The Girl and the Genie (18 page)

Two more bikers charged then and both ended up crumpled on the floor unconscious and with several broken bones each. That left three bikers: Grizz, Spud, and a lanky biker with a sallow complexion, deeply-lined face and very scared looking eyes. Grizz stepped forward, holding his palms up as if he was giving up. While he did this, Spud moved to the left of Jack while the other biker moved to Jack’s right.

“You’re some kind of freak, aren’t you?” Grizz said, a harsh smile frozen on his lips. “Damn, you’re good with a nightstick, I’ll give you that.”

While Grizz was saying this, the lanky biker slipped a gun from his back waistband. Emily saw this and yelled out to Jack, although it wasn’t necessary. Jack whipped the nightstick at the biker, catching him diagonally across the chest and sending the man dropping to the floor with enough broken ribs to keep him from moving.

“
Miss M
.,” Jack said. “Please close your eyes tight and cover your ears. You don’t want to see or hear what’s going to happen next.”

The masking tape binding Emily’s wrists and ankles disappeared. Emily did as she was asked, and Jack pulled out of thin air a snarling, angry badger which he held by the scruff of the neck. The animal looked as if it was all fangs and claws, and Jack tossed it at a stunned Spud, who fell to the floor screaming with the badger landing on top of him and fighting like a demon possessed. Grizz stood dumbly for a moment trying to comprehend what he had just seen, and as it dawned on him that he was dealing with a force he couldn’t begin to comprehend his mouth formed a rigid ‘o’ as if he wanted to scream but was incapable of it. He then turned to Emily as if he had the idea that he was going to use her as a shield, but before he could take more than a step Jack rifled billiard balls at him, the first two shattering bones in the biker’s thighs, the third knocking him unconscious.

When the badger finished doing the damage it wanted to do to Spud, Jack opened the door so the animal could waddle out of the cabin. Spud lay prone on the floor moaning, but he wasn’t going anywhere, not with all of his injuries. Off in the distance approaching police sirens could be heard. In a blink, Jack and Emily disappeared from the cabin as if they were never there.

Chapter 18

Something cold and wet pushed against Emily’s hand. She opened her eyes and saw that she was back in Manhattan. More than just back in Manhattan, Jack had deposited her in the armchair in the den that she liked to sit in each night. Looking down, she saw that Winston was pushing his nose against her hand. Emily collapsed to the floor so she could hug the Bulldog tightly. Winston, sensing that Emily was on the verge of tears, acted exceptionally gentle as he licked her face and let out a soft whimper.

Emily fought to hold back the tears, but it was a losing fight and soon she was sobbing, which caused Winston to whimper more and work harder to lick her face and try his best to comfort her. The dog was so persistent it caused Emily to both laugh and cry at the same time. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Jack standing off to the side looking helpless, his expression set in a deeply worried frown. Emily forced herself to stop sobbing. After rubbing her sleeve across her eyes, she thanked the genie for expanding her wish by bringing Winston back with her. “But I need to go back to Minnesota,” she said, a heavy despair in her voice. “I have a rental car that I need to take care of. I also have to check out of the motel and get my bags.”

Jack wiggled his right index finger and a soft cotton towel and box of tissues materialized next to Emily. Showing a bleak smile of gratitude, Emily used the towel to wipe the wetness from her face, then grabbed a handful of tissues so she could blow her nose.

“You don’t need to go back there,” Jack said. He tried to smile, but it did little to hide the worry in his eyes. “Your rental car, motel and bags have already been taken care of. I even made sure all your clothes were freshly laundered before being packed in your bag. Since you were in no condition to fully specify your wish I took certain liberties.”

“I thank you for that.” The barest trace of a heartbreaking smile showed on Emily’s lips for a brief moment. “I bet you wouldn’t have done that if Lawrence Willoughby had been in that same position.”

“No, I don’t suppose I would’ve.” Jack’s own forced smile tightened into something grim at the thought of his previous master. “But then again, you’re not Lawrence Willoughby. Thank goodness!”

