Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]

T W E N T Y - T W O

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Slowly, Lizzie lets her eyes peel open. She sits up on the cot as her head pounds, Flashes of the recent past—her introduction to the apocalypse reality—appear before her eyes as her Genie smirks at her. "Damn you, Genie," Lizzie hisses.

"It's Jinni—" The blue creature stops itself. "Never mind. Don't be so hard on yourself, even if your father did just lock you up on a cellar for your own safety. The third wish is always tricky. Better luck on the next one."

Lizzie picks her head up as shock passes across her features. "My next one? I-I get another wish?"

"Whoever told you a Jinni only grants three?"

"Aladdin," Lizzie replies. "Every genie story ever."

The Jinni grins. "A Jinni can grant or ignore any wish they choose. We won't work against our self-interest, so you can forget about wishing me dead. But, if you'd like another wish to reset your life right back to where we began, I can do that. On one condition."

Hope lights up Lizzie's eyes. "Anything. What?"

A soft humming fills the air as the Jinni replies, "You give me the urn."

"I knew you were going to screw me!" Lizzie stands and begins to pace, her anger rising in her gut like a bullet. "You used my words against me, right from the start."

"As you said, I'm a monster," the Jinni laughs. "Should've trusted your gut."

The humming gets louder and the room grows warmer, but Lizzie can barely hear over the annoyance growing in her body. "You trapped me in the worst situation imaginable, just so you could get what you want!"

"The urn is a small price to pay to cease suffering like this."

Lizzie narrows her eyes. "You don't know anything about suffering."

"Don't I?" The creature snaps. "As all Jinni are, I was born into five centuries of suffering. Five hundred years of realizing other people's dreams before I'd ever have the chance to pursue one of my own. And in the four hundred ninety-ninth year of my term, I crossed paths with a true monster. And it consumed me, sent me to a place of total isolation, utter damnation."

"Malivore, I know," Lizzie says, rolling her eyes. "So what?"

"The ceaseless wonderer, lost and alone, has one final chance to atone." A voice floats through the cellar, echoing off of the stone walls.

Lizzie frowns in confusion as the Jinni glances around. "Who said that?" The Jinni demands. It is unnerving to see the creature surprised.

"The second key will set her free. The only hope—the Gemini witch—her existence—just a glitch."

The air suddenly turns freezing cold. Lizzie brings her hands up around her as she exhales. Her breath, visible in front of her eyes, dissipates to reveal a girl in the shadows.

Chains wrap around the girl's wrists and ankles. Ancient words and symbols, glowing silver, are carved into the iron. The girl's hair is matted with blood; her eyes are haunted with trauma. But Lizzie knows those eyes.