“My guess is she’s got as many of them in town as possible,” Tabitha said, biting the last bit of meat off a chicken bone. “After all, she is their boss. They have to do what she says.”
“And as we all know, Sylvana’s power of persuasion is formidable,” Bola said.
“But Eden didn’t leave with her today. She came back,” Ivy pointed out. Her gentle voice was reassuring to them all. “And Xavier and Goldie are still alive and well. If she’d fallen for Sylvana’s charms, she would have taken off the bracelet already.”
“She’s alarmingly headstrong.” Bola shook her head, thinking of their exchange. The girl’s audacity had shocked her.
“But she is vulnerable,” Genevieve said. Besides Bola, she was the only one who’d interacted with Eden so far. “She doesn’t fit in with the other kids—and I made sure she knows it.”
“Did you tell her friend she was withholding information?” Noel asked.
“Yeah, I sent a text message to the girl she’s staying with. Got the number from one of her two-faced little friends.” She shrugged. “No response. The last they were seen, at the end of school, they were together. That’s when they slipped away from Bola.” Bola stiffened at the memory. She still couldn’t believe she’d let it happen.
“We have to remember,” Ivy said, “Xavier and Goldie say she knows right from wrong.”
“Right from wrong,” Nala mused. “That’s what this is, isn’t it? Us versus them. And it’s up to her to choose.”
“I don’t think we need to worry,” Ivy said. “She understands what’s at stake. The masters say she won’t give up the bracelet.”
“Even when Sylvana ups the pressure?” Nala argued. “I wouldn’t want to be in that position.”
“The fact is, as long as she’s on Earth, we have a major problem on our hands,” Bola said.
“And yet, she refuses to return to the lamp,” Nala said. “So how do we change her mind?”
The table fell silent as waiters came to clear it. Across from Bola, Cadence perused the dessert menu discreetly. Tabitha showed photos on her phone to Alessandra, giggling quietly. The others sipped their water or what was left in their wineglasses. They were a listless bunch.
Bola felt a surge of frustration. These were genies! They’d granted wishes that had helped shape Earth’s history. Every one of them was graceful, brilliant, and terribly beautiful. Nothing in the mortal world could compare to the greatness they were born into.
So why were they sitting in a San Diego restaurant with the spirit of a defeated army?
“Would you like dessert?” the waiter asked.
“Yes,” said Bola, filled with new resolve. “Espressos all around. And one of everything on the dessert menu, for the table.”
Nodding, the waiter whisked away. The alumni awaited Bola’s next words expectantly.
“Ladies,” she declared, “we cannot stand for this. We will not give up. We will not surrender. And we will not leave this table until we have a solution.” She squared her shoulders. “Tomorrow, we are going to save our lamp.”
“There you are!” Sasha said when Eden and Tyler got home. She and Mr. Rockwell were on the sofa, watching TV.
Eden looked at the clock. It was 9 P.M. The past few hours had slipped away.
“Sorry!” she said, blushing. She still had that magic feeling from the amusement park. When she walked, it felt like her feet didn’t touch the ground.
“I just got home too,” Sasha said. “Dad had a couple visitors while we were gone.” She raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
Eden’s breath caught in her throat like water swallowed the wrong way.
“Yes, your mother and your aunt stopped by.” There was a dreamy, faraway look in Mr. Rockwell’s eyes. “Lovely people.”
“My mother and my aunt.” It must have been Sylvana and—who? Violet? “What did they say?”
“They were looking for you.”
“Weird.” Eden tried to act nonchalant.
“I told them you never came home from school. They said you were supposed to leave with them today.”
“I wasn’t—They must have been confused.” She smiled tightly. “Language barrier.”
“Well, they said you’ll have to leave tomorrow instead.”
“Eden’s actually going to stay here for a while,” Tyler said. “That’s okay, right, Dad?”
Sasha’s eyebrows shot up.
“Oh, sure,” Mr. Rockwell said absently. “As long as it’s fine with her mother.”
