Monday Morsels: Wishes in a Bottle

WISHES IN A BOTTLE

by Allie McCormack

Prologue

     Julian stood motionless at the side of the bed. Not a muscle twitched in his handsome face, though his jaw was set tight, his gaze fixed on the wall. He would not look at the woman, at that cunning, avaricious face. She sat back at her leisure, the back of the hospital bed raised up. Her infant son, swaddled by the nurses in a blue blanket, a little knit cap on his head, was cradled in her left arm. In her right hand, her fingers tightly wrapped around it, was an ornate bottle of blown glass, tinted purple and trimmed in gold leaf. Aware of that tight grip, a muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. He knew of her plans to try to keep him at her service. They would fail, however. The magic protected him against such as her; that much, at least, it did for him.
     "Your wish?" His voice held a complete lack of expression, and his stomach gave a vicious churn. It was almost over, and he would be gone. If only... He broke off that train of thought, aware his fingers were clenching. He forced himself to relax. One way or another, it was almost over.
     He was aware of the woman's gaze, greedy and possessive, on him. Delores was the Sahiba, the Master of his bottle. To her he must grant three wishes. Her first wish had been for a child, a son. She and her husband had long wanted one but she'd been infertile. She had kept his bottle close during the months of her pregnancy, refusing to make her remaining wishes, keeping him for surety until her child was born. Now she had called him from his bottle to make her final wishes.
     "I want a million dollars."
     Julian moved then, one hand coming up to touch the blue gem that lay, suspended from silver chain, on his chest.      
     "Very well."
     There was a faint sizzling crackle in the air, like electricity, and a burst of tiny sparks flickered about the gem, then subsided. Holding his hand to the woman, he opened his fingers, a small piece of paper in his hand. She snatched it eagerly, scanning the printing on it.
     "These are the winning numbers?"
     "They are," he confirmed. "These are the numbers for tonight's lottery draw."
     He didn't have to look at her to know there was satisfaction spreading across her face.
     "Get me my purse," she commanded.
     He leaned down, opening the nightstand beside the bed and pulling out her purse, placing it beside her on the bed. Technically he was not required to obey such petty commands. But he wanted out of here, and more, he didn't wish to anger her. Not now, when she had one wish left. Not when a child's life hung in the balance.
     His gaze jumped to the window, instinctively, looking across the courtyard to where a young boy lay in his bed, the end of his time coming nearer. He had told Delores of the boy. Just one wish, that was all it would take and he could whisk the boy's illness from him, replacing the faulty blood cells with healthy ones. Just one wish to bring happiness beyond belief to the sad, silent mother who sat in lonely vigil at her son’s bedside, choking back her own tears to give strength to the dying child. Just one wish.
     He waited as Delores pulled out her wallet, placing the ticket inside. He was aware when her gaze followed his across the courtyard, to that window in the pediatrics wing. He would not, could not, look at her, but every muscle in his body was taut to the point of pain. Please, he prayed silently. Please let her do this thing, this one kindness.
     "And your final wish?"
     "For my third wish," she spoke slowly, drawing his eyes to her. She looked at Julian, then back out the window, tilting her head. Then that sly, cunning look came into her eyes, and the bottom seemed to drop out of his stomach. He knew that look, what it meant. She'd never even considered using her last wish for the boy.
     "I wish..." that hateful voice paused... drawing out the moment? But he already knew, bitterness burning in his gut. "I wish for a diamond necklace, one that's really fancy, with lots of diamonds. And set in gold. Like the kind from one of those expensive places that the high society women go to."
     Her fingers clutched the bottle more tightly. He knew what she intended. To keep possession of his bottle after the final wish, and pass it on to a family member in return for a share in their good fortune, perhaps for one of their wishes. But it would not work. The magic of the bottle saw to that.
     He pushed back the fury, the despair that pulsed through him, once more touching the gem that rested just below his neck. The familiar zing and sparks filled the air, and a black velvet box materialized in his hands. Placing it on the sheets across her knees, he watched impassively as Delores opened it, gasping in astonished pleasure at the sparkling necklace displayed there.
     He bowed then, spreading his hands wide on either side of his body. "Farewell."
     Only for an instant did he get the fleeting satisfaction of seeing the dismay on her face, hear the startled, angry exclamation as the bottle she held so tightly dissolved into nothing. Then he too was gone, dissolved into nothing, pulled away from her along with his bottle.
     It was over.

Want to read more? 

Centuries ago in plague-struck Italy, Julian DiConti cast a powerful spell in desperation to have the magical power to be able to help his people who were dying in horrific conditions. The spell goes spectacularly awry, leaving Julian enslaved to a Djinn bottle, bound to grant three wishes to each Master of the bottle until the spell can be broken. More than anything, Julian longs for a normal life – for a home, and a family. After six hundred years, however, he has begun to despair of ever being freed from the spell.

Enter Alessandra Taylor, a young woman who has followed her calling to help others, in the face of vociferous disapproval from her family, particularly her controlling father. Working at a shelter for battered women, she's thrilled to meet the reclusive Julian DiConti, whose collection of garments from third world countries has provided funding for shelters across the country. When Julian turns out to be a Djinn from the old bottle she found in her attic, she hears his story and empathizes with his despair. Although she's willing to free him, he can't tell her how. As time goes by, their initial attraction blossoms into a love that both realize is doomed. Once she has made her third wish, the magic of the bottle will whisk Julian away and out of her life forever... unless she can somehow figure out how to free him. But one by one, she's forced to use the precious wishes to help others.

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