Djinn's Passion

by Kailin Gow

  Djinn’s

  Passion

  Book 2 of Magical World

  Kailin Gow

  Djinn’s Passion

  Published by Sparklesoup.com

  Copyright © 2019 Kailin Gow

  First published in 2011

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  For information, please contact:

  www.sparklesoup.com

  First Edition.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  DEDICATION

  This dedication is for my mother, who is a teacher by profession, but a philosopher at heart. Thank you for teaching me to soar beyond the boundaries.

  Prologue

  Arcadia, Earth – Year 3010

  I saw Liam, Sarah, my mother and even Pim, all in quick succession. They were wrapped in fog, distant and silent, and the more I struggled to approach them, the further away they appeared.

  My mother came beside me suddenly, a fidgety but happy baby in her arms. Her scent, fragrant with baby oil, baby lotion, and baby powder, came to me and the baby Kama in me felt content and secure. In her arms I wanted to remain, always. The warmth and loving attention she gave me was endless and I greedily ate it up.

  My thumb found its way to my mouth. I cooed, gurgled and looked into my mother’s loving eyes. She brought me to my room, the perfect little princess room.

  A flash of pink. A flash of lavender. The cradle was gone and a canopy hung over the single bed. She set me on the floor and I ran to my bed, a five year old princess determined to protect my castle.

  “Stay and help me fend off the king’s knights, Mommy.” I grabbed the magic wand, my constant companion.

  Setting her housework aside, she joined in the game. We set up for battle, a fierce battle that would send the knights running back to their king, but suddenly Miss Harper set up at the black board and chalked out the day’s lesson; sixth grade math. Sarah sat in front of me, her ponytail shining under the bright yellow ribbon that held her hair up. She shook her head back and forth, making the ponytail swing with exuberance. I already looked forward to running out to play with her; hopscotch was our favorite.

  I glanced down at my notebook. Beside the perfectly formed numbers I’d patiently added, multiplied and divided were a series of hearts. Some were colored in, some were pierced with an arrow and all had the same name printed inside.

  Liam.

  And there he was, sitting beside me. In ways I’d never imagined, he captivated my attention. He was so adorable and I couldn’t resist the way he made me laugh. I longed to hold his hand. He winked and in an instant we were at his impressive home; the governor’s mansion.

  Here I truly felt like a princess and instead of fending off the king’s knights as I had done as a child in my castle, we danced, laughed and sang. His playroom could easily take up more than half my whole house and it was filled with every game and toy imaginable, but the toys were quickly set aside as we discovered one another.

  Always friends, always close, our relationship left the innocence of childhood behind and forged a strong alliance based on love, respect and deep admiration for one another. We’d become inseparable. Sometimes I wondered if I could breathe without him.

  I was at his side as he opened his Life’s Plan. He was to marry a girl he’d always known. Our eyes met. We’d always known we be together, grow old together. Now the fulfillment of that dream was close at hand. We celebrated, threw confetti, blew horns, clapped our hands, jumped and screamed our excitement. Our lives were becoming more intertwined with every day. We kiss, so deep and so passionate, I wanted to weep for the sensations it left me with.

  A flash of blinding light brought us to the day I received my Life’s Plan. Sobs racked my chest as I read it again and again. It couldn’t be right. How could my Life’s Plan be blank?

  “There has to be a mistake,” Liam said. He stared at the page, seeking, as I had, some hidden message, some encrypted information. There had to be something in the Plan that indicated we should be together.

  Multiple flashes of light, more blinding than lightning, left me with the same result. I turned away, shaking my head to clear the image of the blank and empty Life’s Plan only to find it blank time and again.

  “We’ll get it fixed,” he said.

  I melted into his arms, wanting to forget the horrible Life’s Plan. We would ignore it and be together, no matter what it said.

  The bright light shifted to display roaring red flames that brought us all back to the diner, our favorite afternoon hang out. Sarah was too cheerful for me to endure, her laughter so joyous and excited, it made my pain all the more unbearable.

  Sixth grade math. My princess room. Liam’s stately mansion. My mother’s arms. Liam’s Life’s Plan. Sarah’s joyous laughter. Liam’s love. My childhood, my life had been a fairy tale… my Life’s Plan a nightmare.

  As my life unfolded before me, I looked across the table to Sarah and back to Liam, feeling a loss of control.

  Then came Torrid. Magnificent and beautiful, he stood across the street, his brilliant blue eyes boring into me, delving in deep. He drew me to him in a way Liam never had. I left the diner to go to him only to find myself alone; only to leave Liam with too many questions.

  The flashing lights, the blazing flame, they all dimmed and faded and the childhood memories crumbled and disappeared. I tried to open my eyes, to face the reality of where I now lay. My mind refused to accept it and briefly reverted to the loving memories of the past, but a sharp stabbing pain was insistent, persistent in its desire to tear me from bliss of sleep and drop me in the nightmare I knew I’d face if I opened my eyes.

  “Kama,” Liam said. His voice was soft, but determined to shake me out of the fog I had taken refuge in.

  “Kama, wake up.”

