Brenda sat in a daze on her floor, holding Fluffer McKitty’s shivering body to her breast. {Well, as far as phoney baloneys go, this guy’s good. That wind machine he must have used was pretty impressive.} She continued to stare at the tall, blonde vision of fury that stood in her living room.

She finally found her voice. "You’re not bad, but I think you need to have a talk with the guy who rented you that costume, Sahib."

Jax frowned as he stood with his fists on his hips in his usual power stance. "Excuse me?"

Brenda gestured up and down with her hand. "Well, the robe’s not bad, but the guy obviously gypped you out of the fez hat and the little satin shoes with the pointy toes."

"Do you have *any* idea what you almost did, human?" Jax thundered, and Fluffer meowed in protest and clung tighter to Brenda’s neck. But Brenda, not one to be outdone by anyone, wasn’t about to let this two-bit ham (that Madame Miri had probably hired from Actors’ Equity) get her to pay another fifty dollars for some smoke and mirrors.

"Yeah, I think I do," she replied, getting to her feet and still clinging tightly to Fluffer. "I just got myself three wishes." She took one small step closer to him. "IF you’re really a djinni, that is."

"IF???!!!" Jax was close to being apoplectic. "You doubt the powers of the Guardian?" Brenda gave him a "say what?" look so he elaborated. "You do not believe that I am a real djinni with powers of the tar’ot – the magic?"

"Well," Brenda started slowly, walking around Jax and turning the tables by making *him* the one answering the questions, "if you’re really a djinni, then I should be able to use one of my wishes, right? I mean, don’t I get three altogether?"

Jax crossed his arms. "That is the number in most of the tales you humans are so fond of reading."

"Yeah, us humans, right," Brenda said sarcastically. She set Fluffer down and the cat immediately scrambled under the couch for safety. Brenda crossed her arms and tried to look ….. masterful. "OK, then for my first wish…." She hadn’t really thought about anything but wishing for her grandmother’s perfume. But if this guy was really a djinni and the spell had worked, she had the two remaining wishes to use for the scent. As her stomach growled, Brenda realized that it was almost breakfast time.

"……OK, I got it. For my first wish, I would like some beignets with powdered sugar and some French Vanilla café au’lait, please," Brenda ordered. "Oh – and make that coffee decaf, if you don’t mind."

Jax tipped his head to the side. This Brenda Barrett was certainly fascinating. She was fearless, yet he sensed vulnerability deep inside. He knew that he had intimidated her when he made his thunderous entrance, yet here she was – ordering *him* around, even though she hadn’t completed the ritual and he didn’t owe her a thing. And she was undeniably exquisite. Perhaps fulfilling the prophesy would not be such a bad thing after all.

"Ummm…excuse me?" Brenda’s voice broke his ruminations and Jax had to stifle his laughter at her ridiculous pose when he looked at her. She was tapping her foot as some kind of sign of impatience. {What a charming, impertinent pixie! Were we on Astarra, such disrespectful behavior in the presence of the Guardian would warrant severe punishment!} "Ummm…..Mr. Djinni…..I’m waiting for my breakfast…"

Jax grinned slyly, and as Brenda watched in amazement, he raised one hand high in the air. There was a small flash of light, and when he brought it down, he held a large, frosted glass of what appeared to be orange juice. He put it to his own mouth and sipped some, running his tongue over his lips appreciatively. "Ahh, yes…delicious."

"UMMM…EXCUSE ME, but I’M the one who made the wish here, Sahib," Brenda retorted. "*I* should be the one doing the drinking, and I ordered coffee, not orange juice."

"It is not the juice of mere oranges," Jax replied with a superior air, "but a mixture of the most delicious papayas and tangelos." He shot her a look of disdain. "It’s more nutritious than that awful sludge you humans drink in the morning." As Brenda took a breath to reply that she would drink whatever she pleased, Jax snapped the fingers of his other hand and the glass disappeared into thin air.

"How the heck did you do that?" Brenda asked, still staring up at her ceiling and trying to figure out where the juice went.

"It was nothing for a master of the tar’ot," Jax replied, rubbing the fingernails of his right hand against his robe in a universal gesture of disdain.

"Wait a minute! What about my wish?" Brenda cried, stamping her foot again, clearly annoyed at this lemon of a djinni.

"I never said I would grant it," Jax replied, stifling a theatrical yawn.

"But you have to! I’m your master, or mistress!" Brenda replied. As Jax raised one eyebrow at her suggestively, Brenda’s words came back to haunt her and she choked. "Let me re-phrase that……I summoned you. You have to grant me those three wishes."

