Chapter 1

Oh, God ... what ... the hell ... happened?

Mike awoke in a groggy haze, his head throbbing in pain. Forcing his eyes to blink open for a moment, he glanced at his bedside clock.

7:00 am? Dammit, that’s way to early for a Saturday.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get any more sleep with his headache, Mike began to sit up in bed.

Gonna need some Tylenol...

As his brain started to power up, he tried to recall what he had been doing yesterday that could have put him out like that. He knew he hadn’t been drinking.

Let’s see, I watched a movie, got the call from the Maestro, and then ... the locket! The glowing stone, the song that opened it, that strange blue cloud...

“Good morning, Master.”

Mike was startled awake by an unfamiliar voice coming from the corner of the room. Thinking home invasion, his instincts kicked in and he dove to the floor beside his bed. There, he opened the thumbprint gun safe beside his nightstand and retrieved his Glock 19 handgun.

Crouching on the floor by his bed, he spoke with authority. “Who are you?! How did you get into my home?!”

“Please do not be afraid, Master. My apologies for startling you.”

Mike was surprised at how sweet the voice sounded, almost angelic. Still, he didn’t let his guard down for a second as he peeked around the foot of his bed. He could tell the voice was coming from a girl kneeling in the corner of the room.

“Show me your hands. I need to see that you’re not armed.”

He was not military or police, but Mike’s dad had taught him many times how to protect himself in the event of a home invasion. Rule one was never to assume anything.

“Of course.” The girl slowly opened her hands, extending her arms out to her side as she did so. “I can assure you that you are in no danger.”

She seemed harmless enough, appearing about twenty-five years old, but Mike still kept his weapon close at hand as he stood.

“With all due respect, ma’am, I’ll be the judge of that. Who are you? How did you get into my apartment?” He didn’t see any broken windows in his bedroom. Glancing out his bedroom door to the entryway, he also saw that the front door was still dead bolted.

The girl smiled. “Do you not remember the events of last evening? You opened my vessel, bringing me into existence. For that, I am eternally grateful, Master.”

“Vessel? You mean the locket? The last thing I remember was opening it, then getting blasted in the face with a cloud of blue smoke...”

Nodding, the girl continued, “Very good Master. That smoke was my essence. Before you released me, I had no physical form. My essence enveloped you as it did to determine the proper form for me to take.”

Mike held his hand up. “Woah, woah, slow down there. I’m beyond lost now. Oh, and why do you keep calling me Master?”

The mystery girl flashed a huge smile, lighting up the room. “Because I am your servant genie. By releasing me, I am now bound to be your slave for eternity.”

Very cute. Stuart and the trombones must have cooked this up.

Mike could see where this was going. The ASO low brass section was renowned for their elaborate pranks, particularly Stuart McKay, the principal tuba.

Knowing them, this prank will keep going until I expose them myself.

Mike decided to play along for the time being. Sensing no further danger, he laid his handgun on the bed, still within easy reach, and slipped on his glasses from the nightstand.

“Ok, so you’re a genie? And you say that you now belong to me?”

“That is correct Master.”

Now that he had relaxed a bit, he could see that this girl was stunning, perhaps the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She wore a tight, black t-shirt with a plunging V-neck and a pair of blue jean shorts. They were long enough to be tasteful and not slutty, yet short enough to show off the milky white skin of her gorgeous legs. Though she was still kneeling, he could tell that they were toned to perfection. He couldn’t see for sure from this angle, but it appeared that her ass was quite round and curvy, and in particular compared to her slim waist. Based on her bare midriff peeking out, her stomach was quite flat, leading upwards to her perky, D cup breasts. He now studied her face, which was, in a word, angelic. Having perfect proportions, and framed by a small pair of adorable dimples, she reminded him a bit of the actress Kate Bosworth. Her eyes were an enchanting shade of emerald green. Finally, he noticed her gorgeous straight hair. Tucked behind her ears and cut to right above shoulder length, it was the most beautiful shade of red wine he had ever seen in his life.

As he studied her, he broke eye contact, realizing how long he had been staring at her. She just smiled right back at him; she didn’t seem to mind one bit that he was drinking her in. With a grin, Mike decided to see for how long she would be able to keep up the charade.

“Alright then, genie. Tell me about your powers. I assume you are able to grant wishes of some kind. What kinds of wishes can you grant? And how many do I receive?”

She nodded. “Since I am your servant genie for life, you can receive an unlimited number of wishes from me, as long as they are within the realm of my nature. As a genie designed to be a sexual servant, my primary powers allow me to grant almost any wish that is in some way erotic in nature. In addition, I am authorized with unlimited power to keep my master and myself safe from all harm, as well as healthy from any ailments. Finally, I also have extensive powers of anonymity and privacy, so as not to draw any undesired attention towards my master.”

Sexual servant? Stuart’s pulled crazy pranks before, but he’s never done anything as off the wall as this. I wonder who this girl is? An actress? Call girl maybe? What’s the endgame of this prank?

Having had enough, and not wanting to put this poor girl through any shame or embarrassment, Mike decided to make a “wish” he knew she would be unable to grant. Wishing for a striptease, blowjob, or something else of that nature would be exactly what she expected him to say next. Mike, though, had other ideas.

“Alright then. I’d like to make a wish. I’ve had a throbbing headache since the moment I woke up. This is obviously an unhealthy ailment. Without moving from the spot you’re in, I wish for you to instantly cure me of my headache.”

Mike was quite pleased with himself. He had carefully phrased things to not give her the easy out: walking to the bathroom and getting the Tylenol for him. Now, she would have no choice but to admit that the jig was up, ending the prank. As he smiled to himself, he began to feel a slight tingle in the back of his mind.

