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"...this...when we get back. Let’s go."
    Raj followed her out of the house and across the island to a small outbuilding. He was amazed that Valerie’s small frame was able to withstand the weather. The wind and rain were punishing them. The waves were crashing hard against the rocks and , in some places, starting to wash up far higher than the usual waterline. She could be swept away by the storm, and yet she charged across the island as though it was a gentle May shower.
    She unlocked the door , and they both stepped inside. Valerie turned on a large lantern that illuminated the whole room, including the rusty old generator in front of them.
    Valerie slipped out of her coat and laid it across a wooden crate. Approaching the monstrous machine, she pushed up her sleeves and eyed it with dread. She reached out and flipped a metal switch on the control panel, but nothing happened. She didn’t seem concerned, waiting patiently for a few minutes. "It’s too cold to start. I’ve got to preheat the engine first, then prime the fuel lines." After about five minutes she compressed a bulb on the side. Then, finally, she turned the key and punched a large red button.
    Nothing happened. She did it again and this time was rewarded with a loud, clanking sound, then nothing. Valerie growled low in her throat as she pressed the bulb again, forcing fuel through the system, but her third attempt to start it was a failure as well.
    This was going to take a little magical assistance. Raj slipped out of his own coat and started to approach the machine. He stopped when he noticed the furious red tinting her skin and the tight balls of her fists. His quiet, reserved mistress was about to blow.
    "Stupid, old piece of crap!" she yelled, kicking at the machine with her boot. "Just leave me out here with a rusty, unreliable power source! Put in solar panels for the lighthouse, but for the keeper, who cares? She’s just a sad, miserable woman waiting to die anyway! I wish they wouldn’t be so cheap and would replace this thing."
    Raj felt his whole body light up with excitement and power. She’d said “wish.” Finally. The roaring flame in his gut surged out of him, enveloping the tiny room in bright light like a bomb detonating. When it faded and their eyes adjusted to the suddenly dim room, the old generator was gone and in its place was a brand-new, top-of-the-line generator.
    " What the hell?" Valerie exclaimed, stumbling backward from the sudden change. After a moment, she reached out and touched the new generator as she had with Raj’s coat. She examined the controls, her head shaking slowly in disbelief as her fingertips glided along the shiny, red paint. "This is real. It’s really real."
    " Of course it is. Turn it on."
    She turned the key and pressed the start button on the control panel. With a loud roar, the generator started right up. The overhead light kicked on. Power had been restored.
    Valerie circled around slowly and looked at Raj. The words had been stolen from her, despite the fact that her mouth was open and ready to speak. "Did you do this?" she finally asked with a quiver to her voice.
    " I did. Your wish is my command, Mistress. You now have two wishes remaining."
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Not once since Raj washed up on her island had Valerie considered that he might be telling her the truth. He was confused, disturbed, injured somehow. That had to be the answer , because there was no such thing as a genie. There was no such thing as magic or sorcerers. Men did not live inside gold necklaces.
    That knowledge had been what got her through the last day. It had allowed her to reason away breakfast and laundry. The coat and the fire. But this … Valerie couldn’t reason away this.
    Raj was a genie. He wasn’t crazy. The beautiful, mysterious man that haunted her dreams was an ancient, powerful being focused on granting her every desire.
    So, what exactly was she going to do about it?
    She was going to start by