Genie and Engineer 1: The Engineer Wizard Read Online Free PDF Page A

room, including the Christmas lights on the tall tree, dimmed to
half their former brilliance. And the sound level in the chapel dropped,
cutting the volume of the choir and the organ to a fraction of their former
intensity.
    In the crossing, the space between the front row of pews and
the chancel, a huge figure suddenly materialized out of thin air. Taller than
the Christmas tree, the massive human physique dominated the expanse of the
chapel.
    The face was vaguely Asian in appearance, with high
cheekbones, a huge hooked nose, a strong jawline, and sparkling ebony eyes under
thick, swarthy eyebrows. There was a black circular beard, the hair at the chin
waxed to form two prominent spikes thrusting forward. An oversized white turban
with a large red ruby in the center topped the apparition’s head. Massive arms
were crossed over a smoothly muscled, naked chest, the skin a golden brown. Coal-black
baggy pants tapered down to the figure’s ankles, with pointed, white satin slippers
on mammoth feet.
    In every respect, he appeared to be a genie right out of Arabian
Nights . The sight of him was enough to make Paul’s chin drop and his eyes
bug out.
    The genie turned his head slightly, staring downward,
intently and directly into Paul’s eyes. Paul froze, unable to move a single
muscle.
    The choir stopped singing in mid-note, their expressions
mirroring Paul’s as they stared at the towering figure. The organist, who was
leaning over the organ’s keyboard trying to figure out why it wasn’t playing as
loudly as before, took one look at the gargantuan image towering above her and
fainted dead away. She collapsed on the keyboard, the organ shrieking forth a
jumble of discordant notes.
    Everyone in the chapel froze in place, staring in shock and
confusion at the sudden effigy. At the rear of the nave, on the back pew, one
middle-aged man was the first to recover from the shock. He stood, and at the
top of his lungs, he shouted, “ It’s a demon from hell !”
    That pronouncement broke the spell. Suddenly, a whole host
of the congregation was out of their seats, leaping pell-mell for the exit,
some of them screaming, some crying, but all of them panic stricken.
    At the pulpit, Minister Parsons grasped the crucifix hanging
on the chain around his neck. Extending the small cross forward at arm’s
length, his eyes bulging wide, he moaned in a raspy voice, “Be gone, ye fiend
of the eternal pit! Be gone in the name of the Savior Christian!”
    Sidney stood with his arms raised high and yelled, “Now,
everyone, stay calm! Don’t panic! There is no cause to lose our heads here!”
    Sister Georgette climbed unsteadily to her feet, her eyes
locked on the genie’s bulk and her hand over her chest. “Oh, my heart! My
heart!” she screamed as her eyes flew up into her head. She fell backward onto two
other people, knocking both of them to the carpeted floor of the aisle.
    Paul didn’t see who, but someone reached a fire alarm pull
station and yanked it down, the whooping sound clashing with the organ notes
and the screams of the other attendees, the flashing of the strobe lights on
the walls only adding to the confusion.
    Most of the kids in the choir scattered wildly, some diving
under their chairs, others dashing behind the Christmas tree. The tree took a
hit from one careless youth and toppled forward, smashing across the organ,
ornaments flying into the pews.
    One young boy stood frozen at his choir seat and screamed,
“It’s a ghost!”
    Fourteen-year-old precocious Adelle shook her head as she
whipped out her cell phone. “Naw,” she proclaimed in that oh-so-superior voice
of hers. “It’s a hologram, silly! Anyone can see that!” She pointed the cell
phone forward. “And it will look great on YouTube!”
    The lawyer was in the thick of the crowd, trying to pry her
way out through the vestibule doors. She was also screaming at the top of her
lungs. “I’ll sue, I’ll sue everybody here! Get out of my