“This thing you desire, I can bring it to bear. Do you wish it to come to pass?” The entity appeared as a column of smoke on the other side of my fire. It occurred to me, I could be speaking to a Djinn.
“What is your price for your assistance?”
The column twisted. Ke was smiling. “A service for a service. Until we are mutually satisfied.”
“Those terms can be easily twisted. I require a token.”
“Weaver. Glassmaker. Fireheart. [A certain djinn] will destroy me if I treat you ill. What you ask of me is in my nature and is not abusive. What I will ask of you is in your nature and is not abusive as well. One of us shall have our fullness first. That is unavoidable. Let the other not abuse the unbalanced debt, or our own works shall rise against the abuser.”
“Whoever breaks these terms shall have to answer to [a certain djinn], who is kind to the righteous and a scourge to the oathbreaker. I accept these terms.” I cut my arm and held it in the fire.
“Let us work for mutual gain, and enrich each other as desires are brought. Under the eye of [a certain djinn], who judges fairly and coddles none, we now work as one.” The column of smoke extended an appendage. The smoke was cut lengthwise, showing inner flame that had been hidden.
Ke grasped my offered arm as brethren do, such that our wounds faced each other. Kir flame seared my wound, my blood stained kir smoke exterior. We both will bear these marks until our debt to each other is paid in full.
Ke left my fire. I turned and entered the lair, moving past Snake who had watched the proceedings without comment. As Snake followed me, deeper sleep embraced me.
…
“And here are the supplies. I own all the shops on this block, so if anyone gives you a hard time about anything, go next door to [the mechanic], or across the street to [the barber]. They’ll shelter you, no questions asked.” The businessman was showing me my new assignment.
“Oh hey! Someone new?” A young woman stuck her head in the door. “A woman? Yay! We bitches will rule this block!”
“Behave yourself, Ceecee.” The businessman warned her with a stern voice, but smirked just as brightly. “Fireheart, Ceecee. Ceecee, Fireheart. She runs the perfumery down the block. If you smell something is dead nearby, that’s just Ceecee mixing perfumes again.”
“Oh, you so mean!” Ceecee pouted and gripped him about the waist. As she ran her hands down his arms in display for my benefit, she felt something off under the sleeve of his right arm. “Eh? What’s this?” Before he could pull away, she pulled the sleeve back. A long fresh burn, slightly swollen, was angry on the bronze skin. “What the hell?”
He pulled his sleeve down and jerked away from her inquisitive hands. “Not all deals are signed with ink. And Fireheart is not a contender for your place in my bed. So stop it.” She did not like the chastisement but bore it silently. “She’ll be my inker here. I may have you work with her by supplying some custom inks for her to use.”
“Well, if she’s not a contender for your bed, may she be a contender for mine?”
“You’ll have to ask her.”
The way this conversation was progressing in front of me while excluding me was not increasing my goodwill towards Ceecee. Not at fucking all.
“She’s your woman. Give her leave! I like her.”
“She’s my inker, but she’s her own woman. You will have to ask her, and she has full right of refusal, like all free people do.”
“She’s free?” Ceecee looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. “What the hell is a free-woman doing here?”
“Better than you.” He pushes her towards the door. “You will treat her with respect and honor her as if she were my sister. Attend to your duties, servant. You have customers.” Ceecee gave me a vicious stink-eye and left quietly.
He turned back to me, straightening his clothes. “Ceecee is… excitable and easily prone to imaginings of drama. Feel free to put her in her place, by however means you will. So. Here is how you will pay your debt to me. I will send clients to you, with instructions on how and what to mark. These clients will not pay you, as this is your service to me. However, as you have noted, the parlor is open to the street and there is traffic. Whoever that comes to you independently of me, and requests that you ink them, may be inked according to your will… and your price. What revenue you gain from them is yours to keep. You shall not pay me any upkeep for these premises, nor for supplies. If you are in need, ask. The skill you bring is worth more than a hundred inventories of these shops.”
He stepped close to me, such that our chests brushed against each other and our body heat intertwined. He smells of smoke and ash. He turned slightly, and took my arm with his hand. As he slid his hand down my arm, his fingers traced a fresh scar with accuracy. “You owe me a debt, and I think you shall enjoy redeeming it. I certainly shall enjoy redeeming mine.” He leaned in and took a deep draught of my scent. “I do not own you. Why do you stand so still allowing me to lord over you?”
“You are not threatening me.”, I whispered in his ear. “And Ceecee is peeking in the window about to explode. I might be having some fun taunting her by doing nothing. Also, you are not lording over me. It takes much more than body posture to intimidate me.” I turned my hand palm-up in a manner only he could see. My hand turned to ice. He smiled to see it. “And I know how to defend myself against djinn, if necessary. By the way, I’m going to make Ceecee absolutely livid now. Hold still.” I barely moved my head, but the kiss was viewable to the voyeur.
I heard a squeek, followed by the sound of someone storming down the sidewalk. He turned back to look and laughed. “I think I am going to enjoy this arrangement. Ink well, Fireheart.”
He moved to the door, looked back with a knowing smirk, and quickly snatched open the door. Ceecee lost her balance and fell into the parlor. “Done being jealous, Ceecee?”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Ceecee.”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Hey, Ceecee. You know what has to be done, right?” I offered my hand to help her up off the floor.
“You and I have sex?” Surprisingly, she took the hand and stood up.
“You sex him up so hard, he is unable to leave the bed.” She laughed. Taking advantage of her laughter, I pulled her forward and kissed her soundly on the lips. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Before she could recover, I pushed her back towards the door. “Hmm. Minty. I’m surprised. I was expecting something spicy.” She beamed and prepared to approach me again. My raised finger stopped her. “That was your freebie. Respect my space, or I shall have to defend my space. What is between you and your master is between you and your master. Knock the shit off.”
Ceecee blinked several times. Her face betrayed several emotions in quick succession. She looked at the businessman in quiet askance. He nodded towards outside. Ceecee took on a servant attitude and bowed. “Yes, Miss.” She left quickly and without further trouble.
“Curiosity has destroyed more edifices than assault ever could. Her curiosity has been sated. As was mine.”
He laughed and bowed. “Good day, Fireheart. Enjoy yourself in your service. I shall enjoy myself in mine.” He left.
A short time later, the door opened. “Hello, Miss Fireheart?” A young girl, no more than 12 years of age, entered the shop.
“Yes. Can I help you?”
She held out an envelope to me. “I was told to come here and have you put a mark on me.”
I took the envelope. It was sealed with the businessman’s mark. Inside was a simple mark, instructions on which ink to use and in which order, and where to place the mark on the girl.
“Go ahead to the back, there is a private booth where you can undress in comfort. I’ll be right there.” The girl nodded and left as directed. I locked the door, and turned on the “Busy Inking” sign. As I entered the back room, the dream embraced me and I lost awareness.