Three Genie Brothers
By Christian Roulland KuengiUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2013 Christian Roulland Kueng
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4759-6185-0Contents
Acknowledgments...................................................................................ixChapter One A Family of Jinn.....................................................................1Chapter Two Meet the Outsider....................................................................15Chapter Three Master Jindrake's Advice...........................................................28Chapter Four The Amethyst Bottle.................................................................39Chapter Five The Neighbors on Euclid Avenue......................................................47Chapter Six Oh, I Wish!..........................................................................56Chapter Seven The Fourth Genie Brother...........................................................66Chapter Eight The Boy on the Flying Carpet.......................................................76Chapter Nine The Genies Belong to Me.............................................................87Chapter Ten The Bottle's Prisoner................................................................97Chapter Eleven I Dream of Genie Life.............................................................106Chapter Twelve Abeysckera's Emporium of Delights.................................................113Chapter Thirteen A Special Gift for the Genie Brothers (and More Surprises!).....................124Chapter Fourteen Secrets in the Library of Records and Antiquities...............................136Chapter Fifteen The Sultan's Children............................................................147Chapter Sixteen The Three Spiders................................................................158Chapter Seventeen The Little Man Speaks..........................................................168Chapter Eighteen Camels, Dream Chasers, and the Jinn Cup Derby...................................175Chapter Nineteen The Arrival of Aunt Majo and Aunt Saffire.......................................192Chapter Twenty Cassidy's Headaches...............................................................204Chapter Twenty-One Impostor Unmasked.............................................................214Chapter Twenty-Two The Sandwalker................................................................224Chapter Twenty-Three The Garden of Wegelius......................................................233Chapter Twenty-Four When Aristede Met Cassidy....................................................245Meet the Author...................................................................................259
Chapter One
A Family of Jinn
Aristede and his wife, Cassidy, lived in a gray stucco-coated house in Ontario, California. Actually, their home was in an expensive bottle made of amethyst that sat unnoticed on a shelf between picture frames and other knickknacks. Every afternoon, the sunlight beamed through the windows of the French doors and bounced off the purple bottle's surface.
The bottle house was spacious and didn't show the true size of the living area. It was more like the inside of a round tent. In addition to a large center room, there were sleeping chambers, an eating area, and a sunken retreat with many pillows strewn around. Silky curtains draped down from the bottle spout, which served as the portal to the outside human world.
Aristede and Cassidy were jinn. Jinn was actually the old word for genie and is now used most often in formal conversation and on official documents. Aristede was a tall, muscular genie with hair cropped short and a goatee. Cassidy was a slender woman who wore a thin, see-through veil that draped across the front of her neck and pulled back tightly to the crown of her head, tied off by a golden band. Her wavy blonde hair flowed down the middle of her back.
They had three ten-year-old sons: Justin David, Morgan, and Blake, who were triplets. When the boys were younger, it had been extremely hard to tell them apart. They had learned early on that triplets could create confusion just by answering to each other's names. But they also had capitalized on their identicalness. One time Justin David (whom everyone called JD for short) had replaced the mirror in their room with a glass pane; Morgan hid behind it so when Cassidy walked in on them, JD's mirror image didn't seem to follow the same movement as JD.
Another time Blake had pretended to be hit by a wooden block that had supposedly zoomed across the room, like an arrow, and hit his forehead, causing a bloodied injury. His shrill scream had brought Aristede and Cassidy running to see what the commotion was all about. When their parents weren't looking, JD had switched places with Blake. With a twist of her hand, whipping up a wash towel, Cassidy had found JD sitting there, smiling as if nothing had happened. They certainly enjoyed confusing their parents with their playacting.
Like most genie boys, JD, Morgan, and Blake wore loose-fitting, baggy pants and vests over their white button-down shirts. Although there was no question that these sibling brothers were identical—with dark green eyes, straw-colored hair, stubby little noses, and dimpled smiles—they were also different in many ways.