  I opened my eyes to meet his, and for a moment, I was filled with a sense of relief and not the nightmare I’d expected. We’d made it. We’d escaped and were free.

  Sitting up, however, I was immediately confronted with the truth. We weren’t free, the heavy metal bars on the window made that fact all too clear.

  And the biggest reminder of what had happened was wrapped around my wrist… the leather band Pim had placed there stuck to me like a second skin. I was a captive.

  Chapter 1

  “Liam,” I muttered, trying to get my bearings. “Are we in jail?”

  He held me close, his hand gentle as it swept through my hair. “I don’t think so.”

  I looked more closely at the walls around us. Peeling wallpaper hung on the upper half of the walls while the bottom was bare, scoffed and scratched. Minimal furniture was pushed into a corner; an old desk, a battered filing cabinet and a three legged chair. It was an old office that no longer served a purpose.

  “I think we’ve been sent to someone’s funny version of a dungeon.” He forced a smile, but his eyes were filled with concern.

  The windows were high and shallow. “It’s a basement.”

  Liam stood and looked out the window. “Looks like we’re right under the Committee conference room.”

  I was slow in getting to my feet, partially searching for any possible injuries and partially to allow my head to stop spinning. Once up, I swayed, found my balance and headed for the door. Eager for a taste of fresh air, I grabbed the knob and twisted, but it wouldn’t budge. “They locked us in.” I glanced at Liam, trying to keep the accusation out of my eyes, but finding it impossible to keep it
from my next statement. “Your father had us locked up.”

  “No,” he said. He crossed the room and tried the door himself. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  “You know Pim as your father, loving and caring, but as governor of Arcadia… as the creator of this perfect world, I think he may be a whole different person.”

  He shook his head and laid his hand on the heavy reinforced door. “He just wants to teach me a lesson. You’ll see. He’ll let us out, it won’t be long.”

  “Don’t you get it, Liam? Your father’s not what you think he is. He didn’t send us down here to teach us a lesson. He’s restraining us.”

  Pulling me into his arms, he let out a resigned sigh. “We’ll get out, Kama. I’ll get you out.” He kissed my temple and stroked the tender skin at the base of my neck.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, knowing how difficult it must be to learn what kind of person a trusted parent really was. “This can’t be easy.” I pulled away and my fingers automatically worked their way to the band on my wrist. “He put this on me, remember?”

  Liam glanced at the band and nodded. I knew how tortured he was by all this. Torn between the love he’d known for his father and the anger he now had, he brought his fist into the air, prepared to hit the wall then turned away, his eyes filled with tears of pain. “I can’t believe he’d do this. He loved me.” He reached out to take my hand. “For crying out loud, Kama, he loved you. He loved your mother. How could he do this to us?”

  I didn’t know what to say. My own memories of Pim had been shattered as I’d learned of his past… of his present. “Liam, you saw what he did,” I finally said. “You saw the sky. The world your father has created has been shattered.”

  He stared blankly at the wall.

  “It took me months to understand it all, Liam. My whole life has been built on the vision of my perfect life in Arcadia… my life with you. Learning about the Magical Ones, everything that happened with the Committee and my Life’s Plan, my own capabilities… and Torrid.”

  He cringed and made no attempt to hide it. “Do you really have to bring him up?”

  “Like it or not, he’s a part of this change that’s coming to Arcadia, to all our lives. It may take you some time to come to terms with all this, but don’t linger too long. Don’t fight the inevitable. Our lives might depend on it.”

  His lips parted to comment or question, but his words were halted on his tongue as the doorknob suddenly rattled.

  I gripped his arm and turned to face the intruder. If we had to fight our way out, I wanted to be prepared. “Ready?” I said, though I had no idea what we were about to face.

  “Yeah,” Liam grunted.

  A guard, no doubt one of Pim’s men, threw the door open and stood, his imposing figure blocking the way. The heavy steel door clanged against the wall, leaving a metallic echo hanging in the small room. The sheer force needed to push the door back so easily was impressive and made the option of rushing him too daunting.

  We backed away, staring at the huge man with awe and fear as he entered the small room.

  Shielded in golden armor, his glow was far less menacing than his strength implied. His skin had an appealing sheen and his eyes danced with joy and relief, not anger and vengeance. A thick mane of black hair played in sharp contrast to the golden skin and pale eyes.

  “A magical one,” I whispered. I stared at the tall figure, trying to figure out who he truly was. The little girl in me secretly wished it was my father, General Adon. Had he come to rescue me? Had he come to deliver me from the hell Arcadia was now facing?

  He smiled, a paternal grin that quickly turned sour. His lips played on the grin, one moment loving and desirous of trust, the next wicked, almost demonic. A streak of cold air rushed down my back and the taste of fear filled my throat.

  Stepping in beside him, Dr. Sanz took in our fear with relish. I wanted to scream at the sight of him, jump him and beat the smirk off his ratty little face, but I stood immobile, uncertain of what I should do.

