They saw the sultan, a man of immense power, reduced to begging Tarinn to save what was left of his city. They were in the room when Tarinn agreed, with the sole condition that the genies would be given to her for safekeeping. They were there as Tarinn climbed the tallest building in the city and used a rare alignment of the planets to trap the Jinn in thirteen metal canisters engraved with magic. They watched as the sultan betrayed Tarinn, throwing her in a dungeon while he sent his men to scatter the lamps across the globe, to mountains in Europe, deserts in Asia, jungles in the Amazon, and a forest in what would one day be called New Hampshire.
The greatest power the world has ever known was divided and spread across the world, never to be collected again. It had simply vanished.
Professor Ellison unclenched her fist. Parker, Reese, and Theo, freed from her spell, fell to the ground. The onrush of new information was almost too much for their minds to bear.
“What happened?” asked Theo.
“We got schooled,” Reese answered, rubbing her butt. She had fallen pretty hard.
“There are so many of them,” said Parker. “I didn’t realize there were so many.”
The professor rolled her eyes. “Of course you didn’t. You’re a child. You’re not even a very smart child.”
“Well, that’s just rude,” Parker said.
Theo confronted the professor. “How did you do that to us?”
“It was a simple spell. Anyone with a pulse could master it.”
“But why do you know spells? And how come you know about all that stuff, anyway?”
“She knows,” said Fon-Rahm, “because she was there.”
“You were Vesiroth’s apprentice,” Parker said. “You trapped all of the genies to start out with. You’re Tarinn.”
“I’m using Ellison these days. It’s simple to spell and it’s easy to forget.”
Reese couldn’t believe it. “Come on. That would mean you’re over three thousand years old!”
“Careful,” said Professor Ellison.
“This can’t be right,” said Theo. “It’s impossible.”
“Really, Theo? After everything that happened to us this week you still think things are impossible?” Parker looked at Professor Ellison with newfound respect. “You’re a wizard.”
“Enchantress, conjurer, necromancer, spellbinder, thaumaturge, alchemist. I have always thought ‘sorceress’ has a certain panache.”
“How did you get out of the dungeons?” asked Reese.
The professor shrugged. “Time moves differently for some of us. Vesiroth had taught me many things, some without even knowing it. One was the secret to a very, very, very long life. I outlived the sultan, and his son, and his son, and eventually, I outlived the sultanate itself. There were mobs and lots of exciting riots. The dungeons were cleared and I was free to go on my merry way. I have been hunting for the lamps ever since.”
“What happened to Vesiroth?” asked Parker.
“I wish I knew,” she said wistfully. Her feelings for Vesiroth were...complicated. “I have lived a long time, and I have faced many threats, but the only thing that keeps me up at night is the idea that he’s out there somewhere, frozen but alive, waiting to be free once again.”
Professor Ellison allowed herself a moment to remember, before she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.
“Now please, children, stand aside.” Professor Ellison bored her eyes into the genie in the black suit. “Fon-Rahm and I have unfinished business.”
“That we do,” the genie said, pointing into the distance. “But perhaps we could discuss it later.”
The kids looked where Fon-Rahm was pointing and saw four Jeeps explode through the trees. They were filled with men in black suits carrying machine guns, and they were headed straight for them.
24
“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME,” said Theo.
“It has to be those guys that tried to kill us before,” said Parker. “Stop them, Fon-Rahm!”
Fon-Rahm shook his head, spent. “I cannot. I am...too weak.” It was true. After fighting off Professor Ellison’s attack, Fon-Rahm could barely stand. It would take time before the Nexus would re-energize him.
The professor calmly assessed the situation.
“Get in my car,” she sighed. “If you want to live.”
The kids exchanged looks.
“What about Fon-Rahm?” asked Parker.
“Fon-Rahm, too.” Professor Ellison looked at the genie with disgust. “I want to keep an eye on him.”
