The Genie Who Lost Her Lamp

Chapter 7: Ring

Credits to the rightful owner of the picture

Ali's hand dropped down to his dagger, hidden underneath the folds of his clothes. He wrapped his palm around the pommel, finding it reassuring as it pressed into his skin. "This way," Idris said, her voice muffled as a vendor shouted directly in Ali's ear. He flinched, blinking.

He raised his head, trying to find Idris in the chaos. But Ali had lost sight of her, waving the clouds of dust away from his burning eyes. "Idris?" He shouted, trying to find her. His head turned around in every direction, hoping to see her.

"This way," her voice whispered from behind him. He felt a warm hand on his arm, before he was yanked into a dark alley. Ali almost tumbled backwards, thankful that Idris stopped him from falling. He turned around, seeing they were in a small, narrow alley. "Come on, hurry up. I can't spend the whole morning running after you. Keep up," Idris said, turning around and starting to walk again.

Ali followed suit, trying to overstep the shattered bottles on the floor and foul smelling puddles. Ali heard some small noises coming from the dark and realized rats had probably found a home here. He shivered in disgust. He never saw rats in the palace. Seeing them now, in the open, made him gag. "Disgusting,"

"You're going to have to get used to it. We're almost never going to be in clean places." Idris said, glancing back at him. Her eyes shimmered even in the dark. They were captivating. Ali almost stepped onto something broken as he admired them, before he quickly looked down and moved to the side.

"I'm going to get used to it, but I really don't like it." Ali hissed, hastily cleaning his hand on the wall next to him, since it had touched something humid. "Where's this place? I'm getting tired of this alleyway," Ali stated, heaving from the jump over a dead rat he just did.

"We're here." Idris said, stopping abruptly in front of Ali, making him collide against her.

"A sooner warning would have been nicer," Ali mumbled, massaging his chest that had just collided with her shoulder.

Idris didn't say anything, entering the small shop. Ali waited for her to disappear inside before he started to slip in as well. The entrance was small, and had a dark, worn out curtain covering it. It almost blended with the rest of the wall. Ali knew that he most likely would have missed it if Idris hadn't stopped right in front of it.

Ali had to lower his head to step inside, raising the curtain with his arm, so the fabric wouldn't touch him. He didn't know what had touched it before he came, and he wasn't ready to slide it across his body without a care in the world.

As soon as Ali stepped inside, a strong fragrance hit his nose. Incense was burning right next to the door. Not one, not two, but seven incense sticks were burning, creating a mixture of scents. Ali coughed, covering his nose with his sleeve. It was suffocating and Ali had the strong urge to sprint out of the small shop. Idris seemed to be fine, barely moving.

Ali closed his eyes, trying to stop them from burning. He licked the tip of his finger, passing it along his closed eyes. It eased the burning enough to make him able to observe the room without closing his eyes in pain.

The space was small, and cluttered. The floor was made of small, brown tiles, forming a drawing Ali couldn't understand. The place was crowded with a large amount of things. From small to large, to old to new, to dirty to clean. It was hard to walk, since most of the floor was covered by various objects. Ali kneeled down, seeing something sparkle. It was a golden ring. He lifted it in his palm, a cloud of dust enveloping him.

He coughed, closing his fist around the ring to stop it from falling. He used his other hand to wave the dust away. A searing pain scorched his palm, making him curse in pain and drop the ring. It bounced back in the small box where Ali had found it. The man looked down at his hand, seeing a black dot start to seep in his skin. Ali panicked, starting to rub it, trying to get it off himself. "Idris," he called, the mark starting to burn. It was staining his skin black. "Idris!" He called again, louder. The darkness was starting to spread to his fingers.

When Idris wasn't responding, Ali lifted his head, trying to see her. It wouldn't be hard to do in this small place.

She was nowhere to be found. Ali turned around, trying to see her. "Idris!" He shouted, flinching as the darkness started to seep to his wrist.

Suddenly, Ali felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He turned around, relief flooding him as he saw Idris standing behind him. Her eyes were dark, clearly angry. "He hasn't changed." Idris hissed.

Ali looked at her, pain and confusion painted on his face. "What?"

"I should have warned you. The Seller likes to play tricks. Stay close to me. Hold my hand," Idris said, grabbing his black hand. Ali hissed in pain. Idris noticed and looked down. "Oh god! What did you touch?" She asked, lifting his hand and inspecting it.

"A ring-agh- it was there in that box." Ali panted, his forehead starting to bead with sweat.

Idris furrowed her brow, concentrating. "It's a curse. An old one. I don't know how to take it off," she said, her voice panicked.

"What do we do? It's spreading to my arm," Ali said, lifting his sleeve, to show Idris. Her eyes darkened even further, and she turned around.

"Come out! Right now! Stop playing tricks!" Idris yelled in the empty space, her voice echoing.

Ali couldn't breathe because of the pain, watching as the curse started to attack his body. The darkness started to thrum. Idris stepped in front of Ali, protecting him from what was emerging from the shadows.