If Jack had interpreted her wish literally, he could’ve made things even more miserable for Emily, but somehow it didn’t surprise her that he had gone out of his way to fix up her wish as much as he did. She remembered the look in Jack’s eyes when he first materialized in the bikers’ cabin and a shudder ran through her. “You would’ve touched all of them if I hadn’t asked you not to.”

“Yes, Miss. Mignon, I would’ve. Of course, I was outraged seeing how they had treated you and what their intentions were. Throughout my existence I’ve encountered many similar human jackals who prey on the defenseless, and I have little sympathy for them.” The genie sighed heavily and shrugged. “But in this case I was also thinking of your well-being. If they were dead, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of them searching for you. But you still won’t ever have to worry about that. None of them will ever leave prison. Nor will you ever have to worry about them victimizing anyone else as they had planned to do with you. Their days of preying on others is over.”

“You called me
Miss. M.
so they wouldn’t know my name?”

“Exactly. I was afraid you’d ask me not to touch them. Even though they were going to be locked away in prison for the rest of their lives, I didn’t believe it would’ve been a good idea for them to know your name.”

A weariness dropped over Emily as she considered what Jack told her. In a voice that showed her exhaustion, she said, “When you warned them, you told them that the police would be finding out about their other victims. Did you know for a fact that there were other victims? How would you know that?”

Jack nodded. “Yes, Miss Mignon, there were others.” He paused for a moment as concern deepened in his expression and carved deep lines up and down his cheeks. Attempting a weak smile, he continued, “When I’m in the presence of these types of human jackals I can see their past violent acts vividly.” He shrugged. “One of the more unpleasant properties governed by the natural law of genies. I was truthful when I told them that the police would be uncovering their past crimes. I made sure to leave the necessary evidence on them to lead the police to all of their past victims. But there were enough drugs and stolen guns in that cabin to send them all to prison for many years regardless.”

Emily appeared to struggle with the thought of asking another question. Perhaps wanting to know how many other victims there were. The helpless look forming over Jack’s face persuaded her not to ask anything further and she must’ve also decided the information wouldn’t do her any good. Instead she nodded somberly and thanked the genie for everything he’d done for her. “Thank you also for not asking me how I ended up in that situation,” she added.

“Of course.”

She pushed herself to her feet and stood stiff-legged, as if she might lose her balance at any moment. Alarmed, Jack asked whether she needed medical attention.

Emily shook her head. “I’m sore and have some physical aches, but no, I don’t need to see a doctor. All I need right now is to take Winston for a long walk.”

Jack again attempted to smile genially but the concern flooding his eyes made a mockery of it. “Would you like me to accompany you?”

Emily shook her head again. “Thank you, but no. Just Winston and me,” she said. She headed to the door then with Winston waddling behind her.

##

During the next three days Emily kept her cell phone turned off, and when she wasn’t sleeping she would either be in the den or taking Winston for walks around her Manhattan neighborhood. As far as her publishing company knew she was still in Minnesota, and she made no attempt to correct that impression.

During the time that Emily sat in the den, Winston would lay by her feet. When she’d summon Jack, Winston, on seeing the genie, would wag his tail, but stubbornly refused to leave Emily, even if it would only be for a few seconds so he could more enthusiastically greet his previous owner. Emily made no attempt to speak to Jack or even look at him. Instead she would sit lethargically in the armchair and stare blankly at whatever manuscript she was holding, every few minutes turning the page in a methodical, almost mechanical, motion. While she did nothing to acknowledge Jack, it was clear that the genie’s presence provided comfort to her. If Jack felt snubbed by her behavior, he didn’t show it.

On Friday evening at seven-thirty this abruptly changed. Emily put down the manuscript she was making a halfhearted attempt to read and looked directly at Jack. The genie, who was hovering in midair as if he were on an invisible chaise longue, likewise lowered the book he was engaged in and smiled back at her, a good deal of relief showing in his expression over Emily finally coming out of her stupor.

“You were right about Ethan,” she said. “He’s every bit the pretentious, narcissistic jerk you told me he was.”

“Miss Mignon, was he responsible for what happened to you?”

