Read Online Genie and Engineer 1: The Engineer Wizard by Glenn Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

real
chance to succeed when there would otherwise be none.
    The idea was overwhelming. Mind-blowing. Paul was filled
with awe at the scope of it, at the audacity and daring of it. His body pulsed
with excitement, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. In the back of his
mind, a whole cheerleading team was dancing wildly, shouting rousing slogans,
and tossing pom-poms high in the air.
    One lone voice, far off in the distance, was shouting at him
to wait, to carefully examine this offer in detail, to do a top-to-bottom
cost/benefit study and an environmental impact assessment. With icy contempt
for that voice, Paul ignored it.
    Instead, he again jumped to his feet, rubbing suddenly
sweaty palms on the sides of his pants and pacing anew, this time much faster
than before. And too, he made himself focus on the wizard/genie, who was
grinning at him in delight.
    “Please, correct me if I am mistaken, but I sense a certain
interest in the idea,” the wizard/genie observed unflappably. “However, there
is a condition to my offer.”
    Paul’s heart skipped a beat, and all his visions of himself
playing a superhero came crashing to the ground.
    “A condition?” he asked, his pacing coming to a dead halt,
as if he had run into a brick wall.
    The ex-genie nodded and casually waved a hand. “In my case,
I have endured great hardship for centuries. I feel confident that I will not
misuse my new powers. But what about you? Great powers present great
temptations. You would have to swear that you would not use your powers in an
evil manner and that you would never use your powers to kill anyone.”
    An episode of the original Star Trek series came to
Paul’s mind, the one with Gary Mitchell in which his mental powers nearly
turned him into a god—a very arrogant and revenge-minded one, at that.
    Paul mulled the wizard/genie’s condition over in his mind
for a few seconds before replying. “I wish I could guarantee that I would not misuse
such powers. But you’ve seen my life. It has also been far from ideal. I know
so many other people who have suffered too. I freely admit it. Your offer is
extremely tempting. Are you seriously offering me the chance to be a wizard?”
    “Do you swear not to misuse your powers? Do you swear not to
kill anyone?” the wizard earnestly asked Paul in return.
    The tingle returned, coursing back and forth through Paul’s
body, like a series of waves in a tube. The other man really was serious. The
offer really was on the table. Paul sensed a vast gulf open in front of him, an
endless sea of possibilities ahead. The power to make a difference, to reach
out and touch so many other lives. He was suddenly hit with the realization
that this was probably the greatest watershed moment of his whole life. His
knees threatened to collapse under him.
    Paul nodded quickly, but firmly and with great
determination. “I so swear.”
    The bearded man seemed satisfied, even a bit smug. “Then, I
can grant you your wish to be a wizard, one with considerable power, but let me
make one point clear: I cannot make you into a god. There will be limits to the
magic you can perform. Do you understand? And do you still want to be a
wizard?”
    Paul contemplated the question and made his final decision.
“I think I understand. And yes, I want to be a wizard.” After a short pause, he
continued, looking a bit sheepish. “But what about my job?”
    The wizard/genie stood, gently shaking his head. “You can’t
go back, Paul. Especially not as a wizard. Trust me on this. And in truth, they
probably won’t even miss you very much.”
    Paul blinked in surprise, then cast a downward look before
giving the genie a wintery smile. “You’re probably right. In my career, I’ve
seen lots of people retire, and everything went right on, same as before. I
just...all those years....”
    “Let it go, Paul. In your heart of hearts, you know it was a
horrid existence. No one would treat a dog the way your bosses treated you.”
With a