Shimmer Read online

  The boy didn’t get very far on his bike before there was an almighty thud and they came to a sliding stop. She looked up to see him lying on the ground clutching the burn on his arm. The bike was on its side, engine still running and sending up angry clouds of dust.

  They were still too far apart. Her wrists and ankles were torturously painful. The boy was looking at her. He staggered to his feet and lumbered toward her. The relief was bliss.

  He slumped down on the dirt next to her. He carefully lifted his hand from the blistering welt on his arm as if he wanted to be sure the pain wasn’t about to come to life again.

  ‘So what on earth was that?’

  ‘Whilst I am your genie we cannot be more than a hundred metres apart.’

  ‘You mean you have to be hanging around all the time?’ His expression was horrified. ‘What if I want some privacy?’

  ‘Then you can wish to unharness me.’

  ‘Unharness you?’ His eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Like, set you free?’

  A small flicker of hope fluttered in her belly at the word ‘free’. ‘That is correct.’ She could see his slow mind working.

  ‘But then you wouldn’t be my genie any more?’

  ‘It is for you to decide,’ she said, looking pointedly at his arm. ‘How much do you value your privacy?’

  He frowned. ‘But if I unharness you, does that mean I won’t get any more wishes?’

  Freedom was so close she could taste it. ‘Wish for all you want now,’ she tempted him. ‘As many wishes as you like.’ How much could a human want, anyway? ‘And then you could unharness me and be on your way. Alone!’

  She waited. She could see the idea appealed to him as his stupid human mind sifted through all the pathetic things that he could wish for. But then he shook his head. ‘No. I think I’ll see how having a genie goes for a while.’

  Anger and disappointment coursed through her. ‘Then you had better get used to having me around.’ She arched her eyebrows at him. ‘All the time!’

  She saw a flash of doubt cross his face and he rubbed his chin. ‘So, you will stay my genie until I wish for you not to be?’

  ‘Or until you die.’ She smiled sweetly and glanced at the bike. ‘Whichever happens to come first.’

  He jerked his head in the direction of the bike. ‘Can you do something about that noise?’

  With a brief wave of her wrist the bike disappeared. The sudden silence was unsettling. She felt his eyes on her in silent contemplation. Would the thought of having her around all the time be enough to make him unharness her after just a few wishes? Could she make life so awful for him that he would hate having her around? How she yearned for her freedom.

  ‘So how does it work?’ His words broke into her thoughts. ‘Do you come and live at my house?’

  She sighed. Of course no human was going to give up a genie easily.

  ‘I will live in my own home.’ She met his blank look. ‘The one you stole.’

  ‘Of course,’ he said, touching the pocket that held her globe. ‘You live in the rock that fell out of the sky.’

  Using magic, Kora lifted her globe out of his pocket. It travelled through the air to land safely in the palm of her hand.

  ‘Not a rock.’ She waved her free hand across it and the camouflage dropped away, revealing the most exquisitely beautiful golden vessel. ‘A globe.’

  ‘That’s amazing.’ He looked up. ‘But I thought genies lived in oil lamps? Or bottles?’

  Kora waved her hand again, and the beautiful globe turned into an old-fashioned oil lamp, its ancient silver battered and tarnished. ‘Our globes can appear however we want them to.’

  He shook his head in amazement.

  ‘So do I just call out “genie” when I want you?’

  ‘My name is Kora.’ The thought of him summoning her for every stupid whim irritated her and she used her most condescending voice. ‘But you may call me Empress.’

  ‘Well, Empress,’ he sniggered, imitating her tone of voice. ‘My name is David. But you may call me Master.’

  She stiffened at the word ‘master’. Getting to her feet she looked down her regal nose at him. ‘Some advice, Master,’ she said. ‘Be very, very, careful what you wish for.’

  She allowed her words to hang ominously in the air between them, and then, in a perfect golden mist, slowly shimmered into the haven of her globe.

  all that glitters

  Kora sank gratefully into her favourite seat and curled her toes into the luxurious carpet. Glittering threads of silver and gold were woven through the silk fabrics that lined the walls and covered the cushions in her globe. They sparkled in the soft light that glowed from the hundreds of tiny coloured lamps that floated in the air above her.

