Chapter 9: Secrets and Desires
By the time David and Kristine had explained everything about their nosing around in the locked cases, discovering the gems, Rachel's death, and the presence of the two djinn's in the world, it would be putting it mildly to say that Howard was royally pissed and infuriated.
"And you're telling me that this fog witch called Victoria and another supernatural being are loose in the city, granting wishes and stealing souls from innocent people?" he seethed.
"I do not steal souls," Victoria corrected him. "The evil djinn does."
"I wasn't talking to you!" Howard yelled at her. Victoria frowned back at him mildly.
Kristine fidgeted in her seat. "Basically, that's it," she said in a small voice, "Although I don't know how the evil djinn knew about you, dad, honestly."
Howard glared at her. "And now this other djinn as you call him is threatening our lives as well as those of other people who make bad wishes? Is that it?"
David was surprised. "You mean, you actually believe us, dad?"
"Hey," said their father, "I saw that glow in this 'djiniri's' skin when I stepped into the room. If I know that was for real, then chances are you two aren't lying. You're honest, I'll hand you that. But do you have any idea of how few other people are going to believe this until it's too late? In this age, this sort of stuff is too far-fetched!"
"Dad, it doesn't matter how many people believe us," said Kristine, "Something needs to be done to stop that evil djinn from fulfilling his prophecy and bringing all the evil djinn to Earth to destroy it, with or without the backing of other people."
"And just how do you propose to do this?" Howard asked her sarcastically, "You told me yourself that these djinn are immortal and can't be destroyed. And apparently, the djinn are all-powerful, according to the legends, meaning they can do anything."
"I am a being of immense power myself-" started Victoria.
"I said I wasn't talking to you, witch!" Howard roared.
Victoria stood up to her full height and intoned, "I am no witch! Witchcraft is for humans, not the djinn, so don't call me that again!'
Howard recoiled, and Victoria said as she sat down again, "I think you need to hear me out, whether you want to or not, Mr. Daniel. "The djinn and I are on a virtually even keel with our supernatural powers, and I do have the power to stop him, but I need the help of my Waker, David, and that of his sister, Kristine, the Waker of Nathaniel. Both of them each have two wishes to go, and they must decide how to use them to undo the evil counter-prophecy and help me defeat the djinn, so that I can fulfill the good prophecy and purify the world like it needs to be."
"Oh, great, another prophecy," said Howard, "Don't you think the world has enough prophecies as it is? I don't want to be part of any Day of Purification, thank you very much. I love my children, even after what they did behind my back, but we can't just 'purify' it. That sounds too much like what Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao were doing with the citizens of their own nations, not to mention the victims of the Holocaust! The last thing this world needs right now, besides total destruction, is another purifier, especially one with super powers!"
"Actually, dad," said David, "that's exactly what I implied to Victoria myself when she told me about this. I don't want to see either of these prophecies fulfilled, because they'll both have dire consequences for humanity."
"I agree with David," offered Kristine, "We need to stop both of these prophecies, but I don't know how to go about doing it."
"There you humans go again," said Victoria disapprovingly, "Always telling the immortals that they cannot 'meddle in the affairs' of the mortals. I have a duty, and it's to fulfill the prophecy!"
"Can we talk about that later, Victoria?" asked David, "I think what I want to say is something that dad doesn't want to hear right now."
"If it isn't too much later, that is fine with me," said Victoria.
"Dad," said David reasonably, "I know you're mad as heck at us right now, but seeing as you still love us, can we call a temporary truce on this argument until Krissy and I can figure this out a little better? I have a feeling the two of us are the only people who can do anything about this, because we are the Wakers, you know."
"Please, dad?" said Kristine, "We're so sorry we did what we did and didn't tell you till now, but David's right. It's him and me that the djinn depend on to do their work."
Howard put his face in his hands, and then ruffled his hair in frustration. Finally he said, "I don't like this, you know that, don't you. I don't like what you're getting yourselves, as well as the world, and my own life into. But seeing as you finally admitted what you did, I'll give you kids a chance to show that you can stop this thing, because you're so sure that you can do it."
"We're not altogether sure that we can do it, dad," said David, "But if you have some faith in us, that's good enough for me."
"Me too, dad," said Kristine, "There must be a clever way we can use these wishes to stop the prophecies."
"And another thing," said Howard, "I don't mean to sound like I'm kicking you out of your own home, but I think that with the djinn wanting to corner you both, you should temporarily move into a hotel so that it's less likely that the djinn will get all of us at once. You need your protection as well as your wits to survive something like this."
