Midlife Wish (Blackwell Djinn Book 1)

by Nikki Kardnov

  “In my experience,” Dae went on, “most men have no trouble finding a new job, regardless of why they lost the one before.” He rolled his eyes. “Men have it easy in that regard, trust me. Think harder.”

  Ashley chewed on her lower lip. She could feel Dae’s gaze on her. Goosebumps rolled down her arms.

  “Losing his new girlfriend?”

  “Keep going.”

  “I really don’t know.” She pressed at the bridge of her nose. Her head hurt.

  “What’s his character flaw?” Dae asked.

  She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Some people are always late. Some people have a temper. Others are gamblers or...” He glanced at Ashley and cut himself off. “What I mean to say is, what would you consider his biggest flaw?”

  She thought for a minute, then, “He gets jealous easily.”

  “Ahhh. There it is.” He grinned and pressed closer. “I can work with that.”

  “Work with it? Like how?”

  “With magic.”

  When he said the word, Ashley could have sworn his eyes flashed red. It was just a half of a second, barely there.

  But no. That was just her mind playing tricks on her. Now she really was living in a “Dae” dream. “I should go. This was stupid.”

  “There is nothing stupid about a woman fighting for love,” he said and took her hand in his. His was warm, almost hot. But his skin was smooth and unblemished. Ashley traced the strong lines of the veins in his hands with her eyes. She wanted to trace all of him with her eyes.

  “Repeat after me,” he said. “’I, Ashley Laurent, wish to invoke the djinn known as Dae Blackwell and bind him to me for however long it takes for him to fulfill the three wishes owed to me by Law of the Djinn.’”

  “Djinn?” she said. “Like genie?”

  He was really going through with this, whatever this was.

  “We prefer djinn,” he said. “But yes.”

  “So…” she looked around the library, “do you live in a lamp?”

  He laughed out loud. She liked the sound of his laugh.

  “No. Though we do have one or two lying around here for theatrical purposes only.”

  “Ahhh,” she said. “I see.”

  How long was he going to play the game? And how long was Ashley going to go along with it?

  What do you really have to lose?

  You’re already here.

  Might as well take a leap. See what happens at the bottom.

  “Will it hurt?” she asked because that seemed like a good question.

  “Not at all.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes.

  “I, Ashley Laurent,” she started, “wish to invoke the djinn known as Dae Blackwell and bind him to me for however long it takes for him to fulfill the three wishes owed to me by Law of the Djinn.’”

  There were no open windows in the library, but a sudden gust of wind wound its way through the room, teasing the hair from her barrette. It whipped around her face, obscuring her vision so that when a vibrant, shimmering red light shone from Dae’s hands, Ashley wasn’t sure she was seeing what her mind told her she was seeing. The light stretched out from Dae’s hands, neon electric tendrils winding around her wrists.

  “The deal is done,” Dae said and the light clamped shut like a cuff around her wrists. A warm, tingling ran up her arms and washed her veins in heat, spreading from her limbs to her chest and down to her toes.

  And then—

  The light was gone. The warm sensation subsided. Ashley blinked. Her hair was a mess, several strands caught in her eyelashes. She tugged them back into place with a quick swipe of her fingers.

  The cinnamon-clove smell was so powerful now it made her empty stomach growl.

  “You have three wishes,” Dae said. “Three and no more. If you understand this, please say yes.”

  He stared at her. The earlier swagger and charm was gone, replaced with a sharp impatience.

  “What? Oh. Um. Yes?”

  “It can’t be a question, love.”

  Was this really happening?

  And if it wasn’t real, then why would it matter how she phrased it?

  Oh shit, what if it was real?

  “Ashley,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “I am yours to command until your three wishes have been granted. If you understand this, please say yes.”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled again, and said, “Then let’s begin.”

  She laughed nervously. “Umm...I don’t...does it have to be right now? Maybe I should think about it?”

