“That’s fine,” I said.
I felt a tingling on the back of my tongue as power seeped into my skin. It sort of felt like the static electricity from lightning storms, but I couldn’t bask in it too long because Gwen was staring at me.
As Guinevere had instructed, I spent some time looking around at what everyone wore—including how they styled their hair, jewelry, etc.—and settled on a new style for myself. I used my magic to make my blue and pink embroidered vest, my blue pants, and golden sash disappear, only to replace them with jeans and a t-shirt with a faded Egyptian symbol of Anubis. After all, I was from Egypt.
I returned to Guinevere’s side. “Is this better?”
She faced me and smiled. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was blushing as well. “Much better. I have a leather jacket that would be the perfect addition.” She nodded.
Rain began to splatter the ground. I saw the droplets on the still-wet puddles before I felt them touch my exposed skin. “What are we doing now?”
“I have to go to class,” she sighed. “Unfortunately, my entire day is filled with sitting and studying. You can go back if you’d—”
“No,” I said abruptly.
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
I cleared my throat. “I mean, no thank you. I’d rather stay here than return there.”
Slowly, she smiled again. “All right. Twenty questions. Whatever each of us wants to ask. I’ll start. Where do you go if you’re not with me?”
I could taste the rain in the air. Raindrops splashed on my face, mist hung in the air, water shimmered on the ground, and I could hear it splashing as cars drove. I found a little smile on my face.
I was so distracted by the fact there was water all around me, Guinevere had to repeat her question, and add, “Are you listening?”
“Hm? Sorry, I wasn’t. I was enjoying the rain.”
She looked me up and down. “It doesn’t rain wherever you are when you’re not with me?”
I shook my head. “The djinn realm is bleak. It’s nothing but a small village with a grand total of sixty-three buildings, most of which are vacant, and everything is covered in sand. Color doesn’t exist in the djinn realm either.”
“Why not?”
“My turn for a question,” I said, slyly avoiding that question. She already knew I was in prison, and I’d already dodged the “why” already once that day. “At what point in history did this happen?” I gestured to two young men. One stood with his back against a tree, and I could tell he was an elf of some sort by his pointed ears. The other young man had his forehead against his friend’s, and I knew by his horns he was a demon.
She eyed me. “What do you mean?”
“All of these creatures riding on the bus, attending a university alongside humans, holding jobs in this very human world. When did this all change? When were they able to come out of hiding?” I looked back at Guinevere.
Her brows furrowed. “I think you’ve been gone longer than only thirty years.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the bill allowing the protection of every creature passed almost forty-five years ago. Creatures have been out and in the open for almost forty. It took some time for everyone to believe this was really happening. After the Battle of the Wall, humans could no longer pretend mythical creatures didn’t exist.”
“The Battle of the Wall?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “One of the presidents tried to build a wall between the US and a certain southern neighbor. At first, everything seemed to be working well. Stopped cartels for a little bit.”
I rolled my eyes. “His solution to stopping drugs was to put up a wall?”
“Yeah. And like I said, it worked. For a little while.” She stopped under the lip of a building’s roof. “Until the cartel sought other forms of assistance.”
“The magical world?” I asked.
Guinevere nodded. “With the assistance of magic, it was as if the wall never existed. It also launched the beginning of magic openly being used where it hadn’t before. Humans weren’t the only beings in the world after that, and it took some time to figure out how to work with these creatures we’d always been around but never really seen.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad it worked out. There’s a lot of value in magical creatures.”
She smiled back at me. “There are indeed.” I saw her eyes dart to my lips, and I gave her a little grin, testing the waters.
She looked away, and I inclined my head.
She was into me. Whether she’d admit it or not.
Maybe, just maybe, she would wish me free. I didn’t dare get my hopes up. I still had my doubts. Besides, pressing Guinevere about her family history on the first day probably wasn’t the best idea. I needed to tread carefully whether I liked it or not.
The clouds slowly parted, lighting the world around us. The green of the trees and grass became more vibrant than before, and the sidewalks reflected the sunlight like little diamonds strewn about the ground. Students chatted with each other. Someone to our right laughed. A small group of boys stepped out onto the lawn and began pulling the water from the grass to make orbs of water to splash at each other, which led to more laughter and yelling.
I opened the door to the red-brown building but spotted a green-skinned girl sprinting toward us with unnatural grace. She called out for Gwen, completely ignoring me, and Gwen turned in time to catch the stranger as she leapt into the air.
Chapter 5
Gwen
Julene wrapped her arms and legs around me like a leech and squeezed. “I haven’t seen you in weeks!” Her pale-green skin looked stunning in the rain. I’d always been jealous of her complexion. She’d tied her long vines behind her head, and little yellow buds were in full-bloom.
“I can’t breathe!” I gasped.
She let go, grabbing my arms and holding me at arm’s length. Her dark-green eyes pointed not-so-slyly to Doren before she grinned a toothy grin. “I understand why I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
I felt my eyes widen in horror. “No!” I gasped and quickly looked from Doren to Julene as if Doren would help.
