"Are we going to walk all the way there?"
I spun around on one heel.
"Why no, of course not. Whatever gave you that idea."
I smiled deviously with my newly formed human lips.
"You're human again. Trying to impress someone".
"Oh there's nothing wrong with keeping up appearances my dear. I couldn't very well waltz into that city in my Djinni skin now can I? Besides there's no crime in looking my best. They maybe be human but none of them is going to dare negotiate with a hideous beast like me. So it's best that they don't see my true form at least not right away. If I want to scare them into submission I will reveal my true identity but for now I'm going with the handsome slob known as Nathaniel Demarest; That's my human name you see."
"Do you have Djinn name?"
"Why of course I do but if I were to tell you, you would have to swear to me that the name never be spoken out loud to anyone. Even if you are tortured the name must not escape your lips."
"I promise I shan't tell a soul".
"My father was Maymun and my mother was the daughter of blood of the golden one and prosperous one run through my veins.
I inherited the power of two Djinn Kings which makes me far more powerful than the average Djinni. However my name is unlike any djinn has ever been named, my name is Habogi Malak. However if you tell anyone my name I may take the liberty of removing your tongue".
I thought this would make her flinch but she didn't even blink.
"Do you give me your oath that you will not tell a soul my name even under extreme pressure such as torture?"
"I already promised you I wouldn't."
"Well then promise to me again. If you betray my trust I assure you that your tongue may not be the only thing I will remove from your anatomy."
"You can rip out my heart if you want to. Look you don't scare me. You know this. So stop trying to bring out the fear in me. You want my tongue you can have it. In fact If I utter your name to anyone who is not of the Djinn kind I will agree to give you my tongue as payment for my misdeed. If you wish it than i will grant it".
The thought made me wince.
It was just a idle threat. I had just said that to mess with her. I hadn't meant it.
"I don't wish it. I was just testing you. I was merely playing with you. There's no need to take what I said to heart. I wasn't being serious. If I actually wanted to remove your tongue I would have done so a long time ago. I wouldn't have told you about it either. If I wanted to mutilate you I would have done so immediately without a word spoken. So you can keep your wishes as well as your tongue".
"I wish you would just come out and say exactly what you mean so I wouldn't be so confused" She replied rather glumly.
"I'm not making any promises but I shall try to be more clear next time".
Yet again I was saying that for her benefit and I had absolutely no sincerity in those words.
Why had I told her my name? That was pure foolishness for me do that. I could of saved that for a more tender moment. I could have saved that bit of confidential information for a time when she and I were actually bonding with one another. She wasn't in my arms at the moment and she wasn't leaning on me by a open fire. She was just standing there staring at me.
"How are those injuries holding up Habogi?"
She was coming towards me with her hands out stretched and ready to touch me.
This was getting to be ridiculous. How was I supposed to keep my head clear and straight when she had her hands were all over me?
I can't deny I liked her fussing over me. I hadn't had this kind of attention for several centuries. It was a refreshing change to the negative attention I had received from the numerous humans I had granted wishes to. I did enjoy the disgust and the hatred. I loved the fact I could sicken people by my mere face and presence. Fear was an enemy to the human race but to me fear was one of my greatest allies. Despair was my friend, torment and agony was a sweet music to my ears.
The cries of heartache and hopelessness was a beautiful chorus for me.
I loved hearing those human beg before me. It brought me joy to see their tears and to hear their sobs of helpless emotional torture. The physical torture was the best but I could only torture those that wished it. I could kill no one without their consent. It was a frustrating predicament for me. I had limitless power but I could use it when someone asked it of me.
When the prophecy is fulfilled I shall be freed from this gems enchantment that was set by that evil sorcerer.
"Stop! Look I know you adore me but...I want...I wish...yes I wish...you would be less...hands on...if you get my meaning".
I had never been one to stutter but my words were nervous and broken before her. I'd never lacked confidence before. I'd never had difficulty with my words. The only time I'd hesitated was for the mere dramatic effect.
