Scorched Skies (31 page)

Ari
’
s head snapped back in surprise.

Luca nodded, eager to continue. “If Jai crosses the line with you, a client, a Jinn with great importance, he would be so disappointed in himself and so would I. And we both know how much Jai does not like to disappoint his father.” His eyes sparked with deviousness and Ari realized how much this man saw and how manipulative he was, using what he saw and bending it to his own purposes. “I don
’
t want him involved with you. I don
’
t want my tribe dragged into this war and I don
’
t want our reputation shredded into tatters. If Jai dares to have any kind of relationship with you other than that of guardian/client he will damage his relationship with me irreparably. Understood?”

Ari took a step back, not wanting to even breathe the same air as him. “I understand perfectly. You know, until this morning I had been thinking that Jai misunderstood you, that somehow you weren
’
t as bad as he thought. But I know different now. You are terrible. You
’
re a selfish, selfish man. But rest assured.” She held her palms up in surrender. “There is nothing going on between your son and I, and he will never cross that line.” Her eyes filled with unexpected tears. “You
’
ve damaged him too much.” And with that she turned on her heel, her earlier resolve to distance herself from Jai even stronger. When the time was right, she had to believe she
’
d meet a guy who would love her enough to put her before his own demons. Charlie was not that guy. And Ari knew Jai never would be either. Heart breaking a little, Ari walked through the aching pain slicing in lightning shards across her chest. She was so sick of this. So sick of being cornered and hunted in one way or another. First Jai himself, this morning. Now his father. It was time to turn the tables. It was time to become the hunter.

“Ari!”

She spun around, watching Charlie jog towards her from the training room. His eyes were bright, his pupils huge as though he
’
d just had a hit. A momentary panic rushed through her at the thought of Charlie doing drugs again, but then she realized it was a side effect of his magic use. Her heart slowed a little. “Hey.”

“I
’
ve been looking all over for you. Did Luca tell you?”

“Tell me what?” she frowned.

“We found The Guild that
’
s hunting Dalí. We
’
re flying out to meet them tomorrow.”

Her muscles tightened and Ari felt a calm surety flood slowly over her.

Finally.

~18~

A Knife in the Hand and Love in the Other

Having waited in his father
’
s private rooms
—
rooms that had been transformed from torture chambers to the far more pleasing sitting room and bedroom
—
The Red King finally found himself standing at the bottom of the Sultan
’
s dais in the grand mirrored hall that was created to confuse and overawe. Barefoot and dressed in robes that would please Azazil, The Red King flicked a glance at Asmodeus as he waited for his father
’
s response. Asmodeus stood at the side of Azazil
’
s throne, taller than even The Red King at an impressive 6 ft9. His hard, hewn but young face was dark with displeasure, his black eyes staring straight ahead. Always dressed in unbroken black, Asmodeus was Azazil
’
s intimidating dark knight. His lieutenant. A prince among Jinn. Red wondered how Ari would react to Asmodeus if ever they were to meet, and unfamiliar part of him hoped that they never did meet. It was bad enough she was being tossed to and fro between Azazil and The White King. Azazil was still deciding what would make better entertainment and The White King never veered from his focus to draw her to him to use her powers against their father. And now White had found Ari and paid her a visit. Red
’
s fists clenched a little before he could stop them. If something had happened… he should have put that protection spell around her. He had promised. What did she think now? Did she no longer trust him? Surely that was something Azazil wished to avoid?

The Sultan smiled benignly down at him from his place on his throne. Today his long white hair hung loose over his shoulders and Red could see a strand was dark with scarlet. It was blood. Azazil sometimes streaked his hair with the blood of his victims as a way to intimidate his Shaitans and everyone else. “Relax. Having no children of your own, Red, you do not understand the bond a father has with his child. Although he would hate to think so, I know my son well. I told you White would not do anything rash after what he did to Ari
’
s human parent. He learns from his mistakes. He was impatient and angry and killing the human got him nowhere. Now he is just playing mind games with her. It
’
s time we did the same. You have two tasks ahead of you.”

“Master?”

“First you must convince Ari to trust us. Lie. Tell her that of course we put protection around her; that a spy within your household told White where Ari was and White told her there was no protection to make her distrust us.”

Seeing the logic in that and believing he could pull it off, Red nodded. “And what else, Father?”

“Well.” Azazil shrugged and shot a look at Asmodeus who still looked like he
’
d swallowed a whole chicken. “The White King did us a favor getting rid of Derek. He
’
s started Ari on a wonderful journey to isolation. He wants her to have no one to turn to but him. We want her to have no one to turn to but us, so let us concentrate on Charlie. He
’
s still too close to the girl for my liking. Send in someone surreptitiously to teach the boy to use his powers. The more he uses the more addicted he
’
ll become and the more determined he
’
ll be to exact his revenge. There
’
s a possibility this will drive him and Ari apart completely. We
’
ll just have to see.”