  She sipped at the icy fruit drink that appeared in her hand. ‘This Earth climate is dreadful,’ she told Amurru. ‘Humans do not seem to have any control over the weather!’

  ‘Mmm,’ replied Amurru absently. He sat in the small seat that had been specially designed to support his winged back, his eyes on the human boy.

  Kora looked back out at the boy. She liked the place that David had chosen for her globe. It was perched on a small shelf on the opposite side of the room from his bed, sandwiched between a silver football trophy and a photograph showing a much younger David beside an older man in an army uniform.

  From this vantage point she could look down on the boy, and she could keep an eye on what he was doing almost anywhere in the room. At the moment he was stretched out on his bed surrounded by new gadgets. His face was all concentration as he jabbed away at a games console.

  ‘He is lazy and boring,’ said Kora. ‘All he wants are stupid toys.’ Lying next to David on his bed was a pile of new games for the console, and an iPod, its unused earphones dangling down onto the floor. Balanced precariously on his chest was an iPhone that flashed and jiggled with stupid messages from his friends that made him smirk. On the beige carpet by his bed sat a new laptop computer, still in its box, and on the far wall, amongst a tangle of posters of motorbikes and rock bands, hung an enormous, new TV. ‘And he is greedy.’

  Amurru nodded. ‘It is true that he has much to learn.’ His yellow eyes were shrewd. ‘But it is early days, Empress.’

  Kora screwed her face up. Her iced drink vanished and was replaced by a glass bowl piled high with wild red berries. ‘He is a human, Amurru. I doubt he can learn anything.’ She popped one of the berries into her mouth.

  ‘Perhaps you are right, Empress.’ Amurru sighed, the air rattling out of his lungs in a gust of wheezy breath. ‘But he may surprise you, yet.’

  She doubted that anything the boy could do would surprise her. Hadn’t he already proven he was every bit as dumb as the humans in all the old stories? All those stupid wishes he had made since they had arrived at his house! She looked back at him. He must have grown bored with the game he’d been playing. He had dropped it onto the bed beside him and was now lying back against his pillows with his hands behind his head listening to his iPod. And he was looking straight at her.

  She stared back at him, glad that he couldn’t see her. The panoramic viewing screens inside her globe were oneway vision only. All he would be able to see would be the same dusty, grey rock he had first picked up.

  The corners of her mouth lifted as she looked at the white bandage he had clumsily wrapped around the burn on his right arm. He had wished for her to heal it, or at least to stop it from hurting so much. She really had enjoyed telling him that that was one wish she couldn’t grant. Genie magic was the most powerful magic in the universe. But there were some exceptions to its use and one of those exceptions was humans. Humans were impervious to genie magic. No human could ever be harmed, killed or changed in any way by a genie. There were two exceptions to this — the ancient process of harnessing and the ability to be shimmered from place to place by a genie.

  ‘The boy is thinking about something,’ said Amurru, interrupting her thoughts.

  ‘I am su
re that is a very difficult task for him,’ she sneered.

  Amurru laughed, coughing out a strange choking sound. ‘Nevertheless, he has something on his mind, Empress.’

  ‘He is probably trying to think of a new toy he has not wished for yet.’ Kora’s face was scornful, but she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t like to admit that David’s direct blue gaze unsettled her, even knowing that he couldn’t see her. ‘Or maybe he is just thinking about his stomach.’ She looked at the crushed bundle of empty fast-food wrappers that had been squashed into the little rubbish bin next to his bed.

  ‘It is more than that, I think, Empress.’ He nodded his head thoughtfully. ‘He is troubled.’

  ‘I doubt that, Amurru,’ scoffed Kora. ‘What troubles could he possibly have?’ She waved away the glass bowl and curled her feet up on the cushion beside her. ‘The only things he thinks about are toys, food and avoiding his chores.’

