The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) (4 page)

“Thanks.”
His shoulders relax, and I am rewarded with a second heart-stopping smile.
“It’s hard to believe you aren’t a kid either. I mean, no offense, but you
don’t look more than sixteen. Let alone a thousand.”

“I’ll
take that as a compliment.” The truth is that, because of the stone, I am not
only unable to alter my appearance without a direct command, I have also never
been given a chance to grow up. But how would I begin to explain that?

“Guys,
what is wrong with you? This is amazing! Come on!” Gabe shouts.

Jered
turns his head toward his friend and laughs. I look and see that the boy is
upside down, flapping his arms like wings.

“You
go ahead, we’ll be up in a minute,” Jered calls.

“You
surprise me,” I say.

“I
surprise you?”

“Yes,”
I say, watching a cloud drift lazily through the sky, “you are not acting like
the typical master.”

“Well,
maybe I’m not typical. Seriously. Times have changed. When was your last, um,
you know?”

“Master?
She died in the year 1895 without passing on the stone. I have been asleep
since then. What year is it now?” I ask.

“It’s
2013.” He waits for my reaction, but I show him none. This is not the first
long nap I’ve taken. He shivers.

“Are
you cold?” I ask. Before waiting for a reply, I concentrate, and he wears a
jacket lined with fur.

“Um,
you really need to learn a few things about clothing,” Jered says with a grin.
“In fact, you should probably get caught up on current events...if you’re going
to be hanging around.”

“I
can take care of that, if you command it.”

“I
guess I do,” he says.

I
raise my eyebrows.

“I
do, but, Leela, there’s something I want you to know first.”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t forget what you said about being free. And I don’t want you to have
to wait too long, but I’m not stupid, and I need to know that’s a safe thing to
do. To the world. I get the feeling you’d be a force to be reckoned with.”

I
have no words. So I choose to fulfill his command. I stand and fling myself
into the air, straight toward Gabe.

“What
the–” he begins.

I
collide with his body and squeeze inside. He would not be my first choice, but
he is convenient enough, and I would not dare invade my master’s privacy. I
open myself to Gabe’s mind and let his experience flood through me. At the same
time I am aware of his body, lanky and awkward. His memories fly past as I
probe his mind, searching for information about this modern world I find myself
in. I deftly avoid all irrelevant thoughts until one moment catches my eye. I
cannot help but sneak a look when I realize the significance.

I
– that is, an eight-year-old Gabe rides his bike harder and faster than he
should, loving the feeling, like he is so close to flying. He closes his eyes
just for a moment, pretending that he is a superhero. It is then that the other
boy crosses his path on his Razor scooter.

Jered
is so recognizable, even ten years younger, with his dark eyes and sandy blond
waves. Both boys lie in a tangle of arms, legs, and metal before struggling to
their feet. Gabe is frightened. He is afraid this other boy will be angry. Will
find out he was just playing a silly game of pretend.

“Are
you okay?” Jered asks, picking up Gabe’s bike and trying to straighten out the
handlebars.

“Yeah.
Um, are you?”

“Yeah.”
Jered shoots him a nervous smile that has that same heart-stopping quality he
has as a man. “I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention. My mom’s going to
kill me. I’m not supposed to be out without her but sometimes I–” He looks like
he wants to say more but clamps his mouth shut.

“I’m
Gabe. You can come over to my place if you want. My mom makes some awesome
chocolate chip cookies. But I have to warn you, my baby sister is annoying.”

“Leela!”
Jered calls me, and I am pulled back toward him like a magnet. I land far more
gracefully than Gabe could ever manage on his own and grin. “Are you? Did you?
Oh my God.”

I
force Gabe’s body away from me and step back into the sun. He stumbles around a
bit, and Jered lays a supportive hand on his arm. I wonder if he feels it now.
The way his own magic bends to his will. Right now it is feeding Gabe strength
and support.

“I
told you to leave him alone!” Jered shouts, and I flinch.

“You
commanded me not to hurt him. I did not. You commanded me to learn about your
time. I did. I now know everything Gabe knows.”
Which isn’t much
.

“You
stole my thoughts?” Gabe sounds like a wounded child.

“Don’t
be ridiculous. You still have your thoughts, or you would be a vegetable. I
merely listened in on your experiences, so that I could better understand your
world. Don’t worry, I only saw the parts that were relevant.” I snap my
fingers, and they are both covered in leather jackets. The type I now know Gabe
hopes for. This does seem to appease him, as I knew it would. Jered, on the
other hand, not so much.

