Page 3 of Enslaved By Magic

“Yes. Your complete and total surrender will be required, and the work may be unpleasant at times. Your body, yes, some may desire it as part of the service, but your work will be greater than that of a whore,” he explained with such force that she flinched.

“For—for how long?” she asked. Unable to meet his eyes, she focused on her hands. The olive skin was paler at the joints from clenching so tightly in her lap, and they writhed against the colorful fabric like wild animals, betraying her emotions while the rest of her stayed still.

“For as long as it takes, Amari. You will be bound until you complete your task. A servant subject to the will of others, but”—he reached out and took her by the chin, lifting her face until she had no choice but to see him—“I promise when you complete your task, you will be free. You have my word and I never lie,” he said.

Tears spilled from her eyes and glittered in the firelight as they rolled down her cheeks. Emotions clashed and fought within her, and he must have sensed the turmoil because he let her go and stood up. “Take a few minutes and think about it,” he said. “But not too long. My time is valuable.”

He left the room, vanishing through one of the mysterious doors and closing it behind him. She could hear his footsteps on the other side, retreating as though he was walking a long distance. Longer than was possible for a small house on a mountainside. She got up and crept over to try the door—locked.

She sighed. There was no keyhole to peer through, no cracks in the wood. Wherever he’d gone would have to remain a secret, and she had a decision to make. Knowing she’d hear him returning, she took the chance to investigate the room more thoroughly. It gave her something to do while she organized her thoughts. But even though he pretended there was a choice for her to make, there wasn’t. Nothing had changed since she left her home early that morning. They’d exhausted every friend and relative they could claim, and no one would help them any longer. So, it was this or watching her mother and brother succumb to death. And then what of her sister? Herself? If there’d been even the slightest hope, she’d never have come here in the first place.

When he returned, she was safely seated again, and he was cradling a bottle in both hands. He brought it to her, holding it just out of her reach, and she gasped at the lovely elegance of it. It was made of some kind of thick glass but was like nothing she’d ever seen. The swirls of color obscured the inside but there seemed to be a glow emanating from it.

She reached out to brush a finger over one of the jewels encircling the bottom, middle, and rim of the bottle, but he yanked it back out of her reach, holding it reverently. “Don’t touch it,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” she admitted. There was a wistful tone in her voice that spoke of her yearning to own something so precious.

He smiled wickedly. “Would you like it? If you say yes, this bottle will be yours,” he said.

She gasped, mouth dropping open as she looked up at him. “Really?”

“I told you, I don’t lie. The bottle will be yours,” he said. One side of his mouth curled up in a smirk and his dark eyes narrowed. “Have you made your decision, Amari?”

His expression seemed… she wasn’t sure, but there was something about the way he looked that made her insides clench. He could have promised her a chest of gold and she wouldn’t have said yes after he looked at her like that—but for her family? Yes, for her family, she would accept the terms.

“I… will accept your deal,” she whispered, voice so low she could barely hear the words, but somehow, he heard them.

“Excellent!” he cried. His voice was loud, echoing through the room triumphantly like thunder and she shrank back. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care because he was already striding across the room to set the bottle on the table. From a drawer he pulled a scroll of parchment which he placed next to it. “Come here, girl.” He waved one hand at her, the jeweled rings on his fingers flashing hypnotically.

She forced herself to rise and make her way across the floor, feeling oddly removed from the scene. Empty of emotion and all energy, she could barely make her feet move. He’d unrolled the scroll and stabbed a finger at it. “Read the terms,” he said, snapping the order efficiently.

“I can’t read that,” she admitted. She could read only one language, and this bore little resemblance to it. She could recognize certain words but not enough to make any sense of what she saw.

He scowled and cursed under his breath. Something that sounded like ‘stupid mortals,’ but she wasn’t even sure what that meant. He grabbed her hand and placed it on the neck of the bottle, wrapping her fingers around it and holding it there so tightly that it hurt. “Try now,” he said.