  All of the fables and fairytales she’d read as a child rang warning bells in her head. Even if this was real and Dae really was a djinn, she should think about her wishes carefully. Everyone knew that a wish could easily be twisted around.

  “You already know what you want,” Dae said. “You want your husband back. The easiest way to win him back is to let the wish appeal to his greatest flaw, that of his jealousy. We get a bonus in this regard, because men do not like to see their territory invaded. Even if your husband has decided he loves another woman, deep down, he still thinks of you as his. So, that is where we should start. Repeat after me, ‘I, Ashley Laurent, wish to invoke my first wish. My wish is—"

  She blinked up at him. “I, Ashley Laurent, uh, wish to…”

  “Invoke my first wish.”

  “Invoke my first wish.”

  “My wish is—” he said and waved his hand for her to go on.

  She swallowed hard. What the fuck was she doing?

  Taking a leap.

  After a settling breath she said, “My wish is that I want to make James Laurent, my husband, jealous.”

  Another burst of air rent through the room and the temperature dropped. When she exhaled, her breath painted the air in white starbursts. That sweet, spicy scent filled her senses again.

  Dae raised his hand. That same red magic coiled around his fingers. With a devilish grin, he said, “Wish granted, Ashley Laurent.” And then he snapped his fingers and everything went dark.

  Chapter 5

  DAE

  Ashley went unconscious when the magic of the wish hit her. Dae was quick enough to catch her in his arms, but as the power soared through his own veins, his knees buckled and he and Ashley went down.

  What the fuck was happening?

  He gritted his teeth as magic flashed in his eyes like a flare in the night. He rocked back on his heels, Ashley cradled in his lap, his other hand braced on the floor.

  Power pulsed and beat at his ribs. More power than he’d ever felt.

  A flush ran through his body. The hair at the nape of his neck stood on end as magic crackled in the air.

  He pulled in a breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to quiet the magic and the racing drum of his heart.

  One breath.

  Two.

  The magic settled.

  The air went still.

  That was unlike any wish he’d ever experienced.

  Dae looked down at Ashley. Her eyelids fluttered, dark lashes beating like butterfly wings against her cheeks. He traced a thumb over the soft line of her jaw.

  Who are you?

  He hadn’t sensed anything particularly unnatural about her.

  He still didn’t.

  So why did he feel like he was more flush with magic than ever before?

  An invoked djinn was ten times more powerful than one that was not, but right now, he felt like a fucking god.

  He’d made a vow to himself when his mother died that he would not be wasteful like she had. He would not waste his life on power or love. But if every deal were like this, he would no longer be able to show caution. He would always be chasing this high.

  A part of him understood now why some djinn spent their entire life searching for their caeli—their Fated. If a djinn were lucky enough to find their caeli and she or he was willing to bind themselves to them, a djinn would have access to their m
agic always.

  Unfortunately, a caeli was incredibly hard to find. The only way to identify one was through their ability to see a djinn’s magic. Only a caeli could see the color and arch of it at work. To everyone else, it just felt like a kissing breeze.

  The library door slid open and Poe sauntered in. “Bloody hell, I felt that one.” He frowned when he saw Dae still crouched on the floor. “Did you faint, dear brother?”

  Dae scowled. “No, asshole. It was…intense is all.”

  “She something supernatural?”

  “Not that I can tell.”

  Poe looked down at Ashley, a wistful look on his face. “She should have been mine. Bedraggled bunnies respond better to me anyway.”

  Dae hoisted Ashley into his arms and cradled her against his chest, making sure to tuck her skirt in so he didn’t give his brother a free show. “She asked for me, you idiot. You think she doesn’t know the difference between a Poe and a Dae?”

  “True. I am the prettier one, after all.” Poe pushed the hair out of Ashley’s face. “Speaking of pretty ones.”

  Dae brought her closer. He clutched at her harder as if to protect her from Poe’s prying eyes.

