by A. Star
I put a finger to my lips to shush him.
“You wish to keep me all to yourself then, do you?”
I ignored him. Maybe if I didn’t say anything she’d go away. Maybe he would, too.
“I know you’re awake in there,” Ash said. She jiggled my doorknob but it was locked, like it always was. In real life, not in a dream.
“Seriously, Glory. Is everything okay?” She started to sound panicked and a freaked-out Ash was not something I wanted to deal with right then. Her voice had already shot up a few octaves. Soon, it would hit dog whistle range and then she’d be uncontrollable.
I sighed and pretended I wasn’t fully awake. “I’m fine, Ash. Must’ve been talking in my sleep or something.”
“Oh.” There was a brief silence. “Okay! Night!” I heard Ash pad off to her room. I didn’t move until I heard her door close.
Flipping back the covers, I swung my legs over side of the bed and leaned forward to stop my head from spinning. I looked up to find Irving watching me with a critical eye. But he was still there, and that was my problem.
“I have to be fucking dreaming,” I said. My voice wavered with my building skepticism.
“For the last time, Glory. You are not.”
I had to be insane to believe him, but I did. Sort of. My toe still throbbed from kicking the damn vase. I pinched myself and cursed the sharp pain I felt. Dammit, I was awake.
I rubbed the sore spot with my fingers. “Genies are real,” I mumbled.
“And you insist on taunting me.”
I stared up at Irving. The fucking genie. “Huh?”
“I am a Djinn. Not a genie. I mean it, Glory St. Pierre. Do not call me a genie again.”
“Don’t threaten me, asshole,” I growled.
Suddenly, Irving was stretched out over me. I hadn’t even seen him move. I was lying down now. Had I fallen back or had he forced me down? I didn’t know.
“Or you will do what, human?”
“Get off of me,” I snarled. “Now.”
I felt his muscles relax, weighing me down even more. He scowled. “Why do you smell so good? What do you call that perfume?”
“Soap,” I snapped, pushing up with my hips. He pushed back and tightened his grip on my wrists. I tried to knee him in the groin, but he blocked my attempt by forcing one of his legs between mine. I was trapped, so I did the only thing there was left to do.
I slammed my forehead into his beautiful face.
With a curse, he grabbed his head and rolled away. The second he was off me, I leapt from the bed and grabbed a textbook from the nightstand, ready to knock his ass silly if he wanted it that way. But all Irving did was groan and hold his throbbing temples.
His growl was deep and low. “Were you born with that head, or was it conjured by some evil sorcerer?”
I laughed breathlessly. “My mom always did say I had a hard head.”
“Oh yes, I know this saying. And hard heads make for…soft asses.” His gaze drifted downward. I followed it and realized all I had on was a pair of panties with my tank. I would have covered myself, but I thought, why? Irving had already seen everything.
“Stop gawking, Irving, damn.”
Irving snorted and cringed as though it hurt. “The women of my kind sleep naked, so you are nothing special. Except for your…” He gestured with his hands, turning his palms inward and pulling them apart.
“Are you calling me fat?”
Irving’s expression softened. “Not at all. You are…” His brow creased as he searched for the right word. I waited impatiently, dying to know what he would come up with. He must have realized that because a minute later his expression hardened and he said, “Never mind.”
Infuriating bastard.
“Where did you find my Chronolier?”
The lie just rolled off of my tongue. “A pawn shop. Cost me, like, fifty bucks.”
He snorted. “Humans obviously do not know a treasure when they encounter one. A pawn shop. And for so little of your currency? My Chronolier is priceless. And what the hell was it even doing in a pawn shop?”
I rolled my eyes, but I was surprised that he bought my lie so easily. I wasn’t sure why, but I guessed I didn’t want him to know more about me than was necessary. I didn’t want him to know about my dead grandmother and that I’d actually found the vase in her basement. Then he would have more questions that I couldn’t answer. Like, how did Old Addie acquire the Chronolier? I was sure it wasn’t from a pawn shop. She had traveled the world twice over during her life so maybe she had collected it during one of her trips. I didn’t know and probably never would. Addie was dead and gone now, and I was going to stick with my lie until I had no choice but to come clean.