Emily stared blankly at Jack for a long moment before nodding. Then she proceeded to tell him what had happened. How Ethan had taken her to a remote lake, what he later said and did, and how he drove off abandoning her. Emily’s voice remained calm and subdued as she told Jack this, although at times anger flashed in her eyes. Jack’s anger was far more apparent. A pulse beat rapidly along his right temple and a darkness muddled his face as if a violent storm was brewing. When Emily finished her story, he looked as if he could barely contain his rage.

“Miss Mignon,” he said, his voice a harsh whisper. “Let me do something to him. Please, give me permission to do this. It won’t even count as a wish, but I beg of you, let me turn him into something soft and squishy. Something that can be tossed into a pit of hungry crocodiles.”

Emily shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jack, but no. I can’t have everyone who’s a jerk to me turned into something soft and squishy. As much as I might like to in this case.”

“He was far more than simply a jerk.”

“I know.”

Jack brooded over this. “Let me at least give him a painful, disfiguring rash,” he asked at last.

Emily shook her head again.

“Debilitating migraines?”

“No, Jack.”

“At least a persistent upset stomach. Let me at least give him that.”

“No.”

“Impotency?”

“No.”

“Frequent bedwetting?”

Emily hesitated before asking how frequent.

“As frequent as you’d like.”

There was another long hesitation from Emily before she shook her head. “Please, Jack, no. Don’t tempt me like this. I don’t want you doing anything to him.”

The genie’s jaw muscles clenched tightly in his frustration. He opened his mouth once as if he was going to argue further with Emily, but instead pressed his lips into a bloodless line as he decided against it. “Very well, Miss Mignon,” he said at last in a defeated tone, “but I am assuming you will allow me to nullify your previous wish regarding having this miserable cretin’s book published. I will do so in a way that will not cost you an additional wish, nor will it negatively impact your standing within your publishing firm.”

“Thank you, Jack, but again, no. The author may be an insufferable jackass, as you had tried to warn me, but I still believe in his book, and I want to continue to work to see it published.”

Jack stared wide-eyed at her, aghast at this possibility. “You can’t allow him to benefit from this,” he implored. “Forgetting about everything else he did, he should not be allowed to benefit simply from the disrespect that he showed you.”

“I will handle him my own way.” Emily forced a weak smile. “Jack, I told you what happened not so that you would avenge me or force some retribution, but because I needed to tell someone. But please, leave this alone, and don’t do anything to Ethan or his book.”

The genie didn’t like this, but he promised Emily he wouldn’t do anything. For the next five minutes he lay stewing on his invisible chaise longue. Emily glanced at him with a wan smile.

“I bet it never would’ve upset you this much if something like this had happened to any of your other masters,” she said.

Jack stared back with an exasperated look before he broke out with a short snorting-type laugh that soon turned into a heartier one. “You’re right,” he said after his laughter died down. He rubbed at one of his eyes as if he were wiping away tears. “With most of them I would’ve very much enjoyed it. But again, Miss Mignon, you’re not like any of my past masters. But I must thank you for the laugh. It was quite therapeutic picturing my previous master, Lawrence Willoughby, thrust into a similar dilemma.”

“I’m glad I could help.” Emily’s faint smile faded. “Jack, please don’t be offended, but I need to ask you this. Did you cause Ethan to act the way he did? Or cause him to exaggerate his behavior? What he did was so outrageous.”

“No, Miss Mignon, I assure you I did nothing to influence the way he acted. Although…”

Jack paused for a moment to stroke his chin, his eyes taking on a faraway look as if he were deep in thought.

“What?” Emily asked.

Jack broke out of his mild trance. He looked back at Emily and shrugged. “While I did nothing to influence him, and I’m sure what you witnessed was his true self, especially his haughtiness, it is very possible that fate played a role. After all, it is clear to me now that your intentions behind your wish weren’t simply to publish this Blake fellow’s book, but that you harbored a romantic fantasy toward him, and that what you really wanted was to see this fantasy come to fruition. Miss Mignon, fate can be cruel with wishes regarding love and romance, even more so with subtle wishes like yours.”

Emily didn’t deny Jack’s claim, nor did she feel any embarrassment about it. She had spent the past three days beating herself up over the romantic delusions that she had allowed herself to fall into regarding Ethan, and at this point she was beyond feeling anything more about them.