Three More Wishes: Be Kind To Your Genie (34 page)

JUST BARELY THURSDAY (PART TWO)
Thursday, 2:48 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time

Marvin said, “So how did you get in my house, without alarms going off?”

Paula smirked at him. “I don’t have to tell you shit.”

Fatima said, “Yesterday while you were at school, she gave fifteen hundred dollars to Elvira, who then took her straight to the attic. And Master was in the attic from before you left school, till a few minutes before Virgilia came. Her assistant hacked your bedroom alarm.” Fatima gave Marvin an
I told you so
look.

How dare she!
Paula thought.
She serves ME!

Paula glared at Fatima. “Why are you talking to Marvin, and why are you telling him things I don’t want him knowing?”

“But Master, you didn’t tell me
not
to talk to him.” Now it was Fatima smirking.

Marvin asked Virgilia, the big-breasted bathrobe blonde, “How did you find out about the lamp?”

She said, “Monday, you went to school with the footlocker unlocked. I peeked inside, then I locked it.”

“Without rubbing the lamp?” Marvin, Paula, and Fatima all said.

Lippy Blonde shrugged. “It would have been stealing from Marvin. I don’t steal.”

Paula didn’t buy
that
for a second, not from this woman with the porn-actress body.

Marvin looked at Bathrobe Bimbo and said, “I apologize, I blew it. I
really
underestimated Paula Sarin. I’m sorry about all the hurt she gave you.”

The blonde didn’t reply, she just smiled at Marvin and squeezed his arm.

Paula said, “Aw, isn’t that sweet? We’re wasting time.” She gestured with the gun. “You two, get out in the hallway.”

Marvin snorted. “No. We’re not your trained seals. We don’t do tricks for you.”

Paula snarled, “Fatima, get those two into the hallway.”

Fatima walked up to Marvin, with her hands as high as his chest. He countered by putting the palms of his hands on her collarbones, which kept his chest beyond her reach.

Fatima said, “Master, I can’t make Marvin go out into the hallway.”

Paula crossed her arms. “Are you messing with me? Or are you stupid? Use your magic!”

“So it’s your wish that I magically move Marvin and Virgilia into the hallway?”

Paula gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, Fatima, that’s my wish.” Then she realized what she’d said. “
Wait
, d—”

Paula’s ears popped, and then the group was standing in the middle of the second-floor hallway, near the staircase.

Fatima said, “One wish made, one wish granted. You have two wishes left, Master.” Fatima’s face said
Ha, beat you, bitch!

Paula Sarin felt like shooting the genie. “You tricked me out of a wish!”

Fatima’s eyes were laughing. “Sorry, all sales are final, no refunds or exchanges. King Solomon’s rule.”

Then Marvin yelled as loud as he could, “EVERYONE, STAY OUT OF THE HALLWAY! IT’S DANGEROUS!”

Paula said, “For
you
it is.” She smirked at Marvin.

Then she made it clear what she meant. “Fatima, I want you to whammy Marvin for good. Kill him in a way that won’t leave forensic evidence.”

“No. That’s a magical request, and I don’t have to grant those if I don’t want.”

Paula swelled up. “Don’t tell me ‘No’! I AM YOUR MASTER, AND—”

Suddenly a smoky green box appeared around the lower half of Paula’s face; her mouth was inside the box, but her ears were outside. She yelled and screamed, but her ears heard nothing, and everyone else was grinning at her like she were a dancing monkey. She yelled for Fatima to get rid of her magical muzzle, but of course Fatima didn’t hear the order. When Paula tried to pull the magic muzzle off her face, nothing happened.

When Paula quit mute-yelling and closed her mouth, she figured that Fatima would vanish the magic muzzle. But instead, five minutes crawled by. During that time, Marvin, the blonde, and Fatima all smirked at Paula.

Then Fatima spoke. “Jerngert told me how you bullied her into granting all your magical requests. I can’t kill you or hurt you, but I still have options that you won’t like.
I
decide whether I grant your magical requests, ‘Master.’
I
decide.”

Only then did Fatima un-mute Paula Sarin.

Paula’s first words were, “Did you enjoy that, Fatima? Playing with me? Now it’ll cost you. I
wish
that you kill Marvin in a way that leaves no forensic evidence.”

