Genie's Awakening

by Jewel Quinlan

  “No way,” Mihna said. She wordlessly asked permission to share Jileen’s box before lowering herself to perch her round bottom on its outer edge. “In the middle of this time warp to deadline? I can barely get Scathan to stop working and eat meals with me right now.”

  “A time warp?”

  “Colin didn’t tell you?” Jileen asked. “The day we arrived, the team leaders were all handed a deadline by the Demarcation Council. Things have gone from worse to ... well, way worse. The allocation is tightening down, if you can even call it that. There’s just not enough food to go around. People are going to start starving. Or, what I should really say is that there’s about to be starvation of a much greater magnitude than there already is.”

  She and Mihna looked worried.

  Genevieve knew Colin had told her some things about the problem, but she hadn’t thought this deeply about it. It was far beyond her scope of imagination, coming from a dimension of obscene abundance as she did, to be in a reality where there was no food. How was that possible?

  “Anyway, they have to show significant progress in five days—”

  “Four now. Today was one of the days,” Mihna cut in.

  “—or the mission gets scrapped and we all get shipped off to a new world. Can you believe it?”

  “New world...” Genevieve was suddenly terrified. A new world? Where? How far? If she was moved would Chin-Sun and Itembe be able to find her again? And why hadn’t they still noticed that she was in the wrong scenario? Enough time had gone by that they should have. It seemed so long ago since she’d flown into the island on the rickety plane and ages since she’d walked through the luxurious property to the swanky bar and met with her hosts. How long did they intend to leave her here and what was would become of her five days from now? A week from now? She started to think about a year and her heart began pounding furiously—

  “Genevieve. Genevieve!”

  “Huh?”

  “You okay, hon?” Jileen said. She and Mihna were both looking at her curiously.

  “Yes. I’m fine thank you. I think you might be right about this drink.” She tried to mask her feelings she set it down on the low box in front of her. They both laughed.

  “Don’t you worry,” Jileen said. “As helpmates, we’ll all be going along wherever they go. It’s part of our contract.”

  “Which means we won’t have to worry about starving like the others. If there’s one group that’ll be at the top of the allocation list, it’ll be this group, and us by default.”

  “As long as everything works out,” Jileen added.

  “I’m not worried. I already have a good feeling about Scathan,” Mihna said, her white smile reminding Genevieve of a half moon. “He’s my helpmate,” she explained to Genevieve.

  “Me, too,” Jileen said. “Aardin and I seemed to click even during the bidding.”

  “Don’t worry, Genevieve,” Jileen said, reaching over to pat her on the hand, obviously mistaking what she was worried about. “I have a good feeling about you and Colin, too.”

  “I’d say you have the least to worry about,” Mihna said. “It’s obvious the man is smitten with you and wants to keep you near. He’s already got that special glow in his eyes.”

  Smitten? If only they had witnessed their argument that morning... But Genevieve didn’t bring it up. She just smiled and nodded, pretending to be flattered. If the other women knew the real reason Colin was keeping her close, they wouldn’t be so confident in their presumptions. Because there was a big difference between wanting to look at her and wanting to keep an eye on her.

  BY THE TIME GENEVIEVE and Colin arrived back home, she was a little stunned at how welcoming everyone had been. No one really knew anything about her and yet she’d received a variety of invitations from the other women to meet for lunch, dinner, or go for walks as well as future couple-style get togethers once the men weren’t under such a tight deadline. There had been a great deal of camaraderie and good humor among the group of humans with much laughter and light-heartedness despite the serious issues that loomed. It was nothing like what Genevieve was used to. Among the Jinn, it didn’t matter how festive or casual the occasion was. They were elitists. And as such, the competitive awareness of status constantly infused everything.

  After such a long day, Genevieve was exhausted and tipsy. Despite Mihna’s warning, she’d finished the first Supernova and had a second, so she didn’t even bother trying to fight with Colin about the bed. She simply went into the room, peeled back the covers, and began to remove her dress. At this point, she could care less about the human custom of modesty. Jinn were free with their bodies and had no problem with nudity. Besides, she was tired and she just wanted to go to sleep.

  Before she’d pulled her arms free from the garment though, Colin appeared by her side with a discreet cough, holding something out to her with his face turned away. “I hope this will do to sleep in. Sorry I don’t have anything nicer for you.”

  She took it from him and held it out before her. It appeared to be one of his shirts. It was made of some kind of silky smooth black material and was large enough that it would fit like a dress. “Thank you,” she said.

  She could hear his soft footsteps as he left. By the time he returned, she lay beneath the covers on her side with her eyes closed. There was a rustling of covers as he got into bed and the light went out following his spoken command. “Goodnight,” he whispered.

  But she didn’t answer because she was already drifting into the twilight of sleep. However, instead of continuing on into the realm of the unconscious she stayed stuck there for several minutes because all of her worries took the opportunity to crowd to the front of her awareness demanding resolution.