Jax suddenly walked towards her, stopping when he stood so close that Brenda could detect the faint scent of sandalwood and musk coming from his body. Little silver sparks rose in an aura all around him. {Oh my gooosssshhhh, this guy must be a for-real djinni. Only Dreamworks’ Special Effects Department can do that kind of stuff, and this is no movie.} "You *tried* to summon me, Brenda Barrett, but you failed to complete the ritual. You did not say my name three times through. I interrupted you." He held up his arms in front of her, and Brenda felt a little dizzy at the large muscles that bulged in his forearms. "You see – no copper wrist-bands. I am free."

So the ritual had brought a djinni into her living room, but only to visit – not to grant wishes. {Kind of like out-of-town relatives who drop in unexpectedly.} "Hey – how did you know my name?"

"I am a djinni. I know everything," Jax replied quickly. {She is intelligent, too. This joining promises to be even better and better.}

"Yeah, well, I’m definitely NOT a djinni, so what do I call you?" She reached down and grabbed the yellowed piece of paper. "Jas-per-i al….."

"STOP!" Jax thundered again, and her hair ruffled a little with the force of his breath. Brenda winced as her eardrums reverberated, and Jax backed down a little. "You may call me Jax. Djinn do not wish to be called by their full names. It could be overheard by someone who would seek to enslave that djinni."

Brenda’s eyes widened. "Enslave? What do you mean?"

"Do you think we djinn *enjoy* being subject to the whims of you mercurial humans?" Jax laughed in disdain, turning away from her to pace around the small living room. "Bring me this, make me rich, take me there....." He turned back to her and his fingers went to his throat to lovingly caress the amulet that hung there. "Being bound to a human’s will robs a djinni of his freedom. He is stripped of his amulet, and forbidden to be in the company of his fellow djinn until he earns his freedom from that bondage." His eyes grew sad as he thought of the misery Jerald had endured before he met Lois.

Brenda found herself actually feeling sorry for a spellbound djinni, but then her attention was drawn to Jax’s amulet. {It’s just like the one that Madame Miri had! So she *was* a djinni and if this guy hadn’t interrupted me, I *would* have gotten that scent.}

She took a deep breath and then started walking towards the front door of her house, patting Jax gently on the arm as she passed. "Well, this has all certainly been interesting..." She looked at his anxious face, and remembered the name he had told her. ".....Jax, but if you’re not going to grant me my three wishes, I think it’s time you hit the road." {And I go back to see your fellow djinni Madame Miri and get my money back.}

"Hit the road? I have no desire to strike a thoroughfare." Jax looked blissfully ignorant of Brenda’s idiom.

"Beat it. Scram." The early morning hour was beginning to catch up with Brenda, and she had never been a morning person, magic spell or no magic spell. "LEAVE!!"

Jax caught his breath. This wasn’t turning out well at all. If Brenda had no desire to have him around, how would he ever be able to get her to join with him to fulfill the prophesy and restore balance to his tar’ot? As he desperately tried to think of a way to talk her into letting him stay, he turned to her and her face went pale.

Brenda had been holding the door open so that her guest could leave in a more conventional way. But when Jax spun, his robe flew open and her jaw dropped. "Whoa, there, fella! I think you forgot to put on part of your costume this morning!" Brenda shut the door and put her hand on her hip. "You’ll get arrested for indecent exposure if you go out there with the family jewels on display."

Jax frowned at first. But then, when he glanced down, he realized his mistake. After Jerald and Lois had married, Jax became a frequent visitor to their house on Earth. He had soon learned that with an adolescent like Lois’s daughter around, he needed to don breeches when he materialized. But when Jax transported to Brenda’s home that morning, he hadn’t planned on shedding his invisibility. He only meant to look at her -- not confront her.

"My most abject apologies, Brenda," Jax purred, striking his chest lightly with his fist. To her amazement, midnight blue trousers of the softest kid leather appeared to be molded to Jax’s legs. He came close to her again, and she detected the distinct scent of sandalwood. "I never intended to shock you." He leaned in even closer. "Have I shocked you?" he whispered, raising one sun-kissed eyebrow.

"Ummm.....shocked me?" Brenda tried to keep her mind on the subject, but her brain seemed to have turned to mush. "No! Not at all," she lied bravely. "I always have half-naked men appearing in my living room after I cast spells at dawn."