  ‘Mmm, perhaps,’ murmured Amurru. His voice sounded distracted and Kora glanced at him. She saw his ears twitch, then swivel around towards the bedroom door.

  ‘Someone is here, Empress.’

  Kora sat up straighter in her seat and looked towards the door. Within seconds she heard the click-click-click of high-heeled shoes as they tapped down the passage towards David’s bedroom. She glanced at David. He was deep in thought and, with the earphones in, he hadn’t heard the footsteps yet.

  ‘David?’ called out a soft, gentle voice.

  At the sound of his name he lurched off the bed in surprise, his face panicky and unsure. He took one tentative step towards the door and Kora thought he was going to rush out of the room to greet his visitor, but she arrived in the doorway before he could move.

  ‘There you are, David,’ she said in a singsong voice. A short woman wearing shiny, pink high heels and black trousers appeared in the bedroom doorway. She was a little on the plump side, Kora thought, and plain looking. But there was something sweet about her. Her eyes were blue, like David’s, only hers were much softer. Her long, fair hair was pulled back from her face into a ponytail, giving her a youthful, sporty look, and she wore a navy shirt with the words ‘Panda Rock DVD & Games Hire’ written across the front pocket. One hand clutched a bundle of unopened mail.

  Tiny creases fanned out from around her eyes, and she wore virtually no make-up apart from a smudge of pink lipstick.

  ‘Mum!’ exclaimed David. Kora thought she detected a note of panic in his voice. ‘You’re home from work early.’

  ‘David, the house is lovely,’ cooed the woman. Her eyes sparkled. ‘It’s spotless! You must have cleaned all day.’

  ‘Oh,’ he mumbled, sidling further away from his bed. ‘Yeah, I cleaned up for you.’

  ‘And you’ve done all your chores as well,’ continued his mother. ‘And the front garden has been weeded!’ She shook her head in amazement. ‘You even swept up the driveway. How on earth did you get time for all that?’

  ‘Um, well,’ he mumbled, ‘I thought it would be nice for you.’ He moved towards his mother, his face turning a strange shade of red. ‘Come on, Mum,’ he said, ‘I’ll make you a cup of tea.’

  He took his mother’s arm and tried to turn her from the room, but it was too late. The smile on his mother’s face froze as her eyes caught sight of her son’s bed. She sucked in her breath as she took in the mountain of new electronic equipment. Her gaze dropped down to the laptop on the floor before moving up to the electronics piled on his desk. And then she lifted her eyes to the far wall. A look of horror and disbelief spread across her face. She began to pant in short, anxious gasps and her eyes filled with tears as they locked onto David’s forty-inch-high definition plasma TV.

  Can you keep a secret?

  Amurru’s ears twitched madly.

  Kora frowned. ‘What’s the matter with you?’

  ‘I have been summoned.’

  ‘My father?’

  Amurru nodded. He glanced out towards David. ‘It seems we are both being summoned.’

  She ignored the uncomfortable sensation of having her name called by her new master. ‘He can wait. I want to see what my father wants.’

  Amurru turned one ear to David. ‘He is impatient.’

  Her bangles jingled. ‘So am I. Now go.’

  Amurru shrugged and closed his eyes. The wrinkles on his face seemed to flatten out a little and his normally short, wheezy breath deepened. He rolled his shoulders and his long, shiny amber wings extended, stretching downwards until they brushed against the floor. Then they curled and wrapped tightly around him, forming a translucent armoured cocoon. She could always feel the moment he projected. It was like a great source of energy had vanished. It was a skill peculiar to armourowls, the ability to leave their body behind and project themselves in energy form to another place, where they would appear like a small moving image of themselves, a hologram, able to talk and listen to whoever was there. It was exhausting for them and also incredibly dangerous. The body left behind was vulnerable, protected only by its shield of wings.

  She paced the floor. Something was wrong. It was too soon for her father to make contact. The calling of her name increased in both frequency and demand and she glared out at the stupid human.

  ‘Kora!’

  His tone shifted to one of command and the force of it caused her to shimmer from her globe.

  ‘What do you want now?’

