Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(15)
“You activated the wish by rubbing the coin three times, right?” I nodded, unsure of where she was going with the line of questioning. She raised the coin to eye level and stroked it three times. With a small hiss and click, the fleur-de-lis started glowing. Curious, I crept forward from my spot in the corner to look into the box. Inside was a small handful of gold coins, matching the one on her necklace. Making my way to the door, I knocked to let the professor know it was alright to come in.
“Ah yes, These are your wishing tokens, Lucie. Like with the coin on your necklace, if rubbed three times by someone it allows them access towards your wish granting. I’m assuming they’re in a locked box because these are extremely powerful and very valuable,” the professor’s voice turned low and severe.
“You must understand this, Lucie, these coins are nearly impossible to destroy and have unlimited wishes on them. If any of these were to fall into the hands of someone who didn’t have the best intentions, it could be very dangerous for you. There is a reason there are not very many known Djinn anymore. They were taken, enslaved, and used for their wish granting. Regardless of what the wish was, they were bound by magic to make it happen. If it was a physical wish, such as money, it would pull from mana stores similar to how witches and warlocks use mana to manipulate magic. If it was an actual action, like what Hudson had wished for, the bond wouldn’t be severed until the task was complete.”
“The more bonds created by the wish token, the more physically affected the Djinn is, like stretching yourself too thin. So, even if they didn’t want to, for their own health and sanity they would continue to grant the wishes. For example, if the wish Hudson made goes unanswered, you may experience fatigue, nightmares, dysphoria, and chronic pain,” he trailed off as he noticed the terrified look on Lucie’s face.
“You must keep these well guarded and hidden away from anyone you don’t inexplicably trust.” She nodded as she relocked the small heirloom and held it close to her chest.
“I think I know the perfect location for it,” she said with a small, yet determined voice. Professor George nodded his head and looked at his watch.
“I think that’s all we’ll do today. I would like to try and explore the reality warping next Monday to see if we can work on that, but I’m pretty sure both of you have classes in 15 minutes so why don’t you two hurry along. Don’t want to be late on your first day!” Professor George grabbed his pen and clipboard before scurrying out of the room leaving Lucie and me alone yet again. Crazy old man, I have no idea how he handles running classes when he can barely keep his eyeglasses on his face. Lucie’s next class shouldn’t start for another 30 minutes, and I haven’t attended an afternoon class on a Monday since freshman year.
She quickly wrapped her box up in the cream cloth she had it in initially and stashed it in her messenger bag. Moving to the corner to grab my bookbag off the floor, I slung it over my shoulder. By the time I turned back to her, she was out of the door.
“Which way you headed?” I asked her before she could run off, my long legs easily catching up with her as we made our way through the gym.
“The Music and Arts Building, I have Intro to Supernatural Society. What about you?” I was surprised by her quick response. I would have sworn she’d choose to ignore me, considering she hadn’t reacted to my prodding during her testing.
“Oh, I don’t have class this afternoon, all of my classes for today are done,” I pulled open the front door of the gym for her, my eyes dropping to her ass as she passed in front of me out onto the quad.
“How early is your first class if you’re already done?” She turned to look at me, horror etched on her face. Not a morning person, noted. Her expression quickly morphed into amusement as she followed my line of sight. My eyes slid back to her’s slowly and smirked. No shame. I moved to her left side with a shrug as we continued on.
“I have stats at seven with a friend of mine. He’s more accustomed to being up so early since he has Kohl practice multiple days a week around that time. Trust me, I do not enjoy spending my mornings drowning in statistics and probabilities,” I laughed at how quickly she was able to forget my faux pas and resume her horrified expression at the thought of statistics.
“That sounds fucking awful. I require at least two cups of the strongest coffee to function properly before eight in the morning,” she shuddered. We fell into a companionable silence, but I noticed her fingers fiddling with the chain of her wish token, and she was biting that delicious bottom lip again.
“Are you alright?” I continued to watch Lucie out of the corner of my eye, she pursed her lips and took a deep breath before answering.
“Just thinking about what Professor George said about the Djinn,” I almost couldn’t hear with how quietly she spoke, her eyes flickering around the quad at the other students.
“That they were used for their powers?” I guessed. I must have gravitated closer to her at some point, our arms brushing lightly with every step. Her blonde ponytail bounced as she nodded.
“Yeah,” she paused, nibbling on her lip once more before continuing, “I worry about that, being taken advantage of or bullied because of what I am or what I can do,” the admission was shaky. She was back to studying the concrete, her long dark lashes beautifully contrasted against flushed cheeks.