"Brenda, it’s really no big deal. If you didn’t get much sleep last night, why don’t you just take the morning off and come in later on this afternoon?"

"Robin, I just don’t feel right leaving you in the lurch like that," Brenda sighed as she lay across her bed – sideways. Fluffer lay at her side and Brenda gently stroked the cat’s fur with her right hand while she held the phone to her ear with her left.

"I can manage," Robin protested weakly. "I mean, I’m used to working back here on the books and stuff by myself. And if a customer comes in…well, I’ll just….."

Brenda smiled. "Yeah…you’ll just what?"

"I’ll just throw some stuff together until it smells right and then I’ll sell it to them for an exorbitant price – just like you!"

If Robin Scorpio hadn’t been Brenda’s best friend since forever, Brenda would have been tempted to reach out across the phone lines and slap her. When Brenda founded Scents of Angels five years earlier, aromatherapy was just beginning to be accepted as a homeopathic means of healing. In the beginning, the perfume side of the business kept the fledgling enterprise in the black.

Two years after she opened her shop, Brenda was beginning to attract a regular clientele and attention from established businesses. Her customers trusted her nose for just the right scent for any occasion, and she even was beginning to build a base of customers who valued the healing powers of some of her products. She had a comfortable bank balance and Robin to take care of the paperwork that was so difficult for her to do, hampered by her dyslexia. Then, the unthinkable happened. Sonny Corinthos came into her life.

Sonny swept Brenda off her feet, romancing her day and night. When Brenda found out that Sonny had a background in the perfume business himself, she began to get suspicious. But then when he offered to become her business partner, infusing the business with additional capital, Brenda thought it was a sign of his sincerity. She took him up on the offer, particularly when he had been such a rock of support to her, even encouraging the one thing that everyone else (except for her mother) scoffed at – her belief in magic.

Brenda realized that there were probably perfectly logical, chemical reasons why some aromas had the effect they did. But Veronica’s blood ran deep in Brenda’s veins, and she had always harbored a love for the mystical, magical elements in life. Sonny encouraged her, even taking her to out-of-the-way little shops in the French Quarter for new ingredients for her compounds. He never laughed at her as she relayed stories that her mother had told her of magical events in her life. Sonny never complained when Brenda insisted on adding a flair of the supernatural to the decorating in her shop.

No – for two years, Sonny was the perfect business partner and romantic companion. Right up until the night when he stole the chemical formulas for all of her perfumes from the office and withdrew the amount of money he had given her originally from the corporate account – with interest. Sonny opened his own perfume company, Deception, the following day.

Brenda couldn’t believe it when Robin broke the news to her. She stormed over to the new storefront Sonny had opened and confronted him, only to have him laugh in her face. She had nearly smashed every bottle of perfume in the store when she realized that he had stolen all of the scents from her. Sonny had called the police to escort her from his premises, and had calmly informed her that he was swearing out an order of protection that day since he didn’t want her around him for personal reasons, either.

Scents of Angels barely stayed afloat after Sonny’s defection, but a year later, Brenda was pleased to say that it was still in the black – just barely. That was why she had pursued the new scent in Madame Miri’s shop so relentlessly. She was sure that if she could just come up with one blockbuster scent, Scents of Angels would begin to sell rings around Deception. Without her inventiveness and sensitive nose, Sonny’s shop hadn’t introduced a new scent in year since he had been open.

"Hello – Brenda? Are you still there?" Robin’s concerned voice came through the telephone loud and clear.

"Yeah – I’m here," Brenda replied, banishing the bad memories of Sonny to someplace in the back of her brain. "Maybe I’ll just try to take a little nap and then I’ll be in later this morning."

"Sounds great to me," Robin replied. "Oh, and that woman Lucy Coe called again. She wants to make sure you’re still willing to donate samples of your new scent to the people who attend that Nurse’s Ball charity event she organizes every year."

{Sure – as long as my own personal djinni can give me the formula before then.} "Yes, I told her I would, and I’ve never backed down on a promise in my life," Brenda sighed.

"Sooo….that means you’re still willing to be part of the bachelorette auction, too?"

Brenda bit her lower lip. "Yeah, I guess a promise is a promise, even if I think the whole thing is a chauvinistic meat market. Just promise me that if you see Sonny Corinthos getting ready to bid on me, you’ll step on a vital part of his anatomy."