Seconds later, they were ripping through the woods in Professor Ellison’s BMW. Theo tried to keep his head as low as possible, but the BMW was bouncing around like crazy. It was all he could do to stay off Parker and Reese. Strange, he thought. Just last week his biggest worry was not making the football team. Now he was riding in a car with a genie and a three-thousand-year-old sorceress while men in Jeeps shot at him with machine guns. Professor Ellison and Fon-Rahm, in the front seat, didn’t seem overly concerned. They had seen worse, probably, Theo thought.
Definitely.
Ellison gave Fon-Rahm the once-over. “What happened to the robes?” she asked.
“I wear these clothes at my young master’s request.”
“Always a stickler for the rules. The suit makes you look like a bouncer.”
Reese popped her head up long enough to see that one of the Jeeps was right alongside of them.
“They’re coming!”
Professor Ellison expertly jerked the wheel. The BMW rammed into the Jeep, which swerved madly before recovering and rejoining the chase.
The first bullets came. They were way off their mark, but the point was made. Ellison stepped on the gas.
More gunfire erupted. This time, a bullet shattered the rear window. Reese shrieked. Professor Ellison made a series of high-speed turns, weaving in between the trees. Metal howled as she clipped off branches with the truck’s fender and roof. Professor Ellison let the Jeep come closer, and then aimed the BMW straight at a massive pine tree. She waited until the Jeep was directly behind her, and at the last second, made a brutal turn to the right that took the SUV up on two wheels. The Jeep didn’t make the turn and crashed full speed into the tree. It made a gruesome noise. The BMW thudded back on all four wheels and kept going. There were three Jeeps left.
Two Jeeps pulled even with the BMW, one on either side. Professor Ellison slowed the SUV to match their speed and rolled down the rear windows. Theo, Reese, and Parker were terrified. They could see scowling men aiming their guns right at them.
“Heads down, please,” said Professor Ellison.
The kids ducked just in time. The Jeeps both fired a steady stream of bullets that shredded through the BMW, went over the kids’ heads, and exited straight through the other side. The men in the Jeeps cut each other to ribbons with their own gunfire. Both Jeeps peeled off and crashed, out of the chase for good.
The men in the last Jeep fired at them. They were getting close.
“Take the wheel, please,” Professor Ellison told Parker.
Parker wriggled his way into the front seat and took over the BMW as Professor Ellison opened the sunroof. She grabbed her Louis Vuitton bag and stood with her body half out of the SUV.
“Um, Professor Ellison?” said Reese.
The professor was not taking questions. As the men in the Jeep tried to get a bead on her, she calmly rooted through her bag and came up with a small marble-and-glass amulet shaped like a pyramid. She closed her eyes, held the object up, and said a few words under her breath. When she was done, she opened her eyes and pointed the amulet at the Jeep.
One of the men in the Jeep was pointing a rocket launcher directly back at her.
Just as the man in the Jeep fired the rocket, the professor’s magic took effect. The Jeep stopped dead in its track and lurched straight into the air. When it came down, the Jeep hit the ground and exploded into flames.
The rocket spiraled wildly into the sky, its
trajectory ruined. Everyone in the BMW watched it, hoping it wasn’t what they all feared. When it righted itself and plummeted directly at them, their hopes were broken.
“Heat seeker!” cried Theo. He was the veteran of a thousand video game wars, and he knew what he was talking about.
“It will miss us,” said Professor Ellison as she climbed back into the truck. She shoved Parker to the backseat so she could take back control of the speeding BMW.
Reese said, “I’m not so sure.”
The professor swung the BMW around, trying to shake the rocket, but it was no use. The missile picked up their heat and streaked right at them. Professor Ellison spun the SUV around again and headed back toward the burning Jeep.
The man who had fired the rocket stumbled out of the wreckage, bruised, scorched, but still alive. As the BMW sped at him, he fired his handgun into its windshield. Neither the professor nor Fon-Rahm paid him any attention. The man ran out of ammunition and dropped his gun. He was sure the SUV was going to plow into him, so he hid his head in his hands. When at the last second the BMW turned away, he peeked out. Xaru be praised, he had survived!
