“Torturin’ you?” He chuckled. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t ya think? We were merely performing tests on a subject.”
“I’m not a subject for your lab experiments. I’m a person!”
“Tell him, Eden!” Pepper whooped.
“You are a genie,” Brightly pronounced disdainfully.
“Yes!” Eden said. “A person who’s a genie.”
“David,” Jane said, “remember what we’re here for.”
Brightly turned from Eden and limped back over to Sylvana. Eden’s heart fell. Accidentally getting his attention was the best thing she’d done yet. By distracting him, she’d held him off for a few moments.
Too bad Jane was too levelheaded for that to work for long. Brightly was a loose cannon, but Jane always calmed him down and kept him on task.
“Today you told me that you know how to get the lamp’s power,” Brightly said to Sylvana. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” said Sylvana. It sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth.
Brightly looked over at Jane, who was watching the tablet—confirming that Brightly’s wish had achieved its purpose, Eden supposed. She nodded at Brightly.
Eden’s mind was spinning. What could she do to distract him?
“Whoo!” Brightly hooted. He rubbed his hands together. “Spill it, sister. How do I get that genie lamp power for myself?”
Like a flash, an idea hit Eden. It was simple, but it just might work.
“I’m SIIIIINGIN’ in the rain!” she sang out as loud as she could.
Brightly and Jane whipped around to face her. Both of them looked absolutely baffled.
“Just SIIIIINGIN’ in the rain!”
Pepper’s beautiful voice was the next to join: “What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again!”
“Why are y’all singin’?” Brightly demanded.
“Seriously,” Kingsley snapped.
Bola caught on next.
“Happy birthday to you,” she sang over top of them. “Happy birthday to you!”
“David, ask the question again!” Jane urged. For once, she was getting flustered too.
“Why in the world are they singin’?” Brightly asked again.
“They’re trying to drown her out!”
Any of the alumni who hadn’t understood the purpose of the singing before did now. Every voice joined in, resulting in a loud, chaotic cacophony. A Christmas carol came from one end; “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” came from the other. Next to Eden, Monroe made a terrible siren sound.
Jane had finally slipped up—and judging by the look on her face, she knew it. In trying to clue Brightly in, she’d unwittingly helped the alumni.
Even if Sylvana were to tell Brightly precisely what he wanted to know, there was no chance he’d be able to hear it now.
“Quiet!!” Brightly screamed. “I need quiet!”
But instead, a new voice joined in.
“Eden!” it called from the other side of the lab. “Are you here?”
Eden’s heart nearly leaped across the room to where he was.
He’d shown up. Again, he’d shown up.
“Tyler!” she yelled. “I’m here!”
Brightly whipped around. “Who’s that?” He hobbled forward a little.
The alumni’s cacophony quieted as some of them stopped making noise.
“Eden! Are you okay?” Tyler asked, coming closer.
“Stay back!” Eden warned. “I’m fine, I just can’t move.”
He’d come in through the door on the opposite side of the room—the one Athena had been instructed to walk past. Because of that, he’d avoided Brightly’s trap. As he moved forward cautiously, Eden could see that he was brandishing a fancy-looking guitar.
“Is that my guitar you’re holdin’?” Brightly asked in disbelief.
Tyler held it over his head. “Elvis Presley’s 1942 Martin D-18. That’s what the plaque below it said.” Eden could tell he was afraid, but he didn’t back down. He held it high above the edge of a lab table. “If you don’t let Eden and her friends come with me right now, I’m going to smash it into splinters.”
“Stop him, Jane!” Brightly shrieked. “That belonged to the King!”
“David, calm down!” Jane scolded. She narrowed her eyes at Tyler and started stalking toward him. “How did you get in here?”
It was as if Tyler had read Eden’s mind: he’d provided the perfect distraction. Brightly and Jane were both so focused on him that they missed the moment when Monroe took action. She reached out, peeled Bola off the wall, and launched her across the threshold like a human cannonball. Bola flew through the air and landed on Brightly’s back, knocking him to the floor.
