by S. Young
None have.
But as the tension grows between the Seven Kings of Jinn and their father, the seal has taken its place as the most important weapon in the War of the Flames.
Chapter 15:
The War of the Flames
The Seven Kings suspect their father of causing the chaos between them, and for upsetting the balance of order in their world. None can prove it. But what is universally acknowledged is Sultan Azazil’s reluctance to restore order. He has the power to do so. But he does not. One son, one king, has grown intractable in his need to punish his father for what he considers negligence to their people. The White King. It is known throughout the many realms that the White King wishes to take his father’s place as Sultan of the Jinn. It is known also that he plans to use the Seal of Solomon to do so. He has attempted many times to steal the ring from Asmodeus, and each attempt has failed. Until his victory , the War of the Flames rages on, the Seven Kings of Jinn and their loyalties split into three factions: Azazil’s, the White King’s, and a place of neutrality where the Gilder King and the Lucky King refuse to be embroiled in the war. It is a sly war with little bloodshed thus far. For now, the War of the Flames remains an ‘understanding’, and a promise of usurpation should the time ever present itself to Azazil’s treacherous son of Thursday.
Ari slammed the book shut and the crack of pages slamming together echoed around the room. Her heart raced and she didn’t know why. The words kept running through her mind over and over. Azazil. The War of the Flames. The Seal of Solomon. The White King. Asmodeus. The War of the Flames. The Seal of Solomon. The White King. Azazil…
“Ari, you okay?”
She jerked her head up, her eyes refocusing on Jai, who leaned forward on the sleeping bag, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.
Somehow, Ari breathed properly again and nodded. Her guard frowned in consternation but relaxed. “You sure?”
Feeling better, Ari reached over and placed the book on the nightstand, and when she glanced back at Jai, she remembered what she’d read about his race in the book. She raised a questioning eyebrow. “So you’re a telepath, huh? What’s that about?”
Chapter 14
There are some things
even a dog shouldn’t know
Jai was frustratingly vague about the whole telepathy thing and would only answer one of her questions — could jinn read minds? Ari’s heart spluttered in mortification at the thought of Jai being able to read her thoughts. Thankfully, he promised her the jinn could not mindread and then promptly laid down on his sleeping bag and turned off the lights with his jinn voodoo.
The next morning, Ari tried not to think about the book and all she’d discovered. Her dad was in his office, still not talking to her, and Rachel was on her way over to ‘make up’. When the doorbell rang, it jerked Ari out of her daze—she’d been staring stupidly at the book on her nightstand, the haunting pages of it rolling around in her mind like spooky little ghosts. Jai came out of the bathroom with questioning eyes. She nodded to let him know Rachel was at the door and the surrounding air shimmered before he exploded into a fire that quickly burned out, leaving behind Hamlet the Great Dane.
The knock on her bedroom door told Ari her dad had let Rachel in. Bracing herself, Ari sat down on her bed. “Come in,” she called out and smirked with amusement as Jai jumped onto her bed beside her, curling up lazily on the comforter. Rachel entered the room tentatively, an apologetic smile on her face as she closed the bedroom door behind her.
“I come in peace,” she said.
“Come in, sit down.” Ari shimmied over, nudging Jai to make room for her.
Rachel’s face lit up at the sight of the Dane. “Oh my God, who is this enormous bundle of gorgeousness?”
Ari smiled, swearing she could hear Jai make a snorting sound from the back of his throat. “This is Hamlet. He’s replaced Ms. Maggie.”
Rachel’s shoulders hunched as she glanced around the room. “Is the poltergeist gone?”
“Yup. All gone.”
“For good?”
“Looks like. So I got Hamlet here to keep me company.”
Rachel giggled and sat down next to him, running her hands over his head and back. “Oh, I so prefer Hamlet. And how cute is that name btw?” She grinned up at her. “Very witty.”
Ari laughed. “At least one person thinks so.”