Robin laughed heartily. "Brenda, the way Ned, AJ and Jason are always hovering around you like big brothers, I’ll have to take a number if I want to smash any part of Sonny. Now why don’t you try to get some rest? I’ll see you in a couple of hours."

Brenda sighed and hung up the phone, rolling over onto her side and hugging Fluffer’s soft form to her. But the cat soon tired of being Brenda’s substitute for a teddy bear, and Brenda’s mind kept wandering to a blonde, blue-eyed, magnificent specimen who had promised to grant her three wishes.

Finally Brenda rose from the bed, scolding herself out loud as she sat in front of her vanity mirror. "Brenda Veronica Barrett, won’t you ever learn? Look what happened the last time you allowed yourself to believe in magic – Sonny Corinthos. What makes you think that this time will be any different?"

She sighed and went to her closet, pulling out a white tube top, pale blue denim skirt and matching short sleeve chambray shirt. She dressed quickly, turning up her nose at the thought of wearing pantyhose and slipping her bare feet into some white clogs instead. After a liberal spritz of her favorite after-shower splash – Jasmine and Sea Grass – she petted Fluffer one more time, made sure she had fresh food and water for the day, and went on her way to work. Maybe if she immersed herself in her job, she would forget about one arrogant, domineering, sexy-as-all-get-out djinni named Jax.

Jax stood on the balcony of his apartments, staring out at the shifting sands of the desert and the gently swaying trees of the Miracle Forest in the distance. He never made it a practice to stay away from Astarra too long, even when he was visiting his brother Jerald and his new Earth family.

In fact, it was physically impossible for djinn to remain on Earth and retain their magical powers. They needed to return to Astarra to rejuvenate those powers at least every twelve days. Jax had found it disconcerting that his powers seemed to fade more quickly than some of the other djinn – apparently the effort of controlling his wayward tar’ot took a toll of its own.

Jax inhaled deeply, but then he opened his eyes and a frown marred his handsome face. Now, more than ever, he needed his tar’ot to be at full strength. He needed to do whatever was necessary to join with this Brenda Barrett human to restore his balance. Without it, he could not ever hope to be powerful enough to defeat his newest enemy.

Jax whirled and paced briskly back into his apartments, sitting at a writing table and placing his hands to his forehead to concentrate. The fact that he had made a powerful enemy – human or djinni – came as no surprise to Jax. In his capacity as Guardian, he often had to settle disputes between warring djinn. Many times, the losing djinni was less than pleased with Jax’s decision, but more often than not, they accepted it. His encounters with humans were limited, but still through his contacts with Jerald, he had come into contact with some humans who envied his magical powers.

But this enemy – this enemy was desperate and heartless. And had intimate knowledge of the rituals of the djinn. Jax raised his eyes sadly. It was likely that only a fellow djinni would have the knowledge of the ritual *and* Jax’s full name.

Jax shook his head and then rose from the table. With a raise of his hand, he summoned a message sphere to his apartment. As the revolving golden ball hovered in the air near him, Jax dictated a short message to the king of the djinn, Tristangor, that he would be visiting his brother Jerald on Earth frequently in the next few weeks. Therefore, Jax was invoking his privilege as Guardian to have any urgent messages forwarded to him while on Earth. Jax seriously doubted that his enemy had contacts within the royal palace. Therefore, he didn’t consider it dangerous to Jerald or his family to let Tristangor know of his planned whereabouts.

Finishing the message, Jax nodded in the direction of the sphere and it disappeared from his apartment, but not before it left a plume of purple smoke in its wake. {Merlin! If it’s not a threat from some disgruntled djinni, it’s my fluctuating tar’ot! What more will I have to deal with this day?}

As if in answer to his thoughts, Jax felt a tremor go through the spell of protection he had cast around his apartment in anticipation of his leaving. He couldn’t be sure that whoever had plotted his enslavement wouldn’t try to attack him in some manner on Astarra. Jax tensed, but then as he turned to his balcony, he put his hands on his hips and his eyes narrowed sternly.

"Lukas! Why are you here and not at the Academy?" Jax had difficulty keeping his face from breaking into a smile at the sight of the lad he had taken under his wing, much as Thomas had become Jax’s mentor so long ago.

"Jax!" Lukas adopted a pose that was a mirror of Jax’s stance. "Why are you leaving Astarra without telling me?"

