They took me to an interrogation room, which I found odd, but Seymour fell asleep in my lap. I’d grown tired of staring at my own reflection in the one-way mirror across from me. Surely, this wasn’t routine. It was a simple misunderstanding, and I should have just been able to register and be on my way.
Right?
The door finally opened, and I adjusted in my seat. “Can I please register and go home? I was leaving to head to dinner with my friends, and I’m starving.”
The man who entered wasn’t the man who had arrested me. He sat down in the seat across the table and entwined his fingers. He wore a gray suit with the jacket unbuttoned and no tie. “So, Guinevere. I understand you’re a sorceress. That’s very impressive.”
I rolled my eyes. “Cut to the chase. Any numbskull can see you’re beating around the bush.”
He blinked and straightened in his seat. “All right. You have a djinn I need.”
“Not anymore. He vanished right before the officers showed up at my house.”
The man narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, vanished?”
“I don’t have a djinn. Not anymore.”
The man studied me in silence, then leaned back in his seat. “Care to expand?”
I debated how to answer. If I told him the truth, it could lead the police onto the trail of the mafia and could be vital information. On the other hand, why would this guy be asking me about Doren? I had been arrested because I hadn’t registered.
So I shrugged and folded my right leg over my left. “I used the last of my wishes and he went away.”
The man smirked. He rested his left arm on the table so he could lean forward. “That’s not the way it works. You know that, right?”
I folded my arms, not willing to guide the conversation.
He chuckled. “Of course he wouldn’t tell you.” The chair protested with a groan as he pushed away from the table and stood. “In order for a djinn to fulfill a wish, they take energy from their master. Djinn are parasites, really, feeding from them like a leech from its host.” He looked down at me.
I remembered when Doren told me I got to have more than three wishes. I could have however many I wanted. I also remembered feeling there was something missing when he told me this. It took everything in my power to hold back my anger at him.
I licked my lips, releasing my arms.
“Experienced djinn, such as Doren,” he continued, “can drain the life force from their masters before they even realize it.”
“How is that even possible? I don’t feel any different than I did before I met him.”
“Perhaps you feel tired at lunch? Yawning more often? Even falling asleep when you didn’t mean to?”
I frowned. “I’ve been a little stressed about my life lately.”
He raised his brows at me.
“Doren would never do that to me,” I added quickly.
He smirked. “There really isn’t any other way for them to fulfill your wish. He may have lied to you, and you might not like it, but that’s the truth. So, I’ll ask again. Where did he go?”
I tightened my lips. “I don’t know.”
He sighed and tilted his chin down with a look an adult would give a lying child.
“He said he didn’t want to drag me into his mess! He stole his painting from me and disappeared. I tried to wish him back, but he didn’t come back, so I’m assuming that means he gave his painting to someone else.”
It hurt saying that aloud, and my throat tightened. The last thing he’d said to me was that I wasn’t the woman he’d loved those years ago. The added information that Doren had been using my life this whole time without telling me certainly didn’t help either. Yet another blow to my feelings for him.
The man frowned and promptly left the room.
“Wait! Can I leave?” I hollered after him.
He shut the door.
I jumped to my feet and ran to it, but the handle didn’t budge.
Seymour yawned with a little whine and said, “He smells like magic leftovers.”
“Magic leftovers?” I asked, resting my hands on my hips.
“Magic leaves a smell. Humans don’t smell it?” he tilted his head. “Humans miss out on a lot, don’t they?”
“Apparently.” I groaned, put my hands on my head, and walked back to the table. “I’d really like to go home now!” I said loudly.
The door opened.
“Finally!” I said, turning around.
The man in the gray suit motioned to me. “Come with me.”
“Where?” I suddenly felt wary.
He rolled his eyes. “You want to go home, right? I’ll take you home.”
“Just like that?” I looked him up and down.
He raised his eyebrow. “It’s your first offense. They never should have arrested you. You should have been sent a letter or email to remind you, heck even a text, and then they should have given you three phone calls. That is the procedure. Not being arrested.”
I felt myself relax. “That makes sense. Sorry.”
Again, he motioned, so I patted my leg to call Seymour and walked down the hall after the stranger. He led us out the back door, which opened to a parking lot. He stopped beside a black car and pulled the passenger door open.
Black car.
Seymour trotted over and hopped in without hesitation.
Dogs were supposed to have a sixth sense about people, so if he trusted the stranger, I should too.
I climbed in and he shut the door. I looked over my shoulder at Seymour, who had positioned himself to peer out the back window.
“I never caught your name,” I said when the man took his seat and started the car.
“My name is Oliver,” he smiled.
I turned my attention to whatever was going on outside as we drove down the street.
Without warning, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I pulled away with a cry of surprise and saw Oliver had jabbed a needle in my arm.
“I’m truly sorry it had to be this way,” he said.
Immediately, Seymour jumped at Oliver.
My vision blurred before I could see anything else, no matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes open. The last thing I heard was tiles screeching and glass shattering.
