Shimmer (3 page)

She stared back at him, glad that he couldn't see her. The panoramic viewing screens inside her globe were oneway vision only. All he would be able to see would be the same dusty, grey rock he had first picked up.

The corners of her mouth lifted as she looked at the white bandage he had clumsily wrapped around the burn on his right arm. He had wished for her to heal it, or at least to stop it from hurting so much. She really had enjoyed telling him that that was one wish she couldn't grant. Genie magic was the most powerful magic in the universe. But there were some exceptions to its use and one of those exceptions was humans. Humans were impervious to genie magic. No human could ever be harmed, killed or changed in any way by a genie. There were two exceptions to this — the ancient process of harnessing and the ability to be shimmered from place to place by a genie.

‘The boy is thinking about something,' said Amurru, interrupting her thoughts.

‘I am sure that is a very difficult task for him,' she sneered.

Amurru laughed, coughing out a strange choking sound. ‘Nevertheless, he has something on his mind, Empress.'

‘He is probably trying to think of a new toy he has not wished for yet.' Kora's face was scornful, but she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like to admit that David's direct blue gaze unsettled her, even knowing that he couldn't see her. ‘Or maybe he is just thinking about his stomach.' She looked at the crushed bundle of empty fast-food wrappers that had been squashed into the little rubbish bin next to his bed.

‘It is more than that, I think, Empress.' He nodded his head thoughtfully. ‘He is troubled.'

‘I doubt that, Amurru,' scoffed Kora. ‘What troubles could he possibly have?' She waved away the glass bowl and curled her feet up on the cushion beside her. ‘The only things he thinks about are toys, food and avoiding his chores.'

‘Mmm, perhaps,' murmured Amurru. His voice sounded distracted and Kora glanced at him. She saw his ears twitch, then swivel around towards the bedroom door.

‘Someone is here, Empress.'

Kora sat up straighter in her seat and looked towards the door. Within seconds she heard the click-click-click of high-heeled shoes as they tapped down the passage towards David's bedroom. She glanced at David. He was deep in thought and, with the earphones in, he hadn't heard the footsteps yet.

‘David?' called out a soft, gentle voice.

At the sound of his name he lurched off the bed in surprise, his face panicky and unsure. He took one tentative step towards the door and Kora thought he was going to rush out of the room to greet his visitor, but she arrived in the doorway before he could move.

‘There you are, David,' she said in a singsong voice. A short woman wearing shiny, pink high heels and black trousers appeared in the bedroom doorway. She was a little on the plump side, Kora thought, and plain looking. But there was something sweet about her. Her eyes were blue, like David's, only hers were much softer. Her long, fair hair was pulled back from her face into a ponytail, giving her a youthful, sporty look, and she wore a navy shirt with the words ‘Panda Rock DVD & Games Hire' written across the front pocket. One hand clutched a bundle of unopened mail.

Tiny creases fanned out from around her eyes, and she wore virtually no make-up apart from a smudge of pink lipstick.

‘Mum!' exclaimed David. Kora thought she detected a note of panic in his voice. ‘You're home from work early.'

‘David, the house is lovely,' cooed the woman. Her eyes sparkled. ‘It's spotless! You must have cleaned all day.'

‘Oh,' he mumbled, sidling further away from his bed. ‘Yeah, I cleaned up for you.'

‘And you've done all your chores as well,' continued his mother. ‘And the front garden has been weeded!' She shook her head in amazement. ‘You even swept up the driveway. How on earth did you get time for all that?'

‘Um, well,' he mumbled, ‘I thought it would be nice for you.' He moved towards his mother, his face turning a strange shade of red. ‘Come on, Mum,' he said, ‘I'll make you a cup of tea.'

He took his mother's arm and tried to turn her from the room, but it was too late. The smile on his mother's face froze as her eyes caught sight of her son's bed. She sucked in her breath as she took in the mountain of new electronic equipment. Her gaze dropped down to the laptop on the floor before moving up to the electronics piled on his desk. And then she lifted her eyes to the far wall. A look of horror and disbelief spread across her face. She began to pant in short, anxious gasps and her eyes filled with tears as they locked onto David's forty-inch-high definition plasma TV.

