Chapter 3: Chapter 1: Wishes Three

Lucas hurriedly opened the door to his house and stepped inside, setting down his backpack. He was living alone, renting from his aunt Judy at an outrageously small price. He was uncomfortable with just how much money he was potentially losing her, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Think of it as an investment.” She had said. “You live here, fix things up if you can, and let me know what needs work, that way it’s a better sell once I do get it on the market.”

He changed into his pajamas, and returned to the entry, where he fished the lamp and book out of his bag. They were, strangely, bone dry despite how wet everything else was. Leaving the bag to dry in the front entry, he made his way to the kitchen, momentarily setting the items down so he could wet a rag. Rag in hand, he picked up the lamp and began to clean it.

Suddenly, the lamp began to emit smoke, causing Lucas to nearly drop it in surprise. The smoke didn’t behave like normal, instead staying low to the floor in a mass, which eventually coalesced into the form of a woman wearing a t-shirt and shorts, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“Tunem, why…?” She muttered groggily, before blinking and straightening up, seemingly realizing where she was. “Oh, right.” She said in a noticeably more hostile tone. “Name’s Vithi, this lamp’s djinn.” She looked him up and down and then raised an eyebrow. “Really? You couldn’t at least put some proper clothes on before summoning me? Classy.”

Lucas was frozen in shock, staring at Vithi with a stunned expression.

“You know the drill. Hurry and make your wishes so I can get back to my nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I’m tired.”

Lucas took a step back, reflexively clutching the lamp to his chest. “W-what?!” He stammered, eyes darting around the room, trying to find somewhere this woman could have come from, before he remembered the odd smoke that had come from the lamp.

It must have been holding some hazardous chemical which he set loose with his cleaning and then inhaled, causing hallucinations. He gingerly put the lamp down, pointedly ignoring this “Vithi”, then rushed into the living room, pulling out his cell phone and dialing 911.

“911, what’s your – ” The phone cut off as the hallucination followed him into the room, looking annoyed.

“Really? You summon me and just ignore me? Seriously?”

Lucas looked at his phone, which was now off. He placed it back into his pocket and considered his options. His grasp on what was real was obviously starting to slip, and that wasn’t a good sign. He needed to get out of the house, into fresh air. Hopefully that’d help flush whatever this was from his system, and at least if he collapsed there someone would call the police for him. Probably.

But the door was blocked by the hallucination. He…really didn’t want to interact with it, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He marched forward, intent on slipping by or walking through the hallucination, and it shied back, seemingly frightened. He squeezed through the gap between it and the wall, careful not to touch it, and made his way to the front door.

He was about to open it when the hallucination grabbed his hand, preventing him from doing so.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of power move you’re trying to pull, but it’s not going to work. Seriously, just make your wishes and we can both move on with our lives.”

Plan B, then. He looked it straight in the eyes and mustered up his disbelief. “You’re not real.” He said, less convincing than he would have liked. “You’re just a product of whatever chemical was in that lamp.”

The hallucination froze. “What?”

It was working. Lucas smiled, pressing his advantage. “A construct of the mind. A hallucination. Just go away so I can move on with my life.”

“Oh, for the love of…” The hallucination let go and began muttering under its breath.

He quickly went back to opening the door, but halfway through reaching to the handle his vision began to swim, and everything went dark.

---

Lucas groaned as he woke up, listening to the TV running in the background. He had…collapsed? No, that couldn’t be right. He was on the living room couch, and he had “collapsed” in the entryway. He must have just fallen asleep while watching TV, and it was all a bizarre dream.

Suddenly, a game’s pause menu popped up on the TV. “Finally.” Vithi said, setting down the controller. “Have you calmed down?”

Lucas swallowed, staring at her. There was a chance he was still dreaming, but… “You’re…real?” He asked tentatively.

Vithi rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m real.”  She picked up a pristine-looking book from the coffee table and tossed it at him. “Here, read this. Tunem must’ve made it for you, because I can’t open it.”