  “She thinks she’s old,” Dae said.

  Poe laughed out loud. “If only she knew the truth. She’s in the prime of her mortal life! What was she after?”

  “Husband cheated on her.”

  “They always do.” Poe popped a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a flick of his lighter. The air immediately smelled of burning tobacco. “What’d she wish for? Wait, don’t tell me. Revenge.”

  “Something like that.” Dae looked down at his mark. The wish was run of the mill. Plucked off of any shelf in any of the million corners of the earth.

  So why so much power behind it? That part he couldn’t explain.

  Poe took a pull from his cigarette and blew out a purposeful breath. “She share any of the blame for the demise of the relationship?”

  “I don’t know. Unlike you, I don’t meddle in other peoples’ love lives.”

  That one hit Poe like a punch.

  This was their oldest wound. The rift that had separated them.

  It had been Poe who had introduced their mother to the Italian shoe cobbler, Giovanni. The human who she’d later burned through her deals trying to save.

  Dae would never forgive Poe for this.

  Never.

  “I need to get her home.”

  Poe stood back, the cigarette still clipped between two fingers. A new scowl cut across the planes of his face. “By all means, don’t let me keep you.”

  “Wait,” Dae said. Swallowing some of his pride, he added, “Can you help me get her car home? I think her key ring fell from her pocket over by the sofa.”

  Poe stubbed out the cigarette in an ashtray. He gave Dae a look like he would rather be doing anything else other than this. More often than not, he would have said as much and then turned around and left.

  Mercifully, he gave in this time. He picked up Ashley’s key ring from the floor and followed Dae outside to the driveway where a nondescript four-door sedan sat parked by the great oak tree.

  “Suburban housewife if ever there was one,” Poe said. He hit the unlock button on the fob and slipped in behind the wheel. He checked the glove compartment and read off her address. “As suspected. She lives at 2447 West Wilson Street.”

  Dae tightened his hold on Ashley. As an invoked djinn, he had the ability to vade—to leave one place and reappear in another. That’s how he’d get Ashley home and then he’d wait for Poe there.

  “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes?” Dae said.

  “I don’t know. Might pop into a café for a croissant. Might cruise through the ‘burbs and see if I can nab my own desperate housewife.”

  Dae swore beneath his breath. Then, “Meet me there in fifteen minutes or I’ll tell Red what really happened to his Maximillian suit of armor.”

  “Well bloody hell. No reason to go that far.” Poe pushed the ignition button and the car churned quietly to life. “I’ll see you in fifteen minutes. And not a minute longer.”

  Dae stepped away from the car as his magic swelled around him. The air cracked open and he was gone.

  Chapter 6

  DAE

  The bit of magic Dae missed most when not invoked was the ability to vade. It made everything so much easier. It was the one ability that was almost tempting enough to keep Dae invoked at all times. He’d been alive for 742 years and he had 287 wishes left to grant before he turned to ash. He’d been frugal with his deals thus far, but this deal with Ashley might just be enough to tip the scales.

  Though he was grateful to have Red still alive, Dae wasn’t sure how Red had managed to make it nearly a thousand years. He would not admit as much to Red, but Dae was shocked he’d gone as long as he had with his last two deals.

  Now Red only had one deal left.

  How much longer could he hold out?

  Dae didn’t like to rush his marks through their wishes, but he wouldn’t give Ashley the luxury of time.

  When Dae and Ashley reappeared in Ashley’s house, Dae took a second to orient himself. He’d appeared in the living room. The house was quiet and still. His eyes scanned the sectional sofa, the coffee table and the stack of women’s magazines at the corner. He examined the art on the walls—cheap store-bought prints and manufactured canvas paintings. The living room was nice enough, but it did not feel like a true reflection of Ashley. He might not know her well, but he could tell there was more to her than department store watercolor paintings and Ikea furniture.

