A Hidden Magic by Vivian Vande Velde

Author:Vivian Vande Velde
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2011-11-02T18:35:05+00:00

The jinni closed the book and folded it into the air in front of him. "Any questions?"

Norman raised his eyebrows. "What good are you?"

"Ah, well," the jinni said noncommittally, removing his glasses and putting them away with his book.

"You said you can't break someone else's spell," Jennifer said. "But Norman looks old because of his own spell. Can you make him young again?"

"Assuredly."

Norman held up his hand. "Maybe later," he told Jennifer, "if we don't need him for something more important."

Jennifer thought being stuck looking like someone's great-grandfather was pretty important, but Norman had already turned back to the jinni. "Is there a time limit to this wish?"

"You may take as long as you need to make up your minds."

"And afterward," Jennifer asked, "what about you?"

"Your decision entirely. Most often I am, ahm—how can I put this delicately?—traded for something of value."

This reminded them of Norman's lost ring and didn't really answer her question. "But how long do you have to remain in the bottle?" she asked.

"Ah!" the jinni said. "You mean, "When is a jinni not a jinni?'"

She nodded.

For a second it seemed as if he didn't plan to answer, but he was only remembering a happy life hastily traded long ago for an endless one. And once again his mind saw the little house by the boundless sea. "Never, I'm afraid," he answered. "There can't be a magic bottle without a jinni."

He shrugged away an angry memory. "Worse things could have happened." He made a vague gesture and his bracelets clinked softly. "Are you ready to make your wish?"

"No," Norman decided. "We'll save it for when we really need it."

The jinni bowed and was gone, leaving only a pinkish haze that settled to the ground with the faintest jingling.

"Oh, my," Jennifer said.

"Indeed," Norman agreed.

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