Jax walked closer to the boy. Children were not that common on Astarra since the djinn were, as a rule, not a fertile group. A djinn child was considered to be a true blessing. Therefore, when Lukas had been found as an infant, abandoned in the mountains, Jax’s heart had been touched. He had immediately petitioned Tristangor to become Lukas’ protector and teacher. The king had readily agreed since he felt the presence of the child would soften Jax’s sometimes hard and uncommitted heart.

Lukas was one of the few on Astarra (besides the king) who were granted the privilege of addressing Jax by his name, and not his title of Guardian. His lower lip pushed forward, and Jax had to stifle a laugh as it reminded him of Brenda’s actions. "Jax, you’re not answering me! Where are you going, and just *when* were you planning on telling me about it?"

Jax cocked his head to the side. "What makes you assume I’m going somewhere?"

"I sensed the spell of protection you placed around your home," Lukas answered, but Jax’s eyes only narrowed as Lukas’ evasive reply. Then, Lukas lowered his eyes and shuffled his foot a little. "And…..I was hiding outside when you dictated the message into the sphere."

"And just *what* do you think gives you permission to spy on the Guardian?" Jax tried to look his most pontifical, but he always found it difficult to keep up the façade around the young djinni who had wormed his way into Jax’s heart.

"I’m just worried about you, Jax," Lukas answered in a small voice. Jax felt a tension in his chest near his heart at the emotion in the boy’s voice, and he came to put his arm around Lukas’ shoulders. "Is someone trying to harm you? Is that why you’re leaving?"

Jax pulled Lukas with him into his apartment, taking him to the table to sit opposite him. "Lukas, it is possible that I have a new enemy, but that is not the main reason for my journey to Earth."

"Earth?!" Lukas’ eyes brightened. "I’ve *always* wanted to go with you to Earth! Will you take me along?"

Jax smiled at his youthful enthusiasm and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. "Not this time, Lukas."

Lukas’ eyes grew stormy. "Why? Is it because of this new enemy?" He leaned forward to grasp Jax’s forearm in a sign of strength. "I can help you fight them, Jax. I will stand beside you as your second."

Jax patted his hand. "No, Lukas. This doesn’t concern the new enemy." {At least, not yet. Not until the enemy finds out that his plot to enslave me has failed.}

Lukas nodded thoughtfully, and then his eyebrow raised. "A woman? This is about a woman?"

Jax smiled. "You know me too well, little one."

Lukas shot up from the chair. "I wish you would *cease* calling me that! I have almost seen 13 cycles of the sun!"

Jax held up his hands in surrender with a hearty laugh. "Enough! Enough!" They were suddenly interrupted by the chiming of a yellow message sphere that appeared on Jax’s balcony.

Jax walked towards it, but Lukas caught him by the arm. "Do you really need to get that?"

"Lukas, you *know* that my position as Guardian comes before all else," Jax answered quizzically. Then, his face altered and he raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "Is there some special reason you do not wish me to answer the sphere?"

Lukas shrugged. "Not particularly."

"Um-hmm." Jax folded his arms and assumed a posture that parents around the world assume when they sense that their children are being less than truthful with them. He turned to the sphere and waved a hand at it.

"Guardian! Is Lukas there with you? He has disappeared from the Academy again!" The director’s voice sounded frantic.

"Yes," Jax replied, his mouth a thin line of disapproval. "We were just discussing how well he understands me." Lukas hung his head in embarrassment.

"Thanks be to the heavens!" The director clearly sounded relieved. "We suspected he had gone to you after the incident here this morning."

Jax’s eyes widened and Lukas sank lower in the chair. "What incident?"

There was hesitation in the director’s voice. "Well…..the young djinn were practicing their spells this morning…."

Jax looked at Lukas, waving his hand at the sphere to silence it momentarily. "And?"

"It was no great catastrophe, Jax," Lukas began as he rose from the chair. "I simply cast a multiplying spell….."

Jax leaned forward. "Yes?"

Lukas gazed down at his feet, suddenly finding it difficult to look Jax in the eyes. "And……I cast it on some rabbits in the school laboratory."

Jax cleared his voice loudly, trying to mask the laughter that threatened to erupt. Jax waved his hand behind him again at the message sphere. "Lukas tells me he may have cast a wayward spell on some animals in the laboratory, director."

"At this point, Guardian, the entire Academy is overrun with baby bunnies," the director replied. "And while they are not generally harmful to the students, they are very……distracting."

Jax took a deep breath. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, director. I will speak with Lukas about his actions and cast the counteracting spell from here. I will also be sending you a message shortly about keeping Lukas at the Academy until I return from a short journey."

