Chapter 15 #2
This time, he did look up. I had hoped that he would squirm or get flustered, but I was disappointed to see the same cool passivity that was always slapped across his face.
“I conducted an interrogation, and you elected to stay chained to me against my will. That isn’t even remotely the same thing. ”
I let out a sigh of exasperation. “I thought you said Julian would want to court me in front of you to watch you get embarrassed.”
Zafir signed a document, moved it to the side, and began reading the next paper. “And he will. I promise when the time comes, I’ll put on a good show so he’s motivated to continue. But for now, there’s no reason for me to behave in such an irrational way.”
“I’ll bet you’re the life of every party, aren’t you?
” I drawled sarcastically, pulling another tome from the shelves.
“Oh look, something as lively as your personality.” I cleared my throat.
“On the Persistence of Ashes: Cyclical Life Patterns in Arid Biomes. How fascinating. Or this one”—I pulled down another—“An Inquiry into the Phenomenon of Spontaneous Avian Reconstitution.”
Zafir scratched his nose with the end of his quill. “Laugh all you want. That one is actually quite a fascinating read about how phoenixes can rise from their ashes after their deaths.”
“They should have named it something more interesting, then. Like…Burning Rebirth: The Secret Life of Phoenixes.”
“Ah, but if the normal population was motivated to learn, they would be much harder to control. When people are only focused on fast entertainment, true knowledge and advancement pass them by and they become slaves to their own immediate gratification.”
He placidly dipped his quill into the ink pot and continued, “The common man calls it freedom when he chases cheap amusement and fleeting fancies, but the only way to truly free yourself from the bonds of poverty or ignorance is to force yourself to delay gratification in exchange for a greater reward in the future.”
I shook my head. “Like I said, you must be the life of every party.”
He shrugged, unconcerned. Did nothing ever bother him?
The next book I opened made me pause. Its cover was cracked and the silver lettering was nearly rubbed off, but inside were drawings of vessels that contained genies.
Some were bottles of varying shapes and sizes while many others were rings, but each bore symbols just like the ones I’d seen on the lamp.
A genie’s bond with a human is both symbiotic and parasitic.
Without a human master, the genie would eventually perish, and without a genie granting wishes, a human’s ascent to power is more laborious and time-consuming.
Working together harmoniously, a human bonded to a genie could be unstoppable.
However, genies crave their own independence and will often work to thwart their master, despite depending on the human’s life for their own survival.
Zafir cleared his throat loudly. “You aren’t alphabetizing.”
I didn’t answer. I was still flipping through the book, staring at the symbols. Then came that same picture of the genie’s mark again, identical to what was tattooed onto my wrist.
“What did you find?” Zafir’s voice cut through the quiet.
I looked at him over the book. “I thought you didn’t want me reading aloud.”
“Which is true. But something is forestalling you.”
I showed him the image that was duplicated on my wrist. “Does this mean I’m still bound to the genie because I made a wish, even if I’m all the way on the other side of the world now?”
Zafir took the book, studied the picture, then reached out to take my hand, slowly turning it so he could examine my wrist. “It’s possible,” he murmured.
“Genies can have multiple masters, so I would assume that unless you wish for the bond to be broken, you would still be connected. Very little is known of genies, and the few masters who have successfully controlled genies for long periods of time are very meticulous and thoughtful about their wishes. If he has had the lamp you described for a long time and is wealthy, one can presume that he is one of the few successful at controlling a genie. He won’t make a hasty wish. ”
I rubbed against the mark. “I don’t want to be bound to some phantom smoke spirit. Let him have it.”
“A smart master wouldn’t wish for anything until all loopholes are closed.
” Zafir brushed my fingers away so he could continue to examine the swirling tattoo circling my wrist. His hand was cool and hard, and if I didn’t hate him so much, I might have enjoyed the touch.
“Imagine, for example, that someone wishes to find their true love.”
“I don’t see how that could be bad.”
“What if they find them but the love dies the next day?”
“Oh.”
“Or someone who wishes for power could be placed in a high political position then immediately assassinated.”
“I see.”
“Take Rahil, for example. You told me that he gave one of his wives an apothecary and alchemy lab, then he claimed that she later drowned trying to get an ingredient.”
“Right.”
“My guess is that he wished for the genie to make that modification to his manor to keep his wife happy, but then she died trying to stock it. He got his wish, but the genie had its revenge for being used. I know you said that Rahil was the one who killed his wives, but it could be that the genie was responsible for some of those deaths as well.”
“So why do you want to find a genie and make a wish if they will twist everything you say?”
“Because I’m not foolish enough to wish to be on the other side of the world.”
I frowned and pulled my wrist away. “At least it saved me from being murdered.”
“Yes, your genie must have taken mercy on you. Perhaps it favored you over its former master.” Our eyes locked. There was something unfathomable about the way Zafir looked at me, and I found myself becoming transfixed with how deeply black his eyes were.
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Next shelf.”