by Young, Mila
My heart cracked in two. All my brother had ever wanted was to join me when I stole our dinner. To be part of the action. But he’d always been too sick…and I’d never let him. Now, he wanted to show off in front of the genies. Prove his manhood. But I couldn’t risk him getting hurt. The Collector had all sorts of creatures guarding her fortress. Ali was slow and weak. He’d never be able to get out of the way fast enough if a beast tried to pounce on him.
I swallowed hard to dislodge the boulder caught in my throat. "You're staying here. Dahvi, Zand, and I will go get the sands."
Zand retrieved the lamp from my bag and whispered to it, igniting the burning red letters on its surface. His eyes glowed with regret when he glanced at Ali. "Sorry, little brother."
Red smoke poured out of the spout, hooking my brother's arms and drawing him closer.
"No, Zand. Please."
But my brother’s pleas did nothing to change the genie's mind. And in an instant, he was sucked inside the lamp. Little puffs of red smoke steamed out, reminding me of an angry bull.
Karim went wild and screamed.
“Shhhh,” I told him and he hid underneath a pillow.
"Hey, little brother!" Kaza's said, his voice echoing from within the lamp. “Welcome. Let me show you around. Sorry about the smell.”
I snorted as Zand shoved the treasure back inside my bag. My poor brother was in for a treat.
“No,” I said to Zand. “We must hide this.”
“Why?” His brows pressed down over his beautiful, fiery, brown-and-red eyes.
“The Collector accumulates magical goods,” I said. “We can’t have this fall into her hands. Otherwise, she will command you.”
Zand and Dahvi exchanged glances.
“Very well,” said the red genie. “Where can we hide it?”
“Here,” I said, crossing the room and shifting the mattress aside to reveal a loose piece of concrete. I stuck a finger under it and lifting it to reveal a cavity I’d hollowed out for items like this.
Zand rested the lamp in the space, and I replaced the concrete to conceal it. “Let’s leave at nightfall,” he said, taking a seat on my tattered sofa.
“Karim,” I said to the monkey. “You guard this. Don’t let anyone find it, okay?”
The monkey squeaked his approval.
“Good boy,” I said, patting his head.
I sat beside Zand, his breadth squashing my right side against the armrest, but I quite liked him pressed against me. My foot tapped with impatience. What were we going to do in the meantime? I wanted to leave now. Heal Kaza and camp somewhere safe until all the genies’ powers were restored.
Dahvi picked up my brother’s pack of cards. “A game to keep us busy?”
“Yes, please,” I said, rubbing my hands, desperate to distract myself from the task ahead of me.
* * *
The crunch of leaves and twigs told me my genies were close. Thank the gods. Moonlight failed to penetrate the thickened canopy of The Darkwoods. Eerie shadows reached out for me like a monster’s claws. Even with my eyes well-adjusted to the dark, I could barely see a damn thing. My foot rammed into a log, and I stumbled. Zand was fast on his feet and caught me.
I glanced up into his eyes. The red in them flickered. For one instant, I was filled with the overwhelming desire for him to kiss me. But he set me on my feet and kept walking. My shoulders sagged as I continued deeper into the darkness.
We had waited for the cover of night to leave. Not ideal, considering that was probably when most creatures in the Darkwoods came out to hunt, but, hey, the darkness shielded us from any eyes as we’d taken to the skies on Dahvi’s magic carpet. Now the rug floated a few feet behind its master.
A glow erupted to my left, casting more shadows across our path. Zand’s palms blazed with pale flames. The light wasn’t exactly ideal. It was a beacon for all things that went bump in the night. But I didn’t like the idea of stepping on something sinister. Rumor had it The Collector had unleashed all sorts of creatures on her land. Poisonous snakes and insects. Flesh-eating unicorns. Blood-thirsty worms that lived underground. This was the one place in Haven that I did not want to step foot on in the dark…or in the light of day for that matter.
But if this trip was going to heal Kaza and help Ali, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I just hoped my heart lasted long enough for me to get in and out of the woods alive with the magical sands we needed.
