by Judi Fennell
“Hurry up. I haven’t got all night.”
“Actually, you do, Albert,” said Kal, trying to buy some time for a miracle. And on this island, miracles were always possibilities. Hufaidh was a magical paradise and had been known to be witness to a few miracles throughout history. But as with Oracles, you couldn’t count on miracles happening when you needed them to. “I can take you on a trip around the world and stay one step ahead of the moon. Or we could visit one of the poles for the midnight sun phenomena. Or even visit other planets to alter your biorhythms. Venus has a few spots that are nice to visit.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me, genie?”
Kal almost asked him to define get rid of. He’d love to get rid of Albert permanently, and if that meant leaving him in a colony on Venus, so be it. Those Venusians were an accommodating race; the guy could die a happy man. And due to that planet’s proximity to the sun, his death would be sooner rather than later, a bonus as far as Kal was concerned, but he wouldn’t exactly want to explain it to Albert.
“Of course not. But a genie is supposed to grant his master’s every wish. I’m trying to ascertain what those are. Do you wish to visit a palace? What about a Mediterranean island? The South Pacific? I know where there are elephant burial grounds. All the ivory you could want. Or pearls. I know the best sea beds. The best diamond mines, the best emeralds. Oil deposits, if you’re into that. Whatever you want, all you have to do is ask. We could go there now. What about the top of the Eiffel Tower? The bottom of the Grand Canyon? Angel Falls? St. Peter’s Square? Disneyland?”
Albert held up his hand. “Enough. I don’t need you to visit those places. I already have the means to do so. And now…”
Albert tapped his shirt pocket, appeared in front of the table, yanked the lantern chain from Samantha’s hand, slammed the cage down, and was back at the center of the clearing in less than three seconds.
Maille could move fast, but not even a dragon could outdo the amulet. Only genie magic could come close.
“And now I have the means to get whatever I want.” He dangled the lantern in front of him. “And what I want from you is wealth. Power.”
Kal had heard all of this before, and, gods forgive him, he had to grant it—though, come to think of it, it was the gods’ fault.
Another agenda item for the meeting with the High Master. But first things first. There was The Code to adhere to or he could kiss any hope of a pardon good-bye.
Hope—he’d have to remove that trunk from Stavros’s office once he became vizier. And finally open it.
“Money? Power? Isn’t that a little unoriginal?” Samantha asked sarcastically.
Kal shot her a look. He wanted Albert to forget she was there.
“Figures you’d sneer, Samantha. You never knew what it was like to want for anything in your life.” Albert rubbed his hands, just warming up. “Everything you ever wanted, poof! handed to you on a silver platter. You don’t know what it’s like to work like a dog to make it. To have to make sacrifices. Suck up to people who are so far below your intellect and pretend to like it.”
“Well then, why don’t you make yourself king? Rule over the peons who slighted you. That ought to make you feel better.”
What was she doing? Kal half hoped Albert would wish she’d shut up so Kal could make her stop talking. The last thing Albert needed was a bunch of suggestions on how to use Kal’s power.
“King, huh?” Albert rubbed his chin. “You know, you actually have a good idea. Who would have thought it?” He looked at Kal. “Can you do that? Can you make me king?”
“Of course.” Any djinni could, which explained the state of the mortal world these days.
Kal shook his head, stood, placed his feet shoulder-width apart, put his hands on his hips, gritted his teeth, and said, “Salam wa aleikum. I am Khaled, the genie of the lantern,” all but gagging over the traditional words of Servitude. “What country would you wish to be king of, master?”
That last word made him definitely made him gag.
“The whole world.”
That drew some bile to the back of his throat. “Unfortunately, that’s not possible. There has to be a series of checks and balances in Nature, and She doesn’t allow for an absolute ruler.”
“If I wish it, it has to happen!” Albert came this close to stomping his foot.
Kal tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. “I must adhere to The Djinn Code which states that we can’t create an aberration of nature.” Although, apparently Nature could; Albert was proof of that. “A supreme ruler would be an aberration.”
