A Bottle Full of Djinn

by Paula Lester

  “No one,” he said, his voice as rumbly as ever. “They wished for fun and adventure, so I’m giving it to them.” He waved a hand and the flowers disappeared, but Zoey barely had time to breathe and be thankful before the origami papers on Courtney’s craft table began to move. Invisible hands crafted them into shapes which began to run around. A knight attacked a dragon with a sword, and they fought on the table as though it was a fairytale battlefield. Soon, origami villagers joined in, making a circle around the dueling couple, waving clubs and shouting. Jerry, Ester, Maria, and Travis gathered around, hooting and hollering themselves as the brave knight fell to his knees, sure to be eaten by the angry dragon made of wispy red tissue paper.

  That didn’t look too dangerous for the residents, so Zoey turned toward Hope. “Any ideas?”

  “We have to figure out who cast the memory spell on Georgio,” she reiterated. “And I really think it’s likely to be the same person who called him.”

  Zoey watched Courtney climb off the sofa and join the retirees watching the epic origami battle. She was struck again by how hard the new Social Director was working at doing a good job at the home. Even though the residents weren’t making her job very easy for her.

  “I have an idea.” Hope rushed toward Kelli’s office and woke up the computer, tapping into the keyboard madly.

  Zoey kept one eye on the dragon situation. She noticed Maria wandered off toward the back hallway. She probably wanted to get something in the kitchen. Glancing at her watch, Zoey saw that was getting close to lunchtime already. She’d spent extra time getting ready and the day was speeding away from her.

  She really wanted this to be the last day she had to deal with the Georgio situation. And the last day without Howie being home where he belonged.

  Hope reappeared next to her. “Okay, I think I can do a spell that will help guide us to whoever’s behind all this. I’m going to need a couple helpers.” She eyed Zoey, raising a perfectly-arched, blond eyebrow. “I get the feeling you don’t like cooperative magic much. Are you up for helping me?”

  Zoey winced. Hope wasn’t wrong. Solitary magic was much more enjoyable and comfortable for her, when she had to perform it at all, than cooperative was. In the back of her mind, she always thought about her mom when she was doing spell-work with someone else. It made her self-conscious. She couldn’t help but wonder if the others in the circle were keeping a close eye on her. Wondering if she courted the dark side too. Worrying that she might call a demon who would eat them like her mother had presumably done.

  She had to admit that part of her always worried about that a tiny bit too. After all, magic ran in family lines, and her line was tainted by dark magic. What if, one day, it seduced her like it had her mom?

  Well, maybe it would, she told herself firmly, but not today. Today, she had work to do. Good, solid, helpful work that had nothing to do with dark magic. And she was going to take care of her retirement home charges no matter what. Even if it meant she had to do more cooperative magic. Even if it meant doing a spell with Hope Vega.

  She nodded firmly, setting her jaw and straightening her shoulders. “I’ll get Steve, and he and I will do whatever you need us to.”

  Chapter 21

  They went to Zoey’s office. She’d asked Kelli and Courtney to keep an eye on the goings-on with the djinni and residents and sound the alarm if anything went awry. As they passed the kitchen, Zoey glanced in and saw Maria visiting with Ashley while she enjoyed a piece of lemon meringue pie at the bar.

  She smiled to herself. Courtney Close wasn’t the only great new addition to the staff. Ashley Briggs was working out perfectly too. She seemed to like being around the residents and having fun with them, and she even took the time to learn the types of foods they liked so she could have them on hand. Maria’s expression showed she was absolutely in heaven as she savored the pie.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Steve clapped his hands together and wiggled his eyebrows, making Zoey laugh.

  “First, we have to set up a circle and do a sage smudge.” Hope twirled her hair around her finger and ducked her head, gazing at Steve through long eyelashes, which she fluttered for extra pizazz. The tenuous truce they’d made didn’t keep Zoey from feeling a flash of irritation at the flirting. She reminded herself she had a perfectly nice, handsome boyfriend and had no reason to feel jealous about her frenemy liking Steve.

