Page 15 of Enslaved By Magic

“You remember that bottle we found in the box?” he asked.

“Yep, pretty thing. Found a buyer yet?” Esra paused, looking up when his nephew was silent.

“Not exactly—um, what do you know about genies?” Luke asked. Esra’s eyes widened a fraction but, otherwise, his expression didn’t change. If Luke hadn’t known him so well, he might not even have realized that his uncle was surprised.

“Genies? Well, now, that’s an odd question,” he said. He settled back, scratching his neck. He looked distant as if he were contemplating a long-ago memory and that was probably fairly accurate because, after a second, he shrugged. “You remember the stories your grandmother used to tell you about genies? She told the same ones to me and your mother when we were growing up. Course she called them jinn. That’s the original name for ‘em anyway. Translates to ‘Hidden Ones’, I think,” he said.

“Right—jinn,” Luke said. He frowned, eyebrows drawing down as he tried to remember. He had never forgotten the nightmares he used to have because of those stories. Giant evil spirits chasing him, but the details… no, he couldn’t recall much. “The stories originated from Turkey, right?”

“Well, not exactly. Turkey didn’t exist then. We’re talking about ancient history, but sure, they came from around where she was born. Lot of old myths and legends over there. You don’t hear much about them here, except Hollywood style,” Esra said with a shrug. “They weren’t much like you see on television. She thought they were demons, but I think they were just spirits. Neutral unless you made them mad. She had a thousand stories about people who got on their bad side, though, didn’t she?” Esra laughed and shook his head.

“Yeah, she did. I used to dream about them chasing me after she told us the Arabian Nights stories,” Luke said in a thoughtful tone. He took a deep breath, started to say something, and then stopped.

“What does all this have to do with the bottle? You’re not going to tell me you rubbed it and a genie came out, are you?” Esra asked. There was a half-smile on his face, and he sounded amused, but when Luke didn’t answer, the smile slowly dropped away. “You know those are just old tales, legends… right, Luke?” he said. There was a hint of wary concern there.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Maybe I better tell you the whole story,” he said. He started with cleaning the bottle and all the work that had gone into it, but when he began to describe the thick viscous fog that rolled out of it, his uncle shifted so forcefully on the metal stool that it made a loud scraping sound and Luke jumped.

“Sorry—go on,” Esra said, waving a hand and looking at his nephew with a rare intensity.

Luke continued. He explained Amari’s story, and how she’d been living in his house for the past week while he tried to sort out what to do. He left out the part where he spanked her, but other than that, he thought he’d covered everything.

“So, let me get this straight: you’ve got a girl who’s either crazy or has the power to grant wishes and you don’t know which? Why haven’t you made a wish? Seems like that would clear it all up pretty fast,” Esra said. His voice, as he spoke, seemed to be holding a neutral tone, and Luke couldn’t tell if he believed any of it.

“Well, that’s the thing, Uncle Esra, all those old stories talked about jinn twisting your words. Hell, in almost every story I’ve heard or read about, making wishes usually turns out badly. She says it’s not like that with her. That she’s a human cursed to the bottle, but how do I know if that’s true? I don’t want to make a wish and then find out something terrible has to happen for it to be granted,” Luke explained. He shrugged. “I mean, if it’s even true. She could just be crazy, but, if she is, don’t ask me how she did the smoke thing, or making her clothes vanish. Some kind of hypnosis maybe,” he said doubtfully.

Luke flushed when his uncle’s eyebrow went straight up, but thankfully he didn’t ask about the clothes. Luke wasn’t sure how he could explain the attraction he felt to the strange woman staying in his house, and he knew if he tried, it would come out wrong and Esra would get ideas about something going on between them.

Esra began to tap his fingers on the workbench, beating out a steady rhythm as he thought about it. In the end, he seemed as uncertain as Luke had been, but he did have one bit of useful advice, and it confirmed what Luke had already pretty much decided.

“Might as well assume it’s true and make a wish. If she’s a genie, you’ll know pretty quick. I suggest you be real careful how you phrase it, son—just in case she is one of the Hidden Ones. You remember how the stories went there, but you’re a smart boy. I’m sure you can manage,” Esra said finally.

Luke hoped he was imagining the doubt in his uncle’s voice. Hoped he was projecting his own concerns because he needed to believe at least one of them thought this was going to turn out okay.

“There’s one more thing,” Luke said. “After three wishes she’ll be freed from the bottle, but she said no one ever makes all three because they were warned off with stories about jinn getting revenge for having to serve humans. You think—is there a chance that part might be true?” he asked.

Esra pursed his lips, his forehead wrinkling further with concentration as he thought for a minute. “Can’t say I remember anything about that,” he said. He ran a hand through his gray hair and stared into the distance for a few moments. “Tell you what, I’ll dig up the old stories and take a look through them. Mom wrote everything down, said she wanted to leave a legacy. I expect the box is around somewhere in the house.”

“Thanks. I’m going to take my time thinking about the first wish tonight, and then see what happens. If she can’t grant it there’s no point in worrying about it,” Luke said.

He headed home not too long after, though not without first stopping into the house to see his aunt. She tried to press him to stay for dinner, but he mentioned he had a meal waiting for him at home. Somehow in the midst of trying to get out the door, he accidentally gave her the impression he was dating a woman, who was at his house cooking for him. It wasn’t entirely untrue, but it was awkward because he couldn’t explain the whole story. She also wouldn’t let him leave without promising to bring Amari over so they could meet her. Awkward.

So, he promised, but he had no clue how he was going to explain this to Amari, and he really worried it was going to give her the wrong impression. He was already struggling to put distance between them, and this wasn’t going to help.

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