One Wish Away: Djinn Empire Complete Series

by Ingrid Seymour

  “Look, it’s cool. You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business, like you said.”

  But I found that I actually wanted to talk about it. Maybe getting it off my chest would help me stop thinking about it.

  I sighed. “It’s like everything else with him. He can’t because it would put us in danger.”

  “You mean it’s like telling you he loves you. He would turn into a man?”

  “No, not exactly the same. Last time we . . . tried something, he sort of lost control of himself and his magic.”

  “Okay, so we need one those chastity belts, like, right now!” She put a hand up in the air and said out loud, “I’ll hold the key.” She lowered her voice and added, “I don’t want to die just so you can get your freak on.”

  “Ha ha, you’re so funny.” It was a little funny. A quick smile stretched my lips involuntarily. “But don’t worry, you won’t die anytime soon. It’s not like Faris and I have time to worry about that. I mean, I do think about it sometimes. I don’t know why. It’s not important. Not with the world going to hell as it is.”

  Abby let out a quick exhale through her nose. “Well, if you think about it, there really is no better time to worry about it. Actually, it seems to me that this world-going-to-hell situation is extremely conducive to those types of thoughts.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Survival instincts,” Abby said with a matter-of-fact shrug.

  I frowned, slow to catch her meaning.

  “Don’t play dumb! You want to make little Djinn babies, because you think you’re gonna die. That’s how that survival of the species shit works.” Abby scratched her head. “I’m just not sure what species that would be?”

  I narrowed my eyes and gave Abby the deadliest look I could manage.

  “Get those green death rays off me.” She waved a hand in front of my face. “It’s the truth, and you know it.”

  “If that’s the case, then you need to do your part, Abby White. We wouldn’t want a shortage of short people, when all is said and done.”

  “Petite is a much nicer word, and, by the way, that was uncalled for.” She stuck her tongue out and looked away, feigning offense.

  “So do you need any help? I can talk to Maven. Or maybe Samuel would do.” I put a finger on my chin and looked up at the ceiling in an exaggerated sign of puzzlement.

  “Now, that was really, really mean. Rest assured I can take care of myself. I’m fully capable of doing my own pimping, thank you very much.”

  We laughed and shouldered each other playfully back and forth. After a moment, we grew silent and stared at the dilapidated steps.

  Abby spoke first. This time, her tone was deadly serious. “I want you to know, just in case, that you’re the best possible friend anyone could ask for in a world-going-to-hell situation or any other kind, for that matter.”

  I threw an arm over Abby’s shoulder and pulled her in. “You, too.” I was glad to my have my friends with me. Now, if only we could find Dad.

  6

  Faris

  The earth beneath my feet was supple and rich. I inhaled the scent of oak and magnolias, felt the warm summer breeze on my skin and marveled at the sense of peace the chirping crickets created.

  Life could be so beautiful, and yet so wicked.

  If I closed my eyes and pretended, happiness seemed within my grasp. If I forgot about everything, about everyone else, happiness was three words away.

  I sat on the swing that hung from the huge oak tree in the backyard. The rough rope creaked under my weight. A vast array of leaves blocked the moonlit sky and bathed me with shadows.

  I closed my eyes and saw her face. Green, tenacious eyes. Smooth skin. Blue-black, raven hair. God, she was beautiful. But, above all else, she was strong. She’d been through so much already, some of her trials due to me. And yet, she held her head high and kept fighting.

  I couldn’t fail her.

  “Hey.”

  I turned. Marielle stood in the dark, arms over her stomach, hesitant.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yes.” I would give her no reason to worry. Not if I could help it.

  “I sensed you wanted to be alone, but I had to come and check on you.” There was an apology in her words.

  “Come here,” I said.

  She took a couple of tentative steps in my direction. When she was close enough, I put my hands around her waist, turned her sideways and pulled her down onto my lap. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I embraced her back, burying my face in her hair. Her scent was intoxicating.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t control my temper in there,” she said. More apologies when none were needed.