Doren stood silently—I was learning this was pretty typical of him—but his eyes shifted to me, a little smirk playing on his lips, clearly understanding what Julene was getting at. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed to announce that he was my genie.
“This is Doren,” I blurted, shoving Julene to him, then immediately wondered why I would encourage her behavior.
Julene embraced him, too, though not as tightly. “It’s so good to meet you! Anyone who can melt Gwen’s icy heart deserves a gold star in my book. I’m glad you’ve been distracting Gwen. She takes life waaaaaay too seriously if you ask me. You smell amazing!” She suddenly pressed her face into Doren’s chest.
I grabbed her and yanked her away, feeling heat all over my face and neck. “Boundaries!” I yelled.
“Oh fine!” She snapped her fingers and turned to me, about to speak.
My glare silenced her.
She nodded and grasped her hands behind her back, twirling around like the dainty forest nymph she was, and tilted her head at Doren. “My apologies. I tend to get really excited and sort of lose it a little bit when the rains come.” She blurted out a laugh and quickly covered her mouth.
Doren looked at me as if asking if he could speak.
“I’m sorry,” I added.
“It’s all right. I’m just not used to . . .” He gestured between them. “I don’t . . . know the last time I was hugged.” His right brow pinched, and he tightened his lips in thought.
“Huh?” Julene asked, face scrunching.
“How are Collin and Niera?” I interrupted. I looped my arm in Julene’s and began walking with her toward the English building.
“Ugh, handsy as always. I really don’t get what he sees in her.”
I loved seeing Julene get u
pset because the flowers in her hair grew wider or buds formed. She’d had a massive crush on Collin since our junior year of high school. He was one of the few guys who still talked to her when she started to turn green and discovered she was a nymph.
“And why haven’t you told him how you feel?” I asked.
“You know I can’t!” She sighed. “I get so distracted and nervous . . . Not to mention, he probably sees me like a little sister.”
We’d had this argument too many times before.
“You’re staying for lunch today, right? You haven’t eaten with us in ages!” she said dramatically.
“It’s been maybe a week.” I laughed. “I’ve been too busy with work and getting things ready for the semester.”
“I know.” Julene twitched her brows and looked at Doren again. She put her hand against the corner of her mouth so he couldn’t read her lips but did nothing to lower the volume of her voice. “If you ask me, he’s totally hot, and I completely approve.”
I felt my ears growing red again. “Knock it off. It’s not like that. Doren is . . . well . . . uh, he’s my new—”
“Djinn,” he suddenly said.
I rolled my eyes over to him. “I wasn’t going to tell her that.”
“Djinn?” Julene gasped. “Oh my flowers, that means you get wishes! How many is he giving you? What have you wished for? Oooh, Gwen, you’re bad! I didn’t think people could wish for love.” She scrunched her nose.
I loved Julene but hated when it rained. She was such a spaz.
Doren arched his brow.
I cleared my throat. “It’s not like that,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Have you wished for a kiss yet?” Julene nudged me with an elbow. “Can I wish for a kiss?”
“I wish you’d leave me alone!” I spat before thinking. I grimaced the instant the words were spoken and quickly looked at Doren. “Do I get oops wishes?” I quickly asked. “Because I really didn’t mean it.” I grabbed onto Julene as if Doren was going to make her disappear.
He glanced between us. “I’ve never had someone recant a wish, so . . . I don’t know.”
“Then what if I wish you to do something else? And by the time you’re back, it will be too late for you to make her leave?”
He shrugged his left shoulder. “As you wish.”
The corner of my lip tugged in spite of myself, and Julene giggled.
He cocked his head. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” I said instantly, giving Julene a look that said I didn’t want her to utter a word.
But, with the rain and whatever magical drugs were in the air, she couldn’t stop herself. “That line is from her favorite movie in the history of ever!” Julene bounced up and down. “She’s always said that if she’s dating someone and he says that, it might as well be a wedding proposal!”
“Okay, you’re done.” I started pushing her away. “We have to get to class. Bye!” I let go, grabbed Doren’s arm, and dragged him the opposite direction from Julene.
Luckily, Julene got the hint but waved her arm like a victory flag. “Bye, Doren! It was nice to meet you! See you both at lunch!”
“I’m so sorry,” I said as soon as we were out of earshot. “I love her, but she gets like this in the rain. It’s like she just gets so happy she can’t keep it all in. And she can get really touchy. I’m sorry.”
Doren gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s quite all right, I promise. It’s interesting to meet your friends. Are we really staying for lunch?”
“Maybe.” I pushed my hands in my pockets.
We walked along in silence until we reached my destination—the Abrash C. Cummings building.
“You never did make that wish,” Doren suddenly said.
I looked up at him. “What sorts of things do people wish for?”
He heaved a heavy sigh. “A lifetime of money, fame, food, that things in their lives could be changed.”
“You can change the past?”
