Impossible

Brenda looked at her wristwatch for the tenth time. It was almost 10:30, and her mother and Jax still hadn’t materialized at Harlan’s house. She was debating calling the police when Brenda saw something that made her worries about her mother fade into nothingness.

Harlan Barrett was greeting the latest arrival to Veronica’s birthday party with a warm hug and a smile. He turned toward Brenda with his arm securely around the shoulders of his latest guest. Sonny Corinthos.

As Brenda turned away from staring at him – the man who had stolen her heart, her perfume formulas, and nearly all of her hard-earned money – she spun into a large male chest, holding a champagne flute. "Want to drown your sorrows?"

Brenda smiled wanly as she accepted the glass. "Ned, how do you always know exactly when I need rescuing?"

The tall, dark-haired man flashed his killer dimples and put his arm around her. "Maybe because you’re the closest I’ll ever come to having a little sister to watch out for." He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "And if there’s one thing I can always count on Harlan Barrett for, it’s being enough of a horse’s @ss to invite the guy who robbed his daughter blind to the same social function with her."

Brenda nodded. "AND, since Sonny and "Deception" seem to be having huge success in the perfume world, I guess I can count on seeing him at any industry function, right?" She toyed with the stem of her champagne glass. "And if I want to play with the big boys, I have to learn to roll with the punches?"

"Spoken like either a true Quartermaine or a true Barrett," another young man added, joining Ned and Brenda. "Can I join this meeting of the Sonny Corinthos Admiration Society?"

Brenda smiled again and opened her arms to give the newcomer a warm hug. "There’s always room for you, A.J." A.J. Quartermaine, heir to the Quartermaine family’s business, E.L.Q., had met Brenda when they were both in high school. A.J. and his brother Jason were immediately drawn to the stunning brunette’s good looks, but somehow neither brother was lucky enough to establish a romantic relationship with her. When their cousin, Ned Ashton, arrived from boarding school, they thought that perhaps he would succeed where they had failed. But instead, the three men had "adopted" Brenda as their "little sister," guiding her through the pitfalls of opening her perfume shop and later helping her pick up the pieces after Sonny left.

Brenda sipped her champagne. "So, where’s Jason tonight?"

"Oh, I think he’s around here somewhere," A.J. replied, glancing around the room. "But speaking of no-shows, where’s the birthday girl?"

"That’s right," Ned chimed in, "I haven’t seen your mother yet tonight, Brenda. She wouldn’t miss her own birthday party, would she?"

"Not on your life, kiddo!" Veronica’s throaty laugh echoed behind the threesome. When the turned around, Veronica seemed to appear magically out of thin air, her arm wound around Jax’s waist. She held a champagne flute in one hand, but there was also a unique intricate tattoo gracing her forehead that hadn’t been there earlier.

"Momma! I’m so happy to see you!" Brenda rushed towards her mother as Jax arched an eyebrow in surprise. Jax let go of Veronica’s waist as Brenda hugged her tightly.

"Brenda!" Veronica’s surprised exclamation was whispered into her daughter’s ear. "Don’t tell me you were actually *worried* about me!" As Brenda pulled back a little, Veronica gave her a naughty wink. "Although with this handsome young man as my tour guide, I guess maybe a *little* worrying wasn’t surprising!"

"Tour guide?" Ned’s voice interrupted the reunion. When Brenda turned around, she saw a trio of unhappy "big brothers." Ned walked forward as spokesman and extended his hand towards Jax. "I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Ned Ashton." Jax smiled benignly and took Ned’s hand, shaking it briskly but not saying a word. "And you are.....?"

"My birthday present from Brenda!" Veronica chortled. Brenda shook her head and hid her eyes in her hand as Ned, A.J., and Jason all looked at him in shock. Then Veronica slapped Ned playfully on the arm. "Had you there for a second, didn’t I, Ashton?" Veronica looped her arm through Jax’s. "Actually, this handsome, charming young man is a friend of Brenda’s." She nodded at each man in turn. "Ned, A.J., Jason, this is......Jax."

Ned narrowed one eye at he looked at Jax. "Just......Jax? No last name?"

"My surname is quite long and complicated," Jax replied with a smile. "I choose to merely use my name of nick." Brenda started coughing loudly and Jason patted her on the back.

A.J. moved into the forefront. "Is English your second language?"

