In a Bottle... Ch. 07

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A little spontaneous vacation uncovers more truth.
12.2k words
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Part 7 of the 8 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 12/07/2010
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Zeban
Zeban
394 Followers

Alan cracked his eyes open expecting to see rays of light penetrating the darkness of his room. Instead he was met with nothing more than the red glow from the numbers on his alarm clock. He had never been much of a morning person so it was a little unsettling that he felt surprisingly alert at 4-whatever in the morning. He thought it might be his body adapting to the morning exercise and waking him up earlier in anticipation. Alan tried to close his eyes and drift back to sleep but someone slipped an idea into his brain. He couldn't take his genies to work again--that was almost a complete disaster even without the magi showing up--but he could take them away from his apartment for the day. He could take them to a place where no one would find them. Some place fun.

Alan's idea excited him. He bounced out of bed and after he quickly flung some clothes on he went across the hall to rouse his genies. If they got on the road soon they could make it before 10.

"Hey sleepyheads! Wake up! Today," he announced far too jovially for being up before the sun, "we are being spontaneous."

He called to leave a message with his boss at work that he wouldn't be coming in today. He needed a vacation and was going to use some of his accrued paid time off.

- - -

Alan went to get a snack out of the cooler that he had brought along. He knew how much his genies enjoyed eating with him and decided not to deny them the simple pleasure of a picnic. He had made up several sandwiches and cut up some melons before they left the apartment.

He smiled to himself as passersby continued to slow down and gaze at his genies on their way along the beach. Both openly gawking chiseled men and jealous bikini-clad women seemed unnaturally drawn to Misty, Lucky, Magik, and Carmella. Alan followed the gaze of the most recent rubbernecker, turning to see what his djinni were up to. The four of them splashed in the surf like giddy little kids either unaware of all the attention directed their way or simply accustomed to it. Whatever the reason, their carefree attitudes only served to make them more beautiful.

Alan had bought them all bikinis before taking the trip. They'd had no idea where he was taking them so early in the morning or why they would need swimwear for a car ride, and Alan purposefully left them in the dark to keep it a surprise for later. He had helped them pick out the ones that he thought looked the most fetching and told them to model for him before he went to buy them all. Unfortunately the department clerk only gave him a scathing look when he asked if he could go with them to the dressing rooms to help see how well they fit.

When they had first arrived at the beach he had set out beach towels for them on the sand and brought the cooler over to stake out a spot for them to relax for the afternoon. Alan had wanted to get away and just enjoy himself for the day. None of the stress of worrying about training his mind to be sharp enough to throw together some magic at a moment's notice. None of the worry of making a mistake at work--double checking all of his numbers to be sure he wouldn't get fired. He had merely sat with them on the towels for a few moments explaining to the djinni how much he loved the outdoors but never really took the time to go anywhere anymore. Now that he had someone to share it with there was more meaning to taking a vacation. For a few minutes the five of them just took it in: The sparkling sand between their toes, the crash of the surf, the seagulls screeching in the distance, the cool smell of the ocean spray.

After they got settled Alan finally noticed how much attention he was getting shortly after he began putting sunscreen on them. Initially his reaction had been another brief bout of paranoia. He wondered if the magi had somehow followed him even here, but when he recognized the familiar stare of desire he felt more at ease. After that he had relaxed again and smiled to himself the entire time he smeared the lotion on each lovely woman one-by-one. Much to the enjoyment of his audience he made extra sure to cover every nook and cranny that was exposed. None of the genies had minded either, passively turning him on by pressing themselves against him as his slippery fingers glided across their skin.

Alan enjoyed himself and entertained the idea of quitting his job and moving to the beach. With what he knew now he could certainly find a way to make money. He pondered about opening a massage parlor in a little hut with the harem right here along the coast as his fingers slid across Lucky's tight greasy stomach. Although the sunscreen had been thoroughly rubbed in, his hands continued to move in slow, sensuous circles across her body for a long time after. There may have even been a dirty joke that involved Alan holding the bottle of sunscreen down by his crotch while he squeezed more onto her frontside.