  He looked at her accusingly. ‘I’ve been calling you.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘Didn’t you see my mum?’ His arm flailed in the air. ‘She’s gonna think I stole all this stuff.’

  She stared at him in disbelief. Amurru was in her globe projecting himself back to Genesia and David had summoned her away because of a problem with his mum. He really was completely unaware of anybody but himself.

  She wrinkled her nose at the assault of Earth smell that invaded her senses. ‘Do you want me to get rid of your new toys?’

  ‘Of course not.’ He glanced lovingly up at his new plasma. ‘I want you to come and meet my mum. Explain things.’

  ‘You idiotic human.’ She lifted herself up to her full height. Her power rumbled in her chest and the air sizzled like an approaching thunderstorm. ‘You must tell no one about me. Do you understand?’

  David stood a little taller. ‘You never said it was a secret.’

  ‘Every human in history that has harnessed a genie and not kept the secret has been murdered.’

  David’s head snapped up. ‘Why?’

  ‘So they can harness the genie for themselves. Humans are very bad at keeping secrets. Tell one person and it will not be long until your secret is out. And then it will not just be your life that will be endangered.’

  She was pleased to see the look of shock on David’s face until she realised it was not her words that had caused it. He was staring intently at her globe. She turned in time to see that Amurru had left the globe and was shuffling towards David.

  David’s jaw fell open. ‘What on earth is that?’

  Before she could answer Amurru extended a short, fuzzy hand up towards David in traditional Earth custom. ‘Hello, David. My name is Amurru.’

  David looked gigantic towering over Amurru. The tips of his ears barely reached David’s waist.

  David bent his knees and reached down. He tentatively clasped Amurru’s short, stumpy fingers with their yellowed, pointy claws. ‘Um … hi.’

  Kora felt like she was going to explode. ‘What are you doing out here?’

  ‘I am most pleased to finally meet with you, David.’ Amurru removed his hand from David’s grip and turned to Kora. ‘I have news, Empress.’ Amurru glanced at David. ‘And it affects both of you.’

  Her earlier unease returned with full force. She knew something was wrong. ‘My father?’

  ‘Everyone at home is fine.’ Amurru assured her but his voice was grave. ‘But they believe Vennum is monitoring Earth.’

  ‘He knows I am here?’

  ‘We cannot be
sure.’

  ‘How could he know so soon?’

  ‘There was a power spike.’

  She did not need to ask when. Amurru did not say it but she felt the accusation. The excessive power she had used in disguising her globe and fighting against being harnessed would have registered as a power spike to anyone looking out for it.

  ‘As long as you are careful he will not find you.’ Amurru’s yellow eyes lifted to David. ‘Both of you will need to be careful.’

  ‘Careful of what? And what’s a vennum?’

  ‘I told you it was a waste of time sending me here.’ Kora folded her arms. ‘I told you all.’

  Amurru ignored her. ‘Vennum is the most dangerous threat Genesia has ever faced.’

  Kora knew the dimwit would need further explanation. ‘Genesia is where we come from. And Vennum is half-human and half-genie — he has the long life of a genie but no magic of his own. This makes him very dangerous. His human side enables him to harness genie after genie and his long life means that most of them will remain harnessed to him for the rest of their lives. He is only twenty-two years old, and yet he already has dozens of genies under his control.’

  ‘So I could have more than one genie?’

  Unbelievable! Could he be more selfish? She looked pointedly at the bandaged burn on his arm. ‘Can you imagine what that would feel like?’

  She liked the shudder she saw pass through him.

  ‘Why would he need so many genies? Can’t one grant all his wishes?’ asked David.

  Amurru coughed and wheezed. ‘His wish is to destroy the Empire. He will crush the royal blood line and rule Genesia himself.’

  She could see David’s mind at work. It may be slow but she felt sure he was indeed piecing it together. ‘It’s you he wants.’ He poked an accusing finger at her. ‘Royal blood. You’re hiding here and you need me to keep your secret.’

  She flung her dark hair back off her face. ‘And if Vennum does find me, who is it that he will need to kill to harness me?’