Seeming to have forgotten something all of a sudden, Irving started patting down the pockets of his duster. He pulled a gold pocket watch from the second pocket on his left side. He clicked a button on the side of the watch and it popped open.
Irving examined it for a moment, then snapped it shut. “Time is running out, human. You wasted much of it trying to wrestle me.”
“You jumped on me!” I exclaimed. With a frustrated grunt, I slammed the textbook back down on my nightstand. “Time is running out for what, Djinn boy? Tell me without any smart-ass commentary, thank you.”
Irving rubbed his temples once more before rising. “It is Djinn law, Glory. I have to deliver the terms and you have to accept them before the next sun rises.”
“The terms for what?”
“Are you hard of hearing? Your three wishes.”
“Wishes?”
“Yes. I am a Djinn. You are the master of my Chronolier.” Irving turned his face up as though he couldn’t believe he was about to say what he was. “And the master of me.”
“I am?”
“Yes.” He glared at me, but I could do nothing but smile. I was this sexy douchebag’s master? Oh, the possibilities…
“What does that mean exactly?”
Irving circled me and I let him. “It means I must grant you three wishes, anything your petty human heart desires. Only the granting of your third wish can free me from your service, and until then, you may summon me at will and I must remain in your company until you release me.”
“Really?” This sounded way too good to be true.
“Yes, really, Glory.” Irving’s tone betrayed his annoyance with my questions.
“Okay, so how does this work? When can I make my first wi—”
He held up his hand. “There are rules to this that you must know first.”
“Djinn have rules for wishing?”
“No. You have rules. Take them or leave them, Glory St. Pierre.”
I was taking them, for sure. I nodded at him to proceed.
“Rule number one. Never wish death on others. I am a Djinn, not an assassin.”
That would be an easy one to follow. There were a lot of people I disliked on this Earth, but no one that I hated enough to want dead. “Done,” I said.
“Two,” he continued, “Do not wish for magic or to be a Djinn. You must be born as one of my kind and wishing to be made into a Djinn will forfeit all of your wishes, so do not even utter the words.”
Well, that was harsh. “Why can’t I wish for magic powers then?” I wasn’t really thinking about doing it. I was just curious.
“I did not say you could not wish for them. I just said do not wish for them. It is dangerous to do so and if you have even a hint of intelligence, you will heed my warning.”
Okay. “And rule three?” I asked.
“Three.” Irving’s violet eyes glowed. “Once you make a wish, it cannot be undone. So be careful what you wish for because you will get exactly that.”
I heard the warning loud and clear. To avoid wishes gone wrong, I had to wish for the details. I would have to think long and hard about what I wanted and make sure the wishes were airtight with no room for error.
“Do you agree to these terms?” Irving’s beautiful eyes st
udied me, waiting, or hoping, that I’d say it was all too much for me and that I wanted him to go away. This is what he wanted, but I had other ideas.
“I agree.”
I expected Irving to just accept that, but instead, he became slightly enraged. With an angry flick of his wrist, a swirling cloud of purple and gray appeared before us. If I had been questioning whether magic was real, whether Irving was real, it was no longer up for debate.
Irving reached into the cloud and pulled out a tiny device. It looked like one of those old-timey fountain pens with a crystal vial in the center of the brass frame. He flicked his wrist again and the cloud disappeared.
“Give me your hand,” Irving commanded. With a huff, I did as he ordered, even though I wanted to remind him that I was the master and was supposed to be giving the orders. Not him.
“You son of a bitch!” I hissed as Irving pricked my finger with the point of the pen thingy. “What did you just do?” I sucked on my finger to dull the sting.