He screamed at a pitch so high, it made Eden’s ears ring. “My leg!” he wailed.
Bola reached down and scooped him up from under the arms. Groaning with effort, she lifted him, turned him toward the wall, and shoved him across the line of tape. Brightly went flying face-first into the space she’d vacated on the wall.
Eden watched in awe. Bola was truly a force to be reckoned with.
“JANE!!!” Brightly roared from his spread-eagled position. “Help me!!”
Unlike Brightly, Bola didn’t waste a second gloating. She rushed to the lamp, aglow in purple in its cage on the lab table, and stuck her hands inside. Eden cringed, remembering the excruciating pain that had ripped through her when she’d touched the plasma. Even knowing that Bola was immune to pain, Eden was shocked to see that she really didn’t appear to feel a thing.
However, the bars of the cage were too close together for her to remove the lamp. She tried to pull them apart, but they wouldn’t budge.
“Help!!” Brightly screamed. Eden was glad that his face was plastered against the wall so he couldn’t see Bola struggling with the bars.
Next to Eden, a second figure sprang forward lithely. Monroe had launched herself off the wall too.
She stepped up to the cage encasing the lamp and placed her own hands on the metal. As she pried the bars apart, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. She might have supernatural strength, but unlike Bola, she still felt pain. The circumference of that ball of plasma, as blisteringly hot as the surface of the sun, would be burning her fingers with a vengeance.
But after a few moments, it was done. Monroe staggered aside, and Bola reached in and pulled the lamp free.
From the first time she’d seen her in the flesh, Eden had thought Bola looked like a champion. Now, as she lifted the lamp high above her head like a trophy, that vision was gloriously manifested. Cheers erupted down the line of alumni.
“Now I need to make a request for reentry!” Eden said.
But she was interrupted by a loud crack. She squeezed her eyes shut as bright light filled the lab.
“What happened?” Brightly whimpered.
When Eden opened her eyes, her heart soared. All at once, she knew everything would be all right. Because standing next to Bola was one of the masters of the lamp.
Goldie was as pretty and pink-cheeked as ever, but Eden had never seen her look quite so ferocious. Her eyes glittered as they swept over the lab.
“What in heaven’s name is going on here?” she demanded.
“There’s a magnetic force keeping us stuck us to this wall!” Eden said.
Goldie snapped her fingers, and Eden dropped to the floor. She stretched her arms and rotated her ankles. It was good to be able to move again.
Looking down the line, she saw that Pepper and Delta had been released too—but not Brightly or the Electric.
Eden rushed to her master. “Goldie!”
“My darling girl,” said Goldie warmly.
Eden hugged her tightly. They’d only been apart for a few weeks, but it felt like years.
When they parted, Pepper was beside them, beaming as brilliantly as ever. “Phew,” she said. “What a wild ride, kid!”
“Pepper!” Eden wrapped her arms around her guardian too.
While
Goldie greeted the other Loyals, Eden spotted Tyler, looking slightly stunned, standing by a lab table where he’d set the (still intact) guitar.
“Tyler!” she said, running to him. “You’re amazing. How’d you find us?”
He shrugged shyly. “Getting to Brightly Tech was easy enough. Then I kept finding open doors, so I figured I was on the right track. When I got to Brightly’s office, that display case had been moved aside to show the stairs, and I heard voices coming from up there.”
“Who’s this young man?” Goldie asked, appearing beside them.
“This is my friend Tyler,” said Eden.
“Nice to meet you.” Tyler’s smile showed his crooked teeth.
Goldie’s eyes lit up incredulously. “From San Diego?”
“He came here to help me,” said Eden.
“You dear boy!” Goldie looked overcome with happiness. She took the sides of Tyler’s head affectionately and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
“This is all very sweet,” Kingsley snapped. Now Eden could see the ungainly position she’d been caught in, with her arms sticking out at weird angles. “But some of us are still stuck on a wall over here.”
