Chapter 25
Once I was back at school, my time to seek out Jene's lamp lessened. I had explored most of the antique stores that I knew of. Once I'd crossed all of those off my list, I'd taken the search to more obscure places. I had no luck in any of them.
I'm sure I'd met half the genie population, but it never turned out to be Jene's lamp. Every genie I met showed the same amount of shock that I wouldn't accept their rules or their wishes. I normally added in an apology for wasting their time, which in turn baffled them.
My hope dwindled, and with every new lamp found, my disappointment grew. Every time it wasn't his lamp, I felt as if I'd let Jene down. I hated myself for not finding his lamp. He depended on me to find his lamp.
Jene and I had been separated for months now. I had grown used to the ache of missing him. There were no pictures of our time together to remind me, only my memories of him. Loneliness still gripped me when I least expected it too.
My way of coping with my loss was to spend more time with my family. Unfortunately, that often included Harrison, who still lived at home in this reality. Harrison spent his whole time glowering at me, so I ignored him a great deal.
Candy had turned into a surprisingly close confidant of mine. Sure I hadn't told her any of the truth about Jene or how his wishes had changed all of our lives, but I appreciated having her as my sister.
She would be down visiting from school this weekend, so I would head home and visit her. If she came and stayed at my place we could at least avoid Harrison.
I'd found one more possible antique sort of shop to try before I drove home to see my family. It was an almost impossibility to douse my hope that always flared. Maybe this time Jene's lamp would be right there awaiting me.
This store was a popular spot. Instead of the normal grungy, dust covered items, everything sat clean and tidy on neat shelves. The owner was a sprightly elderly woman with bright eyes, who helped me find the teapot section. That's usually where I found the genie lamps.
My eyes scanned the shelves and saw nothing but teapots in all shapes and sizes. The last item on the top most shelf caught my eye. I huffed when I couldn't reach it. The shelves were all made of glass, so I didn't want to put my weight on them in case they broke.
Grabbing one of the other teapots, I stood on tiptoe and tried to use it as a lever. The genie lamp toppled from the shelf. I went to snatch it, forgot I still had the teapot in my hand and dropped everything. I heard the crash and winced.
I stared at the lamp and my heart dropped to my toes. This wasn't Jene's lamp. This lamp had a more flared handle than his. Disappointment gripped me hard, along with the embarrassment of breaking items in the store.
"Is everything okay over here?" the elderly owner of the shop approached me.
"Yes, thanks. I'll just buy this one I broke as well as the other one." I said with a flushed face as I tried to pick up the pieces.
"There's a reason I put that on the highest shelf, only the keenest would bother to search there." She winked at me.
"Oh, I see." I said when I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"I've had my chance, so the magic won't work for me. If you've never had a genie then today could be your lucky day." With another wink, she toddled off to the front of the store.
"You've had a genie?" I asked as I gathered my things and rushed after her.
"Why yes, dear. Lovely genie he was too. Of course I was a young, foolish thing when I had my chance, so I squandered my wishes. At that time, I received my hearts desire and I returned the lamp to him, as are the rules." She sighed but a soft smile came over her features.
"I'm looking for a specific lamp, and I know this isn't it, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try." I shrugged while the woman watched me with curious eyes.
My finger moved over the side of the lamp. It took a moment, as it always did, and then a puff of smoke heralded a new genie for me to meet. It was the first time I met a female genie. She had the same garb as all the other genies, but her coloured outfit was a deep, dark purple. It looked great against her blue, black hair that she had in a high ponytail on her head.
"Greetings, Mistress, I am Quintress of the Snite clan of genies. Once you agree to my ruling, I can grant you any boon you desire." Quintress stated almost identical words as every other genie who had greeted me.
Her formality made me want to leave. I'd never wanted to cower away more than every time I had to meet another genie. It made me miss Jene more, it made me long for his presence.
It also left me feeling like another foolish human who didn't know Jene's lamp from any other genies lamp. The thing was I did know Jene's lamp, but another genies lamp gave me a strange sense of hope. Maybe they could lead me to Jene's lamp without granting me wishes. None had, but they had all wished me good luck, or told me that Jene awaited me.
"Hi, Quintress, I'm Isla. You probably already know that I'm looking for Jene's lamp. I'm sorry to bother you, and to make you leave the Realm on such a useless errand." I quickly explained with that sense of foolishness making my face turn red.
Two women gasped out a breath. It seemed that I'd managed to shock both the elderly woman and the new genie. I've gotten used to the genies shock over me saying thanks but no thanks, but the old woman I couldn't understand. If she'd had a genie previously then she should know how it all worked.
"Do you know what you're giving up, child?" the elderly woman asked in a gaping breath.
"I know what I'm giving up. Her lamp isn't the one I'm searching for, and if I say yes I'll never see Jene again. I need to find Jene's lamp. The last thing I want to do is blow my chance at finding his lamp. That would doom the both of us and it's already hard enough without him." I explained, but the elderly woman remained staring at me in confusion.
"Jene talks of you often." Quintress smiled at me, a warm encouraging smile.
"Does he?" I asked with a bright happiness lighting my words.
"Yes. He also gave me advice to offer you if you ever found my lamp." Quintress bowed at me.
I realised it had to be fate that had shown this store to me. Nearly every day I drove past it without even noticing it's pretty façade. Today I'd had an urge to go inside. I wondered with a touch of amusement if my mum continued trying to push Jene and me together, even when we were worlds apart.
"What did he say?" I couldn't hide how thrilled I was to find out that Jene not only talked about me, but also wanted to give me tips to find his lamp. It could make my life a whole lot easier.