“I’ll make sure she understands,” Eden assured him.
“There was one more thing she said to tell you. What was it?” Mr. Rockwell scratched his head. “Oh, right. They said not to worry, because they’ll find you.”
“Well that’s a relief,” Tyler said sarcastically.
Eden shook her head and smiled halfheartedly. “Trust me, that is one thing I’m not worried about.”
Before long, Mr. Rockwell said he was going to bed. Eden excused herself too, leaving Tyler and Sasha in the living room. In the bathroom, she unbraided her hair and brushed it until it rippled with soft waves. She splashed water on her face and washed her hands. Then she went to Sasha’s room, sat on the air mattress, and unzipped the backpack.
Ever since she’d seen there was a new message from the lamp, it had lingered in the back of her mind. She supposed that if she’d been able to finish watching the message at the beach, Xavier and Goldie might have told her who “V” really was—and warned her to steer clear of Sylvana. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to see what they had to say now.
Carefully she unrolled the parchment paper, and her masters’ faces appeared. They were even more bedraggled than before. The circles under Xavier’s eyes had grown darker, and Goldie was paler and thinner than Eden had ever seen her. They were probably taking turns keeping vigil at the telescope. Seeing the state they were in, Eden wondered if they’d even eaten or slept.
Xavier rubbed his temples wearily. “I hope you’ll watch this one,” he said.
“Dear, we’re not trying to ruin your fun,” Goldie said. “We only want what’s best for you.”
Guilt tugged at Eden’s conscience. She’d never seen them look so defeated.
“Bola told us that Sylvana checked you out of school today,” said Goldie. “By the time you receive this message—well, we may already be gone.” Eden realized they would have recorded this while she was with Sylvana and the lamp was back in her locker. That meant they couldn’t see anything through the telescope. She’d literally left them in the dark, thinking any moment could be their last.
“If you’re seeing this, and you haven’t removed the bracelet yet,” Xavier said, “I implore you—please do not. Not just for us, but for yourself, the lamp, and the world. By now, we expect you know that Sylvana is trying to seize the lamp and its power for herself. If she were to get what she wants…” He shook his head, at a loss for words.
“We created the lamp for good,” Goldie said earnestly. “We used to be mortal, you know—thousands of years ago. We’ve lived on Earth, and seen terrible darkness. When the opportunity arose to enchant the lamp, we decided to make it something to give mortals a reason to hope, and dream, and wonder.”
“That’s the lamp’s true power,” Xavier said. “Not just granting wishes, but giving hope. We designed the system so that very few mortals would ever find the lamp. It was essential to us that a visit from a genie should never be commonplace. In fact, it should be the sort of thing mortals would tell stories about, and those who heard them would wonder if those stories could be true.”
“If that glimmer of hope existed, that maybe the world does contain real magic,” Goldie said, “we thought maybe that would give some mortal, at some point, a reason to keep carrying on.”
Xavier nodded and wrapped his arm around Goldie. “That’s what we intended,” he said. “But Sylvana’s intentions are nothing like ours.”
“She’s ravenous for power!” Gol
die said fiercely. “She was always twisting mortals’ wishes to hurt them. She would have taken off her own bracelet just to spite us, except she knew it would cost her her final wish.”
“If she gets what she wants,” Xavier continued, “she’ll have unlimited power to do whatever harm she likes to Earth and the mortals on it. Can you imagine?”
“We told you there’s never been a genie like you,” Goldie said. “And that’s the truth! No matter what you think, you’re not like her. You never have been. Eden, you were born to be a genie. And you’re a good genie. Look at your bracelet and remember!”
“We’re begging you,” Xavier implored. “Come home. Here is where you’re meant to be.”
Goldie blew her a kiss, and the message ended.
Eden let the parchment paper roll back up and laid it next to her on the air mattress. Ignoring Xavier and Goldie’s pleas was more difficult when she could see the sad state they were in.
