The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (6 page)

“Jer,
you gave her a command. You said ‘let’s go home,’ and she brought us back.
Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” I nod at Gabe in approval for once. He
grins.

“You
two are ganging up on me. Well, it isn’t going to work.” Jered takes out his
homework and settles in at his desk.

Gabe
shakes his shaggy head and settles down on the floor with his phone.

“Jered,
why do you never use my magic for yourself?” I ask, unable to hold it in any
longer. He stops his work, and Gabe pauses the game he has started to look up.

“Good
question,” Gabe agrees.

Jered
shoots him an angry glance before turning back to me. Those eyes make my
stomach squirm. They do not belong on his face. They do not belong in my life.
I focus on his hands instead.

“I’m
afraid,” he says simply, and drops his pen on the notebook he’s started working
in. It hasn’t escaped my attention that he’s stopped using pencils when I’m
around.

“Afraid?”
I ask. I feel as though I’ve woken in an alternate reality. One in which humans
no longer follow a logical path.

“I’ve
seen movies, read books, where stuff like this happens, and it never turns out
the way you expect,” Jered says.

“I
don’t understand,” I say.

“I
think he means he’s afraid you’ll twist his wishes so that the exact opposite
will happen,” Gabe says.

“Oh.
I must follow your command exactly. Have I done something that displeases you
when you’ve expected something else?” I ask, kneeling near him.

“No.
Well, yes, but it isn’t that. I don’t think you mean to hurt me or anything.”
He is so young. So trusting. “But, you don’t think like we do.”

I
cock my head to the side and consider him. One moment he says something so
naïve. The next he notices something no one has bothered to notice in a
millennium. He is a conundrum.

“I
have never had a master like you,” I say.

“I
suppose most of them become blinded by power?” Jered asks. I nod, eyes wide as
he smiles. “That’s what’s wrong with this world, Leela. Too many people think
only about themselves, and how they can get more. Never mind who they have to
use to do it.”

“I
have a question,” says Gabe. “If you can step down off your soapbox for a
minute, Mr. World Peace.”

The
light behind Jered’s eyes fades. “What?”

“Does
this mean you aren’t going to wish for anything else?”

Jered
rolls his eyes at Gabe as doubt creeps back to squeeze my heart. Jered may mean
well, but he’s still human.

“Can
I borrow her?” Gabe asks. “You know, if you’re not actually going to use her?”

“Gabe,
she isn’t a thing. She’s a person.”

“No.
I’m not. I am not a person,” I say, standing. “I look like a person. But I am
Djinn. You would do better to remember that. I will wait for your command.” I
disappear in a puff of smoke. I wish I could be alone. But I must remain always
near him. I know he does not understand this. That when I disappear from view,
he thinks I go somewhere of my own. There is nowhere of my own, though. Not as
long as I wear the choker. And since I am bound to it for eternity, that is
going to be a very long time.

“You
really should lighten up, Jer,” Gabe says. “She’s obviously dying to show you
those tits.” Obviously
he
doesn’t think I am listening either.

“I
need to finish this homework, Gabe. Go play Zombie Squasher 4000 or something.”

“Naw,
I think I’m gonna do a little research instead.”

“Research?”
Jered asks.

“On
Djinn.”

“Whatever.”
Jered turns his attention back to his notebook.

I
move over behind Gabe’s shoulder to watch on the tiny screen. Most of the
information is flawed, but as with any myth, bits and pieces ring true. Then he
searches for an app.
Good luck finding one on Djinn
, I think, but to my
surprise something shows up. Apparently an app called Djinn Tracker is
available for free. I am as curious as Gabe, who darts a look over at Jered
before starting the download.

It
takes only seconds, then an icon pops up. It is an image eerily familiar to me.
An eye inside of a sun with a moon and star orbiting it. My heart drops into my
stomach. That is their symbol. But how can it still be around? Impossible. He
clicks on it.

Fingers
of light filter out of the screen and climb through the air, searching
sightlessly. Instinctively, I back up, dodging the probing beams. But even as I
turn toward Jered, I know something is not right. His aura flares, colors
washing over him, reacting like a magnet to the intruder.

I
reach out with a cry, and the phone shatters in Gabe’s hand, but not before the
light connects, for just a moment, with Jered.

“Idiot!”
I scream, revealing myself.

“Leela!”
Jered shouts in surprise.

“He’s
done something,” I say, seething. “He has alerted someone to your whereabouts.
Someone that means you harm.”

“What
are you talking about? What’s she talking about, Gabe?”

“I
don’t know. She’s a psycho Djinni. She crushed my phone. I want a new one.”

“Your
phone is insignificant compared to Jered’s life.”

“What
happened?” Jered says, slamming his textbook closed.

“I
downloaded an app,” Gabe says, casting his eyes downward. I smile triumphantly.
“Djinn Tracker. But it didn’t work. All I got was this cheesy logo.”

“Oh
it worked, all right,” I say. “You couldn’t see it with your feeble human
eyesight. But whatever that thing was, it found Jered, and it knows he’s a
Magician.”

“I
still don’t buy that whole Jered’s a Magician thing,” Gabe says, daring to look
me in the face.

“What
you buy and don’t buy is irrelevant. Except for that app,” I state.

“Look,
what’s done is done, Leela,” Jered says in a far too reasonable tone. “I’m sure
it’s no big deal. Even if there was something there, it’s a Djinn Tracker not a
Magician Tracker, right?”

“But–”
I protest.