JD had a sense of adventure, which was enhanced by his fascination with the human world. He was also the first of his brothers to show his genie powers. It had happened when he was five and had wanted his stuffed griffin one night. He put his arms straight out in front of him, and the griffin began to flitter its wings back and forth before floating to his waiting arms.
Morgan, on the other hand, had an extensive vocabulary, using words like preposterous, meticulous, and furthermore, which made everyone consider him the smart brother.
Finally, Blake was the youngest triplet by ten minutes. He was sweet-natured and loved animals. But unlike JD, who neatly brushed his short hair up in front, or Morgan, whose eyes were almost covered with his parted hair that hung down, Blake could go for days without combing his hair at all.
One morning an official-looking parchment appeared in a dented and dimpled mail jar. Not only did the parchment have a red ribbon tied around the rolled-up paper, but also it had a gold seal that could be broken only by Aristede and Cassidy. It was a typical security measure by the Academy for Jinn Studies. This is where our story begins.
Aristede ushered JD, Morgan, and Blake into the sunken retreat.
"What's going on?" JD asked.
"You're coming of age when you can be summoned," Aristede said to them. "Do you understand what that means?"
Before JD had a chance to answer, Morgan stepped forward and eagerly shared what he knew.
"In the life of genies, usually beginning the tenth year, and in accordance with jinn law, genies must leave their containers, whether it is a bottle or a lamp, and go to the outside world, where they are forced into the service of a human master who receives three wishes," he said.
Impressed with his son's understanding of a genie's life, Aristede then asked, "What happens after a human's wishes are granted?"
"A genie returns to the life in his or her container until another person takes possession of it," Morgan added. "If the portal remains open, genies can come and go into the human world."
JD sneered at his brother and whispered coolly, "Show-off."
"Because of that, the masters from the Academy for Jinn Studies are coming to evaluate your powers. That's what this letter is all about," Aristede said. "They'll be here tomorrow."
Early the next morning, the triplets sat on the hearth of the fireplace. JD and Morgan were performing magic tricks for each other. JD blew into his hands, and when he pulled them apart, a pink hummingbird appeared, twittering from one part of the room to another. Quietly Morgan pointed at the bird, making it disappear, leaving behind only one pale red feather that glided to the floor.
Blake, on the other hand, played with a marble-like sphere called an orbular. It was the size of his fist. The swirls of tan-colored shapes let JD and Morgan know their brother was watching a camel race. Unlike an ordinary camel race in the human world, these camels had wings, and they flew around a long oval track.
Usually the only sounds came from the low gurgling of water in the oblong reflecting pool in the center chamber of the bottle and from water splashing out of a copper sphere fountain in the sunken retreat. But today, at precisely nine o'clock, a low rolling sound trembled underneath them, interrupting their activities. The noises continued to grow louder. And there they were—their examiners. They were sitting on large elephants, three of them, linked together from trunk to tail.
On the lead elephant was a burly-framed man with short brown hair and long sideburns that were neatly trimmed. His height and his muscular body created an awesome impression to most people when they met him for the first time. Up close, the most unusual feature of the genie master was his eyes: one was an ocean blue and the other was a hazel-brown.
"It's Jindrake," Cassidy said.
He gave her a kind smile.
Jindrake was a highly regarded staff member to the viziers on the Supreme High Council of the Jinn (more commonly referred to as just the Jinn High Council, a group of very powerful genies who enforced the laws and ruled all aspects of genie life). Also, he had been Aristede's supervisor when he, Aristede, worked for the council himself.
Atop the second elephant sat a woman wearing a green outfit and whose hair went in all directions. On the last elephant was another woman, squinting her eyes behind her round, full-moon glasses. The guests floated up and out of their coaches, all in sitting positions with their legs under them.
JD, Morgan, and Blake moved from the fireplace and made a wide circle around the elephants. Their guests followed the triplets down the three steps into the sunken retreat where Aristede and Cassidy were. The elephants disappeared with a sudden pop, leaving behind a trail of green smoke.
"I didn't know they were coming by elephant train," JD whispered to his brothers.
Aristede and Cassidy didn't seem surprised at how they had arrived. In fact, it was almost as if they had been expecting it. Cassidy patted the place next to her on the sofa, indicating that she wanted the boys to sit next to her.
