One Wish Away: Djinn Empire Complete Series

by Ingrid Seymour

  I grimaced. Imprisonment was bad enough. I knew that well. But this? Akeelah had no concept of pity. She had never known pain, so how could she even begin to comprehend or care about the level of cruelty of her deeds?

  I thought of my brother, then. Was this what he’d gone through while under Akeelah’s control? I shuddered.

  After a long moment, Gallardo finally disappeared with a hollow pop. Akeelah flicked her arm in disgust. The bottle rolled away, bounced off one of the crates, and didn’t come to a stop until it hit the wall.

  She stared at me, nostrils flaring. “Your filthy pet won’t be able to hide forever.” Her words were delivered with care as if I were a child prone to inattention. “My army has grown this night, and I suspect it will continue to do so. Humans flock to do my bidding, even without my involvement. They will find her.” She threw her head back and laughed. “I simply love it. It’s poetic. You have to admit.”

  To someone who had craved the destruction of humankind for thousands of years, watching men and women kill each other had to, indeed, appear poetic. In reality, it was a horrific tragedy, but Akeelah had no morality to see that. She was a vile monster.

  “You will not succeed.” There was conviction in my voice, much more than the situation warranted.

  Her mouth curled into a hideous snarl. Something in her essence shifted as she prepared to speak. I waited for the words to come out, but she held back.

  I frowned. She never held back. That could only mean one thing.

  She knew.

  I looked down, my gaze shifting toward Gallardo’s blood-red bottle. So he had told her about the banishing spell. In spite of his determination not to, in spite of everything he’d witnessed, he’d betrayed humanity’s only hope.

  Whatever element of surprise we’d had was gone. Did we even stand a chance anymore?

  I glanced back at Akeelah. Clearly, she didn’t want us to know she had found out. She must have thought it gave her the upper hand somehow. Perhaps it did, but I had to believe it didn’t matter, or I would despair.

  Was there a way to use her knowledge to our advantage? If there was, we would figure it out, but, for that, I had to escape from her first. It wouldn’t be easy. She was sure to follow me the moment I left.

  But, even if I could think of a way to evade her, how could I abandon Robert? How could I go back to Marielle and explain I’d left her father behind? I couldn’t do that—not when Akeelah could order him killed at any moment. She’d kept him alive this long, but that was no guarantee. Her temper was too volatile.

  Staying here wasn’t an option, though. What good was I to Robert, Marielle, the world, if I was paralyzed by indecision?

  Akeelah forced an unconcerned expression on her face, one so obvious it was laughable.

  “I won’t succeed, you say?” She cackled. “Success is already underway, in case you have not noticed. My disciples are passionately doing their job—so well that my army,” she looked at the spilled bottles with disdain, “is dedicated to a single task.”

  She gave me a pointed stare, making it blatantly clear what that task was. She’d sicced her half-djinn on us and, as I had experienced, they were rabid to please her.

  So this was the chilling situation: humans were killing humans while deranged creatures preyed on us, possibly the world’s only hope for salvation. I lowered my head, feeling my guilt grow exponentially upon my shoulders.

  Akeelah smirked, pleased by my dejection. But she was mistaken if she thought it would be this easy. I straightened my shoulders, making a hard decision.

  Forgive me, Robert. I sent the thought outward, pretending it could reach him. I only hoped he could see I had no other choice but to go.

  Without preamble, I tore the dividing veil and rushed into The Blink.

  As I knew she would, Akeelah followed.

  23

  Faris

  I weaved in and out of The Blink like a needle and thread stitching through a piece of fabric.

  At every turn, Akeelah followed, mocking, letting me know my escape attempts were little more than child’s play to her.

  You can’t hide from me, Dross Lover. Her words resonated in the air every time I slipped into the physical world.

