Jonah Bennett (Bennett Mafia)

One Thousand and One Dark Nights

Once upon a time, in the future…

I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

library at my father’s home and collected thousands

of volumes of fantastic tales.

I learned all about ancient races and bygone

times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

people through the millennium. And the more I read

the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

become part of them.

I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

would not be telling you this tale now.

But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

with bravery.

One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

(Persian: ??????, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written

and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,

the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand

women.

Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

never occurred before and that still to this day, I

cannot explain.

Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

protect herself and stay alive.

Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before

you now.

Chapter One

JONAH

A screech of brakes.

A horn blaring.

That was the only warning we got.

Melissa and I were traveling. We’d taken time off from our residencies, mine in surgery and hers in family practice. We were in different locations. The driving distance wasn’t that far, but this time together was special to me.

I had decided. I didn’t want to wait anymore.

That was my last thought as we came to a quick stop in our rental car. The traffic had frozen, bumper to bumper.

“What the hell is going on?” Melissa asked.

I looked over at her and smiled. She was beautiful, like always. Big doe eyes. Long brown hair that had a slight curl. We’d been together for the last year. When I switched to go to medical school in the States, she was in the same year as me. We dated on and off for that year and the year after, but it was on and off for a reason.

Then school happened.

We graduated.

We went into our specialties, but we decided to try again.

I was happy that we had. I was happy with her.

I was just happy.

She was gorgeous. She was kind. Smart. She liked to tease me with this little sparkle in her eyes. She was also competitive, always pushing to get the best marks on each test and exam. She pushed me to do better, and that was a novel experience for me. I was used to pushing myself. No one in my family was in the medical field. It wasn’t what they did, but me… That was not me. I was the first to venture outside our family business.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have their support. I did. They wanted me to go, to do better, to be better, but that’s all they had to offer. So I was left in the role of pushing forward, forging a new path. Though not with Melissa. She motivated me, and that was one of the many reasons I’d fallen in love with her.

Right now, however, I was mostly focused on the fact that we had six days left to celebrate before going back to our normal, hectic lives. I reached over and threaded my fingers with hers, staring at the sparkling ring on her finger.

“We should call our families tonight,” I suggested. “Tell them about the engagement.”

She’d been glaring out the window at the traffic, but when I dropped a kiss on our fingers, she relaxed.

She turned to me, that sparkle in her eyes. “Oh, you mean I’ll actually get to meet your family? Your very reclusive family that you’ve always said isn’t in the States and out of phone reach?” She was teasing, but sort of not.

She hadn’t met my family for a reason, but they knew about her.

Kai had her investigated. And if Kai had any files on her, then I knew Tanner got them as well. He probably had done a couple passes, too. Meaning, that he saw her in physical proximity, he knew her, but she wouldn’t have known who he was. Brooke wasn’t one to be left out. She insisted to overhear a phone call I had with Melissa one time. It was her way of “meeting” her.