Chapter Twenty

The clacking of plates and silverware echoed from the kitchen as Vera stumbled into the house. Her head throbbed painfully and all she wanted to do was go up to her room and lie down.

"Vera!" Halsten called from the kitchen. "Is that you?"

She hissed in response to the loud noise, like a cat bristling with hostility. Glaring in his direction she ignored the question and continued shuffling upstairs. She made it about halfway before he poked his head out the kitchen door and spotted her on the stairs.

"Where are you going?" he inquired at her retreating back. "Come back downstairs. One of your friends from the dig site is here."

Her foot slipped on the stair and she went down hard on her knees, her chin clipping the bannister on the way down. She shook it off, but didn't move to get up.

"A friend from the dig site? Do you mean Kareem?" she asked him with dread welling in her stomach.

"Yes, I believe that was his name," he replied. "He seemed worried about you. He said you weren't feeling well earlier."

He walked toward her and looked at her more closely. "In fact, it looks like you're still not well. What's the matter?"

"Headache," she mumbled, laying her head down on the stair and closing her eyes.

"Why didn't you say so? You know we have medicine for that and even if we didn't I could have gone to the physician to fetch some."

He walked away; his steps thunderous and painful to Vera's ears. When he returned with the medicine she took it greedily, hoping that Dr. Peters was wrong and all of this would soon start making sense once her headache went away.

"You should start feeling better soon," Halsten told her. "Until then why don't you come sit with me in the kitchen?"

She groaned, knowing that was Halsten's way of getting information out of her when he didn't want others overhearing. It was rare for anyone else besides the two of them to be in the kitchen. She pulled a stool up to the counter and laid her head down as he worked on making dinner.

"So that Kareem seems like a nice young man," he began, turning away from her when she looked up at him in surprise.

"...A nice young man? Are you sure you're feeling well?"

He frowned. "Of course I am, what makes you say that?"

She stared at him incredulously. "Perhaps because you never speak well of anyone until after you've known them for several years? Or maybe because you are overprotective of me and suspicious of all the people I am friends with?"

"This one is different. I like him," he replied.

"How?" she asked, standing up and turning him around to face her. "How is he different?"

Halsten shrugged. "He just is. I don't know how, or why, but I like him."

Something was wrong, just as Dr. Peters had said. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but it was true. Halsten would never say those things. He always had definite answers for things and he never ever made a decision about something if he was unsure of his reasoning.

"You're not acting like yourself," she told him, watching his reactions closely.

"Don't be ridiculous, silly girl," he said, laughing. "Your headache is making you delirious."

She glared at him. "No, it isn't. I know Halsten. He's my best friend and he would never call me a 'silly girl' or say I'm being 'ridiculous.'"

The Halsten imposter started to speak, but she talked over him. "And do you know what else? It seems like all of this keeps leading right back to Kareem!"

"All of what?" he asked, but she was already marching out of the room to confront Kareem.

Her headache hadn't gotten better and the pain was only making her more angry. When she entered the sitting room to find her father and Kareem laughing, she snapped.

"What are you doing here, Kareem?" she snarled, pointing a finger at his chest. "I don't know what sort of game you're playing but I want it to stop. NOW."

He looked hurt, but she wasn't convinced. Instinct was telling her she needed to keep pulling at this thread until the whole thing unraveled.

"For the past two days nothing has felt right. No one is behaving like they normally do and I have headaches that never go away. But do you know the one thing that keeps playing over and over in my mind?"

She massaged her temples and glared at him.

"Why, all of a sudden, are you taking such an interest in me? You and I were never anything more than acquaintances. But suddenly you've decided you want to spend all of your time near me to the point that you're willing to argue with Dr. Peters over it, who is your superior? Who could very well fire you from this job for insubordination?"

Kareem sighed and rubbed a hand over his cheek.

"Why can you never let things go?" he asked. "We could have been happy this way. It was a new start for both of us."

Vera gasped when her father disappeared before her eyes. "What did you do? Where did he go?"

Kareem glared at her. "You really don't want to know the answer to that, Vera."

She shoved him, hard. "Bring him back!"

He glared at her and sat down in the chair across from the fire. "On one condition," he replied.

She shook her head. "No! Bring him back or I'll fetch the authorities and have them arrest you!"

Kareem threw his head back against the chair and laughed. She shifted from foot to foot nervously, unsure how to deal with the situation.

"Halsten!" she shouted as a last resort. Even though he wasn't acting like himself, perhaps he still cared enough to help her.

"Sorry, but he's gone too," Kareem informed her.

"What do I have to do to get them back?" she asked, wincing as the pain in her head became worse.

She sat down in the chair opposite him and silently willed the headache medicine to work.