Jax spirits rose as he detected a possibility of staying in the good graces of his one hope for the future. He lifted his first finger to gently raise it to Brenda’s face. She inhaled sharply when tiny sparks seemed to explode in the air around it, but when he touched her face and trailed that same finger down her cheek, she only felt a warm tingling that was not unpleasant. "Do you really *want* me to leave, Brenda?"

Brenda’s head began to swim as her sensitive nose went crazy in the presence of this very strange man. She decided his pheromones must have been set on overdrive when he was born. "Leave?" She swayed for a moment, leaning towards his broad chest that was barely concealed by the open robe he wore. "Yes, of *course* I want you to leave!" she finally replied, shaking her head to clear it of the fuzziness he seemed to have infused there.

Jax tried not to let his frustration show. He had tried to search her brain -- to find out what she really thought of him. If she harbored even the tiniest bit of desire for him, he could use that to his advantage in seducing her. If she had a particular place on her body that brought her mind-numbing pleasure, he could stimulate it, both with and without his tar’ot. But to his dismay, when Jax tried to read her thoughts, there was some kind of barrier that prevented him from being successful. He would definitely have to talk to Jerald about this -- could all women of Earth close their minds to djinn, or only the most stubborn and beautiful of them?

"Hello? Jax?" Brenda waved her hand in front of Jax’s face. "Like you said -- you’re not here to grant my wishes, and I didn’t succeed in binding you, so you’re free to go. So..........Go!!"

Jax grasped at her hand, and Brenda caught her breath when he took hold of it and pulled it to his chest. "Now waaaaiiiiit just a minute there, Jax..." Brenda began.

"I mean you no harm, Brenda," Jax said in a gentle voice. But he still would not let go of her hand. "Indulge me."

"In what?" Brenda’s reply was a combination of fear and breathless anticipation.

Jax smiled at her benignly. "The pleasure of just holding your hand and feeling the softness of your skin beneath my fingers." Brenda seemed to relax, but Jax was so busy beginning the transportation spell that he barely noticed.

He was determined that she would become his taja. With all of her earthly distractions around her, Jax decided that the best place to accomplish her seduction was on Astarra. As long as he held her hand, he could transport the both of them there.

Of course, she would object initially. Jax expected no less from a strong-willed woman like Brenda. But during one of his many visits to Jerald and Lois’s home, Jax had found some of the books that Lois was reading. Jax opened one and was amazed at the plot. The handsome, dashing hero kidnapped and seduced the heroine. Jax remembered well how the heroine had fought the hero, constantly asserting how much she hated him while she writhed in pleasure in his arms. By the time Jerald interrupted Jax, he had reached the ending of the book, where the heroine’s "NO’s" had changed to enthusiastic "YES’s."

Jax closed his eyes and Brenda stared at him quizzically as he continued the incantation quietly to himself. In the blink of an eye, she would find herself in his bedroom on Astarra. He would rid her of her clothes with another nod, and in another instant, Brenda would find herself on his pillows, his tar’ot already beginning to caress her into passionate abandon. Jax could search her mind more easily there, and he would determine her pleasure points and stimulate them mercilessly. By the time he eventually joined her on the pillows, she would be nearly mad with wanting him.

Jax could feel his breathing quickening at the prospect, but when he opened his eyes, he was amazed to see that they weren’t in his bedroom. They weren’t even on Astarra. He looked around quickly and found that they were still in Brenda’s living room in New Orleans.

"Uh…Jax? Can I have my hand back now?" Brenda was beginning to grow suspicious.

"Just a few moments more, Brenda," Jax replied smoothly, pulling her even closer to him. Perhaps transporting two bodies such a distance required greater proximity. But as Jax quickly repeated the spell, trying to focus his most potent tar’ot, he swore softly to himself when he found them still in her living room.

{Surely my tar’ot can’t have failed me *completely*! Even on Astarra, it still functioned – although with unanticipated results, at times!} It was then that Thomas’s words came back to him. {Willingly! She must come *willingly* to fulfill the prophesy. It’s not because my tar’ot is faltering that we cannot transport. Her stubborn will is blocking the tar’ot completely! Merlin’s eyeteeth, what will I do NOW??!!}

Brenda suddenly broke Jax’s thoughts when she pulled her hand from his. "Well, Jax, that was nice – I guess – but I definitely think it’s time for you to go now." She stood next to the open front door and motioned for him to pass through.

{I *must* find a way to remain with her. I must seduce her into wanting to come with me to Astarra to fulfill the prophesy.} Jax thought for a moment, recalling a charming colloquial saying Lois had told him one time about capturing more insects with something sweet than something sour. A plan formed in Jax’s mind as he walked jauntily over to the door and began to close it. "One question before I go, though. If I *had* decided to grant your wish, what would it have been?"