  Still, she couldn’t help but rush a little to break them up. She grabbed the chalk out of her desk drawer and drew around the faded circle from when they’d made the herb concoction, freshening it while Steve lit a bunch of dried sage she kept on the table and smudged the whole office to remove negative energy.

  Hope directed them to sit in the circle, and she climbed in herself. They all sat cross-legged. Zoey tried to fight down the natural unease she felt at being on the cusp of performing magic as a group. She pictured the faces of each of her residents, ending with Howie, to keep in the forefront of her mind why she needed to cooperate with Hope and do the spell.

  Hope began to hum, low and steady, and Steve joined in after a moment, harmonizing easily. Zoey came in at a higher octave but stayed in tune with them.

  She really hated this part. Singing was not her forte, and in fact, it made her even more self-conscious than usual. She kept thinking about Howie to keep herself grounded and calm.

  After a few minutes, Hope began to chant while Steve and Zoey continued to hum. Right away, Zoey felt a change in the energy of the room. It was as though something had caught on to her very spirit and held her in a warm embrace. It felt nice. Safe.

  Maybe there was something to doing community magic after all. She risked cracking her eyes open a fraction of an inch to see that Steve and Hope both had content looks on their faces. They must feel the same thing she did.

  Hope chanted a bit more, and then she asked the energy in the room to guide them to the source of the recent upheaval. “Show us who called a member of the Djinn,” she said firmly, and then she was silent. The others followed suit, ceasing their humming.

  Suddenly, the force on Zoey seemed to pull her up. It was quite clear it wanted her to stand, so she did. The others rose too, and they all turned toward Zoey’s office door. It was as though someone had attached a hook to the inside of her spine and pulled her along with a rope attached to it. She felt the draw on her very core, and she knew she must follow it.

  They emerged from Zoey’s office into the hallway, and the pull took them forward, past the kitchen, past the door to the backyard, and into the common room, where the feeling stilled for a moment. That was good because it gave Zoey a chance to take in the chaos that had erupted there.

  Something had happened to Maria. She was moaning and crying, waddling around and bouncing off the couches and chairs. She still had feet, arms, and a head, but her body wasn’t right anymore. It looked like she’d put on a Halloween costume.

  “Did Maria turn into a piece of pie?” Steve whispered.

  “Lemon meringue,” Zoey answered. “I guess you are what you eat. At least when there’s a djinni around.”

  A crash from across the room drew their attention. “It’s Howie!” someone cried. That’s when the tiny fitness guru emerged from behind the large fireplace in the center of the room. Zoey’s mouth dropped open. He still had skinny arms, which he appeared to be using for boxing practice, but he wasn’t exactly a hundred percent human anymore.

  “He’s a kangaroo,” Hope choked out.

  Zoey nodded slowly, her eyes so wide she thought they might pop out soon, but she didn’t seem to be able to close them. “With Howie’s features,” she added. And it was true. His face was that of a kangaroo, but looking at it, one could absolutely tell that it was the missing retiree. And if there was any doubt, the red and yellow sweatband around his forehead would put it to rest.

  Howie-roo hopped over to stand next to a chair and nudged Jerry, who sat in it eating cake. When she looked closer, Zoey realized he had an entire chocolate
cake with chocolate frosting on his lap, and he was eating it with a fork. The most content look had spread across his face, and when he saw Howie-roo, he beamed, patted his friend’s furry head, and offered him a bite of cake.

  “This is madness,” Steve whispered.

  Kelli rushed past them, stopping to say, “I have to get Howie outside. No one wants to clean up his droppings.” She approached the bouncing, fitness-obsessed kangaroo and slipped a leash over his head. But when she tried to lead him toward the back door, he resisted, pulling back against her. Courtney rushed over to help, grabbing the leash in front of Kelli’s hands, and they both put all their weight into the task. But Howie-roo jerked backward and the women tumbled forward past him, losing their footing and crashing into Maria’s meringue, getting it all over their faces. Maria howled in irritation.