Jindrake opened his long, firm hand with his palm facing them. He pressed it first against Aristede's hand and then against Cassidy's, as this was the acceptable greeting in the jinn world.
"We should have known you'd be coming. We can always expect the unexpected with you!" Cassidy said.
"I thought I'd have a little fun surprising you. Besides, I have a special interest in these young genies, and it has given me a chance to see my favorite godsons."
The fact was that JD, Morgan, and Blake were Jindrake's only godsons.
"Now, let me make introductions," Jindrake said. He extended his hand to the taller of the two women. "This is Miss Florine."
The wild-haired woman bowed.
"And this is Miss Jinane," he added. "Both are instructors at the Academy for Jinn Studies."
Miss Jinane, through the bangs of her long, streaked-colored hair, gave them a scrutinizing look. She lifted the hem of her light-colored blue skirt and sat down on a large cushion.
The triplets already had been in the novice program, learning such things as elementary wish granting, enchanting objects by bringing them to life, and basic vaporization and smoke movement. Depending on the results of a formal evaluation, they would move on to a more rigorous course of study that included spending a week at the academy after the completion of a sequence of instruction called a module.
"There will be two parts to the examination," Miss Jinane said. "A composite score will determine the next phase of your education. Do you understand?"
The three boys nodded nervously. They had never had three teachers from the academy in their home before.
"Good. Let us begin."
The first part of the assessment was a written component. It had questions on jinn lore ("Where did the original jinn create their world?"), flying carpets ("What is the purpose of the number of knots in the fringe of a flying carpet?"), and the Supreme High Council of the Jinn ("Identify the differing roles of the viziers").
Morgan did extremely well, finishing in less than an hour. His answers succinctly explained how the twelve original jinn had come together in the Majlis-al-Jinn cave, one of the largest cave chambers in the country of Oman in the human world. The Garden of Wegelius was the place of origin of their world, and the knots determined the altitude a carpet could reach. He correctly identified the seven viziers of the Jinn High Council (one each for flying carpets, magical beasts, history and artifacts, currency, the Academy for Jinn Studies, Outsider relations, and enchantment laws). Blake could identify only five viziers, whereas JD could name only four. However, they both received extra credit on the exam, Blake for including historical background on previous Jinn Cup Derby races and JD for telling the proper way to land a carpet. Morgan did not have these details in his responses.
After a short break, the triplets were tested on their actual use of genie magic.
The test began with a simple warm-up activity, in which they had to levitate objects like stuffed toys, blocks, and parchment rolls, moving them back and forth in midair between the lady examiners and themselves.
Next, JD, Morgan, and Blake were asked to make illusory sounds that would come from some other part of the bottle. They could do this in their sleep, JD thought.
JD began by stomping his foot. A few seconds later, Morgan snapped the fingers on both hands in sync with his brother's foot stomping. Then Blake clapped his hands. When they stopped the sound making, the same sounds—stomping, snapping, and clapping—in the same synchronized rhythms came from the eating area.
JD let out a sarcastic yawn to show how simplistic (and boring) these tasks were.
Because of JD's rather insulting gesture to the first task, Miss Jinane whispered something to Miss Florine, who then smiled widely.
"Since it is obvious that what we have asked of you seems to be beneath your genie level, we have something else for you to show us," she said.
Aristede and Cassidy shook their heads in tandem as Miss Florine waved her palm from right to left, and each triplet held a scrap of parchment that gave him a random but unique task.
JD's assignment was to create a dancing wisp of light, emanating from his fingers. He held up his left hand, and lights shot up from his fingertips. No problem.
Morgan received a nearly dead single-stemmed rose. His task was to revive the wilting flower. With a quick wink, the peach-colored petals regained their color, and the stem strongly supported the blossom.
Blake was happy that all he had to do was cool a warm liquid in a chalice that appeared in his hand. He made it easy by twirling his finger around the chalice mouth. Suddenly four or five cubes of ice dropped out of the air and into the beverage.
