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Authors: Michelle Rowen
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master, the current owner of the amulet, and will be at that master’s command.”
A woman in the front row raised her hand. “Will the djinn grant wishes?”
“Yes,” Sebastien replied, his voice grave. “But be cautioned that you must ask very specifically for what you want, and there should be no room for interpretation—just in case the djinn wants to cause trouble. And the legends you may have heard are true. A djinn’s master will be allowed precisely threespoken wishes before the djinn will be able to fight the compulsion to obey.”
Another man spoke up. “If the djinn was trapped so long ago, would it even understand English?”
“The djinn will understand the language of its master. And it’s said that it will also naturally have a firm grasp of current customs and knowledge.”
I raised my hand and Thierry eyed me curiously.
“Yes, Sarah?” Sebastien said. “You have a question?”
It was something that had been bothering me ever since I’d found out about the amulet’s existence. “If the djinn is angry about being imprisoned, wouldn’t it try to seek revenge the moment it’s released?”
His jaw tightened. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“How do you know? Have you tried it?”
“No, never.”
“Why not? Because you know how dangerous it is?”
“Since I’ve been detained for quite some time, I haven’t had the chance.”
I wasn’t buying that. He’d been out of the tomb for a while. If he wanted revenge on Thierry so badly, why wouldn’t he have released the djinn and made a trio of malevolent wishes?
What exactly was he up to?
Sebastien turned from me to answer another question and I grabbed hold of Thierry’s hand.
“I really don’t like this,” I told him, worry churning inside of me. “I’m feeling a great need to get out of this place as soon as possible.”
He leaned closer to whisper in my ear. “As soon as I acquire the amulet we can leave, I promise. But I have to do this first.”
I didn’t like this at all, but I nodded. The alternative was to let Atticus have it. And if he was as bad as the other elders thought he was, he couldn’t be allowed that kind of power.
Jacob raised his hand to ask a question. “When you say there’s a genie inside that object, you’re speaking metaphorically, aren’t you? Genies don’t actually exist.”
Sebastien blinked. “Are there any other questions?”
“I have a question,” Thierry said, loud enough for all to hear. “When and from whom did you acquire this piece? And where have you hidden it all these years?”
The look Sebastien gave him was sharp enough to cut glass.
“A long time ago in a land far away from here,” Sebastien replied, his words clipped. “And I have my hiding spots, Thierry—places I could hide anything and it would not be discovered for, oh, centuries. If I tell you where those hiding places are, they wouldn’t be much good to me, would they? I’m sure you also have hiding places like that, don’t you?” His tone held absolutely no warmth at all now. “So, let’s begin. We’ll be starting the bidding at one million dollars.”
My mouth fell open at that.
The other objects had gone for tons of money, but the most expensive one up until now had been the dagger Frederic Dark acquired for two hundred grand.
One million was the
opening
bid?
“Be calm, Sarah,” Thierry murmured again, watching me nervously twist my hands on my lap.
“I’m calm. Totally, totally calm. But that is a lot of money.”
“It certainly is.” He actually had the audacity to smile at my financial anxiety attack. “But just wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?”
He didn’t have to answer. I knew what he meant as the bidding swiftly escalated.
All I could do was watch and listen as, in increments of a quarter million, one million became two. Two became three. I couldn’t see the faces of the participating men in the back row without turning and staring, but I heard the greed in their
A woman in the front row raised her hand. “Will the djinn grant wishes?”
“Yes,” Sebastien replied, his voice grave. “But be cautioned that you must ask very specifically for what you want, and there should be no room for interpretation—just in case the djinn wants to cause trouble. And the legends you may have heard are true. A djinn’s master will be allowed precisely threespoken wishes before the djinn will be able to fight the compulsion to obey.”
Another man spoke up. “If the djinn was trapped so long ago, would it even understand English?”
“The djinn will understand the language of its master. And it’s said that it will also naturally have a firm grasp of current customs and knowledge.”
I raised my hand and Thierry eyed me curiously.
“Yes, Sarah?” Sebastien said. “You have a question?”
It was something that had been bothering me ever since I’d found out about the amulet’s existence. “If the djinn is angry about being imprisoned, wouldn’t it try to seek revenge the moment it’s released?”
His jaw tightened. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“How do you know? Have you tried it?”
“No, never.”
“Why not? Because you know how dangerous it is?”
“Since I’ve been detained for quite some time, I haven’t had the chance.”
I wasn’t buying that. He’d been out of the tomb for a while. If he wanted revenge on Thierry so badly, why wouldn’t he have released the djinn and made a trio of malevolent wishes?
What exactly was he up to?
Sebastien turned from me to answer another question and I grabbed hold of Thierry’s hand.
“I really don’t like this,” I told him, worry churning inside of me. “I’m feeling a great need to get out of this place as soon as possible.”
He leaned closer to whisper in my ear. “As soon as I acquire the amulet we can leave, I promise. But I have to do this first.”
I didn’t like this at all, but I nodded. The alternative was to let Atticus have it. And if he was as bad as the other elders thought he was, he couldn’t be allowed that kind of power.
Jacob raised his hand to ask a question. “When you say there’s a genie inside that object, you’re speaking metaphorically, aren’t you? Genies don’t actually exist.”
Sebastien blinked. “Are there any other questions?”
“I have a question,” Thierry said, loud enough for all to hear. “When and from whom did you acquire this piece? And where have you hidden it all these years?”
The look Sebastien gave him was sharp enough to cut glass.
“A long time ago in a land far away from here,” Sebastien replied, his words clipped. “And I have my hiding spots, Thierry—places I could hide anything and it would not be discovered for, oh, centuries. If I tell you where those hiding places are, they wouldn’t be much good to me, would they? I’m sure you also have hiding places like that, don’t you?” His tone held absolutely no warmth at all now. “So, let’s begin. We’ll be starting the bidding at one million dollars.”
My mouth fell open at that.
The other objects had gone for tons of money, but the most expensive one up until now had been the dagger Frederic Dark acquired for two hundred grand.
One million was the
opening
bid?
“Be calm, Sarah,” Thierry murmured again, watching me nervously twist my hands on my lap.
“I’m calm. Totally, totally calm. But that is a lot of money.”
“It certainly is.” He actually had the audacity to smile at my financial anxiety attack. “But just wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?”
He didn’t have to answer. I knew what he meant as the bidding swiftly escalated.
All I could do was watch and listen as, in increments of a quarter million, one million became two. Two became three. I couldn’t see the faces of the participating men in the back row without turning and staring, but I heard the greed in their
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