Needless to say, it had been a great day so far.

"There's more food if you four are interested," he hollered over the pounding of the waves against the rock. He shook his sandwich in the air to punctuate his point in case they hadn't heard him clearly from out in the ocean.

Mesmerized by Lucky's large breasts bouncing to and fro as she chased after the receding waves, Alan barely noticed the sparkling sunlight reflecting off of the larger waves in the distance letting him know that the sun would be setting soon and their day at the beach was likely coming to an end.

'Is it that late already?' He thought to himself. The continuous roar of the waves on the shore accompanied by the salty smelling mist filling the air was so relaxing. He had forgotten how easy it was to just lose track of time.

Suddenly Alan noticed another sparkle. It was closer this time but near some rocks, not out on the water. He became acutely aware of a magical presence and realized that the shimmer he was seeing wasn't from the sun. It was strong now that he was looking for it. The amount of magic emanating from the area almost caused the beach to fade away as a blue mist engulfed him. Was there enough time to fight whatever spell he had been caught in? It was certainly strong. He had never noticed a presence like this before. He would find out now if his time spent training had been a waste or not. He turned around instinctively throwing an invisibility enchantment around himself, fully expecting to find one of the magi hunting him, yet when Alan spun around to face his attacker he saw something he knew in his heart that the average person was not meant to see. He forgot all about his magic and let the enchantment dissolve.

Before him stood an eight foot tall being which was not entirely human. It was human in nature alright--four limbs, a torso, a head, ears, and nose--but its skin was soft around the edges in a way that was difficult to describe. It was as though the blue mist surrounding them was an extension of its body. It was impossible to definitively tell where one ended and the other began. There were three strange orbs that were slowly rotating around its head and Alan couldn't tell what they were. Each seemed to travel on an axis of its own. When they appeared about to collide they instead passed through each other in a way that reminded him of the wax inside a lava lamp. Then there were the eyes--or rather, weren't. Instead of a couple round orbs with irises and pupils, Alan saw only voids of pulsing white energy which seemed to flow inward like perpetual waterfalls.

When it finally opened its mouth to speak he still couldn't decide if this being had a gender. Its voice seemed to consist of several different tones melding together. Not in a chaotic way like several people talking to you at once, but more like a choir of people who are all singing the same song.

[Alan, you are unique,] it said. [I have come to visit you with the hope that you may help me and my kind, as you have shown a desire to do so already.]

"How... how could... you possibly need my help?" Alan managed to push past the mental block of his stupefying incredulity. "How do you know my name? And who are you? Are you what a genie looks like before they take form?" He asked, recognizing the strange colored mist still flowing around them at last. He still found it unnerving not being able to see anyone or anything around him through the thick mist.

[I am not. This is my only form. I am a Master Genie, the most pure of all djinni in existence.] It paused for a moment and Alan could sense that it was looking at him--or into him maybe? He wasn't entirely sure what he could equate a master genie's senses to. [I am the one who melded the djinni with whom you reside.]

"You what?" The hair on the backs of his arms and neck stood up slightly at what he thought this being was implying.

[I melded the djinni you have formed a bond with,] it repeated. [I will not trouble you with the intricacies of creating a djinn. Suffice it to say that the process of melding a soul with the leylines of magic requires immense knowledge and extreme precision. It has taken me several human lifetimes to gather the understanding necessary to interact with such forces and maintain a balance. This is why I require your aid. As I am certain you must know, very few humans are aware of the existence of magic and fewer still resonate with it properly.]

"And in order for me to create a genie, I have to 'resonate' properly?" he asked, not fully understanding what it is the master genie was asking of him. It continued to gaze upon him briefly before the white pools of its eyes suddenly turned crimson and it let loose a series of loud guffaws. Reflexively he brought his arms up and took a half-step back into a defensive stance until he realized that it wasn't going to hurt him.

