“What could I ever do to punish them?”
“You have Achmet’s staff of lightning that we found in the sand djinn’s cave, and you know how to use it. In this region and at this time of year we’re blessed with plenty of clouds to draw the lightning from. Afrits, as all djinni, are mortal. I don’t suppose they’d relish the thought of being blasted by lightning; I know I wouldn’t.”
Jafar al-Sharif shook his head. “This is all very chancy, Cari. We’re risking so much on something I know so little about.”
“Did you know more about wizardry when you lied to me in the dungeons of Ravan, or when you bluffed my former master Akar? You have no choice now, just as you had none then. You are on a mission of Oromasd; you must trust to his divine guidance to see you through the crisis.”
“I suppose you’re