"Are you sure, dad?" asked a surprised Kristine. "You won't have us to protect you from the djinn if he comes to the house."
"I don't need your protection," said Howard matter-of-factly, "And I certainly don't need hers," he frowned at the djiniri again. "I can take care of myself."
David and Kristine looked hurt by that. Howard repented of his anger at that moment and offered each of them a hug.
"I knew someday, you two would make me proud of you," he said, "although I never, in my wildest dreams, thought it would be in this way. Good luck, to both of you."
"Thanks, dad," said David and Kristine, respectively.
A couple of hours later, David and Kristine had checked into a two-bedroom room in the Red Roof Inn downtown. Victoria had elected to go with them, seeing as she was unwelcome in Howard's house for the moment. She helped David carry his luggage inside the room while Kristine carried her own, because after all, David was the Waker of the djiniri, not Kristine. She served David until he used up all his three wishes.
Inside, they unpacked and sat down on the bed in one of the bedrooms. Victoria sat in a chair by the table.
"Well," said Kristine, "What do we do now, just sit here?"
"I hope not," said David. "We'll need to be active as often as possible in order to prepare for the return of the djinn."
"There's no big hurry to take action, yet," said Victoria, "I can foresee that my incapacitation of Nathaniel will last until sometime tomorrow morning. But then he will be active again, and with a furious vengeance. We'll have to find him and stop him before he finds us, and before he steals too many more souls and traps them in his opal."
"I had no doubt of that," said Kristine, "I only hope that we can stop him before he gets too close to dad. We deserved what we got from him, but I still love him, and I don't want to see him put inside that ghastly gem."
"I didn't deserve what he gave me," mentioned Victoria.
"Victoria," said David, "You're just going to have to put up with that for a while. Not everybody in the world has reverence or even respect for holy beings, and you can't force them against their will to change their minds, you know."
The djiniri looked disappointed, but realized how right David was. "Perhaps you're right, David," she said submissively. "I had no idea how much this world has changed, and I was certainly never familiar with America before you awoke me."
David smiled at her kindly. Kristine offered an encouraging smile too, though she was trying to encourage herself more than Victoria.
That night, David and the djiniri were sitting by the windows in their room, gazing out at the night, as if by doing so, they could learn when the djinn would strike next. Kristine had gone to bed, saying that she was incredibly tired, and needed rest badly.
"Do you think he'll find us before we find him?" asked David.
"Quite possibly," said Victoria. "He can appear pretty much wherever he wants to, just like me."
David looked down. "I never thought that I would have to be a hero in my life, especially not a hero who has to defeat an evil supernatural being like the djinn. And I'm sure Krissy never thought it, either."
"I never did understand the concept of heroes myself," admitted Victoria, "As an immortal, omnipotent being, I always thought that spirits like myself, other djinn, and the angels, would provide all the heroism needed in the world. I never knew that mortal men and women can (or should) do deeds of great renown that could be called heroism."
"I didn't always believe this," said David, "but evidently, anyone can be a hero. All it takes is being in the right place at the right time, a little courage, and the conviction to do the right thing for others instead of just yourself. Countless men and women have done things like this throughout history. I'm not sure, but maybe even a djinn or a djiniri could be a hero in some way."
To the djiniri's surprise, David slowly moved his hand until he was touching her own hand on her knee. She wondered what he was getting at. More and more, she got the feeling that he meant it when he said that he cared about her, and now, whenever he gave her a certain look or touched her in a certain way, she had a strange feeling of her own, like part of her longed for more of this affection.
"I can't help noticing that you keep giving me looks and hand touches that look almost as if you desire something from me," she said. "Does this mean that you are ready to make your second wish?"
"Actually, yes, but not right this moment," David said quietly, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What about?" Victoria asked curiously.
"I told you last night about how you don't have any direction of your own in life, just a pre-destined purpose," said David. "Well, as good as most of the wishes are that you grant, it seems like you have an empty life, or even an empty existence, because you can't have the things God offers to the mortals."
"And what's your point, David?" Victoria inquired.
David blushed for a second. "From the moment I first saw you, I couldn't think of much other than how beautiful you are, both in your form as a djiniri and your human form. But as dazzling as you are in your true form, I find myself attracted to your human form even more so. I've always wondered since then how you acquired such beauty, and I've also wondered if you have any regrets over your 'duty' to this prophecy or to granting wishes." He hesitated for a moment, and then he let out his true feelings. "I care about my sister, my family, and the world very much, but I'm doing all of this for you, Vicki, including fighting against your prophecy. I love you. I always have, and I always will."