Chapter 16
Doren
I stared at Jesse for several minutes before finally asking, “What do you mean this isn’t the first time he’s been reincarnated?”
“We’ve had him assassinated three other times during history. Unfortunately, you were gone for the most recent one, and you clearly didn’t know you assassinated him the second time.”
“How can you keep finding him?”
Jesse shook his head. “You’re asking the wrong question. The right question is, how does he keep coming back so quickly? And how is it he comes back with the same connections and same memories?”
I felt my chin rise. “Magic?”
He studied me. “We believe, specifically, a djinn. If not one, more.”
“But when a master dies, the djinn is handed on to a new master,” I argued.
He shook his head. “Unless the djinn gets something out of the deal.”
“I can’t fathom a djinn preferring to remain with the same master.”
“No djinn at all comes to mind? Maybe there is a djinn who loves what he is?” he pressed. “That could be enough of a reward for him.”
I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I know of one. Avashal.”
Jesse suddenly grabbed my shoulders. “Tell me about him.”
I shrugged him off. “He’s a djinn who has been telling me you’ve been searching for my amulet. He keeps telling me to embrace who I am and enjoy what I do. I’m stuck here forever, why not relish in the power?”
Jesse licked his lips, trying pointlessly to hide his grin. “This is good.” His phone started ringing, and he hung up. “Tell me more about Avashal.” He h
urried around his desk and sat at his computer. “Everything you can think of. Looks, what his artifact may be.”
His phone rang again, and he ignored it.
I shook my head. “He’s not terribly powerful, at least that I know of. Except he has two friends who hang around him.”
“Do you think it’s possible King Taotin has three djinn?”
“I suppose it’s possible. I’ve never heard of a master having more than one djinn.”
Jesse’s phone rang yet again, only this time he answered it with an angry shout, “Can’t you tell I’m busy?”
His face suddenly paled. “Is he alive?”
He jumped to his feet and rushed around the desk toward the door. “And is anyone there yet? Emergency responders? What?” His gaze locked on mine, and I knew something else was wrong. “I’m on my way right now.” He hung up but held the phone in his hand.
“What is it?”
“My brother, Oliver. He was transporting the sorceress here and got in a car accident.”
I felt my eyes and insides burning. “Sorceress? You mean Guinevere?”
“One and the same. Take us there.”
I didn’t argue that it wasn’t technically a wish, and we appeared at the scene.
The black car’s entire front end was smashed against a thick tree, the windows shattered and white things inside the car flat. No one was in the driver’s seat, and it didn’t take long for me to spot Oliver on the ground with two men standing over him and a third crouched at his side.
Jesse ran to his brother while I ran around to the other side of the car where a man stood trying to pry the door open.
Gwen’s window was broken, and I could see the side of her face was bleeding profusely from the wound on her head.
“Can you help out?” the man asked me. “Shit, you’re the djinn!”
I ignored the stupid man and grabbed the car where the window should have been, then ripped the door clean off—with a little added magical energy for help. I ducked my head and gingerly lifted Gwen’s face.
“Guinevere?” I asked softly, rubbing my thumb over her cheek. “Can you wake up?”
I heard a whimper and looked into the back seat where Seymour lay, his left leg clearly broken.
“Seymour, what happened?” I yanked the back door open and scooped the small dog into my arms.
“The bad man stabbed my human. He hurt her. She fell asleep. I tried to keep her safe, but the bad man couldn’t stay on the road and hurt us.”
I felt the corners of my lip tug, trying to smile. “You mean you attacked him while he was driving?”
Seymour looked up at me with the saddest look, letting out another whimper. “He stabbed my human.”
“Oh, Seymour.” I cradled him and gathered blue light around my fingertips before brushing them against the broken leg.
Seymour let out a yelp as his leg set itself and quickly straightened. He moved his paw up and down, then leaned up and licked my cheek. “Thank you! It feels so much better!”
“You’re welcome. Now I have to take care of Gwen. Stay out of the way of the scary men, okay?” I set him on the ground and reached back into the car to pry Gwen’s seatbelt off. “I’ve got you now,” I said to her.
Seymour growled at the man still standing aside watching.
I cradled my arm under Gwen’s legs, then pulled her into my chest and carried her away from the danger of the car.
“Doren, I need your help with my brother!” Jesse called.
“I’m taking care of Gwen right now!” I yelled back.
“I wish it!” he ordered.
I gritted my teeth, anger unable to override the command from my master. I wanted to set Gwen down and cradle her until help arrived. I wanted to wake her and talk to her. But the longer I tried to resist Jesse, the more my body resisted me, and a vibration burned deep in my core.
My feet began to walk without my consent, and finally I turned and walked on my own to the side of my master.
“Your asshole brother drugged her,” I said sharply, lying Gwen on the grass.
Jesse glared at me. “I don’t care. Make sure he wakes up.”
“He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt,” Seymour said, taking a loyal seat at Gwen’s side.