Brenda cocked her head to the side and frowned. "But you said you wouldn’t grant them," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Ahhhh, I never said I *wouldn’t*," Jax replied with a smile. "I said that I wasn’t *required* to grant them." Brenda began to walk away from the door with a skeptical look on her face, and Jax followed her with a smile. "Tell me what you heart desired so greatly, and I will consider granting the wish."

Brenda turned back to him and sighed aloud. "OK, what’s the catch?" Jax shrugged his shoulders in ignorance of her phrase again. "I have a feeling that you wouldn’t be re-considering this unless you were going to get something out of it, too. What’s in it for you?"

Jax tried to give Brenda his most devastating smile. "Only to spend more time with you, my angel."

"That’s the biggest load of horse manure I’ve heard in a long time, Jax," Brenda said scornfully. Jax’s face obviously fell as she continued her tirade. "I’m not YOURS, and I’m certainly no angel, so quit hitting on me and tell me the real reason."

Jax bristled. "I have yet to strike a woman, Brenda." She shook her head and laughed softly, trying to remember to only use literal phrases around him. But then she was surprised when he moved closer to raise her face to him with his finger. "And you are closer to an angel than you realize. Did you know that many centuries ago, the djinn lived on earth in peaceful cohabitation with the angels and the humans? Eventually, human greed disturbed the balance, and the angels and djinn each moved to their own home world. But, it is still said that the djinn occupy a level just above the humans and just below the angels."

"Fascinating. Now get to the point. Why would you want to grant my wishes anyway?"

Jax strolled away from her casually. "Because you amuse me, Brenda. You intrigue me. And besides – each time I granted one of your wishes, you would agree to grant me a favor. A bargain, I believe you would call it," Jax said in an even tone.

"Ahhhh, now we’re getting somewhere," Brenda replied with a skeptical smirk. "And just what kind of favors would you ask?"

Jax shrugged. "They would depend on the extent of your wish. But, as a gesture of what you humans call "good faith," I will tell you now what favor I would ask of you in return for granting your first wish."

"No matter what my wish might be?"

"Regardless." Brenda nodded slightly, and Jax went on. "In return for granting your first wish, I would ask that you take me to the creature who provided you with the ritual for summoning a djinni and my name."

Brenda’s eyes narrowed. "That’s it?"

"That’s all." Jax folded his arms, hoping desperately that she would agree to the bargains. If not, it would be very difficult to find a way to tie her to him for the time it would take to seduce her. And, the fact that Brenda had secured his full name and the binding ritual worried him. He must have a powerful enemy somewhere. Enemies of the Guardian could prove deadly to the continued well-being of the djinn world. "So, what your wish be, my sweet angel?"

"Don’t call me that again," Brenda said crossly, "but that’s not my official wish." She tapped her foot for a moment as she considered the possibilities. But if she truly had three wishes, she could always wait for wishing for her grandmother’s scent until a later one. She crossed her arms regally. "OK, I’ve decided. Tomorrow is my mother’s birthday. I would like you to accompany me to her party and show her your magic."

"That’s it?" Jax echoed her words cynically. "A wish for someone else – not for yourself?" {She is truly a very unusual human.}

Brenda smiled. "My mother is probably what you would call the last of the true believers in magic. She’s always told me that it existed, but she never has seen it – at least, not like you’ve shown me tonight. I think it would be the best birthday present in the world for her to finally be vindicated. Let me tell you, she’s been the subject of my father’s teasing on more than one occasion for her beliefs in the supernatural," Brenda said bitterly.

"Then she above all should see the power of tar’ot firsthand," Jax said. For some reason, it hurt him deeply that anyone should suffer ridicule for believing in something as patently true as magic. "We have a deal, Brenda. I will show your mother my tar’ot, and then you will take me to the place where you got the ritual and the name."

"It’s a deal," Brenda nodded, putting out her hand. Jax frowned at her in puzzlement. "Oh – sorry about that. It’s an old tradition here on Earth to seal a deal by shaking hands." Jax nodded in understanding, and took her hand in his. He was surprised by the firmness of her grip. How could such a delicate creature have such power in her hand?

Brenda, meanwhile, was surprised by the electrical current that seemed to run up her arm when she shook Jax’s hand. But then, Jax continued to hold her hand and she looked up to see his blue/green eyes sparkling with golden highlights to match his hair. "We have our own custom – among the djinn, that is – for sealing a bargain." Brenda didn’t breathe as Jax held her eyes captive and leaned forward. "First, the wrist," he murmured, quickly turning her hand over and brushing his lips over the inside of her wrist. He further surprised Brenda when he gave her pulse point a quick flick with his tongue. When he raised his head again, Brenda could swear her wrist sparked where his lips had touched it.

