A Genie in a Jamby Oonah V. Joslin | |
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Chapter 13: In the Gem Mines | |
‘Have a great holiday, Deej,’ Geoffrey had said as he left. Some great kind of a holiday this was going to be! But there was only one place to obtain the gift DJ wanted to give to Sakura, and that was where he was going: the gem mines.
DJ stood in front of the mirror in his Earthly apartment. He stroked his beard. ‘Mmm! How do I make myself look like a gem miner?’ He tried to recall the grey pallor of their skin, the shrunkeness of form, the slightly reflective quality of the silvery-grey uniforms. ‘Well, it won’t be difficult to look grim once you’re there, DJ old son,’ he said.
The gem mines had sounded so exciting and dangerous when he was a spark. He’d always imagined them vibrant with living stones like the great halls of Djinn; jewels sparkling and changing hue, clamouring for attention amid a generality of splendour.
Then he’d been taken there on a trip for his correction. The caverns were indeed full of living gems, but a thick dust filled the air and their luster was dimmed, their beauty shattered by the noise and heat of mining. He’d learned that day that the mines were to be abhorred, shunned and feared and that many a Djinn having been corrupted by avarice for their riches, had burned out mining those riches for others to enjoy.
DJ adjusted his appearance and regarded his transformation. ‘DJ,’ he said shaking his head, ‘if you get caught...’ This was folly of the worst sort — and all because of a girl. Then he thought of Sakura and all at once he was a warrior and a free spirit, one who would stay at no barrier to prove himself worthy of her.
‘Not even Obsidian?’ the thought escaped his lips. He quailed again and stood vacillating between fear and resolve, feeling his inner flame fade and flare by turns. ‘DJ,’ he said, ‘are you made a coward at last? Where’s your fire?’ and in a flash the mirror disappeared and all brightness with it, and DJ stood in a dark tunnel of the mines.
To a Djinn, nothing is more abhorrent than complete darkness. ‘I should have thought to bring a light,’ he whispered, taking comfort in the sound of his own pale voice. On the other hand, he mustn’t give away his presence too soon. He could hear a gang of miners working a seam farther on. Somehow he had to infiltrate a group. These tunnels would yield no jewel such as he had come to find. Extreme caution was required.
‘DJ?’
Surely his own mother would not recognize him in this garb?
‘DJ!’
Dazzled by a sudden light, DJ tried to appear nonchalant.
‘I heard you were doing a spot of genie-ing!’ came a voice from behind the light. ‘What’re you doing here?’
There was a familiarity about the tone but DJ didn’t immediately recognize the face.
‘Too high and mighty to speak to family now?’
DJ squinted. ‘Carnelian? Carnelian Jewel?’
‘That’s it... Cousin Carnelian.’
DJ’s eyes accustomed to the light and he noticed his cousin wore the standard red of supervisory rank. He was a gaoler.
‘What did you do? Get the wrong side of Obsidian again? How long did you get?’
The mention of Obsidian keened DJ’s awareness of danger. ‘Oh, it was just a misdemeanour, you know. Insubordination.’ DJ avoided the how long of it. Maybe he could persuade his cousin that he’d almost served his sentence.
‘Yes, you were always good at that,’ laughed Carnelian.
DJ was well aware that there was no way out of the mines for those condemned to be there. Their capacity for flammable existence was revoked until release. He couldn’t simply do a dimensional shift away from here, the way he had arrived. That would give the game away. There was also the risk of explosion — there were lives at stake. But he couldn’t tell Carnelian the truth. Carnelian had a job to do even if their fathers were brothers, and he worked for Obsidian too.
‘Say, what are you doing all the way along here anyway, DJ? The seam is further down, around the corner. I suppose your sense of direction is as dubious as ever, eh? Come with me.’
‘Same old...’ DJ joked. He was sure Carnelian suspected him.
‘Well you’re in luck. My gang just started work. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.’
DJ walked ahead of Carnelian towards the little oasis of light in a cavern of gloom, where a group of shimmering uniformed figures chipped away little by little, at a face of glinting rock, to extract living gems from the mica. A fine silicon dust filled the air.
As they approached, Carnelian put his mask in place. ‘You didn’t bring your mask, DJ? Good thing I carry spares. You really never do follow the rules, do you?’
DJ put on the proffered mask.
‘Do you know the tools? Have you had much experience?’
DJ noted that Carnelian was adept at a bit of digging himself... ‘I’m not very good — yet,’ he said. So much for early release.
Carnelian stopped behind one of the workers. ‘Kunzite, this is DJ, my cousin. Take care of him, will you? DJ — Kunzite Feldspar.’
Kunzite towered over DJ, who was shaking. Take care of him? Kunzite Feldspar? Everybody had heard of Kunzite Feldspar. Kunzite had taken care of a few Djinn in the past. They called him The Extinguisher.
Kunzite grunted and turned. Carnelian clapped DJ on the shoulder, ‘Be good,’ he said and walked off. The entire workforce stopped chipping and gave their attention to the new boy. This was the highlight of their day.
When Kunzite turned back towards DJ, he had a small pick in one hand and a sharp-looking digging tool in the other. DJ considered whether to run, then he realized he was being offered a set of tools and diffidently took them. The others laughed and returned to their work.
As a craftsman, Kunzite was the best, but silent. His sentence had been long and his skills were unparalleled. He taught by example, demonstrating techniques for finding jewels in hidden crevices, in a layer of wash or gravel and chiseling them out whole and with precision. He was patient and hard-working. In the course of an entire day he might take one small gem in perfection, where less trained eyes saw little of potential and gathered but fragments.
DJ found the time passing swiftly as he attended to acquiring the new skills he would need to mine that perfect stone he hoped to find.
At the end of the shift, Carnelian came to accompany them to quarters. He drew DJ a little away from the others. ‘You know, I can’t find a single piece of paperwork relating to your case. What are you up to, DJ?’
‘Me? Not a thing. They must’ve lost the paperwork — it’ll turn up... You’ll see.’
‘You’re up to something...’
The gang was taken to quarters — a mere cave in which to rest — and DJ felt the full enormity of his situation. This was a grim place to behold, a cave robbed of all its jewels with a sturdy metal door that fell from above like destiny and locked into place on the ground with a clunk that betokened finality.
‘What were you talkin’ about with the Boss then, DJ?’ asked Granite.
‘Looked like an intense conversation to me,’ said Spinel.
‘Well maybe that’s just a front. Maybe little DJ here is sent to spy on us,’ said Morganite. Morganite and Granite squared up to DJ. They were heavyweights. Morganite took DJ by the collar and lifted him clean off the ground. ‘Cousins are we?’
‘There are tunnels down here just full of water. Did you know, DJ?’ said Granite.
‘Leave him,’ said a quiet, deep voice DJ had not heard before. Morganite dropped him. The bullies immediately slunk away into a corner.
Kunzite had spoken. In his heart, DJ thanked Carnelian.
Copyright © 2010 by Oonah V. Joslin
