#meikoxwallace

“Hello, little flower.” The woman’s smile glinted from the moonlight even in the folds of her robes.

“Oh, I am sorry!” Meiko pulled up short.

“I thought I saw you listening behind the curtain while my husband spoke with your father today.” The woman drew closer and Meiko shrank back against the outer wall of her tent. “Are you curious? About the work of a sorcerer.”

Meiko trembled. Was she going to be cursed? “Please, p-please forgive me for disturbing you!”

“It is all right.” The woman’s voice softened. “You needn’t be afraid. I will protect you from his powers.” Her touch on Meiko’s shoulder made her jump but as she drew closer and the shadows fell from her face, her expression was gentle. Meiko relaxed.

“Ahhhmmm…whose powers?” Meiko fidgeted, dropping her gaze.

The woman blinked and then her smile returned. “You may call me Hime. Let me show you the secrets of a sorcerer.” She reached into her sleeve and withdrew a smooth white stone that sparkled with the colors of a thousand jewels when it caught the moonlight, holding it out to Meiko. “Inside this stone is a being of smokeless fire, one of the jinn. Watch!”

She passed her hand over the stone and a great wind burst forth from it, whipping Meiko’s hair in all directions. Stumbling backwards, she fell to the ground and covered her face with her arms. “Hime! What happened?” When she received no answer, she struggled to open her eyes against the wind. “A-are you hurt? What is this?”

“Desist.” The wind stopped, its awesome pressure vanishing as quickly as it had come. Meiko lowered her arms and looked up. Hime stood tall before her, hood thrown back by the wind. Between them, hovered a figure, bright but hazy. The blood rushed to Meiko’s face. It was a man—no, a jinni! She shivered, feeling as though the chill of the desert night had somehow slipped through layered robes. She’d heard stories of jinn; that they were a lure to the unwary traveler and a trap for the foolhardy.

“You see? He is bound; there is no need to be afraid.” Hime walked around the figure and knelt next to Meiko. “I command all his powers with my arts.”

“Do you have a desire of me….mistress?” The jinni asked. Meiko started. His voice echoed as if resounding off the walls of a large cavern but he still sounded…not as monstrous as she was expecting. The curiosity in his voice was almost human. “Who is the lovely maiden?”

“Under my protection. She wished to see you.”

Meiko couldn’t help but shake when they both looked at her. Hime still smiled but her voice had sounded cold when she spoke to the djinni. And his attention made her realize how even though he had a face and body like a man, its corners and lines were all indistinct and faintly illuminated, more like a cloud than living person. His stare was blank and unreadable. She gripped the edges of her hair covering with both hands, drawing it closer around herself. “I-ah-ummm...” She didn’t remember ever saying that.