The djinn merchant found me goofing off with desert glass again. He puppy-eyed me into making a large glass jug for him. Wasn’t a problem. I merely had to modify the globe I already made.
“Sure it’s safe to be around me? Bounty hunter tried to take my heart yesterday.”
“Just one? Any trouble? Make the outside pretty to look at. Some raised decorations. Please.”
“You have a buyer in mind for this already. I outta charge you for this. No, no trouble. It’s been a while since I played in subzero temps. The look on kir face when ke realized I’m not constrained by fire was worth it. Did some checking, turns out there’s a few bounties on my head.”
“More red at the top if you can. You just now found out? I can turn you in for five slaves in the [nearby djinn] city! Present you bound to [the djinn king] and be granted the status of nobility!”
I stopped. “Why haven’t you? That’s a lot of connections open to you and no small amount of riches and immunities.”
He held out a flashing orange and green gem. “Here, match the middle hues to this jewel if you can.” When I didn’t move he dropped his hand. “Because no gift like that comes without leashes. Because you are worth more to me free than captive. And because your ifrit friend in the south will have my skin as the first payment for your betrayal and my body as the second. You have many enemies, Fate-Breaker. You have many allies as well. Now then. Please? The colors are almost perfect.”
I completed the jar and fashioned a neat glass stopper for it. He squealed in delight at the finished product. Before I could threaten to break it, he tucked it away in his bag of goods. “Hey! I thought the djinn king absolved me of what happened to his son! I was the victim there, you know. Why would he have a bounty on my head?”
The djinn merchant just smiled until I shifted impatiently. “Bait.”
“What the hell kind of fish is he hoping to hook?”
“That depends on your status. Free? He looks for those whose ambition smothers their thinking. Captive? Now there is the game.” He bowed. “I thank you for the work of your hands. I shall share the buyer’s bounty with you.”
“I’m holding you to that, you Ferengi!”
This time I kept my eyes on him as he left. He walked quite a ways off so I made the motion as if turning away. He dissolved into a whirlwind of dust and quickly dissipated.
Air without heat, eh? Hmm.