  I hushed her with a kiss. Her lips were supple and warm. She tightened her hold around my neck and pressed closer to me. Something inside me stirred. Gathering all my will, I pulled away, barely enough to put a couple of inches of distance between us, not enough to escape from her intoxicating scent. I turned my face to one side and inhaled, trying to fill my lungs with oak and magnolias once more.

  She wiggled out of my grasp and walked away, holding her head low. I had embarrassed her again. I rose to my feet, fists clenched. Every day I failed her in so many ways. But how could I tell her of this uncontrollable desire for her? Yet, I had to. I couldn’t let her think she’d done something wrong, when all the blame belonged to me.

  Clearing my throat, I said, “You do something to me.”

  She looked up. Shadows blotted her face, but I could still see her brow furrowing in question.

  “I—I . . .” Words escaped me because they went against all the things I knew about courtship, things I’d learned when I’d been a man too long ago. But these were different times, even discounting the threat over our heads. Marielle saw the world through a different lens, and it was my duty to endeavor to see it the same way.

  I took a deep breath. “I want you. Intensely.” I averted my gaze as heat built up around my shirt’s collar.

  She came near, stood toe to toe with me but didn’t touch me. “I know,” a mere whisper. “I shouldn’t make it harder on you, on either of us.” She smiled and, even in the dark, I could see the glow of shame on her cheeks. She was admitting she felt the same way I did. My body betrayed me then, igniting my blood with the thought of her desire for me.

  Lowering my forehead to hers, I closed my eyes. “What are we going to do?” I asked.

  “We could give in. The hell with humanity. Since when are they our responsibility? They had it coming, anyway.”

  “They did, didn’t they?”

  “Say you love me and let everyone fend for themselves,” she said in a husky voice.

  “You don’t mean that.”

  A huge sigh escaped her. “If Dad was here, I would.”

  “We’ll find him, and then we’ll wash our hands clean. How does that sound?”

  “Fantastic.”

  We both knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

  ***

  After dinner, everyone made their way out to the porch. The air was cold and crisp, a proper winter night for New Orleans. Still, the porch was less cold than the house, which seemed to hold the chill like a refrigerator.

  “I feel like a decadent plantation owner,” Abby said, her legs thrown over the arm of the rocking chair she occupied.

  Sitting on the top front step, Helen stretched her feet. “Very much so. They used to sit and sleep outside on hot nights. The house was entirely too suffocating without air conditioning. But on nights like this, they would have had a fire going. Maybe we can gather some wood tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, the cold does suck,” Abby said. “It sucks,” she repeated slowly, looking at Benito who stood back against the wall. The boy repeated, getting the pronunciation a bit off.

  “With Abby as an English teacher, you might want to keep a bar of soap handy, Javier,” Marielle said. She was leaning against one of the thick porch columns. Moonlight shone on her raven hair. She loo
ked stunning.

  “You think?” Javier looked warily at Abby. He also sat on the porch steps, an arm draped over his wife’s shoulder.

  “Don’t listen to her, Javier,” Abby said, pretending to be offended. “Benito’s in good hands with me.”

  Maven walked through the front door, zipping his jacket. “Man, you sure you can’t hook us up with a central heating unit, Faris?”

  I stopped my incessant pacing at the bottom of the porch stairs and looked up at Maven. “Is your brother coming?”

  Maven shrugged, his mouth twisting in a “who cares” sneer.

  “Okay, let’s begin then. I want to start by saying that I’m glad you are all here. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is welcome.” If Samuel was listening from within the house, I wanted him to know I held no grudge against him.

  “I think we all understand the situation at one level or another,” I continued. “It is complicated to say the least, but the more we understand it, the better equipped we’ll be to come up with ideas on what to do.

  “I’m not asking anyone to put their lives in danger. That is not why we have brought you here. On the contrary, we invited you to Live Oak because it’s safer than being within the city limits. New Orleans has become Akeelah’s stomping grounds, and that makes it more dangerous than any other place in the world. Though nowhere is entirely safe, as I’m sure you well understand.”

