She staggered forward, barely daring to open her eyes. Then relief flooded through her as she saw the sofa, the beanbags, the ancient stereo on a packing case. And she was still clutching the crumpled can in both hands. A wasp wafted out of it and flew smack into the small window before collapsing to the dusty sill beneath. Outside it was dusk.
“We’re back!” Jason yelled. He checked his pockets, disbelievingly. “And no chocolate!”
“No Toffee either,” Milly realized, staring all around, still holding on tight to the handbook. “Where’s he gone?”
“It’s after sunset,” said Jess, still stunned. “Just what I wished for.”
“Then…he disappeared as the magic wore off,” said Milly forlornly. “I never even said good-bye.”
“Hang on, where’s Michael?” said Jason, frowning. “If it’s after sunset and we can’t do any more magic—”
“OOOF!” In another thick cloud of smoke, Michael was spat out of the can, back in his normal clothes.
“Hey,” Jess told him with a smile. “You did it. You got us home!”
“Huh?” He stared around in amazement. “Wow…I really did do it, didn’t I! And—” He blinked. “My eyes are back to normal!”
Jess sat down heavily on the squashy sofa. “I’m glad that’s over. Today has not been fun.”
“Next time we’ve got to think really carefully about what we wish for,” said Jason. “We could have gotten into so much trouble!”
Milly nodded with feeling. “Wishes can go wrong so easily.”
Michael rubbed his aching stomach. “And we must never, ever forget the lamp again.” He clapped Jason on the back. “If you hadn’t picked up the book, Jase—”
Just then, Skribble poked his head out. “Is everyone back safely?” he asked, and Milly was sure there was worry in his little eyes.
“Yes, we are,” said Milly in relief. “Thank you for helping us, Skribble.”
“We made a real mess of things,” said Jason. He thought about the chaos they had caused. “What will all those people in London be thinking?”
“They won’t be thinking anything, will they?” said Milly. “It’s after sunset, so everything will be back to normal.”
“Not quite,” said Skribble.
The children stared at him. “What do you mean?” said Jess. “You told us yesterday that our magic wore off at sunset.”
“Perhaps I did,” said Skribble. “But as you progress through the steps of training, your magic becomes stronger. Of course, until you become full genies, your magical creations will vanish at sunset and people’s memories of them will cloud and fade. But in the meantime, now you have completed Step Three….” He swung around to Milly. “Does your arm still hurt where Toffee bit it, my child?”
“Yes,” Milly realized, rubbing her arm. “Yes, it does.”
Skribble nodded gravely. “You see? Unless a wish-maker wishes it, the physical effects of the magic will remain.”
“So, that motorcycle will have crashed into the pole today?” said Jess.
Milly looked worried. “And that businessman will have been bitten too?”
“Yes. As you say in your modern way of speaking, you have indeed made a ‘real mess of things.’” Skribble sniffed. “The book is not pleased with your progress. Not pleased at all.”
He ducked down inside the book, and the pages fluttered over to the end of Step Three. New pictures had appeared.
“There we are in the parking lot,” said Jason.
Jess cringed to see herself looking so flustered and afraid. The book’s comment didn’t make her feel any better:
Badly prepared, ill-thought-out wishes, granted lazily.
“Oh, come on, I wasn’t lazy!” Michael argued. “If I’d been lazy, I would have zapped us a mile down the road or something.”
The next picture showed Jess looking very guilty and Michael looking furious.
Without a worthy vessel, a genie is unworthy, was the book’s only comment.
“I should never have dropped the lamp,” said Jess, feeling tired and miserable.
“We wouldn’t have passed this step anyway,” said Jason, staring at a picture of them running after Toffee, spilling chocolate everywhere and scaring passersby. The caption underneath read:
Thoughtless exposure of magic in the commonplace invites needless danger and questions that must not be answered.
Milly sighed. “What does that even mean?”
“I think it means that we should never have gone out on a busy road when we had so much magic going on,” Jason told her. “We must have scared loads of people, as well as nearly causing a lot of crashes.”
The last picture was of Michael charging across the road with a handful of horse tail.
Courage and consideration for others around are valuable qualities, the book stated.
“Well, that sounds a bit better,” said Michael. “But there’s no getting away from it; we messed up big-time.” He straightened and sighed. “I still feel funny after that X-ray vision. I’m going to lie down.”
“We can try to pass the step again tomorrow,” Jason said optimistically.
The others nodded slowly.
They left the den, feeling very subdued. At the top of the stairs, they all went their different ways—Jason and Michael to their rooms, Jess and Milly to their bedroom to hide the book.
As she shut the door behind them, Milly carefully opened the book again and checked the page where Step Four should have begun.
There was nothing to see but squiggles in the dark, mysterious ink.
Chapter Fifteen
That night, Milly couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t just thinking about The Genie Handbook, but about her dad and Ann as well. When they’d lived in London in separate houses, they had hardly ever argued. But now it was all they ever did. Just like at supper this evening. Ann had been cross because her dad had signed up for some big town trivia contest that Saturday—just a day before the bookshop opened.