  I materialized on a Tokyo sidewalk as a group of businessmen prepared to cross the street. Just two weeks ago, the area would have been teeming with people. Today, however, only a few brave souls dared pretend the world hadn’t been tipped on its head. Regardless, I replicated their matching outfits, features and intent expressions, and synced my steps with theirs.

  Akeelah picked me out of the small crowd in a matter of seconds and appeared at my side in her habitual form, causing a panicked stampede.

  After this, even the brave would choose to stay behind closed doors.

  Slipping away once more, I appeared on a platform in Shibuya station, normally one of the busiest railway station in Japan. I timed it perfectly and sidled into a car just as the door slid shut. In the next instant, Akeelah made herself comfortable on one of the benches behind me. I sensed her right away and sighed in frustration. The only person in the car got up from his seat and began banging the doors, begging to be let out.

  “She can’t hurt you,” I told him in a tired tone.

  He stopped for a moment—his eyes bouncing like tennis balls from the obsidian-carved Djinn to me—then went back to beating his fists against the glass.

  I sighed, closing my eyes.

  “You damage my reputation,” Akeelah said with a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, Faris, Faris, I know the exact shape of your magic and it never, ever, goes unnoticed.”

  My eyes sprang open.

  That wasn’t true. My magic had gone unnoticed more than once. But that had been under different circumstances. Akeelah hadn’t been paying such close attention then, hadn’t been anywhere near me, for that matter. In contrast, at the moment, she had eyes for no one else but me.

  A distraction.

  I needed a distraction.

  But what? What could get her attention away from me when I seemed to be her only focus? When the desire for revenge saturated her essence?

  At a loss, I sat down on the bench across from her and stared into her emerald eyes.

  The frantic man found his escape at the next stop. He ran out of the cabin, screaming, effectively preventing anyone else from climbing on board.

  An idea took hold of me. Noticing the change in my demeanor, Akeelah sat straighter, assessing me. I had the sense to hold back the smirk that rose to my lips and, instead, donned a crestfallen expression. She licked her lips, looking satisfied.

  You won’t hold that look for much longer.

  I stood abruptly, barked a foul curse at her, and vanished into The Blink once more. Once more, I threaded my way in and out of the physical world, appearing in different cities.

  This time, however, instead of utilizing only the amount of energy needed to tear the veil, I used the full force of my magic. My idea was to get her used to these big surges of energy every time I passed between realms. If she came to expect full-fledged wishes, then maybe a slight whim would go unnoticed.

  Now the trick was finding the right time and, of course, the right diversion that would allow me to escape and get back to Marielle.

  24

  Marielle

  Alone in Faris’s room, I curled up inside his sleeping bag, all too aware of the empty space beside me. His scent clung to the slick fabric, a scent of mint and magic.

  With a sigh, I rolled toward the window, remembering his angel face under the moonlight. The memory made me ache inside.

  “He’s safe. He’s safe,” I murmured to myself.

  The otherwise silent house groaned in response. Everyone was sleeping, even Ma’ Gee who’d gladly taken one of the sleeping bags and appropriated a room at the very end of the hall.

  “He’s safe,” I repeated again, trying to convince myself this was true. But I wasn’t fooling myself. Maybe Akeelah couldn’t hurt Faris, but
there was a banishing spell. We had it in our possession. The means to destroy a Djinn existed. What if she learned about them and used them against Faris?

  I kicked the sleeping bag out of the way and stood. Wrapping my long sweater around me, I paced from one end of the room to the other. With every other step, my woolen socks snagged on the old, splintered hardwood floors.

  “Damn it!”

  Mad at the stupid floor for not letting me pace in peace, I plopped on top of the sleeping bag again and sat cross-legged. After sitting in darkness for a long moment, I lit a candle and pulled the book I’d been reading out of my backpack. It was a Spanish copy of The Little Prince. Since I already knew the story well, I’d been reading it to practice and expand my comprehension and vocabulary. Needless to say, it was slow progress. It had taken me over a week to get through the first few pages. I had, however, learned how to say “jungle” and “sheep” in Spanish.