  I paused, inviting them to say something, to ask questions, but no one said anything. Words escaped them at the moment, though not uncertainty. Their eyes were brimming with it.

  “After Akeelah’s initial attack, governments and their citizens have gone quiet. It is likely the authorities are trying to figure out what to do next, but they know as well as we do, that humans don’t have the means to fight this attack. To succeed, we need to fight fire with fire.”

  “He means fight magic with magic,” Abby pointed out.

  I continued, “We have a possible course of action for that, but first, I think we should ensure everyone’s survival in case it doesn’t work. We’ll also take time to find Marielle’s father.” I wanted her to believe we would find him. There was no other possibility.

  “What do you think Akeelah will do next?” Helen asked.

  “That’s the same thing we’ve been pondering,” Marielle said.

  “She’ll probably wait.” Samuel came strutting out of the house. “She has all the time in the world. We, on the other hand, will grow hungry, thirsty, sick. She doesn’t need to do anything else. When people go out looking for food, they’ll riot, kill each other over a scrap of bread or a dented can of green beans. It will be lovely.”

  Javier, Anita and Helen tensed up visibly. Their eyes went wide, while the rest of their faces tightened with worry. I was glad the child couldn’t understand entirely. Benito was too young for these horrors.

  “Aren’t you the angel of mercy?” Abby played with her spiked hair and gave Samuel a nasty glare from behind her raised hand.

  Samuel shrugged. “I’m just calling it as I see it. If you want to delude yourselves, go right ahead.”

  “The problem with you—” Maven started.

  “Samuel is right,” I interrupted.

  Eight pairs of eyebrows frowned in my direction.

  I had their attention again. “We should expect the worst. We can’t mince words, no matter how dreadful they sound. We need to consider every possibility, so we can be prepared. Samuel’s scenario is a possibility. Though knowing Akeelah, I don’t think it is a very likely one. Patience isn’t one of her virtues.”

  “I agree with Faris,” Marielle said. “She’ll do something else, something worse than just letting people starve to death and kill each other. She hates us way more than that.”

  “She could poison the water,” Javier said. “Or the air.”

  “That’s more like it.” Samuel nodded vigorously. “So far, I guess we need shit-loads of food, water purifiers and gas masks.”

  “She could use nuclear weapons. Biological weapons,” Abby offered reluctantly, giving Samuel a sideways glance.

  Samuel bounced down one of the porch steps and sat by his mother’s side. He tapped his jaw with one finger.

  “Also radiation and biohazard suits, then,” he said. “I’m sure our magic-wielding friend here can get some of those for us. Right, Faris? We’re counting on you.”

  Sarcasm was definitely one of Samuel’s talents, but it didn’t bother me. I liked his irreverence. It made me feel like an equal, which was to say, it made me feel human. I was tired of being looked at with awe. There was nothing awe-inspiring about me.

  “Oh wait!” Samuel hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “You actually can’t help. Not magically anyway, since that would give our location away. Bummer. Does anyone here know where we can find high-tech, biohazard suits? If so, pray tell us, so we can drive there to steal them.” He made a big show of looking around. “It would be fun, and a great bonding experience.”

  “My boot would like to do some bonding with your ass, right about now.” Abby lowered her feet from the armrest and stomped her heavy boots on the wooden porch.

  Maven laughed with disproportionate humor, reminding me of my brother, Zet, and the way we’d always tried to up each other.

  Samuel huffed and stood. “Y’all are pathetic. I’m going to sleep.”

  “Thank you!” Abby exclaimed, as Samuel walked back inside the house. “That’s the best idea you’ve had all night. We’ll call you if we need bait once we decide what to do.”

  “What a jackass,” Maven said.

  Helen looked mortified. “I apologize for his behavior. He’s been through a lot.”