Then he saw his own missile blasting toward the blazing Jeep, and he screamed. The missile exploded, leaving a rain of metal, burning dirt, and a crater behind.
25
PROFESSOR ELLISON SLID WHAT WAS left of the SUV to a halt, and everyone got out. Reese gaped at the hole where the Jeep had once been.
“You killed them,” she said. “You killed all of them.”
“Would you rather that they had killed us?” Professor Ellison asked.
“I would rather that no one got killed at all.”
Ellison shrugged. “They’re prepared to die,” she said. “They call themselves the Path. They’re the descendants of a very old and very disciplined religious order that worships the Jinn. It’s impressive, really. They recruit members from around the world to renounce their nations and pledge their lives to bring about genie rule.”
“They want to be ruled by genies?” asked Reese.
“Some people are more comfortable in chains.”
“The Path are fanatics and they will stop at nothing to ensure that Xaru succeeds in his mission to control the world,” said Fon-Rahm. “They are after the lamps.”
“They must have found a way around the tether,” Professor Ellison mused. “How do you like that, by the way? It’s just a little something extra I threw in when I trapped you, as a precaution.”
“I don’t understand,” said Parker. “If you think the genies are such a threat, why mess around with lamps? Why not just destroy them?”
Fon-Rahm answered, “If one of the Jinn is destroyed, his power will return to Vesiroth. The wizard must not live again. This time he might succeed, and mankind would forever be under Vesiroth’s thumb.”
“It might be worth it, for a world without war,” said Theo.
Reese shook her head. “Yeah, if you want an evil wizard making all your decisions for you.”
“Xaru was trying to kill Fon-Rahm. Isn’t he worried about Vesiroth?” asked Parker.
Fon-Rahm frowned. “I do not believe he cares. My brother is an embodiment of chaos. Where he goes, madness follows.”
“And that’s why I have to find the lamps before the Path does,” said the professor. “They have already unearthed Xaru. Who knows what else they’ve found?”
“Okay, fine,” said Parker. “There are twelve evil genies out there. So go get ’em. I don’t see why you have a problem with Fon-Rahm. He’s on our side.”
“He shouldn’t even exist!”
Professor Ellison realized she was yelling and made an effort to get herself under control. “He isn’t human. He doesn’t feel the things that we feel. He has no emotions. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a human being. He might talk a good game, but don’t be fooled. Fon-Rahm is a weapon. He is too powerful to be free, and he is not to be trusted.”
She looked at the genie with nothing but contempt. “He is simply a spell that got out of hand.”
Fon-Rahm stared back at her. “I will fight you if I must. This time, I warn you, I will be prepared.”
Smoke began to pool around his eyes. He was now rested and ready to go. Professor Ellison stared him down. It was a standoff, and it was getting very tense.
Parker stepped between them.
“Wait! Wait! You both agree that the genies are a threat, right?”
“The others must be trapped, I agree,” said Fon-Rahm.
“You all must be trapped,” countered the professor.
Parker said, “Then the logical thing for us to do is join forces.”
“Us?” Professor Ellison huffed. “I hope you’re not under the impression that I need you for something.”
“Yeah, okay, you might not need me, but you could use Fon-Rahm, and he can only do what I tell him to do. We’re a package deal.”
“I am doing quite well by myself, actually. Why on earth would you think I need Fon-Rahm?”
“Because Fon-Rahm can tell where the other genies are.”
Fon-Rahm looked away.
“He can?” Reese asked. “How?”
Parker turned to the genie. “You can feel them, can’t you, Rommy? That’s why you knew Xaru was here. I think you even knew when Xaru’s lamp was opened. You were talking about a disturbance in the Nexus the first night we stashed you in the barn.”
Fon-Rahm let a hint of a smile play across his lips.
“I believed you were not paying attention.”
