A Box of Tricks

Instead he simply sighed again, nodded, and then reached over to unplug his cable from the wall. "Fine, but make sure you give it back - wait, where's mine? Did you steal it or something?" he frowned as he noticed the empty plug socket.

Zoe had to pinch the palm of her hand to stop herself from gasping out in disbelief - everything Jinn had said actually appeared to be true! Chester had absolutely no memory of already lending her his charger, which he now assumed she'd stolen, and as he glared accusingly at Zoe she managed to gather herself and convincingly play dumb.

"No? Why, is your charger missing too?" she replied innocently.

Her brother scowled but then resumed his search. "Umm, yeah... I thought it was right here... maybe I left it downstairs or something? Weird..." he muttered.

As she felt herself starting to grin uncontrollably Zoe decided that she'd better leave, before the rush of power went straight to her head. "Ok, don't worry about it then," she said, "I'll go and borrow Dad's one instead."

"Err yeah... no worries." Chester wasn't listening properly anymore as he rummaged along the side of his bed, wondering how on earth his charger could have disappeared all on its own, and behind him a thrilled Zoe rushed back to her room to tell the Spirit what had just happened.

"Oh my God Jinn, it actually works! I really wiped my brother's memory, and he had absolutely no idea what was going on!" she exclaimed as she burst through the door.

Jinn, who by now was so bored that they were floating completely upside down, slowly rotated themselves back around and eyed up the overexcited student. "Really?" they replied, with a wry roll of the eyes. "My, who could have guessed that the floating Genie would tell the truth about magic being real?"

Zoe was too thrilled to be annoyed by Jinn's tired sarcasm, and she jumped onto the bed to cradle the Forgotten Cage with a newfound affection and respect. "I just couldn't believe it, that the box would really do that to Chester! But he had no recollection that we'd just spoken at all, I could see that he'd completely forgotten about seeing me..." she explained, speaking at one hundred miles an hour.

Wearing a quietly amused expression Jinn listened to Zoe babble on for a while, but their faint smile soon dissolved into a wide yawn as the Spirit grew increasingly weary. "Yes, well, I'm glad that you found it all so exhilarating," they interrupted. "You seem to be a natural at using the box, so that's good. And if there's nothing else you need for tonight then... I'll be off."

Zoe looked up and frowned. "Wait, you're going? Already?"

Jinn gestured towards the box. "Only to rest, I can't exist outside of the Forgotten Cage for too long or I begin to dissipate. Us Spirits weren't really designed for this world, not that your ancestors took any notice of that. Don't worry though, you can still use your box without me, I'll just be inside restoring myself."

"Right... but what if I need you your help," Zoe fretted, "what if the box breaks or something?"

Jinn casually waived her concerns away and stifled another yawn. "You can always summon me at any time, just chant 'Jinn, Jinn, Jinn' three times and I will return. Don't wake me up too often though, as I said I do need some sleep," they replied sleepily.

"Seriously? Just 'Jinn, Jinn, Jinn'? That's it?" Zoe sceptically repeated back.

Her new Spirit friend made another vaguely dismissive hand gesture but conceded the point. "Yeah I know, it's not exactly imaginative but I didn't come up with the system. Ok then, see you."

And with that Jinn abruptly flickered back out of view, leaving Zoe to sit there alone in her room gazing thoughtfully down at the magical little box. After spending a moment or two with her thoughts she decided that she wanted to experiment with her new toy a little more, so she got up and took the Forgotten Cage downstairs to see who was about.

Her mum was nowhere to be seen but from the living room she could hear a pair of voices, so Zoe tiptoed up to the door and peered inside. Her dad had invited one of his friends, a middle aged man who Zoe knew as Mr Holgate, over for the evening, and the two men were sitting on a sofa chatting away with a couple of tumblers in their hands.

"Can I get you another one?" Zoe's dad inquired, and Mr Holgate nodded gratefully.

"That would be lovely, thanks."

Zoe watched on with interest as her dad disappeared through the door which led to the kitchen to refill the men's glasses. This left Mr Holgate sitting on his own, tapping away at his phone, and as she watched him from the doorway Zoe suddenly had a very bad idea. For some reason her mind cast back to the previous day, where she'd wished more than anything that she could make her dad forget about walking in on her naked, and weirdly that memory gave her the inspiration for a more exciting way to test out the Forgotten Cage's capabilities.