  I made an effort to read, hoping it would make me sleepy, but it only managed to increase my frustration. I had no idea what “corbatas” meant and couldn’t glean its meaning through context alone.

  Useless!

  I set the book down, angry at it as if it was the cause of all my problems. At that thought, my eyes made their way to the backpack once more.

  If there was something or, more accurately, someone who could be blamed for all my problems—for all the world’s problems, really—it was Zet.

  I reached into the backpack again and, this time, pulled out the stone tablet that held him prisoner. Reluctant to touch it for longer than necessary, I set it on the floor in front of me. The candle light illuminated its etched surface, making the small characters look as if they were moving.

  Memories of how the foreign script had rearranged itself into English words flashed before my eyes.

  “This is all your fault!” I told the stone, imagining that, somehow, my words could reach Zet in the depths of his well-deserved confinement.

  “If you hadn’t played Akeelah’s game and told her about your curse, she would’ve never been able to do this.”

  It felt stupid talking to an old rock, but I had to take my anger out on something.

  “Although you were probably over the moon to go along with her. I know I can’t claim to really know you, but, in the few times I had the pleasure, you seemed like a jackass.”

  The stone seemed to stare at me with little eyes made out of cuneiform characters. I flipped it over to set its smooth side on top.

  “I bet you’d be having a blast killing innocent people right and left, wouldn’t you? And what if you’d managed to trap your brother like you wanted? Who would you blame for your screws-up then? Yourself?” I gasped in an exaggerated way. “No, no, we couldn’t have that, could we?

  “Well, guess what?! There’s no one else to blame but you. It wasn’t Faris’s fault that you lost Cala. He didn’t steal her from you. She chose Faris. Plain and simple. I know him and he would never do something like that. He’s too honorable for such a cheap shot. And I’m sure that, deep down, you know that. You’re just too immature and selfish to admit it.

  “You probably always thought his good qualities were an affront to you. And, like a spoiled little brat, you only saw why he was better than you and not why you were worse.”

  Fueled by anger, my voice began to rise above a whisper.

  “But I know why you’re worse. I know why any sensible girl would pick Faris and not you. Do you want to know why?” By this point, I was quite beside myself and openly screaming at a piece of flat rock.

  There was a light knock at the door. “Marielle?” Abby whispered in a concerned tone. “Are you okay?”

  Quickly, I flatten myself on the sleeping bag and pretended to sleep. The door squeaked as it opened. I felt Abby’s gaze on me. She would probably think I was having a nightmare. Her steps shuffled on the floor, approaching, and I kept on the pretense because I wanted to be alone and was too embarrassed to admit that I had resorted to screaming at inanimate objects.

  Abby blew out the candle. The smell of smoky cinnamon and spice rose into the air. Steps retreated. The door squeaked again.

  I sighed and opened my eyes to darkness. Turning my head, I looked at the stone. From this angle, it looked even smaller and flatter.

  “I will tell you why,” I said as if my stupid monologue hadn’t been interrupted. “Cala didn’t choose you because you’re a coward. She saw it. Hell, I see it and you’re not even here. It’s not that hard to notice really. Your absence is a dead giveaway.

  “Because, by now, a brave man would have accepted his mistakes and would have granted his brother the forgiveness he deserves.”

  With my rant ringing in my ears, I turned away, disgusted and feeling like a coward myself. Zet, Faris and I shared equal parts of the blame in this mess. Clearly, I had my own faults and laying here pointing out someone else’s wasn’t courageous in the least. For a moment, I even felt sorry for Zet. The moment didn’t last long, though.

  Laying on my side, I curled myself into a ball and rocked gently.

  Faris, come home.

  If he didn’t get back soon, I was afraid of what I might do next. Pushing reckless thoughts away, I tried to sleep. It didn’t go very well.

