Magical Redemption

by Nicola E. Sheridan

  “I think this is Sunway Lagoon.” Jinx gestured at a sign nearby depicting the theme park spreading before them.

  Lucian sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I said the Free Zone, Malaysia.”

  Free Zones were places throughout the world where magic was unregulated. It suddenly made sense that’s where Lucian would want to go.

  Irked, Jinx huffed in return. “I couldn’t hear you over the noise those beasts were making. Besides that, the Free Zone is in Kuching, Sarawak, and that’s in Malaysian Borneo.” She took a deep breath. Her head was spinning.

  Lucian hefted his bag onto his shoulder. “Take me there,” he barked.

  Jinx felt the tingle of magic trill through her at his command, but she was too weak. As a very young genie, she hadn’t reached her full power. She needed food and rest. His command was useless until then.

  A blonde strand of hair fell over her eyes as she shook her head. “I need rest. I can’t take us anywhere until I’ve rested. Transporting two people over 6,000 miles tends to wear a girl out.” Her words were slurred with tiredness. She couldn’t be bothered to mention that she also had no sleep since she and Tim left Perth over forty hours previously.

  Lucian’s eyes flashed with anger. Jinx heard his teeth grind.

  “I’m sorry, it’s just the way it is...Master,” she said.

  “Lucian,” he retorted and stalked away. “Come on. We’ll find a hotel room.”

  As he strode ahead of her, he pushed his sweater sleeves up to reveal strong, muscular forearms. It was swelteringly hot. Jinx felt another jerk of attraction but wearily shoved the thought away and followed him. With each step, her legs felt leaden. It was an uphill walk to the exit of the complex, and she struggled to keep up with his powerful, angry strides. The hot, tropical sun burned down on her head, and the world swam blurrily around her. She felt herself swaying. For an interminably long moment, she struggled to stem her fall but couldn’t. As she flinched, helplessly awaiting the impact of the pavement, Jinx found herself caught in strong, warm arms. She opened her eyes and looked over the face above her. Lucian’s face was tight and worried. His brown eyes burned into hers.

  “You are tired,” he said and supported her to stand. His hands were hot on her waist and, despite her grinding exhaustion, his touch was unexpectedly pleasant. With slow but patient progress, Lucian assisted her to the resort hotel overlooking the theme park.

  Jinx had no recollection of how long it took to get a room, or how Lucian managed to coolly dismiss the concierge’s concern over her health. She soon found herself carefully deposited on a soft, plush bed.

  “Will you be all right?” Lucian asked, observing her curiously.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned. “Some food...please.”

  He gave a curt nod and stalked over to the telephone beside the bed. Jinx watched him from under heavy lids. He spoke into the phone with a snappy tone. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Lucian was hovering over her, holding a tray of sandwiches and fruit. A steaming cup of coffee completed the picture. His expression was guarded. “Are you strong enough to eat?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Jinx whispered and hauled herself up. When she was sitting and stable, he rested the tray on her crossed legs.

  No master has ever served me before...Jinx realized with a jolt. “Thanks,” she said.

  Lucian nodded and hesitated. “Can you transform yourself back?” He gestured at her blonde hair and tiny nose, seeming to deliberately avoid looking at her massively inflated boobs.

  Jinx snorted. “You don’t want me to stay like this?” she asked, analyzing his features for the truth.

  Lucian’s face was its usual, cool mask. “No, it’s vulgar and doesn’t suit you,” he answered. The tightness in his voice surprised her.

  She didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted by his answer. “Most masters find it an improvement.”

  Lucian didn’t answer. He seemed distracted as he glanced out the window, over the theme park.

  “We should be safe here for the moment. Your lamp is in my sports bag. Rest for a while, and I’ll be back later,” he said after a long and thoughtful gaze at the tiny people below.

  Jinx finished an exhausting mouthful. The tasty sandwich felt like rubber in her mouth, requiring endless amounts of chewing. “All right,” she gulped. She wanted to inquire where he was going, but the exhaustion was overwhelming.

