One Wish Away (Djinn Empire Book 1)

by Ingrid Seymour

  “No, Zet. I took nothing from you. You were too proud to see that Cala chose me, even if I didn’t want her. You simply didn’t want to listen. Jealousy blinded you. It’s not too late. You could still—”

  “Shut up! It is too late for me. I’m condemned beyond salvation now. All because of you,” Zet said, assuming a fighting stance.

  Faris pushed me aside and took a step toward his brother. “I won’t fight you, Zet.” His voice rang heavy with a defeat so final it broke my heart into a million pieces. “I’ll go willingly.”

  “You do that, big brother.”

  “Marielle,” Faris said, turning my way slightly. His expression was unreadable, a mask of cool composure, betrayed only by a minor tremor in his voice. “Make your wish, and make it swift.”

  I shook my head, throat tight. “I don’t—”

  “Do it. He’ll hurt Maven if you don’t. I can’t protect both of you,” Faris whispered.

  “I . . . I . . .”

  “Please,” he urged.

  I hadn’t been sure my idea would work in the first place, but without Zet’s blood on the stone, without the stone itself, failure was certain. I couldn’t . . .

  Time was slipping away. I practically felt the seconds pounding a violent rhythm in my brain. Suddenly, I remembered poor Deborah Landry sprawled on the bed, condemned to a worse fate than mine—Jeremy’s innocent victim, pure and unknowing. Then there was Faris, a willing victim with steel in his eyes, even if his voice betrayed how he truly felt. As for me, I was the eternal pawn in one of fate’s games. Nothing new there. Whatever little faith I’d regained in life flitted away.

  I knew it’d be wiser to use my wish to save Deborah and punish Jeremy. It wouldn’t be wasted that way. But when I looked at Faris and tried to imagine my life without him, the ache in my chest felt crippling. No, this wish would be selfish. For no one else. Just for me. Even if my hope for this doomed plan was in shambles. At least the simple act of wishing would spare Maven. There’d be that consolation prize.

  I held Faris’s gaze now, as I would till the end, no matter what. I took a deep breath and blurted out the rest of my wish in one quick sentence.

  “Blood to bind and never release. Only forgiveness sets him free.”

  Zet’s cackle rose above the loud bass of yet another rap song. “Ahh, I see your purpose now.” He tsked, tsked. “Oh, how fools love a lost cause. What a waste of a good wish.”

  Maybe it was a waste, but, to imprison Zet, his blood was indispensable. And maybe, just maybe, a trace of it had gotten on the stone before the fiend made it disappear. If this hope was a lost cause, then I was a fool. The risk of wasting my last wish was nothing compared to even the smallest possibility of trapping Zet forever—or at least until he truly forgave his brother.

  A light breeze picked up. With tears spilling down my cheeks, I heard the wind whistle in my ears. Faris’s figure shimmered, his whole body flickering like an image on a bad TV, disappearing right in front of my eyes. He smiled and gave me a single nod of farewell. His figure grew dimmer, his expression resigned and heartbreaking. Zet’s cackles grew louder still.

  “No!” I pleaded.

  Faris was leaving. Forever.

  I couldn’t let him go like that, not without telling him how I felt. Zet was right. I’d been a fool, but not only about the wish. About everything. Why didn’t I tell him how I felt?

  “Don’t.” I reached out a hand toward Faris. “I . . . I love you.” Simple words that left me weak inside, words that I’d struggled with and suddenly came to my lips without effort.

  The phantom of Faris’s face startled at my words, eyebrows raised, lips forming an “o” of surprise. Then his shape grew solid again, and the golden bracelets at his wrist snapped off with a zing and fell to the ground. He looked at his hands in amazement, then back at me.

  I stared in astonishment.

  Faris was still here. Still here!

  31

  Relief and joy mixed with dread at the sight of Faris and all his solidity. A smile started to curve my lips, but it didn’t quite materialize. The curse was broken . . . which meant he was as human and powerless as I was. A river of conflicting emotions surged through me. Confusion didn’t begin to describe how I felt. Faris’s eyes darted from his wrists to my face, then to the ground, as if the answer to what had just happened could be found in one of those places.