"You have my most sincere thanks, Guardian. May you be safe and successful in your journey." The sphere disappeared and Jax walked slowly to where an angry Lukas stood.

"You are confining me to the Academy? Simply for overrunning that stifling, stodgy place with innocent baby rabbits?" Lukas’ eyes were close to brimming with tears.

Jax placed his hands on Lukas’ shoulders. "I am *not* confining you to the Academy because of your mischievous spell, Lukas." He leaned in closer to the boy’s face. "Have you forgotten the story I told you about when I made all of Thomas’s breeches temporarily disappear?" Lukas smiled, but still refused to look Jax in the eyes. He gripped the boy’s shoulders harder and tipped his face up with his knuckle. "I want you to stay there because I know you will be safe there. This new enemy of mine may choose to attack me through you, and I would never want you to suffer any pain on my account."

"But Jax, you needn’t worry about me, no matter *where* I am," Lukas argued softly. He fingered the amulet that hung around his neck. "Have you forgotten the special aura of your protection that I wear?"

Jax’s eyes widened. Lukas’ amulet was identical to the one that all djinn wore. But when Lukas became old enough to wear the amulet as a sign of his special powers as a djinni, Jax had wielded the fiery pen of tar’ot that engraved the amulet with his aura of protection. Anyone who tried to hurt the boy would have to wield powers of tar’ot more potent than the Guardian. Lukas’ words to him were most timely.

"No, my boy, I haven’t forgotten," Jax smiled. He fingered the amulet. "I will never forget the day that I proudly placed this amulet around your neck." But then Jax stepped away from Lukas, breaking physical contact and assuming an objective stance. "But I give you this command to remain at the academy as Guardian, not as Jax."

Lukas sighed. "All right. I’ll stay there." He would never disobey a command of Jax’s, much less one that came from the Guardian. "But you must *promise* to send me messages and let me know that you, too, are safe."

A relieved smile graced Jax’s face. He walked forward to pull the boy into his embrace, patting him on the back lovingly. "I can easily make you that vow, Lukas." He pulled away, and placed his clenched fist first on his heart and then on the amulet. Lukas smiled at the tingling warmth that spread from the amulet throughout his entire body. "I love you, Lukas."

Lukas did the same, placing his fist to his heart and then on Jax’s amulet. "And I love you, Jax."

Lukas stayed for a short time to discuss his other training at the Academy with Jax, and then Jax sent him back to the school with several of the royal djinn guard as escort. Jax sighed as he watched Lukas leave. He hoped he had handled the situation with the multiplying-bunny-spell correctly. It was at times like this that he missed Thomas the most. Thomas knew exactly the right combination of stern discipline and gentle humor to use when Jax had made his breeches disappear. If Jax had displayed only a fraction of Thomas’s wisdom in dealing with his protégé, he would be gratified.

Soon after he left, Jax remembered the situation with the bunnies. He went to his balcony, closed his eyes, and began the incantation to reverse the prankster’s spell. Jax was glad that Lukas was no longer around to see that as he finished casting the spell, he felt the tar’ot building in him again and had to whirl quickly back towards his apartments, extending his hands towards his pillows. Crackling power shot from his fingers and the pillows exploded into a cloud of white feathers that rained down on the apartment floor at Jax’s feet.

Jax muttered several djinn swear words as he trudged through the sea of feathers. It was clear that he needed to get back to the goal at hand – wooing Brenda Barrett and convincing her to become his taja, at least until his tar’ot was balanced again. He was about to leave his apartments when he remembered Lukas and the amulet.

Despite this morning’s frustrations, Jax was pleased that Lukas had reminded him of the protective powers with which he had endowed the amulet. Not only was Jax worried about who this new enemy of his might prove to be, and the possibility that the enemy might use Lukas to hurt Jax, he was also worried about the enemy’s reaction to Brenda’s failure to enslave him.

Jax glanced around at the still-shifting carpet of feathers. He took a deep breath and gently blew it out, making an "O" of his lips. He was gratified when, for once, his tar’ot remained controlled and a hurricane did not destroy the rest of his room. The feathers began to tumble over on one another, rolling gently towards his balcony. When they reached the balcony doors, they turned into a pale lavender, sparkling dust that wafted into the air and spread across Astarra. {Merlin’s whiskers, at least I can still do one thing right!}

Once his apartment had been cleared of the feathery fluff, Jax paced briskly to a large chest and opened the hatch. He dug through the contents until his hand closed around the object he was searching for. Grabbing it, he took it out of the trunk and closed the hatch again. Opening his clenched fist, Jax stared at a blank amulet that was very similar to the ones he and Lukas wore.