  He looked down at her still sleeping peacefully in his arms. The bow of her lips was just slightly parted. Her breathing was even and content.

  Who are you? he wanted to ask her.

  What do you desire most?

  She had said she wanted to win her husband back, but he sensed that that was not her truest desire. He might not have the talent for sensing the shape and breadth of a desire like Poe did, but all djinn had some ability to sense a wish before it was given breath and when Ashley had said she wanted to bring her husband back to her, Dae caught the faintest crack in the admission. Ashley might have believed that’s what she wanted, but when all was said and done, it was not what she truly yearned for.

  He carried her down the hallway to the bedroom that appeared to be hers and her husband’s. He laid her gently on the bed and she curled on her side, folding into herself like a child.

  Dae pulled off her kitten heels, but left her clothes on. It was only late afternoon and sunlight poured through the bedroom windows, but Ashley could potentially sleep off the magic for the rest of the night. First-time deals could be exhausting for some mortals and with all the power running through his body, he wasn’t surprised Ashley had passed out.

  After tucking the blanket around her, Dae stepped back and leaned into the windowsill. Arms crossed over his chest, he took in his surroundings.

  There was a dress cast aside on the floor, shoes abandoned beside it. There were several notebooks stacked up on the bottom of Ashley’s bedside table with a self-help book tucked in at the bottom of the pile.

  Sitting on top of the table, beside an old analog clock, was a framed picture of Ashley and her husband, James.

  Dae grabbed the frame in hand. The image was from an office party, by the looks of it. They were in black tie attire, but the wall behind them was prison gray, or better known in the business world as suck-the-life-out-of-you office gray. All of his corporate offices were under strict orders never to use the color.

  In the picture, Ashley beamed at the camera. James was smiling, too, but it was far away, like he wasn’t really there.

  There was an art form to getting a wish just right. Dae knew Ashley wanted to win her husband back, and she wanted to make James jealous, but what did that really mean? Jealousy came in many forms and Dae wanted to know the right one to use on James.

  Mining for information was one of
the more enjoyable parts of the job and Dae knew just how to get it.

  Ashley shifted and rolled to her opposite side, landing her face in a shaft of sunlight. The blanket pulled back and slid from her shoulder. She frowned in her sleep and let out a moan.

  “Shhh,” Dae said. He tucked the blanket in again. “Till tomorrow, pretty one.”

  James was going to regret thinking with his dick. Dae was going to make sure of it.

  Chapter 7

  ASHLEY

  Ashley woke with a pounding headache and the vague feeling that she’d had some wild dreams the night before. Did she drink last night? She couldn’t remember even coming home from work.

  She stumbled out of bed and to the shower and tried hard to avoid looking at the little pieces of James that still lingered on the vanity. What was she supposed to do with the cologne and the men’s deodorant? How would she survive dividing their life into neat little his and her piles?

  In a too-damn-early fit of rage, she grabbed the cologne bottle (it was shaped like a grenade) and threw it in the trash. The bottle smashed open and a cloud of obnoxiously sweet cologne permeated the air.

  Through fits of gagging, Ashley clicked on the bathroom fan and shoved open the tiny window behind the toilet.

  “Goddamn it, James!” she shouted, and then tossed the deodorant, the expensive razor, the grooming kit, the athlete’s foot cream and the baby powder he sometimes shot straight into his ass crack.

  When she was done, the vanity was almost bare and damn did it feel good. A clean slate. Her space now. Because no way in hell were James and Isla getting the house.

  Satisfied, Ashley climbed into the shower and scrubbed the previous night—no the previous week—away. When she emerged, she felt like a clean slate, too. Born anew.

  With a towel wrapped around her, she went to her bedroom and into the closet. She flipped through several blouses, a dress or two. And then...

  She stopped when she came across a faux leather pencil skirt. It was a bit short for the office. Well, short for her anyway. It fell just above her knees. She’d bought it on a whim from a sale rack at Lola’s urging.