“Hey, you could always pick this place to rule over,” said Samantha.
Kal shot her a look. Here? With all its magic? Did she want Albert to have that kind of power at his fingertips?
“Seriously, Albert. Think what having magical beings as your minions would be like. All that power.”
Apparently she did. What in the cosmos was she doing? Kal really wanted Albert to wish for her to be quiet. But then he saw a flicker of a smile on her lips.
Samantha was up to something.
“Minions.” Albert stroked his chin. All he needed was a pointed goatee and he’d look like Faruq. Matter of fact, if Kal didn’t know Faruq was locked up in his own lantern in the High Master’s study, he might wonder about the resemblance. “I like that word, minion.”
No surprise there.
“And I like your idea, Samantha. Yes, having all the beings at my beck and call would be a coup no other ruler on Earth could beat. I’d be more powerful than all of them.” Albert pocketed the lantern next to the amulet. So freaking close, yet it might as well have been in the next solar system since genies couldn’t steal from their masters.
“Everyone here can be my minions. Nothing like having a world of magical beasts bow to my every whim.”
Genies also couldn’t talk their masters out of their delusions of grandeur.
Kal couldn’t figure out Sam’s angle. Albert’s was easy to see, though most people usually chose to go back to where they grew up, wanting to lord their successes over the people they perceived as having done them wrong. High school was always a big revenge scenario with new masters.
“Yes, that’s it.” Albert snapped his fingers. “Here. I want to rule here.”
Samantha crossed her arms, covered her mouth with her hand, and pretended to cough—but Kal saw the smile.
“You do that, Albert, and I’ll go return the dragon to his parents.”
Albert waved his hand. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Why are you even still here? I would have thought you would’ve taken your lizard and beat it by now.”
Kal didn’t like the tone, but he’d overlook it to get Samantha out of harm’s way.
“Fine by me. Happy ruling.” She hopped out of the chair and swept up Laszlo’s cage. “Don’t forget the gnomes, Kal. They’d make the perfect minions. Oh, and the leprechauns.”
With a quick, meaningful glance at him that Kal wasn’t sure how to interpret, Samantha spun around and strode from the clearing.
Gnomes and leprechauns? Together? He hoped she knew what she was doing—and what he was doing because he wasn’t so sure giving Albert this wish was a good idea.
33
“I’m telling you, we need to go there and help out.” Dirham bounced into Stavros’s office and onto the desk so frenetically that Stavros was worried the little fox was on something. “We’ll round everyone up and get to the island without Albert knowing. Or Kal, either ’cause if Samantha did give Albert the lantern, Kal has to protect him at all costs.”
The fox’s back legs narrowly missed the picture of Colette on the next bounce. “We’ll have to convince the trolls to open the marina because Kismet’s out of commission. And the griffins are too big and oxen-like to go in undetected. There have to be a few seaworthy boats to get to the island, but we’ll need to go in quietly.”
Lexy leapt onto the crate by the door. “Maybe the phoenixes can transport a few
baskets of gnomes over. We’ll have to discuss the importance of not spontaneously combusting over the water with them first, however.”
“Good point.” Dirham started pacing atop the desk. “Or the peris could pair up to carry a few gremlins over.”
“Gremlins?” Stavros shivered. Gremlins were just as bad as villainous mortals. “What for? There’s nothing mechanical on the island for them to destroy.”
“Have you ever seen a bored gremlin, Stavros? They’re worth more than a passel of brownies any day.” Dirham tapped his snout. “But we should get the gnomes and ogres over first. They’re the most knowledgeable about land; they can give us the best insight.”
“Hold up, guys—I mean, guy and vixen.” Stavros stood on his chair. “I hate to put a damper on your community service project, but we can’t do anything for Kal. His magic beats any we have, paws down. If he can’t defeat Albert, there’s no way we can. Besides, his Code doesn’t allow for outside interference.”
