Heir to the Lamp by Michelle Lowery Combs

Author:Michelle Lowery Combs [Combs, Michelle Lowery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: genie, magic, adoption, djinn, young adult, young adult adventure, basketball
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Published: 2013-07-16T06:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 12

The boy holds out his hand to me, but I push myself up and away from the rough wall the screaming bird-snake knocked me into.

“I am truly sorry,” he says. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” I say, rubbing the elbow I banged into the wall. The sun has gone down since we’ve been inside the barn. The shadows in the corners of the space reach toward the pool of artificial light at its center where Rashmere stands. His skin is the same soft caramel color the rabbit’s fur had been. I recognize his large, dark eyes, but the bright straight smile he gives me is new.

Looking at him standing in the circle of light, I notice for the first time how he’s dressed. The black tuxedo is as nice as the one Sean had worn for his Senior Prom. Rashmere’s shoes shine like the ebony keys on Gran’s piano. What on earth is he wearing? I wonder.

Rashmere rolls his neck and shoulders the way I’ve seen boxers do on television before a match. “It feels good to be free,” he says, his nose twitching in a funny way as he speaks.

“An unfortunate side-effect of my confinement,” he says, rubbing his perfect nose with a long slender finger. “It will pass.

“Let us be properly introduced.” He makes a slight bow. “I am Rashmere Rahman, Shadow of the Eastern Sands.”

“No, we’ve met before,” I correct him. “I recognize you…from the accident. You waited with me for the ambulance.” I sink heavily onto the workbench. “I tried to convince my family that you existed for weeks. No one believed me.”

Rashmere nods. His eyes darken. I don’t look over at him when he takes a seat beside me on the bench. “I wasn’t sure if you would remember—you were very young. I did wait with you. I have waited for you for a very long time.”

“But…why?”

“It has been my duty as Guardian of the Lamp.”

“My lamp?” I reach for my pack on the ground instinctively, threading it onto my arm.

“Indeed,” Rashmere answers.

“And why is it that my lamp needs a guardian? I’m planning to look after it myself.” He’s crazy if he thinks I’m gonna let him even touch this lamp after what I’ve just been through to get it back! “And why do you talk that way? ‘Indeed’? Why not just say ‘yes’?” I’ve had enough.

“Perhaps it is you who needs looking after.”

“Virginia, time for dinner!” Mom calls into the back yard.

“Coming!” I answer. “I have to go. Thanks, Rashmere, but I got this—really. Sorry about turning you into a rabbit.”

“What you’ve got there in your satchel is a genie’s lamp—a lamp created especially for you by the most powerful djinni I have ever known. You also have the Grimms, all that remain of the infamous Order of the Grimoire, being led straight to your door in no small part because of it.”

“Virginia, we’re waiting!” Mom calls again.

“We can speak more about this upstairs after you’ve eaten. Please, go to your family.”

I want to know more about the lamp’s maker and the Grimms.

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