The old, leather-bound book fell from Vivian’s hand. Where before there had been nothing but stale air, a boy stood, frowning in confusion.

Vivian cleared her throat and said what any normal human being would say if an unknown person just materialised in their attic. “Uh, can I help you?”

The boy’s gaze landed on her, and then flicked to the fallen book at her feet. His expression shifted from confused to one of deep irritation. “Oh Hell. Not again.”

Vivian slowly took a step backwards, towards the rickety step ladder that she had used to climb into the attic. It was the only means of escape.

Just a few minutes ago, Vivian had been sorting through the attic while her sister was out grocery shopping. There was no one else in the house.

After encountering a strange, leather-bound book amongst her mother's old belongings, Vivian had naturally been curious. She had flipped through the pages, finding only a collection of meaningless scribbles. Something about the book had intrigued her, however, and so she had stood, intending to place it into the box of items filled with the objects she intended to keep.

That was when a mysterious stranger had appeared, rubbing the back of his hand as if it had stung him.

“Um, excuse me, but why… and how are you in my house?” Vivian asked him. It was a fair question.

The boy eyed her with distaste. “Ugh, a teenage girl. Typical.”

Vivian frowned, still inching toward the door. She wondered if she stood a chance if he attacked. It might be possible, seeing as she had done martial arts when she was eleven. Three weeks of it.

“I am Omrys, the Great Djinn. I am bound to you until you give me three wishes to grant. So, hurry up and do that so I can go back to my eternal nap,” the boy told her bluntly.

“Uh-huh,” Vivian nodded. “Djinn, like spirits and stuff? Look, I'm not a goth or anything, so whatever cult you’re in…”

Omrys stared at her. “Oh my Lord. You’re a dense one.”

“Thanks,” Vivian said dryly. Vivian wasn't the type of person who would immediately believe in otherworldly wonders such as spirits or demons. She wasn't a strong atheist, but neither was she overly spiritual. Hence her scepticism.

Although… the boy’s pine-gold eyes and glossy dark hair were a little on the special effects side. Perhaps he was a very enthusiastic cosplayer of some sort.

“You’re going to make me prove it to you, aren't you?” Omrys sighed heavily.

Vivian said nothing, still set on evicting the obviously suspicious stranger from her house.

Omyrs thought for a second, then took a deep breath. He clapped his hands and a pigeon suddenly appeared in front of him. Startled, the pigeon flapped at him aggressively. Omrys swore colourfully, clicking his fingers at the bird. After a few attempts, the pigeon disappeared once more into thin air.

“I hate pigeons,” Omrys muttered.

Vivian blinked. She blinked again. “So, are you like, a magician?”

Omrys rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically. “Djinn. I'm a Djinn. A type of demon. A genie. Ever heard of Aladdin? Its something like that.”

“Right…” Vivian nodded slowly. “But you’re not blue. And where is your lamp?”

“That’s an offensive stereotype,” Omrys scowled. “As for the lamp, It’s actually the book you dropped. As soon as you decided to keep it, the spell was activated and you became my mistress.” Omrys held out his hand, and a second, thinner, more modern book materialised. It looked like an instruction manual, the kind you were given when purchasing a household appliance, such as a washing machine.

“Here. Catch,” the boy said to Vivian, tossing her the wad of paper. Vivian fumbled as she caught it. She turned to the front cover, which read A Guide to Djinn Handling.

“You’ve given me an instruction manual? What is this? How to operate your demon?”

Omrys signed irritably again. “Yes, you can read it like that if it makes it easier for your inferior thinking process, stupid girl.”

“My name is Vivian. And I'm still not sure I believe you,” Vivian frowned suspiciously at him.

Vivian opened her mouth to tell him to get out of her house, but before she could, he transformed. Where Omrys had been standing was a tiny wrinkly man. Then a beautiful woman. Then a toad. Then a crocodile. Each form lasted only a few seconds, and switched faster than Vivian’s eyes could follow.

Vivian stood there, speechless. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally spoke.

“Oh my God,” Vivian breathed. “Are you a demon? Am I nuts? I have to be nuts. Do you have the number for the psych ward?”

“You’re so annoying. Hurry up and read the text I gave you, stupid human,” Omrys said, back in his original form.

Vivian looked down at the text she clutched in her hands.

She didn't know how she had ended up in this situation, with a Djinn in her attic. She had always thought that if she ever experienced something like this, it would feel more important.