And so, before she could ask herself what the hell she thought she was doing, Zoe quietly slipped into the living room, discretely placed the box on mantlepiece, and then made her presence known with a gentle cough. "Ahem, Mr Holgate?"

Her dad's friend looked up from his phone and smiled pleasantly when he saw her. "Oh hello Zoe, how are you doing? I haven't seen you for a while, you must be back from university for the weekend?"

Instead of answering Zoe just grinned down at the older man, gripped the base of her hoodie, pulled her top and bra up and over her boobs, and gave the gobsmacked Mr Holgate a direct view of her bare breasts. She managed to hold that position for a couple of seconds before her nerve broke, and as her cheeks immediately began to turn bright crimson she let her hoodie fall back down and cover her up again.

She'd never flashed anyone before, well never on purpose anyway, but the hit of adrenaline that immediately began to coarse through her body gave her an insight as to why certain people might enjoy doing it - it was undeniably fun, albeit in a naughty kind of way.

"I... uh..." Poor old Mr Holgate understandably had no idea about how to react to his friend's usually innocent daughter walking into the room and exposing herself to him, so he just sat there with his jaw hanging open as he watched Zoe skip back over to the mantelpiece, retrieve the Forgotten Cage, and push the Emerald down.

The effect was immediate, and Zoe studied Mr Holgate's face with a keen interest as she watched his memory getting wiped right in front of her. First his eyes appeared to glaze over, his whole body seemed to relax, and then his head suddenly jerked back as his brain kickstarted itself back into action. His vision seemed to take a moment to fully return but when it did he looked up kindly at Zoe with a friendly, trusting smile. The box had worked again.

"Oh hello Zoe," he repeated, "I didn't see you there. How are you doing? I haven't seen you for a while, you must be back from university for the weekend? And what's that you've got there?" he asked, gesturing towards the Forgotten Cage.

Zoe couldn't stop grinning - she'd just flashed her dad's best friend and he was completely oblivious to the fact. "I'm doing great Mr Holgate, how are you?" she replied cheerfully. "Oh, and this is nothing," she added, discretely slipping the box back into her hoodie.

Although Zoe appeared quite calm as she struck up a conversation with her dad's friend, inside she was absolutely squealing with delight - in her pocket she now held the secret to getting away with absolutely anything she wanted, and my oh my did that feel good.

*****

Zoe's trip home was only a fleeting one, and on Sunday night she got a train back up to campus to enjoy the last few days at university before she graduated. She impatiently toyed with the Forgotten Cage for the whole journey, resisting the temptation to summon Jinn right there just to mess with her fellow passengers, and once she'd arrived back on campus she headed straight for her accommodation block. After rushing down the corridor she eagerly unlocked her door and headed inside to find Alesha, her roommate and best friend, sitting on the bed.

The two girls had met nearly three years ago on their first day at university, where they'd immediately clicked and quickly become incredibly close. Since then they'd always shared a dorm room and had rarely left each other's sides, and so naturally there was no one else in the world that Zoe would rather share her new secret with first than Alesha. After a hug and a brief catch up they settled down cross legged on the floor, and Zoe proudly set her magic box down between them.

"Ok, so this is what I found in my grandma's attic, and seriously Alesha, you're not going to be able to believe your eyes," Zoe grinned, anxious to introduce Jinn to her friend. "Now watch this, and try your best not to freak out."

"Alright..." Alesha replied nervously, grabbing a pillow from the bed and hugging it to her chest as she waited to see what was up.

Zoe took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then spoke in a clear, confident voice. "Jinn, Jinn, Jinn."

Instantly the Spirit obeyed Zoe's call and appeared floating in the air above the box, still completely naked as before, but this time graphically decorated with a few BDSM-themed accessories.

It really was quite an intimidating outfit - Jinn's body was trussed up with thick black ropes which crisscrossed underneath their breasts and down between their legs, there were two alarmingly large metal clamps fastened over their nipples, a variety of piercings and tattoos adorned every inch of their skin, their arms were securely bound behind their back in a decidedly submissive pose, and finally there was a large red ball gag wedged between their lips.

Zoe's momentary delight that the summon had worked was instantly replaced by a startled horror as she took in Jinn's outrageously depraved appearance, and she quickly scolded the mischievous and unexpectedly kinky Genie as beside her Alesha quietly began to wonder if she'd gone mad.