  “Oh, that’s just BS, Mom. He’s always, always, been like this.”

  Helen covered her face with both hands and shook her head in frustration.

  “I know we’re not an impressive bunch,” Marielle said suddenly, “and hope is pretty bleak at the moment, but we can’t give up. Right?” Everyone nodded, if halfheartedly. “So, I think the first order of business is to get provisions for any eventuality. We’ve done some of that already.”

  I smiled as Marielle took the reins.

  “There’s enough food in the kitchen to last a few weeks, so that’s something,” she said. “There’s a well in the back with a hand pump. It’s old-fashioned, but it works great. That takes care of water.

  “Obviously, we don’t have biohazard suits, but if we ever need that kind of protection, Faris won’t hesitate to use his magic to save your lives, even if that means leading that monster straight to us.”

  Marielle turned her beautiful eyes in my direction and smiled sheepishly, as if apologizing for speaking on my behalf. We hadn’t discussed exactly what we would do if something like that ever happened, but she knew me well, and nothing she’d said was out of line.

  “Marielle speaks the truth,” I said without hesitation. “You are safer here, and I will do everything within my power to keep it that way.”

  “I feel very fortunate. Thank you, Faris,” Abby said sincerely, then, raising her voice toward the house, she added, “I do think some of us non-eavesdropping folk deserve more protection than others.”

  Maven snorted. Helen gave them a disapproving glance.

  “Um, I was just joking, Mrs. M. Your son is a gem.” Abby flicked her eyes toward Maven, the tone in her voice suggestive.

  Maven’s smile disappeared. He frowned and cocked his head to one side as if trying to figure out which son Abby was talking about.

  I caught a sly smile as it crossed Marielle’s lips. It was the same type of smile she wore when she had match-making plans for her friends.

  “But it isn’t only about staying here, safe,” I said, capturing their attention once more. “At least not for me. First, I want to find Robert, then I want to stop Akeelah, as unlikely and difficult as it may seem. It’s my responsibility.”

  “And mine,” Marielle added forcefully.

  “And mine,” Mav
en jumped in without hesitating.

  “Maven!” Helen objected. “You can’t.”

  Maven ignored her.

  “Oh, heck!” Abby put her hands on her hips. “Mine too, I guess.”

  “You’re not alone in this, Faris,” Marielle assured me, her eyes drilling mine with intensity.

  I knew better than to argue with her. Yes, we were in this together. And yes, I understood she loved me and would go to the end of the world with me if she had to. But did she understand I could never allow that? I would do anything in my power to keep her safe—as well as her friends.

  I nodded to acknowledge their support. This was certainly an instance in which honesty was not the best policy. It pained me, but their lives mattered more than anything else.

  Javier shifted from side to side and scratched his head. “But how can you fight her?”

  “There’s a way.” My tone changed involuntarily, becoming deep and confidential. “We have in our possession a book that explains how to destroy a Djinn. It’s complicated, and even though Marielle, Abby, Maven and I have discussed how we may accomplish this, we haven’t come up with a good solution, yet. We need someone to complement my magical power. I’m not strong enough to carry out what the book describes, but we will continue to work on the problem. Perhaps you can all help think of a way. Destroying Akeelah won’t be easy, but we shouldn’t abandon hope.”

  I paused and peered at everyone. Their faces didn’t look hopeful, but they didn’t seem defeated either, only tired.

  “For now,” I added. “I think you should rest. We will start tomorrow, and there will be much work to do.”

  Abby started laughing all of a sudden. Everyone looked back at her as she stood, framed by the open front door. Benito had sat on the rocking chair and was staring at her with big puppy eyes.

  “What so funny?” Maven asked.

  “Nothing, I was just . . .”

  “Just what?”

  “Well, I was just thinking the world’s in a shit-load of trouble if it’s up to us to save it.”

  Maven frowned at first, but then gave a sharp laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. Don’t underestimate us. Mom is fast with a ladle and Samuel can kill anyone with his charm.”