“Your magic is slowly returning,” I said to Zand. “What else can you do?” Behind my question, what I really asked was if he was strong enough to poof me the cash I needed into existence.
Zand brushed a branch away from our path. “I can get us out of here if need be.”
That was somewhat comforting, but not the answer I’d wanted.
Something howled and growled nearby.
I spun around, and my shawl fell off my shoulders. My entire body was taut, on high alert. I didn’t like this place one bit. Put it down to being seriously out of my element and in strange territory. I shivered from the cool and moist air gripping me like icy fingers. The cooler climate didn’t serve me, even if the desert winds at night carried chilled air.
Zand wrapped my shawl back around me.
Having him as well as Dahvi by my side gave me a few extra bars of comfort.
“Thanks,” I said, forcing a smile.
Branches grazed my skin like witch’s fingernails, and I yelped, bumping into him. He wrapped an arm around me, clutching my waist. Warmth spread through me, chasing away the chill of the forest. The comfort of his arms distracted me from the sudden silence sticking to the air. The shrill cry of crickets, so prevalent a short time ago, had fallen still. All the hooting had stopped. Not even a wind blew, and it seemed as if the trees had frozen in place.
A few birds shrieked. Wings flapped, and leaves rustled as the birds flew off.
My body tensed. Something was wrong.
I screamed and elbowed Zand in the stomach. Normally, I wasn’t this flappable, but I felt completely out of my element in the woods.
He didn’t so much as even grunt.
“Crap. I’m so sorry.” I kissed his free hand.
Growls from the woods slashed through my apology.
I froze.
Zand stood like a bear on hind legs—stiff and ready to attack.
Dahvi held his arms tight to his body, scanning the forest.
A nasty smell washed over me. Fur, dirt, and urine. The marked territory of some animal. Red eyes blinked in the distance amid the trees. Not just one. Six pairs. Judging by the height of their eyes, they stood taller than wolves. Probably deadlier, too, if they had anything to do with The Collector.
“The Collector’s beasts,” I whimpered.
Zand and Dahvi remained taut and alert.
Claws raked along the ground, the sound of a beast threatening to pounce if we took another step.
A growl rumbled.
Two of the beasts charged. Their pounding footsteps told me they were huge.
I backed up, straight into a tree.
The weak glow from the genie’s flame illuminated the attacking creatures. All fangs. Horn for a nose. Clubbed tail with spikes. Covered in hair all but on their back, which was covered by a rock-hard plate.
The animal to the left launched at Zand. He was much faster and dodged the attack, deflecting the beast with a fist to the face. The creature struck a tree and hit the ground with a thud. It whined and stumbled to its feet.
I gasped, surprised that the genies possessed immense strength, too.
The animal limped into the darkness.
My throat tightened. I didn’t like seeing any living thing get hurt. But if it came down to my life or theirs, I knew what I’d choose.
The second beast charged.
Dahvi drove the creature back with a punch to its ribcage. Branches cracked from the impact. Gods, he was fast.
A short, savage roar exploded from my right. I flinched.
This time, an
entire pack of the beasts crashed forward, filling the space between me and genies.
I glued myself to the tree, not moving, barely taking a breath.
The genies delivered blow after blow, repelling the monsters. One bounced across the ground, coming to a stop against a log. Another got launched through the air and stuck in a hole in a tree trunk. A third hung limp from a branch. The fourth shot straight up and never came back down. This left only one—the largest, most formidable-looking one, which I assumed had to be the alpha. An uppercut from Dahvi knocked it out cold.
“Enough!” said a commanding, feminine voice.
The beasts retreated into the shadows.
I glanced around but found no one.
Zand and Dahvi spun as if they’d heard something I hadn’t.
I followed their gazes up into the canopy.
“What are you doing in my land?” Darkness concealed the speaker.
I’d bet my life it was Red, also known as The Collector. My ears pinpointed her location—a branch fifty feet to my left.
It felt like quicksand stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I couldn’t get a word out.