Goldie smoothed a few stray hairs from her silver-blond bun. “Yes, what about you….What do you call yourselves? Electric. How did you end up here?”
“I came here for the lamp, but Brightly tricked me and trapped me,” Sylvana said bitterly. “Of course, I was trying to get its power for myself.”
“Well, that’s nothing new, is it?” Goldie said. But then she balked. “Wait a second. Did you really just tell the truth about that?”
Sylvana sighed. “I have no choice anymore. Brightly wished that I could never tell another lie.”
Goldie crossed her arms and smiled. “Well, isn’t that interesting.”
“Hello! Can y’all please let me down now? I still have two more wishes to make!” Having his face mashed into the wall made Brightly’s words a little muffled.
“Ha!” Bola laughed harshly. “You really think you get to make more wishes now?” She shook her head and clicked her tongue.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Brightly yelled into the wall.
“Is he serious?” murmured Pepper.
“You’d better let me free this instant,” Brightly shouted. “This is my lab!”
“Oh, Mr. Brightly. We have things to discuss before that happens,” said Goldie, striding toward him.
“You won’t get away with this,” Brightly said viciously. “My employees will be here to help me any minute.”
“Really?” said Eden. “I haven’t seen Jean Luc or Dr. Evans since we arrived.”
“Well, where’s Jane?” he cried.
“She’s gone too,” said Pepper. “She must have snuck out the back door.”
That shut him up—but not for long. “Doesn’t matter,” he growled. “I don’t need anyone!”
“Clearly,” Delta quipped. Pepper and Eden looked at each other and giggled.
“Excuse me!” Eden could tell Brightly was heading for a tantrum. “Do you even know who I am?”
“Sure we do,” said Goldie calmly. “You’re the man who stole the lamp.”
“I’m the founder of Brightly Tech,” Brightly crowed. “The most powerful man in the world!”
“Oh, my! Is that right?” Goldie cooed. “Why don’t you use some of that power to look at me when I’m talking to you?”
“I can’t,” he yelled. “I’m stuck like this!”
Goldie held out her hand and snapped, and instantly Brightly’s back slammed against the wall, whipping him around to face the room.
“That’s better,” she said. “Hello, Mr. Brightly.”
Looking at him straight on, Eden could see that both of Brightly’s glasses lenses were shattered—and also, that he looked absolutely terrified.
“Who are you?” he asked with a quaver in his voice.
Goldie put her hands on her hips. “I’m one of the masters of the lamp. And I’m here to tell you that this granting is officially over.”
“What?” Brightly squawked. “I don’t get my other wishes?”
“No, sir. And I’ll thank you to never use that tone of voice in my presence again.” Goldie shook her head. “You’re a grown man. Why don’t you start acting like it?”
Brightly huffed.
“Eden,” said Goldie, “did Mr. Brightly block the telescope?”
“Yep. He put a plasma shield over the lamp.”
Goldie’s eyes flashed. “A what?”
“Sort of like a force field,” Eden explained. “That’s why messages couldn’t go in and out, and I couldn’t make a request for reentry.”
Goldie’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink. “Well, I never.”
Pepper put an arm around Eden. “When Brightly summoned Eden, he put the plasma shield on the lamp and held her here so he could do tests on her.” Her nose crinkled in disgust. “Luckily, she escaped. But then Brightly had all of Paris searching for her. He said she was his daughter, and that she’d been kidnapped. He even offered a reward.”
Goldie narrowed her eyes at Brightly. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” she scolded. Then to Eden: “How did you get the lamp free?”
“Bola did it!” Eden said. “Monroe used her super strength to separate the cage’s bars, and then Bola reached into the plasma and pulled it free. They were amazing!”
“A Loyal and an Electric, working together,” Goldie said with amusement. “Who would have guessed it.” Bola raised her eyebrows at Monroe, who, for a split second, looked like she might actually smile—but then they turned away from each other awkwardly.