  Lucian gazed at her quizzically as he collected the tray of discarded sandwiches and placed them on the bedside table.

  “Yes?” Jinx asked.

  “Rest. You’re of no use like this.” He looked her over as she reclined obediently on the bed.

  “Okay,” she muttered and rolled onto her side. She noticed Lucian steal another glance at her before striding from the room and locking the door behind him.

  Jinx rolled over again and sighed. She felt hot in her cloying dress and leggings. With a mammoth effort, her clothes disappeared in a swathe of rainbow smoke. She gently returned her body to its natural form. Finally, as her breasts shrank, her hair darkened, and her nose grew strong and large once more, the exhaustion and tiredness swallowed her. She fell deeply asleep.

  * * * *

  Lucian roamed the streets around Sunway for several hours. Initially, his thoughts were filled with bloodthirsty chupacabras and worry for the Hellcats. He didn’t like abandoning them, especially since they showed remarkable loyalty to him during his incarceration above the Simper’s Café. He would call them when he returned to the room, just to check.

  Several loud, laughing women in long skirts walked past. The close proximity of so many human women made him tense. A slow, burning hunger had begun to smolder deep in the region of his groin. He shouldn’t be around all these women, not so soon after his imprisonment. Sighing, Lucian stood in the cool breeze from an open shop doorway. He noticed the curious and admiring gazes some of the women in the vicinity threw his way. A statuesque Arab woman, swathed in black from head to foot, glanced his way. Her dark, heavily-kohled gaze caught his. She quickly averted her eyes and hurried after her husband.

  I am a predator, Lucian thought. Even that woman noticed it. So, why hasn’t Jinx? He closed his eyes to consider a moment. Maybe as a genie, she just didn’t care. Maybe she had enough demons of her own to worry about. He remembered he saw something in her eyes, something that made his stomach squeeze, but it had nothing to do with curiosity about what he was. Jinx was fiery, funny, and quick, but she was also damaged. It was as plain as the nose on her face. The thought made his stomach tighten again, and he didn’t like it. What made those shadows chase through her eyes? Taking a glance at the watch he rescued from his basement, Lucian turned swiftly and returned to the resort, determined to ask what she was hiding. She was his genie, and he had a right to know.

  When Lucian exited the lift, he noticed with more than a pinch of irritation the magical ion-sensing devices situated at intervals along the corridor. How had he not noticed them before? He also saw neat, gold-framed reminders hanging on the walls, stating clearly that in Malaysia, with the exception of the Free Zone, magic usage was restricted. Anyone caught performing illegal acts of magic would be harshly penalized. A stab of anxiety exploded as he remembered asking Jinx to transform herself from the grotesque, blonde stereotype. That reversal would require magic. If the resort had magical ion-sensing devices in the room, Jinx could well have been arrested and her lamp confiscated during his absence. Lucian lurched across the corridor and banged on the door of their room. There was no answer. He hoped she was still asleep and that there wasn’t a Magical Pursuit Team hiding and awaiting his arrival. He unlocked the door with his card. The cool air rushing past him in a gust smelled slightly of genie magic, sweet and spicy. He quickly closed the door and threw a cursory glance at the ceiling. Ordinary smoke alarms were in place, and not one m
agical ion-sensing device was present. He felt relieved. Trying to be completely silent, he walked into the room. Feeling voyeuristic, but unable to stop himself, he looked at the bed.

  Jinx was still asleep.

  She’d transformed.

  She was naked.

  Lucian couldn’t help a sharp intake of breath at the sight. She was sprawled on top of the covers with the air conditioner sending a caressing breeze over her slumbering form. His heart lurched with arousal and hunger spiking through his veins.

  Jinx’s body was the color of milky coffee, lithe but surprisingly muscular. Her small breasts, relaxed in sleep, were topped by large, dark brown nipples. He looked down her chest and lingered on her stomach. Old, crinkled lines interrupted the smooth flow of skin as it dipped down to her belly button. Were they stretch marks? His gaze was about to travel lower to the nest of hair between her legs when her sharp voice snapped him from his reverie.

