The Fire Wish (16 page)

“I was thinking the same thing,” Rahela said. Her voice had a hint of danger, and the woman shrugged.

I dipped the bread into a yellowy paste and tried it. It tasted of garlic, and something tangy, and I had to have more.

“Zayele, we are all so sorry your wedding has been postponed,” another woman said. She was the one sitting to the right of Aaliyah. “I’m sure the caliph will be well soon enough. And then you can send word back to your mother. I remember when I first came here. Don’t we all?” She looked around the courtyard and was answered with several nods.

“Yes,” said Aaliyah. “Please feel at home here. And enjoy the food, although it may be different from what you’re used to.”

I suppressed a smile. She had no idea how different it was.

The meal continued, mostly in silence. No one seemed to want to discuss anything but the caliph’s fall, and each time it was brought up, Aaliyah looked stricken. It was obvious she cared for him, and I began to wonder about him. Was he like I’d heard in my classes with Faisal? Strong, proud, and shrewd?

Following dinner, when I had filled my stomach with more food than I could remember ever eating, I wandered into the
garden. It hadn’t taken much to convince Rahela to let me go alone, and for the first time since I’d been caught by Zayele, I
was
alone. More or less. The lamplight didn’t reach into every corner, but I was a jinni and comfortable with shadows. I found a gravel path that wound around a clump of bushes and ended at a squat pomegranate tree. I knew the fruit was red, but in the darkness, the pomegranates hung like black orbs, weighing down the branches.

I crouched beneath the tree and looked at the rest of the harem’s garden. Most of the women had retreated to their rooms, but a few milled around by the stream crossing the garden. No one, thankfully, was paying attention to me anymore. Alone and unwatched now, I felt the weight of everything press in on me. I was imprisoned in this human life. I was in the very place where none of my friends could save me. And I had foolishly let Rahela cover up my mark with henna, and now it probably didn’t work.

I tried to choke back a sob, but it broke through, and I wept. I cried for my disobedience, I cried for the friends I might never see again, and I cried for myself and what would probably happen. Most of all, I cried because even though I was trapped, part of me thrilled to finally be here—tasting their food and wearing their gowns—and because of that, I felt wretched and guilty. I was trapped in a lie, and a horrible part of me wanted it that way.

I looked at the pomegranates hanging above me and their backdrop of stars. The night had gone suddenly to ink, and just like the diamonds in the Command of Iblis, the stars shone. But they were so far away, so remote, that they didn’t seem quite real.

This was all real, though, and it had never been meant to happen. I wasn’t supposed to run off to the surface. I wasn’t that sort of person. I had always obeyed, even if I didn’t want to. I had always waited for permission, always done whatever was asked of me, always tried to be my best. But the one time—the first time—I did something wrong, I was caught by Zayele.

I knew I should hate her for what she did, but I couldn’t. Something in me felt a bit of sympathy. She had clearly been afraid of coming here.

But I still needed to get home. I still needed to break through her wish. I had broken through the jinni wards and found myself in the palace. Surely I could get myself out of a human girl’s desperate wish.

Bracing myself for another bout of pain, I made a wish to go home.

Pain.
Horrible, twisting, shredding pain rushed into me the moment I said the word. I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t even speak.

I tried again, mouthing the wish.

Fire.
A fire raged from the tip of my tongue, down my throat, and to the deepest reaches of my lungs. It burned all the air inside me, and I was hollow. Burning, choking, drowning, and hollow.

I crumpled, convulsing beneath the tree. It was no use. I could not tear myself away from Zayele’s wish. All I could do was burn.

Smoke seeped out of my mouth, curled in the air, and smudged the brightness of the stars.

Someone was talking, and I managed to crack my eyes open. Rahela was bent over me, saying something, but her words were muffled. Then many hands lifted me in the air, and Rahela was there, squeezing my hand, right over my mark.

“Did she faint?” someone asked.

“Yes,” Rahela said.

I knew then that I’d never leave. I’d never be able to fight Zayele’s wish if it used fire against me.

THE JINNI SOLDIER brought me to a building that stood apart from all the others. It was made of black glass and guarded by two jinn who looked like they could eat babies. I shuffled behind my escort and slipped through the doors into a small waiting area.

A shriveled female jinni sitting behind a desk looked me up and down.

“Najwa.” She said the name like it tasted bad, then pulled a copper disk out of a box and put it on a peg on the wall behind her. My escort cleared his throat.

“He is waiting for you in the briefing room,” he said. Then he backed out of the building, leaving me alone with the old woman. She was filing some metal points that hung from the ends of her hair. Clearly, she didn’t want to deal with me anymore.

There was no turning back now, so I walked forward and ended up in a circular room with an unlit, larger-than-life lamp
on a pedestal. On the other side was a dark hall, and somehow I knew that was the way I had to go.

My stomach got tighter with each step. What would the Master want? What did it mean to be a Master of the Corps? Would he know I wasn’t Najwa?