"You might say that." A waiter went past Veronica as she answered Ned with a wink. Veronica grabbed two flutes from the waiter’s tray of champagne, handing one to Jax.

Brenda pushed between them, grabbing the champagne away from Jax. "Jax is from ......out of town. He’s here because I’m developing a new scent and he’s......helping me with it."

"Ahh....so you’re in the perfume business, like Brenda?" Jason’s question interrupted a game of "give me that glass back" between Jax and Brenda.

"The French Quarter?" Ned raised an eyebrow. "Now, Brenda, don’t tell me that you’ve gotten into all that hocus-pocus magic cr*p down there again, have you?"

Thunderclouds immediately gathered in Jax’s eyes. "Hocus pocus magic cr*p?"

Veronica saw the growing distress on her daughter’s face. "WELL," she pronounced loudly, linking one arm through Jax’s and the other through Brenda’s, "I, for one, am *starving* here and would love to sample that buffet." She looked longingly over her shoulder. "And since I’m the birthday girl, I think I have the right to demand that Brenda and Jax accompany me to get some dinner before I get *very* anti-social!"

As she spun the threesome around and headed towards the food table, Jax tried once to look back at the three stunned men. "Who were those men, my angel, and why do they choose to believe that the tar’ot is crop?"

Brenda sighed. "The word is *cr*p* Jax, and those guys are as close as I’ll ever come to having big brothers."

Veronica finally let go of Jax and Brenda’s arms when they arrived at the food table. "Ahhh….protective older siblings." Jax nodded sadly. "I am familiar with that concept."

Brenda sighed in agreement but then her eyes widened as she saw Sonny waving at her from across the room. Sonny’s gesture alone wasn’t that bad, but when Brenda saw Ned, A.J, and Jason approaching him with a look in their eyes that clearly said "lynch mob," she pictured her mother’s birthday party turning into a riot. "Do you think you two can manage to behave yourselves? I’ve got to go stop my "big brothers" before they commit murder on my behalf."

Jax nodded, a plate in his hand as Veronica shooed her away. "Now, beautiful lady," Jax crooned, "perhaps you can tell me more about why those men are so opposed to magic." He glanced over at Sonny and arched an eyebrow coldly. "And why that slimy little runt of a man is looking at my angel as though she were the first course of a gourmet meal."

As Veronica put several large shrimp on her plate, she sighed. "The answer to your first question is related to the answer to the second." She pointed towards Sonny with a frilled toothpick. "That "runt" is Sonny Corinthos. He and Brenda used to be……" Veronica flushed a little and looked down at her plate. "They were……well……."

"Lovers?" Jax’s tone was clipped.

Veronica nodded. "Brenda had just started Scents of Angels. Sonny not only gave her business a much-needed shot of capital, he encouraged her beliefs in magic." Veronica got a wistful look on her face. "The fact that she ever believed in magic in the first place was all my fault."

"But as you have seen tonight, dear lady," Jax argued, "the tar’ot is quite real, and worthy of belief."

Veronica smiled and gave Jax a wink. "Yes, handsome, being around you definitely is a magical experience." Then she sighed again. "But Sonny was a master manipulator. He only encouraged Brenda’s beliefs in magic long enough so that she would still confide in him when she developed these wonderful new perfumes." Veronica helped herself to a few more meatballs and then inclined her head to the side as Jax followed her. "Sonny was Brenda’s staunchest supporter -- and then he left her, taking her formulas and her money with him when he did."

Jax frowned as they moved towards a secluded corner of the room. "But surely Earth is not a mutinous planet. You have a code of laws that specifically prohibits theft, just as we do on Astarra."

"Yes, but Sonny ended up convincing the courts that *he* was the one who developed the formulas." Veronica shook her head and stabbed a meatball vehemently, fondly wishing it was Sonny’s head. "His lawyer presented evidence about Brenda’s beliefs in magic and the mystical world that made her look like she was delusional. And then, his lawyer presented Brenda’s notes about the perfume formulas."

"And that tipped the scales *against* her?" Jax was incredulous.

"I know, it’s hard to believe," Veronica replied, feeding Jax some of the marinated shrimp, "but Brenda had difficulty deciphering her own notes." She leaned closer to Jax. "Ever since she was a little girl, Brenda’s had dyslexia."

Jax swallowed hard. "Is that some fatal disease?"