  When would this nightmare end? Why had the Mahrid done this to her? Knowing the Mahrid, she could not bring herself to believe it was a mistake. Did they have something against her family? Jinn in general, could hold grudges for centuries and often wreaked revenge upon the offender’s following generations. But no one in her family had ever mentioned a rift with the Mahrid. Most Jinn did their best to stay at peace with them. And what of the tribunal? To simply disappear and not make her final declaration would bring the shame of cowardice—the ultimate weakness—down upon her family.

  Now, in the quiet, with her hopes waning away, she felt the full impact of what her future would be like. For a long time, her mother felt that perhaps marriage to one of the lesser Jinn would be a good solution because Genevieve was quite beautiful and came from a good family. That still meant living at the very edge of society though. And even the lesser Jinn were reluctant to engage in what would be viewed as a mixed-race marriage, despite the prestige of such a connection and the remote possibility of a latent talent being passed down to children.

  But Genevieve had spurned all her mother’s efforts at match-making because an alliance like that would be the final admission that she was lesser in every way, that there was something wrong with her. But now, she chastised herself for her behavior. Moisture welled in her eyes and spilled out through her closed eyelids. This time she didn’t bother to stop them. Why hadn’t she listened to her mother? If she had, access to her home would still be possible, however minimal. But cast out to Earth, she would have nothing and no one.

  She knew deep down that her family loved her, but Jinn valued the purity of the community even more. There would be no visits, no help extended to her, because nobody wanted the stigma that would come of such an association. At the very least, it was her duty to put herself, an individual, second to the highest good of their entire race. At the very least, she wouldn’t rob her family of claiming she was altruistic.

  She wiped at her eyes with the bedcover and the material scraped her skin, reminding her that she would never again enjoy the magically enhanced materials of home. That made her cry harder, and she finally surrendered herself to a one-time indulgence. Though she did her best to remain silent, she could do nothing about the shaking that the sobs caus
ed.

  “Genevieve? Are you crying?” Colin rested his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him as he pushed the button for a dim light above his head.

  Her pride forced her to say, “I’m just tired. That’s all. There’s been a lot of change in my life lately.” But the words came out wet and wobbly, betraying how she really felt and making her ashamed to have been caught in a moment of weakness.

  But compassion and understanding glowed in his eyes rather than judgment. “That’s completely understandable after spending weeks in space on a crappy ship, and arriving here with nothing but the clothes on your back. That would do it to anyone. I’m surprised you made it this far without breaking down. You’re braver than most.”

  She chuckled wetly. “Brave? Stupid is more like it.”

  “Are you kidding?” he said, stroking her arm and making warm tingles skitter across her skin. “Most are so comforted by their daily routines that even the smallest change upsets them. But not you. Here you are, far from home, trying to start a new life. I’m sure you were scared even before you left. And I’m sure you knew how uncomfortable it would be for you.”

  “Well, I had some idea I guess. But doing it is different than thinking about it.” She turned to face him, noticing that he’d put pillows in between their bodies as he’d offered to do before. He ran his fingers through the hair at the crown of her head, starting a whole new series of delicious sensations.

  “I know. It’s normal. It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.” He gave her a small smile that reached all the way to his eyes and wiped a tear from her cheek with his fingertips.

  It was nice and comforting, and she couldn’t help but notice how full and soft and inviting his lips looked from this close. But somehow his kindness and understanding just served to unlock another floodgate of tears. However embarrassed she was at the way she could feel her face scrunching up, there was no stopping the wave of fear and self-pity that now consumed her.

  “I’m sorry,” she wailed. “I can’t seem to stop. Just give me a minute.”

  “No,” he crooned. “You need to cry. Looks to me like it’s long overdue.” And with that, he yanked the pillows out from between them pulled her into his arms. “Just go ahead and let it out. I’m right here for you,” he said, then he shut out the light.

  She stiffened at the contact at first. But then, the strength of his warm embrace and the comfort of his understanding silence broke her resistance. There, tucked against his firm chest, the entirety of her worries pressed vividly into her mind. It’s so unfair! Why did all the other Jinn except for me get powers? What did I do to deserve being left out? Based on her lineage, she should be one of the most powerful, one of the most sought after by Jinn men.

  But she wasn’t.

  And she’d come to Reverie Resort to have a good time, to take her mind off of it all, to have one last wonderful memory to take with her when she left her dimension. But she wasn’t even allowed to have that. Instead, she’s been thrust here in this horrible spot. Perhaps it was simple discrimination that had made the Mahrid switch things at the last minute. Jinn she didn’t even know treating her like trash just because they could... There were some who did it to humans all the time. But the thought that they would do it to her, knowing who she was, made her ill.

  And now, with no ability to free herself from it all or to get revenge, was just too much. She wanted to scream her frustration. But instead, it came out in low, keening moans of pain and a torrent of tears that soaked the front of Colin’s shirt. She had no idea how long she blubbered. She just knew that, through it all, Colin continued to slowly and gently stroke her hair, murmuring comforting words until she fell asleep.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next day, Colin was relieved to see that Genevieve looked more herself, well-rested even. After Maddy, he found that he was scarred in such a way that any small sign of depression in Genevieve sent prickles of panic to his chest. He hadn’t slept well because he’d been worrying about her, and had held her the entire night just so that he could feel her breath against his neck and the steady beat of her heart next to his. He should have been turned on by the close contact of their bodies. Well, there as a small portion of his mind that had been, he was a man after all. But for the most part, he’d just wanted to comfort her and make her feel protected.