"Not bad," Miss Jinane said to him.
For the final test, each triplet received an ordinary inanimate object and had to enlarge it. JD got a sand timer, Morgan had three pieces of cutlery shaped into a small sculpture, and Blake found he was holding a triple-decker sandwich. The boys were so anxious that all felt the adrenaline race through them. Making the sounds repeat elsewhere in the bottle was one thing, but enlarging a three-dimensional object was something else. They would be graded on how long it took to change the object, with extra points given for ingenuity.
JD excelled here, and Morgan managed to make the sculptural object four times its normal size. Blake leaned forward, and only the slices of tomato got bigger.
Blake got extra points for creativity for his selective enlargements.
"There. That concludes our assessment," Miss Florine said. She jotted down the last of her observations on her clipboard. "They are progressing nicely. A complete report of findings will be sent to you, along with the placement for their next instructional module."
"So we're done?" Blake asked. Aristede and Cassidy nodded smilingly.
"That wasn't so bad. I thought we would have been asked to blend," JD added.
Jinane and Florine turned quickly.
"Blend?" Miss Florine asked. "You can blend? I mean, a complete blend at your age?"
"Remarkable, isn't it?" Jindrake said with the same smile, which was crooked on one side of his mouth, the smile that Cassidy liked so much.
Blending meant taking on the colors, shapes, and textures of whatever was behind them in the background. Blending didn't really make them disappear; it only made them hard to see.
"Of course we can blend," Morgan said.
The boys stood in a straight line. JD dropped his head and loosened his arms. He rotated his head back up and around before he inhaled a deep breath. He looked as though he were warming up for a sporting event.
Within seconds, they blended into the background. The only way anyone could tell they were still there was by the blinking of their eyes. Without any warning, they unblended.
"I believe this information should be included in your observational report, don't you agree, ladies?" Master Jindrake said.
Jinane and Florine moved to the open space in the center chamber to confer privately with each other. They quickly scribbled some more.
"We will leave you now!" Miss Jinane said. "Will you be going with us, Jindrake?"
"No. I want to spend some time here with my godsons."
An updraft of smoke came from the floor. When the smoke cleared, the ladies had disappeared, off to assess another young genie.
Jindrake turned back and said, "Now that we're done with that, and to celebrate your outstanding performance today, I have something for each of you."
From another puff of purple smoke, a wicker basket materialized near one of the center chamber's many urns. Then the basket lid popped up and dropped just as fast, followed by a low growl from inside.
Hesitantly, Blake lifted the lid, and three furry tiger cubs were trying to climb out. Two of the cats were orange in color, and the other was all white. The only thing the white cat had in common with his brother and sister were the black stripes on his body.
"What do you know? Panthera tigris," Morgan said.
JD folded his arms in front of him and shook his head.
"Oh, peacock feathers! Can't you just call them tigers?"
Morgan lowered one eyebrow and sneered.
"That is the proper name for the species," Morgan replied.
"Only you would know that, Mr. Know-It-All!" JD retorted.
"Stop arguing and move over," Blake said. He squeezed between Morgan and JD and picked up one of the orange tiger cubs. He looked at his brothers curiously and said, "This is how to take care of animals."
While Blake bent down to play with the only female cub from the trio of tigers, JD and Morgan moved to the other two.
Now that each had his own little tiger cub, what were JD, Morgan, and Blake going to name them? That was where Jindrake helped.
"I can tell you the female enjoys citrus fruit, and the white cub drinks a lot of yak's milk."
"What about this one, sir?" JD asked. He grasped the cub tightly before the squirmy little thing could get out of his arms.
"That one is a handful. He's very active. It's almost like he's dancing a tango," Jindrake told them.
"Then that can be his name—Tango," JD said. He followed up with a chuckle. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."
Blake and Morgan thought for a moment about possible names for the other two cats.
"I think I'll call you Tangerine," Blake said. He remembered what Jindrake had said about the citrus fruit.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Three Genie Brothersby Christian Roulland Kueng Copyright © 2013 by Christian Roulland Kueng. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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