Flash.

The girl’s eyes shone bright gold for a split second. “It is done, Master.”

Mike felt his headache disappear in an instant. “WOAH!” Mike stumbled backward in shock, landing square on his ass. “You actually made my headache go away?! And what about your eyes?! That tingle in my head?! What is going on here?!”

The girl was now close to tears. “Master, was this not what you wished for? The tingle you felt in your mind was my attempt to hear the thoughts behind your words. This ensures I grant your wishes properly and give you exactly what you wanted. If I have failed to deliver in your first wish, I express my deep remorse for disappointing you. I now await any punishment you feel is appropriate for me.” She then bowed, placing her nose square on the carpet in front of her.

Mike slowed his breathing, working to comprehend everything that had happened.

Holy shit, she was telling the truth? I released a genie from that locket?

Before he could ponder the full implications of the situation, his concern for this poor girl immediately grew. He heard her whimpering as she cried from her undignified position on the floor. After locking his handgun back in the safe, he then approached her, kneeling in front of her. With one finger, he lifted her head up by the chin, bring her face-to-face with him.

Smiling, he said to her, “You don’t need to cry, and you don’t need to be afraid. I’m not disappointed in you. I’m just ... surprised. I thought this was some big prank set up by a bunch of my friends.” His face turned more serious as he looked deep into her eyes. “I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you.”

A look of confusion spread across her face. “I ... I don’t understand. You are my master; i-it’s never your place to apologize to me.” Her voice began to crack as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

Dear God ... this poor girl has no concept of free will. She really does see herself as my slave.

For the first time in a long time, Mike got a feeling of complete terror. He was terrified for this poor girl, a sentient person, yet one without free will. He was terrified of the powers she had described to him, and that she would use them in any way he directed her to, no matter who could be hurt in the process.

Most of all, he was terrified for his soul. Mike was a religious man, having been raised in a Methodist church, as well as his late grandfather being a Southern Baptist minister. He knew that any and all decisions he made in his life would have to be answered for someday. While Mike didn’t subscribe to the idea that all things are as simple as a one-way ticket to either Heaven or Hell, there were certain situations in his mind that qualified as exactly that. Participating in the enslavement of an intelligent, sentient person was damn near the top of that list.

Taking a deep breath, Mike moved to sit cross-legged on his double bed. Seeing that the girl was still kneeling in the corner, he asked, “Why are you still kneeling there?”

She responded, “My master has not yet given me permission to move.”

Oh ... duh. No free will.

“Please, come sit here with me.” Mike patted the bed. She stood and moved toward the bed, a small smile now on her face. Mike could now see that she was rather short, maybe an inch or two shorter than him. In spite of this, he could tell his previous guess about her curviness were correct; she was shaped to perfection. She sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed, face-to-face with Mike.

Taking her hands in his, Mike began to explain. “Genie, please understand that this situation is, to be honest, overwhelming. I’m working to comprehend everything that’s happened this morning. I have quite a few questions that need as straight and honest answers as you can give. Is that ok?”

“Of course, Master.” Her face softened with a smile.

They conversed for some time. The genie first confirmed for Mike that she was, in fact, created to be a subservient creature incapable of disobeying her master. She also explained that, as her master, she is considered his property to be dealt with as he wished. Anything about her that displeased him could be punished with isolation, beatings, torture, or even her destruction. All were within Mike’s rights.

She also confirmed that her powers could be used for anything of an erotic or sexual nature without consequence, including actions considered illegal under modern law. Her powers could even be used to commit unspeakable acts of pain on innocents, all with her full support and encouragement. A genie servant only desires what her master desires.

Mike then explained his religious background and his apprehension to her enslavement, knowing the possible consequences when his time finally came. Seeking to comfort him, she explained that her servitude to him was thrust upon him and that, since he had no choice in the matter, the sin of her enslavement was not his burden to bear. Hearing this brought Mike to one of the most important questions he had in his mind.

“Genie, is it possible for me to free you, and, if so, how would that play out?”

She looked down with a sad smile. “Master, you are exceedingly kind to ask such a thing. You are allowed to wish for my freedom, but in doing so, you would only be freeing me from my servitude to you. I do not have the power to grant a wish from you, or any master, that I no longer be bound as a servant genie altogether.

“If you were to wish for my freedom from you, I would return to my vessel, whereupon the next person to open it would become my new master. While I do not know the full nature of my vessel, it is clear to me that you disabled some sort of magical security system in solving the puzzle last night. This security system was preventing the locket from opening. As I no longer detect any magical energy from my vessel, I can only hypothesize that the next person to obtain the locket would have no difficulty opening it.”

Hearing her explanation, Mike now knew that there was no easy answer to his dilemma. On the one hand, he could take custody of this girl and treat her with dignity and humanity. In doing so, he knew he ran the risk of what would happen to his soul once his number was up. On the other hand, he could wish her free, clearing himself from this entire situation. But if someone without the “outstanding moral fiber” Mike seemed to have then claimed her, he could be condemning her to a life pain, not to mention the countless people that could be hurt by such a person gaining control of her powers. He knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he allowed that to happen. After pondering for a few minutes, Mike finally believed he had formulated the best possible solution. Taking a deep breath, he made a wish.

“Genie, I will never view you as a slave. I know that your nature makes you completely obedient to me, but if you in fact are bound to me for life, then the only capacity I want you to serve me in is as an equal partner. To that end, I wish for you to have as much free will as it is possible for you to have. I wish for you to be able to enjoy everything this world has to offer you, not because I allow you to experience it, but because you deserve to experience it. Is this a wish that you can grant?”