Why hadn’t they told her the truth about Sylvana before? She supposed they’d wanted to keep her safe and innocent. They must have thought they were doing the right thing. But then, they’d never really known what was right for her.
Still, she couldn’t let them go on thinking she might pull the plug at any moment. She sighed in submission. It was time to check in.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she murmured. She swiped a hand across the paper to clear her masters’ message.
“Hi,” she said to the paper. “It’s me. I guess you know I haven’t taken off the bracelet.” She held it up to show them. “I’m safe, and so are you.
“Look…I just watched your message. Why didn’t you tell me all that before?” She felt herself growing annoyed, then remembered they’d spent all day fearing for their lives, and held it off. “I know all about Electra. Sylvana and Violet have both tried to get me to take off my bracelet. But I know better!” She ran a hand through her braid-crimped hair. “I’m still mad at you guys. I mean, come on. You’ve been lying to me for my entire life. But I’d never do that to you.”
She cleared her throat. “I know you want me to come back. Bola and some of the other Loyal alumni have been trying to convince me too. But the truth is…I don’t want to.” Her eyes fell on the photo of baby Sasha and Tyler with their mother. “I want to stay here, with these mortals. I know you don’t trust mortals, but these are good ones.” She thought about the wish Tyler had tried to make, and remembered what it felt like being next to him on the roller coaster. “I love it here.”
She heard laughter from the living room. It was time to wrap things up.
“Look, I don’t want you to worry. No matter what, you’re safe. But when you say I was born to be a genie…I still don’t know if I believe that. And I need to be here to find out.”
Footsteps were coming down the hall.
“Don’t worry,” she repeated emphatically. She rolled up the parchment to end the message.
The door clicked open.
“What are you doing?” Sasha asked.
“Want to see something cool?” Eden touched the rolled-up parchment to the lamp’s spout, and the lamp sucked it inside like an animal swallowing food.
“What in the world?” Sasha took a step back.
“Magic,” Eden said with a smile.
Sasha sat on her bed. “Can you believe Sylvana came here?”
“Yeah, I can,” Eden said. “She’s ruthless.”
Sasha shook her head. “I can’t stop thinking about everything you told us. It’s insane.”
“I know.”
Sasha bit her lip. “Ty just told me he’s only going to make one more of those wishes. So you can stay on Earth.”
Eden watched her, wondering how she felt about that. It was difficult to tell.
She shifted her weight on the air mattress. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “Me staying here, I mean. Since I’ve been here, you guys have given me…well, everything.” The reality was that without them, she wouldn’t have food, shelter, clothes—or friends. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
She watched Sasha think it over, tugging on her ponytail. “It’s okay,” she said finally. “I wish you didn’t lie to us, of course. But you risked your freedom to help me at the beach when you barely even knew me. I don’t know many people who would do that.” She raised an eyebrow. “I mean, today my best friends ditched me because they met someone cooler. People can be brutal, you know?”
“Tell me about it.”
Sasha smiled. “Anyway, we’ve got to keep you around long enough to make that other wish, right?”
“Right,” Eden agreed.
“So what happens now?” Tyler asked, coming through the door. He stopped short. “Am I interrupting girl talk?”
“Nah, you’re okay.” Sasha patted the plaid bedspread beside her, and Tyler sat. “That’s a good question. Eden, what’s next? Are you going to go to school tomorrow?”
“Bola will still be there,” Tyler pointed out.
“True,” Eden said. “And other Loyals may be too.”
“And what about Electra?” Sasha asked.
“I’d say there’s a good chance they’ll show up. Although I’m definitely not going to Paris with my ‘mother,’ that’s for sure.”
“At least at school you’d have a little bit of a buffer,” Sasha offered. “Adults aren’t allowed to just wander in.”
“As long as Principal Willis holds his ground,” Eden said. “You haven’t met Sylvana. She’s incredibly persuasive.” She thought for a moment. “But you know what? I don’t care. I came here to be free, like a mortal—I mean, like you guys. I’m not going to hide from them.”
