4th Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

“No."
    Grinning back, I said, “Had to ask, ma'am. Would you create them yourself or dig them out of the ground?"
    Moocher came in for a share of attention as she said, “Whichever you wish."
    "I think I'd prefer that you create them yourself."
    "Are the diamonds your first wish?"
    "Nope. They'll be my second wish."
    Her eyebrow went up. “What's your first?"
    I took a deep breath and said, “Jaline, you're far too powerful and you have some human temperaments. I just can't blindly trust that you'll never get pissed about something and wipe out the world, so my first wish is the one that I mentioned earlier ... that you can't ever directly harm or harass me or anyone else—or indirectly cause me or anyone else to be harmed or harassed—in any manner, except as necessary for self-defense or defense of someone else."
    "Done,” she said with a grin, “That was a wasted wish, by the way. Well considered, but wholly unnecessary."
    As Moocher stood on a chair to sniffingly investigate the samovar, I said, “Glad to hear it, but better safe than sorry. Would you make the diamonds appear in a backpack like the one you've seen me carry? I don't want them to become cat toys.” I gestured at Moocher and Winston, who had also become curious about the samovar.
    When the backpack appeared smack in the middle of the table, it displaced air with a popping sound and a slight breeze. Both cats jumped a few feet and wound up on the floor. Winston landed in combat mode and Moocher looked at me for reassurance.
    "No problem, Moochie,” I said, heaving the bag to the floor and shoving it out of the way against the cabinets. Patting the bag, I said, “It's just a plain old thing , see?"
    All three cats cautiously edged their way closer to the bag as I put a hand on Jaline's shoulder and said, “Thank you very much, Jaline. I have some plans and ideas for some of those diamonds."
    Her brows furrowed and she seemed somewhat startled and puzzled as I sat down and picked up my coffee.
    "Don't you want to see your diamonds?"
    Sipping my coffee, then shaking my head, I said, “Nope. Seen ‘em before in Africa. They don't look very special at all before they've been cut and polished. ‘Course, the people who buy them from me may not feel that way. I'll sell a few quietly now and then and stash the others."
    "But...” She glanced at the bag again, then returned her gaze to me as she said, “Never mind. Are you ready to make your third wish?"
    "Gimme a minute. I'm still putting it together. Did you make it all the way through the encyclopedia over the weekend?"
    With a somewhat miffed expression, she rather stiffly stated, “Of course."
    "Well, then, you know what ‘telekinesis’ is. That's part one of wish three. I'd like to be able to move things with my mind. To make them move fairly fast, too. And, in case I wanted to hop over to Europe for a weekend, I'd need to be able to move myself safely at high speeds. How could you grant me that?"
    She shrugged. “I'd give you the ability to apply variations of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. You'd be able to redirect field energies in order to move matter at virtually any speed and to create a protective field around it or yourself. I'll instil knowledge of use with the ability, but using it safely will still require considerable practice."
    Chuckling, I said, “Oh, I don't doubt that at all, ma'am. Not at all. Great, then, we'll make all that part of my wish. I'm also thinking about my health, Jaline. Can you reverse my physical years to age thirty and set my body to remain in perfect health at that age indefinitely?"
    "Yes, I can roll back your years and give you perfect health. No, I can't lock your body at that age. You'll begin aging normally from that point."
    "In that case, make it twenty-five. Will you do it without affecting my mind as it is at this moment? No memory losses or scrambling?"
    "Yes."
    "Are there any other caveats I should know about?"
    "I can't think of