  “No! No! Nooooo!” Zet’s deep growl startled us into the moment.

  Faris stepped in front of me, protecting me with his body.

  “I won’t allow it,” Zet cried, vibrating with the intensity of his rage. “You’ll die a slow death at my bare hands. Love and peace will never be yours.”

  My mind fought to understand, to recall everything Zet had told me. What did this mean? That the curse was lifted? That Faris was human once more? He looked the same as before, except for his wrist bands . . . but how? Why? Then I remembered the curse of the tablet and it hit me.

  Once human, though never again, unless what was once denied is clearly requited.

  Faris had denied his love to Cala! He hadn’t loved her back. For him, love was the key. That’s why Zet gave up on trying to kill me when he thought I was in love with Maven. He had been sure I couldn’t make Faris human again, so he demanded the stone as ransom instead. Admitting my feelings had freed Faris. The curse was broken, which meant . . . which meant he loved me back. Requited meant it was mutual.

  My heart went all light and fluttery with happiness, even as everything else went to hell.

  Zet trembled, fury making his expression more terrible than ever. “You won’t escape the fate I’ve planned for you, Faris. I’ll curse you back till the end of time. You will be my prisoner.” He crouched and bared his teeth.

  This was it. There was no way to stop him. Not with Faris as helpless and human as me. Zet advanced menacingly. Faris took a retreating step, pushing me back with him.

  “There’s still hope, Zet,” Faris said. “Think about it . . . a second chance.”

  A glinting dagger appeared in Zet’s hand. “Not for me. Not anymore. As for you, I won’t give you the satisfaction of a second chance. Now I just need a little of your blood.” With that, he lifted the blade and lunged forward.

  In a blur of movement, I pushed Faris aside and stepped in the path of the dagger, offering my heart as a target to the plunging weapon. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the pain, for death.

  None came.

  Instead, the ground rocked and I fell with a thud. My eyes sprang open. All around Zet, huge, earthen tentacles rose from the soil, flapping as if caught in a violent storm. He struggled, wrists trapped by giant, tarantula-like limbs. A gnarled expression of shock contorted his face.

  More twisting appendages protruded from the ground. With dizzying speed, one by one, they wrapped around Zet. In seconds, he was a dark mummy, enveloped in writhing strips of dirt. Faris stood to one side, deep in concentration.

  “Faris?” I murmured.

  Zet’s twisting shape began to throb. Faris helped me to my feet.

  “We have to get out of here,” he said.

  “Are you still . . . ?” A sudden explosion of dirt cut the question short. Black earth rained down, spraying my face, pelting my body. Zet erupted like lava from a volcano, raging and ready for destruction. His fiery eyes zeroed in on Faris.

  “You are not human,” Zet bellowed.

  “No, Zet. It seems you also misunderstood what it would take to fully undo my side of the curse.”

  Zet’s struggle to comprehend was evident in his darting gaze.

  “You are just as perceptive as ever.” There was mockery in Faris’s voice.

  With a war cry, Zet charged. Faris matched his preternatural speed and attacked. Their bodies collided in midair, blending into a dark mass of fluid bodies. In the background, Brett and his friends set up a keg and challenged a few of the girls to do stands. I called out for them as I ran in their direction, but crashed into a
n invisible barrier—some impediment Zet must have put around us. It didn’t matter, even if they could hear me, they wouldn’t be able to help. There was nothing anyone could do.

  A bolt of lightning flashed in my direction. I covered my eyes, sure it would split me in two. The attack stopped short by mere inches.

  “Run, Marielle,” Faris urged, sounding as if he was standing right next to me.

  I put out a hand to the barrier. It was gone. I sprang toward the house, but a root sprouted from the ground and wrapped around my ankle. I fell and screamed as it squeezed. My toes throbbed. My bones cracked. I tried to call out for Faris. A howl of agony came out instead.

  Suddenly, my foot was free. I grabbed my ankle and winced at the pain and the ragged cuts left behind. Relief shifted into panic when my throat closed off, cutting all airflow. I writhed, hands on my neck, lungs spasming. Then, just as abruptly, the pressure disappeared. I gasped, wheezing with every breath. How long before Faris couldn’t stop the next attack in time?