[Your enthusiasm is certainly not lacking,] it finally replied when it quit laughing. Its eyes settling back down into a creamy orange before going white once more. [No, I would not ask one of the flesh to learn the art of melding. I was referring to your current state of resonance. You are unlike most humans in your interaction with magic.]

Alan wasn't sure if he should feel offended to be laughed at by a master genie, but he decided now was probably not the best time to reflect upon that. He was finally starting to get a vague idea of what it was talking about. The master genie certainly seemed genuine in its appeal for help. Alan forced himself to relax a little, curiosity winning over feelings of self-preservation. "You mean like Brock? And the magi? Does this resonance you keep talking about relate to them and the shimmer that always seems to accompany magic? I'm still fairly new to all of this."

[Yes, the group of individuals who call themselves the magi are particularly greedy. I do not know of the one named Brock. In order to understand this in the context of all things, you must understand first where magic comes from. Your power has been growing lately, correct?]

"Yeah, I have been practicing in case they try to attack me again."

[This is not the reason. Perhaps your familiarity with magic and what you are capable of has grown, but that would not affect your ability to call upon more power. Know that behind all magic, much like all choices made in life, there are intentions. The leylines of magic demand a certain respect. If your intentions for using magic are corrupt and self-serving, your access to power will be limited. Conversely, selfless magic will increase your power by creating new magic. This new magic will follow the link you have retrospectively. This is how I was able to find you so easily. You have been frequently using magic to benefit others. Many of your spells generate new magic which flows along your link. First, back into yourself. Then into the djinn that granted you knowledge of magic, and continuing on into the djinn--myself in this case--who melded her, before finally seeping into the leylines of the Earth.]

Alan's mind briefly flashed back to a conversation he had with Magik about altruism and the strength of magic. He had no idea that things were this complicated. An odd thought came to him: If genies are slaves and are required to grant wishes then they just do it because it is their job. He could choose. True selflessness can only come from choice, not from obligation. His human magic could theoretically become stronger than genie magic if he continued to help people. He wondered if there was any truth to that idea. It was both frightening and exciting.

[All magic comes from the Earth, so it is there that your new magic is invariably drawn. Because you resonate so closely with the nature of the leylines you may also draw upon the magic of the Earth, but until your body becomes accustomed to channeling power it will affect you adversely, likely causing a lapse in neurological connections with your brain.]

"I can channel the Earth's magic?"

[Yes. You have likely been doing this all along before you had much magic of your own. Otherwise it might have taken you decades to reach the level of power and proficiency you have now.]

"I wasn't even aware. They had told me that my body had to be in sync with my mind, nothing about leylines and resonance. Although, now that you mention it, I have been rendered unconscious once from pushing my abilities too far." Alan remembered quite vividly the chimera that he had summoned in that alley several weeks ago. "No, I take that back. Twice. Last night I created a real flame somehow and it forced me unconscious as well... So, in order to channel magic from the Earth I need good resonance. What is the deal with the magi then? They seem to have a pretty good handle on their magic as well, yet they almost killed me trying to find the genies living with me. I see no good intentions there."

[The magi circumvent the need for proper resonance via selfless magic by shattering the links of genies and taking them for themselves. Their power grows with each genie they drain, but the husks they leave behind are something less than dead, yet at the same time their fate is much worse than death. They are beings without souls, left to decay in a short life that can be nothing but agony.]

The master genie paused for a moment; its eyes had turned an iron gray which Alan now deduced was somehow linked to its emotion. It still gave him the creeps.

[It is impossible even for me to know what it feels like to be without a soul for none have survived it, but the feeling of slowly decomposing from the inside cannot be a pleasant one. The amount of magic these magi get through their ruthless methods hardly compares to being able to tap into a great reservoir such as the Earth's magic. This is why they have to drain so many genies, it is incredibly inefficient. Unfortunately, when that happens there is a break in the flow of magic back to me, and that will inevitably result in my being too weak to create any new genies and will finally accelerate my own death.]