"He advised me to tell you that you are making things far too complicated in your search. Look much closer to home. He never intended for anyone else to find his lamp but you, so it would never be amongst places like this where other humans may find his lamp." She stated.
I considered her words and that sense of foolishness overwhelmed me for a moment. How could I have been stupid enough not to realise all that she'd just said? Jene wouldn't want someone else accidentally finding his lamp. That would mean more time giving wishes and waiting for his lamp to return, so I could find it again. How could I have been so stupid?
My fists clenched at my side. I wanted to blame Harrison for all of this. He was the one who'd started me looking in antique stores. I sighed and realised the blame was all mine. I should've thought things through a little more clearly.
"Thanks for telling me, it'll definitely help me. Tell Jene that I miss him and that I'm searching for his lamp." I said hoping to return a message back to him.
"I shall tell him your words. I wish you the most luck of all, and I shall leave you to your searching." Quintress disappeared in her usual puff of smoke.
The elderly woman wanted her curiosity answered. Before she could open her mouth, I dropped money on the counter and walked out of her store without another word.
Jene's words to me kept flowing through my mind. I went from excitement that I could easily find his lamp, to irrational anger at myself, and then into feeling so darn stupid. Why didn't I see the obvious answer of where his lamp could be?
If his lamp was closer to home, where would it be? I knew it wasn't at my place because I'd searched it from top to bottom to find my pendant. The only other place would be my childhood home. That threw up another question of why he put the lamp anywhere near Harrison. My mind scrambled with trying to find an answer.
The ring of my phone distracted me as I got in the car. I glanced down to see Candy's number start to flash on my screen. For a second I frowned at it before answering.
"Hey, Candy, what's going on?" I asked when I raised the phone to my ear.
"I think Harrison's losing his mind. Can you get here soon? I don't know what to do with him." Candy's frantic voice left me frowning.
It our old reality, Candy was a panic, screaming and crying kind of girl. In this reality, where she dealt with all sorts of medical issues, she normally remained calm and level headed. Not much distressed her. That's why this worried me.
"I'm on my way now. What's he doing?" I had to ask.
"He's got one of mum's ornaments from her 'do not touch' glass cabinet, and he's pretending that it's a genie lamp. Every time he speaks it's to cackle about getting revenge on you. He's really starting to scare me. I've never delved into psychology, so I'm not sure how to help him." Candy explained in a concerned voice.
"I'll be there soon." I promised.
Anxiety crept through me trying to freeze my limbs. I now knew exactly where to find Jene's lamp, and it was once again in Harrison's clutches. Why hadn't I thought to look amongst all of Bev's trinkets that she collected? What would I do if Harrison tried to destroy the lamp?
So many dire thoughts ran through my mind that I slammed my foot down on the accelerator. Panic tightened my chest uncomfortably. I couldn't let Harrison have control over Jene's lamp again. We hadn't gone to the bother of getting Jene's lamp back just for it to end up in Harrison's hands.
I arrived at the house, flew out of the car, and headed inside. Eerie quiet surrounded me. My panic edged ever higher and it became hard to breathe. I wasn't sure what I would find, and I didn't think whatever it was would do me any good.
"Why are you being so irrational?" Candy's firm voice gave me a road to follow.
"It's all Isla's fault. All if it!" Harrison had returned to feminine screeches.
"Do you really want mum or dad to come back early and find you losing your mind? What is going on with you, Harrison? You're acting quite psychotic." Candy exclaimed.
I walked into the room where Bev kept all of her precious ornaments, in what we all knew as the formal dining room. Nobody came in here unless Bev held a special dinner or formal event. Two sets of eyes focused on me, one fanatical and the other frantic.
"You!" Harrison snarled as he pointed the object in his hand at me.
"Yes, I'm sure it's me."
It was hard to keep my voice calm when I saw Jene's lamp in his hands. I went from relieved and happy to stressed and worried in under a second. I'd found Jene's lamp. Yes, it was in Harrison's hands, but at least I knew where it existed.
"My lamp won't work for me anymore. None of the lamps will work. You've found dozens of genies and all you keep doing is turning them down. You want this specific lamp, don't you?" the sly tone in Harrison's voice made me edgy.
If he destroyed Jene's lamp, I'm not sure what I would do. I knew it wouldn't do me any good to panic, but it took me a lot of effort to stay calm.
"I have found dozens of genies, you're right there. You're also right that you've found Jene's lamp again. Well done. It doesn't matter because it won't work for you, Harrison. The reason I've refused all of those other genies is that you only get one chance. Jene is my chance." I told him.
"Have you both gone mad?" Candy looked between us in growing disbelief.
"It's... complicated. Just assume we're both sane, but discovered something unbelievable." I tried to explain to Candy.
"Okay, suspending reality." Candy sounded dubious.
"I have a secret weapon that will get me another chance with this genie." Harrison gloated.
"Oh, and what's that?" I drawled.
"This." He held up my pendant triumphantly, and I stared at it for a long moment.
It was a relief to see it, and to realise that I had it right, someone had stolen it. At least I hadn't lost it or it had disappeared for good. My pendant was here along with Jene's lamp and that gave me a great deal of hope.
"That's mine!" I declared.
"Now it's mine. I just have to figure out how to use it." Harrison stared greedily between the lamp and my pendant.
"That pendant was given to me by my mother. She the one in charge of all the genies. Do you really think that she's going to help you? She's the one who wanted me to get Jene's lamp away from you." I snapped as my anger began to redden my vision.
In my anger rising, the buzz of my power returned. Relief almost had me slumping to the ground. With my power I could keep Jene's lamp safe. I could keep him and our future together safe from the crazed hands of people like Harrison. I could fix everything.