Lucas fumbled, failing to catch the book as it landed on him. He sat up, grabbing the book that was simply titled “Lucas”.

“Tunem? Do you mean that hobo who gave me this stuff?”

Vithi snorted, obviously amused. “That wasn’t a hobo, kid. That was the world’s foremost expert in divination magic, one of the leaders of the Protectorate, and one of the most powerful people in existence. You’re in way over your head.”

Well, another point in favor of being a dream. Still, it couldn’t hurt to play along, just in case. “Why me?” He asked.

“You’re asking the wrong person, kid. It’s pretty baffling from my perspective, too. Anyway, go read that book. If he gave it to you, chances are there’s some important information in it, and this whole disaster will work out better for both of us if you know whatever’s inside.”

Lucas nodded. “Uh, sure. I’ll go to my room then, you…just keep doing what you’re doing, I guess? If you’re hungry, food’s in the pantry, so…let me know if you need any help or anything?”

Vithi didn’t reply, instead choosing to unpause the game. Lucas scampered off into his room, closing the door behind him as he did.

He looked at his hands, counting the fingers, looked away, then looked back. Still the normal amount. Then, he plugged his nose, shut his mouth, and tried to breath in. As would be expected, he wasn’t able to breathe.

That was troubling. Those two reality checks usually would tell him right away if he was dreaming, and the fact that they were coming back negative was not a reassuring sign.

Still…a part of him wanted it to be real. He hadn’t grown up a skeptic – his mother was a staunch believer in all things paranormal, but his father had taught him the tricks behind most “paranormal” phenomenon, shattering any belief he may have had.

If this was real…that meant a whole new world had opened up. One of excitement and wonder, something different. So, he opened the book, the crisp scent of new paper filling his nostrils.

Lucas, it read, I am making this book to help guide you in making wise wishes. I have given Vithi to you in hopes that you will be able to make a difference. I must warn you that she has had many harsh masters in the past, myself excluded, and has become rather jaded as a result. But this does not mean that she will be completely unreliable. In this book, I’ve included knowledge on the nature of djinn, how wishes work, and some tips for making wise wishes. In return, I only ask that you treat her kindly, and to keep my words in mind while wishing.

As promised, the rest of the 30 or so pages contained exactly that. Lucas read and reread them until he was sure he had understood everything within, and then set to work choosing his wishes.

---

About thirty minutes later, he had decided. He shut the book and made his way towards the living room. He found the game already paused, Vithi turned to face him.

“Decided?” She asked curtly.

Lucas licked his lips nervously and sat in an armchair. “I’d like to make a contract.”

Vithi eyed him warily. “Alright, I’ll bite. What terms?”

“You grant my wishes according to my intent, and in return I use my last wish to grant you freedom.”

Vithi, obviously trying to force down a hopeful look, spoke. “Alright, on the condition that, aside from the wish granting my freedom, your wishes cannot affect me in any way, and you must make all three wishes at the same time.”

“Agreed.” The moment he assented, he felt something…tingly. Like the air was filled with static. Djinn contracts were magically binding, with horrific backlash if one didn’t abide by the terms. The magic would direct your thoughts to try and avoid anything that would violate the contract, but it was possible to circumvent that with enough focus.

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Lucas had no intention of doing so, and as such he just jumped straight to his wishes. “I wish to be able to fluently use and understand any language or other form of communication, to become a powerful mage, and to free the djinn Vithi.”

Vithi jumped up in undisguised delight, pointing a finger. “Granted!” She squealed.

The tingly feeling intensified, feeling like lightning in his veins for a few moments before, blessedly, subsiding. He gripped the armrests, forcing himself up. Vithi…didn’t look so good. Her hand was on the wall, and she was swaying dangerously. He rushed over, barely making it in time to catch her as she fell unconscious.