"Oh my God Jinn, no! We have company, please put something else on!" Zoe demanded.

"Huh?" With their head and hands immobilised by their shackles Jinn, who was clearly very pleased that their scandalous outfit had provoked such an extreme reaction, hadn't initially noticed Alesha's presence. The Spirit grunted in surprise as they turned to peer down at Alesha with interest, before turning back to Zoe and mumbling some muffled words which were almost impossible to hear through their gag. "Oh whoops, sorry, that's my bad..."

The tied-up sex slave iteration of Jinn quickly flickered back out of existence and then reappeared in a new form, this time going from one extreme to the other as they elected for an infinitely more respectable nun's outfit which covered them from head to toe. They'd even conjured up a set of rosary beads, and they slowly passed them between their fingers as they looked down at Zoe for her approval.

"Is this ok?" the Spirit winked, and below them Zoe shook her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess..." she sighed, knowing that she had no control over the mischievous Genie whatsoever. "Ok, Alesha this is Jinn, who's like a magical Spirit, and Jinn this is Alesha, who's my roommate and best friend," Zoe said, trying to get the introductions back on track.

Alesha was still too stunned to speak, but Sister Jinn didn't let their awkward first impression slow them down as they smiled and bowed their head reverentially towards Zoe's friend. "It's a pleasure to meet you my child, truly a blessing indeed. May the Lord be with you, forever and always."

As the Spirit, who was clearly enjoying the chance to roleplay with their new costume way too much, made the sign of the cross Zoe shifted forward in her seat and tried to get Jinn to focus. "Hey Jinn? I know you said that I'm the owner of the box, but would Alesha be able to use it too? Or will she get her memory wiped like everyone else?"

Although Jinn smiled pleasantly at the girls their eyes remained cold and detached. "As the owner of the Forgotten Cage Zoe do indeed have the power to share its secret with whomever you choose," the Spirit confirmed. "So yes, Alesha can use the box while staying immune from its effects, her memories will remain untouched just like yours."

Zoe grinned as that's just what she'd wanted to hear. "Ok perfect, thanks. Come on then Alesha, this will blow your mind..."

The girls left Jinn fiddling with their prayer beads and walked down the corridor, as Zoe searched for someone to act as her unwitting guinea pig.

"So, that thing really is a Genie?" Alesha asked, gesturing back towards the room. She'd decided that if she had gone mad then there wasn't really much she could do about it, so she might as well just kick back and enjoy the ride.

"Yes," Zoe replied, "and it's called Jinn."

"Right," Alesha said. "And why was it dressed like that?"

"I don't know," Zoe shrugged, "it just seems to like hanging around naked for some reason. I don't think Genies are very self-conscious."

"Ok," Alesha nodded slowly, unsure as to what to make of that. "And then this box thing," she continued, pointing down at Zoe's Forgotten Cage, "it can change people's memories?"

"Well it can delete them," Zoe clarified, "so if you press this jewel thing here then everyone will immediately forget about the most recent time they've seen you. Get it?"

Alesha didn't get it. "I'm... still confused," she confessed, and her friend nodded reassuringly.

"Ok, but don't worry, that's why we're looking for someone to use it on," Zoe explained, "so you can see a demonstration."

They walked into the communal kitchen and found their flatmate Jermain leaning against one of the counters, eating a bowl of pasta as he watched a football match on his phone which was propped up on the side.

"Oh, hey guys," he grunted through mouthfuls of spaghetti, briefly glancing over at the girls before returning his attention to the game.

"Hey Jermain," Zoe replied brightly as she walked over to him, "that smells good, what did you cook?"

"Hmm? Oh, just some spaghetti with a bit of - " Jermain began to reply, using his fork to stir his pasta around as he was momentarily distracted by Zoe's question. However, before he got a chance to finish his description he was unexpectedly cut short as his flatmate knelt down before him and violently tugged his shorts and boxers down to his knees.

"What the fuck?" he yelled as Zoe unceremoniously stripped him naked from the waist down.

Jermain was frozen in place for a brief moment, standing there with his hands full and his soft cock and balls now out on display to the two girls. As Zoe and Alesha giggled at his unimpressive size Jermain's brain finally managed to process what had just happened, immediately ordering one hand to fling itself down to cover his dick as the other began to tug his shorts back up. This motion inadvertently launched his dinner into the air, and with a crash his bowl of spaghetti shattered as it hit the kitchen floor.