Red nodded, agreeing with that. Ari would be furious with Charlie, knowing that his revenge would cost him a trial in Jinn Court and most probably a sentence to death. But Charlie wasn
’
t ready to give up and Red trusted the magic would fuel his need.

“Now,” Azazil
’
s eyes glinted sharply under the bright light of the room, “Is there anyone else we can use to make Ari feel all alone?”

An image of Jai and Ari filled Red
’
s mind. Although Jai
’
s feelings for Ari were not quite as clear, it was clear to Red that Ari loved her guardian. Jai could be a useful tool in manipulating Ari. Shuttering his gaze, Red shook his head. “No, Master. No one else.”

A grunt from Asmodeus distracted Azazil and both son and father turned to look at the lieutenant. With a nasty sneer on his face he stepped back, disappearing into the
Peripatos
.

Azazil looked back at Red with a casual shrug. “He
’
s in a bad mood. I
’
ve been cleaning up after that bad mood for ten years.”

For not the first time, perhaps even the millionth, The Red King found that he was curious over Asmodeus. He was the most temperamental, mercurial Jinn, Red had ever met and that was saying a lot considering who Red
’
s father was. His father. Red eyed Azazil, fear and love, a strange but powerful mix within him. Red had lived a thousand lifetimes and he
’
d been taught one important fact. Azazil was the balance of all things. His roots were tangled deep within the worlds and his actions were impressed profoundly upon them. When someone as powerful as Asmodeus (and not many beings were) created unforeseen havoc, Azazil was the only one who could balance it out if he so chose. For the most part, Azazil did try to balance out Asmodeus
’
violent outbursts and the consequences of them. Then again sometimes Azazil joined him. Musing over Asmodeus
’
latest bad mood, The Red King wondered just what terrible things the lieutenant had been up to and what Azazil had had to do to fix it. Indeed, the only other Jinn capable of creating such a shift in balance was Red and his brothers, and even White would not make the catastrophic shifts in the balance that Asmodeus did. Red wasn
’
t sure if that was out of a sense of wishing to assist the natural order of things, or if White just didn
’
t do anything too big that would draw Azazil
’
s attention and clue their father in on what his wayward son was up to.

The Red King snorted inwardly. He suspected his father always knew. Everything.

~19~

Dreams are Truer than You

Sandwiched between Charlie and Jai, Ari kept her eyes closed, concentrating on the music from her earphones as it wrapped around her and offered her a sense of separateness. Her body
’
s own awareness of both guys fought her indifference, but she tried to stay relaxed, pretending to both of them that she had given up on caring about them. All her focus was now on finding Dalí. That
’
s all that mattered. She was determined that that was all that mattered. She just had to endure the hour it took to fly from L.A. to Arizona where the Roe Guild, the hybrid Jinn hunters tracking Dalí, was waiting for them.

Ari ignored the nervous churning in her stomach. Everything felt off. Not that she wasn
’
t glad to leave the Bitars behind. They didn
’
t have the greatest energy, and they really were just a painful reminder that Jai would rather placate people who abused him than take a chance on someone who genuinely cared about him. Her conscience stuck her tongue out at the guardian sitting on her left. Jai did have one redeeming quality, however, and that would be his best friend. Ari had been surprisingly sad to say goodbye to Trey. She hoped they saw each other soon. He was one of the few people Ari had ever felt instantly connected to and he was so easy to talk to even if his last words had been for her to not give up on Jai. Well, too late. He
’
d made his choice, and now Ari was making hers.

The choice to hunt those that hunted her would have been easier to make if Ari believed she could count on her uncle. The Red King had appeared before they
’
d left and Ari wasn
’
t quite sure what to make of him…

…
“You
’
re not talking to me?” her uncle made a face that was comical on his giant-sized intimidating self.

Ari narrowed her eyes on him. “You said you
’
d put a protection enchantment around me. You lied.”

Red held up his hands in defense. “I did,” he insisted, his blue eyes guileless. “I
’
m sorry my brother was able to find you, Ari. In a way, it was my fault. I had a spy in my household, a Shaitan I trusted. He overheard a conversation between Azazil and I and he told White where to find you. It rendered the enchantment useless.”

Standing there, scrutinizing his innocence, Ari realized she didn
’
t know if she trusted him. Perhaps he was just an excellent liar. Was he good enough to fake that warmth in his eyes when he looked at her? Like he was fond of her? In the end, Ari knew that trust him or not she didn
’
t trust anyone else so… he
’
d have to do for now.