  25

  Faris

  I tore a large opening in the veil, my magic rising to its full strength. Tirelessly, I had dragged Akeelah in and out of both realms all night. She showed no signs of giving up her pursuit, though her patience was certainly wearing thin.

  However, this was to be the last stop, if I could draw her attention away from me for just a moment.

  Floating away from the opening, I took shape in the front row of pews inside the Immaculate Conception church on Baronne street, after purposely exiting The Blink by the fifth row. This was the same place Marielle had visited with her parents when she was a child and where she’d figured out how to trap Zet. I had never been inside this church, or any other Christian church for that matter. I’d only chosen this location for its connection to Marielle.

  The place was empty, dark and eerily quiet. The golden altar was beautiful with a Moorish-inspired design, the many stained glass windows breathtaking. Off to the side, in front of a pious image of Saint Peter stood a votive candle rack. I made a wish, and flames flickered to life upon every charred wick, painting the saint’s wooden face with trembling shadows.

  Akeelah materialized next to me and watched the altar with an expression of disgust.

  “A tasteless choice, this one,” she said.

  I didn’t respond at first. There was a certain peace in the church that I had not expected, and her voice seemed the more grating for it.

  Finally, I said, “Tasteless is what you are doing. Though there are better adjectives for it. Low, immoral, corrupted, just to name a few.”

  “All empty words. Concepts in a limited human imagination.” In spite of the disinterested sound of her voice and her initial disgust, the way Akeelah’s emerald eyes began to move over the elaborate columns, the stained glass windows above, the cast iron pews, revealed she wasn’t entirely oblivious to the reverent mood it all inspired.

  Maybe I had been right to bring her here. Time to find out.

  Casually, I stood and covered the short distance between the first pew and the marble steps that led to the altar. Akeelah remained seated. I let my gaze wander, then linger over every small detail, allowing my awe for the place to show plainly on my face. In the end, my eyes settled on an oil painting of Baby Jesus.

  “You are no god, Akeelah,” I said, wishing I could judge her reaction to my words, but knowing I had to play my hand carefully. “Those who think differently are as deranged as you are.”

  She scoffed. “And what? This is a better choice than me? This emptiness? This absence? At least I’m here.”

  “You are not a choice. You are a Djinn. Nothing more. You have forgotten your place.” I turned and walked along the marble steps toward the rack that held the burning
candles. I stopped and regarded Saint Peter’s smooth face.

  “Bah, you don’t believe in any of this.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her wave a dismissive hand at the altar. “Your god, when you were human, was another. Just as useless as this one.”

  “Or as you.” I smirked and walked toward the back of the church, my fingers brushing lazily over the pews as I made my way to the fifth row. Just as I had hoped, Akeelah didn’t turn to look my way. She was confident she would feel the surge of my magic if I tried to escape. What she ignored was that, once an opening to The Blink was available, I needed but a whim to leave the physical world—luckily the tear I’d used to come into the church still had another five minutes before closing.

  “Your precious humans don’t seem to think that,” she said. “On the contrary, they seem quite taken by me.”

  When I reached the fifth row, I turned, walked to the middle and sat with a heavy sigh. Akeelah was directly in front of me, her back straight, her long, white hair draped over the back of the pew. She still seemed intent on the altar.

  “So you care if the same Dross you hate so much approve of you?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” she said in a loud bark.

  Now, I told myself.

  Becoming but a wisp of essence, I rode on the wings of a flimsy caprice. Slowly, I floated through the already-open slit in the veil, doing my best to contain my magic. I wanted to burst forth and dash away, but that would only draw Akeelah’s attention. Once in The Blink, I huddled tightly, keeping my energy caged, making myself as small as possible.

  I was nothing but a speck, a very, very tense speck.

  Once she realized I was gone and she surged back into this realm, would she notice me? Would the whim that had transported me here be small enough to escape her notice? This was all uncharted territory for me.

  My wait wasn’t long.