Zand took charge of the situation for me. “If you are The Collector, we’ve come to bargain for the sands of Katar.”
A woman dressed in a long green robe stalked farther out along the branch upon which she stood. The bowstring she pulled taut creaked, her loaded arrow aimed at Zand. I wondered if he was fast enough to catch an arrow she launched at him?
What kind of way was this to greet a potential customer who intended to trade with her? Only a crazy person would set their beasts on someone, and then threaten us with a lousy bow. And after what she’d witnessed the genies do? Damn…the girl had some balls. Perhaps she wasn’t so willing to negotiate now that my genies had kicked her beasts’ asses.
Shock rattled through me like a freight train when the robe slipped from her head, revealing her face. I had expected a hideous hag or worse. But she was the opposite. At about five feet three, she stood a little shorted than me. Red curls cascaded over her shoulders. Pale skin glowed red from Zand’s palm fire. Her full lips were the color of roses, and she had curves in all the right places on her toned physique.
Sure, I wasn’t bad to look at, with my lean figure and dark features. But this girl was beautiful. I shouldn’t be jealous, but that emotion flared awake inside me.
Her posture shifted; she pushed her shoulders back and straightened her neck. “You fools couldn’t afford the sands of Katar.”
Talk about sassy. Guess you had to be in a career like hers to have such attitude. Add to that little fact that they we were also trespassing on her lands. Guess she had a right to be a bit rude.
“How much do you want for the sands?” I asked.
“Ten thousand markos,” she replied.
I almost fainted. Who had that kind of cash? Not even Ali’s medicine cost that much.
Zand circled her tree like a tiger sizing up its prey.
Not a hint of fear crossed her face.
“Once you heal our brother,” said Zand. “We will pay whatever you ask.”
Her green eyes didn’t stray from the fire in his palms. Hunger for power rolled in her eyes.
“We pay amply,” Dahvi mumbled, his gaze glued to the rise and fall of her perfect breasts.
Fire boiled in the pit of my belly. I’d expect such behavior from Kaza, not Dahvi. But then there was the tiny part of me that couldn’t blame him for gawking. Her breasts were perfect, and this wasn’t the time for me to allow the crazy, green-eyed monster to take over—actually, there was never a good time for that, but especially not now. We had people to save.
The words that came from Red’s perfect mouth hit me like a blow to the guts. “Money upfront or no deal.”
Just as fast as she had appeared, she vanished into the gloom.
My heart sank to the bottom of my chest. We were screwed. “Let’s go,” I said and turned around.
But Zand wasn’t about to give in so easily. “I have something far more valuable to barter,” he called out.
A response from The Collector came out of the shadows. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”
Chapter 11
Zand whispered in his strange language, and the magic carpet returned, floating a few good meters from The Collector’s perch on the tree branch.
The woman’s eyes blazed with temptation, and she confidently navigated the limb, balancing on it with ease, as if she’d been climbing her whole life. Reaching out, her fingers traced the length of its silk.
It pulled away as if frightened of her.
“I’m listening,” she said to the genie, totally in command of this negotiation.
Zand lifted himself onto the branch beside her. “You can have the carpet and three wishes.”
I felt as if a tree trunk had slammed into my gut. I couldn’t breathe. Unable to get a word of protest out. What was he doing? Giving away my wishes? How was it even possible for him to leave me when he hadn’t granted me a wish? My mind tumbled, trying to make sense of it all.
Red’s voice cut through my confusion. “Deal.”
My heart crumbled in my chest. “What about the wishes you owe me?”
Zand glanced over at me. “But first, I must fulfill my commitment to my current master.”
What? I stared at him, working out his scheme. He was playing the woman. Dirty rascal, and here I thought he was fooling me. I felt like an idiot.
Darkness stormed across Red’s face, and she looked ready to spear him in the chest. “Do I look like a sucker?”
She swung around the branch like a gymnast, and landed on the ground with the agility of a cat.
Hands fisted, I jumped in front of Zand prepared to fight for my genies if need be.