I wasn't being theatric or dramatic. I was actually uneasy. I'd never before experienced any kind of nervous energy.
"Do I make you nervous?"
"Nonesense. I'm just not used to this kind of attention. You flatter me. the Most attention I get is horror, disgust and hatred. Compassion kindness and understanding is not something I am accustomed to. I must say it's rather nice. Adore me some more".
I hoped this would discourage her and it was working. I ruined the moment. Splendid. I loved being able to ruin people's fun.
"Are you really that full of yourself?"
She withdrew her hands from me and grimaced at me with displeasurable disgust.
"Yes I'm afraid so sweet Anna. Does it disgust you? Does it absolutely appall you?"
"No not really. I'm not even suprised. You are certainly very powerful so it makes sense why you would possess such arrogance. "
I began to nod in agreement but just as I did I was stopped by a overwhelming wave of familiarity.
A flash of gold blazed through my mind. Golden blond hair tore through my brain. I could see terrified eyes pale and wet from fear beneath the long ribbons of hair.
Alexandra. Alexandra Amberson.
Why was the image of her face seared into my mind? Why was her face coming into my mind just now? I hadn't thought of her for years. How long had I been trapped in that opal prison? Is is possible that she still lived? I should have had her destroyed but I couldn't the last time we met. When last we met she had been the one who had set me free from my blood red prison.
She was the one I was to grant 3 wishes to. It is against the rules to harm the human that releases me. Yet I could harm her now. Oh balderdash! I can't harm her unless she gives me consent to. I hate this wretched existence of being at the mercy of humans wishes and desires.
Only if I release my kind from the void can the I be free of this wretched enchantment that binds me to the opal gem. Then a wonderful thought came to me; The ivory child, she was bound by no laws of enchantment. She was a free Djinni. She could wish for whatever she wanted without consequence. For her there were no rules. There were no limits. I could use this to my advantage. Now all I had to do was make out Alexandra to be the enemy. I would have to corrupt her image and reputation. I could warp the truth about her character. She after all had tricked me, she had outsmarted me and somehow she sent me back to the hellish prison that I had just escaped. I did not wish to go back but she wished that time would be altered and that the past would be rewritten. She made it so with a single wish that I had never been found and that I had never been awoken from my opal prison. I had no choice but to grant it. I wished myself away. I wished myself back to my own personal hell that lied within the gem.
Yet things would be different. I have reinforcement now. I have a free Djinni on my side now. Free Djinn are hard to come by these days. Most Djinn that are around are primitive like the Ghouls or they too have been imprisoned and made to serve humanity for all eternity.
"Are you alright?"
The soft voice of the ivory child awoke me from my thoughts that troubled me.
"Yes I'm fine. Do forgive me, I was lost in thought. I feel a old enemy is near. I can sense her presence."
"Is she another Djinn?"
"No she is human but she is not like other humans. Most humans are slow and dim but this one is quick and sharp. She's a clever child and full of trickery. She might not seem the troublesome sort but underneath that pleasant exterior she is a wretched little...Viper. Her jaw may not be large but her bite is sufficient and deadly."
"Why? What has she done?"
Her voice was tense and challenging. There was no avoiding the truth this time. I had to tell her. One thing that I've learned from my stay on this earth is that everyone loves a good story. So naturally I would tell her a story.
"Some years ago, how many years I cannot tell, I was encased in a stone statue. The statue was a sickening representation of one those foolish gods that the humans used to worship. They called him Ahura Mazda. The Royal Sorcerer, sorcerer to the King of that time decided with the king's permission of course to place me in one of those statues. There were originally 3 but only one those foolish stone idols survived. The Sorcerer of that time knew what I was and he knew what I was capable of. He understood the great and terrible power I possessed. He was the son of the sorcerer who bound me to this prison. He was not as corrupt and sadistic as his father had been before him. Infact it was he who reinforced laws against the worshipping of such useless idols as Ahura Mazda. The king of that time had no idea of what incredible power I had at my disposal. A young boy found the gem while he was digging for a water. When the boy discovered the treasure he brought it to the King immediately. The king instantly took a liking too it's beauty. He began to rub the sand away from the surface of the gem, blowing the sand particles with his hot breath.