Milly sighed. She didn’t like it when they argued. Maybe we can use magic to help them, she thought. She felt her pillowcase. The book lay inside it, silent and still. It was hard to believe there was anything magic about it at all.
But there was. The memories of being in London that day were still vivid in her mind. She blushed as she remembered the shocked looks on people’s faces as Toffee towed her down the street. She wondered what had happened to him. Where would he have gone?
“Skribble,” she whispered to the pillowcase. “Are you awake?”
There was a quiet rustling; then Skribble’s voice carried through the pillow. “What is it, Milly?”
“I…”” She hesitated, then sighed. “I was just thinking about Toffee. What happened to him after we left? Is he okay?”
“Do not worry, Milly,” said Skribble. “He was a pony made by magic, and so back to magic he went. There is nothing to be concerned about.”
Milly felt better. Even though Toffee had been very bad-tempered, she hated to think of him lost somewhere. “I’m sorry we failed Step Three, Skribble,” she whispered. “If we get another chance, we’ll try harder, I promise. We’ll think about what dangers the wishes will put us in and try to make sure we never let other people see anything magic happening from now on. It was really stupid of us.” She yawned. “Thank you for telling me that Toffee’s all right, though. You’re a lovely worm. I don’t care if we never become genies; I’m going to look after you forever and ever.”
Skribble did not reply. He must have gone to sleep, Milly thought. And a few moments later, she had gone to sleep too.
She was in the middle of a dream about a magic riding hat that kept shaking on her head when she woke with a start, blinked, and then realized that her head really was shaking. She gasped and sat up in alarm. Then she realized that it wasn’t her head; it was her pillow.
The book!
Milly pulled out the book. Rainbow flashes of light glimmered over its cover, lighting up the dark of t
he bedroom. As it fell onto the bed the cover flew open and the pages started flipping over.
Milly jumped off the bed. “Jess!” she hissed, shaking her stepsister awake.
“What is it? What’s going on?” Jess said in confusion.
“The book! Something’s happening! It’s doing what it usually does when we’ve passed a step.” As Milly spoke, the pages stopped turning and the sparks flickered and went out.
Turning her bedside light on, Jess got out of bed. She went over to the book. Two sentences stood out at the end of Step Three, the words clear and dark:
Courage, compassion, and care serve a genie well. You have passed Step Three.
“We’ve passed!” Jess gasped in surprise. “But how? We made such a mess of everything!”
“You passed by the skin of your teeth and the tips of your toenails,” said a tetchy voice. Skribble poked his head out of a hole in the book’s cover. “You were, as the scholars say, a borderline pass or fail. The book has been evaluating your performance and your reactions and has decided that you deserve to pass. Goodness knows why. One question about a pony and a few regrets—soppy, sentimental, ridiculous book!” He tutted and looked away, but Milly was sure she caught sight of a smile on his little face.
“I can’t believe we’ve passed!” she exclaimed. “Let’s tell the boys!”
“Not now,” Jess said quickly, shushing her. “We might wake up Mum and Mark. Let’s wait until the morning. It can be our secret till then.”
Milly smiled. “Okay.”
“First thing in the morning, mind,” said Skribble, yawning. “There is still much to be done. And as you have all agreed, you must work a good deal harder.”
“Good night, lovely Skribble,” Milly said, picking up the book. “We’ll see you then.”
“Good night, Milly,” the bookworm replied sleepily.
Milly closed the book and tucked it carefully under her pillow and settled down. Step Four! That meant there were just three more steps to pass and then they got to be proper genies. Then we’ll be able to have wishes that don’t stop at sunset, she thought. She sighed happily and shut her eyes.
On the other side of the room, Jess lay awake. There was only one wish burning in her mind. To go back to London. Not like we did today, she decided. But properly. To go back to our old lives, before Mum and Mark were married, and stay there.
She hesitated. To be separate families again instead of one big one—was that what she really wanted?
Of course it is, she thought firmly.
“Time to get up, girls!” Ann Worthington banged on the door in the morning. “You’re going to be late.”
Milly sat up and checked the alarm clock. Quarter to eight. She groaned and jumped out of bed. She’d meant to be up early to have a chance to talk to Jason and Michael. “Come on, Jess, we’ve got to tell the boys about the book!”
“Later.” Jess groaned and buried her face in the pillow.
Milly pulled on her robe and ran to Jason’s room, but he’d already gone downstairs. She raced up to Michael’s room instead and banged on the door. “It’s me, Michael! You’ll never guess what; the book says—”
“It’s too early, Milly!” Michael groaned.
“But…”
“Go away!” he snapped.
Milly stamped her foot in frustration and then headed back downstairs. Jason would be excited by her news. She knew he would. But when she got to the kitchen she found Jason deep in conversation with her dad.
“What type of animal is a natterjack?” Jason was asking.
“A toad?” Milly’s dad replied.
“Good,” said Jason. “Tell me what the next three prime numbers in this sequence are: 1, 3, 5, 7, 11…”
“Um…” Mark Worthington looked worried. “Now let me think….”
“What are you doing?” Milly asked curiously.
“Practicing,” her dad answered. “For the Trivia Team Challenge at the town hall on Saturday.” He shook his head. “Will you help me again tonight, Jason? Maybe you could think up some more questions for me after school.”