"Only in a society that sees the written word as a god," Veronica answered acidly. "Brenda’s brain has problems transmitting letters and numbers in correct order. She may transpose letters or miss them entirely." She shrugged her shoulders. "Only her stubborn will to survive helped her hang in there long enough to get her high school diploma."

"The schools on Earth value those who can decipher the written word?"

"The written word is the basis for all learning on Earth. It’s all we have, either in books or on a computer screen."

Jax nodded slowly. "Then the problem is with the schools of Earth, not with Brenda. She has achieved much in her life despite her difficulties with the written word." He became agitated, gesturing with his hands. "To say that Brenda is a failure because she has trouble with the written word is like saying that someone who can’t swim will never succeed in life – if the schools valued swimming as the only sign of an accomplished scholar."

Veronica smiled grimly. "Too bad you weren’t the judge in the Earth courts back then, Jax." She stared daggers at Sonny. "That judge asked Brenda to read some of the notes, and when she began to stumble over the words, he decided she couldn’t have possibly written them. He awarded legal possession of the notes and the formulas to Sonny that day."

Silver sparks shone around Jax’s eyes as he looked at Sonny. "The high courts on Astarra would deliberate long and hard in order to devise a punishment fitting for such a parasitic slug."

"And, the sad truth is that he sees Brenda frequently since they’re both in the same business now." Veronica bit off another meatball. "He loves to remind her that all of her hard work is only making *him* richer."

Jax continued to stare at Sonny across the room, but the short, dark man was so busy arguing with Ned, AJ and Jason that he never noticed. Brenda had arrived at the foursome just as the conversation had turned to the charity auction. "So, Corinthos," Ned said briskly, "is Deception planning on debuting a new fragrance at the ball -- just like Scents of Angels?"

Brenda pushed past Ned only to have Sonny snare her arm. "Well, if I can persuade Brenda to join forces with me again, maybe we’ll have more than just a new fragrance to announce at the ball."

Brenda gave Sonny a withering look. "Us? Get back together? When pigs fly, Sonny." Then she gave Ned an artificial smile while she lined her arm through AJ’s. "Soooo.......what does a girl have to do to convince you three handsome gentlemen to bring her back some food?"

Jason quirked an eyrbrow at Sonny. "Are you sure you want us to leave you and this slimeball alone, Bren? I could stay here with you while Ned and AJ scour the buffet table."

"You heard the lady, guys," Sonny growled. "She said she doesn’t mind being alone with me. So beat it."

AJ’s glance bounced back and forth between Sonny and Ned, the leader of the pack. "Only if you’re sure, Brenda......"

Brenda finally sighed and held up one finger to Sonny before she took her three protectors aside. "Look guys, Sonny’s obviously not going to leave me alone tonight until I talk to him for a few minutes. So why don’t you just go get me some food and I’ll get it out of the way -- kinda like bad-tasting medicine. Then I can enjoy myself for the rest of the evening." She looked over Ned’s shoulder at Jax, who was staring daggers in Sonny’s direction as Veronica talked to him. She fingered the chain which suspended Jax’s amulet of protection. "Besides -- I’ve got an ace in the hole tonight, and I’m sure I’ll be fine here with Sonny, and then he can just move along to the rest of the guests and make *them* nauseous."."

Ned voiced one last token objection before the three men headed for the buffet table. Brenda turned back to Sonny, who shook his head with a sarcastic grin on his face. "When will Ned Ashton learn that the Quartermaines can’t be in charge of the *whole* world?"

Brenda grabbed a flute of champagne as a waiter went by and took a long sip before looking Sonny in the eye. "OK, Sonny....you’ve got my undivided attention now. Say what you wanted to say and get it over with."

Sonny’s eyes traveled up and down Brenda’s body slowly. "You look good, babe. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you."

Brenda shrugged. "I work out. Punching that bag with your picture taped to the front relieves a lot of stress."

Sonny chuckled a little and moved closer to her. "Now, babe, why do you keep denying it? You know that all you’d have to do is snap your fingers and we’d be back together -- even better than before."

"Snap my fingers -- and give you the formulas for any new scents I’m developing, you mean." Brenda pushed Sonny away a little, but he only moved back towards her again.

Sonny ran a finger down the side of her neck, stopping at the neckline of her dress and slipping just barely inside. "Like Ashton said -- the word on the street is that you’re developing some new fragrance to debut at the Charity Auction." He leaned closer still, almost whispering in her ear. "Now, you and I both know that Scents of Angels isn’t solvent enough to mount a full-tilt marketing blitz with this new scent. Deception is."