****

Virgilia gasped when she heard the evil woman’s wish. Which Virgilia heard clearly, since she stood ten feet away from Paula and Fatima, with Virgilia’s back to someone’s bedroom door.

Fatima and Paula were standing side by side in the hallway, facing toward Marvin and away from Marvin’s bedroom door. To Virgilia, Fatima looked as frightened as Virgilia felt. Only Marvin looked calm.
But then, men are big on the whole “stoic” thing,
Virgilia thought.

Fatima said, “Master, please change your wish.
Please
change your wish. If you take it back, it won’t count against you—”

That bitch Paula said, “You’re dawdling, and jabbering, and you haven’t granted my wish! Here’s an order: Kill. Now. Otherwise
you
go into the freezer tomorrow, Fatima.”

Fatima’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, Master.”

Virgilia could only watch helplessly as Fatima turned to face Marvin straight-on. Fatima’s expression became serious, and her hands came up. She began gesturing with both hands, while Marvin stared at her.

Fatima had been gesturing for ten seconds or so, when Marvin’s expression changed. For the first time since Virgilia had known him, he looked afraid. “Fatima, don’t,” he said. “I love you.”

“I’m sorry, Marvin,” Fatima said. “I don’t want to freeze to death like Jerngert.”

Marvin backed away from her. He stretched out his arms to her, beseeching.

“I love you too, Marvin,” Fatima said, as she continued to gesture with both hands.

Four tiny green fireballs appeared, chasing each other around her hands. As Fatima gestured, the fireballs got bigger—to golf-ball size, then apple size, then grapefruit size, then to volleyball size.

As Fatima continued to gesture, the fireballs’ rotation stopped, so that they floated in place, above, below, and beside Fatima’s hands. And then all four fireballs flew straight toward Marvin, as fast as rockets.

One fireball hit him in the groin, two hit him in the chest, and one hit him in the face. Instantly Marvin was head-to-toe covered with green fire, making the hallway as hot as an oven.

Marvin reached out with his green-burning arms. “Fatima, I ... love...”

Burning Marvin swayed on his feet like a drunk, then dropped to his knees. “It hurts,” Marvin said. “Oh
fuck
, it hurts.”

Marvin’s flesh
pop
ped and sizzled. A green-flamed jaw dropped in a silent scream. A few seconds later, he fell limply forward onto the new rug, his arms still outstretched toward Fatima.

As soon as Marvin’s body hit the ground, the fire instantly went out. The hallway was instantly cool again.

Virgilia stared horrified at the burned, smoking,
forest green
corpse that had once been Marvin Harper. The hallway smelled like cooked pork.

Paula said, “Did you see how cowardly he was? Whereas I’ve shot wolves from a helicopter. Who’s the real man here?”

Fatima said, “I loved you, Marvin.” Then she turned to Paula, squared her shoulders, and said, “You wished for me to kill him. You see he is dead.”

For Virgilia, this was an awful day. Bad enough to see a man she admired be cruelly murdered in front of her, but then to still feel the magical craving to serve him—

Wait a second
, thought Virgilia.
Something doesn’t add up.
Her craving for Warren had ended on the second he’d died.

But how can Marvin be alive?
All of Virgilia’s senses told her that Marvin couldn’t be even barely alive.

Virgilia wrenched her eyes away from Marvin’s charred body to look at Fatima—only to find Fatima already looking at her. Fatima’s nose was pointing toward Marvin’s smoking remains, but Fatima’s
eyes
were staring sidelong into Virgilia’s. And as soon as Virgilia made eye contact, Fatima’s eyebrows went up.

What is Fatima trying to tell me?
Virgilia wondered.

And then Virgilia realized: Her own eyes were lying to her, Marvin wasn’t dead! For some reason, Fatima didn’t grant the wish, but only pretended to.
Then it’s a whole new game
, thought Virgilia.

Paula Sarin spoke then. “Bathrobe Bitch, I thought of shooting you. But I’d much rather have you beg to lick my asshole.”

Paula turned to Fatima and said, “I wish that everything that Marvin owns, now becomes mine. This includes all his slaves and girlfriends becoming worshipfully devoted to me.”