Amurru's ears twitched madly.

Kora frowned. ‘What's the matter with you?'

‘I have been summoned.'

‘My father?'

Amurru nodded. He glanced out towards David. ‘It seems we are both being summoned.'

She ignored the uncomfortable sensation of having her name called by her new master. ‘He can wait. I want to see what my father wants.'

Amurru turned one ear to David. ‘He is impatient.'

Her bangles jingled. ‘So am I. Now go.'

Amurru shrugged and closed his eyes. The wrinkles on his face seemed to flatten out a little and his normally short, wheezy breath deepened. He rolled his shoulders and his long, shiny amber wings extended, stretching downwards until they brushed against the floor. Then they curled and wrapped tightly around him, forming a translucent armoured cocoon. She could always feel the moment he projected. It was like a great source of energy had vanished. It was a skill peculiar to armourowls, the ability to leave their body behind and project themselves in energy form to another place, where they would appear like a small moving image of themselves, a hologram, able to talk and listen to whoever was there. It was exhausting for them and also incredibly dangerous. The body left behind was vulnerable, protected only by its shield of wings.

She paced the floor. Something was wrong. It was too soon for her father to make contact. The calling of her name increased in both frequency and demand and she glared out at the stupid human.

‘Kora!'

His tone shifted to one of command and the force of it caused her to shimmer from her globe.

‘What do you want now?'

He looked at her accusingly. ‘I've been calling you.'

‘So?'

‘Didn't you see my mum?' His arm flailed in the air. ‘She's gonna think I stole all this stuff.'

She stared at him in disbelief. Amurru was in her globe projecting himself back to Genesia and David had summoned her away because of a problem with his mum. He really was completely unaware of anybody but himself.

She wrinkled her nose at the assault of Earth smell that invaded her senses. ‘Do you want me to get rid of your new toys?'

‘Of course not.' He glanced lovingly up at his new plasma. ‘I want you to come and meet my mum. Explain things.'

‘You idiotic human.' She lifted herself up to her full height. Her power rumbled in her chest and the air sizzled like an approaching thunderstorm. ‘You must tell no one about me. Do you understand?'

David stood a little taller. ‘You never said it was a secret.'

‘Every human in history that has harnessed a genie and not kept the secret has been murdered.'

David's head snapped up. ‘Why?'

‘So they can harness the genie for themselves. Humans are very bad at keeping secrets. Tell one person and it will not be long until your secret is out. And then it will not just be your life that will be endangered.'

She was pleased to see the look of shock on David's face until she realised it was not her words that had caused it. He was staring intently at her globe. She turned in time to see that Amurru had left the globe and was shuffling towards David.

David's jaw fell open. ‘What on earth is that?'

Before she could answer Amurru extended a short, fuzzy hand up towards David in traditional Earth custom. ‘Hello, David. My name is Amurru.'

David looked gigantic towering over Amurru. The tips of his ears barely reached David's waist.

David bent his knees and reached down. He tentatively clasped Amurru's short, stumpy fingers with their yellowed, pointy claws. ‘Um … hi.'

Kora felt like she was going to explode. ‘What are you doing out here?'

‘I am most pleased to finally meet with you, David.' Amurru removed his hand from David's grip and turned to Kora. ‘I have news, Empress.' Amurru glanced at David. ‘And it affects both of you.'

Her earlier unease returned with full force. She knew something was wrong. ‘My father?'

‘Everyone at home is fine.' Amurru assured her but his voice was grave. ‘But they believe Vennum is monitoring Earth.'

‘He knows I am here?'

‘We cannot be sure.'

‘How could he know so soon?'

‘There was a power spike.'

She did not need to ask when. Amurru did not say it but she felt the accusation. The excessive power she had used in disguising her globe and fighting against being harnessed would have registered as a power spike to anyone looking out for it.

‘As long as you are careful he will not find you.' Amurru's yellow eyes lifted to David. ‘Both of you will need to be careful.'

‘Careful of what? And what's a vennum?'