I looked from the beagle to the man. “I’m going to need a lot more energy than what you’ve given me,” I said to Jesse. I put my thumb on one of Oliver’s temples and stretched my fingers across his forehead for my pinky to reach the opposite temple. “He’s sustained a significant injury to his head.”
“I can see that by the blood. Now heal him.”
I tilted my head and slowly looked at Jesse. “Let’s make a deal.”
“Now?” he growled through gritted teeth.
“Oh, yes, now,” I replied calmly, making sure he could see in my gaze how serious I was. “Oliver was supposed to leave Gwen alone if I gave myself over. He broke that promise. I want you to swear to me you aren’t going to drag Gwen into this. When she’s awake, she goes home safe.”
“Or what?”
“Now, I can heal the injury to his thick skull very easily.” My hand began to glow and the enormous gash across the front of his head began to pull close from bottom up. “And I am fulfilling your wish. What you don’t know is how deep the injury is.” I watched Jesse, tightening my eyes in a dangerous look. “Right into his brain,” I emphasized.
“Then I wish you to heal him to his brain,” he quickly said.
I smirked. “That wasn’t your original wish, so I can manipulate it as I want. Swear Gwen’s safety to me now, and I’ll make sure your brother returns to his whole self. Otherwise . . .”
“You can’t do that!”
“Swear it to me!” I roared, using my angry djinn voice, which echoed in the wide area.
“How dare you threaten me!” Jesse retorted. “Shoot him!”
I rolled my eyes, but a single shot echoed in the air, and the bullet slammed into my exposed right side. I hissed and glared at Jesse. “Seriously?”
But the bullet began to burn and slowly felt like it was digging deeper, moving on its own.
I gasped and clamped my hand on my side.
“That bullet won’t stop until the owner commands it so,” Jesse seethed. “Now heal my brother. That’s an order.”
I gritted my teeth, slowly getting to my feet. “No.”
“That’s a command! You can’t resist a command!” Jesse jumped to his feet and grabbed me by the front of my shirt.
“Technically, I already healed him,” I answered, lip twitching. “All you have to do is promise Gwen will be safe.”
“We can use her to take down Taotin!”
“She deserves to make that decision on her own.”
Jesse shoved me away and sucked air between his teeth. “Take the girl back to the house. Clean her up and get a doctor. No one else lays a hand on her, understood?” When his men nodded their accord, he turned to me. “Done.”
I knelt at Oliver’s side and smacked him upside the head.
“What the hell?” Jesse shouted.
Oliver groaned and peeled his eyes open.
I got back to my feet. “There wasn’t anything wrong with him. At least, not from the accident. Can’t say he wasn’t dropped on his head as a kid.”
Jesse shook his head. “You’re a dick.”
“Likewise. The bullet?” I pulled my blood-covered hand away from my side.
He snapped his fingers at the man who shot the gun, and the man gave some command for the bullet to return, and it ripped out as quickly as it tore into me. “I dismiss you. Get back to the djinn realm.”
I felt my jaw flex and stole a look at Guinevere before I was forced to return to the place I hated the most.
I let out a shout and slammed my fists into the wall, shattering it. My chest heaved in anger, but I composed myself. It didn’t do me any good to waste energy throwing a fit.
Knowing time didn’t pass the same in my realm as it did in Guinevere’s, I managed to make myself busy by leaving my little hut and walked down the cobblestone street to stop at Marid’s.
I barely had a chance to knock once before the door flung open.
Marid scowled at me. “Where have you been?”
“Busy,” I replied flatly. “You still want access to the library?”
“It’s only the one thing I’ve been waiting for.” He walked out of his home, closing the door behind him, and followed me.
“I did have a question for you,” I started carefully. I allowed a wave of magic to radiate around me like a sort of magical search to see who was near, to make sure Avashal wasn’t.
“And what question is that?”
I glanced at Marid. “Who owns Avashal?”
“How should I know?” His brown eyes looked me up and down—at least, I thought they were brown. I suddenly realized I’d never seen a fellow djinn outside of our realm and had no idea what colors any of them were.
“He’s been bothering me for years, saying I should enjoy my power and embrace it. I was curious to know why he would say such a thing. He must have a truly magnificent master to enjoy being a djinn so much.”
“Ah.” Marid bobbed his head up and down. “My current master isn’t too terrible. Though, he is wishing for stupid things.”
“Really?” I didn’t care about him. I wanted information about Avashal, but if I made him believe I was interested, maybe Marid would give me what I wanted to know.
“Oh yes. Three dogs—a French bulldog, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and poodle. A yacht. Mansion. Oh, and servants to keep up the gardens. A secret room in the house that he wants to use for a library, though he hasn’t wished for any books yet, and he wanted to visit the top of Mt. Everest and the deepest he could go in the ocean. Fat lot of good that did.”
I looked over.
“He drowned,” he added.
A laugh burst from my mouth unceremoniously.
Marid grinned. “He never clarified how he wanted to get down, or how long he wanted to stay down. Because he was under water . . .”
Curse of a Djinn Page 11