“Technically, that’s true, Stavros,” said Lexy, “but, while we may not be able to do anything to Albert or for Kal, there’s nothing to stop us from doing things to where they are. The gnomes would come in handy in that clearing. Gnome holes can be very damaging to mortals’ ankles. Even cause broken legs.”
Dirham’s head bobbed as if he were bouncing, but for the first time that Stavros could remember, the fennec was calm. Almost preternaturally. And focused. And serious. “That could work.”
Stavros scratched the ring of hair around his crown. “But what would that buy us? Ten seconds? I’m sorry, Dirham, Lexy, but we don’t know if they’re still on the island or if they’d even stay long enough for us to get there. Not to mention, can the gnomes wreak havoc on Hufaidh? The island’s a law unto itself. We could be setting ourselves up for not only a big fail, but something dangerous. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk the citizens of Izaaz.”
“How can you say that?” Dirham leapt so high he hit the ceiling fan and grabbed the pull chain on his way down, sending a slew of papers flying around the room.
So much for calm.
“Kal and Sam helped you out, Stavros. They helped everyone in town out. Are we going to leave them to fight their battles alone? They’re even saving one of us now when they don’t have to. Doesn’t any of this convince you?”
Stavros rubbed his jaw. It’d been too long since Izaaz had looked as good as it did now, and that was a direct result of Kal and Samantha’s generosity. If not for them, this place would still be two hoofprints away from anarchy. The kits had a point.
Still, it was too dangerous. Survival of the fittest didn’t apply to just mortals. “There has to be something else. Some other way we can help without sending in the troops.”
Dirham let go of the pull cord and landed in a somersault on the desk. Then he brushed off some dust and shook his head. Back in control. “No. There’s no other way. We have to go. They need us.”
“Actually…” Lexy brushed some of the papers off the crate she was sitting on. “There might be another way.”
Stavros and Dirham swung their heads her way in unison.
“We might want to open this.”
“A box?” asked Dirham. “What could possibly be in the box that would help them, Lexy?”
Stavros said the answer along with the vixen as he lifted the lid.
“Hope.”
***
Samantha hurried from the clearing, Laszlo’s cage clutched tightly to her chest. Luckily, the dragon seemed to know she was here to help him and didn’t scorch her. She’d be sure to tell Maille to praise him for being resourceful enough to torch Albert. Pity he hadn’t had enough fire power to damage anything but clothing while at Albert’s mercy.
Where Kal was. And, unfortunately, he couldn’t use all the firepower he had.
She hoped her idea worked.
She hoped Kal figured out what she was trying to do. She hoped Albert didn’t until it was too late.
Well, if she couldn’t wish, at least she could hope.
But aside from hoping, she also needed to do. She wasn’t as useless as Albert thought, and if this worked, she was going to love telling him so. But first she had to get back there to watch it play out. Help it along.
She plopped Laszlo’s cage onto the middle of the carpet, then tugged on the carpet’s fringe to get its attention. “I wish for you to take Laszlo home.” Hmmm, apparently she could wish, but, sadly, it couldn’t do her any good now because there was no one around to make wishes to.
The carpet wriggled, then rose off the ground, hovering there with the fringe rippling like a centipede. Laszlo squeaked through the bars of his prison at her.
She patted his beak. “You sit still. I don’t want you to go rolling off into the water. The carpet will take you home to your mom and dad where you’ll be safe. I’m going back in there to see what I can do to help Kal.”
Laszlo settled onto the floor of his cage and chirruped again, but he didn’t look happy about it. Truthfully, she wasn’t, either, but she couldn’t leave Kal in there with Albert.
Before she could change her mind, she slapped the end of the carpet and it took off like a galloping horse, fringe flowing behind it like a tail, leaving her alone to face Albert and Kal’s magic.
34
“You’re sure you want me to bring the entire population of Izaaz here? To this island?” Kal looked at Albert with what he figured Albert would see as awe, but which Kal meant solely as disbelief. He’d dealt with narcissists before, but Albert might actually be Narcissus reincarnated.