She gave him a confused look and then dropped her eyes to the scroll—and blinked in shock. She understood it, every word. Even though the words sounded foreign and she was sure she’d never heard most of them before, they now made sense somehow. “I-I don’t understand. How…”

“This bottle, your bottle now, is magic. It will teach you anything you want to know, eventually, but, in a pinch, it will translate for you. Once you’re bound to it you won’t even need to be close. But since you’re not yet, it requires your touch. Now read, girl,” he ordered.

When she seemed unable to obey, he used his free hand to slap her across the rump. The clothing she wore was thin but there were several layers. It should have protected her from the sting, but it didn’t. She yelped and immediately turned her attention to the words before he was moved to strike her again.

Even understanding what was written, she was confused. There were so many lines of tiny, cramped text that the best she could do was scan through them. When she got to the part about her release, though, she focused her attention. “It says I must grant three wishes to my owner before I am freed.”

“Yes, the bottle will teach you everything you need to know about granting wishes as well. Any question you have, it will answer, but once you have granted three wishes to one specific person, your time in bondage will be done. I did promise you’d be freed after your task,” he reminded her.

“Yes, but how do I grant wishes?” she asked, doubtfully.

His hand slapped down again across her backside, making her jump. “Did I not say the bottle would teach you?” He grumbled, muttering under his breath and tapped the contract again. Then he sighed. “Shall I summarize so your small mind can comprehend?” he asked.

She nodded as she tried to turn her body to protect her stinging bottom from further retribution.

“Very well, Amari. Upon signing this contract, you will be bound to this bottle for however long it takes you to grant three wishes to a single person. The bottle will give you the power to do that… Do not ask me how again!” he said, interjecting the order as she opened her mouth to do just that.

“Until you have granted all three wishes, you will be subject to the authority of the owner. They will have full use of your”—he paused, sneering a little—“charms. Whatever they may order you to do that can be done physically, without magic, will not count as a wish. You can protest, or cry, but you will eventually be compelled to obey by the magic that binds you to the bottle. Do you understand fully what you are agreeing to, because once this is done, it cannot be undone,” he said firmly.

She dropped her head, letting her heavy dark hair sweep forward to hide her face. Her cheeks were heated from shame, but it was too late to back out now. “I understand,” she said quietly.

He let go of the hand he’d been pressing to the warm bottle and took her other one. Lifting it, he produced a silver knife, seemingly from mid-air, and before she knew what was happening, he slashed it down across the center of her palm.

She cried out and tried to yank her hand free, but he held it with an iron grip she couldn’t break. “It will heal in a moment,” he snapped. He turned her hand and slapped the bloody palm down at the bottom of the document, leaving a crimson splotch that glowed red for a moment and then sank into the page. He let go of her hand so he could give his own hand the same treatment, and then he added his mark to hers before turning to her with a satisfied smirk creasing his face.

He wasn’t at all handsome anymore. In fact, he looked downright evil and she knew she’d just fallen right into his trap. She swayed dizzily, and, at first, she thought she was going to faint from fear, but then she realized that the spinning room was being caused by something more insidious. The bottle, the beautiful bottle, began to grow and the faint light that she’d seen before turned into a painful sunburst that caused her to wince away as it blocked out the world. Then there was nothing left but the glass and the light… and suddenly she was trapped inside.

He’d been telling the truth. It was her bottle, but it was also her prison now.

He stroked the gem-encrusted glass possessively and laughed. Tomorrow he’d find a buyer for his new little treasure, and off she’d go to begin what would hopefully be many lifetimes of servitude. He’d ensure that any buyers would hesitate before making that final wish by giving them the usual dire warnings. Newly freed djinn would, of course, seek retribution for their years of servitude, starting with the one who freed them. He would recommend, as always, that they make two wishes only before passing the bottle on.

Ironically, the warnings were true. Such supernatural creatures didn’t enjoy having to serve lesser beings, and once they were freed, they savored their revenge. Of course, she wasn’t one of them—she was simply a human girl he’d cursed to live as he’d had to for thousands of years. She deserved it. They all did, but especially her. He’d been too angry when he’d finally been freed from his chains. Unable to hold back, he’d lashed out immediately, killing the man who’d freed him. There had been no time to enjoy the suffering—but his daughter would do, and this time he’d make sure it lasted a good long time.

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