Fate's Pawn: Wishes Three

Chapter Six: My Savior

“Dagon?” His grip on me had slipped and his hands fell away. He was oh so still. “Dagon?” I questioned again as I shook his shoulders. My master didn’t move. The carpet landed beside me in a perfectly smooth landing and I glared at it. I turned my attention back to him and leaned close pressing my ear near his lips. Was he even breathing? Soft puffs of air expelled against me, so at least he wasn’t dead. But how hurt was he?

It was forbidden for a genie to use their magic on a human without a wish being granted. I shifted on the back of my heels as I stared at his still body. My blisters and my own pains were forgotten. I took his hand in mine and closed my eyes. I pushed the rest of the world away as I focused on the dim pulse in my grip. It was weak and thus my decision was made. My golden bracelets of servitude burned like hot brands being pressed into my flesh as my magic flowed through me. Gentle tendrils of green energy reached out and surrounded my master. They covered his entire body and then it was all absorbed by him as the magic sought to do its work. Once its connection was cut off with me I slumped and fell sideways to the ground.

The burns didn’t stop as the magic cut off, instead they got more intense. I had done the forbidden and I would suffer the punishment for it. I refused to give lease to the wail that threatened to erupt from me. No, I had to let Dagon focus on healing. It was the only thing of importance. My body started to shake as the pain continued to double. The skin on my wrists bubbled against the scalding metal. This must be what it was like to plunge your arms into scalding lava.

“That was an interesting trick you performed there.” The voice behind me was a long drawl but no malice in it, as far as I could tell. I turned to confront and blinked at the blonde that started back at me. “You can’t talk, huh?” He questioned with a shake of his head. He came closer to me and taking a single finger he traced the cuffs on my arms. A soothing sensation exploded through each and I whimpered now as relief was granted.

“Thank you.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a while now, Acacia.” He smirked at me.

“Who are you?” I demanded as I shifted so I was between him and the still-recovering Dagon. “If you’re one of the collectors, I’ll fight you. I won’t let Dagon be alone.”

“Collectors? Ah, those guys are already after the two of you? No wonder you came on a magic carpet then.” His green eyes flicked over to where the golden square was and he smirked again. “You have me all wrong, Acacia. I’m not after Dagon nor you, at least at the moment. That passed out man over there is a close friend of mine, and I believe he brought you here so that I could be of service to you both.” He inclined his head to me. “My name is Gulliver, but I really would prefer it if you’d just call me Guile. Let’s get the two of you inside, and work on whatever it is my dear friend brought you to me to do.”

I shivered at the open hunger in his eyes. Dagon was like a kitten compared to the predatory vibes that fanned from this one. He wasn’t trying to mask his intentions or feelings at all. “I’ll thank you for saving me, though I don’t understand how you did it, but Dagon is my master. I won’t give you anything for doing it.”

“I haven’t asked you for anything, yet.” He scolded as he wagged a finger my way. He went to Dagon’s side and lifted the man into a sitting position. He was waking up enough to blink at his friend now. “Welcome back to the realm of the living, you’re going to have to tell me just what you did to make a genie offer to throw her life away to save you.”

“Acacia?” Dagon growled at me and I stared at the ground. I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes and see his disappointment in me.

“Come now, Dagon. Why are you growling at the woman? All she did was risk her life for your own.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re very lucky I was here, do you know how much she would have suffered if I hadn’t intervened? Those that create the rules love to punish those who bend them, and she outright broke one.”

“How did you stop the pain?” I demanded. There was no lasting pain, there was nothing at all that left any evidence, and would I have really died?

Once more I found myself under this stranger’s full scrutiny. “You can call me a rule-breaker, I exist outside of the rules of most. Because of that, I was able to stop that nasty curse that was spreading through you. And yes, to that answer in your beautiful eyes, my dear, you would have died a very painful drawn-out death.”

I shuddered at the thought. “I knew it was forbidden, but I never thought it would try to kill me.”

“What were you thinking, Acacia? Didn’t I just tell you that you’re the most important thing to me and that I’d die to keep you safe?” Dagon wasn’t ready to let me off so easily.

“Calm down,” Guile demanded. His eyes were narrowed on Dagon now. “We’ve been friends for a very long time, but I can’t let you continue to scold her like that. I’m quite surprised you nearly died, I thought you were made of sterner stuff. I wouldn’t have got to you in time to stop it either. Without her sacrifice, you would have died and left so much undone.”

