The river only looks like gold. I taste gold on my lips, but there's a lot of water too. Blinking, I feel my eyes blur. How long have I been under?
With a mighty kick, I break the surface, spraying liquid gold all over like I'm in the California Gold Rush. My wet hair clings to my scalp, and it looks golden instead of its normal blah color. I used to joke that I was average looking, the guy next door in a rom com, the nerdy best friend that the girl realizes is her destiny.
Daji sits at the water's edge in the indoor garden, watching me with approval.
"Why did you do that?"
I don't feel any different. I'm not super juiced. I'm not shooting sparks.
Just to be sure, I hold out my hands, aim at a distant rock, and try to blow it up. Nothing. Change it into gold. Nothing.
I wade out of the water, sure of one thing. With total certainty, I'm sure.
Daji pranked me.
I laugh, pulling her up and into my arms. "Brilliant. That was genius. You got me good."
She laughs joyfully. "I'm grateful you have a sense of humor."
"Shazam! I'm not a djinn, I take it. Or even with djinn powers."
Daji smiles and hugs me. "Only some, like disappearing things. Very useful. It's impossible to give you the full powers of the djinn. You have to be born one. And you wouldn't want them anyway. They're much too volatile."
"Disappearing things is d*mn useful. Speaking of that, shouldn't we disappear ourselves back to the hotel?"
With a shake of her head, she says, "They owe you an artifact at least. An artifact for the collection. And they should have fed you."
"They were going to, before I passed out."
As I mention the promised feast, I smell exotic spices and food. Not far away, but close. Rotating around, I see a table laid for two with a feast fit for a sultan.
Daji and I make our way to the table and sit down. The food is definitely Middle Eastern, but the spices are unlike anything in my world. They seem more intense, more flavorful. The minute I take a bite of the shawarma, I moan. Daji closes her eyes, tasting the cucumber salad. "This is incredible," she says. "They owed you this."
"I know. And to the victor go the spoils."
We eat hungrily and enjoy the faint otherworldly music. Someone is playing a flute, and the sound soothes my adrenaline. I still want to get back to the hotel.
"What happened after I disappeared?" I ask.
She flashes her sharp teeth in a smile. "I threatened them with every evil fate in 1001 Arabian Nights if they didn't take me to you."
I pause after chewing a bite of food. "You've been here before."
"How else would I know they have treasures for the collection?"
"Djinn always have treasures. What they don't have is, apparently, a reason to stay at the inn unless you provide them with dates. We need another angle."
Daji chews quietly. "What do you suggest?"
"What do they like? What makes them happy?"
After a moment's thought, she says, "Mates."
"Do you have any human friends?" I ask. "Ones that can keep a secret and haven't been lucky in the love department?"
A long pause. "I might."
"Really?"
"Really. BUT…these are special humans. Under my protection. Shodfui and the others would have to behave."
Every time I think I know all there is to know about Daji, she surprises me.
"You'd be willing to play the mythical Dating Game?" I tease. "Helping them swipe right?"
"It'll stop them from making fools out of themselves again." She's thoughtful, finishing the baklava someone has baked for dessert. Daji loves her sweets. "And who knows … a mythical dating service isn't the worst idea." She glares at me. "But YOU are still off limits."
I smirk, licking honey from my lips. "Yes, I am. Now, let's find that artifact, any artifact, and pitch Shodfui our idea."
"Ours?"
"Well, of course. We're a team."
Between us, we manage to convince Shodfui and Umnana to part with a book of healing. That might not sound like much to most people, but this book of healing can cure even the gods' ailments, according to the djinns. And we succeed in pitching the djinn matchmaking weekend. I decide not to push our luck, and Daji and I travel back to the inn.
Erlang Shen greets us with a scrunched-up face. "We have another problem …"