Jax went to his balcony. He had only met this Brenda Barrett hours earlier, but for some strange reason, the very thought of her suffering any kind of retribution on his account made his chest tight with pain. Jax’s newest enemy definitely wanted him enslaved. And if the enemy had the knowledge of how to accomplish this, he would also know immediately that Brenda had failed.

He set the amulet on the stone wall at the edge of the balcony and smiled. Jax hadn’t visited Earth for some time, but it never ceased to amaze him how gullible some humans could be! Brenda had actually believed him when he told her that the "deal-sealing ritual" was just that. Of course, if he had revealed to her that he was actually placing her under a ritual of protection, she might have been unduly frightened. But he had to do something to safeguard her until he could return with something stronger.

Jax stared at the blank turquoise amulet. The actual ritual of engraving the amulet with his aura of protection was a simple one. But lately, with his tar’ot out of balance, Jax was almost fearful of how this particular ritual might turn out. Nevertheless, Brenda needed some more powerful tar’ot than just his kiss and embrace to protect her in the future.

Jax closed his eyes and concentrated. His brows knit, and small beads of perspiration began to appear on his forehead. As the words of the incantation began to cross his lips, Jax opened his eyes and saw a tongue of fire appear before him. He continued the incantation, and the fire thinned to a lightning-like shaft that moved closer to the amulet. Jax took a deep breath, continued, and the pen of fire actually began to cut designs into the amulet.

Pleased with his success thus far, Jax began to frown when he saw the pen start to waver. Black smoke rose from the amulet as the fire slipped and made a particularly deep groove in one side. Jax put his fingers to his temples and concentrated harder, causing his hands to tremble with the effort to control his wayward tar’ot. {This is so important! I beseech you, Merlin, let my tar’ot be true this one time!}

When Jax opened his eyes again, he was relieved to see the column of fire moving across the amulet with the speed of the wind. As he said the critical words of the ritual, the fire blazed hotter and Jax’s entire face grew warm. There was a small "pop," and when Jax opened his eyes, the pen of fire was gone. The amulet lay on the stone wall, still giving off small plumes of smoke from where he had marked it.

Blowing on it gently, Jax finally picked it up and smiled. He had succeeded. The amulet glowed brightly with the aura of his protection. He took it back into his apartment and went back to the large chest, taking out a cord made of finest black silk. He threaded the cord through a small opening in the top of the amulet, knotted it, and smiled.

All would be right now. Lukas would be safely ensconced at the Academy until he could deal with this newest adversary. He would go to Earth, charm this human named Brenda Barrett with all of his most potent wiles, make her his taja – at least until the balance was restored to his tar’ot – find out who had given her this means of enslaving him, and deal with them. And in the meantime, she would wear this amulet to protect her.

Jax froze. How could he have been so naïve? How could he convince her to wear the amulet without explaining its purpose? He looked down at his body. He was still wearing only his long robe. Would he need to wear those uncomfortably confining breeches during his entire stay on Earth? If he intended to become a part of Brenda’s life in order to seduce her more effectively, he could not draw attention to himself.

Jax spun and went to the balcony after placing the amulet in his pocket. He closed his eyes and began to cant the ritual of transportation. He would have a stop to make before he began his sensual assault on Brenda Barrett. Jerald would know how to beguile Brenda into wearing the amulet. He dealt with his stubborn human wife and step-daughter all the time. Jerald would be able to help him conjure clothing appropriate to his stay on Earth.

As Jax disappeared into nothingness, a smile graced his face. Yes – he was doing the right thing. Jerald’s house was definitely the place to start.

New Orleans, Planet Earth

Jax transported to just outside the back door of Jerald and Lois’ house in New Orleans. He immediately sensed the ritual of privacy that Jerald (or Jerry, as he had come to be called on Earth) had placed there. Jax shook his head with a naughty grin and transported inside.

Jerry and Lois were in the kitchen, and Jerry was kissing the side of Lois’s neck as she leaned against a kitchen counter. "Oh, honey," she moaned, running her long fingernails into Jerry’s thick black hair, "that feels soooo good."

