Orders of Magnitude (The Genie and the Engineer Series Book 2) Read Online Free

trying hard, it would
seem, to drown each other out.
    “I wish my brother would learn a trade, so I would know what
kind of work he’s out of,” one of the crystals shouted at a very loud volume.
    “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a
dog it’s too dark to read,” screamed the other.
    Paul winced, putting his hands over his ears. “Make it
stop!”
    “You told that joke wrong! Really, you can never get it
right!” shouted the crystal in Capie’s hand.
    “Like you would know a joke if it fell out of the sky on top
of you!”
    “ Hatāmu !” commanded Jaret.
    Both crystals ceased talking. The ex-genie shrugged. “They
do better when they are not together like this. But they are tellers of stories
and jokes, endlessly talking. If you want to pass a message from one to the other,
you must first listen to them for a bit. At least one story and one joke. Then
they will listen to your message and pass it on. That is the catch, as you say,
madam.”
    Capie chuckled and sent the Raconteur back to Jaret through
the air. “I recognize that second joke. Classic Groucho Marx. I think we can
live with the catch. What think ye, Paul?”
    “I suppose it could be amusing,” he said. “Sure, we’ll take
one. And thanks, Jaret. For all the things that you have done for us.”
    He bowed deeply in return. “My warmest wishes for you, your
health and your success. And may the two of you be blessed with many fine
strong sons. Once again, I feel that we shall see one another in this life
time. Peace be upon you.”
    Paul bowed as well. “Take care, my friend. May the Force be
with you.”
    “Goodbye, Jaret,” Capie added, as she smiled. “We will miss
you.”
    • • • •
    As the first stop on their honeymoon, Paul, using his
enhanced block of tantalum as his amulet, took Capie a few miles further south
in short portal hops to the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and
rented a two bedroom suite. Perched near the lake itself, the westward facing
suite of the large resort gave them a wonderful scenic view of the evening sunset
over the water. It was a most idyllic setting for the first night of their
honeymoon.
    • • • •
    “Almost but not quite,” Paul said with a small smile the
next afternoon. “You have to establish the correct mindset to go along with the
spell. And yes I know that’s not very scientific. I still don’t know why words
are important to casting spells. But they are. So the wording of the
incantation can be very critical. The more energy used in the spell, the more
important a role your mindset plays and therefore the wording of the
incantation.”
    “So you’ve said,” Capie complained as she sighed. “More than
once too. I just can’t seem to get it right.”
    “It took me nearly a week to get the hang of creating
portals,” Paul pointed out. “You’ve only had magical powers for two days now
and you’ve, ah, had other things on your mind too.”
    Capie grinned and snuggled closer to him on the sofa. Across
from them, the crackle and warmth of the gas fireplace added to the romantic ambience
of the room, the firelight dancing across the richly appointed accommodations
of the Corner Lake View Premier Suite.
    “Yes, the wedding was quite a distraction,” she purred in
his ear. “And then there was last night too.”
    Paul positively beamed and hugged her more tightly. With a
leer, he responded, “Ah, yeah, ‘distraction’ is not anywhere near the right
word for last night. Um, did you want to talk about creating portals or did you
want to conduct more sessions in ah, biological hanky-panky?”
    Capie laid her head on his shoulder. “We could say enough of
portal practice, for right now, hmm, my husband?” She lightly stroked his arm.
“We could take this back to the bedroom and do what any normal newlyweds do.
Ones who aren’t hunted by evil wizards and mysterious monsters, that is.”
    He moved closer, both of them closing their eyes as