"Sorry Jermain!" Zoe, who wasn't that sorry at all, quickly tugged Alesha back out of the kitchen and into the corridor, then pulled the Forgotten Cage out of her pocket.

"What the hell did you do that for?" her friend demanded. Although it had been funny to see Jermain exposed like that it was still a pretty nasty thing to do, and Alesha wanted to know why Zoe had just humiliated one of their flatmates in such a cruel manner.

"To show you what the box can do!" Zoe grinned, unperturbed as she pressed down firmly on the Jewel. "Now come on, you're not going to believe this..."

Zoe strode confidently back into the kitchen with Alesha cautiously following behind, and inside they found Jermain, all covered up again now, crawling around on his hands and knees as he tried to collect all the little shards of ceramic and strands of spaghetti that were littered across the floor.

"Oh no Jermain," Zoe gasped theatrically, "what happened here?"

Her flatmate looked up and titled his head to the side slightly. "Oh, hey guys," Jermain repeated. "Err yeah, I think I dropped my pasta, and broke the bowl," he replied, visibly confused as to exactly how he had manged to make such a mess.

"Aww no, do you want any help?" Zoe asked as she nodded over at Alesha and winked.

"No I'm ok thanks, don't worry," Jermain replied as he carried on cleaning up. The girls decided to leave him to it and began to walk back to their room, but as soon as they were out of earshot Alesha turned to grab Zoe by the arm and squeal excitedly.

"Oh my God Zoe! That was insane! He really had no idea that you'd pulled that prank on him, did he?" Alesha marvelled, as she took the Forgotten Cage from Zoe and studied its Emerald intently.

"Nope," Zoe laughed, pleased that she finally had someone else to share her secret with. "See, I told you, the box really does work."

"Yeah, it's insane... poor Jermain though, you could still have chosen a less embarrassing demonstration," Alesha giggled, "I'll never be able to look at him the same way now, I'll just be picturing his dick every time!"

"To be fair though," Zoe argued as she defended herself, "one of the first things I did to test if the box really worked was to flash my boobs at my dad's friend!"

"No you didn't! You idiot, what if it hadn't deleted his memory properly?" Alesha laughed.

Zoe giggled and tried to imagine what she would have done in that scenario. "Well then I'd have been fucked, I guess," she concluded, "but luckily it did work. Now come on, let's see if Jinn has decided to keep their clothes on."

Jinn, who had grown tired of their life of worship and changed into a loosely tied loincloth, turned to greet the two girls as they opened their door and bounced down to sit on Zoe's bed.

"So, Alesha," the topless Spirit smiled, "has Zoe taught you how to use the Forgotten Cage? Are you convinced that magic is real yet?"

Alesha, who was still quite wary of the Genie and their carefree attitude to nudity, looked down at the box thoughtfully. "Yes she did," she replied politely, "and yes, I saw it work. It really can alter people's memories."

"And so," Zoe joined in, "there's only really one question left to ask - who should we use the box on next?"

Jinn and the two students all began to grin at each other, albeit for very different reasons.

*****

After dismissing Jinn for the night the first thing the girls did was go down to the shop on the corner, grab two bottles of wine each, and then sprint out of the front entrance without paying for them. An outraged security guard immediately gave chase and followed them out of the store and into the street, but as soon as Zoe and Alesha had rounded the corner they pulled out the box and pressed the Jewel.

Now with their stolen bottles of wine boldly swinging by their sides the girls turned around and confidently strolled back the way they'd come, and as they passed by the suddenly very confused looking security guard, who was trying his best to work out why he'd run out of his shop for no reason, they turned bright red as they desperately tried to contain their laughter.

"God, we're like super heroes," Alesha giggled as she and Zoe walked back to their accommodation block, taking sips of their stolen wine as they chatted. "We literally have magic powers now."

"Well, probably more like super villains to be honest," Zoe replied, nodding back towards the scene of their first crime, "because I don't think we'll be using this box to do much good, do you?"

Zoe's suspicions were confirmed almost immediately when the girls got back to their dorm. After turning into their corridor the now slightly tipsy friends almost walked straight into another one of their flatmates, a beautiful but unpleasant girl called Becky, as she came out of her room.