Jerry lifted his head and smiled. "Really? Even better than this?" He lowered his head again to nibble behind her ear and moved a hand up towards her left breast.

"Ooohh, no, honey, that feels even better," Lois groaned. She let her head drop back, eyes shut, as she pulled Jerry’s head down towards her chest. "Oh, Jerry, you are soooo bad." Lois smiled, never opening her eyes, as she began to scoot herself up onto the kitchen counter.

"That’s strange."

Jerry and Lois sprang apart at the sound of Jax’s voice. "Why do you say he’s bad when, from what I can see, he’s doing everything quite well?" Jax sat, smirking, on a stool at the opposite end of the kitchen, his arms crossed.

"Bloody Merlin’s ghost, brother dear!" Jerry exploded. "Didn’t you see the privacy ritual I had placed outside our door?"

Jax hopped off the stood and walked towards the flushed couple. "Greetings to you too, brother dear!" he replied sarcastically. "And you well know that if I respected your desires every time you cast a privacy spell, I would never get to see my wonderful older brother and exquisite sister-in-law!" He came forward and grabbed Lois by both arms, placing a not-so-brotherly kiss on her cheek. "I swear – you two copulate more than any other humans I know!"

Lois moved into Jax’s arms, batting her eyes at him. She nearly purred as she ran a long, ornately painted fingernail down the expanse of his chest that showed through his short coat/robe. "And just how many other humans do you know, Jax?" She smiled at him and tapped him on the lips playfully. "And as we humans would say, *you* scolding *us* for copulatin’ too much is like the pot callin’ the kettle black!"

"Ahhh, Lois," Jax drawled, pulling her into his arms dramatically. He leaned over her, moving his lips closer to her neck. "Run away with me back to Astarra. Leave this boring, decaying brother of mine for a younger, more exciting version." He gave her a naughty wink. "I always did say that our children would have the most beautiful eyes."

Lois suddenly blushed ever so slightly, and Jax’s eyes widened. He pulled her back up to a standing position, his mouth dropped open, and he looked at Jerry, who was grinning. "Jerald! Lois is…..you’re…..she’s….." He kept looking back and forth between Jerry and Lois, who were both smiling conspiratorially. Jax set Lois gently on her feet and then came over to hug Jerry. "You didn’t tell me you were to be parents! Congratulations!"

Jerry laughed and returned Jax’s hug. "Lois wanted to wait just a little longer before we give everyone the good news. Apparently there are concerns during the first three months of an Earth pregnancy."

"As well there should be, brother," Jax replied, his face completely serious. "This baby is truly a miracle – a djinn child born of parents who were not both djinn."

Lois rushed over to grab Jax’s arm. "Do ‘ya think so, really Jax? Can you tell already just by lookin’ at me that it’s gonna be the whole thing with the blinkin’ and the transportin’ and stuff?"

Jax smiled benignly and held Lois by the arms. "I can sense it, dearest Lois. Do you want to also know if it is a boy or girl?"

"NO!" Jerry and Lois both shrieked it together, and then smiled sheepishly. Lois moved into Jerry’s arms. "We want that part to be a surprise." She kissed her husband, took a deep breath, and then turned back to Jax with a grin. "So, what brings ‘ya to this part of the neighborhood?"

Jax cocked his head to the side, but secretly sent a thought to Jerry. {We need to speak privately. If you tell Lois to leave the room, will she?}

{If you tell the sun of this Earth to rise in the west, will it?}

Lois’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two brothers. "Aww, no…..don’t tell me. You two are doin’ that mind speakin’ telepathic thing again, aren’t ‘ya?" She wagged her accusing finger at the two djinn, who both cast guilty looks at the floor. "Come on, now," Lois ordered, crossing her arms. "Out with it. What’s goin’ on?"

"You can speak freely," Jerry conceded to Jax. "I have trusted Lois with many of our secrets."

Jax lowered his voice. "I believe I have a new enemy. A woman of Earth tried to bind me to her will."

"WHAT!" Lois’s shriek caused Jax’s eardrums to dance. "She didn’t do it, did she?" Lois grabbed at Jax’s wrists and he gave her a loving smile.

"No, dear Lois, she was not successful. I interrupted the ritual before she was able to complete it."

"Who is she?" Jerry’s voice was cold with anger. "I will find her and cast a spell of revenge on her with all the powers of tar’ot that Earth contains."