  “How nice to see you again, Kama,” the doctor said, a sardonic grin pasted to his face. “And Liam; I see you’ve taken good care of her. I’m happy to announce that Pim is being kept quite occupied, what with the fighting off of this silly invasion. That leaves you fresh, young mortals unattended.”

  Liam stepped forward. “Dr. Sanz, you’ve worked for my father for years. You’re one of his most trusted employees. You’ve always been by his side. How can you do this? How can you betray him like this?”

  He chuckled and cocked his head to the side in mock sympathy. “Things have changed, young Governor. Things have dramatically changed. Being at your father’s side was easy. Arcadia was perfect, run with a skilled hand. It was easy to manipulate who I desired into doing what I desired. Unfortunately…” He gazed accusingly at me. “… our perfect little world is being destroyed as we speak. The glass dome has shattered.”

  I rushed to Liam’s side, suddenly frustrated by the little man’s arrogance. “And what do you want with us? Why have you come here?”

  “To get you out,” he said simply.

  Chapter 2

  The idea of getting out of captivity sounded so good. I had no idea how long we’d been in this basement, how long I’d been out cold. All I knew, all I felt was the strong desire to get out. I glanced at Liam and saw the same desire reflected in his eyes.

  He took a step forward, his eagerness to get out taking over.

  Before he put our fate in Dr. Sanz’s hands, I hurried to step between them. “What do you want with us?” I asked the doctor. I didn’t want to appear too suspicious, but I wasn’t quite willing to be so blind in our trust.

  “Pim is a headstrong man.” Dr. Sanz gazed at Liam. “I guess that’s where you got your stubborn streak from.” He clapped his hands with self satisfaction and turned his eyes to me. “His stubborn ways can sometime lead him to be a bit unfair in his treatment of his… subjects. With everything that’s been happening lately – your complaint about your Life’s Plan, your ongoing relationship with Liam despite that Life’s Plan – you’ve been giving Pim quite a headache.”

  “Forgive me if I do not have any sympathy for Governor Pim. Of course if my Life’s Plan had gone the way we all wished, he wouldn’t have had me fight it.” My eyes flashed accusingly at Dr. Sanz. How dare he pin me as a troublemaker to Arcadia and Governor Pim when all I wanted was to see my Life’s Plan correctly restored. “As I see it, Dr. Sanz, you and your Committee made the error that created all of this. The destruction of Arcadia is not my fault. It is the fault of those who believe they can keep everyone ignorant of the truth of Arcadia. Governor Pim, especially.”

  I could feel Liam stiffen beside me, but knew I had to hold my own.

  “And where will you take us?” I shot at the strange doctor, one of the most powerful Magical Ones in Arcadia, and the man behind the Committee that had planned my Life’s Plan.

  “Somewhere safe. Somewhere out of Pim’s reach.”

  “Stop it, both of you.” Liam’s face was red. “This is my father you're talking about. He may not be perfect and, yes, maybe he is a little headstrong, but that’s what made him the Leader of Arcadia. Those are the qualities that made him envision this perfect world for us.” He turned to me, showing his love for his father and his confusion for all that was happening. “He raised me, Kama. I can’t ignore that.”

  “He also shoved us down here without so much as an explanation.” I rubbed my head. “And judging from this bump, he wasn’t too delicate about it.”

  “You know he had nothing to do with that.” Liam came over my side, standing between me and Dr. Sanz. Despite everything I was saying about his father, Governor Pim, Liam was still trying to protect me. He couldn’t help it, I guess. We have been so close for as long as we can remember, and he had always treated me with the utmost respect. I hated telling him the truth about his father. I hated breaking his heart this way, but he had to know. He had to accept the truth now in order to
survive what was coming.

  “He may not have actually been there. He may not have actually put his hands on us, but, Liam, you know he’s behind all this. Please stop denying it. If we’re to survive this…you have to get past the feelings you have for Pim.”

  His face didn’t mask the struggle he was going through. My heart wanted to reach out to him to hold him, and run my hand through his hair to sooth him. He looked like he did when we were fourteen, and he had just been accepted onto the football team. He invited his father to his first game, but his father couldn’t make it due to an out-of-town trip. Liam was disappointed back then. He had that same look right now, but he was looking at me, looking at the heart necklace he had given me on my eighteenth birthday. It was more than a lovely necklace, it was his way of telling me he loved me and wanted what was best for me. He turned towards me then and touched the pendant. Although he was not a djinn, I could feel his intense thoughts on me. And I can pick up a little of it, surprising me a bit.

  I knew djinns like Torrid could read minds, and I have been training with him on learning how, amongst other djinn skills. I just did not think to read Liam’s or anyone.

  But the thoughts were so intense, I couldn’t block it out anyways. Liam was staring straight into my eyes, while holding my hands.

  Kama…if you can hear me, smile.

  I smiled. His eyes crinkled on the sides a little, acknowledging he saw my sign.

  Kama, I believe you about my father. I just don’t want to believe it. I want you to be safe, to be taken care of, not here in this basement, locked up. I want to get out as much as you do, but I don’t trust Sanz one bit.

  I don’t, too. But we need him to get out. We’ll figure out what he wants once we’re out.