Authors: Felicia Jedlicka
A thick cloud of white smoke billowed from the lamp and formed into the genie. He towered over her, muscled, tattooed, and vaguely translucent. He looked over the situation as if he were disappointed by what he saw.
“I...” She swallowed the blood currently in her way. “espet…ho…oafa.” She enunciated as careful as she could through the blood.
The genie’s disappointment dampened further as he slowly shook his head. She raised the lamp to him, and pointed at her wound, and rolled her hand. She wanted to get on with the magic while she was still able to breathe.
“Genie!” Ethan yelled. “Send her back. Un-grant her wishes.”
“I must hear the words precisely.” His jaw set and he looked almost angry.
Ethan grabbed the lamp from her and held it in his face. “She accepts your offer.”
“It must be her words,” he said.
“She’s drowning in her own blood. She can’t say them any clearer. You know what she wants. You know what she means.”
“The laws are defined,” the genie said staring only at Cori.
“She is dying!” Ethan winced from the pain of yelling.
Cori grappled for the lamp again and tried to speak the words more clearly, but this time the blood was even preventing her from breathing, let alone speaking. She coughed up blood and got an idea. She used the blood to write the words on the floor. Pleased with the blood transcript she looked up hopefully to the genie.
He knelt down before her, pressing his knee into the words. “The only way that would work is if you knew cuneiform.”
Cori reached for his hand, but he drew it back and shook his head. She offered an explanation by grabbing her own hand and guiding it to write on the floor. She looked to him hopefully, but he shook his head again.
“
You
are not permitted to touch
me
, and my helping you would be severely punished.”
Cori could feel the onset of dizziness and she realized that she wasn’t going to make it much longer. She again dipped her finger into the blood that might have been hers or Ethan’s or Gypsy’s and traced a word above her previous request.
Please!
She looked at the Genie pleading her case with every ounce of her heart. He was the closest being to a god she would ever meet. There was no way that he didn’t have the capacity and power to bend the rules.
“You have no comprehension of what you are asking.” His eyes narrowed, and she could tell that it was not just an insult to ask him to bend the rules, but dangerous.
Ethan collapsed beside her, face first into the floor. His lips were now purple, and she couldn’t see if his chest was expanding.
Cori tapped the floor under the please repeatedly. She didn’t have the luxury of being concerned for the trials the genie would have to endure for helping her. She had to save herself, and thereby everyone around her.
This version of reality was beyond hope, and she would rather die now than stay without her friends, but if there was even a microscopic chance to change it all back, she was not opposed to groveling for it.
“I have never broken a rule this important,” the genie explained, but she could see his demeanor turning to dread, like he was already contemplating doing it. “What you ask today is a grave debt, one which you cannot repay. I will sacrifice for you, but know that it is not a demonstration of my mercy to do so. I will require a sacrifice in return.” Cori nodded. She already owed the genie three sacrifices for negating her wishes, what was one more minor inconvenience. “I will collect my debt when our contract is complete.”
She nodded. There was no time to argue or ask questions. She could no longer feel her limbs and she was almost positive that the stars surrounding the Genie’s head were not from him.
“I will not be able to remove the wounds. You will not be out of danger.”
She nodded again. That was the last thing she was worried about. She may have hated going to the prison infirmary for minor injuries, but just short of miraculous intervention, they would do anything to save her. She did, however, wonder if her blood loss was going to affect her pregnancy.
The world blurred around her: either because of magical transformation, or because she was passing out. Either way, she was in someone else’s hands now.
Danato scoffed. He couldn’t believe how ridiculously, anarchic the last few days had been. The prison was practically under siege with aberrations. He was exploiting his prisoners to capture his renters. Cori had joined the ranks of the elementals. Belus was going to take yet another rebellious, loud-mouthed, cocksure asshole under his wing. The one remotely level headed employee he had left in his midst had apparently just instigated the sparks that could start a civil war between the werewolves and the council of the moon.
And all of it could be traced back to one tiny little mistake.
“Is that it?” he asked looking over the faces before him. “Does anyone have any more life altering news? Cori has supernatural powers. My least favorite prisoner—who by the way I am not getting paid to house anymore—is going to be mentored by Belus. My best hunting team is probably going to become the most hunted team. A boat load of military men have to be deep wiped and shipped back to the U.S. Not to mention eight fucking months of paperwork to explain this to my superiors!” Danato stood up and leaned over the desk to look at Cori. “All of this because you couldn’t tell me about one fucking key!”
Cori shrunk before him, and tears sprouted in her eyes. She had made a lot of mistakes in her time at the prison, but this one had compounded with so many more mistakes. He loved her more than he ever thought possible, but he didn’t know how else to get through to her.
Despite what Belus believed, she hadn’t been any more translucent with him. If she couldn’t trust him, Belus, or even Ethan, then he wasn’t sure there was going to be a place for her in this prison. He didn’t want to be the one to demote her, but he also didn’t want to slough off the responsibility to Belus, just to save face with Cori. He had brought her to the prison to begin with. He was going to have to be the one to take her out of it.
“I’m sorry I doubted you, Danato,” Cori’s voice cracked. “I really am. I just wish things could just go back to normal.”
“Oh, son of a bitch,” Efrat mumbled from behind Cori. “Tell me you didn’t just say that.”
Danato looked back at Efrat. “What’s your problem?”
Before Efrat could answer the space around Cori blurred. The glossy orb surrounding her rippled and exploded, throwing everyone in the room back. When Danato found his bearings and he saw Cori slumped over in her chair covered in blood.
