Chapter 3

"Where are we?" In front of us sat a candlelit table for two boasting a silver dish with a matching dome over each plate. Beyond that, the room was eerily dark and tomb-like.

"My home. Far away from prying eyes." Genie glanced around but said nothing.

I wondered if he had the capability to see in the dark. No wonder he preferred the tiny room I lived in as opposed to this scary place. How could he live here with only a table?

"How-how did we get here?" Thankfully a portion of my brain worked enough to ask. This place wasn't for me and even though a part of me wanted to get to know Genie better, the other parts wanted to get the hell out of here.

Genie sighed as he released me, walked over toward the table and pulled out a chair for me. "Please, have a seat and I'll explain."

Fear. That's what I should have felt, yet curiosity led me to sit. Cautiously, I walked over there. The ground beneath my feet was black and I couldn't tell what it was made of. Not too hard, not too soft. Stone and dirt I knew, but not this. "Why is everything so dark?"

With a wave of his arm, Genie brought our surroundings into light. Almost too brightly but after a few blinks, I was able to focus.

"Oh my. Is that…?" My finger shot out at the massive piles of treasures. Literally. Gold, jewels, tapestries, all separated accordingly. Artifacts of all kinds were displayed on pedestals and behind glass cases. Things I'd only seen in textbooks, but never in person.

"Did you steal this, or does it belong to the Maharajah?" Maybe Genie guarded the Maharajah's treasure as part of his duties. Still didn't answer how we got here.

"No, it does not belong to that imbecile. It's mine, I've collected it legitimately over the centuries. I've been alive for eons, during which I've amassed quite the collection." Genie's gaze wandered as he stared off, though he focused on nothing before his gaze returned to me. Had he changed his mind about my being here? Maybe I'd seen too much now.

"Wait…" Had I been hit on the head? Was this some sort of coma-induced dream? "Eons? This has to be a dream. No one lives that long, nor do they have this much gold."

"You're not asleep, Raj. Please, look at me."

There before me floated a barely visible whisp of green with Genie's emerald eyes. No legs, but two arms adorned with his same gold bands around the wrists.

"You're green. And see-through. And floating. You look like…" I drew a blank, this apparition looked like nothing I'd ever seen. There was no way to describe it.

"Don't you dare tell me I look like a lizard, boy. If you do, there will be hell to pay." He winked, or at least I thought he did. I wasn't sure and right then I didn't trust my own judgment.

"A lizard?" Not quite how I'd describe what I saw, but I guessed someone had called him that before. "What? Lizard?" I still had no clue what I was looking at nor could I finish a sentence for my life, at least not verbally. For sure I was sleeping. I had to be, there was no other explanation. Right?

There was no other way to explain this idiotic dream. What an imagination I had. I shook my head and laughed at myself. The gold and jewels were easy to rationalize. They represented the wealth I'd need to achieve the freedom I'd longed for. To get away from this village and start again somewhere new. The bed depicted a comfortable place to lay my head. Both things I'd need to survive—money to buy food and a place to sleep.

That's it, I just had to lie back down and let it play out, then wake with the sunrise and I'd be back to my boring life. But a least it made sense. This though, no. "Time to sleep. It's been a long day." I walked toward the bed, not my bed, but then again this was a dream, and it was so much better than my real one. Warm and inviting. It looked so comfy, if I could just put my head down on the fluffy pillows.

"Raj, you're not sleeping. Now for the last time, please come and eat." Genie's irritation with me increased, though I didn't understand why. This was my dream, after all.

I crossed the room, sat and vigorously dug in, but kept my eyes downward. I didn't want to see any more apparitions, nor did I want to hear ghostly voices. This dream-turned-nightmare had to end. Even if the food was fantastic and the gold called to me. Still, if I ate maybe he would take me home.

"Good boy."

Do not look up. Do not look up. Do not…

You are such an idiot.

Genie was back to the form I was used to. More like the one I could handle. Human, and he now sat in the chair beside mine.

"Did you drug me? What did you put in the food? Am I hallucinating?" There was no other reason for this. I'd heard of things like that happening, people getting drugged and kidnapped. Never to be seen again. Oh no, is that what happened? Did I get kidnapped? My heart raced and my head throbbed. I'd had enough of this.

"No. Never would I do that, nor would I allow you to do any harm to yourself. I'm sorry if seeing me in my true form set you off." Genie pushed the food around on his plate, but never took a bite. "Is the food not to your liking?"

"True form? So that was real? This isn't a dream?" My stomach soured and I lost all desire to eat. I had to get out of there before I got turned into one of those fancy rugs.

"Yes. I told you we had much to talk about, the main item being that I'm a magical being. Created by magic. The human form you're used to seeing me in isn't natural, though I've been in it far longer and more often than I've spent as myself." Genie reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. His thumb rubbed slow circles over my palm.

I should've been freaking out, being touched by him, but found it oddly soothing. My heartrate slowed and I was able to get my thoughts in order.

"How do you expect me to react to that? You turn into something I can't even describe. Your home is full of stolen goods. How are we not going to be beheaded when the Maharajah finds out? Or are we in his private rooms? We shouldn't be here." I needed to get out and get as far away from him as possible. But where was the door? Windows?

"This is not the Maharajah's treasure, and we are not in the palace. Why is this so hard for you to understand?" Genie's voice rose with each word, both our tempers near the boiling point.

"Take me home. Now."

"Please, stay. I've waited so long for this." His hand trailed up my arm.

My skin prickled and the hair stood on end. My body was at war between whether that was a good thing or not. "Are you kidnapping me? I've asked to leave and now you've kept me against my will."

Genie's laughter echoed through the cavernous room. "No, dear boy. I have not kidnapped you. I've longed to have you here. To hold you. I want you to be mine, Raj. But if you truly wish to leave, I'll take you home."

Every story I'd ever read with those words in it didn't end well for the characters involved. Becoming a ‘this is what will happen to you' story wasn't the example I cared to set. Though I'm sure it was fully expected of me by now, given the example my parents were remembered for.

"Longed to have me here? Yours? Like a possession to add to your collection? How many boys do you have?" My mind was made up, it was time to go. Something wasn't right with this guy and the words he chose were laced with red flags. Scratch that, lots of things weren't right with this. But should I find the other boys and free them first? They had to be around here somewhere.

"There are no others, Raj. Just you. It's always been you." Genie's dreamy-eyed gaze met mine and I nearly rolled my eyes.

Was he flirting with me? Would I even know if he was considering that's never happened to me before? Focus, Raj, and think. There has to be a way out of here.

My temper reached the point of no return and boiled over. "What the fuck is going on?" Not watching my language as he'd before warned was how I ended up with my pants around my ankles, ass up across Genie's lap. "What the?" It was futile to fight, he had me pinned down.

"Finish that sentence, boy, and I'll add ten more swats." He went from one extreme to the next in no time flat. But the sultry lilt to his voice when he said that was something else entirely.

"Swats?" I shivered. Gone was all the other nonsense running through my head. That single word was all I heard. Terrified? No, no I wasn't, yet thirty seconds ago I was. What the hell was wrong with me?