  Lifting my eyes, I stared into what must be Faris and Zet. A blur, like a movie on fast-forward, played in front of me, whirling and twisting. They fought at a level beyond the physical, beyond anything I could comprehend. I watched, still and quiet as a mouse, afraid any movement would draw Zet’s attention and another attack. If I died, would he win? Would Faris become his eternal prisoner?

  Then, out of nowhere, a large white shape appeared right in the middle of the twirling chaos. My mind stretched to understand the scene, but it made no sense. There seemed to be a giant silk cocoon landing in the middle of the battle, cutting it short.

  Faris and Zet stood to either side, staring at the massive thing, looking as puzzled as I felt. A strong wind picked up at its base, and the cocoon started unraveling. White strands uncoiled and formed a helix, revealing a dark shape in the center. Slowly, things came into focus. When the image finally became clear, terror gripped my soul.

  Akeelah.

  32

  Akeelah’s long, white hair surrounded her imposing, seven-foot-tall body like a corkscrew. Faris spared a quick glance my way, shaking his head in confusion.

  “You tarry, Zet.” Akeelah’s voice boomed, angry and chilling. “You’ve failed in your task and now I’ve grown tired. I’ve waited long enough.”

  She turned to Faris, eyes glowing emerald green. He crouched, ready to attack, while she examined him from head to toe. An expression of disdain curved her mouth, as her incredibly long hair continued to flow all around her along with the toga dress she wore. She looked at him as if he were a trinket at a yard sale, one she couldn’t decide whether to purchase or ignore. Faris sized her up in turn.

  “Let me finish this, Akeelah,” Zet blurted out in a harsh tone.

  Akeelah snapped her attention back to him, eyes flashing red.

  “Please,” Zet added, in a delayed attempt to soften his demand.

  “You know better than to disrespect me, my slave,” Akeelah said, then Zet’s spine curved backward and he fell to his knees in obvious pain.

  I tried to push back with my good foot. Faris appeared at my side and placed a hand on my injured ankle. The pain disappeared.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered, as he helped me up.

  “No,” Zet yelled, a shaky hand reaching out toward us. “You can’t let him win,” he begged Akeelah, who seemed to have him under some sort of restraint. “I’ll torture her for you. I’ll kill her,” he offered.

  I interlaced my fingers with Faris’s, gripping with all my might. I pleaded with my gaze, begging him to get us out of there. But he stayed put, watching his brother with worry.

  “Torture her? Tempting, but . . .” Akeelah spared us an amused glance, “you’ve failed enough times already. Besides, it would be in bad taste to kill your brother’s pet. I didn’t realize he was so fond of her. You know how hard it is to find a good toy, and she seems a fine one, her essence so pure.” Akeelah paced, a contemplative expression on her sharp features, making a soft cadence with her bare feet against the disturbed earth. “It always angers me when mine die,” she mused, pacing some more.

  We watched, mesmerized by the beauty of her movements and the way the dim light from the house danced on her ebony skin. Her expression changed and her eyes snapped back to Zet. White hair whipped in the air at the sharp redirection of her attention, revealing long, pointed ears studded with blood red jewels.

  “But I have you now, my Zet, my pet,” Akeelah said. “You shall never die, I trust. Your will is strong, a trait most of my kind do not share,” she said the last bit with angry disappointment. “You and your brother . . .” She smiled with pleasure, sending a chill down my spine. “You two are special. Half human, half Djinn. An interesting combination. I think I shall keep you both.”

  I squeezed Faris’s hand protectively and stepped closer to him.

  Zet shook his head. “We don’t need him. Let me kill her, trap him again, then I’ll do everything you want.”

  “You wasted your chance, slave of mine. This fight will go on forever if I allow it. I have no patience for that. As for doing my bidding, we already have an agreement. You are bound to me in more ways than one. You have no choice.”

  Zet’s head dropped, confirming Akeelah’s words.

  Impossibly, I squeezed Faris’s hand tighter. What agreement was she talking about? Whatever these two evil creatures had planned couldn’t be good.