Doren shook his head. “No. That’s a strict law. No pasts can be altered, no one can be made alive that died, and a couple other things I can’t remember right now.”
“I’ve always wondered about the death thing. Why not?” I reached out to open the door, but Doren already had his hand on it. He pulled it open and stood waiting for me to enter. A little flustered by embarrassment, I hesitated a little too long and finally stepped through.
“Namely, because it’s in the past,” he answered, stepping in behind me. “Changing the past alters the future, and if that happens, it can throw things into chaos, since you’ve already lived that future.”
“Yet, you can change the future.”
“I suppose . . .” He nodded.
“That doesn’t make sense,” I argued.
He quirked a crooked grin. When he did that, his eyes scrunched with little crow’s feet at the corners and a dimple appeared in his cheek. “I don’t make the laws. Any ideas what you’d like to wish for?”
I hadn’t had a proper opportunity to really think about that. “Money is always good, I guess. I could pay tuition and rent. Maybe I could wish for my last textbook! Then I wouldn’t have to buy it, and it’s pretty expensive.”
“What class is that for?”
“You’ll be happy.”
“Why’s that?”
I grinned. “It’s Shakespeare.”
Chapter 6
Doren
Guinevere intrigued me. She took notes furiously through all of her lectures. She raised her hand and asked questions, clarified things, and led her group’s discussion about their group project. I doubted too many people “visited” classes, so she explained me away as her brother to whoever asked.
“He’s just trying to figure out his major.”
“He’s seeing if this class would be a better fit.”
“He’s just visiting the campus.”
She continued with some variation on those statements, and no one pressed any further.
We’d just walked out of an intriguing history lecture on conspiracy theories in America regarding the Kennedy administration when Gwen glanced down at her phone and said, “Julene says she has room for us.” She looked up at me. “Are you okay if we go eat with them? I promise it won’t be long.”
I smiled. “I don’t mind how long it takes. I like being out.”
She smiled and shoved her phone back in her pocket. Her eyes lit up when she smiled. “I can’t believe we’re talking about conspiracy theories,” she mumbled under her breath. “I want to learn about real history.”
“Hm, I take it you don’t know what to do for your assignment.” I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes. They’d been given an assignment to choose one of the conspiracy theories during the administration from the moon landing, to the assassination of President Kennedy and his brother Robert. The assignment was choosing one and proving it really happened.
“It just seems pointless,” Guinevere clarified. “I don’t understand why it matters. We’re supposed to prove one right or wrong. What’s the point?”
“It’s a part of history,” I said. “Nearly everything you learn about history has a different side to the story. Certainly someone knows the real truth.”
She stopped, eyes narrowed skeptically. “You were alive back then. Are you suggesting you know the truth?”
I studied her face a silent minute or two.
Her eyes slowly widened. “Of course you do!”
“Perhaps,” I said. “Aren’t your friends waiting?”
“Nah-uh. You’re not getting out of this that easily.” She grabbed my shoulders, eyes sparkling with intensity and excitement, a look that twisted my heart deep down.
She used to look at me like that frequently.
I tore my gaze away from her before I did something I’d later regret and looked around to ensure no one was close. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“I
want to know what you know about those conspiracies.” She let go of me and dug into her backpack. “Which one do you know the truth about?”
I started walking toward the student building she’d pointed out earlier that day, expecting her to follow. “Better question is which conspiracy do you want to know the most about?”
Gwen hurried to catch up. “I know the moon landing was real. Science has proven that over and over.”
“True.”
She nodded and looked back at her paper. “Illuminati?”
“Ehhh, that’s tricky.” I pursed my lips in thought. “Because yes, there are secret groups, and of course they weasel their way into governments. It’s just not quite to the degree people think with them.”
“Assassinations?”
“Which one?”
Guinevere twitched her brow. “Uh. Robert F. Kennedy . . . you said you killed him.”
I stopped walking. We were getting too close to people now. “What do you already know about that?”
“I know that he’s JFK’s brother and a guy was arrested for killing him because he said he did it, but some people believe more than one person was involved. Supposedly there are pictures that there are bullet holes from the wrong direction they claim he was shot, but the doorframe was conveniently destroyed.”
“You actually know a lot more than I thought.”
Guinevere grinned. “That’s because I listen to podcasts.”
“To what?”
“Never mind.” She laughed.
I nodded. “Well, make a list of questions you want to know.”
“I already asked, and you dodged the answer. Did you kill him?”
“Aren’t we meeting your friends for lunch, Guinevere?” I asked.
She scrunched her lips into a frown. Clearly, she wanted more time to talk but got the hint that there were too many people around or that I didn’t want to talk about it. “It’s just Gwen,” she said.
Gwen adjusted her backpack and led the way into the building, through the packed halls, and into the enormous circular common area. Along the outside of the circle were various lunch places and all kinds of different food and drinks. The center was stuffed with tables and chairs, most of which only had one or two people at them.
Curse of a Djinn Page 3