“Only your blood knows the truth.” Irving held the pen up and we watched as that tiny drop of my blood somehow coated the entire vial, then turned blue. I swore that surprise flickered across his expression, but it was gone so fast, I couldn’t be sure it was ever there at all.
“What is that thing?” I questioned. I already despised Irving, but my curiosity was a bitch and made me ask.
“It is a verity-meter.” When it became clear that he should try speaking English, he said, “It is a lie detector.”
“A lie detector?” I frowned. “Why do you need that? What do you think I lied about?”
“Nothing.” He slipped the verity-meter into a pocket of his duster. “Now, make your wishes.”
“Now? Like right this second?”
“Why wait? I’m sure they will neither be difficult nor take much thought.”
I frowned. “Why would you assume that?”
“Because humans are shallow creatures with shallow desires and they only ever wish for shallow things. Fame, infinite wealth, love from one that would not love them otherwise…the story is always the same.” He glared at me. “And I doubt that you are any different.”
My face heated with fury. “How dare you! You don’t know me!”
“I do not need to. As stated, humans are all the same. Now make your wishes so I can be on my way.”
“I will not.”
He growled. “Have you always been this insolent and ridiculous?”
I crossed my arms. “My mother would say, yes!”
“Then I pity the poor woman. I’m sure you were quite the hellish child.”
“Oh, I bet your mother didn’t have it any easier with you. I’m sure more than once she considered leaving you on some unsuspecting fool’s doorstep.”
The fury that crossed Irving’s face in response to my jab iced my spine over twice. “For your sake, I will forget you ever said that and leave.”
“Good.” I refused to show any fear or that I was concerned in any way for his feelings.
Irving grunted. “Make your wishes now and we’ll never have to see one another again.”
“Oh, you would just love that, wouldn’t you? I should do it too. Then maybe I’ll just tie a rock to your Chronolier and drop it into the ocean where no one would ever find it again!”
“Do you promise?” Irving smiled and damn that stupid Djinn, it was fucking beautiful. I hated him.
“I’d never make it that easy,” I said, returning the grin. “You’ll be granting all my wishes, asshole, and you’ll hate every second of it. I plan on taking my precious little time about making them, so I hope that bottle has a television and a toilet that flushes because you’re going to be in there a while!”
Irving laughed, a charming sound that heated my blood and made me want to kiss him. Then smack him over and over again. “I do not live inside the Chronolier, Glory. I live on the other side of it.”
Damn him again for piquing my interest. “What does that mean? How can you live on the other side of the bottle?”
His eyes narrowed and I smiled. “The Chronolier acts as a gateway from my realm into yours. It is a beacon that can lead me directly to you.”
I snorted. “Your realm. Where is this so-called realm?”
“On a plane several dimensions from here. It is called Shrinelyn.”
I stared at him for a minute and realized he was dead serious. “Take me there.”
“Not a chance.”
His quick reply threw me off. “Why not?”
“Because humans are not allowed in Shrinelyn, and even if they were, I would never take you.”
I was insulted, plain and simple. “Okay. I’ve had enough of your shit for tonight. You can leave. Now.”
Irving insulted me further by bowing. “Your wish is my command, Glory.”
Oh, this asshole… “You’ll be hearing from me soon enough, douchebag. So enjoy your little vacation while it lasts.”
“Oh, believe me, human.” Irving’s violet eyes flashed. “Every moment I spend away from you will be moments I treasure for all eternity.”
And with that, Irving was gone, leaving only a cloud of spiced fragrance to remind me that he was ever there.
I woke up the next morning still pissed off.
That son-of-a-bitch genie had managed to injure me, insult me and get the last word in the night before. I almost couldn’t stand how much that bothered me.
Were all genies, Djinn, like him? If so, then I hoped I never met another one. I could deal with one rude genie, but two, three? Things could get really ugly if I was forced into a situation like that.