  Above all the din, Zoey could hear Georgio laughing. She spun around in a circle looking for him and found him floating near the ceiling, arms crossed, and a look of pure joy on his dark blue face.

  The spell tugged on her again, and she followed it. There wasn’t anything she could do about the chaos in the common room, at least not long-term. She needed to stay on her path and find out who was behind it to put a stop to it for good.

  She followed the pull of the spell to Shawna’s room, but no one answered when she knocked. She opened the door. The room was empty, but she spotted the gin bottle on the dresser and grabbed it before leaving. A tug on her spine led her back through the common room and down the back hallway. She gestured for Steve and Hope to stay and do what they could to help Kelli and Courtney and followed the pull of the spell alone through the kitchen and into the dining room, where it abruptly released her.

  Ashley and Shawna sat next to each other, though they had the whole huge table to spread out if they wanted to. They each had a sandwich, some chips, and a drink in front of them, and they were eating. It was obvious they were enjoying themselves immensely.

  In fact, Shawna appeared to be genuinely happy for the first time since Zoey had met her. The elderly woman smiled into the cook’s face, and they laughed heartily at something one of them had said before Zoey came in.

  They looked up as Zoey entered the room farther, and it struck her suddenly, as they were immediately next to each other, how many features they shared.

  Ashley had the same eye and facial structure as Shawna. In forty or fifty years, she’d probably be the elder woman’s spitting image. In fact, if she had a picture of Shawna as a young woman, Zoey was willing to bet she had looked just like Ashley.

  “You’re Shawna’s granddaughter,” she said softly. “Cora’s daughter.”

  Ashley’s cheeks reddened and she looked down at her plate. Shawna’s eyebrows rose. She looked closer at Ashley. “Is that true?”

  Nodding, the cook picked up a chip and then set it back on her plate. She glanced at Shawna as though to gauge what her reaction might be, and Zoey wondered too. Would she be angry or embarrassed? After all, forcing her daughter to give up the baby was one of the big regrets of her life. Maybe she wouldn’t be interested in seeing the long-lost relative thrust into her life suddenly.

  But Shawna didn’t look angry, upset, or uncomfortable. Her face didn’t really change at all. She looked . . . joyful. “How did you find me?”

  “The adoption agency released the records to me when I turned eighteen. I guess my mother must have set it up that way. But I didn’t do anything with them for a while.” She pushed the plate away and wiped her hands on a napkin. “I couldn’t decide if I wanted to meet the family who had given me up or not. And I didn’t want to hurt my real parents.” She glanced at Shawna and then clarified. “The people who adopted me. Mark and Amanda Briggs.”

  “So, you had a good life? I mean, growing up?” Shawna seemed to hold her breath as she waited for the answer.

  Finally, Ashley nodded. “I had a great childhood in Connecticut. But when I realized I had some magical ability, I didn’t have anyone to talk about it with or who could teach me more about it. So, I hid it. And once I became an adult, I realized I didn’t want to keep it that way. I wanted to learn where I came from and find out how to use my powers.”

  Shawna nodded. Quietly, she said, “That’s something I’ve spent many sleepless nights worrying about. What happened when my grandchild got magic?” She shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly. “I shouldn’t have made Cora give you away. You belonged with us.” Looking up, she touched Ashley’s cheek gently. “With me.”

  But the cook shook her head. “My life was what it was . . . it is what it is, I mean . . . because of your decision. And I, for one, am happy with everything the way it is.”

  “Did you meet your mother yet?”

  Ashley nodded. “I found out you all lived here and came on a whim. I went to see Cora, and she wasn’t too talkative. She said she has her own life now, and she was sorry, but she didn’t think she could include me in it.”

  Shawna narrowed her eyes but Ashley shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m fine with it. I have a mother already. But Cora gave me a box of things. She said some of them were hers and some were yours. I poked around and found out you were here. I was only planning to visit you. I wasn’t going to tell you who I was or anything like that. Just travel through and have a coffee with you. But when I got here, I could see the hints of magic in Sunnyside. And in this complex. And when I sat and visited you that morning in the common room, I understood that you didn’t want to be here.”

