A slight tip of the hat to Clemestra :)
Thanks to Todger 65 for the edit.
Prologue: The Tale of the Gods' Soiree.
Zeus hated these soirees. Bad food, bad drinks, and the same old gods talking the same shit over and over, ad infinitum. Here, Hades gloomed over the finer points of lava rocks.
Gods, that man is dull!
There, Poseidon yapped about his gig as technical adviser to some movie about a sinking passenger ship.
Didn't tell them he was the one who put the iceberg there did he? Clumsy, absent-minded idiot.
Hera was snarking about the latest gossip while keeping a sly eye on him. She needn't worry; he was behaving himself. He just couldn't get it up these days.
Maybe I need some of that new mortal drug. What is it called? Vegetaria? Vulgaria? I better talk to Asclepius.
Zeus scanned the room. It wasn't just the Greeks; the Norse were here. "Thor's getting plastered as usual," Zeus groaned. Loki was setting up to start his stand up routine.
Worst comedian ever.
The Hindus were present. Shiva with his date Kali,
Isn't he in, what do the mortals call it? A death metal band? Ugly woman he's got with him.
He spotted a group of djinn.
Ugh! Who invited them? Well! Hello, who's this?
One djinn was different from the others. Her skin was actual flesh tone, unlike the varied pastels djinn usually sported. That's what he always hated about the djinn; always too much of one color or the other.
Zeus, goat that he was, had an eye for the ladies. This one had some looks; beautiful but not stunning.
She has some Greek or southern Italian in her.
Zeus was excellent with measurements.
36DD-28-38, very comely.
Her hair was glossy black. Her eyes, dark amber. The hair was straight, just past the shoulders. Her face impressed Zeus the most. It was a beautiful face, just not the face of a goddess; more a peasant girl's face or, in the modern vernacular, the girl next door. Zeus pondered whether to make a move but he had to be careful; Hera still had her issues.
First, he needed information. He sought out Pan, the party organizer, who had the guest list.
"Who's the new girl?"
Pan looked, "Oh? That's their new djinn slut. Don't exactly know her name. Try the Fates."
Zeus cocked an eyebrow. Djinn sluts usually started as mortal. They weren't quite like the djinnya, pure female djinn. A very rare honor for the woman, depending on perspective. The Fates should have her thread; they owed him a favor.
Her thread was golden and unbreakable, indicative of her new status as an immortal. Zeus took a scrying glass and scanned the thread.
Hmmm, interesting story.
****
Marissa O'Connor sat on the bed looking at it.
I can't believe Larry bought this. It looks like something out of
I Dream of Jeannie
.
Certainly the lamp was no work of art. Larry bought it at a garage sale, "To celebrate our one year anniversary."
One year since we moved in together. I'd hate to think what would happen if we got married.
Larry wasn't all bad. He was good in bed and fun in a goofy way . . . when he was sober . . . and not making crude sex jokes. His looks were handsome and blonde; a touch of Abercrombie and Fitch with a fratboy brashness that got a little grating at times.
Larry's other problem was a disturbing possessiveness, bordering on jealousy. Still,
He has money. I just wish he bought something better than this . . . jar.
The toilet flushed; Larry came out of the bathroom. Marissa wrinkled her nose, beer and grass. Larry was stewed. She didn't like him this way.
"Larry, I don't like it."
"What? The lamp? I got it cheap. I thought it was cute."
Larry climbed into bed. Marissa saw the bulge in his boxer briefs. She felt a headache coming on.
"Larry, I want you to get rid of it," she pouted.
"Aw come on Em, it's just a lamp."
"It's ugly and it gives me the creeps."
"You can be so paranoid, Em." Larry put his hand under her T-shirt and groped for her breast. Marissa pushed him away. "You're drunk."
"And you're a prig, Em it's only a lamp." Larry grabbed it. "What's the matter? You think a genie's going to pop out? Look," he rubbed, "See? No genie."
Looking back, Marissa would marvel at the following event's banality. No "whoosh" accompanied by a flash and smoke. No "pop!" Or dramatic appearance. It was just the two of them one moment and the genie (or djinn as Marissa was later to learn) the next.
"Whoa! Man! Holy shit!" exclaimed Larry.
Marissa gasped and leapt out of bed. Her first impulse was to head for the door and out of the apartment but modesty (she only had on a T-shirt and panties), skepticism (a voice in the back of her head cried, "Practical joke! Things like this just
do not happen!
") and curiosity (
Is this man real?
), kept her rooted.
The djinn was handsome, beautiful even; Greek statue beautiful. If not for the light blue skin, pointed ears, fanged teeth, near total absence of body hair (except for a dark blue goatee), and pupil-less eyes, he could almost pass for human. The djinn was also naked . . . and had a dick that made Larry look like a eunuch. Marissa blushed.
The djinn stood at the side of the bed, arms crossed, staring bemusedly at the couple. "Like what you see?" he asked with a lightly accented mellifluence. "So, what is your wish o'master?"
"Guh! Guh!" guhed Larry.
"Guh guh? Is that some new mortal language? Make a wish. I haven't got all millennium."