Genie-Us

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jene went all aloof on me after that kiss we shared. He refused to acknowledge me, answer my questions, and only spoke to me in a haughty manner.

I cursed to myself that I'd pushed him too far. Maybe I'd done something that the Realm, and all its weirdness, considered taboo. As he wouldn't answer me, I had no idea how to remedy the situation.

I didn't want to make things difficult between us. We were stuck together until I retrieved his lamp from Harrison. Was this how it would be until he got to ditch me, grab his lamp, and head back to his precious Realm?

With him staying quiet, I wasn't sure what to say or do next. This was his home not mine,

and I didn't know how anything worked here. This from a woman who ended up kidnapped in the first half hour of being here!

I tried to think of anything to ignore the awkward bind growing between us. What could I possibly do to change anything? We'd kissed. He seemed to enjoy it until he pulled back so abruptly. What had I done wrong?

"We must go and see the She-Gen. You should not see her in the guise of a pet, but I cannot magic you different cloth." Jene finally broke the silence in his loftiest tone.

"I don't really care, Jene. Lead the way." I replied.

Jene didn't wait to see if I'd followed him. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge me at all. That hurt me in the most unexpected way. In the past day that I'd known him, he'd always been attentive towards me.

I hated that with one spectacular kiss, everything now had a formality between us. Why had he reacted that way? Had I overstepped the boundaries even when he kissed me first? What if he actually had a woman in this Realm of his?

That thought weighed me down with the most dreadful anxiety. Did I bring up this topic with him? What if it only made things worse?

Maybe by kissing him back, I'd inadvertently broken some rule. Maybe I had ruined everything between us. What should I do next?

"Where is this She-Gen person?" I decided to ask a more inane question in the hopes that he'd answer me.

That wasn't enough to crack his tough shell. He simply pivoted on his heel and pointed. I followed the direction of his finger only to find a huge structure not that far from Jene's place.

Towers spiralled into the air until they danced with the clouds above. Each tower twisted in upon themselves in a dizzying manner. Broad windows shone with glowing lights only making the structure seem more unrealistic.

As stunning as it was, there was an ominous air surrounding its beauty. There was something unnerving about the place.

It took me a moment to grasp my problem. This soaring, fanciful structure had a familiarity to me. I knew that collection of spiralling towers. My memory gave me no reminder of where I'd seen it before, but I knew I had.

Jene had kept walking while I stared at that strange collection of buildings. He made a grunting noise, which distracted my gaze towards him. He made a gesture for me to catch up with him, so I did. I wanted an answer to my question once I got closer to him.

"Why do I know that place?" I asked and Jene looked at me sharply.

"Do you?" he sounded normal but surprised.

"Yes. There's something about it that screams that I should know it. I don't understand." I moved my eyes to take in each individual tower, and it only seemed more known in my mind.

"The She-Gen will explain all of this to you." Jene assured me but that only confused me more.

"How could she explain why her towering towers look so familiar to me?" I puzzled.