“Oh so cute,” Rachel squeed, pressing soft kisses to his head. Jai didn’t growl or snarl, but he attempted to desperately evade her lips. When Ari laughed at his predicament, he shot her a dirty doggy look in protest. Finally, taking pity on him, she reached out and touched Rachel’s arm. “So are we okay?” she asked.
Rachel looked up, still patting Jai’s head. Ari could see the confusion in her eyes, but she nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what happened to you, but… the reason I got so mad was because I knew it was a Charlie thing. I thought you were freaking out about him. You were so out of it at your own party, and I just felt frustrated, you know. I was so worried about you. I’m sorry for not handling it the right way, Ari. I really am.” She smiled apologetically. “But since then, Staci said you’re taking my advice and moving on from him, so whatever those two missing days were, they were at least a very good thing.” She reached out to pull Ari into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”
For thinking I abandoned a friend?
When Rachel pulled back, Ari smoothed the scowl from her face and put a fake smile on in its place. “So have you heard any more news from Stace about Nick?”
“Oh, he’s going to be alright. The doctors can’t work it out. There’s no physical sign of injury, external or internal. It’s just this weird phenomenon. So weird. I feel bad for him, but you know he’s alive, he’s young and fit and he can get through this. We’ll all be there to help him. Although, not yet.” She frowned. “His parents are being weird about visitors right now.”
“Is A.J. still mad at Charlie?”
“I don’t think so. He’ll never like the guy, but Staci convinced him that Charlie was just there at the wrong time, wrong place. Although I hear he was going to take Nick to the ER, so that’s, like, a point in his favor, right?”
“Right.”
“So anyway!” Rachel suddenly cried, her mouth stretched in a cat’s-got-the-cream grin. “You have to hear about my time with Paul Schwartz.”
“Uh.” Ari looked down at Jai, who listened to everything they said. She really didn’t want Rachel discussing her love life with the T.A. in front of him. “You hooked up, that’s great. Any plans to see him again?”
She nodded. “I’m going to have such a great time with him this summer before I leave for Dartmouth. So… okay... I invited him to your party; you were kind of out of it that night so you didn’t see him flirting with me all night long. Nothing happened, but he texted me the next day to go to the movies. Well… we got to the parking lot of the movies.” Rachel wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “And that’s as far as we got. Next thing I know, my shirt is off, my hand is down his pants—”
“Uh, Rachel!” Ari stopped her, glaring at Jai for not leaving the room like a gentleman. “Are you sure you want to discuss this in front of the dog?”
Rachel burst out laughing. “Jeez, Ari, come on. You know you wouldn’t get all embarrassed about sex if you just traded in your v-card already. I know, I know, you were waiting on Charlie to give up the old virginity, but you are too pretty to be missing out on this stuff. Seriously, at one point I thought my—”
“My dad’s home.” Ari bolted up off the bed, totally mortified that Jai now knew she was a virgin.
Rachel’s eyebrows drew together in a glower. “So?”
“He might hear you.”
“Ari, what is going on with you?”
“You know you’re right.” She blushed furiously. “I’m being silly. Let’s go get a soda and some chips or something and you can give me all the gory details.”
“Sure!”
Jai jumped off the bed as t
hey made their way to the door. Ari spun around. “Stay,” she ordered him.
“Oh, Ari, he can come, he’s so cute.”
“No, he can stay.” Ari glowered, his doggy eyes burning through her with indignation. “He chewed on my diary this morning. Chewed on stuff even a dog shouldn’t know.” She narrowed her eyes at him pointedly.
“I didn’t know you kept a diary,” Rachel mused, as Ari ushered her out the room and slammed the door on Jai.
Ten minutes later, as they sat in the kitchen—Rachel had already regaled Ari with her tale of sex with a TA in the back parking lot of the movies—a familiar click of nails on tile brought her head up. Jai wandered in with a lazy doggy smirk on his face.
“Wow.” Rachel gaped. “How did he get out?”
“He got out because he’s too damn nosy for his own good.”
