because there are hunters who capture escaped jinn and sacrifice them to the gods.
There are some who believe we must use our faith to restore life to this barren world. Magicless and mortal we may be, but we are the gods’ faithful servants. In the wake of their disappearance, the gods created us humans. The magic was so strong it burned holes in the sand, sinking the jinn cities and causing the jinn to vanish from this world. They gave them what they desired most-they made their magic more powerful, but at the cost of it being uncontrollable. When the gods saw the havoc the kings had wreaked, they decided to punish them. They created winds so wild they blew the water from lakes and oceans, and flames so hot they burned away fields of grass, leaving behind nothing but sand. But while most jinn were grateful to the gods, there were seven jinn kings who were dissatisfied with their meager magic, and they expressed their discontent by destroying the land. This is why some jinn can change shape and others can breathe fire or travel the world in the blink of an eye.įor a time, the jinn did as the gods commanded: they loved and nurtured the world they were given, and there was peace. Unlike us humans, who were created from the earth, the gods crafted the jinn from an ancient flame that allowed them to live for hundreds of years and gave them the power to use magic. Our world belonged to the jinn, those doomed creatures who roam our desert like lost spirits.
And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything-her enemy, her magic, even her own past-is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past. With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artifact.
When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land-at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, this book weaves together the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.
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