Brenda cringed as he leaned in so close that he nibbled on her ear. "I don’t need you or Deception to make my new fragrance a hit." She pushed at him, placing the flat of her hand against his chest. "And you and I both know," she echoed, "that Deception hasn’t come up with a new scent since you left me. You haven’t got the nose for the perfume business, Sonny. I do. You’re just anxious to get back together with me so that Deception doesn’t fall flat on its face."

"You’re right about one thing, babe," Sonny drawled. "I *am* anxious to get back together with you, but perfume isn’t the only reason." He leaned forward so quickly and took a sharp bite out of her neck that she couldn’t fend him off. "You know how good we were together, babe. Don’t you want that again, too?"

"Not any more than I’d want scarlet fever or the Hong Kong Flu," Brenda replied, pushing at him again. But this time, Sonny was too close and too strong to be dissuaded. "Are you going to take your hand out of my dress or am I going to have to ask Ned to do it for you?"

"Ahhh, Brenda.....maybe you just need to be reminded of how *hot* we were." His hand started to slip down the back of her dress. "Don’t you remember how we made each other burn, babe?" Brenda gasped aloud as Sonny’s hand slid south, but suddenly Sonny pulled his hand out with a yelp.

"You made each other *burn*?" Jax’s voice sounded at Brenda’s shoulder and she almost jumped into his arms in relief. "That seems to have been unfortunate, indeed."

"JAX!!!" Brenda’s eyes telegraphed just how relieved she was to see him, while his held just the slightest hint of devilment. "I didn’t hear you come up behind us!"

{I sensed that you needed to be rescued, my angel.}

Brenda’s shock at Jax’s sudden appearance was only exceeded by her feeling when she heard his voice in her mind. But when Sonny addressed him, Jax turned away from Brenda, ignoring the question in her eyes.

"I don’t think we’ve been introduced," Sonny said suspiciously, still massaging the fingers of the hand that had been down Brenda’s dress. He couldn’t quite understand why they refused to stop tingling like he had gotten an electrical shock. "I’m Sonny Corinthos, and I believe the lady and I were having a private conversation."

Jax nodded slowly, looking Sonny up and down, one of his golden eyebrows arching ever so slightly. "A conversation about your fiery relationship, I believe I heard you say."

Sonny bristled. "Not that it’s any of *your* business, blondie.....but yeah -- that’s right." He gave Brenda a macho look that made her skin crawl and snaked an arm around her shoulders again. "Me and Brenda here generated some pretty hot feelings when we were together."

Jax grinned and suddenly Brenda had a chilling thought. "Jax," she whispered, grabbing his arm and pulling out of Sonny’s embrace, "don’t do anything rash! We’re in the middle of a big party, and I don’t know how I would explain it to everyone if you turned Sonny into a toadstool or something...."

{Do not be anxious, my angel. I will do nothing that will cause you embarrassment, but I refuse to let his crude insult to your dignity go unpunished.}

Brenda opened her mouth to object, but Jax merely held up a finger. "So -- you believe that you and Brenda would still be "hot" together?"

Sonny rubbed the backs of his fingers against his chest and then studied them with a self-assured smile. "A regular inferno."

"Then it is only fitting that you should feel that heat, my friend." Jax smiled knowingly, winking one eye as Sonny’s hand crept around Brenda’s shoulders again. "It burns you still, does it not?"

Sonny’s face became very pale and he pulled his hand away from Brenda’s back, shaking it briskly. "D*mn!" He blew on his fingers as everyone around them at the party grew quiet.

"Yes, I would think that any *part* of you that burned for Brenda before would be burning again just about now, wouldn’t you?" Jax began to smile even more broadly, and when Brenda turned back to Sonny, she had to stifle her giggles.

Sonny was dancing from one foot to the other, waving his hands in the air as if he was trying to cool them. His face was bright red, but as everyone at the party stared at Sonny and started to laugh he never noticed them. Brenda had to put her fingers in front of her lips to cover her smile as Sonny looked around in a panic. Then rushed over to the punch bowl and plunged his hands in, sighing in relief.

Jax had put a protective arm around Brenda and as she leaned against his broad chest, she looked up at him in fond admiration. "I have to admit....I don’t think anyone’s ever defended my honor quite that ....creatively."