“Sure.” Jason looked pleased.
Milly suddenly remembered what she had come into the kitchen for. She pulled Jason’s arm. “I read something in a book last night I wanted to tell you about.”
Jason’s eyes widened. Milly dragged him out of the kitchen.
“So what is it?” he said as they hurried up the stairs.
“We’ve passed!” Milly hissed.
“What?” Jason’s whole face lit up. “Let’s see!”
They went into the bedroom. Jess was now dressed and brushing her hair. “I’m trying to get ready for school. Go away, Jason!”
“He can’t,” said Milly. “He’s come to see the book!”
The door opened behind her and Michael shambled in. “So, what’s going on, Mil?”
“Argh! It’s like Piccadilly Circus around here!” Jess moaned.
“We wish,” said Michael. “At least it would be closer to home.”
“Aha!” Milly’s eyes were gleaming with her news. “But we’re now a step nearer to getting there!”
Milly opened the book with a flourish. “Ta-da!”
For a fleeting moment, she had a horrible thought. What if she’d dreamed everything the night before? But no—there were the words at the end of Step Three saying that they had passed, and there was Step Four, clear and ready for them to read.
* * *
The Genie Handbook
The Fourth Step: Identifying a Worthy Wish-Maker
YOU WHO ARE WITNESS TO THESE WORDS!
You are now well aware of the importance of crafting a wish with precision and foreseeing the dangers that might arise. In the last step you indulged each other’s frivolous fancies and foolish fripperies. But now the time has come to grant wishes for other wish-makers. Any attempt to grant your own or each other’s wishes in this stage will lead to INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION.
NEVER FORGET! The heart’s desire of a deserving soul is as precious as the first birdsong of spring, and a genie must treat it as tenderly as a newborn babe.
For this, the fourth step of your training, you must identify a soul deserving of magical enrichment—someone whose life could be transformed by the granting of a single, heartfelt wish. And, once this person is precisely pinpointed, you must contrive to cure his ills through the granting of a great MAGICK—at least until sunset….
FEAR NOT! Should the step be successfully completed, his mind will be washed clean of the boon bestowed upon him. And yet, in spite of this, he will surely come to know happiness.
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
“Wow,” breathed Milly as she finished reading. “So, we’ll be doing magic for someone else…like proper genies!”
Jason nodded nervously. “What if we mess up?”
Michael shrugged. “I suppose if we mess up totally, at least whoever we choose will have forgotten about it at the end of the day.”
“If we do mess up,” said Jess, “I guess we can forget about becoming genies, too.”
Milly flicked back through the pages. “It’s so weird seeing pictures of us—” She broke off. “Hey! This is a new picture. It wasn’t here yesterday!”
Jess looked over Milly’s shoulder at a picture of her standing in the park with her eyes closed, about to make the wish that brought them home. She read out the caption beneath it: “‘Beware of those who watch you.’” She frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Dunno. What are those shadows there?” asked Jason, pointing to a pair of tall, dark outlines on the grass behind Jess.
“It must be those policemen.” Milly frowned. “Maybe the book means we should watch out for the police?”
Jason looked uncertain. “But I thought the police came up to us from the other side….”
“Forget the shadows,” said Michael impatiently. “We passed! We won! We’re on to Step Four!”
“I wish we could
start after school,” Milly said longingly. “But Jason’s helping Dad with some trivia questions.”
“Too bad, Jase,” said Michael. “I’m going around to Ben’s house after school to spend a few hours on his Megaplay Ultra….”
“You lucky thing!” said Jason.
Milly was disappointed. “I wish we could start Step Four tonight.”
“We can always start planning what we’re going to do after supper,” Jess consoled her.
“That’s true.” Milly brightened up. “Step Four, already…I can’t wait!”
After supper, when Mark Worthington had gone to a meeting and Ann was dozing on the couch in the living room, Milly, Jason, Michael, and Jess met in the den.
“You should have been there at Ben’s, Jase,” said Michael. “You’d have loved it.”
“You didn’t ask him,” Jess pointed out.
Michael ignored her. “We played Maximum Carnage Two. It’s cool. There’s all these Slitherbots coming at you and they’ve got these awesome slush guns—they turn anything they touch into wallpaper paste!”
Milly stifled a yawn.
“Ollie Jones, a boy in my class, has got the Ultra,” Jason put in. “He’s been going on about how cool Maximum Carnage Three is….”
“Then he’s talking out of his bum,” said Michael, “because that doesn’t come out till the autumn.”
“He’s got a demo version,” Jason explained. “His dad works for a software house. Ollie gets early versions of all the latest games.”
“What?” Michael stared at Jason. “You know this kid and you didn’t tell me?”
“Is he one of your friends?” Jess asked.
“No way!” Jason pulled a face. “Ollie’s got no friends. He’s horrible. His mum asked me over to his house during the holidays, remember? I think she hoped we might get on, but he wasn’t very nice.”
“Who cares if he’s nice?” Michael cried. “If he gets early versions of the latest games, I’ll be his friend!”
“I expect even this Ollie has some standards,” said Jess.
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