  “When you are quite finished,” Jinx snarled. She sat up and pulled the covers over herself. “If you want a show, I’ll be glad to do one. Just wish it, master.” She spat the word like the unwanted pit from a cherry.

  “It wouldn’t be a true show, though. Would it?” Lucian replied in a deceptively mild tone.

  Jinx looked confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, I think you do,” Lucian said smoothly.

  * * * *

  For a long while, Jinx and Lucian were quiet. She saw that look in his eyes. Though it flashed over them for a split second, it was unmistakable. He wanted her―not the fake version, but the true one he saw asleep on the bed. Now, his gaze was hard and calculating. Her heart pulsed with the speed and rhythmic force of a 1990’s techno beat. She licked her lips nervously. There were many things she would have liked to say but couldn’t find the words.

  It was Lucian who broke the silence as he took a step closer to the bed. “Why were you made into a genie?” he asked suddenly, his eyes scurrying over her face with strange intensity.

  A spasm of horror rocked her body and whooshed the air from her lungs. It wasn’t an unexpected question, and she had many lies prepped to give as an answer. Something about Lucian’s intensity stalled the lies before she could speak them. Mortified, Jinx stared at him. “I don’t want to tell you,” she replied weakly.

  Lucian’s brow furrowed, and an insolent arrogance replaced his curious gaze. “Then, I command you.” His voice held that sharp, icy edge she’d grown to loathe.

  Jinx closed her eyes and bit her lip, but her heart hammered so loudly, she was certain Lucian would hear it. She could not lie. She gulped over the painful lump in her throat. “I was made into a genie to both save my life and to curse it,” she whispered bitterly. Her mind was thrust back to the dark, dark memories she tried so hard to forget. She remembered the pain she’d never forget as she curled her hands around the quilt cover.

  Lucian’s voice broke the memory. “How is that possible, to be saved and cursed at the same time?” His voice softened a little, sounding less cold and more curious.

  The memories tore through her mind again, brutally trying to shatter what tenuous self-control she had. “It just is.” Her voice cracked at the edges. She felt as though she were drowning. She struggled to breathe. Lucian couldn’t know the truth. She wouldn’t survive its telling. “Please, don’t ask any more. Please.” She bit her lip again, and this time blood welled, salty and warm in her mouth. She clasped her hand over her bleeding lip to stem both the blood and any further explanation.

  Lucian was quiet for a heavy moment, but his gaze appraised her with the thoroughness of a doctor with his patient. “Okay,” he said. It was the unexpected acceptance behind that one word that threatened to tear her composure asunder.

  Jinx once promised she’d never cry in front of a master. She promised she’d never cry again, but his cool agreement made her weak with sadness.

  “Excuse me. I think I’ll go for a shower, now,” Jinx whispered. She caught Lucian’s assessing gaze for a brief second before she slid with dignity from the bed and walked toward the bathroom and solace. Gently closing the door behind her, she struggled to contain the wracking misery and sorrow the memories evoked. She turned on the shower, hoping the noise would mute the sounds of her sobbing. It didn’t.

  Chapter Four

  “When you’ve finished weeping,” Lucian said through the door, “come out here, and don’t use any magic.”

  His words jarred her. Jinx raised a weary head from the shower wall. She stood under there for nearly half an hour. The hot water beating down on her tired body was cathartic and relaxing. She stood slowly and turned off the shower then surveyed herself in the massive, floor-length mirror. Her eyes were puffy. She automatically uttered a spell to remove the redness but stopped suddenly.

  “Why use no magic?” she asked, refusing to let her hesitation and embarrassment show.

  Lucian’s voice came from close to the door. “There are magical ion-sensing devices in the corridor. It’s illegal to use magic here, and if those sensors go off, we’re both in trouble.”