“Fix
Gabe’s phone, please, Leela. And Gabe, don’t be such an asshole.”

“You
didn’t say please to me,” Gabe says.

“Asshole.”

It’s
hard not to smile despite the trepidation inside. That was strong magic. The
kind that even a human knowing what he was doing would be hard pressed to
design. And there was the matter of the symbol. The Magicians’ symbol.
Something is coming. I know it.

And
I know it isn’t good.

Old Friend

“
o
you really think I have magic?”

Jered
lies in his bed, covers up to his chin, lights out. The moonlight spills
through the window and reflects off the black of his eyes, dancing like blue
fire. I lie next to him, on top of the covers, close, but not touching.

“I
know you do.”

“Can
you teach me to use it?” he asks. His smile is contagious. It stretches to his
eyes, and they sparkle even more. I have to look away, so I trace my finger
back and forth over the edges of the blanket, never quite coming to rest on his
skin. I glance up, just enough to watch him swallow. I feel powerful.

“If
that is your desire. I can teach you many things.”

“Teach
me, Leela.”

“Close
your eyes. Breathe deep.” I enjoy watching him without him seeing me. “Now
think about the energy around you. Can you feel it?”

“I
think so.”

“Call
it to you. Focus on it. Pull it tight into a ball. Don’t be afraid to use your
hands.” I wait as he strains. His hands reach forward, gathering the air around
him, causing his blanket to fall and reveal his bare chest.

His
aura glows, and golden light streams through it, between his fingers.
Breathtaking.

“Good,”
I whisper. “Now hold it there and see.”

His
eyes flutter open, and he gasps at the sight of the miniature sun, glowing
between his own hands.

“What
do I do with it?” he asks, voice cracking.

“Whatever
you want.”

“Can
I make it into a milkshake?”

I
laugh. “Yes.”

He
concentrates, and the ball of light melts into a large cup filled with thick
vanilla cream and two straws. I look at him quizzically.

“To
share,” he says, holding it out.

Not
quite what I was going for, but sweet. And I must admit, it tastes divine.

After
a minute, I extract the cup from his hands, and lean over him, setting it on
the nightstand. His breath is warm in my ear, and a shiver runs through my
body, landing somewhere below my navel. I tilt my head toward his and smile.
His eyes follow mine downward, and he promptly turns such a deep red that I
wonder if he can breathe.

“It’s
okay, Jered,” I say, trying to keep the humor from my voice. “I don’t mind, you
know. You’ve been most patient and kind.” I throw my leg over his lap, and
press against him, tossing my hair back over my shoulder.

“Leela,”
he croaks, pushing me off, and scooting as far to the side as possible without
falling off the bed. “What do you mean I’ve been ‘patient and kind’?”

“You’ve
shown great restraint,” I say, unable to hide my surprise. “Clearly you’re
interested. Besides, worse things have happened.” I cannot stop a devilish grin
from claiming my face.

“You’re
doing this because you think you have to, aren’t you?” he asks, and he looks a
little afraid.

Silence.
I do want to be with him, but there’s no denying I would not be here if it
weren’t for the stone.

“Oh
God. Leela, no!” He scoots back toward me, tentatively taking my hands in his.
They are still cold from the milkshake. “You mean someone’s made you...but I
thought it was just the magic. The wishing thing.”

This
conversation is not going the way I wanted it to. Which is to say, I did not
want a conversation at all. “Wish fulfillment. Yes, Jered. That is my purpose.
You are the first to have so much trouble with the concept.” I tug at the choker
again. Why has it been bothering me so much lately?

“You’re
telling me all of those who’ve had this,” he holds up his hand with the ring,
“have been
that
horrible? You mean they’ve used not just your magic, but...but
you
?” He looks disgusted, like he wants to rip it off his finger. But he
doesn’t.

“You
are the one who is different, Jered. You are the only one who sees me as
anything other than an object.”

“How
can anyone think of you as an object?” he asks, his eyes flashing. I cringe,
remembering, and he reaches for me. I climb into his lap and lay my head
against his chest. His strong arms wrap around me, and I close my eyes with a
sigh.

I
am wondering what Jered would do if I reached up and kissed him when I hear a
voice from behind.

“Oh,
it’s you.”

I
leap off the bed at the sound. Foreign yet familiar. Jered sits bolt upright
and reaches for his lamp, knocking the milkshake off the nightstand.

The
newcomer sits casually on the windowsill, one leg dangling loose. He’s just as
tall and well-built as Jered, but his skin is dark and smooth beneath his open
shirt and his eyes are two sparkling emeralds, just like mine. I would
recognize that impish grin anywhere.

“Taj,”
I say.

Part
of me wants to throw my arms around him and dance. The other part wants to toss
him out the window. One thing’s for certain, he’s trouble.

“Leela,
it’s been a long time. Who’s the human?” His eyes flash appreciatively over
Jered. Well, this is awkward.

“Who
are you?” Jered asks. I can see he’s nervous and rightly so. Taj is Djinn not
under his control. The question really is, why is he here?
How
is he
here?

“Taj
is an old friend,” I say. “Taj, this is Jered. Jered, Taj.”

“Friend?”
Jered asks.

“Djinni,”
I confirm. “Djinni I haven’t seen in a thousand years.”

“Well,
it isn’t very well like they’d let us go to parties together,” Taj says,
sliding off the sill. He saunters over to the desk and examines the contents.
Jered moves to speak, and I throw out a hand in caution. He quiets immediately.