Chapter 7

I made a pocket of time around my wound to keep it stable. Every half minute or so the pocket would loop backwards and I would feel the agony of it all over again. Despite my wound I carried the woman into the hospital. When they saw me, some attendants ran over to relieve me of the burden. I was asked a lot of questions by four or five people at once. I was nauseous from the pain, and really wasn't thinking too clearly. Mostly they were trying to accuse me of assaulting the girl, so I didn't really want to deal with them.

I told them to leave me alone and to help the girl. And I enforced my statement with a nudge from my power. That was enough to get them to finally go away. I slunk off into a corner of the lobby and leaned against the wall. After I made sure no one was looking, I teleported to my room. Something about teleporting screwed up the pocket of time I had on my wound. It immediately started bleeding again, and this time I couldn't stop it. I jerked open my desk drawer and pulled out the lamp.

The genie was at my side as soon as my fingers touched it, and he was helping me onto my bed. There were tears in his eyes as he tied a cloth around my waist, and I really couldn't figure out why. Maybe he was sad for me. My thinking was seriously muddled at that point. He tore a clean shirt that he pulled out of my dresser and pressed it against my wound. I finally got the time bubble to hold again and sighed in relief.

"Thanks." I said, sitting up slowly. I was still light headed. "You came back really fast. I didn't even call for you." It was a statement, but the Al'Karab answered anyhow.

"As soon as you touched the lamp, I knew of your condition. I came back because you needed help." He paused, and then added. "And because I would prefer to stay your servant. Not many masters have allowed me as much freedom as you have. It has been an enjoyable experience, and I would have it continue for a while longer."

"Well, whatever your reasons, thanks for coming so quickly. I owe you for it." He nodded.

"Then I would advise you to take better care of yourself. How is it that you came to such grievous wounds?" He asked. So I told him about finding the man on the hiking path, and about the fight that followed. I explained my uneasiness and the odd feeling that I was being watched, and asked him about my inability to use my powers. "It's more than possible that the presence you felt and the failure of your powers are connected." He told me. "I did warn you that you would have enemies if you wished for as much power as you did. The entity you felt might have been one of the guardians. They are responsible for keeping the balance in the universe. Mortals like you would know them as angels, though they have no true affiliation with the creator. They were made as a tool by the enthroned god that he could use to contain his rivals."

I sat silent for a while, while I tried to think this out. The events of the day had been weighing heavily on me. So much had happened so fast, that I didn't know what to do about any of it, I was afraid that I would only make things worse. "Is there any way that I can negotiate with these angels? Any way I can get them to leave me alone?" I asked.

"No way that I know." The genie told me. "You could try appealing to a Greater Power, and maybe one will intervene on your behalf. It would cost you, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Any Power that helped you would only do so because they have something to gain: you. They would bargain your continued existence against your freedom. The angels will not stop until you are gone from this universe, unless a Power stops them."

"So I sell myself into servitude to some kind of Power, and they keep the angels off my back? It doesn't seem like my sort of thing. What if I wish to be a Power? If I'm no longer mortal, will the angels still pursue me?"

"Truthfully I do not know. The reason the angels are after you is because you have abilities that would normally belong only to Greater Powers. If you were no longer mortal, then their reason for targeting you would be gone. But this has never happened before, so I'm only guessing here."

"It would be a hell of a thing to waste a wish on, if it doesn't work. What, exactly, would change if I wished to become a Power?"

"You would be placed in the Hierarchy of Powers, and that alone entitles a lot. The Powers of the universe are in a constant struggle against one another, with the throne of heaven as their ultimate goal."

"Wait! Did you just say they are trying to become gods?"

"Not gods, they want to become the enthroned god. They would rule over all other Powers. There is only one throne, so there can be only one."

"I can't believe you just said that." I said, shaking my head. The genie gave me an odd look and I started laughing. "You just quoted something." I informed him.

He shrugged. "I will have to look up the reference the next time I get out. A lot of things have happened since I was last let out of my lamp, and I haven't had the chance to catch up on everything yet."

"But what about god? I mean the current god."

"He vanished long ago. There has been some speculation about it, and most agree that he has either chosen to hide from us or he has left our universe. Others suggest that he has evolved into something beyond a Power of the realm. Regardless of the reasons, there is a vacant throne, and everyone with a spark of power is trying to seat themselves on it."

"You said that I couldn't wish to be god, and that my wishes couldn't go against his will." I reminded him.

Al'Karab thought about it for a moment. "That is indeed what I told you. The edicts that were laid down by the old god still hold firm, and I am powerless to go against them. But that doesn't mean that you cannot do so, only that I cannot do so in the granting of your wish. You have strength of your own now, in the abilities you have wished for. If you wished to become a Power, you would have as much right as any other being to seek the throne for yourself."