"Hopefully, you will soon find that I can be a *very* creative individual, angel," Jax purred. Then he pointed towards Sonny, who was still standing at the punch bowl and swishing his hands around. "But my revenge has not yet been completed."

Brenda turned back to Sonny just in time to see him straighten up and stand stiffly. His eyes grew wide as saucers, and then they traveled down his body. His gaze got as far as his belt, and then shot back up, widening even farther. He pulled his hands from the punchbowl, grabbed his crotch, and then ran for the bathroom, howling all the way. When Brenda turned back to Jax with a raised eyebrow, he cocked his head and smirked. "I told him that *every* part of him that burned for you would feel the heat."

Brenda was still laughing when Veronica came over. "I suppose that about now, Sonny would be singing that old Jerry Lee Lewis song...." She smiled naughtily and Brenda’s mouth formed an "O". "....You know, "Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire!"" After the three of them shared a laugh, Veronica sighed and placed her hands on Brenda’s shoulders. "Brenda, I thought that my trip to the Taj Mahal was the highlight of my birthday, but that was before our Jax here showed Sonny just how "hot" he really is!"

"So you approve, dear lady?" Jax drawled, kissing the back of her hand.

"Very much so." Veronica winked at Jax suggestively. "And now for my last birthday present, I’d like the two of you to leave so that you can have some time together for yourselves."

"But, Momma...." Brenda looked around at the party, which was still in full swing.

"Actually," Jax whispered, leaning towards Brenda, "now that I have fulfilled my part of the bargain, it is your turn to show me where you obtained the spell to summon me."

Brenda sighed. "All right." She kissed Veronica on the cheek and after saying quick good-byes to Ned, AJ, and Jason, Brenda and Jax took their leave with Sonny still in the bathroom trying to cool down.

As Jax held the car door open for Brenda, she stopped short. "Say -- you owe me an explanation, you know." Jax bowed at the waist and Brenda shook her head and got in anyway. He ran around to the passenger door and got in, and then turned to her with an expectant look. Brenda crossed her arms, not budging. "What was that with the telepathy thing that you did at the party?"

Jax shrugged. "A rather simple procedure, angel. Most of the djinn prefer to communicate telepathically."

"But you never *told* me that you could do that." Brenda picked at a cuticle nervously. "So, if you can do all that telepathy stuff, then can you......" Brenda was glad it was dark in the car so that Jax couldn’t see her blushing. "...I mean, well......can you *read* my mind, too?" She hoped for his negative answer since she had been having some pretty sensually explicit thoughts about him ever since the night before.

Jax took a deep breath. "Sending thoughts to the mind of another is the easiest of tasks, Brenda." He pointed ahead, and Brenda started the car and pulled away from the parking place. "If I was conversing with another djinn, we would easily be able to read each other’s thoughts."

Brenda glanced up at a traffic signal. "And with humans?"

"I am able to read the thoughts of *some* humans."

Brenda brought the car to a stop at another traffic light. "How about *this* human?"

"Unfortunately -- no, my sweet angel." Jax sighed. "It would be much easier were I able to know what brings you pleasure simply by entering your thoughts."

"Hmmm.....interesting." Brenda turned slowly onto one of the narrow streets of the French Quarter. She was getting close to the magic shop where she had bought the spell, and as usual -- the French Quarter was crowded, parking nearly impossible. "I wonder why....."

Brenda never finished her sentence as Jax held up a hand. "Stop!" He looked around nervously. "What kind of place is this?"

Brenda managed to find a parking space and pulled in. "This is a special area in the city, Jax. It’s called the French Quarter. It’s filled with tiny shops that specialize in magic and illusions." Jax got out of the car slowly as Brenda did the same and walked around to him. "What’s the matter? You look like you’re scared to death being here."

The words no sooner left her mouth than Jax puffed up and straightened his back. "I am the Guardian! I fear nothing!" Then his eyes darted around again, reminding Brenda of a child who boasted about not being afraid to ring old lady Klutnik’s doorbell and then ran like h*ll after ringing it.

"Oh, yeah – right!" Brenda giggled. "Like you’re not afraid of …….this?" At the last minute, Brenda reached out to tickle Jax’s sides and his laugh caused him to double over.

"What did you just do, imp?" Jax stood in his best "intimidating" stance, hands on hips, feet broad apart.

"I just tickled you, that’s all." Brenda put her hands behind her back, suddenly feeling very much the coquette. "Like…….THIS!" She caught him unawares again, but this time when she spun around and took off running on the darkened sidewalk, Jax followed her with a laugh.