Now, though, she was standing barefoot in her attic wearing shorts and a worn jacket, her dark hair falling in a tangled mess. What's more, the source of her awe appeared to be a moody teenage boy.

Vivian flicked to the first page of the paper and began to read, glancing up regularly to check that Omrys hadn't transformed into a large carnivore intent on a quick meal.

“So, I’m now your… uh… master?” Vivian frowned.

“Don't remind me.”

Her eyes scanned the text, her bare feet shuffling slightly on the floor as they often did when she was anxious. “I can command you, but any big tasks I set have to be expressed as Wishes, of which I can have three?”

“If you want a palace, if you want to be wealthy, find love, exetera, exetera.”

Vivian squinted at the text printed in black ink. The pages of the manuscript felt cheap and plastic between her fingers. It wasn't at all what you would imagine the script containing directions on how to manage an ancient Djinn.

Vivian continued reading. She had conflicted thoughts. Part of her believed it, but most of her was filled with doubt. And then another part didn't even care - what did she have to lose, either way? “So, I get to keep you and order you around until I use up all three of my Wishes?”

“Unfortunately for me, yes.”

“Neat.”

“No, not at all.”

Vivian took one last look at the text, then pocketed it. She had barely read the first page.

Omrys raised his eyebrows. “Aren't you going to read it all? Most people would do that.”

She shrugged. “I'll read it later. For now, though, we have to figure out how I can hide you from my sister. Not that it's hard, she’s always at Daniel’s place.”

“Or you could just make your wishes now. That would be easier for me.”

Vivian picked up the box of items she had decided to keep. She would sort through the rest some other time, she decided. For now, Vivian would have to focus on what she was going to do with a djinn.

“I'm not going to make my wishes now. I only get three, right? I don't want to make any mistakes. And what if I need something different later, like if my family is dying or…”

“Oh joy. You're going to make me stay here until you get your life together? Boy. I can't wait,” Omrys complained.

“Do you want to live in the attic, or should I find you someplace else in the house to stay? Unless you have a convenient little demon dimension you can hole up in. ” Vivian asked him, ignoring his complaints. She needed to figure some things out before she lost her mind trying to comprehend this unusual situation.

Omrys sniffed. “Unfortunately while I am bound to you, I cannot return to my world. I’ll stay here. I want to be as far away from you as possible.”

Vivian hesitated. Even if he was rude and obnoxious, she felt bad for leaving him alone in the attic. “Alright. I'll bring you some stuff. There's a television downstairs you can use as well. When my sister isn't here, of course.”

“Oh, fun.”

The front door banged open, the sound echoing through the house. Vivian sighed. Samantha never did treat the house with much respect.

“Hey, Vivian! Come here and unpack this!” Samantha called, her tone demanding.

Vivian looked back at the Djinn, keeping her voice hushed. “Um… Please stay here while my sister is around. I don't really want her to know I've got a weird magic guy in my attic,” she whispered helplessly.

Omrys raised his eyebrows.

“Er… That's an order?” She tried.

The djinn rolled his eyes, then retreated further into the attic.

Relieved, Vivian dropped her box at the foot of the rickety attic steps and hurried to the kitchen, where her big sister roughly shoved items into the cupboards.

“I'm going to stay at Daniel’s this week again. Text me if dad comes back, yeah?”

Vivian’s big sister, Samantha, was around four years older than herself. Their father was away most of the time, which left Vivian in the care of her elder sister. Samantha had commitments of her own, however. Without their father knowing, Vivian’s elder sister spent most of her time with her boyfriend, leaving Vivian by herself.

While it was admittedly irresponsible of Samantha- especially when they had been younger, Vivian didn't mind. She even enjoyed being alone in the house.

“Yeah, okay. How's university?”

Samantha rolled her eyes. Vivian noticed that she had dyed her hair again, this time a violent blue. “It sucks, like always.” She finished unpacking the groceries and headed for the door.

“Seeya. Don't forget to text me if dad comes back. He’ll be pissed if he finds out I'm still with Daniel.”

“Yeah. Bye, Sam.”

The door clicked shut and Vivian was alone once again.

Except for the djinn.

She made her way back towards the attic. She was unsure about how she should deal with this situation, but somehow she doubted that telling her sister would help. If anything, Samantha knowing would make things more complicated, if she even cared. The most likely scenario was that Vivian would end up being considered mentally unstable, or something similar. She half suspected she might be.

“Omrys! Do you eat food?” she called into the attic.

An irritated face appeared in the gap in the ceiling. “Let's just say if you starve me, I'll be mad.”