Lapis yelped as she found herself coming up against an invisible surface that she was sure hadn't been there before. "Ow- ow!" She scowled at Bartley. "What the hells is going on?"
As she spoke, Zahir was rolling his eyes. "It doesn't work like that. If I could choose my master, I wouldn't have any," the djinn snapped. He paused, watching the two humans struggle, and his lip curled in a smirk that was more of a snarl.
"Idiots," he hissed, and snapped his fingers. Lapis, who had been shoving against the invisible wall, cried out as she suddenly tumbled toward the ground.
Strong, lean arms caught her, lifting her easily and bracing her against a solid, mostly bare chest. She raised her eyes slowly and blushed. "Um...th-thanks."
"Don't thank me," the djinn replied stiffly. He was glaring at Bartley. "If it weren't for the laws that bound me, more powerful than any petty magics you my cling to, old man, you would be dead," he said coolly. Any trace of the playfulness had gone from his eyes. His voice vibrated with power, skin giving off a soft golden light. "Let me say this one. Last. Time."
His voice rose, echoing off the walls unnaturally, though the volume didn't seem to actually change. Bartley's goods rattled in their places, the door shuddered as though in a gale. Pressed against the djinn, Lapis gasped as raw power wracked her body in waves. She stared at the shop owner, lips parted in a soundless cry.
"You cannot trick me, you cannot trap me, you cannot slay me, and you cannot bind me beyond the bonds that already enchain me," Zahir proclaimed in that whispered-thunder voice. "As much as you are my master, I am your curse, and I swear to you if you do not change your methods very quickly, I will become your personal poltergeist."