“I’m not speaking Greek, genie. Though I presume you could understand if I did?” Albert held his mouth open for a nymph to drop another grape into it. He’d wished for nymphs the minute Sam had left. The request for a gold throne atop a marble dais had come shortly thereafter.
Kal turned away, the sight threatening to make him erupt into either maniacal laughter or fits of revulsion. Just once, he’d love for someone to come up with something entirely new. Samantha had; he’d never had anyone not want to make wishes.
Kal shook his head. He didn’t know what she had up her sleeve, but no matter what happened, Samantha was in the past. She had to be.
“Well, are you going to get working on it?” Albert demanded.
Kal composed himself and turned around. “We need to cover a few of the ground rules, Al—er, master.” Gods, that stuck in his craw. “First, you need to—”
“I don’t need to do a damn thing. I make a wish and you grant it. Got it? And I wish for everyone to show up and bow to their new sovereign.”
Kal took a deep breath, shook out his fingers, and metaphorically shrugged his shoulders. Some people had to learn the hard way.
With a wave of his hand—with the newly minted gold cuff on it, a sign of full-genie status that he couldn’t enjoy—the gates opened and people started dropping out of the sky.
“Kal! We were planning to rescue you!” Dirham was first. After all, Albert didn’t specify who he should bring. That’s why Harv was second. Bart third, and Maille right on his heels.
Kal left Maisey back in town; someone needed to watch over the dragonlets.
“You lousy son of a wyrm!” Maille was halfway up the dais before Albert swallowed the grapes.
He started choking.
“I’m going to rip you limb from limb!”
Kal sighed, not even waiting for Albert’s screeched, “Genie!” to turn Maille into a statue.
If only she hadn’t gone on the attack. Subtlety; that’s what was needed here. Subtlety… and strategy. He finally understood what Samantha had been trying to tell him, and it was all he could do not to laugh. Bart, on the other hand, had no such problem. With one look at Maille, the wyvern gave him a double thumbs-up.
“Where are the rest of the beings who live in that dust bowl?” said Albert, waving another nymph forward, this one with the ewer of ambrosia he’d demanded.
Too bad for him that he hadn’t qualified that de
mand. Sour ambrosia was still ambrosia as far as Kal was concerned.
“They’re coming.” Kal swallowed the master he normally would have used. For the first time in his four thousand years, saying that word left a bad taste in his mouth. But not as bad as that ambrosia would leave in Albert’s. Too bad it couldn’t do more, but Kal was forbidden from inflicting injury on his master. And given what he was about to do, he had to at least give Albert a warning. “But if I bring everyone at once, it could sink the island. It was never designed to hold so many.”
Albert flicked his fingernails and looked around. “Yeah, I guess I can see that. Not much to look at, is it?”
Only someone as self-absorbed as Albert would fail to see the beauty in the simplicity of Hufaidh. Hidden by the Djinn in Izaaz when mortals began advancing into parts of the world they shouldn’t have, the island was a paradise very few got to see. Created by the gods as a vacation spot, it contained only basic necessities besides this gathering place: a grove of fruit trees, a pool of spring-fed water, simple but comfortable shelter, and all the privacy one could want.
But now, with Albert here, the place would have to be fumigated before any of the gods would set foot on it again. Kal would make that his second priority once he was vizier. The first would be to round up all of Mayat’s amulets and keep them out of mortals’ hands.
“More, genie. I want more minions.”
Harv snorted but wisely kept his mouth shut. Harv knew how to work an opportunity. And so did Kal. Samantha’s plan was brilliant, and if he played his cards—and his magic—right, he could tell her so.
The first wave of his hand brought the gnomes. The next, the leprechauns. All seven clans, including the ones that didn’t get along.
And it didn’t take long. Just as Samantha had planned. Festwick hurled the first insult, Seamus the first punch. After that, it was a free-for-all.