  Damn. She surveyed the shiny granite and marble bathroom for something to dress herself in but knew she’d find nothing. She had absolutely nothing to wear other than her broken crucifix, which she hoped still lay on the bed, and the fluffy bathrobe hanging from the back of the door.

  Feelings of dismay and frustration simmered again. “I’ve got no clothes, and I look a mess.”

  She glared at the door, willing Lucian to respond.

  He was silent a moment. “For fuck’s sake,” he finally growled. Jinx could almost see him in her mind’s eye running his hands through his hair in annoyance. There was another long moment of silence. “All right. I’ll go get you clothes. I’ll be back soon. Hester and Fess will look after you.”

  Agh. Hellcats!

  “I don’t need bloody looking after,” Jinx muttered and wrapped herself in the fluffy bathrobe. She carefully opened the door a crack just in time to see Lucian stalking from the room after shoving wads of money into his pocket.

  As he locked the door behind himself, Jinx smelled the telltale scent of Hellcat in the hotel room. Feeling stupid, worried, and absurdly nervous, she crept out of the bathroom. The two Hellcats were busy grooming each other as they reclined on the cool, tiled floor near the television. One of them raised a massive head and blinked at her, releasing a low, soft purr.

  “Hey.” Jinx raised her hand and waved at it. It blinked its violent, red eyes and resumed grooming its partner. Deeming the beasts relatively safe, she walked to the small kitchen area, put on the kettle, and made herself a cup of tea. She added copious amounts of creamer. What was she going to say to Lucian when he returned? She didn’t want to discuss her breakdown, not with him, not with anyone; though, she suspected he was too brutishly rude to care, anyway. In some ways, she was glad he was so uncaring, because she didn’t want his sympathy; however, she certainly didn’t want his disapproval and disgust, either. As long as she remained fit enough to grant his wishes, they’d get along fine.

  Lucian finally returned after two hours. He nudged open the door, arms laden with packages and bags. The tropical heat made him sweat, and his gray sweater was flattened to his body. She saw the sculpted shape of his pectoral muscles beneath it. He took a quick glance around the room. His gaze met hers briefly.

  “You took your time,” Jinx said gruffly. She tightened the fluffy robe around her waist, suddenly aware she was stark naked beneath it.

  He noticed the gesture and curled his lips into a slight smile.

  Jinx frowned. Though she didn’t know him well, Lucian seemed in an incredibly good mood. Or was he just trying to smooth over her outburst earlier? Perhaps he didn’t want to discuss it, either.

  Lucian didn’t notice her confused expression. “There is a shopping center not far away
. The women in the stores were—” He paused, the ghost of a smile flickering, again. “—very helpful.”

  She stopped thinking about her previous worries. Were there women out there flirting with her master? Why would anyone flirt with him? Sure, he was absolutely gorgeous, but he had the temperament of an angry bear and the manners of a pig. Yet, the thought that women were flirting with him was suddenly unbearably annoying.

  Jinx huffed. This time, Lucian did curl his lips into a smile. “I can’t see why they’d be helpful toward you. If you’re as nice to them as you are to me, I suspect they would have peed in your orange juice.”

  “I didn’t ask for orange juice. Here, take these,” he said, stalking up toward her and offering her four shopping bags. Startled by his sudden closeness, Jinx stumbled backward. Lucian caught her firmly around the arm. Heat rushed from the point of contact, and she gasped. He released her abruptly and handed over the shopping bags. She glanced at them. They were filled with clothes, underwear, shoes, and makeup.

  She stared at the labels: Gucci, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, and MAC. She widened her eyes. Lucian must have spent a fortune. “Master,” she exclaimed, “you shouldn’t have. This is so expensive. I could have gotten this through magic.”

  Lucian shrugged, clearly disinterested in her reaction. “No, you couldn’t. This city has more magical ion-sensing devices than a leper has scabs. I’m not going to risk you being caught using illegal magic. I need you, and I refuse to walk around with a woman who looks like she’s been shopping in a refuse bin.” He flickered his gaze over her for a moment. Jinx held herself steady, refusing to flinch at his criticism.