“I
hope that now you know that doing something like that is wrong,” my new master
says. “And that you won’t do it again. Or any other crazy thing that might be
considered amoral.”

I
incline my head, letting my hair swing in front of my face. Inside I leap for
joy. He did not make it a command. He simply hopes. That is good. That is what
Gabe would call “catching a break.”

The Beginning

chan’s
laugh warms me like the sun. It is deep and rich and my favorite sound by far.
I see that he still watches her – the one named Kitra. It frustrates me because
I do not understand. My hair is softer, shinier. My skin is smoother. My eyes
are as two emeralds shining in the sun. Others have commented over and over
about their color, staring into them in disbelief. She is nothing compared to
me. Yet he still fancies her.

Perhaps
he will not like her when I turn her into a viper. It isn’t necessary, though.
She is far from interested in Achan. Rather, she enjoys crushing him. She
insults him in public, laughing with her friends. I see the hardness in his
eyes when she shows her cruelty. The way he clenches his fist when she ignores
his advances. But his smile remains secure.

I
coax, and I cajole, until finally one night Kitra goes too far, and he is mine.

“You
want me, don’t you?” she asks, her face in his. I watch from the corner of the
marketplace, hidden behind a wooden cart covered with scarves and other wares.

“Yes,
if you will give me the chance.”

“You
will never have me. I have no use for a shepherd boy.” She spits in his face.
He bows low and sweeps off away from the town. Away to his sheep.

I
follow. Bring him wine. I know he’s tempted to send me away by the way he
tenses his body, but I kneel and feed him cheese and wine. Listen as he talks.
Hold him as he cries. Kiss away his tears. They taste of him. Salty and sweet.
His lips find mine, and he presses forward with all of the frustration of
passion withheld. And my human body experiences pleasures I never could have
imagined.

His
hands are calloused and warm. They send tremors through every inch of skin that
they touch. I pull him to me, urge him on, and he is as lost as I am. We roll
in the sand, our bodies melding into one. I relish every moment. Even the pain.
And I am rewarded with sensations beyond my wildest expectations.

At
the moment fire explodes within me, I lose control of my powers, and fire also
explodes without.

Achan
screams in fear as his tent bursts into flames.

Meeting Mom

ight
days have passed since Jered purchased my stone, and for once I have him to
myself after school without Gabe. I watch him from the bed, where I sit
cross-legged, a pillow in my lap. Jered insists that I appear like a “normal
teenage girl.” This is perfectly fine with me, considering I enjoy the freedom
the clothes of this century allow. I quickly found my favorite combination of
jeans and low-cut shirt, which I now wear.

Jered
leans over his textbook, attempting to study for a calculus test. I don’t
believe he’s completed one problem since starting. For one thing, he hasn’t
flipped the page in the last half hour. For another, I’ve seen how his eyes
slip toward me repeatedly. How he chews his lip and taps his foot each time.

“Something
I can do to help you relax, Jered?” I ask in my most innocent voice.

“Leela,
I’ve been thinking,” he says, spinning toward me in his seat, and resting his
book on his lap. He stretches out his long legs before him and sinks down in
the chair. “I’d like you to go to school with me. So, um, so I can keep an eye
on you.” Clearly he doesn’t realize that I am always tied to him, nearby,
watching, even when I’m not visible. 

Tears
well in my eyes. I struggle to keep them from falling, but he sees and drops
his book to the ground, rushing to kneel by my side.

“Leela,
what is it? Tell me what’s wrong.” He asks, so I am compelled to share more
dangerous information with this master.

“It’s
just that I am afraid,” I say, fighting the tears, hoping he will not press.

“What
could you possibly be afraid of?” He asks.

“The
pencils,” I say, averting my eyes. I am glad Gabe is not present because I know
he would be in hysterics.

“Pencils?”

“The
lead. Inside. Lead is dangerous,” I whisper, climbing off the bed and hugging
myself.

“Only
if you ingest it,” he says, standing and placing his hand on my arm.

“For
Djinn it is poison. In great quantities, its mere presence weakens me, and
touching any of it is pure pain. In fact the more I am exposed, the worse I
feel. I know, pencils have such a small amount, and it sounds silly, but I
still do not wish to be around them.” I hesitate, then add, “As punishment, my
last master would force me to stay inside of a house covered in peeling
lead-based paint. It was quite painful.” I don’t know why I reveal this to him.
He did not ask.