AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I loved her for that. She was always so generous. I gave her hand asqueeze.
She smiled and put a pot of water on to boil. “When this boils, make yourself a tea with this mixture. It’ll reduce the swelling and pain in your ankle. You should be healed in a few days rather thanweeks.”
Wow.Anything to help me out was a blessing. “Thank you, my dear friend.” I gave her a quickhug.
Kaza’s yellow magic lit the tobacco inside the glass base, and it bubbled away in the gently boiling water. Smoke curled from the base into the pipe with the mouthpiece, from which he took a long inhale. The air filled with the scent of apricot and vanilla. Shapes formed in the smoke he exhaled. Roses, flying carpets, a genie lamp, necklaces, a pair of lips that puckered as if kissing. But when an erect penis sailed right past me, I snorted and slapped him in thearm.
“You know you love it, my desert queen,” Kazasaid.
Yes, I did. But he was going to get us in trouble. Displaying magic like that in the open was going to give them away. And in Terra, of all places! The one land where magical creatures weren’twelcome.
To my great relief, Scarlet hadn’t noticed a thing, her concentration buried in the brew she prepared. Thank gods, too. She probably would have had a heart attack at the penis-shapedsmoke.
Gods.I imagined Scarlet’s grandmother glaring down at me from the heavens for bringing such filth into her formerhome!
Kaza took a few more puffs from the pipe, activating a fiery glow in his arm veins and in the golden rings around his eyes. Something told me he couldn’t help it. His heart told me the smoke called to the fire within his genieblood.
The knowledge didn’t stop me from going into panic mode. I darted in front of Kaza and tapped my foot, hoping my friend wouldn’tnotice.
“You like my curedtobacco?”
I almost yelped at Scarlet’squestion.
“Delicious,” Kaza said, handing the pipe to Dahvi. “Just as good as the tobacco backhome.”
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. This was getting too close for comfort. I mouthed the words “no more magic” toKaza.
Scarlet stirred the bubbling brew, fanning the sickening smell of the herbs my way, nauseating memore.
“Folks come from all around to buy my products,” shesaid.
At this announcement, the genies exchanged impressedglances.
“My tobacco has five hundred five-star ratings on Terra’s Customer Approval Plank,” continued Scarlet. “Well, until lately, when this disgruntled customer gave me five one stars, and my ratingdropped.”
“Did she say star gazing?” Dahvi askedKaza.
This earned a giggle from Scarlet. “You’re not from around here, areyou?”
“No,” said Kaza. “We’refrom—”
“Come and rest, Brother.” Dahvi curled his arms around his Kaza’s shoulders and dragged him to the waitingroom.
Talk about scaring the hashish out ofme.
“Who are those guys?” Scarlet’s eyes drilled into mine for an explanation of everything. “They’re kind ofstrange.”
I needed an excuse and fast. “They were prisoners like me.” I laughed nervously. “Locked away for a while. Sent them a bit loony. We escaped the viziertogether.”
Okay. So that was partly true. My friend didn’t need to know any more. Her safety depended uponit.
Scarlet took my hand. “Are you in trouble,Azar?”
I squeezed her hand. “A little. Nothing I can’thandle.”
The bridge of her nose creased in a way that screamed concern. “Do you need anymoney?”
“No.” I waved her away. “You’ve done enough for me. Let’s just say in a week, I’ll be able to pay you everything I oweyou.”