My stomach growled, reminding me I needed to eat before I left for class. Reluctantly, I dragged my tired body from bed and shuffled toward my bathroom. I showered and dressed, deciding to brush my teeth after I ate. The key to the Chronolier still rested on my side table. I had been warned to keep it safe, and even though Irving was a jackass, he was also my personal wish master and I wanted my damn wishes.
So instead of just slipping the key into my pocket or onto my key chain, I found an old chain necklace in my jewelry box and slipped the key onto it. I fastened the chain around my neck and tucked the key inside my shirt to hide it from view. I didn’t want Ash, or anyone, asking any questions about it that I couldn’t answer.
Ash shuffled into the kitchen only minutes after me, mumbling a greeting as she piled her golden brown dreadlocks on top of her head and held them in place with a tie. Following my lead, she made herself a bowl of cereal and dropped down at the table across from me.
“I met a beautiful asshole last night,” I led with. And he’s a damn genie. It was right there on the tip of my tongue, but I knew better than to let that slip.
Ash groaned as she sprinkled sugar on her bland flakes. “I hate those types. You adore that gorgeous face until you realize how flawed it is. By their fucking mouth.”
I grinned. “That’s Irving all the way.”
Ash cringed. “It’s even worse when they have a sexy name to go with the face.”
“I know,” I groaned. “It’s the worst.”
“Where did you meet him?” Ash shoved a spoonful of flakes into her mouth and waited.
“At the gas station while filling up my moped.” I’d already concocted a nice story to cover up the truth.
She grinned. “You still gave him your number, didn’t you?”
I laughed. “Of course I did. If you’d seen him, you’d understand why.”
Ash pointed her milk-covered spoon at me. “Details, bitch. Now.”
I happily gave her a fake detailed account of how we’d met and of every gorgeous feature Irving possessed. Sure, he was a supreme asshole, but no one could deny his beauty. Even after our terrible first meeting, I still wanted to bang him. As far as sexual encounters went in my world, I didn’t have to like them to fuck them.
“Was that who you were talking to last night when you lied and said you were talking in your sleep?” Ash questioned.
>
Instead of trying to force the lie, I came clean. Sort of. “You got me. I was talking to him on the phone.”
Ash grinned proudly at having figured me out. “So you’ll be seeing him again then?” She got up to wash out our cereal bowls.
“Without a doubt,” I replied. My hand automatically went to my necklace and clutched the key hanging from it.
“Well, I wish you many juicy orgasms then.” Ash saluted me as she left the kitchen to get ready for work at one of the local tattoo shops. She had decided not to be as stupid as I was and take summer classes. Both she and I were covered in tattoos we’d acquired from Agony Ink, the shop she worked at. While my tats were more abstract and meaningless to everyone but me, Ash’s tats were deep and spoke volumes with just a glance. My best friend had had it pretty rough growing up and each tattoo memorialized on her coffee-colored skin represented a painful event from her past. She’d never given me details, and I’d never ask for them, but I knew that whatever had happened to her had been bad.
School was a drag that day and I was relieved when the monotonous droning of my professors was over and I could escape. I couldn’t get home fast enough and nearly crashed twice because I was driving my moped like an idiot. But I made it home without killing myself or anyone else.
After a shower, I summoned Irving by turning the key in the Chronolier three times, as I’d done before. I had no idea why either, as I had no plans of making a wish. I still didn’t know what I wanted to wish for and what Irving had said bothered me. For some reason, I didn’t want him to think I was like every other human and only wish for material things with no meaning. Why his opinion mattered, who knew. The fact remained that one day I’d have to wish for something, but when I did, I wanted it to count.
The gears on the Chronolier ground and turned, and Irving eventually appeared in his scented cloud, making my nose tingle and my stomach flutter. He was as beautiful as before in his sleeveless duster and leather pants, but his black hair was pulled back and a pair of gold-rimmed goggles sat on the top of his head. Those violet eyes of his gleamed with all the magic he was capable of…and his lips sneered with all the violence he was capable of. He was not happy to see me and made no secret of it.