He took her to the spare room, tucking her into the bed. The book had warned him about this; when a djinn is freed from a lamp, the backlash is immense, usually stripping them of their magic for anywhere up to a year. He quietly left the room, heading back to the kitchen and grabbing a couple of potatoes. While he heated them up in the microwave, he began to write a note.

“Vithi,

I thought you might be hungry when you woke up, so here’s some food. It’s probably cold, so just heat it up for 30 seconds in the microwave after you take the tinfoil off. Butter’s in the fridge and salt is in the cabinet directly left of the microwave. I’ll probably be at school or work when you wake up, so if I am please stay here until I get back, I’d like to talk to you again. There’s more food in the fridge if you get hungry, and you’re more than welcome to use the TV again.

– Lucas”

Once the note was written and the potatoes were finished, he wrapped the potatoes in tinfoil, put them on a plate, and delivered them and the note to the room she was staying in. After that, he started preparing for bed himself. It was only around nine, but he felt oddly drained as well, like he had been awake for hours longer than he actually had been.

He was asleep almost as soon as he crawled into bed.

---

The next day, Lucas was completely unable to relax. He ended up ditching class, coming straight home from work. To his relief, he was greeted by the sounds of the TV, a clear sign that Vithi hadn’t left.

Or at least wasn’t courteous enough to turn off the TV before doing so but given he could also hear someone using a controller, he doubted that was the case. He put his stuff down in the entryway, moving towards the living room. Vithi didn’t notice him sitting down on the couch, completely absorbed in the game as she was.

After a minute or so of silence, he tentatively spoke. “Vithi?”

“What?” She asked, not taking her attention away from the TV.

“So…what are you planning to do now?”

“Dunno. Wander around, see the world? Does it matter to you?”

Lucas scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Isn’t that going to be a little difficult now that your magic is gone?”

Vithi paused the game and turned to face him. “What?”

“You know, from the backlash from being freed?”

Vithi narrowed her eyes. “Right, that. What of it?”

“Well, if you want to travel, you’ll need money, papers, an identity, that sort of thing, and you don’t have those, right?”

“Tunem could have set me up with something.” Vithi said warily.

“R-right. Did he?”

Vithi paused. “No.” she admitted.

Lucas looked down, embarrassed. “So, I was thinking, since you can’t get anywhere without money or ID, and can’t really get an ID, or even get a job without papers, you could just stay here until your magic comes back or we find a way to contact Tunem or something.”

“No!” Vithi blurted out.

Lucas slumped down a little. “Right, I understand, you’re a free djinn, you’ve got a right to stay wherever you want. Just thought I’d offer.”

Vithi shook her head. “I…wasn’t saying no to staying.” She said cautiously. “I was saying no to trying to contact Tunem. He’s nice enough, but at the end of the day he’s still a very important person. I don’t trust him to not try to re-imprison me if he got the opportunity.”

“So…you’ll stay?”

“For a while, at least. We’ll see how it pans out.”

Lucas let out a sigh of relief. “Good. There was…one other thing I wanted to talk to you about, though.”

“Make it quick, I’m in the middle of a boss fight.” Vithi replied, gesturing to the TV.

“So, the languages wish worked out perfectly, but I can’t use magic.”

“Do you know how?”

“No, but…”

Vithi rolled her eyes. “Look, kid, you made a wish. You can use magic, it should even be pretty easy for you. If I teach you a simple spell, will you leave me alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then I’ll teach you how to summon a small fire over your hand. Repeat after me and concentrate on making the fire.” She said, then chanted a short phrase.

He understood the meaning, but it wasn’t easy to put into another language. Whenever he tried, the phrase would always end up stilted or slightly different, like there just wasn’t as accurate a way of conveying that meaning.

But that wasn’t important. He focused, hard, and repeated the phrase.

Nothing happened.

He tried it again, to the same result. He looked up at Vithi, frowning. “Am I doing something wrong?”

Vithi frowned as well. “No, I don’t…think so. I’ll look into it later if I’m bored. Now, will you leave me be? I did technically teach you the spell.”

Lucas sighed, but did as asked.