The djiniri had a look on her face one would never expect to see on a djiniri's face. Her mouth was wide open, and her eyes were glistening with tears. It was as if she had been hit with culture shock. "Why did you call me 'Vicki?' My name is Victoria."
David looked into her deep eyes. "It's your new personal name that I'm giving you," he said, "just like Kristine is 'Krissy.' 'Victoria' is just too formal. Vicki puts you on my level." He leaned towards her and kissed her on the lips. Vicki resisted initially, but she felt something, like a joyful instinct, egging her on to kiss him back. She did, and they both fell in love with each other.
"Now, for that second wish," said David, "I wish…that you would make love to me tonight, Vicki. And I want you to put as much passion into it as you can. Don't hold back or repress yourself."
The djiniri almost said that was a waste of a valuable wish, but she was as captivated by him as he was by her, and she gave in. "As you wish."
Suddenly, as she laid aside the sapphire and kissed David hard on the mouth, she was no longer the djiniri for one night. She was no longer Victoria, either. She was Vicki, an innocent young woman learning how to have sex with an incredibly handsome young man who loved her, and who she was starting to love in return. Not knowing what to do exactly, though, left her at an impasse. David agreed to guide her through it.
Excitedly but gently, he stripped Vicki of all her clothes, her jacket, shoes, slacks, blouse, and belt. Then he guided her hands over his body and explained that she was supposed to do the same thing with him. Vicki pulled off David's shirt, pants, shoes, socks, and underpants. Then they locked together in a hot embrace standing up, David showing Vicki what to do every place where she didn't understand what happened next.
To David's surprise, as he was finishing explaining what sex was all about, Vicki suddenly took over as the one in charge of the lovemaking. She pushed him onto the bed and straddled him at the waist. "Easy, honey," said David, "I didn't think you would be this good at sex."
"You wished for me to make love to you, David," she said perkily. "I'm granting your wish, and to do that, I have to be in control. Of course, feel free to take advantage of me all you want, too."
"Yes, ma'am," said David, and Vicki did something she had never done before: she laughed, a merry, tinkling kind of laugh. It was music to David's ears. With her help, he inserted his erection into her vulva, and she began to move and bounce on top of him in a figure-8 way, her lovely breasts bouncing with every bounce of her torso. David leaned up and sucked her nipples, one by one, hoping he could taste any milk that might be inside her breasts.
"You know," said Vicki, "I think my powers can also cause an orgasm unlike any you could ever feel with any woman, David." She kissed him again.
"If that's part of my wish, then I'd love to have it," said David.
And with that, Vicki bounced up and down again, her breasts and belly driving David crazy, until they felt the waves of their respective orgasms crash around them and they groaned and moaned in joyful delight.
"Sshh!" said David, "We don't want to wake Krissy."
Vicki giggled. "Of course not, baby," she said, looking with wonder to hear herself talking so much like a human now.
As the night passed by, David slept soundly with a relaxed smile on his face. Vicki lay beside him wide awake, her head filled with too many thoughts for her to sleep. She gazed at David and his handsome, sexy chest and belly. So this is what it feels like to be in love, she thought. In the name of God, I truly never knew what I was missing. Look at him. He's so content and peaceful. It fills my heart with a gladness I thought only neutral djinn were capable of feeling.
But then she started to wonder something else. I no longer feel like such a hallowed djiniri. I feel like I've just gotten involved in something the people of ancient times would consider carnal. But what can be done about it? Oh, for the first time in all my existence, I do feel empty and without life, at least, until just now. Could it be possible, to stop being a djiniri and become human, maybe? It's always been a danger signal when an immortal becomes envious of the mortals assigned to her. And yet, here I am wanting to give up my immortality and be free of the shackles of a djiniri, not to mention that accursed sapphire. But I still need to defeat that evil djinn, too, and if I become human before he's vanquished, I'll have no power over him, and I'll be vulnerable to the negative effects of his wish granting and his fire opal. Of what can be done about this?
Vicki looked at David's smiling face and started to get reacquainted with her newly discovered sexual organs since she couldn't sleep, running her left hand over her breasts and flat belly while masturbating with her right hand.
I wonder what it would be like to be mortal?