"But you're so strong," Alan argued, gesturing around him. "Your shimmer is unlike anything I have seen so far. It doesn't seem confined to you or your spells. It's more like an aura. You must have a significant amount of your own magic. How would you ever become weak enough for that to happen?"

[You use illusory magic primarily, such as that invisibility enchantment you just willed when I arrived. Have you noticed that the longer you will an enchantment to exist, the more difficult it becomes?]

"Yeah, my genies said there is no such thing as permanence when it comes to my enchantments."

[That is an oversimplification. It is true that magic does have limits, but the threshold for those limits is likely difficult for you to comprehend. I have used temporal magic to slow the passage of time while we speak to keep anyone else from taking note of our interaction. This is within my ability, certainly easier than reversing the flow of time, and I have willed this enchantment to exist for several minutes now. I could continue for hours if it were warranted. This is something beyond the ability of any human currently living.]

[The amount of magic that I possess is far superior to yours, yet as a race of magical beings all djinni consume magic every day as a part of our existence. We are magical beings. This trait is what gives us such potent control over magic, but it comes with a price. Much like you would die after ten minutes without oxygen in your blood, I too would die after a short time of being without magic. The genies that I have melded must also consume magic, but on a much lesser scale, especially while they remain in their gaseous form. As they grant the desires of others and use magic of their own I am given enough magic to sustain myself. This is the reason for the mantra instilled in every djinn we meld. They are not only slaves to us, but us to them as well. Without coexistence there would be no existence.]

"I still don't agree with it, but I can see the functional use of such a society," Alan grumbled, still not exactly ready to argue with this intimidating plume of personified magic. "So the magi are causing breaks in your flow of magic and you want to stop them. Do you have a plan?"

[There are enough genie hunters in the world already. If I were to risk openly revealing myself to those such as the magi, their numbers would increase a hundred fold. They would not only begin hunting me for my vast power--a nightmare in itself, imagine the type of Magi that would be spawned if one of them managed to drain my power--but my actions would also endanger the few thousand lesser djinni that I am responsible for. I have been a master genie for close to seven thousand years and in that time I have only encountered two others, just one of whom still lives. I cannot risk doing this task myself with our numbers so few.]

[The magi are dangerous, but they are also foolish. They know next to nothing of the leylines of magic and how their actions are affecting the world. They are nothing more than babes playing with explosives--as much a danger to themselves as those around them.]

Alan felt his face go numb when he realized what this being was indirectly asking of him. He didn't want to anger this immensely powerful djinn by refusing to help. What choice was there?

"So... you want me to help you to... to what? Take down a ring of murderous magic thieves all by myself?" Alan spoke quietly, almost afraid to put voice to his thoughts.

[You are afraid. I cannot blame you. I-]

"You're damn right I'm afraid!" Alan interrupted, his anger at having his fears confirmed overpowering his caution. "You show up here expecting me to think you're some kind of saint while you enslave your whole race. And I'm supposed to help you. I... am supposed to help YOU. I don't care about you or the magic of the Earth. What does it have to do with me? What you're asking is suicide! Maybe I didn't have the biggest plans for my future, but I'd still like to HAVE a future!"

Alan pressed his fingers against his brow, closed his eyes, and took a shaky breath, exhaling slowly. He wasn't the type of person to yell, but this situation felt completely out of his control. He hated being forced to do things.

"Jus-just hold on for a second," he said, waiting for the flowing adrenaline in his veins to ebb.

[I never expressed that you would be alone. I had hope when I came to find you that you would be sympathetic to our cause,] the genie said, remaining impassive.

"I'm sorry. I-" Alan took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Do you know how ridiculous this sounds? You are the most powerful genie I have ever met--and I have seen the others do some amazing things before you showed up--and you're going to tell me that you can't go take care of the magi. Instead I have to go do it? Me. Alan Castillo. I mean obviously I have some access to magic, but a month ago I had no clue about any of this!"

Zeban
Zeban
394 Followers