“You’re pretty harsh on your dog, Ari.” Rachel held out a cheese puff. “Here, boy.”
Jai took it, crunching on it comically, his tongue licking the cheese powder from Rachel’s hands as she giggled. Ari wanted to kill him. Wasn’t it possible for her to have at least an hour in a room without him listening in on every little thing? Thankfully, the conversation steered back to Rachel’s excitement about attending Dartmouth. Not quite able to find the courage to discuss the whole “probably not going to Penn” thing, Ari threw all of her excitement about college at Rachel for Rachel. And she was excited for her friend. This was everything Rachel had been dreaming about since she was a little kid.
A few hours later, assured that she and Rache were back on track, Ari walked her to the door and startled when her dad called out to them.
“Nice to see you, Rachel.” He nodded from the armchair in the living room. He had his briefcase out, lots of work papers scattered over the coffee table.
“Oh you too, Mr. Johnson.” Rachel smiled and then hugged Ari goodbye. She bent down to place another slobbery kiss on Jai’s forehead before she left. When the door clicked closed behind her, Ari snorted, watching Jai lift a paw to swipe the saliva from the top of his head.
“Ari.”
Her dad was speaking to her?
“Dad?”
He stood up, exhaling heavily, his features drawn and tired. He gathered up his papers, slotting them into his briefcase. Finally, just when she was bristling with impatience, he strode over to her, his familiar scent making her wish she could fall against his chest for a hug like she used to do when she was little.
I’m lonely.
“Ari, I’m…” he shook his head. “I haven’t been acting very adult lately and for that I’m sorry. But… I am just so… so disappointed in you, kid.”
Biting back the rush of anger his words incited, Ari nodded tightly.
“The things you told me. Said.” He heaved another sigh. “I just…”
Despite her anger, Ari was terrified her dad would never forgive her. She needed him to forgive her. “I am so sorry,” she choked out. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what else…”
Seeing her fumble, her dad reached out and squeezed her shoulder. She leaned into his touch. “I know, kid. I said I was disappointed. I didn’t say I didn’t still love you. Of course I still love you.”
The tightness in her throat eased. “I love you too.”
“But.” He grew all stern again. “I think we really need to discuss Penn. I still think it’s your best option at this point.” Before she could feel any more deflated he went on, “Now I’m leaving tonight. I’ve got a plane to Boston to catch and I’ve got a big meeting with a few of the partners of a medical center out there, so we can’t talk now. I’m going out to the office to get a few things and I’ll be driving directly to the airport and I won’t be back for a few days. But when I get back, you and I are having a discussion. Including about him.” He pointed at Jai. “Damn, that is a big dog, Ari.”
“He was a birthday gift. From Charlie.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not crazy about the idea, but if it has to be a dog, at least he looks like a real dog and not one of those yappy things girls put in their purses.”
Ari grunted.
“And I like the name.” His smile warmed her right through, and she tugged on his arm like when she was little.
“Do you really need to go, Dad?”
“Don’t, Ari.” He shook his head impatiently. “On that note, when I get back we’re also going to talk about some things you said.”
Nodding numbly now, she couldn’t even muster a smile when he kissed her on the cheek. She watched, an ache in her chest, as he grabbed the small suitcase she hadn’t seen placed by the door and shrugged on his coat.
“See you in a few days.”
“Bye, Dad,” she whispered.
Ari was stared at the front door her dad exited in a pained daze. Finally, she heard the hiss of flames beside her; the heat licking her skin. She turned to stare up at Jai, his beautiful eyes capturing hers. She noted bright gold striations in his green irises that made his eyes glitter in the light. Ari had always considered her eyes to be her best feature—they were pretty unique. But Jai’s… Jai’s eyes were spectacular. Ari imagined she could gaze into them for hours at a time.
Jai crossed his arms over his chest and a deep frown gathered between his eyebrows. “You okay?”