“I think you forget your place, old friend,” Dagon argued back. “I have waited far too long to meet her to lose it all because she seeks to save me. Even if I had died, there are ways to get around that, you know that better than anyone. Now, I think we should retreat into your place.”

Guile snorted. “Come this way then, and be nicer to Acacia, or I’ll steal her from under your nose. You already know how I feel about the best of the best.” He winked at me and once more my eyes found the ground. “You’ll be safe with me, Acacia, really safe.”

“That’s one thing you’re good at.” Dagon’s agreement came through gritted teeth. “I didn’t realize you were going to be so keen on her, Guile.”

“Let’s just say that she was above my wildest expectations. Now come along, we don’t want those others catching you and adding you to their collection, you can come along as well, Dagon.”

“Thanks so much,” Dagon grumbled but with a hand on the small of my back, we left the area and followed Guile to an elaborate building with giant statues chiseled to the highest degree of skill.

As my foot crossed the threshold a shiver zipped through my back. And the shackles on my wrist clicked open and fell off of me. I stared at my wrists and then at Guile. “What is this?”

“Just a semblance of my power. Rules don’t matter here, you can do whatever you’ve always wanted to do, Acacia. You can’t even be found here.”

My knees trembled and I fell to the ground. The skin that had been hidden from me for as long as I could remember was revealed and completely smooth. No traces or mars remained. “Am I truly free?”

“Not quite, but as long as you remain in my humble abode here the rules will not apply to you. Once you step foot out of here, your shackles will return. But while you’re with me, you can even use your magic anyway you like. Grant as many wishes as you want.”

“She’s not going to grant your wishes,” Dagon interrupted.

I could grant any wish? “How is any of this possible? I don’t understand, are you a genie?”

“No, I’m a bit more powerful than that. But, I’m going to be upfront with you right now, Acacia. I’ll break the seals around your lamp, so it works even outside of this haven, but for p*****t, I do want a wish of yours to be granted for me. I want three wishes from you and then you can go back to serving Dagon if you wish.”

“Three wishes?” I shook my head. “You don’t understand, every time that I grant a wish, something goes wrong. I have killed so many masters, and doomed others to lives full of misery. I couldn’t even create a proper magic carpet.”

“I’m not worried about death, dear.” Guile’s teeth flashed as he smiled at me. “I have all of these things around me. The best foods in the world, the best luxuries, the best indulgences you could ever imagine, and yet I have no one to share them with. My family was taken away from me when I was very young. My only desire is to have them back in my life and to share all of my accomplishments and success.”

“You lost your family?” I let my mind wander to what it would be like to have one of those but quickly pushed it from my thoughts. Why focus on something that would never happen? Genies were loners, our whole deal was to be alone forever with just brief blips of time where we served a master then back to the overarching loneliness.

“I did.” Guile sighed. “But, let’s not worry about that right now. We can focus on granting my wishes at a later time, for now, I want you to eat and drink and get a good rest.”

“If she’s in any danger at all, she will not be abiding by any of your requests, Gulliver.” Dagon was sneering now. His hands had crept to my shoulders and he pulled me against him. “We might be seeking your help for now, but I will not allow you to have your way with her in any sense of the word.”

“I’ve never seen you so protective.” Guile chuckled. “This is a new sight for me. When my family is returned to me I’m going to have to tell them this story. I know none will believe this to be true, how could it be? The great and mighty Dagon protective of a genie.”

“Great and mighty?” I frowned. “What are you talking about? Dagon hasn’t shown any of that.”

“It’s just a stupid joke of his.” Dagon sighed and shook his head. “You’ll have to learn to ignore most of what Guile says. He lives to torment me, I swear. However, it’s no lie that he’s very strong and you will be safe here. Nothing can penetrate his magic barrier. He’s just blessed that way. Not even the collectors will be able to penetrate this, even if they use their wishes they will not find us.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. “So as long as we’re here, we’re safe? So why don’t we stay here? I don’t want to be hunted any longer.”

“We’ll stay long enough for you to recover, and for your seals to be unleashed, but there’s no way we can stay here, Acacia.” Dagon was shaking his head at me.

“Are you that worried?” Guile chuckled a deep rumble in his throat. “Acacia, don’t listen to him. You can stay here where you’re safe and protected for as long as you wish. In fact, you can stay here forever. After you’ve granted my wishes I will use all of my magic to keep everyone living here safe and sound for the rest of their lives.” He smirked once more at me his confidence in every action. “And if it comes down to it, you can stay here even without Dagon, you’re free to always choose my protection and power over his.”