  He was glad now that he hadn’t pushed her to talk about herself. Whatever she’d been through, she would tell him about in time. That’s the way it was with these things. Anything that was so deeply festered had to first be cut open and cleaned before it could truly become whole again. She badly needed someone to be her strength. Though she had more than plenty herself, even the strongest needed refuge now and then.

  So far, Genevieve had treated him with disdain, yelled at him, destroyed Maddy’s things, and had a tempest of a breakdown. But he found that he was more relieved than worried by her passionate emotions. She was strong, he thought. Not a sensitive doll that might break if he spoke one cross word, not someone who would hold things in until they couldn’t handle it anymore and decide to check out for good. Genevieve was real and alive, and everywhere she went the space seemed to fill with the power of her presence. It wasn’t just beauty that had made the others turn their heads last night. Even when she cried there was a passion to her that was almost palpable. He could see now that most of her temperament was just a mask for insecurity. Based on what she’d done to his home and how she’d been at the lab yesterday, she was the kind of person who threw herself into a task wholeheartedly once she was focused.

  “What are we doing today?” she asked.

  He noticed she’d put on the work clothes from yesterday instead of the dress. “Are you sure you want to come with me? You weren’t bored?”

  “After one day?” She quirked a brow at him. “Actually, I liked working with plants. Can I do it again?”

  The hopeful look she gave him almost made him laugh. As if the menial labor of watering the plants was a special gift she didn’t want him to take away. No doubt she would fight him if he tried to make her stay home. “Of course,” he said. “The droid parts came in the supplies. So it’ll be fixed today, but I’ll still need your help this morning.” A spot of warmth blossomed in his chest at the thought that she would be by his side for another day. That thought made him brighten.

  He’d been glad when she’d told him that she didn’t have an attachment back home that she might be missing. No one, was what she had said and a part of him had risen with elation at that one word, terrible as that was because it meant that maybe he had a chance. Thank goodness they had the means for cold showers on this planet, because he’d wakened to a massive hard on and Genevieve’s soft curvy body against him. That combined with the vision of her in the gold dress last night, with her sleek curtain of dark hair, and exotic eyes had nearly driven him to try and kiss her. But that would have been absolutely the wrong move at the wrong time. She was just beginning to trust him, and he didn’t want to destroy their fragile beginnings.

  Strange how he could care so much already. Two days ago, Genevieve had been an impulse buy that had given him buyer’s remorse. But now, here he was daydreaming about how good she’d felt in his arms and how much he looked forward to spending the day with her again.

  “All right,” he said. “Before we go to the lab, we have to stop by Brace’s farm. He wanted me to have a closer look at the orchard data with him.”

  “Yes! I would love to see the orchard.”

  “It’s not much of one,” he said, trying to set the right expectations. “They’re really just stunted and deformed saplings...”

  “Still, I want to see them. What kind of trees are they again? What are they supposed to look like?”

  “I’ll show you,” he said, picking up his portable terminal and punching in commands to bring up pictures of Usilian Jerines. When they grew normally, the trunk and branches split geometrically along the way, making them look like something that had been sci
entifically engineered. Their bark and leaves were colored in shades of red, orange, and yellow, making them look as though they were flames come to life. He’d seen them in person before. The leaves were sharp-edged, so when they blew in the wind they added to the flame effect and cut the moving air to create sound. An entire orchard of them resulted in an eerie sort of music, which was why Brace’s farm was placed farther out on the edge of the town than most.

  The trees weren’t being bred for their beauty though. The abundant gourds that sprouted from them were different from other types of fruit in that they contained a complete protein and would make a good substitute for meat until they could grow enough feed to support livestock. Even though Colin had seen Brace’s orchard hundreds of times already, usually with disappointment, he found Genevieve’s excitement to be infectious. And, as they lifted off in the transport, he found he was looking forward to seeing it anew through her eyes.

  DURING THEIR TRIP ACROSS the sky, Genevieve enjoyed gazing at the landscape with its brilliant palate of warm colors. From above, it reminded her of artwork done in chalk. It was a mixture of copper, red, burnt orange, and beige that shifted and flowed in intriguing shapes. There was even a spike of gold flashing in the distance. She peered at it more closely, noting how far it was.

  “Is that a gold mountain over there?”

  Colin glanced over as she pointed. “Yes.”

  “Real gold? An entire mountain?”

  He nodded. “Pretty much all of it. The surface dirt has eroded revealing the thick veins beneath.”

  “Can we go see it?” she asked, intrigued.

  “Sure, but not right now.”

  Real gold was precious in Genevieve’s dimension. She thought of how frequently it was used in Tarmange on sculptures, facades, jewelry, and artwork. One of her father’s powerful friends had even lined the bottom of his pool with it. The most powerful of the Jinn could conjure as much gold as they wanted, which made it a status-symbol. The rest of the Jinn relied upon procurement from natural sources in an attempt to seem more prestigious than they actually were.