Saydaa smirked and lifted the center cup, placing the green stone under it.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

She spun the cups around, this way and that. Right to left, left to right, center to left, back and forth, back and forth. One final stop and she held the cups still.

The man immediately pointed at the cup on the right. Saydaa nodded as she lifted it, revealing the green stone.

She chuckled inwardly. Always start easy, lure them into a false sense of confidence. Now to see how serious this guy was.

She began to spin the cups once more, back and forth, back and forth. As she did, she flicked one of the cups as she moved it. The edge knocked into the rock, launching it across the table. She quickly dropped one of the other cups, catching it before it could fly away. She repeated this a couple times, her eyes on the man. While his eyes were hidden by the sunglasses, she could tell as he shifted his gaze.

Bam.

She placed the cups down for the final time and crossed her arms.

“Well?”

The man immediately pointed to the center cup. Saydaa smiled as she lifted the cup, revealing the green stone.

So he wasn’t the normal idiot after all. Looks like things were getting interesting.

Time for her special tactics.

She dropped the cups and began the shuffle again. She resumed launching the stone, swapping it between the cups with only brief flashes to reveal where it was. She watched the man. His gaze was locked firmly on the cups. She smirked.

Gotcha.

Her eyes glowed, ever so slightly. One could mistake it for the glint of the sun.

And now, everytime she passed the rock, three of them appeared in the air.

The trick no one had ever seen through. Because no one is dumber than someone slightly smart. So Saydaa let them ‘catch on’ to her trick. And once they caught on to the trick…well they’re obviously too smart to be tricked again.

One final time, she flicked a cup, sending a rock flying.

From an empty cup, to an empty cup.

Her eyes dimmed as she slapped the cups down once more. She grinned as the man raised his hand.

Piece of…

The man lifted the center cup again.

Revealing the green stone.

Saydaa froze.

What?

Her heart pounded for a bit but she shook her head. It was bound to happen eventually. Her trick was confusing, sure, but it wasn’t perfect. The stone was ultimately still there. If the target just ignored her first trick and selected blindly, then they could still win through pure dumb luck.

But what if it wasn’t?

She gulped as she glanced at the case. Was this guy truly an idiot?

Or was there more to him than she was seeing?

“Is there a problem?”

She shook her head. Time to get her head in the game. Second guessing would only hurt here.

Besides, the next trick never failed. Not even once.

“Let’s do this.”

The man nodded and Saydaa began moving the cups once more. Again, she tossed the rock around again, no tricks. Back and forth, back and forth, slamming down the cups.

But this time, as she slammed down the cups, her eyes glowed slightly and she whispered under her breath.

“The stone is on the left.”

Her heart pounded. Direct hypnosis was always risky. She had never been caught before, but she knew better than to push her luck with a direct manipulation. One slip up and she’d be running from a mob.

The man raised his hand, his eyes still fixed on the cup. Saydaa closed her eyes and let out a small sigh of relief. She was in the clear…

The man lifted the right cup.

Revealing the stone.

Saydaa began to sweat.

How?

Who was this?

The man looked up at her. The edge of his mouth curled up.

“Is there a problem?”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. She could feel a chill down her spine.

He knew.

He definitely knew.

Her body screamed at her. Run. Get out of here. Toss the cups at him and flee.

But she was committed.

If she ran now, he would chase.

And she didn’t want to know what would happen if he caught her.

She took a deep breath. Look, he knew, but he’s still playing the game, wasn’t he? He hadn’t revealed her, hadn’t drugged her and hauled her off to some secret lab. And she still had one more chance. As long as he was playing along, she should too.

Come on, she was Saydaa Abdulzaid. She made a life for herself on these streets. She took care of herself, alone, when everyone said she couldn’t. She dodged creeps and criminals everyday.

And she was no mere girl.

She began to shuffle the cups.

And her eyes glowed red.

Illusory rocks. Hypnosis. A gust of wind to push the rock midair. Saydaa brought out all the tricks. Everything she could think of. She pulled the rock into her fingers, dropping it into another cup. Sometimes simple was best.