When Jerry had married Lois, he had agreed to live with her on Earth. That meant severing some of his ties to Astarra. He was still welcome to visit whenever he wanted, but the source of his tar’ot no longer was the home of the djinn. His tar’ot, therefore, was weaker than Jax’s, but when he chose to draw upon the mystical elements of Earth, he could still command a force of tar’ot that was most awe-inspiring.

"No, brother," Jax commanded immediately. "The woman of Earth is not my enemy – merely my enemy’s tool. She had no idea when she cast the ritual that it would enslave me."

Jerry raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "So you do not know the identity of your enemy? Only of this Earth woman?"

Jax nodded. "And the Earth woman is none other than Brenda Barrett."

Jerry gasped his disbelief at the irony, but Lois just looked from one brother to the other in confusion. "OK – I give. Spill. What’s the deal with this Brenda babe?"

"She is no babe, but a woman fully grown," Jax said seriously. "And according to an ancient prophesy of the djinn, she is to become my taja."

Lois’s already huge eyes grew larger. "YOUR WIFE? Oh, this is gettin’ better and better by the minute." She rubbed her hands together in glee. "So what’s the scoop?"

"According to the prophesy," Jerry said, still eyeing Jax suspiciously, "Jax’s powers of tar’ot will begin to deteriorate when the elements of Astarra will no longer be in balance. Only by taking Brenda as his taja will his balance be restored."

Jax nodded. "It has begun." Jerry shook his head and pounded his fist on the counter in frustration. "And the timing could not be worse."

"Just when you need your full powers to combat this new rival." Jerry took a breath in resolve. "Well, brother, you know that I will aid you in whatever way I can."

"I’ll need it," Jax replied. "But not in the way you expect. The prophesy says that Brenda must come to me willingly, and for that to happen, I will need to spend some time here on Earth with her."

"To charm the pants off her, ‘ya mean," Lois said added, causing Jerry to laugh at his wife’s insight. Jax nodded, but Lois raised a hand before he could speak. "’Ya know, I thought that name sounded familiar. I think maybe I called on Brenda one time – tryin’ to sell her on my computer services. Doesn’t she run some kind of perfume shop down in the French Quarter?"

Jax took a deep breath but before another word was spoken, a high-pitched voice was heard from the other room. "All right! You two better not be doin’ any of that nooky-nooky stuff, cause I’m comin’ in!" The kitchen door swung open to reveal an adolescent brunette. She had sparkling blue eyes and a heart-shaped face – the image of her mother. As soon as she saw Jax, her face burst into a beautiful smile. "UNCLE JAX! When did you get here?"

Jax was barely able to brace himself as the girl launched herself at him and threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "Brooke Lynn! I am most pleased to see you, too!" Jax laughed in a strained voice. "But would it be possible for you to hug me with a little less enthusiasm so that I might continue to breathe?"

The girl pulled back a little to look into Jax’s eyes with a smile. But as soon as Jax looked at her, a frown crossed his face. "What’sa matter, Uncle Jax? Do I have somethin’ on my face?"

"Yes." Jax voice was full of disgust. "You have *paint* on your face."

"Paint?" Brooke frowned but suddenly broke into a musical laugh. "Oh, you mean make-up!" She wiggled her shoulders from side-to-side in an imitation of her mother’s most successful wheedling stance. "It’s not that much. Just a little blush and lipstick."

Jax tipped her face up by placing his finger to her chin. "Your face is beautiful as it is, Brooke. It has no need of this artificial coloring. And besides…" He gave Jerry a dirty look. "….you have barely seen thirteen cycles of your Earth’s sun. You are much too young to have a need of such paint."

Brooke pulled away and went to take an apple from the table, rubbing the side of it briskly against her shirt. "Yeah, well, tell the guys that, Uncle Jax. I’ll look like a total dork if I don’t wear make-up."

"A dork?" Jax looked to Jerry for help. "This is bad?"

"Very." Jerry nodded. "It’s totally not cool, I’m told."

"Cool is good?" Jax put a hand to his forehead in confusion. "I thought bad was good."

Brooke chewed the bite of apple she had taken. "Cool is good, but hot’s even better. So – how long are you gonna be here, Uncle Jax? For dinner?"

Lois smiled and went to put her arm around her daughter. "Even longer, honey. Uncle Jax is gonna be stayin’ on Earth for a while. He’s got a special project he’s workin’ on."

"Totally awesome!!" Brooke jumped up from the table and went to give Jax another hug.

