Chapter Twenty-Five—Frustrations

He would come.

Shiro…

He would come for the lamp. Darius knew it. He didn’t know when, so he wondered if he should make special preparations for when that time came. The palace, with the Scorpion Guard garrison as well as mages from his army—and now even the Hajja sorcerers—could Shiro find a way to defeat Darius and take the lamp by force?

The vault was impossible to penetrate with that many guards. It was guarded day and night, he had made certain of that. And that was when he didn’t have the lamp on his physical person.

He sat in the very room in question, on a cushioned bench across from the vault where he kept the lamp. Except the lamp was not there now. No, it was in his hands.

The sultan wanted his jinni—wanted Jessamine to make an appearance—to come and speak with him.

And so far she hasn’t answered my summons, he thought. It rankles. But perhaps…

Yes, that was an excellent idea.

Jessamine was selfish, at times, even cruel. But she was no despot—no murderer.

Fortunately she couldn’t read his thoughts. He had found ways to shield his mind from her, and even should she try, she could not do that while she was in the void, or as the ignorant would say, “within her lamp.”

The lamp was not a world of its own. It was a doorway, into and out of the void, that door belonging to Jessamine specifically. In that area of the void, she had ultimate power.

She would be strong enough there to even defeat Darius should she wished to. That was why a jinni didn’t fear the void when in their own territories.

“Hahkari!” he called.

His high vizier was not far away. “Yes, my sultan?” he asked as he dry washed his hands and bowed.

“Bring me a slave to kill.”

Hahkari gave pause for just a moment. He was no stranger to Darius’ moods, but he had never killed a slaved for no reason other than simply wanting to. “Yes, of course. Right away.”

Scurrying away, he would return soon with what Darius wanted. He would not kill the slave if he did not have to. Darius would use the slave to threaten Jessamine.

Of course, she was a stubborn jinni. She had limits. If he pushed her too far, she would tell him to kill the slave—that the slave’s death was on his hands, not on hers for not complying. He knew her well enough to know this.

She was intelligent.

And she will not morn the slave or feel a dirtying of her conscience.

Darius would push her lightly, just far enough to get her to come out of the lamp and speak with her.