“So,” said Reese. “Fon-Rahm is the only one who can sense where all the genies are, and Professor Ellison is the only one who can trap them. It’s pretty clear that we’ll be stronger and more effective if we work together.”
The genie and the professor glared at each other. Neither wanted to be the first to back down.
Fon-Rahm broke the silence. “It’s agreed, then? We join together to recapture the other twelve?”
Professor Ellison nodded. “Agreed.”
“Ha! Yes!” said Parker. “This is going to be so cool!”
“That’s one word for it, I guess,” said Theo.
Parker, Reese, and Theo walked back to the BMW. The SUV was dented and Swiss-cheesed with bullet holes. The windows were gone. The roof was barely attached. It took Theo three tries to open one of the back doors. He had to brush broken glass off the seat before he got in.
Professor Ellison and Fon-Rahm lagged behind.
“You realize, of course, that when this is all over I’ll be coming for you, dear,” she told Fon-Rahm.
Fon-Rahm smiled a grim smile. “I would expect no less,” he said.
26
THE ARMY BASE WAS ABANDONED. The people of Lithuania, poor but resourceful, had stolen anything of value long ago, leaving nothing behind but rusting metal, weeds, and empty cinder-block buildings that were already crumbling.
Nadir sympathized. He had come from nothing himself, and he had no time or patience for those who didn’t help themselves, through legal means or not. The world was a cold place. Nadir’s strategy was to embrace its cruelty.
Most people would have regarded Nadir’s childhood as a horror. He had been orphaned at a young age and left to scrounge for food in the trash cans and back alleys of Munich, alone and unloved. What he couldn’t beg, he stole, and by the time he was nine he had progressed from stealing food to lifting wallets, purses, and whatever else he could lay his hands on. He was good, too, nimble-fingered and quick, and with a mean streak that frightened both competition and companionship away. He might have grown up to be a crime boss, or he might have been jailed as a thief, if he hadn’t one day innocently walked off from a teeming restaurant with a nondescript black leather briefcase. He had run around the corner and hid behind a wall before opening it, expecting to find money, or something he could sell, but the only thing in the case was a list of names. Some were crossed out in red ink.
Another child would have thrown the list aw
ay and gone back to shoplifting and picking pockets. Nadir, however, was intrigued by the list. It was information, and information was often worth more than watches or rings.
He tracked the owner of the case (not difficult for a child who lived on the streets) and found a lean, dead-eyed Colombian man with odd tattoos and a black suit. Nadir offered to give him back the list in exchange for cash.
The owner of the case had an eye for talent and was impressed both with Nadir’s skill and his nerve. He didn’t give him money, but he gave him something better. He gave him a home.
That man turned out to be the leader of the Path. He became a father figure to Nadir, and the boy worshipped him. He taught Nadir about the Nexus and the Jinn, and he trained him in the dark arts.
Nadir took to his new calling with enthusiasm. He learned the language of the Path and took a new name to show he had broken completely from his old life. When he learned that the collection of names he had stolen was a list of the Path’s enemies targeted for assassination, he snuck away and killed one himself.
He was ten years old.
Nadir missed his father figure, sometimes. Sometimes he even regretted killing him, but it was the smart move. Nadir had taken over leadership of the Path himself, and he had never looked back.
Nadir stood inside the deserted hangar with his men and Xaru.
“I should have known Tarinn would still be alive,” said Xaru. “That woman is too annoying to die. Still, I suppose a few snags are to be expected. Worlds do not enslave themselves.”
Nadir had still not gotten used to the idea of seeing the genie walking among them. For so long, Nadir had dreamed of the day the Jinn were free, and now that it was happening, he felt uneasy. He had been told that the Path was to be rewarded for its centuries of service, and he hoped to sit at the right hand of Xaru’s throne. So far, though, Xaru had said nothing about a job well done. He only issued demands and spilled blood.
Rebels of the Lamp, Book 1 Page 11