"And then the neck," Jax continued in a husky voice. Brenda took a breath to squeak out a protest, but before she could, he was lowering his face to her collarbone. Again, his lips brushed her skin leaving sparks, and she swore she felt a small jolt of electricity when his tongue gently followed the same path. He pulled back, his eyes still glowing with golden fire. "Now – your turn."

Brenda’s breathing was irregular as she followed Jax’s directions without contest. She turned his hand over in hers, and lowered her lips to his wrist. As they brushed his skin, her senses were filled with the musky scent of sandalwood that had been driving her crazy since he appeared. She raised her head, and Jax bent over slightly so that she could reach up to brush her lips against the place where his neck met his shoulder. She felt the power in those shoulders and some of his soft blonde hair rubbed against her forehead before she drew away.

{What is the *matter* with you, Brenda?} Fighting an almost irresistible urge to lay her head on his shoulder and snuggle close, Brenda pulled back from him. She took a shaky breath. "OK. Done deal."

Jax nodded. "The bargain is sealed and set – by the power of tar’ot and the path of destiny." Both of them were breathing hard and Brenda still felt the jolt his lips had sent through her system when Jax yelped in pain. They both looked down to see angry red scratches appear on Jax’s bare foot. Fluffer McKitty looking very pleased with herself.

"Fluffer – you naughty kitty! What did you do?" Brenda scooped the hissing and spitting ball of fur into her arms as Jax’s face clouded with fury. "Oh, please don’t be angry with Fluffer," Brenda pleaded as Jax’s eyes narrowed. "I’ve had her ever since she was a little kitten, and she’s just….protective of me, that’s all."

Jax’s eyes narrowed as he caught the gaze of his attacker and held it. He put one hand out towards the suddenly quiet cat, and Brenda backed away a little. But then, Jax moved his hand more slowly and lay it gently on Fluffer’s forehead. His thumb was positioned between the cat’s eyes.

Brenda looked from Jax to Fluffer and back again. She could almost feel some kind of communication going between them. Suddenly, Jax released his hold on Fluffer and the cat didn’t protest as Jax lifted her from Brenda’s arms. In fact, to Brenda’s shock, when Jax cradled her in the crook of his arm and petted her softly, Fluffer purred in contentment.

"Ummm…what did you just do?"

"We merely had to come to an understanding, Miss Fluffer and I," Jax said sweetly, still caressing the cat. "She apologized for scratching me, and I explained to her that I would never harm you."

"You…..can *talk* to animals, too?" Brenda shook her head, and then glanced up at the sunlight streaming through her windows. "Well, Dr. Doolittle, since I’m not independently wealthy, I need to start getting ready for work." She stretched and stifled a yawn as Jax held Fluffer up in front of him. Fluffer purred loudly as Jax lowered her to his lips and placed a kiss on her nose. Then, he set her down and she went back to curl around Brenda’s legs, still staring up at the tall, blonde djinni and purring occasionally.

"I will leave so that you can attend to your responsibilities." Jax realized that he had left Astarra without informing anyone, and it was possible that there was concern for the Guardian’s welfare. "What time do the festivities for your mother begin tomorrow night?"

"Well, the party’s late – mom’s a night owl, just like me." Brenda saw Jax’s frown and realized she had used an idiom that probably gave him a strange concept of her mother. "She likes late nights better than early mornings," Brenda explained, and Jax smiled again. "We probably should keep you a secret from the other guests, so why don’t you come back here to my house around 10 o’clock and I’ll take you to my mother’s house then?"

"Again we have a deal." Brenda held her breath. If he was going to ask her to go through the djinn deal-sealing ritual again, she didn’t know if she would be able to keep a level head. His musky essence of sandalwood was stimulating her libido like nothing had for ages. "I will see you tomorrow night at 10, my sweet angel."

"For the last time, I’m not YOURS, and I’m no….." Brenda never got to finish her thought as a whirlwind tore through her living room. When she opened her eyes, the doors and windows were still shut, but Jax was gone. She glanced down at the floor, and noticed that the yellowed pieces of paper with the ritual and Jax’s full name were gone, too.

Brenda let out a long sigh. "……angel." She stooped to pick up Fluffer, petted her gently, and then headed back to her bedroom for a long, cold, sobering shower.

To be continued……