Read Online As You Wish by Nichelle Gregory - Free Book Online

bit of magic.” He poured her a cup of coffee. “I’d almost forgotten how good breakfast could be.”
    Karis frowned. “What do you mean by that?” She took a sip of the strong brew. “Don’t you eat breakfast where you are from?”
    “Djinn don’t have to eat in the same sense you have to here.”
    She watched him get up to take his empty plate to the sink. “Tell me about where you live.” She popped a small strawberry in her mouth and savoured the tangy sweet flavour.
    “To understand where I live, you must first accept the fact that there are many dimensions in the world we live in. Each of these dimensions can only be entered by portals.”
    “Portals?” She imagined the tiny windows on an ocean liner.
    Vander smiled. “Think of them as doorways. Only these doorways are constantly changing places and the locations are guarded and regulated by the High Council.”
    “The High Council being something like our government here?” Karis asked, completely fascinated as she took a bite of her crispy bacon.
    “Correct. There are many who have tried for years to gain the knowledge of these portals which would allow them to move freely, unchecked from dimension to dimension,” he explained as she finished eating. “Your mother was taken because of her ability to sense where these portals will show up.”
    “But who is trying to use her? And how does the High Council know where these portals will show up?” Karis asked, taking her coffee into the living room.
    “There are others with the ability to sense portals who work for and are protected by the High Council. I believe another genie has taken Nadine. I think he will try to wear her down to the point where she is willing to use her gift to show him where the next portals will be. With that knowledge, he and many others would take advantage, crossing dimensions at will.”
    Karis sat down in her mother’s rocking chair. “How…how would he ‘wear’ her down?” She could see the telltale sign of fierce emotion from the darkening hues of gold in his narrowed gaze.
    “There are many ways,” Vander answered quietly.
    “Tell me.” She stood, putting her mug on the coffee table. “I need to know.”
    “Karis—”
    “Tell me!” she demanded, letting out a deep breath. “I’m trying to understand my gift and all that goes along with having these types of abilities. You can’t shield me from the ugly side of this.”
    “All right,” he said with a slow nod. “Your mother is full of positive energy and love. The best way to break her down would be to poison her spirit with negative energy.” He held her gaze. “I would not hazard to guess what his exact methods would be.”
    Karis started pacing the floor. “Who’s doing this? Do you have any idea who’s holding my mother captive?” The phone interrupted his response. “It’s my assistant, hang on,” she said, upon checking the caller ID. “Hello?”
    “It’s Oscar.”
    “I know. What’s going on?”
    He huffed. “Sorry to call you so early, but are you still planning on coming in today? Katherine Barber is insisting she needs to see how far you’ve gotten with her foyer piece on Monday.”
    Karis sighed, shaking her head. Thank goodness she’d worked on the painting yesterday. “Set up a meeting with Mrs. Barber for tomorrow after lunch. I’ll get over there and make sure I’m ready for her.” Hanging up the phone, she turned to Vander.
    “We don’t have much time, Karis.”
    “I know.” She walked back into the kitchen. “But in this dimension, you need money. I’ve spent all of my savings on private detectives and anything else I thought would bring my mom back home.”
    “You don’t need money now.”
    “An hour…that’s all I need to take care of some loose ends. I trust Oscar to handle everything else for the next couple of days.” She rinsed out her coffee cup, pivoting to find Vander standing only an inch away from her. “Whoa! Don’t do