He finally caught up to her where the street entered an alleyway. "Aha!" he shouted, pulling her into his arms with a laugh. "*Now* the Guardian will take his revenge!"

Jax moved her into the shadows of the alleyway, holding her tightly to his chest. Brenda was breathing hard, but she was also laughing. "And just what kind of revenge will that be, oh stalwart and wise Guardian?" Her words were mocking but light-hearted, and Jax ran his fingers down the sides of her ribcage in reply.

Brenda shivered in response. "Aha! So my beautiful angel can give the torture but cannot endure it herself!" Suddenly, they both became aware of the fact that they were standing in a very dark alley, breathing hard, pressed body to body. Jax’s eyes grew stormy with desire. "But I think that I have perhaps a different kind of revenge in mind, my angel."

Brenda tried to slow her breathing. "Will it be painful?" she whispered, bringing her lips closer to his.

"There is a fine line between pleasure and pain, angel," Jax murmured, tracking his lips down the side of her face. Brenda clutched fistfuls of Jax’s shirt at his shoulders as her world began to spin. He cupped her face tenderly in his broad hands. "But the djinn are a peaceful race. We choose pleasure over pain – we much prefer making love to making war."

Brenda stared into Jax’s eyes, seeing brilliant aqua fireworks of passion exploding there. "Then stop talking about it and do it, Jax. Kiss me," she whispered, and then threaded her hands into his hair to pull his face towards hers.

Although Brenda initiated the kiss, she wasn’t prepared for the way it rocked her world as soon as Jax’s lips touched hers. She moaned softly as his soft lips caressed hers over and over, shifting, re-adjusting, finding just the right position to give her the most pleasure. When he finally found that perfect alignment, Jax pulled her to him and ground his lips against hers.

Brenda had her eyes closed, but she could swear that she saw fireworks exploding in the air around them. When Jax traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, she sighed and allowed him entrance, pulling his upper body closer to hers by locking her hands around the back of his neck. Jax surprised her when he pulled back from the kiss, but just as quickly he tilted his head the other way, sliding his hands down her neck, and kissed her again. When his fingers brushed briefly against the sides of her breasts on the way to her waistline, Jax swallowed her gasp of pleasure.

Brenda knew she was in big trouble. She had been intimate with Sonny, but he never got this response from her – not this wild sensation of abandoning good sense and making love in public – not with just one kiss. She knew that if she didn’t stop soon, they would go past a point of no return in an alley of the French Quarter.

She used all of her strength to pull away from his kiss, bracing her hands on his broad shoulders. "Wow – that was some kiss!" To her shock, as she opened her eyes again, Brenda literally saw sparks all around them. "Jax! What’s going on?"

Jax smiled at her naivete. "That, my sweet angel, is what happens when a djinn is…..what is the human expression?" He smiled and then ran a finger down her arm, causing little blue-green sparks to rise from her skin. "….ahh, yes…..turned on."

Brenda gasped. "You mean that when a djinn is….." She swallowed hard. "…..excited….that way," she continued, pointing towards south of his belt, "it makes electrical sparks in the air?"

Jax rubbed his lips against her cheek, causing a shower of silver explosions to appear above their heads. "Precisely, Brenda. Like your American holiday of independence."

"Wow!" She traced her finger around the features of his face – the cleft of his chin, the soft contours of his cheekbones. Then she smiled coyly again. "Have I ever told you how much I *love* fireworks?"

Jax was lowering his head to kiss her again when she felt him freeze. His entire body grew cold and suddenly he pulled back, gripping her upper arms. "Jax!! What’s the matter?" Brenda wasn’t sure what caused him to go from fireworks to a glacier.

Jax looked around them. "Brenda…..what did you call this place?" He walked away from her towards a darkened store front. He looked up at the sign, and then spun back to her, his eyes lit with fire. "Is *this* the place where you purchased the incantation?"

Brenda hurried to stand next to him and looked up at the sign. "Yeah – actually it is." She pointed up at it. "Miri and Dana’s Magical Potions."

Jax sighed aloud and turned back to her, lifting the necklace he had given her from beneath her dress. He didn’t say the words aloud, but he knew then that she would need his protection more than ever. Brenda had apparently made a deal with the djinn who had killed the one person Jax had loved more than anyone else in the world.

To be continued…..