Ari gave a little humorless laugh. She strolled into the living room, where she collapsed on the armchair that was still warm from her dad’s body. Jai followed her and she realized how comforted she was by his presence. She flushed, looking down so he couldn’t catch the thought in her eyes. He sat down on the couch across from her, and after a few minutes of him waiting patiently, Ari met his gaze. “Do you get along with your dad, Jai?”
Not really expecting an answer since so far Jai didn’t do the whole personal question thing, it surprised Ari to hear him snort. It was a bitter sound. “My dad’s name is Luca Bitar. In the world of jinn and the world of security, he’s known as a top gun. He’s the head of Bitar Security in Los Angeles and very successful and well respected. He’s married to Nicki Byrne Bitar, a born and bred female member of the Irish Ginnaye. They met when they were really young, when my dad was on assignment in Ireland. They fell madly in love and have three sons together. Two older than me, one younger. Some would say they had it all… but…”
Ari leaned forward, eager to learn all she could about him. This was the most he’d ever said about himself. “But?” she prompted quietly.
Jai offered her a bitter smile that made him look harder, older. “My mother came along. I never met her, but I’ve heard all about the damage she did. They’ve reminded me of it every day of my life. The Red King told you she was a succubus jinn—called a lilif—which is true. She’s one of the bad ones, Ari. When she seduces a human, she takes an essential part of their life force from them. It’s what she feeds on. But when she seduces jinn, it’s a little different. She made Luca think he loved her and she seduced him against his will. In doing so, she placed on him, for lack of a better word, an imprint. He knew afterward he didn’t love her, but it was as if she had taken a part of his soul, anyway. He couldn’t love Nicki the same way he had before. And they both knew it. Nicki tries not to blame Luca. When my mom turned up pregnant with me and left me on their doorstep, Nicki blamed me instead. So did Luca. And my half-brothers. The worst offender is Luca, though. He pretty much hates my guts.” He laughed, an unhappy sound that ripped at Ari. She wanted to reach for him. Take his hand. Comfort this man who had come so suddenly into her life, pretending to be some untouchable, uncaring being when there was clearly so much more to him. And that he shared something so personal with her made her feel privileged. “So I guess the answer is no. I don’t get along with my dad.” He leaned forward. His eyes drifted over her face and Ari didn’t know if it was wishful thinking or not, but she could have sworn his expression softened a little. “I know what it’s like to be disappointed in the man who is meant to be your father. Supposed to take care of you and support you. I know what it’s
like to watch him turn his back on you too many times to count and leave you standing in the dust.”
“How does that make you feel?” she whispered.
Jai made a huffing noise. His cynical little smirk was firmly back in place. “How does it make you feel?”
A sensation, a warm tension, a bubble of understanding, drew around them, closing them in together, their breaths seeming to match one for the other. She didn’t answer. Because she didn’t need to. Somehow, in all of this, Jai Bitar of the Ginnaye, one of the jinn whom she wished to be nothing like, understood her. She smiled shyly, dropping her gaze, trying not to think about the hot kiss he’d placed on her to trace her movements. Jai got her.
And just then, she didn’t feel so lonely anymore.
Chapter 15
How can I lean on you
if you’re lying down?
Ari snuck another peek at Jai. He was slouched on an armchair, his book under a lamp. He’d read all books in the sci-fi series he’d been reading and had been looking for another science fiction novel to conjure. Ari had given him a copy of Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood from her bookshelf. His head hadn’t lifted from the pages since he’d started reading it after dinner, so she could only assume he was enjoying it. She drew her legs up onto the couch, curling them under her, and attempted to concentrate on the television. It was difficult with Jai sitting there looking like that. She held in a huff of annoyance, wishing they could rewind the clock a few days. Yeah, sure, she’d thought he was attractive (she had eyes after all) but until today he’d just been this slightly annoying hot guy she enjoyed trading insults with. Alright, he was a slightly annoying hot guy she enjoyed trading insults with and who also intrigued her. A little. He had a story. She wanted to know more. Needed to know more of.