“Then that’s that,” Tyler said. “Day two, here we come.”
Sasha peered at her curiously. “Eden, are you afraid?”
It was a fair question.
“A little,” she admitted. “But not as much as I love the world.”
That night, strange dreams haunted Eden’s sleep. In one of them, she was swimming in the sea. When she came up for air, Goldie was treading water beside her. But when Eden called out to her, she swam away so fast Eden couldn’t catch her.
Then, in the next instant, she remembered that she didn’t know how to swim.
In the morning, the sound of Sasha’s alarm woke her. The sun was just starting to illuminate the sky. Eden showered and dressed in a tank top and shorts from Sasha’s dresser.
She, Tyler, and Sasha sat around the kitchen table and ate toast. Although Mr. Rockwell had left for work before sunrise, they didn’t say a word about genies or the lamp. Instead, they joked around about teachers and kids at school. It was a refreshing change. For a moment, Eden let herself pretend she was a real mortal, with no bigger cares than last night’s homework.
After breakfast, she nestled the lamp and her notebook in the backpack. Together, the three of them set off for school.
Along the way, Eden kept a sharp lookout for the Loyals’ black car and Sylvana’s convertible. Thankfully, neither made an appearance. When at last they stepped into the lobby of Mission Beach Middle, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. So far, so good.
For an hour and a half after the first bell rang, nothing noteworthy happened at all. Tentatively, like a seedling in spring, Eden’s hope began to grow. Maybe, just maybe, the alumni had given up.
On top of everything else, Gigi didn’t answer to her name during first-period roll call. Swiveling around in her seat, Eden was pleased to see her desk was empty.
So far, things couldn’t be going more smoothly.
But then, midway through Spanish, the fire alarm went off.
At first Eden didn’t know what it was. Initially the school bell had frightened her, but now the sound of it was as normal as the chiming of Xavier’s clocks. But this was different. Instead of a single long tone, it was a constant pulse at earsplitting volume.
The response from her classmates was different too. They seemed to be looking for someone to
show them how to react. Some seemed excited, but others were nervous and unsure.
Mr. Willis’s voice piped through the speakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, vacate the building immediately through the back doors.”
“You think it’s a real fire?” someone asked behind her.
“No way. It’s got to be a drill,” another student answered.
“But why would they do it on the second day of school?”
“Class!” said Mrs. Cantrell. She ran a hand through her short salt-and-pepper hair. “You know what to do. Walk calmly in single file down the hall, then form a line outside. Vamanos.”
“Is it a real fire?” someone called.
Mrs. Cantrell shrugged. “How should I know?”
Sasha and Eden stuck close together. They didn’t speak, but Eden suspected they were thinking the same thing: she’d be an easier target outside.
When they walked past a restroom, Sasha ducked in and pulled Eden behind her.
“We’ll wait it out here,” she said. “You’d be too exposed out there.”
“Ladies.” Emerging from a stall, Ms. Bola blotted magenta lipstick on a sheet of toilet paper and shot them a smile that made Eden’s skin crawl. “So glad we ran into each other. But you hear the alarm. We’ve got to get out of here quickly. Safety first.” She gripped their shoulders with hands like talons and pushed them out the door. Sasha and Eden eyed each other in terror, but there was nothing they could do.
Ms. Bola pushed Sasha into the stream of students pouring through. “Run along,” she said. “Eden and I have business to attend to.”
“I’m not leaving her!” Sasha cried.
“Principal,” Ms. Bola said, seeing Mr. Willis standing guard. “Will you please escort Sasha Rockwell outside? She seems to be confused about fire alarm protocol.”
Mr. Willis’s eyes lit up. “Behavioral problems? Thanks, Bola.” As he dragged Sasha away by the elbow, she looked back helplessly at Eden.
“Behavioral problems?” Ms. Bola said, mimicking him as she pushed Eden around the corner. “What an idiot.”
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