Zand sidestepped me, and pulled the ruby ring from his forefinger and held it out for her. “Take this. In one month, my service to my master will be complete. Then you may summon me with this.”
Red inspected Zand’s belonging as if it were a piece of trash, and her nose wrinkled with disgust. “Prove it.”
My hands squeezed by my sides. I couldn’t believe my ears. He didn’t just ditch me for that prettier bitch did he? “Um, Zand, you got a moment.”
He waved a hand at me as if I were a pesky fly. Ruby flames flared on Zand’s wrist and jumped onto the ring. They shot out, lashing Red on the wrist, leaving a scorch mark on her skin.
Was he sealing their agreement with magic? What was he doing?
Satisfaction flickered in Red’s eyes as she examined the marking. “We are tied magically. Now you cannot cheat me out of our arrangement.”
My legs wobbled, and I almost fell to my knees.
The collector accepted his ring with a smile. “It’s a deal. Wait here, handsome.” Her gaze teased across his body as if she imagined doing the dirty with him. “I’ll get you your magical sands.”
With a wink, she drifted off into the darkness.
The remaining wreckage that was my heart turned to dust and scattered around my body. That pain twisted into fury. It surged inside me, like a vicious sandstorm blanketing the city.
“I can’t believe you’ve just made a deal without my permission,” I shouted. “Aren’t I your master?”
“Calm down, Master.” He grabbed my hand and stared deep into my eyes. “Trust me. I’m handling it.”
I rubbed my forehead. My feet carried me the length between the two closest trees. “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“Master if you don’t calm down you will ruin everything.” Impatience gave Zand’s voice a brittle edge. “Control your anger. In this situation it’s your greatest weakness.”
My ears couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Fire scorched the inside of my stomach. I shot him a glare more deadly than a cobra’s bite. “I’m helping save your brother so you’ll save mine.”
Hot, bitter tears streamed down my cheeks. Needing to put space between us, I raced off into the forest. The d
arkness caught up to me, and I stumbled again on what I thought was a tree root. This brought me crashing down on my knees. I shuffled to sit against a huge trunk, and leaned my head back on it. Dead leaves crunched in my hand, and I let them flitter to the ground, each representing the grains of my heart.
Betrayed thoughts tumbled inside my mind in a thick confusion. Did he not have faith in me to get the sands? I remembered something he’d said to Kaza about stealing all the glory. Was Zand competitive and wanting the triumph? Who cared so long as Kaza’s life was saved?
Then there was the issue of Zand leaving me for the collector. Was I not the one who released him from the lamp? Did that not make me his master? What exactly were the rules of the lamp? I hadn’t excused him from his service to me. Yet he was making all the decisions for everyone.
Gods. Then there was the selfish part of me, the one that hated to admit, that I was hurt that I had not had the opportunity to explore my feelings for Zand. Maybe I’d fooled myself into thinking that he had an attraction to me too. The tug I and the genies had felt when I released them from the lamp might have meant something completely different to Zand. Perhaps it was gratitude for being freed after so long. Or recognition of the master that would finally free them from slavery. I struggled to process all the thoughts bombarding me.
The crunch of leaves and twigs signaled someone approached.
I wiped away my tears and smoothed my hair.
Please let it Dahvi looking for me. His presence always had a way of calming me. Damn, what I would have given for Kaza to cheer me up with one of his silly jokes.
“Master?” My stomach dropped at Zand’s deep voice.
“Leave me alone,” I shouted at him.
Flames blazing on his palms illuminated the regret pinching his forehead and the tightness in his posture.
“Please, understand, Master.” He put a hand up against the tree I leaned on, filling me with his smoky scent.
I kicked at a log by my foot, refusing to look at him. “That you’re leaving me for Red and her goddess curves. Sure, I understand.”
Geez. Why was I acting like this? I hadn’t bonded with Zand. Yes, I had a crush on him, but that was it. Maybe my chest ached for my brother, for his devastation at losing his new friend.