Finally, I came to an open door. Inside, a group of jinn stood in half a ring facing a wall of milky glass.

“Oh, Najwa,” a familiar voice said. The half circle parted and Faisal walked forward, beckoning me in. “Caspar must have run to get you. Now that we’re all here, we can get started.”

I was entering a secret circle, and even though it terrified me, my body buzzed with excitement. This was the most interesting moment of my life. And the most dangerous.

The door closed behind me, and the room was dark but for the wall of white glass. Everyone but Faisal turned to face it, so I did too.

“You all know that our newest member managed to get into the palace and capture some images. We’ve just learned from our analysts that the selenite orb Prince Kamal was carrying is most likely a new form of weaponry.” He paused, letting the thought sink in. “Najwa, if you hadn’t been there, we might never have known. We wouldn’t have had any chance to be prepared. As it is, we are trying to figure out what this orb is meant to do. All we know is that it’s meant to harm us.”

The woman standing beside Faisal went to the glass wall and pulled part of it out. I nearly fell backward in shock as the wall blinked to a giant image of a white ball on a cushion.

“This is the orb,” the woman said. “We need to get this
before the humans can use it against us, and we need to ensure it will be a long time before they can make another. Najwa,” she said, smiling at me, “we need you to go back.”

Someone asked her a question, but my ears were roaring too loud to hear. Everything in me was sinking toward the floor, and I grabbed the table behind me.

How would I ever get into the palace? And I had already lost everything to stay away from Baghdad. I couldn’t wish myself there. I couldn’t spy. I was a human.

The jinni’s question had been answered, and now everyone was looking at me. If I didn’t tread carefully, I’d be found out. And I was in the middle of their nest.

“Sure,” I said, forcing myself to look as confident as I could. “When do you want me to go?”

Faisal beamed. “As soon as possible.”

“I was wondering,” I said, trying to think of something quickly, “aren’t there any alternative ways to enter the palace? I mean, in case they’ve figured out we’ve been there? What about a tunnel? The wards might be blocking us from going in with our wishes, but maybe they won’t work if we just walk in.”

The woman’s face scrunched up in disbelief. “Why would you want to go any other way? Transporting is untraceable. And safest.”

One of the other jinn snickered, but I continued. I needed an alternative route.

“I know, but what if I get stuck?”

Faisal shook his head and came closer. “The wards prevent us from entering in all the ways, including on foot, and the tunnels would take too long. By the time you made it to the
city, barring any mishap with directions, the humans would be ready. In fact, they may be ready to use the orb at any moment, so time is of the essence.”

“And discretion also,” the woman added.

“You want me to go now?” I said. My voice was little more than a squeak.

“In an hour,” Faisal responded. “We may have you do something else while you’re there, but we need to discuss it. Please wait outside, by the Lamp. I will fetch you in a little while.”

I nodded, trying not to show how much I was shaking, and trotted out to the circular room. I couldn’t do what they wanted me to do. I couldn’t just dissolve into smoke and appear in the palace. I couldn’t stay here.

There were tunnels connecting the Cavern with the surface. I had seen them. All I had to do was find one. I didn’t care where it ended, as long as there were humans. Somehow, I would get out of the Cavern and find my way home. I would find Yashar again.

I told the woman at the desk I would be right back, and then I ran.

IT TOOK ME an hour to convince Rahela I would never try that again. But I had to do something, anything, to get information back to Faisal. So after she had fallen asleep, I stayed awake and watched the curtain billowing in from the patio. Lit by a lantern’s geometric pattern of light and shadow, it glowed like a wandering spirit, dancing in the open doorway.

I peeled the blanket off my legs and stepped off the couch, setting my bare feet on the cool marble. Without taking a breath, I tiptoed to the courtyard door and pulled it open. It slid quietly into the wall and I stepped through, checking first to see if anyone was still lounging by the pool. The courtyard was deserted, except for a family of peafowl huddling beside the fountain. I’d discovered that their high-pitched call, like that of a marauding cat, could wake a rock. If only I could get past them without their seeing me.

Perhaps, just perhaps, I could still make wishes. Just as long as I wasn’t trying to leave the palace. Carefully, I whispered the easiest wish, the one we were taught on the very first day.

“Shahtabi.”

Instead of burning me, the wish spread, cool and lacy, across my skin. I could still do it. I had to pretend to be human, but I was still a jinni. Hope and relief filled me and I smiled, despite the darkness, despite the pain I’d felt before.

Invisible now, I passed the fountain and made it to the entrance. In the moonlight, the leaves were silver. The world was asleep, but still it changed its colors. Nothing stayed the same here. I pulled the door open and peeked into the hall. It was darker than it had been before, but dusty oil sconces glowed along the way. The hall was deserted but for a pair of guards facing away from the door. We were guarded at night? Was it to keep us safe, or keep us in?