“Cool,” she says at the same time as “creepy” leaves my lips.
Her laugh instantly lightens the weight on my chest. Her hand that holds mine as I tell her first about Laila and then about Nate relieves it even more. Her words that guide me through what she expects I’ll need to do, pulled from memories of her flash cards, combined with the secret to using the cantamen allow me to breathe again. Her encouragement that I can do this makes me hope I can repay her one day. I’ll even wear her genie costume if she wants (which I think but don’t actually say).
As she’s getting ready to leave, she hesitates. “You know what you did to Laila was wrong, I don’t have to tell you that.” Her skin flushes a light pink as she looks me in the eye. “But I understand, in a way. We all have Jinn we wish were in our lives. Even if we don’t talk about it, it doesn’t mean we don’t feel it.”
Her brother. My heart pulls like taffy and I feel her longing.
“I’m so sorry, Hana.” Instinctually, I wrap my arms around her and the ache in her heart—and then mine—fades.
After she wishes me luck and makes me promise to text her when I’m done, she sticks the toothbrush in her mouth and disappears.
I don’t know—or care—if it’s my own feelings or Hana’s, but confidence fills me as I climb into my mother’s bed. I set the diary aside and pull the cantamen into my lap. With my mother’s ring on my finger, I draw on all the elements of nature and put my own spin on what Hana told me to say.
“Come on, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Great-Great Grandma, help me grant Nate’s wish to take care of his sister.” As I wave my hand over the open book, the light shines off the emerald ring I’m wearing. “Please.”
Wind whips my hair as the book’s pages furiously flip. The green gemstone on my finger glows. When the pages stop turning and the exact entry I need, written in my mother’s neat hand, stares up at me, I understand why this beast doesn’t require an index.
*
I app myself to Nate’s backyard. All the lights are out, which means, luckily, everyone’s still sleeping.
Following the detailed instructions my mother entered into the cantamen after granting a similar wish, it’s no surprise that accomplishing the logistical part of Nate’s wish wasn’t anywhere near as hard as I expected.
It also didn’t hurt that his parents had most of the necessary things in order. But just in case Nate’s mother … just in case, I made sure Nate, his sister, his family would be protected.
Life insurance, bank accounts, mortgages, wills, I apped to the home of each, conjuring paperwork, changing entries in computer databases, and using spells to do wild (and what I fear could turn out to be addicting) things like make me invisible to alarms and video cameras. The more spells I used, the more in awe—and frightened—I became of what I can do.
The hardest part was remembering to say “izza samhat” before using my powers. Would the Afrit know if I recited the words? The ones meant to release my magic? The ones I don’t actually need? I have no idea, but keeping up the pretense my mother started seems like the safer play.
With my bolstering, there will be enough money to cover the most advanced medical techniques and rehabilitation Mrs. Reese could ever need. Grad school, medical school, and whatever else Nate and Megan might want to do short of buying a small island will be covered. And if … if circumstances require it, when Nate turns eighteen in a few weeks, he will become Megan’s legal guardian. Nate will be able to take care of Megan, financially and legally. Wish granted.
Technically wish granted. Because if I left it at that, I’d be employing a bit of a genie trick. Which is why I’m at Nate’s house.
Though I’m sure Nate can do the rest of what “taking care of” entails all on his own, I need to make sure he thinks so too.
I say “izza samhat” and magically unlock the back door. Tiptoeing into Nate’s kitchen, my heart leaps to my throat when I see him slumped over the table, asleep. Mere hours have ticked away since his father died, and here Nate is trying to take his place, trying to take care of his family.
Unopened folders labeled “financial” and “will” and “mortgage” lay spread out in front of him. I silently move forward and look inside. A smile grows wide across my face. The spells worked. All the paperwork here matches the doctored ones I stashed in each official location.
Feeling the force of the talisman and … something else … Hana. Feeling the strength of my Zar sister, I draw on my powers and recite one of the spells I marked in the cantamen. A spell to boost someone’s confidence.
Nate should now have everything he needs to take care of his sister all on his own. But he doesn’t have to do it alone. I know how lucky I am to have Henry as my best friend, and, right now, I can’t risk anything that might change that. So official wish or not, I’ll grant Nate’s desire for me to be with him. It’s not like it’s a hardship. I’m positive the whole “making the hurt less” goes both ways.
36
When I app back to my mother’s bedroom, my adrenaline has me wide awake despite the late hour and all the apporting, conjuring, and spells I’ve done. Again, my mother was right. Drawing on nature allowed me to do magic without expending as much of my own energy. I can’t help but wonder what’ll happen when tapping into my full Zar.