“Cori!” Ethan yelled and crawled to her aid. Danato was barely aware that Belus was on the phone calling the infirmary for emergency blood transfusion. Ethan picked up his wife and carried her to the door that Efrat was holding open for him.
“Tell Daniel we need him,” Belus said already on his second phone call. “Infirmary, now!” The phone receiver clanked down and Danato turned to him.
“What the hell just happened here?” he asked still dazed.
Belus didn’t shrug, but the blank stare he offered told him he didn’t know anymore then he did.
“She made a wish,” Efrat said still standing in the door way. Danato hadn’t even realized he was still there.
“So, what?” Danato narrowed his eyes at him.
Efrat shook his head. “She kept forgetting. It was bound to happen eventually.”
“What was bound to happen?” Danato yelled.
“When Cori was jumping around in time trying to talk me into saving Belus. She bumped into a genie’s lamp.” Danato’s mouth fell open and a laugh came out. It was far from funny, but he had reached his limit on yelling. He couldn’t believe there was yet another detail that he didn’t know about. “Bastard was pretty persistent, but she didn’t exactly have time to deal with him, so she just refused to make any wishes.”
Danato looked to Belus and he found the same worried expression on his face. “Unbelievable,” Belus murmured.
“What did she just wish for?” Danato asked out loud, but he was mostly talking to himself. “To go back to normal?” He looked around. “But nothing has changed.”
“How would we know if it had?” Belus pointed out.
“Why would she be injured?” Danato glanced at Efrat hoping that he might have more hidden insight, but he didn’t offer any.
“Knowing Cori, something went wrong,” Belus said.
“Maybe she wished her way back,” Efrat suggested. “With a hole in her neck,” he added mocking his own stupidity for the idea.
“You don’t think she made a deal?” Danato asked Belus.
Belus nodded. “Knowing Cori…” He trailed off and they both headed to the door.
Belus left without another thought to Efrat. Danato stopped at the door and looked at him squarely. “You’re seeing this right?” Efrat perked his brow confused. “You see me running around fixing the mistakes of others, trying to hold the walls of this prison together, by sheer will and luck.”
Efrat nodded. “What’s your point?”
Danato slammed the door shut, and Efrat backed away from his advance. He put his hands behind his back and shook his head, refusing to be provoked.
“The only reason I haven’t signed your execution order, is because I’m in the middle of a whole lot of shit right now. If you want to hide behind Belus and be his guinea pig good deed for the year, then you better start your ass kissing before I get done with all this, because the only thing I’m going to remember about tonight is that you almost cut my girl’s hands off. So my point is, Efrat…if you try to hurt my people again, I will execute you myself.” Danato moved back to the door.
“I thought that was Belus’s job.” Efrat’s words froze Danato’s withdrawal. “Or did I read that file wrong.”
Danato turned back and saw the mild smile on Efrat’s face. He walked back to him slowly, rested his cane against the desk, and put his face directly in his. To his credit, Efrat kept his hands behind his back. It was probably the only thing that was preventing Danato from literally smashing his skull between his hands.
“Give me one reason,” Danato whispered and clamped Efrat’s arms behind his back. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t rip your arms off, and remember that’s not an exaggeration when I say it.”
Efrat struggled fruitlessly under his strength. Danato couldn’t deny the enjoyment he got from seeing a man realize that he had no chance of overpowering him. He had never been as reserved as Ethan, but his years with his cane had made him less grandiose in his displays.
Efrat’s bravado waned and Danato started to draw his arms out, careful to keep his hands out of reach and aim. “Okay, Danato, you’ve proved your point,” Efrat groaned.
“Apparently I haven’t, or you would have already given me a reason.”
“Cori, she’s the reason. She wants to save me.”
“I doubt she’d miss your arms, after you tried to cut her hands off.” Danato kept his voice low and calm.
“I was stupid.” Efrat gasped as one of his shoulders popped out of socket.
“Clearly, but what’s your reason. You’ve delved into my personal files. You must know how far I’ll go to protect my prison, so give me a reason not to rip these weapons off you. Show me a sign that you can be trusted, or at least not despised.”
“I’m ashamed!” Efrat howled in pain. “Cori…I finally made her hate me. I hurt her deeply, and I’m more ashamed of that than anything else I’ve done here.” Danato relaxed the tension on his partial quartering.
“Cori went against you, and Belus, and her own husband to save me, and I threw that sacrifice back in her face like it was trash. I need to do something to make up for that,” Danato released him, and took a step back while Efrat struggled to roll his shoulders back into alignment.
“You want a reason to keep me alive, than use me as a scapegoat. I manipulated her. I made her believe that you were hiding something. I took advantage of that part of her that wants to believe that everyone is good. I am to blame for everything Danato, starting with that damn key.”
“That’s very noble of you, but I think we are beyond saving Cori from demotion.”
“What if it wasn’t her?” Efrat said stepping after him.
“What?”
“Look, I’m not sure what effects those rings have on her mind, but once in a while, she sort of slips back into Dr. Frank’s memories. You saw it tonight.”
“She’s done that before?” Danato cringed at yet another problem that would have to be sorted out.
“Yeah, maybe a couple more. I think it’s like a record getting stuck. She just needs a whack to get back on the right track. Whatever she absorbed from Jillian wasn’t just memories. She must have absorbed her thoughts and feelings too.”
“That would be a Cleos specialty,” Danato mumbled. “I suppose we could try that as an excuse. Make it sound like she was not of sound mind.”
Efrat took in a deep breath like he was content with the help he had offered. Danato looked him over. “You aren’t completely off the hook you know?”
“I don’t mind the hook. I just don’t want to be in a fry pan.”