Goldie’s attention returned to Brightly. “Listen closely, Mr. Brightly. First thing in the morning, you’re going to tell the press that the search was a hoax. You won’t give any additional information, and you’ll never speak to anyone about it again. Do you understand?”
“Fine,” Brightly grumbled.
“I beg your pardon.” Goldie seemed to grow an inch taller. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” he said in defeat.
Goldie glowered at him. “You’re going to stay far away from this lamp and these women for the rest of your pitiful life. And you’re never to tell a soul what you know about the lamp. Do you understand?”
“I understand.” Maybe it was true that Brightly was one of the world’s most powerful people, but at the moment, he was as deflated as a popped balloon.
Goldie walked right up to the wall and grabbed his collar. Apparently, the magnetism’s pull was no match for the power of a master of the lamp. “If you don’t follow these instructions precisely, you’re going to wish you never even heard the word genie. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Brightly said meekly. “May I go home now?”
Goldie snapped her fingers, and he dropped to his feet. He rubbed the side of his face that had been stuck to the wall.
“Tyler,” Goldie said, “could you be a dear and escort Mr. Brightly out of the building?”
Tyler stood up a little straighter. “No problem.”
“Thank you, love. Goodbye, Mr. Brightly.” Scowling, Brightly stooped to pick his cane up off the floor; then Tyler took his arm and led him out.
With Brightly gone, all eyes turned to the remaining Electra members on the wall: Violet, Kingsley, Athena, and Sylvana.
“Now, for the rest of you.” Goldie snapped her fingers, and they dropped to their feet.
“Finally!” Sylvana said. She stretched her arms, tossed her hair, and started to saunter toward the door.
“Hold it right there, missy,” Goldie said. “You and I still need to talk.”
To Eden’s amazement, Sylvana halted. Pouting, she leaned back against the wall while Violet, Kingsley, and Athena moved aside to stand with the others.
Eden’s heart thrummed with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see how Goldie would make Sylvana pay for everything she’d done. She was finally going to g
et what she deserved.
But when she turned to Goldie, she realized that her master was looking at Sylvana with pity, not anger. Despite everything she’d done, you could tell that Goldie still saw her as the little girl she’d once been.
It occurred to Eden that, long ago, Goldie and Xavier had taught Sylvana lessons in the very same room where she’d received her own genie education. And suddenly, she understood.
Maybe the masters had never truly feared Sylvana. Perhaps they’d feared the influence she might have on others. But now, even that had been taken from her.
She didn’t need to be punished. The consequences of her actions were going to be punishment enough.
“Sylvana. Our most rebellious genie,” Goldie said gently. “What are you going to do now that you can’t lie?”
“I still have my power of persuasion,” Sylvana fired back.
“That’s true,” Goldie acknowledged. “But now everyone knows your true intentions. You can persuade, but you can’t deceive.” She turned to the other Electric. “Athena, are you going to stay with Electra?”
“No way,” Athena said. “Sylvana, you know nothing gets past me. I always knew you were in this for yourself. But I also knew if you got the lamp’s power, I’d benefit too. Now that you can’t lie, it’s obvious that’s never going to happen.”
“Monroe?” said Goldie. “How about you?”
“I’m tired of people,” Monroe said darkly. “I’m going to find a medieval castle and hole up for a century or so.”
And do what? Eden wondered, thinking of how Monroe didn’t sleep. But she supposed no one except Monroe would ever know the answer to that.
“Kingsley?”
Kingsley scrutinized her manicure. “I’m out too. It was nice being around all the beautiful art and jewelry, but enough is enough.”
Sylvana blinked her big turquoise eyes. “Violet?” she said in a small voice.
Violet cleared her throat. “Sylvana, I’ve been with you since the beginning, almost. But you always treated me like I was second-rate.”
“What do you mean?” Sylvana protested. “I—” But she couldn’t seem to get the words out. It was as if she were physically choking on her lie. In its place, the truth came rushing out: “I know.”
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