“No,” I said sharply. “Zafir, move.”
“I won’t,” he replied without looking back. His voice was overly calm, and that terrified me more than Rahil’s smile.
“How gallant,” Rahil drawled. “Are you two ready to play my games? But here, I make the rules.”
His dagger flashed. There was no time to scream, no time to think. Rahil lunged, driving the blade toward Zafir with supernatural speed.
Zafir twisted at the last second so the dagger missed hisheart by inches but sank deep into his side instead. Blood bloomed instantly, dark and copious, on his tunic.
“Zafir!” I screamed.
He staggered as Rahil wrenched the knife back.
Zafir clenched his teeth, breath hissing. Then his hand dove into his coat and came up clutching a vial that he smashed against Rahil’s chest.
The potion burst in a cloud of shimmering gold and sickly green vapor. Essence of lockjaw.
Rahil recoiled, swearing as he stumbled backward, blinking rapidly. “You—” he spluttered, but his speech became garbled and his jaws clamped shut.
Zafir pawed for the lamp and spoke in choked gasps even as he winced and clutched at the wound in his side. “I wish to gain the intrinsic, permanent, and uncorrupted ability to heal any injury, illness, poison, curse, or affliction in any living creature, including myself…” He paused, gulping for air, then continued, clenching his teeth against the pain, “by my own will and touch, without cost…consequence, or harm to m-myself, the recipient, or any other person, place, or object, and without d-d-diminishing the duration, quality, or…or natural span of their life…” His voice faded as his eyes rolled. He sank to the floor, letting the lamp fall as he groped for his side, eyes filling with tears as blood continued to flow in a steady stream from the stab wound. He wouldn’t be able to complete his rehearsed wish. He gritted his teeth, and on his exposed wrist, a tattoo just like mine blossomed into existence.
Another master. Another human to give Rahil even more strength.
Rahil wrenched his jaws apart and snapped his fingers with a tiny puff of purple smoke. “Wish granted.”
He looked down at Zafir and massaged his jaw. “Cleverto use essence of lockjaw, but it isn’t nearly as effective on me as it would be on another human. Too bad you’ll die before you ever get to make use of the wish. Tragic, really.” Rahil laughed and tilted his head as he considered Zafir. “You don’t even have enough life force left to bother containing you in a vessel. You aren’t worth the energy. I’ll enjoy killing you.”
He advanced again, dagger raised.
I moved without thinking, throwing myself between Zafir and Rahil. “Stop!”
Rahil halted instantly. His eyes flicked to the fallen lamp, then back to my face.
“Here we are again,” he said pleasantly. “I thought you would’ve learned better by now.”
Blood dripped from Zafir’s side, staining the stone floor a bright red. He let out an agonized groan. “Alia, don’t.”
“Pick up the lamp,” Rahil hissed to me. “You know you want to.”
Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly lowered myself to pick up the lamp. Zafir was taking deep breaths, hands pressed to his side.
“Wish for his eternal life,” Rahil said quietly. “Go ahead. I can heal him or even make him immortal if you’d like. He’ll never age, never fade. You can have him forever.”
My fingers tightened around the lamp. I knew such a wish would be twisted, and yet…the temptation remained.
“Think of it,” Rahil pressed. “You’ll save him. Isn’t that what you want? Better hurry. He doesn’t have long left.”
My hands trembled around the lamp.
Eternal life.
Immortality.
But a gift from a genie was never a gift. No matter what Idid, Rahil was going to destroy me. If I was going to have a wish, I would use it to protect those I cared about most.
Zafir sat up. He was grimacing but still trying to formulate words, moving his hands in a rhythmic pattern.
I knew what he was about to do the moment before he did it.