  Akeelah laughed a rusty cackle that sounded fake, as if laughing weren’t in her nature. “I am very pleased. Two new special pets.” She looked from Zet to Faris.

  Silent until then, Faris spoke, pronouncing each word carefully. “I don’t know who you are or what you intend, but I’m not bound to you. I’m now free, and I’m not your pet and never will be.”

  Akeelah’s face changed to that mask of rage I had seen in the desert. “Oh, but you will be, as soon as you see what I can do to you.” She stared at Faris, her eyes flashing red.

  Panic punched me in the chest. My heart boomed in my ears as I waited for laser beams or worse to shoot out of Akeelah’s rabid gaze. On a ridiculous impulse, I searched for my forgotten knife on the ground, but a sad piece of steel could do nothing against Akeelah and Zet. Or could it?

  For several long seconds, Akeelah went on staring at Faris, her mouth twisting into an increasingly vicious grimace. Nothing happened. She growled, fury appearing to exude from her every pore. Suddenly, her tension vanished.

  “Interesting,” she growled. “I cannot hurt you. You prove even more special than your brother. I have no power over you. Can you hurt Dross as Zet can?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Faris said.

  “Humans!” Akeelah yelled in a thunderous voice. “Can you hurt humans? The scum. The waste of creation. The pathetic remains left after our forging. Dross.” She elongated the word in a derisive hiss and pointed at me.

  “If I can, I don’t care to find out,” Faris said.

  “A Dross lover, are you?” Akeelah’s body shuddered with disgust. “In that respect, your brother surpasses you, then. He holds no love for the human race. Although only half as pure as me, his spirit is no longer that of a Dross. Unlike yours. He chose the apex, rather than the scum at the bottom. It suits you right, Faris. You will suffer as they do.” She turned abruptly to Zet. “My pet, we have work to do.” With that, she began to whirl, her hair twisting around her body. In a snap, she was a cocoon again, spinning at an impossible speed.

  I stared, stunned, as the image blurred before my eyes. When Akeelah started to fade, so did Zet. His outline became dull. From the deep frown on his forehead, he seemed to be resisting the disappearing act, but it wasn’t working.

  Zet’s gaze snapped to mine. His frown changed, and his helpless demeanor morphed into that of a predator, a warning of his evil intentions. He was going to kill me! Not knowing the thought had already formed in some corner of my mind, I rolled to the ground and snatched my knife. Faris called out my na
me, but I ignored him.

  With a rapid jerk of my hand, I threw the blade toward Zet. He stared, his fight against Akeelah’s draw weakening him. The knife spun, end over end, cutting the air with a hiss. I was good at darts, and though this was different, the skill helped. The bloody tip of the knife struck Zet’s breastbone with a clink, then bounced off and impaled the ground.

  He looked from the knife to his chest, then his image started growing solid. Suddenly, Akeelah’s snaking hair unraveled and became still. Her expression changed a thousand times, as she tried to figure out how she’d lost control of her pet.

  Zet’s complexion turned green. He looked ill to his stomach, ready to vomit. Something shifted under the skin at his chest. He glowed translucent, emitting a soft light from within. Like a worm making its way out of a rotten apple, the stone slithered out of Zet’s ribcage and dropped to the ground. From its surface, a red beam shot upward, expanding from a pinpoint to a wide, all-encompassing cone of light. The beam undulated and pulsed. It seemed to have a consciousness of its own, and began roving, searching for something. Its target was revealed when the light found and focused on Zet, enveloping him.

  “No!” he screamed.

  The beam of light started to twist and fold in upon itself, back toward the stone, its wide cone growing smaller as it coalesced. Zet fought, all thrashing limbs and blue-white magic crackling uselessly in his fingertips.

  “Akeelah,” he called in supplication.

  He reached for her and took hold of a thick section of her white mane. She fought to free herself, but Zet wrapped her hair around his arm and pulled, trying to break free. The glow grew in intensity and started sucking Akeelah in, too. Her black skin wavered with the light. She screamed in agony as the red beam sprouted flames that engulfed her. An acrid smell cut the air.