"In fact, dear Brooke," Jax said, pulling the girl away from him. "You can probably help me with this project." He glanced down at his clothing. "I’m in need of some appropriate Earth clothes so that I won’t look out of place during my extended stay here." He looked at Jerry. "I was going to ask to borrow some from your father, but….."

Brooke waved her hand. "Oh, no…..not a chance." She gave her mother a naughty smile. "I assume that this project has somethin’ to do with a woman?" Lois nodded and smiled. "And that Uncle Jax is gonna use his magic to get the clothes – not go to the mall?"

"I don’t think the mall is quite ready for Uncle Jax yet, honey," Jerry drawled sarcastically.

Brooke grabbed Jax by the hand. "Well, come on, then. I’ve got a lot of tapes you can watch of my favorite TV shows. You can get some ideas from them and then just blink or wink or whatever and get yourself a totally cool outfit." She looked up at him and patted his chest. "We will have you looking SO hot."

Jax frowned in confusion as Brooke led him from the kitchen. "Cool and hot at the same time? This should be quite an accomplishment."

Lois and Jerry followed a few steps behind them. Lois pulled Jerry back to whisper in his ear. "So – do you think Jax really will? Marry this Brenda gal, I mean?"

Jerry sighed, peeking through the kitchen doors at his brother and step-daughter on the couch. "Jax will do whatever is necessary to restore balance to the Guardian’s powers. But the prophesy only says that Jax needs to *join* with Brenda – not take her as his mate forever. Whether or not this Brenda will have the power to finally thaw his heart – only time will tell."

Brenda put her head through the office door in the back of Scents of Angels. "Is it safe for me to come in or are you throwing things yet?"

Robin stared, frowning, at a computer screen. "It’s OK – come on in." Brenda came into the office, dropping her purse on a table. "Actually, I’m glad you decided to come in this afternoon after all."

"Why? Problems with waiting on the public?" Brenda smiled as she went to the small mini-refrigerator and got a diet soda out to drink.

"No, problems in deciphering your checking account," Robin replied, grabbing the cold can of soda from Brenda for herself. She pointed to the screen as Brenda came up behind her and squinted at it. "See here – on the 28^th, it looks like you wrote a check for $781 to Allied Shipping, but you entered $718 in the ledger and subtracted that from your balance." Robin picked up some files and pushed papers around. "And I can’t find the original invoice." She looked up into Brenda’s confused eyes. "So – which one is correct -- $781 or $718?"

Brenda swore softly under her breath and tried to come closer to the screen. Just then, the bell on the front door of the store tinkled, announcing the arrival of a customer. "I’ll get that," Robin offered. "You see if you can straighten this one out."

"Oh, sure," Brenda said sarcastically, watching as Robin left the office with a snicker. "You go wait on the customers. Leave me with the tough stuff." She sat down in the chair and peered more closely at the screen, tapping it once with her finger. "D*mn, I wish those numbers would quit jumping around!"

"Is that officially your second wish?" The sound of Jax’s voice over her shoulder and the feel of his breath on her neck made Brenda jump.

"Hasn’t anyone ever told you before NOT TO DO THAT!!" Brenda cried. She patted her chest with the flat of her hand. "Geez, you could give someone a heart attack, popping in and out like that!"

Jax spun her desk chair around to face him and Brenda suddenly felt like the air conditioning in the room had stopped functioning. He had on a pale blue denim shirt, almost indecently-tight blue jeans, no socks, and leather sandals. He placed a hand on each arm of the desk chair, effectively trapping her there as he leaned in close. "Hasn’t your man ever told you that swearing makes a woman unattractive, my angel?"

"My man? MY MAN!!??" Brenda sputtered. Just as she was about to give Jax a first-hand lesson on 20^th Century history and the women’s rights movement, Robin came back through the door.

"Brenda, I…." She stopped short as Brenda seized Jax’s surprise at her entrance to hop out of the chair. "I’m sorry," Robin frowned. "I didn’t know anybody else was back here with you."

Brenda placed herself directly in front of Jax, facing Robin. "I’m sorry, Robin. This is….Jax," she stumbled, waving lamely over her shoulder. "He’s ….umm……"

Jax gave Robin a devastating smile and put his hands proprietarily on Brenda’s shoulders. "Yes, I’m Jax," he supplied. He squeezed Brenda’s shoulders for emphasis. "And Brenda is my new mistress."

To be continued……