Virgilia saw Fatima start her wind-up—even as the genie’s eyes were boring into Virgilia’s.

“Fatima, please! Spare me,” Virgilia cried, with soap-opera overacting.

From Fatima’s hands came an expanding sphere, transparent green. Virgilia dashed for the steps, seemingly trying to escape the growing ball. She’d gone down two steps when the wall of the sphere passed through her and beyond her.

And yet Virgilia’s feeling for Marvin and for Paula were each unchanged.

Virgilia stopped on the stairs. She turned around, to climb the stairs again. Once Virgilia’s feet were on the rug, she turned and began sashaying toward Paula Sarin, a bedroom smile on her face.

Virgilia said, “Oh Paula, you are so pretty, you are so
hot
, I want to give you money. My fingers are yours for your pleasure, my mouth is—”

By now, Virgilia was two feet away from Paula and closing, with her hands out at chest height. Anyone watching Virgilia would think she planned to hug Paula.

“—yours for your pleasure, I serve—”

Both of Virgilia’s hands swerved to grab Paula’s left forearm and twist it. Surprised, Paula bent sideways right, in order to lessen the sudden pain. Virgilia made a fist and hammered on the lamp that Paula was still holding; Virgilia knocked the lamp free of Paula’s pain-loosened grip.

Then Virgilia dropped to the floor to capture the lamp.

Virgilia’s hands closed on the lamp.

Virgilia heard a quiet
click
. A trigger safety being released?

FOOM.
Fatima now was standing to the left of Virgilia, who was still on her knees.

Looking up, Virgilia saw that Paula was holding her pistol in a teacup grip, and the gun was aimed at Virgilia’s chest that was only two feet away.

“Cute trick,” Paula said. “Now give it back.”

Fatima said, “Murderer, if you pull the trigger, I’ll hand you the hot lead slug with my name already carved on it. Then I’ll send you to the North Pole. Naked.”

For fifteen seconds, nobody moved and nobody spoke.

As Paula lowered her weapon, she glared at Virgilia. “So much for not stealing.” Then Paula glared at Fatima. “And so much for protective genies. That’s twice tonight I’ve been hurt.”

Fatima shrugged. “Two of King Solomon’s rules conflicted, so I got a choice. Next time, don’t piss me off.”

Virgilia gave a smile of fake sympathy to Paula. “I
happily
steal from thieves. I’m sorry, did I forget to mention that?”

“How did you beat Fatima’s spell?” Paula said. “Why aren’t you my slave?”

“Quote, I don’t have to tell you shit, unquote. Fatima, don’t tell her.”

Fatima said, “I wasn’t planning to, Master. Let her wonder.”

Virgilia looked at the burned corpse(?) of Marvin on the floor, then looked into Paula Sarin’s eyes. “You’re despicable,” Virgilia told Paula.

Then Virgilia said, “Fatima, what’s this about magical requests? You can do magic for me and it doesn’t count as a wish?”

Fatima explained the rules. Then Virgilia said, “How about you paralyze Paula while I’m holding the lamp. Change that, make it only below the neck. It’s okay if she talks.”

“Certainly, Master, no problem,” Fatima said with exaggerated cheeriness. Paula frowned, probably because this was right after Fatima had refused Paula’s one magical request.

Fatima’s gestures surrounded Paula with glowing green bands, from toes to shoulders, and from Paula’s right elbow to her pistol-gripping right hand. To Virgilia, Paula looked like she was wrapped in a green neon cocoon.

Virgilia nodded with satisfaction. Then she said, “Fatima, I’m ready to wish.”

“Do you want to hear the rules beforehand?”

“Yes, and I know I’ll have questions. I request that you take us someplace private.”

Virgilia’s ears popped, and then she found herself with Fatima in Marvin’s bedroom. Less than five minutes later, both Virgilia and Fatima were laughing in scorn at Paula Sarin.

But the big, giant question on Virgilia’s mind (
So Marvin is alive, right? You DID pull a trick on Paula, right?
), Virgilia couldn’t bring herself to ask Fatima.

Instead, Virgilia said, “Fatima, I’m ready to go back. Same spot in the hallway.”