‘I told you it was a waste of time sending me here.' Kora folded her arms. ‘I told you all.'

Amurru ignored her. ‘Vennum is the most dangerous threat Genesia has ever faced.'

Kora knew the dimwit would need further explanation. ‘Genesia is where we come from. And Vennum is half-human and half-genie — he has the long life of a genie but no magic of his own. This makes him very dangerous. His human side enables him to harness genie after genie and his long life means that most of them will remain harnessed to him for the rest of their lives. He is only twenty-two years old, and yet he already has dozens of genies under his control.'

‘So I could have more than one genie?'

Unbelievable! Could he be more selfish? She looked pointedly at the bandaged burn on his arm. ‘Can you imagine what that would feel like?'

She liked the shudder she saw pass through him.

‘Why would he need so many genies? Can't one grant all his wishes?' asked David.

Amurru coughed and wheezed. ‘His wish is to destroy the Empire. He will crush the royal blood line and rule Genesia himself.'

She could see David's mind at work. It may be slow but she felt sure he was indeed piecing it together. ‘It's you he wants.' He poked an accusing finger at her. ‘Royal blood. You're hiding here and you need me to keep your secret.'

She flung her dark hair back off her face. ‘And if Vennum does find me, who is it that he will need to kill to harness me?'

‘I'll wish you unharnessed.'

She sniggered. ‘I doubt Vennum would be inclined to wait while you did that.'

Amurru shuffled between them. ‘There is no reason for Vennum to find you.' His wrinkled round face fixed on David. ‘You must keep the secret to protect both you and your family.' Amurru then turned to her. ‘And you, Empress, need to control your temper.'

‘If this Vennum is monitoring Earth, then what exactly is he looking for?'

She sighed. ‘Large power spikes.'

Amurru nodded seriously. ‘For example, any wish that controls the elements would put you both in danger.'

David frowned. ‘But other wishes are okay?'

‘Your stupid human wishes require very little magic.' She noticed Amurru's wheezing had worsened. He would be tired from projecting. ‘And you should rest.'

They all turned at the sound of a car door closing. ‘Rodney's here.' David sighed. ‘Mum said I had to explain to both of them where I got all this stuff from.'

‘Then make a choice, human. Unharness me or keep me a secret!'

He stared thoughtfully at her. ‘I'll keep your secret, Empress. But I'll tell you this. Having a genie isn't all it's cracked up to be.'

His mother's voice carried down the hall. ‘David. You've got some explaining to do!'

Amurru's ears twitched. ‘The boy seeks you, Empress.'

Kora nodded. She would not wait around for the stupid human boy to haul her from her globe again like a common genie. She hated having to obey his commands. She threw a quick grin at Amurru and shimmered out of her globe into David's room. Humans were so slow, even when they were hurrying, and she knew she had plenty of time before he arrived in his room. Two or three seconds, at least.

One small flick of her hand saw all his new stuff fly from his bed to pile up on the old wooden desk. His pillows arranged themselves at the head of his bed, and she quickly reclined back on them, looking as relaxed as she could on such a lumpy, old mattress. Ugh, how could anyone actually sleep on such an uncomfortable thing?

David burst into the room, closing the door behind him. ‘Kora?' he whispered. ‘Come out. Now!' He started towards her globe before spotting her lounging on his bed. His eyes narrowed at her but he made no comment.

‘Yes, master?' she replied, sweetly. ‘Is there something you want?'

He stared down at her on his bed. One hand shoved at the heavy, long fringe that fell forward across his eyes. ‘Quick, Kora,' he said. ‘Make me a certificate.'

‘A certificate?' She lifted one eyebrow. ‘I do not know what you mean.'

‘Kora, there isn't much time!' His breath huffed out impatiently. ‘Just do it.'

She pushed herself into a sitting position. ‘Your bed is not very comfortable, master.'

‘Then get off it,' hissed David, ‘and make me that certificate. Mum's waiting.'

A flash of anger coursed through her and her power rumbled unsteadily in response. In her entire life no one had ever spoken to her in such a way. ‘Why should I?'