I was then reborn and awoken from the depths of the gems. I arose and I was allowed to grant his whole court everything that they desired. I granted every single soul a wish until the whole palace was filled with tears, outcries of torture and torment and the chaos even spread to the outer edges of the kingdom almost near the borders of the King's City. The Royal Sorcerer had been abroad at the time. Yet when he was given word that the city was in such chaos he hurried back to aid the king. He then chanted the secret words of enchantment and he imprisoned me once more just as his father had done before him. Thus I was placed in stone so that such a tragedy would never occur again. It was regarded a secret that only the King, the head Sorcerer and the boy who had discovered it knew exactly where the gem was placed. It was not until a man by the name of Raymond Beaumont uncovered the stone idol in a excavation that he had conducted. The statue fell and was severely damaged but the gem fell right at the feet of a young construction worker. He took the gem and he sold it to a nearby pawn shop. The pawnshop owner then gave it to a gem appraiser named Nick Merritt who's was currently working for Beaumont at the time.
Nick knew it was rare and unique gem. He wanted know for sure if it was indeed a priceless treasure. He brought in a friend to help him. Her name was Alexandra Amberson. Amberson was a very versatile young lady. She was a geologist. She had a her doctorate in geology infact. She was also a antique appraiser. She had a major in Drama. She had experience with theatre work as well as producing a few stage plays. She was also a great admirer of art. She used to restore old painting as a part time job. She was a accomplished journalist. She eventually would go on to get her doctorate in Archeology. There was nothing that was too challenging for her. Every door had been opened in her life. Except there was thing that held her back from her dreams. She had a terrible guilt that weighed heavily in her conscience. Her parents had died in a terribly tragic accident. The poor dear wasn't able to save her parents from the flames but she did however manage to rescue her baby sister from the burning house.
This troubled yet successful young woman was the one that summoned me from my prison.
I granted her 3 wishes as is customary yet when she finally made her last wish she somehow asked for me to rewrite history. She wished that the Ahura Mazda idol would have never fallen that day and was smashed to pieces so the gem was never discovered and I was never released from the gem itself. So I was sucked back into the depths of the gem. Her wish was my doom.
Now I know she is near. I no longer have the same connection that I had with her in the past but i have a piece of her with me in my mind.
I can still feel traces of her thoughts. I can feel traces of that lost connection.I want to get rid of it. I want it gone".
"How do you propose to do that?"
"Oh that's simple sweet child. I will find her and I will wipe her out of existence. I will in essence...destroy her. I will make her name a mystery. I will make it so every trace of her shall fade and disappear not just from the world but from everyone who knew her. She will have never been born. Somehow I'll persuade her. Somehow I'll convince her that life is not worth the risk. Life is hardship and toil. Life is monotonous and tiring.
Death is restful and free of all earthy troubles. I will tell her that they're are worse things than death. Alas I'm afraid this is all talk. I cannot harm any human unless it is their wish. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is to have unlimited power but only being able to use it unless someone wishes you to? It makes me very very angry. I want to wish without fucking asking anybody's permission."
"Don't worry you will have your freedom I promise you. Is there anyway that I can grant you your freedom."
"By wishing? No. The laws of magic do not allow that. The wishes have to be from a human."
"Says who? Have you ever tried letting another Djinn help you?"
"No but I know it won't work."
"Stop being so stubborn and let me help."
I reflected on this. She had a good point. I had never tried asking for the aid of another Djinni. No one of my kind had ever even attempted to free me from this gem.
I don't know why this idea had never crossed my mind.
Yet what did I have to lose? I couldn't die so nothing would challenge my existence. I should just let her help me. The worst that could happen was it wouldn't work. So what if nothing happened? I would still have another way to attain my freedom. The wishes would free me. The souls of those that had wished would guarantee my freedom.
"Alright I suppose their would be no harm in you trying".