  Ah. Zoey remembered now. Shawna had been visiting with someone the morning all the madness began at the retirement home.

  Shawna glanced at Zoey and then looked down at her hands atop the table but didn’t say anything.

  Zoey moved forward and set the gin bottle on the table. “And this?”

  “It was in the box of things Cora gave me.”

  Shawna slapped her knee. ”I thought I recognized that! My dad gave it to me, and I kept it because I thought it was pretty.”

  “I’d opened it before I came to see you. I was wishing for a nice visit with my grandmother. That’s when the djinni came out, and I realized he’d made the gin bottle his home. After I met you and found out you didn’t want to be here, I thought I could use him to help you.”

  Shawna grinned. “To break me out of here? Now that’s my granddaughter! You’re definitely related to me.” She beamed at the younger woman.

  Ashley looked at Zoey. “But then, when the djinni started doing more tricky stuff and you started investigating, I was worried I’d get caught and you’d make me leave. I didn’t want to go. I like it here.” She grinned. “It’s fun, and I like being near my grandmother.”

  “So, you cast a spell to make Georgio forget everything, so he couldn’t rat you out.” All the pieces had come together to make the perfect puzzle.

  Ashley nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  Zoey pursed her lips. “Can you come with me? I need you to tell Hope the spell you used to make the djinni forget everything so she can unclog his bottle and get him back into it. Then we can talk some more.”

  Ashley glanced at Shawna, who nodded and patted her granddaughter’s knee. The cook stood up and said, “Lead the way. I guess it’s time to stop all the wishing and do some real work.”

  Chapter 22

  Things weren’t less chaotic when Zoey got back to the common room with Ashley and Shawna in tow. Steve and Hope had jumped in, trying to get Howie-roo outside. Maria ran around screaming and getting meringue all over the furniture. Between the sticky pie mess and the kangaroo droppings, Zoey couldn’t help but think about the bill they were going to drum up with the upholstery cleaning service.

  She got Hope’s attention and led her and Ashley outside where they would have a little quiet to work on the spell for getting the djinni back in the gin bottle. Cyrus was pruning nearby, but otherwise, only the chirping birds made noise out there.

  Hope dug a slip of paper and pen out of her purse and handed them to Ashley. “Ca
n you please write down the spell you used to make the djinni forget who he was?”

  Ashley sat on a step and started scribbling. Then she handed the paper and pen back to Hope. “I’m clumsy at magic,” she said. “Being self-taught has its drawbacks.”

  Hope smiled. “When this is over, come see me at my shop. We can arrange some basic lessons and get a feel for where your strengths lie.”

  The cook looked ecstatic for a few seconds, but then her face fell. She didn’t answer.

  Looking at the spell in her hand, Hope’s lips moved. Then she turned her face toward the sky and her lips moved more. She scratched a few things out on the paper, mumbled to herself more, and then scribbled some words. After several minutes, she nodded once. “That should do it.” Looking at Zoey, she said, “I think I can make him remember now.”

  They started to head inside, but the sound of a car pulling into the drive caught all their attention. It was a BMW. Doug stepped out and crossed quickly to Zoey, giving her a hug and peck on the cheek. “How’s your djinni situation?”

  “Escalating.” Zoey glanced at Hope and winked. “But we have it under control.”

  Doug raised his eyebrows. “That’s awesome. I had to run some errands, but I wanted to stop in and see if you were up for going to the comedy club tonight. That is, if everything gets sorted out here.” He grinned. “Maybe you could tell more djinni stories and get the crowd rolling for Chris.”

  Zoey shook her head. “My stand-up comedy days are over. But I’d love to go out for a quiet dinner—just the two of us. I’ll call you once we get things settled here.”

  Doug got back in the car and pulled away as the others re-entered the retirement home.

  Kelli sat slumped on a couch, her hair matted with meringue. Howie-roo bounced around the room, always just out of Courtney’s reach as she chased him. She’d removed her shoes, and tendrils of her hair had escaped from the neat bun to float around her face.