But simple wasn’t all.

She slammed down the cups, keeping her eyes glowing as she stared at the man.

He wasn’t even looking at the cups.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

The edge of his mouth curled up. He lifted his hand…

And reached for an empty spot at the corner of the table.

The air shimmered and a cup appeared. He lifted it, revealing the stone.

Saydaa collapsed on the ground, gripping her head.

“How?! Howhowhowhowhow?!”

The man stood up, Saydaa ceased her cries. She looked up to him, her eyes quivering.

Right.

“W-What are you going to do with me?”

She winced as the man extended his hand…

And held it in the air for a handshake?

“My name is Bob. Like I said, Saydaa Abouzeid, I have a job for you.”

“I-I’m not going! You can’t make me!”

“You can’t refuse anymore, can you?”

“...”

“A genie, even a half-genie, can twist the truth, but they can never break their word once an agreement is struck. Isn’t that right?”

“...how did you…”

“We looked into you. Heard all sorts of fantastic tales about the woman who wished for a child. Thing about this world is…truth is stranger than fiction.”

“...what are you going to do with me?”

“I’m putting together a team, I want you on it.”

Saydaa blinked.

“You…you aren’t going to dissect me or something? Run tests? Stuff me in a lamp?”

“Why would I? You’re already my employee.”

Bob handed her the case. Saydaa blinked again.

“What? Employees get a salary, after all.”

Bob turned around to walk away. Saydaa eyed him carefully, then let out a sigh.

She no longer had a choice.

She stood up to follow him.

“Just tell me one thing…”

Bob stopped and turned around.

“...How did you win? I used everything…”

Bob nodded and tapped his sunglasses.

“That’s easy.”

Saydaa jumped as she felt something crawl on her leg. She looked down.

The green stone…was crawling on her? With little metal legs. She looked back up to see Bob smirking at her, a glowing green dot on his glasses.

“The game was rigged from the start.”

Saydaa collapsed onto her knees, and stared blankly. Then she held her sides and started to giggle.

Saydaa whistled as they climbed into the grav-jet.

“Wow, this is fancy.”

Bob climbed into the cockpit. Saydaa sat herself in the co-pilot’s seat, putting her feet up on the dashboard. Bob raised an eyebrow.

“Passenger seats are back there.”

“So they are.”

Bob let out a sigh as he turned on the jet.

“Just don’t touch anything.”

“M‘Kay.”

Saydaa passed a hand over her head, the air shimmering as she did, revealing long red hair.

“Ahhhh that’s better. Haven’t been able to let that down in ages...there aren't more creeps where we're going, are there?”

“You could’ve just cut it.”

“It grows back almost immediately if I go too short. Just another wonderful side effect of my parentage.”

“Right…”

The grav-jet took off. Saydaa eyed Bob for a second.

“So who are you guys anyways? ILS? Some super secret government agency? Extremist group? Secret assassin cult?”

“Nothing so fanciful.”

“You’re flying some kind of super jet, operating advanced drones, and abducting magic kids. Sounds pretty fanciful to me.”

“...”

“What? It’s true.”

“...we’re an independent group.”

“Ah, so extremists or a cult? I don’t like knives, by the way. And I like all my fingers where they are. And no dancing naked in the moonlight either, that’s not in the contract. And my soul stays with me, thank you very much. I can do spooky though.”

Saydaa waved a hand and spiders started crawling across the dashboard.

“Probably. What's spooky these days anyways? I don’t know myself, not many movie theaters for street rats, so you’ll have to be specific with what you want.”

“...you’re very talkative.”

“Wow, never heard that before. Guess you like them obedient and quiet? All submissive and demure? Want me to transform into some pretty princess? I dreamed of being a princess when I was young, you know, so I can get with that.”

She waved her hand and a small tiara appeared on her head.

“On the other hand, you like tricking teenage girls into shady contracts, so probably not.”

Bob let out a quiet groan.

Half-genies are so annoying.