"It's very simple really," Kareem said as he reached out and touched her temple.

Vera blinked in surprise when the pain vanished almost instantly.

"You only have to stop prying. Stop asking questions. That's all I ask and everything will go back to normal," he said, grinning at her.

"And if I don't?" she asked.

"Then you will never see your father or Halsten again. And your life will be a constant nightmare you can't wake up from."

"My father and the Halsten living with me right now aren't the real ones are they?" she asked, afraid to even consider the answer.

"Does it matter as long as you have them?"

"Of course it matters!" she shouted. "If they aren't really my family then I don't want them!"

"I think you might change your mind if you knew the reality of the situation," he responded.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Kareem refused to answer, only shrugging one shoulder in response to her question.

Anger overwhelmed her and Vera decided she was finished playing his little game.

"Why do I keep seeing a white room and hear a girl telling me to remember?"

Kareem surged forward and grabbed her around the neck, shoving her back against the chair. Vera froze in fear and surprise when his eyes flashed red.

"I told you to stop asking questions," he growled. "There's nothing to remember and no room. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is going on with your life the same way you always have."

"But it's not the same, is it?" she snapped in response. "Not really. You've made all this up haven't you?"

When his eyes grew brighter red and dark cracks began to from on his skin she knew she was uncovering the truth.

"You can make my father and Halsten disappear at will, so it would be easy for you to create an imaginary world to put me in. But why? To get me to pay attention to you?"

He roared and Vera paled in horror when his face became unrecognizably inhuman. His hand had begun to burn her throat and the veins under his ashen skin looked like molten lava. She squirmed under his tight grip and tried to get away, but he only laughed.

"I thought this is what you wanted, Vera?" he taunted. "You wanted to know the truth. Well here it is!"

"What are you?" she whispered.

"I could be your worst nightmare, but I'm giving you one last chance. Stop asking questions. Forget about the room and Hael-"

"Hael?" she asked, not sure what he was talking about.

A brief flash of fear crossed his face and Vera winced when her headache returned worse than ever.

REMEMBER! The voice shouted in her head.

And she did. Suddenly she remembered. Hael and Amias and her family. Everything. Including her three wishes.

"Hael if you can hear me, I wish I was someplace safe where Amias can't get to me!" she screamed out loud and in her head.

"NO!" Amias shouted, and tried to cover her mouth, but she managed jerked out of his reach.

Vera laughed as the room began to fade and was replaced by another one that also looked vaguely familiar.

"Are we in my old bedroom in London?" she asked aloud.

"It's one of the few places Amias doesn't know about, so he can't find you. I've also placed wards around it just in case," Hael replied.

Vera hugged her tightly and whispered, "I'm glad you're alright. I was afraid he would kill you too."

Hael pulled away and replied, "I think we should do this quickly. I don't want you to have to go through any more suffering. Do you know what you plan to wish for now?"

Vera nodded. "I think so. But first I have a few questions."

Hael sat down on the bed and motioned for Vera to join her. "Ask as many questions as you like."

"Can the wishes have multiple parts?"

Hael considered it before replying. "They aren't supposed to, but perhaps you should give me a hypothetical situation and I can tell you if it would work or not."

"Could I wish for none of this to have ever happened to me or while also wishing you could retain your memories of what happened?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't have to wish for the second part. As long as you don't wish for me to lose my memories, I won't."

"Good, because I want you to remember what Amias has done so that you can try and get him help – help make him good again."

Vera sat in silence as she decided on what her last two wishes would be. She only hoped they would work out the way she wanted.

"I'd like to make my wishes now," she said, turning to face Hael.

The jinni nodded, reaching over to hold her hand.

Vera took a deep breath and recited them how she had practiced in her mind.

"I wish, that upon the completion of my next wish, Amias will never be able to leave the djinni realm and never be able to come into this realm ever again."

Hael nodded and replied, "I think that is a wise decision."

"My second wish is for me to go back in time to before any of this ever happened when my father, Halsten, and I were still living in this house in London. That way they will still be alive, right?"

Hael smiled. "I was hoping you would figure that out. Yes, if you wish for that your family will still be alive."

Vera grinned at her.

"I hope you have a long and happy life, Vera," Hael whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I hope nothing like this ever happens to you again."

"Thank you, Hael. I'm not sure if I could have ever lived through this without you. And I hope you can help Amias, I really do."

Hael nodded and winked as she began to fade away like mist. Vera let out a sigh of relief when she was gone. Hael may have been her friend and savior, but her leaving meant everything could go back to normal. As she made her way over to open the bedroom door Vera could hear the sound of Halsten talking to her father downstairs and she felt happy for the first time in weeks.

.....

The End